The Hunt for Bells
Two artists wander aimlessly through unfamiliar surroundings in search of something unclear. Witnessing a variety of moments and places, all of which evocative and humbling in their own way, they reflect on the link between creative intent and existential purpose, culminating in a noisy mess of a performance.
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Chase LynnSound
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Andrew TuersleyPhotography
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Project Type:Documentary, Experimental, Short
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Genres:Sound Film, Video Art
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Runtime:10 minutes 36 seconds
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Completion Date:October 31, 2017
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Production Budget:200 GBP
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:Italy
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:2.35:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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SeeMôr Film FestivalAnglesey
United Kingdom
October 21, 2017
UK Premiere
Chase and Andy met while studying Sound Art at the University for the Arts London where they quickly bonded over a shared appreciation for understated aesthetics and quotidian soundscapes . They have been collaborating regularly ever since.
The first half of the film presents three scenes, each depicting a perspective on humanity's search for a deeper life meaning: The first scene shows us literally reaching down into the foundation of a Roman Catholic church - an established symbol of both devotion and institution - exposing a hidden connection to the natural world. Following this, a group of people participate in a more modern approach to spirituality by abandoning the church and even the city entirely in an attempt to reestablish that same connection to the Earth. Finally, members of the Red Cross present a third perspective in devoting themselves to more humanist ventures - rather than the natural or the supernatural - in a way that compliments the organisation's religious background.
The performance that follows took place in an abandoned factory that architecturally shares many traits with the Catholic Church seen at the start of the film: It's a wide reverberant space with large pillars spaced evenly throughout. There is an abundance of grey and the walls are decorated with names and images and messages. Even the light from outside shines through in patches just as we saw before. Our almost juvenile crashing and banging juxtaposes with the low fidelity sound of prayer from an electronic rosary to reenforce the point that this is our place of worship, and that listening is our form of spirituality.
The film ends with a conversation between the two artists in which they express their frustration at recording the sound of bells, an everpresent symbol of religious culture that seems ironically elusive. The metaphor should be apparent.