So far

2009 has so far been very good to me in terms of productivity.

Firtsly, in January Bloodaxe Books' Alternative Anthem by John Agard came out with a DVD of a couple of his live performances which I had put together. It was a good accompaniment to the book because John is an amazing performer and it really gives an insight to his work to see him perform it. I enjoyed working on that very much.

Secondly, Life is IMMENSE visiting Samuel Menashe is a 66 mins DVD accompanying his book with Bloodaxe Books coming out in June. That film was a great challenge to make. From hours of incredible footage shot at his apartment in Manhattan last year I had to do what a sculptor does and that is chip away at the stone rather than add. It was very hard to select the material because everything was good. Samuel is great! In the end I feel quite good about the film and I think it does Samuel justice. It will be shown at Ledbury Poetry festival in July 2009. That is a wonderful full circle because that is where I met Samuel last year.

Thirdly, the next film is Borderline, a work in process, being shown in late June at a symposium on Northernness at Northumbria University organised by Ysanne Holt. I have been responding to Tarset where I live since I moved here and few years ago. Filming things that interest me and occur to me as very specific to here.
There are extremes I am trying to capture: Silence and Noise, Vastness and Claustrophobia, Beauty and Bleakness, Stillness and Busyness, Birth and Death...
It is an ongoing project and I can imagine that it will always be in process as I continue to respond to my surroundings in Tarset.

That is the first half of this year!