The Revolution is Being Televised

Tune in to, turn on or drop by Future Vision Amsterdam, ‘free space’ of the airwaves. Co-hosted by Fay and alter-ego Mario The Sailor Man, FVA has come up with the goods on SALTO 1 TV week after week since 2014 with nothing more than a bundle of talents and a can-do attitude. Future Vision Amsterdam is an arts show, a game jam, a screening, a magazine programme, it’s a TV party. In its 6 seasons so far, FVA’s timeline chronicles not only the many hairstyles of Fay but a period of intense transformation in Amsterdam’s underground scene.

‘Thanks to SALTO, our family of artists had the opportunity to work in the retro medium of television at a time when opportunities in Amsterdam’s live free spaces were narrowing. We feel privileged. Where else do you see live TV, apart from during sports and disasters?’ says co-presenter and animator Fay, ‘and where else would we have such creative freedom? We asked SALTO ‘Are there any censorship restrictions?’ They said ‘Just don’t do anything illegal’. That gives a lot of scope as we are a late night show. We did run into a problem once by accidentally showing the label of a beer bottle ( the programme is a strictly no-commercial-advertising zone, which is only a plus as far as I’m concerned) but SALTO has never sought to censor our content in spite of the occasional cock and balls. Actually, our show is really positive, fun and entertaining. We like to keep it gay!’

Nevertheless, television is a notoriously voracious beast. ‘It is scary and a lot of work to create so much content. We work as a collective, mining the creativity and ingenuity of our team in Tokyo, Osaka and Amsterdam,’ says Fay. The collective includes Tokyo-based producer/editor/poet/performer Claudio Sanzana. The Warp Zone video game content is hosted by game devs Molly and Erik of the games company Arcane Circus. ‘We’re open to - receive contributions from like-minded makers from many countries. Amsterdam is the draw. Of course, many artists are delighted to have their work broadcast in the coolest city on the planet!’ says Fay.

‘Looking back, I have fond memories of series 1 & 2 even though some of what we did was as ropey as fuck. We were inspired by public access television, especially the way Glenn O’Brien’s TV Party (1978-1982) presented the New York scene of the time. We wanted to do something like that in Amsterdam. It’s endlessly fascinating to see interesting people when they’re not particularly ‘on’’, she adds. This immediacy is also at the heart of the work of the great American photographer Gary Lee Boas, who has taken pictures of every Hollywood and Broadway star you can think of since the 1970s. Gary and his colourful anecdotes are regularly featured on FVA in ‘Gary Lee Boas Shooting Stars’.  Look out for his upcoming Glamour Special in the new season.

Known locally as ‘that show with all the weird people’, FVA punches above its weight in terms of quality content. One of the first interviews was with notable Dutch Artist Theo Jansen, creator of Strandbeesten. The archives also include exclusive interviews with Paul Rudish, creator of Disney’s brilliant recent Mickey Mouse reboot; drag superstar Latrice Royale; and iconic avant-garde bands Acid Mothers Temple, OOIOO and Holland’s own FCKN BSTRDS. Multiple award winning Japanese animated shorts have premiered on the show. The new series of Future Vision Amsterdam will feature the brilliant Dutch animator Paul Driessen, a key creator of The Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. 

You can catch Future Vision Amsterdam shorts throughout the week, and the full shows on Fridays 11pm on SALTO 1 TV. For those who have missed out, search the Future Vision Amsterdam archive at salto.nl or visit chibbychannel.com and futurevisionamsterdam.com for episodes, free games and more.

Photo credits
FVA Superstars Kimono & Chibby Chan - By: Future Vision Amsterdam