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Huw
Huw Wahl | b.1985 London | filmmaker, photographer, artist


"Huw Wahl uses the form-giving, material qualities of moving image to unearth the importance of creative action and its transformative potential. Whether building a giant inflatable with volunteers, delving into the life of an anarchist philosopher, or developing an intimately materialist and political account of one person's poetry, it is the ability of film space to open experiences and ideas for communal change that drives him forward." - The Barn Arts

Wahl's work has been screened internationally at film festivals such as CPH:DOX, Festival du nouveau cinéma and Open City Docs, in art galleries like Centre Pompidou Metz, the Bluecoat and the Whitworth, as well as in universities, social centres and at music festivals.

He has been lucky enough to win several international awards with his films, and they've featured in magazines like Sight and Sound and The Wire, and received funding from organisations such as Arts Council England, The Henry Moore Foundation, and the Royal Photographic Society.

Things he has written have been published in magazines and academic journals and books. He has also on occasion curated film programmes and taught short film & photography courses in university and community settings.


For general enquiries and commissions, get in touch at huwwahl[at]gmail[dot]com


CV

DIRECTED FILMS
2021    The Republics (83m)
              A b&w 16mm film, drawn from the book ‘Republic Of Dogs / Republic Of Birds' by Stephen Watts
              exploring landscape, history, memory and the power of words to celebrate and resist
2017    My Recoverist Family (40m)
              A film about the non-linearity of recovery from substance use within the LGBT+ community
              Co-directed with Amanda Ravetz
2016    Everything Lives: looking at the artist as father (24m)
              A short 16mm film about my father
2016    Action Space (1h 26m)
              Award winning experimental film and inflatable project about the radical 60s art group Action Space
2014    To Hell with Culture (55m)
              A film about the poet, writer, art critic and anarchist, Sir Herbert Read
2012    Negotiating Representation: In Israel and Palestine (15m)
              A photography and audio project about photographers working in Israel and Palestine

COMMISSIONS
2021    Newham Heritage Month - Blue Mermaid voyage (5m)
              A short film to document the voyage of the Thames sailing barge Blue Mermaid from Maldon to Newham
              Carrying a token cargo of clay for brick making in East London
2020    Speaking Back (4x20m)
              A series of films about artists in the Musgrave Kinley Outsider Art Collection at the Whitworth Art Gallery
2020    Betty Newman on Madge Gill(13m)
              A Video edited for Newham Heritage Month, with Madge Gill's second cousin
              Commissioned by Works by Madge Gill
2019    Up in the Attic (4m)
              Trailer for upcoming production by Cross The Sky theatre company
2019    Michael Theis on Madge Gill (13)
              Exhibition video about a close friendship with the artist Madge Gill
              Commissioned by the William Morris Gallery
2017    Casebooks (9m)
              A film based on an exhibition at Ambika P3, 16 March - 23 April 2017, London
              Produced by Lauren Kassel
2016    Wonderland: the Art of Becoming Human (17m)
              DOP and editor on award winning short film about AHRC funded, co-produced arts project
              exploring the utopian impulses of recovery, in collaboration with Cristina Nunez and Amanda Ravetz
2015    MOSI exhibition videos (4m)
              Videos for exhibition on food and eating - Commissioned by the Museum of Science and Industry
2015    The Wave (4m)
              Filming performance of Jonathan Dove's The Wave, as part of Manchester Science Festival
              Commissioned by the Museum of Science and Industry
2015    Castlefield Gallery Commission (10m)
              Video documentation of artistic/academic conference at Federation House
2014    The Event of the Thread (13m)
              Film documentation of a project by artist Hannah Leighton-Boyce
2013    Helpyourself Manchester (54m)
              Co-director of a collectively made film about DIY music in Manchester in the early 2000s
2011    Liberty House
              A film made in collaboration with residents of Liberty House
             - accommodation for young people who find themselves homeless
2011    Mouths and meaning
              Documentation of performance by Bronwyn Platten & Sarah Coggrave

CURATING
2021    The Becoming Earthly Film Season at The Barn Arts, Aberdeenshire
              A 2 week online showcase of films, writing and talks on expanded notions of ecology in film

