Listen with your eyes is an ongoing series of screenings that aims to create a space for children of all ages to engage with and enjoy experimental forms of cinema. Through a variety of techniques and approaches, the films in this programme reflect on ideas and experiences of play. Often set in familiar, everyday places, they each allow the time and space needed for a sense of play to unfold. Play is an invitation to explore freely without the pressure of reaching a destination. We hope you can all join us in the cinematic playground!
Listen with your eyes is programmed by Hyun Jin Cho and Oliver Wright, in collaboration with the Barbican Family Film Club.
Please note: this screening is designed for families to attend together, no unaccompanied adults will be allowed entry to the cinema and children must attend with an accompanying adult.
The Untroubled Mind
Manon de Boer | 2016 | Belgium | 7’ | Digital | Silent
A collection of elaborate constructions by the artist’s young son, filmed over a period of three years.
Krasob
Nitipong Thinthuptha | 2007 | Thailand | 8’ | Digital | Thai spoken, English subtitles
A group of children play with a krasob, a sack of rice on a pole.
Netball
Rehana Zaman | 2013 | UK | 2’ | Digital | Sound
An animation that initiates a delirious looping scenario from the premise that netball is a ball sport played by two teams of seven players.
Housework
Margaret Salmon | 2014 | UK | 6’ | Digital | Sound
Salmon’s film portrays daily household chores being completed by themselves – a supernatural phenomenon.
Words, Planets
Laida Lertxundi | 2018 | USA | 11’ | Digital | English, Mandarin and Spanish spoken, English on-screen text
A playful reflection on motherhood and composition, involving lemons and pop music.
Play
Sally Potter | 1970 | UK | 5’ | Digital | Sound
In Sally Potter’s double screen film, cameras mounted above the street capture six children – three sets of twins – playing on the pavement below.
El nido del Sol
Colectivo Los Ingrávidos | 2021 | Mexico | 5’ | 16mm | Sound
In the nest of the sun, three Aztec gods meet to recover the dance of radiation