The Republics
Synopsis
A b&w 16mm artists' essay film, drawn from the book ‘Republic Of Dogs / Republic Of Birds' by the poet Stephen Watts, exploring landscape, history, memory and the power of words to celebrate and resist.
“For four decades, poet, translator and activist Stephen Watts has been the quietly urgent, profoundly committed voice of the marginalised and the overlooked, whether person or place. He understands that the true ethical centre that matters lies at the edge, whether in the pull of outpost islands or the common ground of migrant streets. Now he has found his collaborative equal in the engaged 16mm filmmaker Huw Wahl, who has translated the text of Watt’s book-length prose poem Republic Of Dogs / Republic Of Birds into a luminous feature-length documentary essay of remarkable beauty and spirited attention. THE REPUBLICS moves from the early 1980s to the present, and from London’s Isle of Dogs and Scotland’s Western Isles to the mountains of Northern Italy. It is one of the most impressive artists’ films of recent years, whose own poetry speaks as honestly and eloquently as that of the writer it portrays.” (Gareth Evans, Moving Image Curator, Whitechapel Gallery)
http://therepublicsfilm.com
Details
- Year
- 2020
- Type of film
- Features
- Running Time
- 83 min
- Format
- 16mm
- Director
- Huw Wahl
- Producer
- Huw Wahl
- Editor
- Huw Wahl
- Screenwriter
- Stephen Watts (original prose poem)
- Director of Photography
- Huw Wahl
- Sound
- Simon Connor; Sound Assistant: Giorgio Carlino
- Supported using public funding by
- Arts Council England
Genre
Production status
Complete
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Last updated 7th December 2019
