New York, New York, April 12, 2018—Panorama Europe 2018, the tenth edition of the essential festival of new and vital European cinema, co-presented by Museum of the Moving Image and the members of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture), includes fiction and documentary works that present a portrait of contemporary Europe during a period of tremendous flux. The festival, which launched in 2009 by Czech Center New York, continues to give New Yorkers an eclectic overview of the current European film scene.
Highlighting recent films from throughout the continent, several of the films explore dialogues between the historic upheavals of the twentieth century and the current moment. The programmer of this year's edition of the festival, Nellie Killian, says, "Bringing a more unified curatorial voice to the Panorama Europe line up was an interesting challenge. While the films still range in style and subject matter, representing the diversity of the various countries, there were so many opportunities to find resonances between recent films. For example, Ruth Beckerman's The Dreamed Ones and Rita Azevedo Gomes's Correspondences each take an experimental approach to the epistolary film, using letters between famed poets (Paul Celan and Ingeborg Bachman from Austria and Sophia de Mello Breyner and Jorge de Sena from Portugal) to explore themes of displacement and memory. Christina Vandekerckhove's Rabot and Goran Devic's The Steel Mill Caffé observe the final days of two doomed institutions, a dilapidated public housing complex once a site of utopian aspiration and local cafe outside a now shuttered ironworks. I'm especially excited about our two repertory titles: Pavel Juracek's adaptation of Gulliver's Travels, Case for the New Hangman, which situates the Prague Spring in the realm of the surreal, and Gregory Markopoulos's The Illiac Passion, an evocation of ancient Greek culture starring the leading lights of New York's avant-garde including Jack Smith, Taylor Mead, Beverly Grant, and Andy Warhol."
The opening night selection, Barbara Visser's The End of Fear reconstructs the vandalization and subsequent obliteration through restoration of Barnett Newman's Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III. Director Visser will participate in a conversation with art writer, scholar, and strategist András Szántó, Ph.D. after the screening.
The festival will feature some of the most exciting new voices in documentary, including Anna Marziano's meditation on romantic love Beyond the One; Maryam Goormaghtigh's hybrid road movie Before Summer Ends; Bernadett Tuza-Ritter's intimate portrait of contemporary slavery A Woman Captured; Ziad Kalthoum's stunning, searing Taste of Cement, about Syrian migrant workers in Lebanon; and Lots of Kids, a Monkey, and a Castle by Gustavo Salmerón, a hilarious and picturesque story of a Spanish family.
Among the other titles are Miracle, Egle Vertelyte's dryly comic look back at Lithuania's Wild West post-Soviet years of the early 1990s; Silent Night, Piotr Domalewski's raw, tragicomic Christmas tale which won Best Film, Director, Script, and Actor at this year's Polish Film Awards; 5 October, by renowned photographer Martin Kollar capturing his dying brother's final cross-continental bicycle journey; Rainer Sarnet's November, a wondrously witchy, folkloric fable set in nineteenth-century Estonia, winner of the 2018 American Society of Cinematographers' Spotlight Award for cinematography; and a selection of short new films from Malta, including The Maltese Fighter, Bajtra tax-Xewk (Prickly Pear), Arcadia, and Lejliet (Eve). Tickets for screenings at MoMI are $15 (with discounts for seniors, students, and Museum members) and free at Bohemian National Hall. Advance tickets at MoMI are available at movingimage.us; reservations for BNH tickets may be made at www.czechcenter.com. See below for full lineup and schedule or visit movingimage.us/panoramaeurope2018
Panorama Europe's tenth year coincides with the European Year of Cultural Heritage, an initiative to encourage more people to discover and engage with Europe's cultural heritage, and to reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space. For more information, visit europa.eu/cultural-heritage/
Panorama Europe is coordinated by Gaelle Duchemin, European Union Delegation to the United Nations and in partnership with the Czech Center New York/Bohemian National Hall. The 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival presenting partners are the Arts Council Malta in New York, the Austrian Cultural Forum New York, the Balassi Institute - Hungarian Cultural Center New York, the Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Consulate General of Estonia, the Consulate General of Lithuania, the Consulate General of Portugal, the Consulate General of Slovakia, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, the Czech Center New York, the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York, General Delegation of the Government of Flanders to the U.S.A., the Goethe-Institut New York, Instituto Cervantes, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Consulate General of Greece in New York and the Onassis Foundation USA, and the Polish Cultural Institute New York.
