A BFI film by Paul Wright scored by Adrian Utley and Will Gregory, 2018
Arcadia BFI film by Paul Wright 2018 trailer opening with colourful painting of landscape and the white horse by Stanley Donwood.
“Scouring 100 years of footage from the BFI National Archive, BAFTA-winner Paul Wright constructs an exhilarating study of Britain’s shifting – and contradictory – relationship to the land. Wright (For Those in Peril) crafts a dense poetic essay of wonder, hope, horror and decay – drawing on inspiration from The Wicker Man to Winstanley.
Set to a grand, expressive score from Adrian Utley and Will Gregory, Wright’s captivating film essay was conceived before Brexit, but it’s impossible not to see the film through the prism of it.”
Tricia Tuttle, Artistic Director BFI
“We felt we should do some kind of collage, because it starts with found music like Elgar, the British idyllic countryside kind of cues, but Paul had put a heavy acid track on one scene, so there's quite a diversity of music. It had to be like that, so that was our ethos. We worked together on some things, and we did other things separately, and then worked with each other once they were done.”
Will Gregory
“We both feel the relevance of the film has become more acute because of what has happened in the years since, we’ve got evermore peril to do with climate and, obviously, this relates very much to the use of land and the countryside. I think it’s just becoming even more apparent that the way we use the land is dysfunctional. The film is quite good because it doesn’t paint a picture of utopia in terms of how it used to be, it’s saying the politics of the way the land is used and abused is as relevant now as it ever was.”
Adrian Utley
Live
Will Gregory – Synthesisers, Mellotron, Korg MS-20, soprano saxophone
Adrian Utley – electric & acoustic guitar, Moog, Mellotron, baritone guitar
Ross Hughes - Musical Director, Microkorg, Circuit, clarinet, flute, baby bass & drums
Lisa Knapp – Vocals
Victoria Oruwari – Vocals
Emma Smith – violin, whistle, guitar, vocals
Francesca Simmons –violin, microkorg, Roland SPD, vocals
Zami Jalil – viola, Juno Alpha, Korg Microsampler, vocals
Ivan Hussey – cello, bass guitar, vocals