Katharine Round
Artist & Filmmaker
CONTENTS
ABOUT
My work is driven by a deep curiosity towards "ordinary" human beings: our contradictions, humanity and fallibility as we attempt to make sense of the world.
I often explore specific situations that illuminate wider thematic ideas, with formalist intervention to “provoke reality” and uncover new ways of seeing our lives. I don’t hide my presence and aim to question myself as much as I do others, and as such, I acknowledge a vision of the world through "imperfect" eyes: a cinema of lies as much as of truth.
My films and moving image works have been shown in cinemas, television, art galleries, online, and on the street. I’ve had support from the Arts Council, BFI, Creative Europe, Forma Arts, CPH:LAB, Dartmouth Films, Passion Pictures, the Guardian, Serpentine Galleries and many others.
This site acts as a notepad for past and ongoing work, nothing is permanent as I aim to share my evolving thought processes as well as the results.
My work is produced via Disobedient Films.
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CONTACT
Disobedient Films
10-28 Millers Avenue
London E8 2DS
Disobedient Films
10-28 Millers Avenue
London E8 2DS
Email Me: katharineround [@] gmail dot com
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London Symphony
London Symphony is a multidisciplinary project combining film, music and performance to create a poetic journey through the city of London. Taking inspiration from the original 1920s city symphonies, notably Walter Ruttman's Berlin, Symphony of a Great City and Vertov's Man With A Movie Camera - this gloriously beautiful variation directed by Alex Barrett reimagines the genre for the 21st century, taking us through 300 locations in the capital to build a portrait of the modern city, set to a classical composition by James McWilliam. Looking at life today through the lens of the past shows a city that is a vibrant as it quaint, as marked by change as it is identifiable. This diverse, energetic and meditative piece of work explores the contradictions and charms of modern life in our capital city.
Premiering at the 2017 Edinburgh International Film Festival, London Symphony was nominated for the Michael Powell Award for Best British Film, and was released theatrically across the UK. The project culminated in a series of three live participatory performances devised by Katharine Round and supported by Arts Council England which installed one of London's most dynamic orchestras, Covent Garden Sinfonia, in three unique sites across London: The Barbican Centre in the North East, the iconic brutalist Alexandra & Ainsworth Estate in the North West and the Shree Ghanapathy Hindu Temple in South West. Each of these sites both inspired and are featured in the work, and the events form a musical and artistic conversation with their communities on the changing nature of London.
The film is now available to watch on BFIPlayer (UK), to stream and on BluRay via Flicker Alley and was released on DVD in February 2018 by New Wave Films.
REVIEWS
"a seductive parade of striking images" Kim Newman, Sight & Sound
★★★★ "rapturous, compelling and inventive" David Jenkins, Little White Lies
★★★★ "lustrous" Neil Smith, Total Film
★★★★ "thought-provoking" Radio Times
★★★★ "A loving ode to the heart of the United Kingdom" Jamie Neish, CineVue