This spring, the Contemporary Art Gallery is pleased to present Previously Viewed, a series of artist-curated film screenings. Inviting artists from CAG’s recent and upcoming programming to present films that have been formative to their thinking and practice in some way, each screening is a one-night-only event centered on a single feature-length work. gabi dao has selected A Useful Ghost (2025). I selected A Useful Ghost in light of Wim Wenders’ self-congratulatory statement at this year’s Berlinale that the film world should “stay out of politics.” Director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke exemplifies how cinema can be fresh, humorous and a very necessary, contemporary political critique in our time of escalating fascism and oppression. Steeped in a lineage of Southeast Asian ghost stories, the film's use of haunting as a form of active remembering that resists erasure resonated with me. Aspirationally rigorous in form and content, Ratchapoom skillfully crafts a story of forbidden ghost-human, cross-class romance, collusion and Thailand’s 2010 Red Shirt massacre. In this film, the real horror isn't the motley cast of possessed household electronics, but a world that forgets violent abuses of government power. -gabi dao Run time: 130 minutes. Registration for this event is encouraged; tickets are free. Secure your seat here. Rush tickets will also be made available the day of the event, starting at 6:45pm. This event will be held in CAG’s B.C. Binning Gallery, which is wheelchair accessible. Additional accessibility information can be found here. This film will be presented with closed captioning.