This program is supported by the EU Policy & Outreach Partnership (EU POP) of the Delegation of the European Union to the United States.
FULL LINEUP AND SCHEDULE FOR PANORAMA EUROPE, MAY 4–31, 2018
OPENING NIGHT The End of Fear With director Barbara Visser in person and András Szántó Ph.D., followed by discussion and opening reception FRIDAY, MAY 4, 7:00 P.M. at MoMI / New York premiere Presented by the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York, and supported by the EU Policy & Outreach Partnership (EU POP) of the Delegation of the European Union to the United States. Netherlands. Dir. Barbara Visser, 2018, 70 mins. Digital projection. In Dutch/English with English subtitles. Part art history deep dive, part investigative thriller, this engrossing experimental documentary delves into one of the most contentious art world scandals of the twentieth century. In 1986 in Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum, abstract expressionist giant Barnett Newman's massive color field masterpiece Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III (1966–1970) was slashed in an act of anti-modernist vandalism. The painting would be subject to further mistreatment by a highly controversial restoration that left many asking: Is the result still the work of Newman? Mixing archival footage and audio with the firsthand accounts of those involved in the incident, Barbara Visser crafts a formally inventive, philosophically heady consideration of what makes art art. The post-film discussion with Barbara Visser will be joined by András Szántó, Ph.D., writer, researcher, and consultant in the fields of art, media, and philanthropy.
Case for the New Hangman SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2:00 P.M. at MoMI / New York premiere of the restoration THURSDAY, MAY 31, 7:00 P.M. at Bohemian National Hall Presented by the Czech Center New York Czechoslovakia. Dir. Pavel Juracek. 1969, 102 mins. DCP. With Lubomir Kostelka, Klara Jernekova, Milena Zahrynowska. In Czech with English subtitles. This lost classic of the Czech New Wave is a hallucinogenic swirl of Gulliver's Travels, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Kafkaesque surrealism. The freewheeling anti-narrative follows the misadventures of a modern-day Lemuel Gulliver who, after crashing his car, embarks on foot on a nightmarish odyssey that lands him in a strange land where citizens adhere to nonsensical laws and its rulers block out the sun. The satirical allegory was not lost on Czechoslovakia's Communist government, which banned the film “forever” and effectively ended director Juracek's career. Nevertheless, this stands as one of the most audacious and visually inventive works to emerge from the short-lived but remarkably fertile Prague Spring.
Miracle Introduced by film critic Lukas Brasiskis SATURDAY, MAY 5, 4:30 P.M. at MoMI / New York premiere Presented by the Consulate General of Lithuania, and supported by Lithuanian Culture Institute Lithuania/Bulgaria/Poland. Dir. Egle Vertelyte, 2017, 91 mins. Digital projection. With Egle Mikulionyte, Vyto Ruginis, Andrius Bialobzeskis. In Lithuanian, English, and Russian with English subtitles. Garnering comparisons to the work of Aki Kaurismäki, this deadpan Lithuanian charmer is a dryly comic look back at the Wild West post-Soviet years of the early 1990s. Irena is the not-exactly-popular manager of a communal pig farm in a struggling rural outpost. Just as the enterprise seems headed for bankruptcy, high-rolling, smooth-talking Lithuanian-American businessman Bernardas breezes into town with an offer to buy the farm. Is the unctuous stranger the answer to Irena’s prayers? Or is something more sinister afoot? Blending black humor with moments of surreal poetry, the feature debut from Egle Vertelyte is alternately witty and tragic in the way it chronicles Eastern Europe’s rocky road from communism to capitalism. The film will be introduced by Lukas Brasiskis, film critic and a Ph.D. candidate and adjunct lecturer in the Department of Cinema Studies at New York University.
