Experiencing Interruptions?

Blue Pen

An experimental short film about censorship and the disappearance of dissenting voices by creative collaborators Caglar Kimyoncu and Julie McNamara.

The film focuses on the disappearance of women journalists in conflict zones, inspired by the story of Dorothy Lawrence, a young journalist with ambitions to become a war correspondent in WW1.

“Blue pen” is a casual term coined in 1916 to describe the heavy edits and careful monitoring by the censorship committee. All information was carefully controlled to support the war effort and edited or amended to create hatred and suspicion of the enemy.

In 2016 the ‘spin’ might well have changed but we still have propaganda published as fact, reportage used to shape public opinion and the truth, as always, is the first casualty.

  • Julie McNamara
    Director
    I Dream I Dare I Do (2013)
  • Caglar Kimyoncu
    Director
  • Julie McNamara
    Writer
    Pig Tales (2002), Pig's Sister (2005), Crossings (2009), Let Me Stay (2015
  • Caglar Kimyoncu
    Writer
  • Vital Xposure
    Producer
    Crossings (2009), Let Me Stay (2015)
  • Filmpro
    Producer
  • Penelope Freeman
    Key Cast
  • Matthew Gurney
    Key Cast
  • Gareth Turkington
    Key Cast
  • Simon Balcon
    Key Cast
  • Suni La
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes 20 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 6, 2016
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    France, United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Picture This Film Festival
    Calgary
    Canada
    March 15, 2017
    North American premiere
    Award for Performance
  • Tower Hamlets Local History and Archives
    London
    United Kingdom
    October 6, 2016
  • Dugdale Centre
    London
    United Kingdom
    September 10, 2016
  • The Attic, Hackney Picturehouse
    London
    United Kingdom
    September 6, 2016
    World premiere
Director Biography - Julie McNamara, Caglar Kimyoncu

At the forefront of disability arts, Caglar Kimyoncu and Julie McNamara have been creative collaborators for over fifteen years. They co-founded London’s Disability Film Festival 1998-2006 (The Lux, NFT1, BFI) and have curated many national and international festivals together, including the programme for Kickstart Arts’ Wide Angle Media, Vancouver’s first Disability Film Festival, the Abilities Festival, Mixed Media, Toronto and the BFI / Liberty Festival 2012, and recently co-directed the award-winning short ‘Blue Pen’ in 2016. Kimyoncu founded filmpro in 2001, a film and digital arts agency that supports artists who experience exclusion and other barriers in their practice, and McNamara is the Artistic Director of Vital Xposure, a touring theatre company that promotes hidden voices with extraordinary stories to tell.

Add Director Biography