Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Film festival to showcase life in isolation
A DUNDEE filmmaker has unveiled plans for an isolation film festival which will showcase the work of local creatives amid lockdown.
With coronavirus forcing the closure of cinemas and galleries, Chris Gerrard took the decision to set up his own two-hour live stream of videos collected from different filmmakers and artists from around the city.
The 27-year-old, who has just completed his PhD at the University of Dundee, said he wanted to create a space where artists could collaborate and feel connected during the pandemic.
He said: “I had just finished a PhD and what I wanted to do for the final film was have a screening but because of lockdown I wasn’t able to do that.
“Because of my background, I knew a lot of people who were in a very similar situation where they wanted to have screenings or put something into a gallery and then it’s been unable to go ahead.
“Everyone is finding ways to get their work out there, whether that’s through Instagram or Youtube, but it’s all very spread out. I thought it would be good to have a place where everyone could stick all their work together and people could find stuff easily enough.
“I thought it was a good way to collect all the work that’s being made now, or was perhaps made a few months ago with plans to screen it and then this happened.”
The live stream will start tonight at 7pm and will run for two hours.
It will include about 21 submissions, feature a wide variety of genres and offer viewers the opportunity to have a live chat with some of the filmmakers.
Chris, who lives in the city centre, said: “There are a couple of music videos, a couple more serious drama pieces, some lighthearted ones and some from the art college that are more visual pieces. When you have a cinema screening or a gallery show, I think a lot of what people get out of it is discussing the work and so, alongside the video, I am going to have a discussion panel. I know that a number of the filmmakers will be taking part and afterwards people will be able to ask them questions.
“I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a video that people could watch and it was more interactive, like you were going to be there in person.
“It’s annoying not to be able to have a public screening for some of the work because I’ve always found that to be the most rewarding part of making something – hearing what other people think about your work.”
One budding filmmaker, George Devlin, will see his short film exhibited as part of Dundee Isolation Film Festival.
The 28-year-old, who lives in the Hilltown, submitted a harrowing piece about alcohol addiction. He said: “Living in Dundee, I’ve observed this my whole life and I’ve been that person and come out the other side too.
“Every time I walk past someone who is struggling with addiction, I’m always left with the idea of ‘how does someone make the decisions that get them to that point in life?’
“I’m fascinated by the fact there’s a lot of people out there who have these thought provoking stories to be told and I really want to tell their stories. The video focuses on addiction and how people, when they go through pain and suffering, use it as a form of escapism. It doesn’t fix anything though and, ultimately, ends up causing more pain for themselves and their loved ones.”