CAST Film Club | Maeve Brennan | The Drift

About

Polly Staple, director of Chisenhale Gallery, London, has selected Maeve Brennan’s 'The Drift' (2017) for CAST Film Club and will visit CAST to introduce the work and conduct a Q&A with the artist.

'The Drift' traces the shifting economies of objects in contemporary Lebanon. The film moves between three main characters: the gatekeeper of the Roman temples of Niha in the Beqaa Valley; a young mechanic from Britel, a village known for trading automobile parts; and an archaeological conservator working at the American University of Beirut.

Combining documentary footage, gathered through fieldwork, with staged scenes, the work depicts layered histories and communities. Forms of maintenance and repair are central to 'The Drift' – focusing on the desire to reassemble and rebuild. Through observing the intertwined identities, unregulated economies and shared resistance felt across the densely layered archaeological and urban sites of Lebanon, 'The Drift' explores the politics of conflict through its material – and immaterial – residue.

'The Drift' was produced by Chisenhale Gallery, London and Spike Island, Bristol and commissioned by Chisenhale Gallery; Spike Island; The Whitworth, The University of Manchester; and Lismore Castle Arts, Lismore. 'The Drift' was presented as a solo exhibition at the partner venues across 2017-18. Running time 51 minutes.

Free admission, all welcome. CAST Café supper from 6pm, something hot and something sweet from £7.50. The screening will begin at 7pm.

Polly Staple will also be the Porthmeor Studios Lunch Break guest on Friday 24th May, 12 noon. This talk is in partnership with CAST and Creative Skills and Cultivator. Tickets cost £5 (for those who are not BSJW Trust artists). Tickets go on sale on Tuesday 23rd April. Book via the Cornish Riviera Box Office website: https://crbo.ticketsolve.com/shows/873602945