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Tuesday, May 16, 2006
The Teenland screening was last Thursday at Broadway and all went well. Response to the film was really good - people seemed to have a lot to talk about which was gratifying. Much of the feedback was that the film slowly revealed full portraits which was one of my main intentions - there were even tears.
My overall feeling of the evening was of being completely overwhelmed. That may well sound overly dramatic and a bit mini-diva behaviour for a small screening (just under 100 people) but it was the first time the film has been seen by anyone, bar those involved and a few other people. I'm not used to showing in a cinema - at a gallery opening or private view you are aware that your work is being looked at but I never feel a specific focus, it always feel much more like a social gathering - with a screening there is no getting away from the fact that the room of people are all watching your work simultaneously. It may take a little getting used to I I'm going to pursue film-making.
I did a short intro and was glad to be able to publicly thank the crew and participants. Immy was their with her friends and family entourage and I would have loved to get their take on it but didn't see them after. Since the photo has been in the Broadway brochure I've been asked if the girls in the film were chosen as they look a bit like me. I'm not sure really - I picked the best people for the film - the most interesting and the most articulate or with that on screen unquantifiable factor (what Simon Cowell calls X factor).
I think there always is a wee bit of narcissism in any film making. I wanted to make a film about teenagers as my own adolescence was pretty turbulent. Throughout my teens my bedroom evolved to reflect what was happening in my life at the time providing a haven, venue and canvas to grow-up out of. There's a recurring theme of illness in the film with 3 of the subjects talking about periods of illness in their lives with Vikki telling the most extreme story (being bedbound with M.E. for 5 years). When I was 13 I was ill and off school for about a year. I think, looking back, that at the time I couldn't cope with the hormonal explosion I experienced with the onset of adolescence. I needed to 'hibernate' and gather my thoughts for a while as I think many other teenagers do. All of the people who ended up in the film appealed to me as they reflected some of the things I'd gone through in my life.
Up North - generic house on my street
One of the things adding to the emotional overload was that my Mum couldn't be at the screening as she was in hospital having had breast reconstruction surgery the day before - she had breast cancer last year. My Dad and brother came for the evening and it was all very emotionally charged. I went home the week before to see her and do a bit more filming; I've been filming her on and off throughout her recovery.
A visit home was accompanied by the traditional trip to the Sportsmans with my old friends from school and art college. Consequently I had one of the worst hangovers of my life, just right for a meeting at MIMA.
I'm not too old for this yet but it certainly hurts a lot more than it used to in my twenties.
Phillip Henderson Divination:Balls
Went to Sideshow event Divination:Balls by Phillip Henderson at Bromley House Library, Nottingham. The brochure blurb (which I got to know intimately when I designed the brochure) states: "Mr. Henderson will release 360 table tennis balls down a spiral staircase in an awful cascading cacophony of ticking and clicking. Billions of tiny rapid explosions promise to enchant and delight."
I dragged Sheil and Betsy along as I'd met Phil at the opening of the British Art Show and he seemed like a lovely fellow. The venue is a private subscription library and is a bit of a hidden gem. The rooms are suitably atmospheric and there is a feeling very much of another world with idiosyncratic filing systems and lace ledgers in a hand written book for overdue books. The start of the event was delayed while the librarian took all visitors on a tour of the building. Normally I would have welcomed this but with a restless 2 year old in tow it was becoming more difficult to prevent Betsy from running riot among the antiques while we waiting for things to start. Finally after nearly 30 mins, Phillip climbed the staircase and the anticipation in the gathered crowd was palpable. We were all asked to remain quiet during the event and we waited. Phillip then opened his small suitcase and let 360 balls crash down the stairs. It was over so quickly I didn't get a shot and the noise was broken by a pensioner saying loudly "is that it" and Betsy shouting "Balls, Balls, Balls, Balls, Balls". It pretty much summed it up - Sheil muttered something about it being Betsy's review and we trailed out to view the lovely gardens. I really wanted to like it as he was such a nice man. Maybe if he'd had about 10,000 balls it would have been really impressive - like the Peugeot advert out at the moment and I imagine that the photos of the split frame will look amazing but as a live event I wasn't quite sure why we needed to be there.
Bromley House Library
posted by Jeanie Tuesday, May 16, 2006
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