Lockdown Movies

Rest assured that a session of screenings on You Know What certainly didn’t feature in our initial plans for this year’s l’Alternativa Hall, even once the full extent of what was upon us had become clear. Not because we are a band of recalcitrant rebels, but more out of an aversion to information overload or a fear of mentioning evil by name, like those who believe in the power of words (or, in our case, images) to summon up darkness.

However, a number of films forged in the depths of the first lockdown inspired us to set up the means of sharing them with you, as we once again fall under the looming shadow of lockdown (in early November we had to cancel all onsite screenings and activities and move the entire festival online).

These lockdown images and stories call us together to engage in conversation. Can filming help us overcome enforced distancing and combat isolation? Fight fear? Survive lockdown? Endure a series of lockdowns? Each and every one of us experienced lockdown differently, and this selection of seven films in two sessions is proof once again that out of the same black pit the number of creative avenues is endless.

The films will be available to watch in two sessions. Each session will be available online for 24 hours and will be followed by an online debate with the filmmakers.