November SATURDAY, MAY 5, 6:30 P.M. at MoMI Presented by the Consulate General of Estonia Estonia, Netherlands, Poland. Dir. Rainer Sarnet. 2017, 115 mins. Digital projection. With Rea Lest, Jorgen Liik, Arvo Kukumagi, Katariina Unt. In Estonian with English subtitles. Stunningly lensed in lustrous monochrome—“which turns a freezing lake into liquid mercury and a snow-dusted forest into Christmas-cookie perfection” (The New York Times)—this wondrously witchy, folkloric fable unfolds in a surreal vision of 19th century Estonia, a pagan fantasyland in which werewolves, ghosts, and the plague run rampant and thieving is the primary means of survival. Amidst these harsh environs, a lovesick young woman sets out to conquer the heart of the boy she desires—even if it means resorting to sorcery. Based on the cult sensation novel by Andrus Kivirähk, November combines wild imagination, black comedy, and a visceral visual style into something gorgeously, feverishly freaky. Winner, 2018 American Society of Cinematographers’ Spotlight Award for cinematography.
Lots of Kids, a Monkey, and a Castle SUNDAY, MAY 6, 3:00 P.M. at MoMI Presented by the Instituto Cervantes Spain. Dir. Gustavo Salmerón, 2017, 90 mins. Digital projection. With Julita Salmeron and Gustavo Salmerón. In Spanish with English subtitles. The curious title refers to the three things actor-turned-director Gustavo Salmerón’s wonderfully one-of-a-kind mother Julita always wanted. Incredibly, she got them all, raising six kids, adopting a monkey, and eventually purchasing her very own castle thanks to a tidy inheritance. This charming family portrait is an affectionate, often hilarious tribute to a larger-than-life woman, now in her 80s but as frank, quick-witted, and indomitable as ever—a natural born documentary star in the vein of the Grey Gardens gals. Winner of a slew of prizes—including Best Documentary at the Goya Awards and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival—this is an irresistible, bona-fide crowd pleaser.
5 October SUNDAY, MAY 6, 5:00 P.M. at MoMI / New York premiere TUESDAY, MAY 29, 7:00 P.M. at Bohemian National Hall Presented by the Consulate General of Slovakia Slovakia/Czech Republic. Dir. Martin Kollar, 2016, 50 mins. Digital projection. In Slovak with English subtitles. Renowned photographer Martin Kollar—whose uncanny images locate moments of everyday life slipping into the surreal—brings his distinctive artistic eye to this mysteriously moving, wordless documentary. October 5 is the date the director’s brother Jan will undergo surgery to remove an enormous facial tumor, an operation that even if successful leaves him with a fifty-fifty chance of survival. Facing his mortality, Jan embarks on a cross-continental road trip of reflection, setting out on his bicycle to find peace amidst the solitude of nature. Told entirely through Kollar’s striking, sometimes enigmatic images, 5 October telegraphs the ineffable strangeness and beauty of the world as viewed through the eyes of a man seeing it anew.
A Woman Captured SUNDAY, MAY 6, 6:30 P.M. at MoMI / New York premiere THURSDAY, MAY 24, 7:00 P.M. at Bohemian National Hall Presented by the Balassi Institute, Hungarian Cultural Center New York Hungary. Dir. Bernadett Tuza-Ritter. 2017, 89 mins. Digital projection. In Hungarian with English subtitles. Intense, provocative, and gripping, this true life shocker is a harrowing plunge into the shadowy world of modern slavery. It is an almost unbearably intimate portrait of Marish, whose prematurely weathered face speaks volumes about the hardship she has endured for the past ten years as an indentured servant for the abusive matriarch of a wealthy family, performing backbreaking labor twenty hours a day in exchange for only food, lodging, and cigarettes. What at first seems to be a study in hopelessness gradually transforms into a pulse-pounding documentary thriller as Marish—aided by filmmaker Bernadett Tuza-Ritter—plots her escape.
