Baltic Cinema: L’Arbre d’Authenticité (The Tree of Authenticity)

Located on the banks of the Congo River, the Yangambi INERA Research Station was a booming scientific centre in its heyday. Today, it is an amalgam of jungle and ruin, where questions of knowledge, power and access to it linger, haunted by the ghosts of a Western imperialism which sought to impose total control over its colonial subjects.

Shot with the eye of a photographer and mind of a forensic archaeologist, The Tree of Authenticity recounts the ecological destruction that began at the time of colonisation through the voices of Paul Panda Farnana and Abiron Beirnært, two scientists who worked at Yangambi between 1910 and 1950. Their stories embody the legacies of colonial modernity and trace the origins of today's environmental injustice.

"In the heart of the Congo rainforest, the remains of a research center dedicated to tropical agriculture reveal the burden of the colonial past and its inextricable links to climate change. This three-part essay (winner of the Tiger Special Jury Award at this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam) offers a compelling analysis of Belgian colonial history, the consequences of which can still be observed today." —Visions du Réel.

Doors open 18:30; Film starts 18:45. Baltic Kitchen is open until 18:30 for drinks, which you are welcome to take up to the cinema.

Please note we cannot offer refunds on this event.

Baltic Cinema is a new year-round cinema programme at Baltic, lighting up our Level 1 Cinema with the best new and archive films. Bringing otherwise rarely-screened work to the North East, Baltic Cinema also expands our exhibitions, offering a chance to explore further some of the themes they raise.

Baltic Cinema has five strands:

Currents presents new work from across the world

Sources expands on our exhibitions

Selected shows films selected by our artists and partners

Quayside Kino is a monthly screening for families and children

News From Home offers films on and from the North East, for the people who live here

All regular screenings take place in our Level 1 Cinema. In addition, you can catch free drop-in films in Front Room every week. See full programme of screenings here.

Baltic Cinema is supported by Film Hub North with National Lottery funding on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network.

We want our events to be inclusive and accessible. If you have any accessibility requests or questions, please email [email protected]. Ahead of your visit, you can find out about Baltic's facilities and accessibility here.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead, United Kingdom