OVER a dozen films made by Scottish artists – including Su Grierson and Kyra Clegg’s five-screen installation, No Place Like; Jason Moyes’ Red Cap Emma Dove and Mark Lyken’s The Terrestrial Sea, Roger Simian and Sarah Jane Swan’s video-art installation Alfonso’s Jaw and multi-media artist Kerry Jones’ End of Film – will premiere at the Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival in the Scottish Borders which begins today, Thursday 14 April, 2016.
Featuring 124 films from 26 countries, the international festival of experimental film and artists’ moving image is run in partnership by Alchemy Film & Arts and Heart of Hawick is this year, marking its sixth edition.
Perthshire and Fife-based artists, Su Grierson and Kyra Clegg, said: “We are delighted to have our work included in this year’s Alchemy Film festival, this time as an installation.
“Alchemy is one of the few events in Scotland that specifically supports artists video, a genre of work that lacks clarity and definition at the moment.
“There needs to be a better understanding of how artists video fits generally into the contemporary arts arena, as well as its relationship to the world of short film, and having this profile at Alchemy is a very important move towards that. It offers us a very specific audience for our work.”
Sarah Jane Swan said: “We love watching as much as we can of the main film programme, which is always beautifully programmed and eclectic, but we can’t think of any other festival which offers a wide selection of cutting-edge artists from around the world the opportunity to create in spaces throughout a town.
“The fact that these are free to view helps bring in many local visitors who are curious about the festival in amongst an international cast of film makers and culture hounds.”
Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival is supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland Open Project Funding.
Rosie Crerar, screen officer at Creative Scotland, said: “Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival is a unique international film festival with experimentation at its core.
“Making a significant contribution to the Scottish artist moving image landscape, Alchemy showcases an international programme of experimental film and artists’ moving image in the Borders town of Hawick.
“The programme features innovative national and international film, alongside community filmmaking initiatives. Creative Scotland is proud to have supported the festival through its evolution and we look forward to the 2016 edition.”
Alchemy runs until Sunday, with this year’s programme including 124 films from 26 countries, 13 Scottish productions, several international feature premieres, experimental shorts, video art, and live cinema performances.
The festival will launch with an Artist’s Filmmaking Symposium with discussion from industry experts including Helen de Witt, head of cinemas at BFI, Steven Bode, director at Film and Video Umbrella, the commissioning agency for artist’s film and Brian Konefsky, artistic director of Experiments in Cinema.
The theme of this year’s festival is Altered State, Alchemy artistic director, Richard Ashrowan explains: “The Altered State is the positing of a set of alternative possibilities, both vivid and subtle, for living, thinking and feeling. We hope the festival might stimulate discussion around these themes, encouraging shifts, transitions in thinking and being.”
Screening Information:
1) Ettrick by Jacques Perconte
Sunday 17 April 4.45-6pm
Main auditorium, Heart of Hawick- Tower Mill
2) Moving Image Makers Collective Screening – seven Scottish films
Sunday 19 April 2.40pm-4.10pm
Main auditorium, Heart of Hawick- Tower Mill
Short film programme:
Red Cap by Jason Moyes
Sunday School by Dorothy Alexander
100 Seconds by Julie Witford
Ripple by Jane Houston Green
Kedem by Narda Azaria Dalgleish
Snow by Patrick Rafferty
End of Film by Kerry Jones
3) Installations
Thursday 14th- Sunday 17th 10am-6pm
The Terrestrial Sea by Mark Lyken and Emma Dove
Alfonso’s Jaw by Sarah Jane Swan and Roger Simian
No Place Like by Kyra Clegg and Su Grierson
Uchronia… Fluffed up in order to be blended by Kerry Jones
4) Screening Room
Screening Room programme
Thursday 14th- Sunday 17th 10am- 6pm
En Coulisse by Ethel Maude
Trickster by Tessa Power
The Hidden Castle by Sean Martin
5) Altered State 2
Short film programme
Saturday 16th 2.45-4.15pm
Koan III by Sean Martin
Notes to editors:
For more information about the full festival programme, visit: http://www.alchemyfilmfestival.org.uk/
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here.
We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland, please visit www.creativescotland.com. Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland
Media contact:
Eilidh Walker
Media relations and PR assistant, Creative Scotland
Email: Eilidh.Walker@creativescotland.com
Direct: 0131 523 0019
Switchboard: 0330 333 2000
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