Before Summer Ends FRIDAY, MAY 11, 7:30 P.M. at MoMI Presented by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy France, Switzerland. Dir. Maryam Goormaghtigh. 2017, 80 mins. Digital projection. In French/Persian with English subtitles. Channeling the lo-fi deadpan of Jim Jarmusch, this winningly offbeat quasi-documentary follows three thirty-something Iranian friends on a road trip through the South of France. Immigrants who enjoy the freedoms of their adopted country while remaining nostalgic for their home, the trio camp out under the stars, knock back beers, hang out with a rock group girl duo, and all the while grapple with the question that hangs over everything: will they stay in France for the long haul or return eventually to Iran? Combining a minimalist formal precision with a knack for capturing the improvisatory interplay between her subjects, director Maryam Goormaghtigh produces an amiably loose-limbed, witty look at life in cultural limbo. The film is part of Young French Cinema, a program made possible with the support of Unifrance and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.
Taste of Cement SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2:00 P.M. at MoMI Presented by the Goethe-Institut New York Germany/Syria/Lebanon/United Arab Emirates/Qatar. Dir. Ziad Kalthoum. 2017, 85 mins. Digital projection. In Arabic with English subtitles. Berlin-based Syrian filmmaker Ziad Kalthoum’s award-winning, cinematically audacious documentary explores the days and nights of Syrian refugees employed as construction workers in post–Civil War Beirut. Laboring to erect a towering skyscraper by day, they spend their nights in curfew, relegated to the cavernous basement of the site, haunted by memories of a homeland left in ruins, hoping for a chance to rebuild. “Kalthoum has created here a study of men anguished by conflict without ever exploiting their predicament; Cement is a cinematic odyssey that invokes the senses and proves that the moving image is a singularly apt medium for representing the cost of human displacement.”—Rooney Elmi, Reverse Shot
Silent Night SATURDAY, MAY 12, 4:00 P.M. at MoMI / New York premiere TUESDAY, MAY 22 at 7:00 P.M. at Bohemian National Hall Presented by the Polish Cultural Institute New York Poland. Dir. Piotr Domalewski. 2017, 100 mins. Digital projection. With Dawid Ogrodnik, Tomasz Zietek, Arkadiusz Jakubik. In Polish with English subtitles. Winner of Best Film, Director, Script, and Actor at this year’s Polish Film Awards, the potent feature debut from Piotr Domalewski heralds the arrival of one of the country’s most accomplished rising stars. On Christmas Eve in a small village, Adam—a young economic migrant who works in the Netherlands—unexpectedly returns home for his large family’s holiday gathering. What the clan doesn’t know is that Adam has an ulterior motive for the visit—one that will force a reckoning with the dark undercurrents of Polish family life. Masterfully balancing raw naturalism with tragicomic humor, “Domalewski’s may be just the voice that Polish cinema needs: quiet, yet persistent—and most of all, not afraid to tell the truth” (Cineuropa).
Correspondences SUNDAY, MAY 13, 2:00 P.M. at MoMI / New York premiere Presented by the Consulate General of Portugal Portugal/Argentina/Brazil/France/Greece. Dir. Rita Azevedo Gomes. 2016, 145 mins. Digital projection. With Mario Barroso, Luis Miguel Cintra, Tania Dinis. In Portuguese, French, English, Greek, and Italian with English subtitles. The tantalizing, decades-long correspondence between influential Portuguese poets Sophia de Mello Breyner and Jorge de Sena forms the basis of this richly sensorial, densely layered cinematic essay. Written between 1959 and 1978 while Sena was in political exile—first in Brazil, then in the US—the letters are a window into an extraordinary friendship, a safe haven in which the two expressed their innermost feelings of isolation, displacement, and longing for connection. Setting their words—related by actors in a multitude of languages—to a mosaic of impressionistic, often startlingly beautiful images, director Rita Azevedo Gomes has created a singular work of profound thought and feeling.
The Illiac Passion SUNDAY, MAY 13, 5:00 P.M. at MoMI Presented by the Consulate General of Greece in New York and the Onassis Foundation USA USA. Dir. Gregory Markopoulos, 1967, 90 mins. 16mm. With Taylor Mead, Andy Warhol, Jack Smith. In English. One of the masters of American avant-garde filmmaking, Gregory Markopoulos had developed a singular, senses-stunning style—marked by lush, color-saturated visuals; psychologically-charged editing; and a concern with the mythopoeic—when he left the US for good, relocated to Europe, and pulled his films from public exhibition. The gradual re-emergence of his work continues with this rare screening of one of his greatest achievements, a contemporary take on Prometheus Bound. It’s a spectacle of passion and creation in which Aeschylus’ text mixes with the music of Bartok and underground luminaries Andy Warhol, Jack Smith, Taylor Mead, Beverly Grant, Gregory Battcock, and Gerard Malanga are cast as the titans of Greek mythology.