EDUCATION
2012    MA in Photography, University of Central Lancashire

AWARDS and GRANTS
2021    The Republics received an Honourable Mention from ONYKO film awards 2021
2020    The Republics received an Honourable Mention from jury at Litfilms, Munster's Literary Film festival
2020    The Republics shortlisted for the NEXT:WAVE competition category at CPH:DOX
2019    Silver in Best LGBTQ film at ReelHeART for My Recoverist Family
2018    Arts Council England grant to produce 'The Republics'
2017    PORe commission to co-direct My Recoverist Family with Amanda Ravetz
2016    AHRC research in film Utopia award for Wonderland: the Art of becoming Human
2016    FILAF Prix d'argent (silver), award for Action Space film
2015    Henry Moore Foundation, the Michael Davies Charitable settlement
              and the University of Sheffield Special Collections provide funding to produce Action Space
2013    Arts Council England grant to produce To Hell with Culture
2011    Royal Photographic Society Postgraduate Bursary Award

SELECTED SCREENINGS/EXHIBITIONS/WORKSHOPS/TALKS
2021    The Republics at Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
2021    The Republics at Cadence: Video Poetry Festival 2021, NorthWest Film Forum, Seattle, USA
2021    The Republics at Becoming Earthly Film Season, The Barn Arts, Scotland
2021    Action Space at Centre Pompidou Metz, as part of exhibition: Aerodream. Architecture, design
              and inflatable structures 1950-2020, running from 30.01.21 - 23.08.21
2021    (Upcoming) The Republics at Athens International Video Poetry Festival, Athens, Greece
2021    The Republics at HELIOS Sun Poetry Film Festival, Ciudad de México, Mexico
2020    The Republics at The 2020 Film and Video Poetry Symposium, Los Angeles, USA
2020    The Republics at West Lake International Documentary Festival, Hangzhou, China
2020    The Republics at Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF), Leeds, UK
2020    The Republics at Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC 2020), Montreal, Canada
2020    The Republics at Universidad de los Andes, Gestos de la Poesía, Bogota, Colombia
2020    The Republics at Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum and Arts Centre, North Uist, Scotland
2020    The Republics at Litfilms Festival, Munster, Germany
2020    The Republics world premiere at CPH:DOX 2020, Copenhagen, Denmark
2020    The Gallery of Everything, London - Valerie Potter film from the 'Speaking Back' series on loop in exhibiton
              'Autobiographic' running from 12.01.20 - 15.03.20 and including works from Carlo Zinelli and Valerie Potter
2019    REELHEART international Film Festival, Vancouver - screening of My Recoverist Family
2019    London Short Film Festival - Screening of Action Space
2018    FUTURE SHORTS, Worldwide - Everything Lives included in the summer program 2018
2018    REEL Recovery Film Festival, New York - screening of My Recoverist Family
2018    NGBK, Berlin - screening of Action Space as part of Floating Utopias exhibition
2018    Manchester University - screening of Action Space as part of symposium
              'Cultural Democracy - yesterday, today and tomorrow'
2017    Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester - screening of My Recoverist Family
              + panel with Huw Wahl, Amanda Ravetz, David Hoyle, Mark Prest & Will Self
2017    Krafta International Film Festival, Glasgow - screening of Action Space
2017    Architects of Air Inflatable, Barnsley - screening of Action Space
2017    Open City Documentary Festival, London - screening of Everything Lives
2017    Action Space part of Abacus group exhibition at Bluecoat, Liverpool
              + screening of Everything Lives film with Q&A
2017    MAC Birmingham - Part of Futuremakers exhibition with Action Space display,
              film and archive
2017    Riga Pasaules Film Festival, Latvia - screening of Wonderland: the Art of becoming Human
2017    Cheapcuts Short Film Festival, London - screening of Everything Lives
2017    Rogue Cinema, Manchester - screening of Action Space
2017    Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield - screening of Action Space
2017    Somerset House, London - screening of Action Space
2016    Regent Street Cinema, London - screening of Action Space
2016    FIAC, Grand Palais, Paris - screening of Action Space
2016    Leeds International Film Festival 2016 - screening of Action Space
2016    FILAF film festival, Perpignan, France - screening of Action Space
2016    Flatpack Film festival, Birmingham - UK premiere screening and 3-day inflatable installation
              of Action Space
2015    Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival - screening 15min edit of AMM performance
              from Action Space
2015    P3 gallery, Westminster University - 7-day inflatable building workshop for installation of Action Space
2015    Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen - Guest lecture about To Hell with Culture
2014    Modern Art Oxford - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Newbridge Art Project, Newcastle - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    University of Central Lancashire - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Larnaca College, Cyprus - Screening and Talk on To Hell with Culture
              as part of the 'fine arts speaker series'
2014    University of Nicosia, Cyprus - Screening of To Hell with Culture as part of the 'fine arts speaker series'
2014    Upperspace, Manchester - Screening of To Hell with Culture as part of Politika exhibition
2014    The Tetley, Leeds - Screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Chelsea College of Art and Design, London - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Beacons festival, Skipton - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    DOKU.ARTS Film festival, Berlin, Germany - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    The Bluecoat, Liverpool - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Leeds International Film festival - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Goldsmiths University - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Chicago, University of Eastern Illinois - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Anarchist Studies Conference, Loughborough University - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Queens College, Oxford University - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Helmsley Arts Centre - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Federation House/Castlefield Gallery - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Edinburgh College of Art - screening of To Hell with Culture
2014    Institute of Contemporary Art, London - UK premiere screening of To Hell with Culture
2013    Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada - Public lecture on To Hell with Culture and Herbert Read
2013    Equations film festival, Kingsgate Gallery, London - screening of Negotiating Representation:
              In Israel and Palestine
2013    NTS Radio - audio screening of Negotiating Representation: In Israel and Palestine
2012    Screamstation festival, Horse Hospital, London - screening of Negotiating Representation:
              In Israel and Palestine
2012    Black & White, International AV festival, Portugal - screening of Negotiating Representation:
              In Israel and Palestine
2012    Screengrab New Media Awards, Australia - screening of Negotiating Representation:
              In Israel and Palestine
2010    Manchester Art School Gallery - exhibition of photographs with Jonathan Purcell,
              Observing Occupied Space

