- a performance and film about longing and belonging

(be)longing PERFORMANCE
What do you long for? Where do you belong?
Camouflaged in cowboy shirts with fancy stitches made to hide broken hearts and cowboy boots custom made for the walking wounded, deflecting vulnerability with sequins and high heels, this is curious at their most personal and poignant. Beneath the neon glow of a highway road sign, their yearnings take them across vast desert landscapes in frustrated searches for fulfillment and fitting in. Leslie Hill carries the exquisite burden of newly purchased guitars she can’t really play; Helen Paris exiles herself to yoga retreats and detox diets before finally giving up and retraining as a butcher.

(be)longing (2007)

(be)longing 35mm FILM 10 min, colour, Dolby SR, 2007

A group of inspiring African teenagers brought or trafficked into the UK overcome desperate situations and build new lives for themselves in London. Now in college, fluent in English, with dreams of going to university, the girls face deportation on their 18th birthdays under current Home Office rules. This film asks them what they long for and where they feel they belong. Available on DVD from the Artsadmin shop: www.artsadmin.co.uk/shop