SD 103: SNAKES & LADDERS

2019, 32 mins, HD/Mini-DV, colour
A Motion Picture Exploration By Daniel & Clara
With Laura Mulvey, Amy Cutler, Peter Treherne, Kai Fiáin, Sara Budd

The latest instalment in Daniel & Clara’s ongoing Studio Diary Series, which so far consists of 103 experimental short films exploring the possibilities of moving image as an art form, SNAKES & LADDERS is an experimental video essay responding to the films and writing of Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen.

Initially inspired by a visit to an exhibition at the Peltz Gallery which gathered together archive materials relating to Mulvey/Wollen’s work, this film focuses on the relationship between theory and practice and how theory informs the strategies and structures of their films. A particular focus on the relationship between camera, subject, spoken word, text and dialogue is explored. Favouring formal experimentation over conventional essay and documentary formats, Daniel & Clara employ many of the ideas and filmmaking techniques of Mulvey/Wollen but reconfigured through the lens of their own practice.

Screenings & Exhibitions

2020   Besides The Screen Conference, ISMAI, Porto, Portugal (Online)
2019   Microcinema Artist’s Moving Image, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, UK
2019   Kino Klub Split, Croatia
2019   Last Thursday Film Club, The Printworks, Hastings, UK
2019   Exploding Appendix Avant-Garde Research Group, Brighton, UK
2019   Birkbeck Cinema, London, UK