SELECTED PRESS
2017    Film and the Anarchist Imagination, Richard Porton, Verso books second edition
              includes commentry on To Hell with Culture
2016    Sight and Sound Magazine, Sukhdev Sandhu print review of Action Space
2016    The Wire Magazine, print review of Action Space
2016    Amuse | iD Magazine, online review of Action Space
2015    The World Today with Tariq Ali, Youtube feature on To Hell with Culture
2013    Royal Photographic Journal, 'The desire to explore' article on Huw Wahl
2012    Royal Photographic Journal, interview 'Beyond the Obvious'
2011    BBC Northwest Tonight, feature as part of Levenshulme Bicycle Orchestra

WRITING/TEACHING
2021    Arts Review article: Ecology & Resurgence
             Lights, Camera, Creative Action - Exploring the expanding genre of ecological filmmaking
2020    Book chapter: Showcasing Conflict: Notes and Observations on Photographic
              Representation in Israel and Palestine
             Visioning Israel-Palestine, published by Bloomsbury
2020    Interview Article: Ecology & Resurgence Issue 320
             Giving Poetry Back To The Land: interview with Simon Armitage
2019    Review Article: Ecology & Resurgence
              A Hero's Legacy - review of 'Sharkwater Extinction' (2018)
2019    Review Article: Ecology & Resurgence Issue 312
              'WHERE HUMAN AND ANIMAL MEET' - review of 'Becoming Animal' by Mettler and Davie
2018    Three day photography course at CELALI, Chiapas, Mexico
              https://www.facebook.com/celalicentro
2018    Review Article: Ecology & Resurgence Issue 306
              'JOINING HANDS AT STANDING ROCK' - review of AWAKE: A Dream from Standing Rock
2017    Visiting Lecturer: 'Observational Approaches to Research' short course at Ibero University Mexico City
              Invited by Dr Martha Areli Ramarez Sanchez
2017    Article: Anarchist Studies issue 25.2, IVWbooks
              Review Article: Attack the machinery of permitted consumption
2016    Symposium: Maker Assembly, Sheffield
              Speaker and panellist
2016    Symposium: Putting Space Into Action, Centre for Sculptural Thinking (CST) Huddersfield University
              Speaker and co-host, symposium is collaboration between Huw Wahl and CST
2016    Symposium: Into Action: The politics of Play and Participation, Primary, Nottingham
              Speaker and performer, symposium is collaboration between Huw Wahl,
              Primary and Loughborough University
2014    Symposium: To Hell with Culture, Manchester School of Art
              Co-organiser, symposium is a collaboration between Huw Wahl and Dani Child
2013    Article: Visual Studies issue 29.1, Routledge
              Photo-essay on Negotiating Representation: In Israel and Palestine
2013    Paper: CAPPE annual conference Representation, Politics and Violence, Brighton
              On topic of Israel and Palestine, in collaboration with Gary Bratchford
2013    Book: Making Stories. Co-editor with Alice Kettle and Insa Langhorst
2013    Symposium: On Visual Methods, Sheffield University. Presentation and participant
2013    Article in Now Then Magazine, December 2013
              On Herbert read's essay To Hell with Culture


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