Hailing from Grenoble (France), Metamkine have been on the international scene with their performances of cinema and electro-acoustic music since 1987, making themselves part of the history of Expanded Cinema. The historic core of the group consists of Christophe Auger, Xavier Quérel and Jérôme Noetinger (who will all be present at the Independent Film Show), yet right from its foundation Metamkine have always been a loose collective due to the numerous collaborations with other artists that they have undertaken. For this reason, it is only reasonable to introduce them with their full name: Cellule d'intervention Metamkine (the Metamkine Operational Group).
Their connection with historical Expanded Cinema is not to be found in the continuation of a theoretical discourse, as much as in the praxis of a cinema which aims to be osmotic, total. Their performances are conceived along the lines of a musical group, the projectors are handled with the same skill as a musician may handle a guitar. The games of manipulation of projectors, film and other various accessories are symbiotic with the live sound created with analogic synthesizers, amplification apparatus and other invented instruments.
To begin to understand Metamkine's creative process, it is useful to know that they have their origins in a laboratory for experimental film - the MTK lab which develops and prints copies of their films, which, over the course of the years, has attracted many film adepts and encouraged them to set up labs of their own in France, thus creating a creative ferment which is probably unique in Europe in these times. Moreover, it is worth remembering that Metamkine is also one of the key labels for contemporary experimental music. All told, there are lots of aspects to this group! And it is only through one of their live performances that one can really appreciate and feel the sensibility that they have acquired through such wide-ranging experience.