Copenhagen was dreamy. Claudia Sárkány and I got treated, we really did.
The first true sign that this trip was going to be good was when we got given a Krispy Kreme donut just 10 mins after arriving in Copenhagen airport by complete strangers. This was bookended with a cake, coffee and hot chocolate ride at La Glace on our last day. Thank you Kira we love you.
The first 2 days we spent rehearsing in the perfect, gorgeous flat provided for us, usually the abode of the wonderful Gina Thorstensen, but temporarily the creative cocoon of the Supersexy Clean Organised Woman Ladies. It was there we took our photos, made our powerpoint presentation, produced the song on my trusty Casio keyboard, ironed our costume with the Flamingo iron, and polished our script. Very organised.
It was here that we also saw a half naked man washing up. Supersexy and Clean…
This was the first performance of our specially designed script. Claudia and I have been talking about Supersexy Clean Organised Woman Ladies for years, since University, when it was a mere flick in our aspirational hair. Future Shorts vs. CPH:DOX was a perfect opportunity to finally share with the world, and we decided it was going to be interactive sharing. We were told that Danes don’t really do interaction. So, um, we were scared…
But Theatre Grob joined in! They clapped in time with the music, they laughed, they cheered, they wooped even. We impressed our Danish friends. We impressed ourselves. Phew.
We ate lots of spaghetti and cake as a reward.
And after the performance on our way home, I finally let Claudia go to bloody Tjili Pop. We instantly met lots of lovely people, including a nice man who drills holes in lakes in Greenland, with an enthusiasm for cake apparently encouraged by his girlfriend’s pregnancy. He drew us a cake map for Copenhagen then told us all about Greenland. Claudia and I decided we are going to Greenland next year to celebrate her birthday.
Yep there we are. Claudia Sarkany and I have been invited to Copenhagen next weekend to show our films and perform, for the Future Shorts One event, which will be part of CPX:DOX festival. We are devising a brand new piece entitled Supersexy Clean Organised Woman Lady, performing together on stage as Gloria Salami and Hilary Flamingo, at the Theater Grob on the 6th November. Danish pastries here I come…
My short film Hilary Flamingo Rescues Mother From the Palace Ruins (Just in Time) is currently sitting on the leaderboard for Shooting People’s Film of the Month. If it gets back into the top 3 and stays there then Matthew Barney will review it, and might even pick me to be a winner. Fancy that.
Do you want to hear what Matthew Barney has to say about my Gin-Lane-inspired film? Would you like to read a new copy of Aesthetica (the additional prize), on the toilet every time you come to see me? (All our best art publications are reserved for the bathroom).
Please help me… if you are a Shooting People member, and you think it deserves to win, then visit my film on Shooting People, log in, make nice comments and give it a good ol’ high rating. I suggest 5/5, got it?
Watch it below (to rate it you need to follow the link). Thanks good and kind people with taste, really thank you.
Ooh lala, wasn’t that another beautifully inspiring and crazy Branchage Festival?… except this year I was a leeetle less stressed out, no marketing manager responsibilities for me. Hoorah, I actually got to see stuff because this time, my list of tasks only included (and this is the bit where I show off a little):
1. Driving festival delegates from airport to hotel and back again, including the incredibly chatty whacky Ian Svenonius, the irresistibly flirtatious Ziveli Orkestra, the lovely talented directors Liz Mermin (Horses) and Chloe Ruthven (Mario and Nini), the fabulous James Mullighan and Helen Jack from Shooting People, a gabble of drunk waifs and wild strays every night back to their sleeping holes, and… my mum, innit. Dr Constance Fleuriot was over there to run the immersive soundwalk and she needed a lift from the airport to hotel, via a compulsory cream tea with me and Duncan at St Aubin’s bay, of course.
mummy + cream tea + beach + sunshine!
2. Narrating to Euros Child and Richard James soundtrack to Yuri Norstein’s animation, for a gazillion excitable kids at two schools screenings in a row at the Jersey Royal Opera House. The fun bit was when I realised that I was reading entirely different subtitles on the screen to those I’d practiced to, which were quicker, with longer words including a few Russian names thrown in for extra measure…! agh. It was fine, managed to keep up, just. Was a good challenge. Phew. Euros Child and Richard James were an absolutely pleasure to perform with, what lovely men and what gorgeous music. I was far too shy to confess I used to really enjoy a bit of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci when a young teen, thanks to John Peel. I even have a song or two on one of the few cassette tapes I had. They should feel privileged. Actually, I felt privileged. Very.
Oh good, no subtitles for a while... let me catch my breath... Photo by Philip Ilsen
nom.
