Desperate Optimists is the creative partnership of

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 partne ...

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 Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

and

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 Gille ...

. 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 film critic and writer Sophie Mayer. The Independent Cinema Office organised a UK cinema tour of these films in 2016. The short film Joy, from the Civic Life series, has been described as a prelude to the Desperate Optimists’ first feature film

. Despite often working with non-professional actors, their most recent feature film Rose Plays Julie did feature a professional cast. It premiered at the London Film Festival in 2019, where critic Jonathan Romney reviewed it and described an 'uncanny echo chamber quality' cultivated in their work, highlighting recurring themes of the uncanny, role-playing and the possibilities of other lives not lived. He also described Civic Life as 'a project pitched between visual art and cinema' highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of much of Desperate Optimists' work.

Filmography (Features)

*''

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 adopt ...

(2019)'' *''

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 ...

(2016)'' *''

(2013)'' *''

(2008)''

Filmography (Shorts)

*''Tiong Bahru (2010)'' *''Joy (2008)'' *''Daydream (2006)'' *''Leisure Centre (2005)'' *''Now we are grown up (2005)'' *''Town Hall (2005)'' *''Twilight (2005)'' *''Revolution (2004)'' *''Moore Street (2004)'' *''Who Killed Brown Owl (2004)''

Theatre

*''Tom and Vera (2013)'' *''Urban Shots (1999)'' *''Playboy (1998)'' *''Stalking Realness (1997)'' *''Indulgence (1996)'' *''Dedicated (1995)'' *''Hope (1993)'' *''Anatomy of Two Exiles (1992)''

Online Artworks

*''Catalogue (2003)'' *''London Framed (2002)'' *''map50 (2000)'' *''lostcause 1-10 (2000)''

References

{{Reflist Film production companies of the United Kingdom Theatre companies in the United Kingdom