The idea for the film originated from the eight objects that were traditionally given in England to welcome a new child into the world; Egg, Coal, Evergreen, Salt, Candle, Bread, Coin and Silver Ring. Each symbolic gift has been the theme of a public event, created by artist Clare Whistler, in collaboration with leading artists, musicians, poets and documented from 2005-2015 by established filmmakers.
'Gifts' is an interpretation of the eight events, directed by Nichola Bruce. The film brings together English traditions of ritual and landscape.
Financed by the gift economy movement and Arts Council England.
Pale Shadows is told through the eyes of a young storyteller. She reveals the story of Bradamante who travels to a magical island to reclaim her lost lover Ruggeiro from the enchantress Alcina. This is a rich visionary approach to Handel’s opera Alcina, which explores the intrigue and turmoil of love.
Axis of Light, is a poignant observation, through the work of eight leading artists;
Rachid Koraichi, Jananne al-Ani, Etel Adnan, Shirin Neshat, Youssef Nabil, MonaHatoum, Mona Saudi and Ayman Baalbaki to the beauty and mystery of the Middle East which is often ignored, especially today where strife, anger and violence demand centre stage in our media…where stereotypes and prejudices distort our view of this region. Through their eyes, the film moves between their worlds…between the worlds of both the East and the West and the past and present…exploring the meaning of their existence, identity, conflicts of sexuality the isolation of woman and the fragility of home and place. The history they have and the future they can lead us towards. It is a story of hope, but one that recognises the power of expression often against the odds.
Bitten by the Moonbug, photographer Steve Pyke sets out on a journey across America in his search to meet and photograph the Apollo space pioneers. A journey in which he was to meet the adventurers, risk takers and dreamers who were behind one of the most historic endeavours of our time.
From living rooms, and moonscape deserts, to Cape Canaveral, Steve captures these men in frank, revealing portraits, while unravelling their very personal and divergent memories. With rare archive footage and an original score by Matt Johnson (The The), Moonbug is both a photographic road trip and an exploration of how photographs become signposts for history.
I Could Read the Sky a film about music, madness memory, love and loss, a haunting story of immigration.
I Could Read the Sky is adapted from the photographic novel of the same name which has been recently published to rave reviews and explores the sense of identity, loss and exile. It is the moving story of an old man living in a bedsit in London, remembering his life, growing up on the West coast of Ireland and his journey to London.
The film unravels the strange twisting drama of a working man's life. It moves from a decaying rural past to a vividly modern present, driven by a dynamic music soundtrack that draws from both, and a simple flowing lyrical story telling. It is the state of memory that the film evokes, not memory as re-enactment but as texture. The film gets to the essence of how we remember. Memory as fragments, as details and layers, memory that comes at you out of the dark. From behind closed eyes, with its abstractions of light and form and sudden moments of precise clarity, taking us on an inward, visually extraordinary labyrinthine journey to the film's end.
The film stars the acclaimed Irish writer Dermot Healy and includes cameos from actors Maria Doyle Kennedy, Brendan Coyle and Stephen Rea, writer Pat McCabe (Butcher Boy) and the author Timothy O'Grady and photographer Steve Pyke.
