Event Details
Thu, November 13, 2025
15:00 – 16:30
VILLA LA PIETRA
Villa La Pietra
Via Bolognese, 120
50139 Florence, Italy
On the occasion of the Italian premiere of L’Arbre de l’Authenticité by Sammy Baloji (Belgium, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2025, 89’) at the 18th edition of Lo schermo dell’arte, artist and filmmaker Sammy Baloji will be in conversation with Rossella Catanese, professor at NYU Florence. Introductions by Silvia Lucchesi, Director Lo Schermo dell’Arte, Cinema and Contemporary Art Festival.The film will be screened on November 12, 9 PM, at Cinema La Compagnia. Set on the banks of the Congo River, in a now-abandoned tropical agriculture research center, L’Arbre de l’Authenticité — Baloji’s debut feature — investigates the ecological and human scars left by Belgian colonization. Through personal testimonies and scientific analysis, the film reflects on the enduring impact of colonialism and invites us to reconsider our relationship with the planet beyond an anthropocentric perspective on climate change.
Featured Biographies
Sammy Baloji
ARTIST AND PHOTOGRAPHER
Sammy Baloji (Democratic Republic of Congo 1978, lives and works between Lubumbashi and Brussels) is an artist and photographer. In 2008, he co-founded the Rencontres Picha / Lubumbashi Biennale. His recent solo exhibitions have been held at EMΣT – National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (2025); Palazzo Pitti, Florence (2022); Palais des Beaux-Arts, Paris (2021); Lund Konsthall and Aarhus Kunsthal (2020); Le Point du Jour, Cherbourg (2019); and Framer Framed, Amsterdam (2018). He has participated in numerous international exhibitions, including the São Paulo Biennale (2023); the Venice Biennale (2023, 2015); the Sharjah Biennale (2023); the Sydney Biennale (2020); Documenta 14, Kassel/Athens (2017); the Lyon Biennale (2015); and the Photoquai Festival, Musée du Quai Branly, Paris (2015).