Watch back the video documentation of Solveig Qu Suess – Holding Rivers, Becoming Mountains, which was part of Sonic Acts 2024 Biennial.

Filmmaker and researcher Solveig Qu Suess traces how water, infrastructure, and documentary film intertwine. Her lecture follows the flood pulse of Southeast Asia’s main river – the Mekong – since the 1990s. Construction of hydroelectric dams has caused drastic changes, reconfiguring downstream landscapes to accommodate for the expansion of plantations. Instead of being governed by the seasons, Suess tells us that the river’s rhythms are now dictated by the energetic demands of distant cities. Along the banks of the Mekong, protagonists navigate a rogue river. A man measures the water every morning to monitor opaque activities from faraway dams, while a boat captain leaks information to environmental activists, and cascading rapids grow into mountains, creating both a border frontier and a new home. The lecture is followed by a Q&A session with Professor Alice Twemlow and audience members. → Explore more of the Sonic Acts Biennial 2024 programme at https://2024.sonicacts.com CREDITS Production: Sonic Acts Camera: Engage! TV Intro sound: Jessica Ekomane Intro design: Knoth & Renner with Anja Kaiser Realised by Paradiso & Sonic Acts as part of New Perspectives for Action. A project by Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the European Union.