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Beth Brideau
Robert Kelly
Trine Lise Nedreaas
Danny Rolph
Works
Statement
Working with members of the public, often unknown but extraordinary and ambitious individuals, I focus on their talents and aspirations, and on their often unachieved desires and distant life goals. I advertise for people to film, or track down those I have heard of. I see myself as more of an active director than a passive documentary-maker in my approach, making people perform their speciality in very particular settings and ways.
I work mainly in Video because most of my ideas come as moving images. Working digitally using post-production techniques allows me to easily manipulate the footage, working and reworking it until it feels as much made as filmed. This solid, palpable, sculptural quality adds a fictional element to the films which have a predominantly documentary feel. I usually work on several pieces concurrently as the organisational and ruminatory period of each film can be a long one. As a result, different themes that develop in new works cross-pollinate with unfinished works.
I am interested in people's reason for being and the drive to carry on and get out of bed every morning. I admire the enthusiasts, the people who try again and again, often banging their head against the wall; the different outlets people have for creating meaning, be it sausage eating, weight lifting, singing or acting as corpses. I sympathize with stuttering, stumbling and singing out of tune and I am fascinated by the weird and the beautiful, the vast and strange variety of human endeavours.
I often use humour to strengthen a sense of unease and lack of fulfilment, and I question what roles we present to each other, what we want to achieve in life, whether it matters what we leave behind or what we are remembered for. By focusing on the specific and the intimate, I try to illuminate the large and the universal.
I make films that portray individuals, often alone, sometimes determined and driven, but always trying.