Voices From Behind The Fence is a series of video and animation projects run by Tony Gammidge on medium secure forensic units and in psychiatric settings.
These collaborative projects aim to give voice to the residents and service users on the units, many of whom are amongst the most socially excluded and stigmatised in our society. They give participants an opportunity to make their own films using stories from their experiences, memories and imagination. The films provide an insight into the lives of the participants on the wards and enable them to reclaim their stories and tell them in their own way, offering an alternative to their ‘official’ stories as contained within their case notes.
Tony will be screening a number of short films from the projects during the presentation; films that tell stories of violence, sexual abuse, war, mental illness, self-harm, incarceration, injustice, romance, love, music, gangs, drugs, bullying, treatment, therapy, art and recovery:
- Living in Darkness, a dark and disturbing claymation (think Wallace and Gromit directed by Tarantino or Hitchcock)
- Chester, a stop-motion film telling the story of an 11 year old boy soldier in Somalia
- Justice Gone Mad, the story of a young man wrongfully arrested by a judge who ultimately becomes mentally ill and is incarcerated himself
- Bear Faced, the story of a group of teddy bears in a psychotherapy group on a locked ward.
Tony Gammidge will be talking about the work and discussing the many associated ethical considerations. The presentation will be followed by a Q & A session.
The event is free but please register your attendance (via Eventbrite) to avoid disappointment.