DESPERATE OPTIMISTS
CATALOGUE by Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy (28:01 2003)
Catalogue acts like an alternative A-Z of London . An alphabetical trawl through a swathe of provocatively monikered London streets, from Axe to Zion Roads via Eureka Street and Rotten Row. A single mobile, silent POV shot down each of the predominantly non-descript suburban streets is accompanied by subtitled fragments of story, notes from live of mundane desperation, emotional cul-de-sacs or characters on the cusp of change. Filmed throughout 26 London locations, Catalogue extends Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor's (desperate optimists) interest in urban spaces and the relationships people have to such spaces through emotions, memory, dreams and social situations.
Website: www.desperateoptimists.com/catalogue
WHO KILLED BROWN OWL by Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy ( 9:25 2004)
Cast: 100 volunteer residents of the London Borough of Enfield.
'Who Killed Brown Owl' was commissioned by Enfield Council.
Burnt sunbathers, beer-drinking kids, an abandoned baby, a rabbit in a boat, a bicycle accident. In 'Who Killed Brown Owl', the perfect English arcadia gives way to varying kinds of misfortune, disruption and violence. Finally, the unveiling of the mystery which gives the film its title - the fresh corpse of the 'brownie' leader, surrounded by her strangely subdued charges, one of whom has the grimly satisfied expression of a murderer, another who glances momentarily at the lens - a second killer, momentarily destroying the illusion that the camera is invisible.
With more than a passing reference to the 'narrative' paintings by masters such as Bruegel, this single take 10-minute short captures that lazy summer feeling down by the village green.
Previously screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, 2004 (Best UK short film) and selected for the forthcoming Rotterdam Film Festival.
Website: www.desperateoptimists.com/civiclife
REVOLUTION by Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy ( 9:59 2004)
'Revolution' represents the third instalment in the Civic Life series by Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor. A continuous 10min take which tracks over a fund raising event for books for a library. All appears calm at first but then as if out of no where all goes bad. Humourous and chaotic, this 35mm spectacular film blurs the boundary of short film and artists film.
Website: www.desperateoptimists.com/civiclife
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