Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive is a free public access resource for teachers, students, historians and anyone who has an interest in moving images. Spanning from 1897 to the present day, the films in the Digital Film Archive cover all aspects of life in Northern Ireland and includes everything from dramas to documentaries, newsreels and features, animation to amateur footage.
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A Catalyst Sky
Artist Aoife Desmond reveals a glimpse of the hidden wildlife that lives in tandem with one of Belfast’s liveliest galleries.
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Overview
This single roll of Super 8 invites you to experience an unconventional garden as artist Aoife Desmond directs your gaze to the fleeting movements of urban birds amongst the rooftops. Catch glimpses the city’s changing skyline as a seagull circles to protect its nest. This handheld film is shot from the rear windows, balcony and rooftop of a dilapidated building which at the time was shared by two of the city’s major artist collectives Catalyst Arts and Queen Street Studios.
This short film edited in camera by Aoife Desmond was made for "Walled Garden' her multi-layered site-specific work within the exhibition 'The Garden Show' at the Catalyst Arts gallery. Catalyst Arts was formed by artists in 1993 in response to what was seen as a cultural vacuum in the city. It continues to be Belfast’s primary artist-led organisation run by a relay of dedicated volunteers. Catalyst Arts is always a gallery, but has also been a 24 hour cinema, a recording studio, a publishing house, a skip, a radio station, a jumble sale, a wrestling ring, a sauna, a distillery, an agnostic chapel, a banquet hall, a darts team, a leisure centre, a night club and a shop.
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