3. Saying “yes of course” when the wonderful Carla MacKinnon asked me if she could program my short film A Short Collection of Hilary Flamingo’s Dream Vocations into her guest shorts programme Rich Pickings. The theme of the films was food (a particular speciality of mine if I may say so…) and in keeping with Branchage unconventional venue concept it was screened in St Helier’s Bento Sushi Bar. That’s me banana eating in the promo shot (a picture which the ICA were rather keen on too….)
4. Painting temporary sailor-themed tattoos on party guests, then getting danced around like a 80s yo-yo by that cheeky Simon Savoury from Pecadillo Pictures who we then had to restrain from doing the same to my mother… at the AMAAAAZING Bordee D’Branchage party, curated by the incredible Molly Carroll from Plaster of Paris. Such a fun, exciting, entertaining, magical party.
On top of all this, my other highlights of the festival:
2. The Oscillation, always a delight, and those colour projections get me going every time. Then if that wasn’t enough, in the same church, straight after, we saw Bo Ningen perform their live score to Japanese anime Cat Soup, which was completely mind-blowing and insanely surreal and messed up. I chuckled to myself after hearing one of the kids who had watched it with his parents telling his mates on the way out that their teacher would have switched it off straight away…
The Oscillation - lush visuals AND music. Photo by Becca Frankel
3. Watching people go a bit mosh mad like some sort of psychedelic sneeze to the otherworldly Chrome Hoof in the Spiegeltent.
4. Mass unchoreographed dancing by Branchage crew to Kate Bush, Wuthering Heights at 4am at the after-party. Oh I know its so done and done and done but we couldn’t help ourselves, we was possessed with the spirit of Cathy through contemporary expressive movement.
5. Watching the sun go down for another year with my lurve on the west coast of Jersey just before our flight. Aww. Thank you Branchage. x
So now its time to tell you about Fashion Popcorn, a digital fashion salon I’ve cooked up with Emily (a fashion editorial consultant/digital content producer) and Constance (an artist and pervasive media practitioner) Fleuriot. Yes it’s a creative-meets-digital family affair, ably assisted by the fabulous Roma Vaccaro, who is helping us make it happen.
Fashion Popcorn
Thursday July 22 at 6.30pm (for 7pm start)
the Centre Space and Terrace, London College of Fashion, John Princes Street, London, W1.
We’re inviting film-makers, fashion designers, communicators and digital media practitioners to pinpoint and debate the issues around fashion, film and digital media, and get excited about the future of fashion in the digital landscape. Let’s start a conversation!
A short fashion film and pervasive media presentation is followed by a panel discussion, with guests encouraged to pose questions and contribute their viewpoints. This will all be followed with some good ol’ networking, with a refreshing beverage in hand, courtesy of Martini.
Matter2Media’s Tim Kindberg will present his very exciting Krstl project, which we will all get to play with, and ultra-talented film-maker and curator Kathryn Ferguson also joins the panel. See her gorgeous Crystalline film for the Richard Nicoll S/S10 Catwalk show below.
Fashion Popcorn aims to play a role in demystifying digital, social and pervasive media, debunk the geek myths, and encourage the use of new technologies for creative expression and communication – and we’re hoping to have some fun along the way!
If you would like to come, please get in touch: info(at)harrietfleuriot.co.uk
New characters spawned from the educational and glamourous bosom of Patty&Hills are the star hosts of VPL Shopping Channel – Stevie and Ray. Watch them in hard-sell action here.
Ali Epps and I perform live tonight at Chelsea Arts Club Summer Ball, bringing a little Stevie and Ray of hope to the audience in keeping with this year’s theme Vintage Circus Freakshow.
At the beginning of March, I ran a 1 day film-making workshop with the Architecture Foundation’s King’s Cross Urban Pioneers. It was mega fun and productive and it seems the Urban Pioneers enjoyed themselves too. Read more about the day from their perspective on their blog.
After some intense editing, and some particularly brilliant composing from Luke Fraser (for the film Journey Through King’s Cross), the films were finally finished and screened a few weeks later at the stunning German Gymnasium in King’s Cross on the 30th March (read one of the Urban Pioneer’s talking about the final event here). I think they went down well, the young directors certainly were very complimentary towards my editing efforts, and I am still bowled over with their creativity and inventiveness. I’m really pleased with them too.
The new video from the brilliant TODO films has been uploaded. I got a nice little role in this one, as an ill-fated whistleblower in hiding. Was really lovely to work with these guys, a very efficient and fun bunch. The film is silly funny, love it, and I must say its rather good-looking too… Go team TODO!
Check out this week’s copy of OK! magazine (30 March).
When there are amazingly delicious cakes and cookies about, you will also find…
Hilarious name misspells on the go, including the name of our dear friend Vicki Murdoch, who makes the most beautiful illustrations and hand-printed silk scarves that are just as gorgeous as she is (looky here). Fun fun fun.
Social Links