The Dreamed Ones SUNDAY, MAY 13, 7:00 P.M. at MoMI Presented by the Austrian Cultural Forum New York Austria. Dir. Ruth Beckermann. 2016, 89 mins. Digital projection. With Anja Plaschg, Laurence Rupp. In German with English subtitles. A passionate, doomed literary love affair is brought to life in this inventive, one-of-a-kind meta-romance. Ingeborg Bachmann and Paul Celan were two giants of postwar German-language poetry whose unlikely affair (he was the son of Jewish Holocaust victims, she the daughter of a Nazi) lasted only months but sparked hundreds of letters exchanged over the course of decades—documents of two brilliant minds working through heady questions of art, postwar guilt, and politics, as well as their own complex feelings for one another. Their soul-baring correspondence is related via two magnetic actors who, in channeling the writers, discover their own spark of attraction—a continuation of a love story that resonates across decades.
Rabot FRIDAY, MAY 18, 7:30 P.M. at MoMI / U.S. premiere Presented by General Delegation of the Government of Flanders to the U.S.A. Belgium. Dir. Christina Vandekerckhove. 2017, 70 mins. Digital projection. In Dutch with English subtitles. With the eye of an artist and the preservationist instincts of a cultural anthropologist, documentarian Christina Vandekerckhove chronicles the last months of life in a dilapidated Ghent high-rise slated for demolition. A 1970s prestige project designed as a utopian solution to low cost housing, the modernist Rabot towers instead became a symbol of urban blight. Capturing intimate moments in the day-to-day lives of a host of the building’s soon-to-be-displaced residents, Vandekerckhove finds both tragedy—poverty, illness, addiction, loneliness—as well as touching scenes of warmth, humor, and humanity. The result is both a striking architectural record of urban decay and a deeply compassionate view of the humanity in its midst.
Maltese Shorts: The Maltese Fighter, Bajtra tax-Xewk (Prickly Pear), Arcadia, Lejliet (Eve) SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2:00 P.M. at MoMI Presented by Arts Council Malta in New York The Maltese Fighter. New York premiere. Malta/Canada. Dir. Arev Manoukian. 2015, 19 mins. With Malcolm Ellul, Nico Fenech. In Maltese with English subtitles. In a time when Malta's political violence was at its peak, Carmelo, a single father and boxer from Valletta, is forced to join a corrupt underworld as he struggles to provide for his only son Giuseppi. Bajtra tax-Xewk (Prickly Pear). U.S. premiere. Malta. Dir. Alex Camilleri. 2016, 12 mins. With Andrew Mallia, Iskander Zul Qarnen. In Maltese and English with English subtitles. Feeling guilty that he told his sister she could eat the prickly pears that were meant for his grandmother’s birthday, a boy embarks on a mission to secure replacement fruit. But finding the fruit during the offseason turns into a quest to right his wrong. Arcadia. New York premiere. Dir. Jamie Vella. 2017, 25 mins. With Malcolm Ellul, Nathan Ellul. In Maltese with English subtitles. Father and son finally achieve their dream of moving out and living in the idyllic Maltese countryside. Yet this dream of peace and simplicity turns into a nightmare as the booming and unforgiving construction industry of the country quickly sets its sights on their land. Lejliet (Eve). U.S. premiere. Malta. Dir. Matthew James Ellul. 2016, 13 mins. With Manuel Cauchi, Jamie Cardona. In Maltese with English subtitles. Gaetano, a sexton at the local parish, is alone on the church rooftop on Christmas Eve. To his surprise he encounters Marco, a teenager from the village who has also sneaked upstairs. Although neither is happy to see the other, a reluctant conversation is struck up between the two. As the interaction turns hostile, the reason for their presence on the rooftop emerges as both men reveal their hidden intentions, unexpectedly finding common ground.
