COVERT ACTION
Is This What You Were Born For? - Part 5

by Abigail CHILD
1984 / 16mm / b&w / sound / 1S / 10' 00

I wanted to examine the erotic behind the social and remake those gestures into a dance that would front their conditioning, and as well, relay the multiple fictions the footage suggests (the "facts" forever obscured in the fragments left us). The result is a narrative developed by its periphery, a story-like rumor: impossible to trace, disturbing, explosive. "Collaging found footage ..., existing and original sound, [Child] undermines the authority of the past (as attributed to photographs and texts), and the 'inevitability' of the future (as mapped out by social convention) .... While Child's film titles allude to detective serials, spy and adventure stories ... her films complexly examine everyday actions, perhaps suggesting that this is the terrain for strategies and struggles to keep open the question 'Is This What You Were Born For?' " -- Kathy Geritz, Pacific Film Archive

2 PRINTS IN DISTRIBUTION


distribution format 16mm
screen 1,37 - Standard (single screen)
speed 24 fps
sound optical sound
rental fee 49,00 €

distribution format Digital file on server (SD)
screen 4/3 (single screen)
speed 29,976 fps
sound sound
rental fee 49,00 €