This film is part of Free

Title of error

See Help

Sundial

The literal and metaphorical shadow of Canary Wharf spills over all that surrounds it.

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1993 1 mins

Overview

Seen from multiple vantage points, Canary Wharf here dominates the post-industrial landscape of London’s beleaguered East End. Artist William Raban cuts quickly between different shots and a snappy, musical rhythm is introduced to this unusual, multi-layered portrait of the shining commercial business centre and towering architectural structure.

Artist filmmaker William Raban began by making expanded cinema pieces and landscape-based works, frequently focusing on the formal properties of 16mm film. Since the mid-80s he has explored the economic and social topography of the capital city, often gleaning images and pre-existing texts according to a specific conceptual constraint. Thames Film, originally broadcast on television in the slot The Lie of the Land in 1987, centres on the physical and historical experience of the river as seen from the vantage point of a low level boat. It also includes archival prints and found footage, further unpacking the different histories that emanate from the river while also highlighting the changes that had been introduced to the city docks by Margaret Thatcher’s government. Sundial, Thames Film and other works from the late 1980s and into the 1990s paint a collective, changing portrait of the UK’s capital and commercial centre.

Director

William Raban

Genres

Animation & Artists Moving Image

Country

United Kingdom

Location

Bethnal Green

Language

English

Subjects

Canary Wharf

Watch for free

The Body Beautiful The Body Beautiful

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1990 24 mins

Autobiographical account of a mother-daughter relationship, exploring beauty standards and female sexuality.

Watch for free

Indian Tales Indian Tales

Student film 1994 12 mins Location: Haringey

Indian proverbs and superstitions shape the complex love life of a young British woman.

Watch for free

The Future Lasts a Long Time The Future Lasts a Long Time

Crime 1996 14 mins Location: Fens, The

Dream-like short film starring Samantha Morton, in one of her earliest screen credits, as one half of a couple on the run who hide out in the Fens.

Watch for free

The Stream The Stream

Documentary 1999 12 mins

Duncan Jones, director of Moon, Source Code and Warcraft, presents this ambitious Iron Age short about the star-crossed romance between a slave and gentry girl.

Watch for free

Dead London Dead London

Drama 1996 20 mins Location: Farringdon Station

Ewan Bremner and Dexter Fletcher star as a pair of morbid fortune tellers in this modern tale of dark arts.

Watch for free

Rave Rave

Documentary 1997 12 mins

Partying like it's 1997. We follow a rave DJ instigator rigging up decks in abandoned warehouses, a nosebleed 'techno tourist' who chases the hardcore around Europe and a girl addicted to... partying.