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Desperate Optimists
Desperate Optimists is the creative partnership of Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor, which began in 1992. In an interview in 2008, Lawlor explained how they took inspiration from the title of Nicolas Mosley's book Hopeful Monsters. The artistic work of Desperate Optimists has ranged from theatre productions, interactive artworks for the internet and video projects for galleries, to short films and feature films such as Helen and Mister John. There is often a strong community-centred aspect to their work. For example their series of seven short films, Civic Life (2004-2008), was an attempt to capture different communities in different places in a simple long take for each film. Featuring sometimes hundreds of extras and complicated set-ups, all shot on 35mm, the production of each short film involved close collaboration with the communities in each area. Sight and Sound described this aspect of their filmmaking process as ‘communitarian’ in the introduction to their interview by f ...
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Helen (film, 2008)
''Helen'' is a 2008 drama film by Desperate Optimists, (Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy), and was the first feature film made through their production company Desperate Optimists Productions. It is often spoken of as an expansion or companion piece to their short film Joy. Plot Helen stars Annie Townsend as a teenage girl who, when asked by the police to play the stand-in for a reconstruction, realizes it gives her a chance to confront her own troubled past. Cast *Annie Townsend as Helen *Dennis Jobling as Mr Thompson *Sandie Malia as Mrs Thompson *Danny Groenland as Danny Release Helen played in over 50 film festivals and was distributed across the UK in 2009 bNew Wave Reception Helen was acclaimed by critics such as Jonathan Romney in ''The Independent'' and Philip French in The Observer who wrote: 'With echoes of Antonioni and Bresson, the story of a young woman's disappearance is one of the most remarkable British debuts of recent years. Despite some misgivings on this firs ...
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Christine Molloy
Christine Molloy, is a UK-based artist known for her works of theatre, interactive art, and film. Life and career Molloy was born in Dublin, Ireland. She studied theatre in the late 1980s at Dartington College of Arts, UK, alongside her partner Joe Lawlor. They both graduated in 1992. Since then Molloy and Lawlor have together made works of theatre, interactive art, and film, as creative partnership Desperate Optimists which also became the name of their production company. In a 2016 article in Sight and Sound, Sophie Mayer described their filmmaking process as 'a unique merging of community arts (with months spent developing relationships and stories) and vérité documentary'. Please see the Desperate Optimists Desperate Optimists is the creative partnership of Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor, which began in 1992. In an interview in 2008, Lawlor explained how they took inspiration from the title of Nicolas Mosley's book Hopeful Monsters. The artistic wor ... page for a lis ...
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Joe Lawlor (director)
Joe Lawlor (born 5 October 1966) is an Irish boxer. He competed in the men's flyweight event at the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October .... References External links * 1966 births Living people Irish male boxers Olympic boxers of Ireland Boxers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Place of birth missing (living people) Flyweight boxers {{Ireland-boxing-bio-stub ...
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Mister John
''Mister John'' is a 2013 drama film by Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy (who are also known by the name of their creative partnership - Desperate Optimists). It was their second feature film following their debut ''Helen'' and stars Aidan Gillen, Zoe Tay, Michael Thomas, and Claire Keelan. Plot Gerry Devine leaves London to deal with his deceased brother's business and family in Singapore. He becomes increasingly adrift in trying to cope with the loss of his brother and with his troubled marriage back home. Cast * Aidan Gillen as Gerry Devine * Zoe Tay as Kim Devine, John's widow * Michael Thomas as Lester * Claire Keelan as Kathleen Devine * Vincent Tee as David Lim * Michael Walsh, Andrew Bennett as John Devine, John Devine (Voice) * Janice Koh as Lek * Shu An Oon as Janjira * Molly Rose Lawlor as Sarah Devine * Ashleigh Judith White as Isadora Devine Release ''Mister John'' premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Reception Rotten Tomatoes, a review agg ...
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Rose Plays Julie
''Rose Plays Julie'' is a 2019 Irish drama film written and directed by Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor, known collectively as Desperate Optimists. Plot Rose is a veterinary student at university in Dublin. Adopted as a young child, Rose's adoptive mother has recently died and she has begun looking into who her biological parents are. She discovers her mother is an actress named Ellen who lives in London, and travels there to meet her. Rose calls Ellen on her mobile phone and reveals her birth name is Julie; Ellen realises who she is. She also follows Ellen to a film set and is noticed, but quickly walks off. Finding that Ellen's house is for sale, Rose calls the estate agent posing as a potential buyer wanting to view the property. At the house, Ellen's teenage daughter Eva answers the door to Rose. Ellen recognises Rose during the viewing and takes her out into the woods to talk, a place she often goes to calm down. Ellen reveals to Rose that she was raped on a golf course, and ...
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Further Beyond
''Further Beyond'' is a 2016 film by Desperate Optimists (Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor) that has been described as "part essay, documentary and quirky drama" and a 'masterpiece of intricate if indirect construction.' The film is very loosely based on the story of Ambrosio O'Higgins, an Irish-Spanish colonial administrator who served the Spanish Empire as captain general of Chile from 1788 to 1796 and as viceroy of Peru from 1796 to 1801. However, as David Jenkins notes in Little White Lies, it is a "movie biopic that’s been carefully pulled inside-out, interested in posing questions about the ethics of representation and what it means to deliver personal history as objective fact". Further Beyond was made under the Arts Council Ireland Reel Art scheme. Cast * Jose Miguel Jimenez as Ambrosio O'Higgins * Denise Gough as Voice Over 1 * Alan Howley as Voice Over 2 * Aidan Gillen Aidan Murphy (born 24 April 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is th ...
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picture info

Film Production Companies Of The United Kingdom
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use of moving images. These images are generally accompanied by sound and, more rarely, other sensory stimulations. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to filmmaking and the film industry, and to the art form that is the result of it. Recording and transmission of film The moving images of a film are created by photographing actual scenes with a motion-picture camera, by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques, by means of CGI and computer animation, or by a combination of some or all of these techniques, and other visual effects. Before the introduction of digital production, series of still images were recorded on a strip of chemically sensitize ...
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