Laurence McManus - ESSAY FILMS

UP THE WALL

5 mins, 2022 Dir. Laurence McManus
Poland
Poetry
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Writers: Laurence McManus & Joshua Perrett
Director of Photography: Judyta Potocka
Voice Played by: Joyce Greenaway
'Moje Serce' by: Mateusz Pałka

"I've got a house full of your fucking balloons and you're driving me up the wall!"

A brief interlude of one-sided conversation between a daughter and her unwell, unheard mother.

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SPINNING FRAME

13 mins, 2019 Dir. Laurence McManus
United Kingdom & Poland
Essay
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Director of Photography: Judyta Potocka
Feedback Looping: Charlie Ditcham
Producer: Jessica Benson

"Morbid and alluring are our fantasies, those which promise absolution from the functioning of reality."

Classical street photography punctuated by moments of escape which expand upon personal stories about desire and the unconscious. A collage of candid, monochrome street filming caught in London (England), Kraków (Poland) and Polańczyk (Poland), paired with colourful off-kilter vignettes. Charlie Ditcham's innovative feedback looping visualises the first sea-bound descent. The latter two are formed with macro space-age abstraction and theatrical, looming bees respectively. The film was screened as an event at Aviation House, London in March of 2019.

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BRUTALISM: a hope dashed

12 mins, 2018 Dir. Laurence McManus
United Kingdom
Documentary
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Director of Photography: Charlie Ditcham
Producer: Jessica Benson

"These were experiments in living. They were always about the social relations within them.
They were about families. They were intended to be great places to grow up in."

Exploring the neglected and crumbling world of British Brutalist architecture. Featuring words from former President of the Royal Institute of British Architects Owen Luder, Brutalist Photographer Jo Underhill and Architectural Academic Steve Pile.