A Glimpse of Common Territory | Irish Artist's Film Index

A Glimpse of Common Territory

Michelle Deignan


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https://vimeo.com/140353324

Artist's biography

Michelle Deignan

Synopsis

'A Glimpse of Common Territory is set in around the Lift Tower, an incongruous 127 metre cast concrete relic of 20th century industry in Northampton, a historic town in the middle of England. Into this out of sync landscape the film grafts text from a melodramatic sci-fi novel by the little know 19th century author Jane Webb Loudon. These words suggest that territories, complete with borders and landmarks, both shape and reflect the lives of their inhabitants. As this narrative unfurls we are introduced to the spectacle of the tower in the landscape, the uncanny voids of it's interior spaces and ultimately the tower's privileged position as the town's highest viewing platform. It is in one of the highest secluded decks of this tapering tower, that we meet two characters from Jane Webb's novel, The Mummy: A Tale of the Twenty Second Century. They are struggling to deal with an existential crisis brought on by a recent discovery that their own origins, stories and environment are fictitious and possibly beyond their control. A melodramatic discussion ensues which shifts these characters in and out of sync with each other and their surroundings. The characters eventually come to an understanding and the importance of the tower as a dominant strategic site in their visible world is consolidated.' (Sourced from the artist on July 11th 2016)


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Details
Title

A Glimpse of Common Territory

Year

2015

Form

Short

Key phrases

adaptation, historical, melodrama, text, science fiction, romance, displacement, obsolescence

Language

English (eng)

Duration

00:08:00

Original formats

HD Video

Aspect ratio

16:9

Colour

Colour

Sound

Yes

Supported by Kildare County Council Arts Service, the Arts Council of Ireland and Visual Artists Ireland.
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