Manchester Cornerhouse is constantly pushing the boundaries of art form and its latest film project, with a picture showcasing at the world famous Cannes Film Festival, is no exception.
Swandown, billed as a ‘poetic film diary’, was part of a selection for the french Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema (ACID) section at the star-studded affair.
The film depicts its director Andrew Kӧtting and writer Iain Sinclair bizarrely travelling from Hastings to Hackney in a swan-shaped pedalo.
Despite the production essentially rubbing shoulders with the biggest names in the industry, Cornerhouse’s Director of Programme and Engagement, Sarah Perks, was in no way overwhelmed.
She said: “We feel so confident that the work that we do – whether we’re
producing it or backing it – almost deserves to be in Cannes.
“We put a bit of money into the film, so it’s great that it’s a part of it.”
Swandown is an odyssey-like journey, labelled so by Sarah due to the way in which Kӧtting and Sinclair meet and interact with various people on their travels.
It is a product of Cornerhouse Artist Film, an innovative mix of all aspects of film making that expands far outside the mere notion of cameraand actor.
The venture combines not just production, but the film’s journey to the screen via distribution techniques and exhibitors.
“It worked particularly well last year – we decided to release Swandown the week before the Olympics which got us headlines,” said Sarah.
“That was the week the Batman film came out, and the Financial Times had a great opener to their film review section.
“It was something like, ‘don’t bother with the bat, we have this lovely British film you can go and see instead.’”
For Kӧtting, from Hastings, and Sinclair, from Hackney, Sarah said they wished to journey through all aspects of London’s development – wild sea, quaint countryside and industrialisation.
She added: “The sky’s the limit. The minimum we hope for is that a lot of people see it the UK and Ireland and then at festivals around the world,and on DVD, maybe television.”
Swandown was not the project’s first creation – it was conceived in 2011 with a release by Turner Prize-winning artist Gillian Wearing, entitled Self Made.
Sarah is upbeat about the potential of Cornerhouse Artist Film and pleased with its initial progress.
She said: “It’s nice that these films have a good life as the process takes a good few years.”
After the exhilaration of Cannes, the project will focus its efforts on the success of Rough Cut – a fly-on-the-wall documentary behind the scenes of a fictitious film, due for release later this year.
Although Cornerhouse Artist Film is aiming to provide intellectually stimulating productions, Sarah believes they will not be inaccessible or confusing for an audience.
Sarah said: “I think it’s great that people who wouldn’t have had the opportunity because it was so expensive can now make something really interesting.
“Out of that does come a quality issue, and sometimes you may get more films where the quality may not be as good.”
However, the abolition of the UK Film Council, –an organisation which provided funds for production for the best part of a decade, means there is one less source of funding available.
Sarah said: “No one really saw that coming, and I think it was just a statement by the Tory party.”
Other ways of raising money for films have emerged in recent years, including websites such as Kickstarter which even Hollywood stars such as Zach Braff have taken to.
“I think it’s a great tool if you can make it work for you but in itself it’s a lot of effort,” Sarah said.
“We have always wanted to find new ways, and traditional funding doesn’t work for these low budget art films.
People are looking for return on investment, of course.”
Despite this, she is critical of the idea that people now tend to throw themselves into the industry, instead of growing, learning and developing – a process she said was missing.
She added: “I remember one producer in particular who said he didn’t watch films, then I watched his film and thought, ‘it shows.’”
For more information about the film, click here
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