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(TIMES & TICKETS, London Central, FRI 1 JUL, BFI London Southbank, 0 Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XT, United Kingdom, 6:20 PM)
https://www.flicks.co.uk/movie/wayfinder/
"Wayfinder"
Set during a pandemic, The Wanderer (Perside Rodrigues), a young girl, undertakes an intrepid journey across England. The film tracks the movements of it's central protagonist, The Wanderer, on an intrepid journey across England. Presented across six chapters, including The North, The Land of Smoke and The Kingdom of the East, this film builds a dialogue around the themes of class and economic exclusion, belonging and displacement, cultural heritage and the meaning of home. Travelling from North to South, The Wanderer passes through different regions, towns and landscapes, encountering people, stories and situations on her way. With the film set during an unknown point in the not-too-distant-future during a discursive moment in time.
The Wanderer acts as a witness to accounts, conversations, places and histories, both known and dormant. Setting out from Bowness-on-Solway, a village that separates England from Scotland, the film follows the Wanderer’s journey across the ancient paths of Hadrian’s Wall and other significant environments thereafter. From Hemmingwell housing estate in Wellingborough to the National Gallery deserted at night, through the international port London Gateway (in Essex), eventually reaching the sea at Margate. The film’s cast includes former athlete Anita Neil Oly (herself) who's Britain’s first Black female Olympian and we see The Griot (Mataio Austin Dean) in a trippy dialogue-driven scene set within East London Café E. Pellicci in Bethnal Green.
A road movie of sorts, "Wayfinder" draws on British traditions of travel and exploration of the sublime landscape and the sea, reflecting on division and crisis in this nation today. Addressing an unreconciled history of empire and inequality, it asks, who's allowed to feel that they belong? The film combines sweeping shots with poetic voice-over narratives, melded with real vox pop testimonies, field recordings and an original orchestral score. This project feels like a poignant moment. It feels important and necessary, especially at this point in time to be able to bring this range of subject matter and conversations to the table at what is increasingly becoming a contentious moment of our times.
This expansive vision marks a new and exciting stage in art practice. The film employs still imagery, aural and visual archives, live performance, objects and sound to explore ideas surrounding class, gender, cross-cultural and post-digital identity. With works that examine communal and personal heritage, in particular, the intersection between Popular culture and the post-colonial position, the film crate-digs the vaults of history. These investigations examine constructions of the self by splicing the audible and visual materials of personal and interpersonal archives, offering multiple perspectives that reveal the deeply entrenched inequalities in contemporary society.
Written by Gregory Mann
