Tenant, 2012
Grace Schwindt
78 minutes, HD, 16:9

Grace Schwindt’s new long-form film takes as a starting point an interview conducted with her grandparents during which they discussed the story of a woman who rented a room in their house at the time of the Second World War, and who turned out to be a friend of Vladimir Lenin. The woman had told Schwindt’s grandparents that she helped Lenin, who was then exiled in Switzerland, travel from Zurich to Petrograd in the infamous ‘sealed train’ during the February Revolution of 1917.

Set in a family house, Tenant consists of a series of carefully choreographed movement studies involving 16 performers (including the artist) dressed in costumes that will disrupt and challenge their movement. The film will take as its central themes storytelling and different modes of interpretation. Tightly scripted and choreographed, the performers will interpret in movement and speech the story told by her grandparents. With small movements and gestures Schwindt and her performers will emphasise the relationship between the body, the specific materials of the specially designed costumes, and the architecture within which all the action takes place.

Grace Schwindt (born Germany, 1979) has exhibited her work internationally in film festivals and galleries, including recent projects at the ICA, London (2010), Oberhausen Film Festival (2010), White Columns, New York (2010), Photographers’ Gallery, London (2009), the 2nd Athens Biennale (2009) and EAST International, Norwich (2009). In 2009 she took part in the Associate Artist programme at LUX, London.


Tenant was commissioned by FLAMIN Productions and co-produced by City Projects with support from Collective.