Melanie Manchot: STEPHEN

4 May-2 Nov 2024

STEPHEN, film still

Overview

A hybrid narrative fiction/documentary structured as a film-within-a-film, STEPHEN is presented in galleries as a multi-channel video installation. The film’s cinema release in April 2024 will be followed by a nationwide tour of the installation across five venues in the UK, launching at The Exchange on 4 May 2024.

Melanie Manchot’s film and installation bring together a small cast of professional actors with 20 participants from a Liverpool addiction recovery centre, including the lead actor Stephen Giddings. The art gallery presentations include an installation of multiple CRT televisions introducing the characters, and the people who play them, through a series of monologues and auditions, before entering the cinematic screening of STEPHEN, with a 78-minute running time.

Screenings will be timed throughout the day, though you may enter the film at any point, if you wish. Families should be aware that the film has a cinema 15 rating.