SHORT FILM PROGRAMME

Bare 
Lila J Naruse 

‘Bare’ celebrates the journeys that our feet can take us on and the simple joys of exploring. Delving into the world, solo and stripped back.  

ABOUT Lila J Naruse is a professional contemporary dance artist based in the North East of England. Her key values are to create and perform unique work with honesty, respect and joy. Lila uses the emotional and physical connection of the whole body as inspiration and wishes to address themes concerning humanity and social issues. 
http://instagram.com/lila.j.naruse

Art Confined and Feral Futures  
Lady Kitt 

In lockdown Lady Kitt has mostly been doing two things: 

Thinking about art And Missing people. 

In quarantine Kitt has been making art with some of the people they miss via post. In this film one of those people, artist and activist Sofia Barton, and Kitt discuss the things they can still make together despite being apart: shared ideas of their imagined feral futures, wild art and change conceived in quiet confinement. 

ABOUT Lady Kitt is a maker, researcher and drag king. They use the pronouns they/them.  

Originally from Durham, now based in Newcastle, their projects have taken place all over the world, winning awards& involving thousands of people. Kitt works in a social engaged art practice using paper crafting, performance and research to create objects, interactions and events. Their work is driven by an insatiable curiosity to explore, share and (gently) insight the social functions of stuff that gets called art. 
w. lladykitt.com  

Chat in the Flat  
AJ Garrett 

Welcome to AJ’s homemade chat show, filmed entirely in his flat and featuring the objects around him as guests. A toy horse, a Toby Jug, and model bird muse on the ups and downs of staying home, each with their own unique perspective. 

ABOUT AJ Garrett is a fun-loving artist based in the UK. Drawing, video, and collaborative projects. AJ is also a co-director of DIY arts axis Peg Powler Art Collective. 
w. ajgarrett.co.uk 

Touch telepathy, Mind form, Ripple out
Alice Highet

“In lockdown my 3 children are at home, using my workspace and computer. To continue to make work, I have been making quick intuitive drawings in different spaces, animating the process, using a smart-phone app. I won a home residency with Contemporary Visual Arts Network NE, to develop this further.

My films link interior and exterior worlds, something we have all had to think about in lockdown. These new drawings are a meditative release. They respond to this unique situation, in my life and the world. I have developed 3 drawings, into mini films. These will eventually have soundtracks and be part of a larger series.”

ABOUT Alice Highet projects moving-image/ sound onto ephemeral sculptural installations. She explores themes of time, perception and slowness, questioning habitual ways of interacting with technology. Her work encourages meditative and daydream states of mind. Alice has been funded by Institute of Physics and exhibited at NewBridge Project, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle and Middlesbrough Art Weekender (curated by MIMA).
w. thenewbridgeproject.com/portfolio/alice-highet/ 
@alicehighet

INCIDENTAL 
Kirsty Childs 

INCIDENTAL is a collection of three new short films – Supermarket, Haircut and Chicken – created during lockdown. Artist Kirsty Childs has been learning how to create animations in lockdown and these films are based on her experience of living life through the pandemic. By offering insights of her experiences, she hopes people can relate to the work and invites viewers to share stories on social media through their artwork as part of the project using #DurhamSitC 

You can also find a downloadable guide to creating your own claymation at home here.

ABOUT Kirsty Childs is an artist based in the North East of England. Since graduating from Teesside University in 2016 she has undertaken two residencies and has been awarded a number of artist bursaries. Kirsty has taken part in exhibitions and events such as Festival of Thrift and Art Walk Wakefield. Most recently she has been working with a group of young people in New York State and created a film and sculpture installation as an accumulation of the project. 
@KirstyChi