2008
Video (DVD) colour, sound. 19 mins, 25secs.
Extract.
Except for an enormous parrot cage in the corner the pub was empty. Suddenly a stream of obscenities and wicked cackling giggles erupted from the cage. We asked the landlord about the parrot; "It's a temporary guest. It belongs to a sailor who's gone into hospital for an operation. It swears so much, his wife won't have it at home while he's away, she asked if we would look after it. What are you doing in the area" he asked, "we're making a film about Folkestone and Boulogne". "The parrot's boat is moored in Folkestone, you should meet the captain" he said. So the film began at sea between two towns 22 miles apart, where tradition and an increasingly commercialised contemporary life exist in jarring juxtaposition.
Commissioned for the Folkestone Triennial 2008
Edited by Richard Wilding