The Steel Mill Caffé SATURDAY, MAY 19, 4:00 P.M. at MoMI / New York premiere Presented by the Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre Croatia. Dir. Goran Devic, 2017, 61 mins. Digital projection. In Croatian with English subtitles. Business is slow at the bus stop bar owned by Erna and Dzevad in the city of Sisak, Croatia, near the entrance to what was once one of the largest ironworks in Eastern Europe. Now, times are hard, the pub sees barely a trickle of customers, and the couple have decided to close down for good. With his unobtrusive, fly-on-the-wall camera, director Goran Devic documents the bar’s last week, eavesdropping on the conversations between the few regulars and the stray passers-by who wander in. The topics they discuss—the scarcity of work, the influx of migrants, the promise of a better life in Germany—offer revealing insight into the state of a country struggling to pull itself out of recession.
Beyond the One SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2:00 P.M. at MoMI / New York premiere Presented by the Italian Cultural Institute Italy/France/Germany. Dir. Anna Marziano. 2017, 53 mins. Digital projection. Italian with English subtitles. Shooting across continents on glowing Super 8 and 16mm, artist filmmaker Anna Marziano offers a poetic, generously human meditation on the many and varied forms love can take. Working from the premise that everyone loves in a unique way, Beyond the One interweaves evocative allusions to literature, music, and cinema with a reflection on our singular/plural condition, illustrated through various ways of sharing and nourishing relationships as well as through situations where love (or the lack thereof) has become a form of pain. What emerges is a far-reaching, gracefully profound essay on the experience of human connection, a conversation recording traces of our intimate relational life and its essential ambiguity. ABOUT THE PRESENTING ORGANIZATIONS: European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) EUNIC is part of a global coalition of national cultural institutes and cultural diplomatic services from the European Union that works in more than 80 cities on all continents. EUNIC New York was founded in 2007 and has 19 full members. The mission of the EUNIC New York is to promote and present the best of European creative and intellectual achievements to New York and U.S. audiences. EUNIC works to create artistic and educational opportunities, strengthen cultural relations, and create effective collaboration between members and cultural institutions. EUNIC partners with eminent American and European organizations to provide programs in the fields of art and culture, language and education, society and academia. EUNIC main objectives are to provide a forum for discussion on issues of common interest, including EU cultural policies and strategies, facilitate sharing of best practices and expertise among its members, act as interlocutor for the local public and private institutions on European cultural issues of common interest, to be an active partner to EU Representation / EU Delegation in the host country and act as facilitators to bid for EU funded projects. More information at http://new-york.eunic-online.eu
Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) The Museum of the Moving Image advances the understanding, enjoyment, and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media. In its stunning facility—acclaimed for both its accessibility and bold design—the Museum presents exhibitions; screenings of significant works; discussion programs featuring actors, directors, craftspeople, and business leaders; and education programs which serve more than 50,000 students each year. The Museum also houses a significant collection of moving-image artifacts. More information at www.movingimage.us
Czech Center New York at The Bohemian National Hall (BNH) The Bohemian National Hall, a recently redesigned, award-winning landmark building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, is a center for Czech culture in New York City. Since it was established in 1896, it has served as a focal point for its community as well as a place for exchange and dialogue with the American audience. More information at www.czechcenter.com
VENUES AND TICKETS Museum of the Moving Image 36-01 35 Avenue (at 37 Street), Astoria, NY 11106. Subway: M, R to Steinway Street or N, W to 36 Avenue or Broadway. Telephone: 718 777 6888 (recorded information). Unless otherwise noted, tickets are $15 ($11 seniors and students / free or discounted for Museum members). Advance tickets are available online at movingimage.us/panoramaeurope2018.
Bohemian National Hall 321 East 73rd Street (between 1st and 2nd Ave), New York, NY 10021. Subway: Q to 72ndStreet, 6 to 68 Street Hunter College or 77 Street. Tickets for Panorama Europe at the Bohemian National Hall are free with RSVP on www.czechcenter.com. |
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