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29 Jan – 8 Feb 2026

Stanya Kahn

Stanya KAHN (1968, USA) is an interdisciplinary artist working mainly in film and video. She graduated magna cum laude from San Francisco State University and received an MFA from Bard College. In her hybrid media practice – which includes drawings, sound, writing, performance, sculpture and installation – she blurs the lines between fiction and documentary, often mixing pathos with humour and the uncanny. Kahn has collaborated with many performers, choreographers and other visual artists. She has exhibited worldwide at venues such as Institute for Contemporary Art Los Angeles, MoMA PS1, British Film Institute and ZKM.

Filmography

(selection) Winner (2002, short, co-dir), Let the Good Times Roll (2004, short), Whacker (2005, short, co-dir), Can’t Swallow It, Can’t Spit It Out (2006, short, co-dir), Masters of None (2006, short, co-dir), All Together Now (2008, short, co-dir), Nature Demo (2008, short, co-dir), It’s Cool, I’m Good (2009, short), Sandra (2009, short doc), Kathy (2009, short doc), Happy Song For You (2011, short, co-dir), For the Birds (2013), Don’t Go Back to Sleep (2014), Stand in the Stream (2017, doc), Friends in Low Places (2018, short), No Go Backs (2020, short), So Low You Can’t Get Over It (2021, short)

More info:
Stanya Kahn
Wikipedia, Stanya Kahn

Stanya Kahn at IFFR

  • Winner

    Stanya Kahn, Harry Dodge | 15' | USA | None

    Lois has won a cruise in a radio contest. A videographer needs a quote from her, but Lois has other plans.

  • Stand in the Stream

    Stanya Kahn | 60' | USA | None

    From a birth to an onset of dementia, and from Tahrir Square to Trump’s inauguration; a pertinent ode to people.

  • So Low You Can’t Get Over It

    Stanya Kahn | 4' | USA | International premiere

    The familiar bends into the unknown and the solid breaks into parts. Paintings turned into animated hallucinatory images.

  • No Go Backs

    Stanya Kahn | 34' | USA | None

    Two teenagers venture into the unknown. An allegory for a generation ready to face the world on its own terms.

  • Happy Song for You

    Stanya Kahn, Llyn Foulkes | 5' | USA | None

    “It’s got no theme, it’s got no dream, it’s just a happy song for you.” A dark exploration of the absurd.

  • Friends in Low Places

    Stanya Kahn | 4' | USA | International premiere

    An abstract animation that dissolves borders, celebrates care for others, and encourages solidarity through poetic allegory.

  • For the Birds

    Stanya Kahn | 4' | USA | None

    Two exasperated birds sit on a branch and contemplate their experiences. Their everyday labours are not far removed from ours.