Wednesday, April 7, 2021, 7 pm ET
Free or suggested donation
Click here to register
Access information: The film is available with Spanish subtitles. The Q&A will take place over a shared doc on pad.riseup . If you encounter any issues, please send us a text message at 716-427-4125.

Adam Khalil & Bayley Sweitzer, EMPTY METAL, 83 minutes, 2018.

An unsettling and cutting political thriller, EMPTY METAL features an apathetic punk band who are ensnared to commit a series of assassinations by an Indigenous family whose mother communicates telepathically with her meditation companions, a Rastafarian hacker, and a Buddhist whose son is a member of a secret militia. These disparate actors are united by rage, boiled in the history of the United States, and finding itself at a point of no return in our contemporary moment. Inspired by Lizzie Borden’s classic Born in Flames (1983), Adam Khalil and Bayley Sweitzer’s film has been widely acclaimed since its debut in 2018. It is an essential portrait of current day American violence and politics, and posits its inevitable consequences.

The artists will be present for a post-screening Q&A on April 7. Audiences will be able to leave reactions, comments, and questions through a shared Google Doc. Instructions for how to view and participate in the event will be communicated via email. The event will be available to register and view for 24 hours. SW members will have access to the event for 72 hours.

EMPTY METAL is co-presented with the PLASMA series at the University at Buffalo’s Department of Media Study. Adam Khalil will be presenting an artist talk on Monday, March 15. Click here to see more information about their artist talk.

“Filled with energy, rage, and the smallest measure of hope, Empty Metal is a new kind of political film for these extraordinary times” -Film Society Lincoln Center

Bios of the artists

Bayley Sweitzer is a filmmaker based in Brooklyn. His practice revolves around a dynamic, high-mobility engagement with the margins, as well as taking an earnest look at the chronomorphic qualities of narrative, specifically the camera’s ability to consolidate dimensions. His work has been shown at Film Society Lincoln Center, Anthology Film Archives, Pacific Film Archive, Motel Gallery (Brooklyn), Other Cinema (San Francisco) and MIIT House (Osaka). Bayley works professionally as a camera assistant and is a member of the International Cinematographers Guild, IATSE Local 600.

Adam Khalil is a filmmaker and artist. His practice attempts to subvert traditional forms of ethnography through humor, relation, and transgression. Adam’s work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, Sundance Film Festival, Walker Arts Center, Spektrum (Berlin), Trailer Gallery (Sweden), Carnival of eCreativity (Bombay). Khalil is a 2017 Sundance Art of Nonfiction grantee, 2017 Sundance Institute Indigenous Film Opportunity Fellow, UnionDocs Collaborative Fellow and Gates Millennium Scholar.

The PLASMA speaker series brings cutting-edge guests to UB to discuss innovations in media art and culture shaping the new millennium communication world. PLASMA 2021 is sponsored by the University at Buffalo’s Department of Media Study and funding is provided by the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The series is curated by Dr. Paige Sarlin, Assistant Professor of Media Study, in collaboration with Liz Park – UB Art Galleries and Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center. PLASMA 2021 is curated by Paige Sarlin.