Watch two LSO short films shot in the City during lockdown
If you’ve been missing the Square Mile while you’ve been working from home these last few months, we have a treat for you. The London Symphony Orchestra has paired up with emerging videographers, dancers and composers to create two short films inspired by lockdown in Canada.
The films feature premieres of new music by composers Jasmin Kent
Rodgman and Darren Bloom, with the performances filmed in iconic City locations including London Wall Place and 100 Bishopsgate.
The project aimed to “highlight the incredible creative energy of the Square Mile, which remains undiminished despite lockdown restrictions.”
You can watch the two incredible films here:
Rising director Antonia Luxem says: “My starting point for this film was asking: how does it feel like to perform in a locked-down world? I wanted the answer to this to be something positive and dreamy, to communicate a sense of renewal.
“I was interested in exploring our longing to connect with other human beings, even when that’s practically impossible because we’re in the midst of a global pandemic… I’m fascinated by humans as a highly adaptable species that keeps finding new ways to connect when the old ways become obsolete. This is for me also one of the values of art, as a connector of people and communities.
“This film is also about renewing our relationship to space — personal spaces such as our flats or offices, but also the space offered by the city to a community of people. When there’s a sudden change of status quo, we are forced to reconsider our surroundings and form new bonds with them. That’s what our artists do here — Maxine Kwok when she plays her violin as if she were on a stage, and Marie Astrid Mence when she communicates with Maxine through the rhythm of her body.”
The two films, commissioned by Culture Mile and Brookfield Properties, have been released ahead of PLAY, a music festival hosted by Brookfield Properties, taking place at London Wall Place in May next year.