A nightmarish essay film on the history of the doorbell
Directed by Graeme Arnfield, This nightmarish essay film on the history of the doorbell, tracing its invention and constant reinventions through 19th century labour struggles, the nascent years of narrative cinema, and contemporary surveillance cultures. Along the way, it produces a terrifying portrait of the technological ideologies that have shaped our present and the nightmares of the people they emerged from.
Made in bed with a mixture of found materials from archival patent illustrations, domestic security footage to suspenseful horror movie clips, soundtracked by historical prepared-piano pieces and manipulated field recordings – the film asks what is to be done with machines that don’ t work for us? With systems that hinder radical futures, that profit off convenience and use our fears against us. What happens when our homes and our dreams have been invaded?
« C’est presque un exploit : sans voix-off et à l’intérieur du cadre très étroit épousant les contours voyeuristes des doorbell cameras, Arnfield livre une étude foisonnante, en cinq parties, qui examine la place qu’occupent aujourd’hui ces technologies ubiquitaires. »
Corentin Lê Critikat 26/02/2023
Berlinale, 2023, de
Graeme Arnfield
Graeme Arnfield is an artist filmmaker and composer living in London. Producing sensory essay films from networked imagery, his films use methods of investigative storytelling to explore issues of technology, ecology and history. He graduated with a Masters in Experimental Cinema at Kingston University.
