Posters
trailers
Lost Objects | Three Encounters with the Gaze
I’ve recently finished production with The Magician’s Niece on three short films that offer cinematic explorations into the meaning of emancipation in my work. Each film is set in Ireland at different points in history (C. 1000BC, 1960’s, Present Day) and are inspired by the work of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. Together they seek to offer the viewer an experience of what Lacan called ‘Gaze’. Ever since the work of Laura Mulvey, film theory has been dogged by a fundamental misunderstanding of this concept, a misunderstanding that has effectively eclipsed the true power of the idea. Together, these films aim to give the spectator an experience of the gaze; meaning an encounter with the trauma of desire in the visual field.
Each film begins with, and is inspired by, a line from Lacan’s seminars.
We’re currently creating a documentary that will include all three films, with me reflecting on their themes.
Allone | Death is Not the End
Love is giving something you don't have to someone who doesn't want it ~ Lacan
In pre-Christian Ireland, a young, recently bereaved woman with no one left in the world, travels the land in search of a remedy that can bring her child back to life, only to find a cure not for the child's mortality, but for the grief she can no longer bear.
Jamaica | Everything Except Existence
God has all perfections except one – he doesn't exist ~ Lacan
In 1960s Belfast, a little boy grows intrigued by stories of a far-off land: Jamaica. He dreams of escaping his violent father, becoming a stowaway and working there on a plantation. One stormy night, after a terrible school report and amidst the bickering of his parents, he resolves to run away.
Making Love | Want What You Can’t Have
There’s no question of an individual going to sleep with a woman when he knows he’s to be hanged on the way out ~ Lacan
A playwright with a dark past risks his life in returning to his home city to find out if a woman with whom he once had a passionate and illicit affair ever truly loved him, only to learn that it was only ever the unknowing and distance that kept their desire alive.
A guide to making love | Commentary
We also created an accompanying commentary to Making Love, that explores the philosophical and (pyro)theological architecture of the movie. We are working on a documentary of the same name that will feature the three short films with commentary.
Posters
Experimental Silent Films
I’ve also been involved with The Magician’s Niece in the concept creation and production of two experimental short films originally made for a conceptual album. These shorts are conceptual, surrealist pieces inspired by religious imagery and the psychoanalytic notion of fantasy.
Outopia | A Descent into Heaven
A disturbed young man, full of unfulfilled desire, craves the hopelessness of hell. During rehearsals for a bleak play he becomes fixated with the stage floor and yearns to be engulfed by its black, viscous surface. The floor yields to his will; slowly drawing him into hades. But, once there, he discovers the true horror of the underworld. That it does not end our desire, but fuels it. Heaven is hell.
Extimacy | An ascent into HELL
An impassioned couple struggle to reach their apartment, where they fantasize about having sex. An increasingly surreal series of events conspire to prevent them, only fueling their desire all the more. Eventually they reach their apartment, only to be confronted with their sexual union stripped of its sexual dimension.
Tales from the Lonely Forest
I’m also working with The Magician’s Niece on the development of a series of short animated films loosely based on my Graphic Novel Enduring Love. The series will bring to life various parables from around the world by placing them in the context of the Lonely Forest
Festivals, Features, Awards
Hollyshorts Film Festival, official selection and finalist
Kickstarter Staff Pick
Moscow Shorts (Sept 2020), best experimental film
Northern Ireland Screen completion award
The Arthouse Challenge, jury award
Hollyshorts Screenplay Contest, semifinalist
Dances With Films
Fastnet Film Festival
Kerry International Film Festival
Video Premiere, PopDust
Featured Video of the Week, DittyTV
Vinilonga - Int. Short Film & Music Video Festival
Cine Pobre
DANCINEMA
Video Premiere, Innocent Words
Austin Arthouse Film Festival, The Arthouse Challenge (Horror)
Belfast Film Festival
Dances With Films
Austin Arthouse Film Festival, Gondry award nominee, Jodorowsky award nominee, Aronovsky award nominee
Cinemagic, most promising screenwriter
Geestdrift Festival
Cannes SFC
FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival, semi finalist
Ozark Shorts
FilmFest by Rogue Dancer
Austin Arthouse Film Festival, The Arthouse Challenge (Dystopian Love Stories)