Stephen
Melanie Manchot, 2023, 78 min

Followed by Q&A with Melanie Manchot moderated by Steven Eastwood

Visual artist Melanie Manchot works with a recovery group in Liverpool, who take up roles in a semi-fictional film-within-a-film that explores addiction and mental health from multiple perspectives. It is centred around Stephen, a character recovering from alcohol misuse, who takes on the fictional role of a gambler. References to the first police crime reconstruction, filmed in Liverpool in 1901, are a reminder that addiction has long existed within the fabric of our culture. It’s a tough process and emotionally charged scenes reveal inner truths, which gain additional power when the people playing the roles are, in some sense, playing themselves. Visually striking, Stephen is a startling record of the power of filmmaking and a reminder of how dextrous the documentary form can be.

The screening will begin with a 5 minute excerpt from The Stimming Pool – an experimental – at times fantastical – hybrid feature film, co-created by a collective of autistic artists, the Neurocultures Collective, and filmmaker Steven Eastwood.