The King Kong: Between Cinephilia and Activism

From 1974 to 1982, cultural centre King Kong was a vibrant space in Antwerp where film, debate, and activism came together. In addition to offering a broad spectrum of film classics and contemporary auteur cinema, King Kong also served as a platform for socially critical documentaries, feminist films, queer cinema, and revolutionary Third Cinema.

The programme was curated by the organisation De Andere Film (DAF), which focused on films outside the commercial circuit, often accompanied by introductions and debates that explored both current events and the ideological undercurrents of the films.

This archive presentation, a collaboration between M HKA and the University of Antwerp (Master of Theatre and Film Studies), focuses on the unique role King Kong played in Antwerp’s cultural landscape. As part of the course Research Seminar in Film History, students reconstruct the history of King Kong’s film activities based on the rich DAF archive, which was donated to M HKA in 2023.

This archive, which includes an extensive collection of film posters, offers new insights into the workings of the film house and highlights its societal influence.

This archive presentation was curated by:
Maurits Callewaert, Luna Cortes Osorio, Yana De Gryse, Nora El Sayed, Noortje De Meyere, Willem Luyten, Hannah Matthys, Marie-Julie Van de Sijpe, Amélie Vanhaecht, and Marie Wens (students MA in Theatre and Film Studies, University of Antwerp), under the supervision of Dr. Liesje Baltussen and Prof. Dr. Steven Jacobs.

Programme at De Cinema

To accompany this archive presentation, De Cinema, the film division of M HKA, is organising a screening series that revives the spirit of King Kong. In doing so, a new generation will have the opportunity to discover these films in the context in which they were originally intended: as part of a lively cultural and societal debate.