Showcase
Broken Chain
Synopsis
A man leaves prison after several years of incarceration. Will he clean up his act after several years of crime and drug addiction? Or does he go back to his old ways?
Broken Chain explores the idea through visuals that sometimes even though we may have all the tools to recover from negative patterns sometimes our conditioning may be too rigid to allow change.
The film uses the image of La Diablesse a Caribbean folklore demoness as a symbol of irresistible, elusive temptation. Is she present or a figment of a damaged psyche?
Architectural shots of a 'brutalist' council estate act as a reminder of how the environment may lead him to make choices that appear despairing. And why drug addiction may be a true escape from the harsh reality of real life.
About The City Speaks:
Co-produced by BBC Radio 4 and Film London Artists' Moving Image Network, The City Speaks: A Film for Radio, is a multi-faceted portrayal of London created for radio, cinema and television. Artist film-makers were commissioned to collaborate with radio writers to produce a unique portrait of London. Responding to a narrative framework by writer Peter Ackroyd, the artist and writer teams created a film in six sections.
The City Speaks was supported by an Arts Council England Grants for the Arts Award.
Broken Chain explores the idea through visuals that sometimes even though we may have all the tools to recover from negative patterns sometimes our conditioning may be too rigid to allow change.
The film uses the image of La Diablesse a Caribbean folklore demoness as a symbol of irresistible, elusive temptation. Is she present or a figment of a damaged psyche?
Architectural shots of a 'brutalist' council estate act as a reminder of how the environment may lead him to make choices that appear despairing. And why drug addiction may be a true escape from the harsh reality of real life.
About The City Speaks:
Co-produced by BBC Radio 4 and Film London Artists' Moving Image Network, The City Speaks: A Film for Radio, is a multi-faceted portrayal of London created for radio, cinema and television. Artist film-makers were commissioned to collaborate with radio writers to produce a unique portrait of London. Responding to a narrative framework by writer Peter Ackroyd, the artist and writer teams created a film in six sections.
The City Speaks was supported by an Arts Council England Grants for the Arts Award.
Images
Selected Screenings
- Canary Wharf Film Festival, 31 August 2008
- Premiere Screening at BFI Southbank, March 2008
- Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, March 2008
Project Background
Co-produced by BBC Radio 4 and Film London Artists' Moving Image Network, The City Speaks: A Film for Radio, is a multi-faceted portrayal of London created for radio, cinema and television.
Artist film-makers were commissioned to collaborate with radio writers to produce a unique portrait of London. Responding to a narrative framework by writer Peter Ackroyd, the artist and writer teams created a film in six sections.
Key Information
Film
Broken Chain
Artist
Inge 'Campbell' Blackman
Project
The City Speaks
Year Completed
2007
Duration
13'50"
Screening format
Digi Beta SP / DVD Pal
