Fawley

Dir. Chu-Li Shewring & Adam Gutch / 2022 / 26 mins
With its giant 200 metre chimney, Fawley power station was a classic Brutalist structure built on the edge of the New Forest and Solent between 1964 and 1971. The first of its kind – oil fuelled and computer-controlled – it was a brooding but often admired presence within an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Mixing interviews, archive and present-day documentary, this film explores Fawley’s history and demolition through playful and profound discussion of themes of ‘power’, nature, and the environment. It addresses the deep psychological and emotional role architecture plays in our surroundings and asks, “What is lost when a building disappears?” Or simply, “Does a building have a spirit?”

Carefully combining speech, sound and image fragments, the film brings together disparate reminiscences and contemporary events through a tapestry of intimate voices – local people who worked at the power station and lived in the shadow of the chimney.

Funding:
Decommissioning the 20th Century / Keele University
Arts and Humanities Research Council
Landscape Decisions

Co-Produced by Urban Wilderness

Working to Beat the Devil

Dir. Chu-Li Shewring & Adam Gutch / 2014 / 24 mins
“Images of all past actions incessantly passing through the brain…”
An ageing scientist troubled and confused by remembrances from his past, toils night and day to (re)discover secrets to the creation of life. The creature, struggling for existence in the natural world, journeys unceasingly to find its creator.

Festivals: IFF Rotterdam (nominated in Tiger Shorts 2014) / IndieLisboa / Dokufest, Kosovo / Festival Du Noveau Cinema, Montreal / Encounters, Bristol / Hamburg Shortfilm Fest / Edinburgh Film Festival / European Media Art Festival / IFFF / Flaherty / Punto de Vista / Go Short / Camerimage / Uppsala / Mount Florida

Semangat (Spirit)

Dir. Chu-Li Shewring & Adam Gutch / 2010 / 37 mins
In the jungles of Borneo, an Iban father begins a river journey to seek help for his sick child.  Troubled by uncanny visions which arise out of the bizarre world of the rainforest, father and son are drawn into a final encounter deep inside the jungle.

Festivals: IFF Rotterdam / Visions Du Reel / In The Palace / Rooftop NY / Message to Man: St. Petersburg / Taiwan Int’l Documentary Festival / Zinebi Bilbao / Camerimage- Nominated Doc. Short Film Award / Indie-Lisboa / Punto de Vista

Hoof, Tooth & Claw

Dir. Adam Gutch / 2011 / 17 mins
A portrait of the last days of Betty French: an 86 year old farming woman living alone on a smallholding in South Wales. After a visit from the ministry, Betty is forced to give up her farm, her animals and the life she has always led.

Festivals: Images Festival 2012, Toronto (Jury prize winner) / Selected for BFI London Film Festival 2012 / Cork Film Festival 2012 / London Short Film Festival 2013 / Punto de Vista 2013

Tyger Tyger

Dir. Chu-Li Shewring & Adam Gutch / 2015 / 4 mins
Drawing on the story of the Tasmanian tiger to explore ideas around the concept of extinction… Blakean notions of duality are conjured up through imagery inspired by themes of darkness and light.
Made for ‘The Darkness Collection’, coordinated by Oskar Alegria.
Texts adapted from ‘Beyond Vision’ by Jon Darius.

Festivals: Punto de Vista

Scenes from a Wet House

Dir. Adam Gutch / 2019 / 14 mins
For many, the wet house is the last stop on the road of alcoholism, addiction and homelessness; this is a hostel where most have given up on treating their addiction. In these hardest of cases there might not be any long term answers, but a younger member of staff, who has mended his own ways, makes a last ditch effort to convince some of the men that there is a chance for change…


Liverpool Unzipped

Dir. Adam Gutch & Chu-Li Shewring / 2008 / 3 mins
The perturbed world of a late night talk show host. Liverpudlian Pete Price attempts to connect with some of the callers to his radio phone-in. One of four films commissioned by Channel 4’s 3 Minute Wonder strand produced by Tigerlily Films.

Festivals: Sheffield Doc Fest

V

Dir. Chu-Li Shewring / 2007 / 11 mins
A glimpse into the mind of vents… and their puppets.
One of a film trilogy exploring the voice and the uncanny, accompanied by an article published in the journal, Soundtrack.