Naeem Mohaiemen and Vincent Meessen in Conversation

During the program, Meessen and Mohaiemen will delve into the memories of revolution that animate their innovative filmmaking. Mohaiemen’s new three-channel film Through a Mirror, Darkly—co-commissioned by the Wex, in partnership with Artangel and Film Video Umbrella and on view here this spring as part of his exhibition Corinthians—revisits the charged political landscape of 1970s America. A Missing Can of Film, which he completed in 2025 and is screening here on March 24, explores disputed history in Bangladesh. Meessen’s Just a Movement (2021), is a dynamic reinterpretation of Jean-Luc Godard’s La Chinoise (1967), which screens at the Wex on March 5 and 11. Meessen’s experimental documentary, screening here on March 25 and 28, tells the story of African philosophy student and anti-colonialist activist and organizer Omar Blondin Diop, who appeared in Godard’s classic. 

Together, Meessen’s and Mohaiemen's films probe urgent themes around the crucial role of strong, unified, self-aware students who decide—sometimes at great personal risk—to fight for social justice and an end to all wars.

This year’s Director's Dialogue is moderated by Ohio State Associate Professor of English Pranav Jani, who focuses on postcolonial and ethnic studies. The directors will be joined by an Ohio State student who will reflect on depictions of the past in their heightened present.

IMAGE CAPTION
Naeem Mohaiemen, Through a Mirror, Darkly, 2025, at Albany House, London. © Naeem Mohaiemen. Courtesy of Artangel. Photograph: Thierry Bal for Artangel.