Dream States — the 18th edition of Artists’ Film International — explores dreaming as both a transformative state and a radical act, challenging perceptions of reality and opening pathways to alternative futures. The programme foregrounds artists who disrupt linear time, blur fact and fiction, and navigate the boundaries between memory, myth and fantasy to reimagine the world anew.
Using an array of visual strategies — from analogue footage and layered archival material to special effects, CGI animation and AI-generated imagery — these works harness moving-image to destabilise dominant perspectives and examine the emancipatory potential of dreams. Through their eclectic visions, utopian and dystopian, intimate and collective, the artists position cinema as the crucible of dream-making and a vehicle for changemaking.
In partnership with Forma, London, who curate Artists’ Film International in collaboration with 16 cultural institutions across four continents, this year’s edition showcases a remarkable cohort of artists, each selected or commissioned by an AFI’25 partner and presented throughout the world.
Selected for AFI’25 by Southwark Park Galleries and Forma is the UK premiere of The Fortress (2024) by Turner Prize and Jarman Award shortlisted artist Sin Wai Kin, presented in Dilston Gallery (Sat – Sun).
The full AFI’25 programme at Lake Gallery is exhibited in two chapters, each approximately 1 hour 30 minutes long:
Chapter 1 // 19 July – 17 August
Chapter 2 // 20 August – 21 September
Artists’ Film international 2025 artists and co-presentation partners:
- Dalia Al Kury — mmag foundation, Amman, Jordan
- Sanja Anđelković — Cultural Centre of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
- Anca Benera & Arnold Estefan — Video-Forum of Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k), Berlin, Germany
- Babu Eshwar Prasad — Project 88, Mumbai, India
- Anette Gellein — Tromsø Kunstforening, Norway
- Abdul Hamid Mandgar — Center for Contemporary Arts Afghanistan in eXiLe e.V., (CCAA in EXiLe), Frankfurt, Germany
- Heesoo Kwon — Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), Los Angeles, USA
- Cocoy Lumbao — Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Manila, Philippines
- Raffaela Naldi Rossano — Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo (GAMeC), Bergamo, Italy
- Isabelle Nouzha — argos centre for audiovisual arts, Brussels, Belgium
- Elinor O’Donovan — Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, Ireland
- Ahmet Rüstem Ekici & Hakan Sorar — Istanbul Modern, Türkiye
- Sin Wai Kin — Forma and Southwark Park Galleries, both London
- Kialy Tihngang — Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland
- Mykolas Valantinas — Sapieha Palace, branch of the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC), Vilnius, Lithuania
- Melisa Zulberti — Fundación Proa, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The exhibition is generously supported by Arts Council England, The Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation and the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom.
With thanks to Forma, Gathering, Mountview, Old Diorama Arts Centre and Matt’s Gallery, all London.
Launch Gallery
