More than two decades after its original creation, Short Theatre and NERO Editions present the recently restored and remastered video installation they shoot horses, one of Phil Collins’ most widely acclaimed and politically resonant works.
Referencing the 1935 novel They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, which tells the story of gruelling dance competitions as a form of entertainment in the Great Depression, they shoot horses was a disco dance marathon Collins organised in 2004 with a group of young people in Ramallah, Palestine, during the Second Intifada. Filmed continuously over the course of eight hours, the dancers move through unfolding emotional and physical states – elation, joy, fatigue, exhaustion, and endurance – set to a soundtrack of pop, rock and dance hits from the 1960s onwards.
Today, as genocide is live-streamed before the world’s eyes, the trajectory between the pain of others and its instant global consumption has collapsed – from the utter annihilation of entire lifeworlds in Gaza direct to our smartphones in a matter of seconds. In the militarised capitalist imagination Palestinians are cast as predestined for violence, suffering and obliteration, treated not as lives to be saved but as losses already calculated. They, in the words of poet Hala Alyan, ‘disappear into “hordes”, “masses”, numbers so high it becomes impossible to imagine their nicknames or favourite songs.’ Against such dehumanisation of Palestinian life, the dancers in they shoot horses assert their presence with visceral immediacy. They appear at once as any group of young people on a night out and as distinct individuals, demanding that we see them as fully human in a moment when so much else is being stripped away.
Speaking to both the hardships and the resilience of living under the decades-long illegal occupation by the state of Israel, they shoot horses centres dancing as an act of resistance in the face of daily atrocities, and as a fragile yet inextinguishable anticipation of liberation to come.
* Entrance to the installation is free, but following the artist’s recommendation, we have launched a fundraising campaign in support of Gazzella Onlus, a non-profit organisation that provides care, assistance, and rehabilitation for Palestinian children injured by war weapons, primarily in the Gaza area.
We suggest a donation between €10 and €20, but any additional contribution will be warmly welcomed. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
It will also be possible to donate in cash directly at the Mattatoio in Rome during the festival, from 5 to 12 September 2025.
Phil Collins is a visual artist, filmmaker, community organiser, and educator who lives in Berlin and Wuppertal. He is internationally recognised for a socially engaged practice which addresses the intersections of art, politics and popular culture. Taking different forms – from films, photography and installation, to performative situations and live events – his work brings to the fore aspects of everyday experience and voices that have often been disregarded or suppressed. Across geographies, ethnicities, languages, genders, sexualities, and social classes, Collins’ approach is guided by an ethos of connection and solidarity in the ongoing struggle for social justice and collective liberation.
courtesy Shady Lane Productions, Berlino
co-curated by NERO Editions
with Amal, Hussein, Maher, Mohammad, Noora, Sarah, Tamer, Yasmin, Ziad
filmed, produced and directed by Phil Collins
remastered in Berlino, 2024
producer Siniša Mitrović
sound mix Jochen Jezussek
restoration and re-edit Stefan Gohlke, Karla Maria Davis
color grading Stefan Engelkamp
postproduction facility Concept AV
remastering of they shoot horses has been made possible through support from BAK – basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht
special thanks Jack Persekian, Issa Freij, Iman Hammouri, David Codling, Al Ma’mal Foundation for Contemporary Art (Gerusalemme Est), Popular Art Centre (Ramallah), Orlando Maaike Gouwenberg, Maria Hlavajova e Ringo
for the staging at Short Theatre 2025, thanks to: L38Squat
ph. Erika Z. Figabombarner