anchor and odyssey

film shaping and completing: happy to say that over the course of may, i managed to shape and complete my film based on the footage i had gathered over lockdown. i thoughts if i gave myself a month to focus on completing this project, then i could submit it to an open call which had seemed to suit this work. i was very excited throughout the process of editing and learned a lot about audio editing, as the film used a layered soundscape on top of the visuals. the layering of multi-narratives really opened my eyes (or ears!) to the possibilities for future works. anyway, i have written a short statement for the piece which best explains it, which i insert below, along with a still from the film. all in a happy creative month.

anchor and odyssey: driven to wander:

Anchor and Odyssey: Driven to Wander is a film about home. It was largely filmed during lockdown (2020-2022) in Sandymount Strand, Dublin – a seashore within 5km from my home and the travel restrictions of that time. Drawn to the infinite distance of its horizon, this strand became a place I regularly returned to, as I grappled with a need for security and adventure. Embracing this dichotomy, the film juxtaposes the repetition of movement and place against the epic tale of adventure in Homer’s Odyssey. Odysseus’ years of wandering and his quest to return home took on new meaning during lockdown’s inability to leave home or travel.  

The film’s form is informed by the structure of The Odyssey – a sequence of 24 one-minute episodes that align with the book’s 24 chapters. In reference to Joyce’s Ulysses, inspired also by The Odyssey, the film’s episodes follow the span of a day, starting at 8am, when Ulysses begins, and ending at 7am the following morning, as lockdown lifts and ‘the feud is ended’. Each of the film’s episodes weave multiple narratives of the personal, political and imaginative – coming in and out of focus using the Greek oral tradition of sound, voice and chorus.