{"id":17,"date":"2022-11-16T15:44:24","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T15:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grahamriach.com\/?page_id=17"},"modified":"2025-09-28T11:13:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T11:13:42","slug":"films","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/grahamriach.com\/?page_id=17","title":{"rendered":"Films"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Je comme un jeu [B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte]<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This film, which I co-directed with Violaine de Villers, had its premiere at the Millenium Film Festival in Brussels in 2025! It&#8217;s about the life and work of a  wonderful vocal performer called B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte Davin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can see a trailer for the film here: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wip.be\/films\/je-comme-un-jeu\">https:\/\/www.wip.be\/films\/je-comme-un-jeu<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1326\" height=\"1866\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grahamriach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-23-at-15.49.56.png?resize=1326%2C1866&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-146\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grahamriach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-23-at-15.49.56.png?w=1326&amp;ssl=1 1326w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grahamriach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-23-at-15.49.56.png?resize=213%2C300&amp;ssl=1 213w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grahamriach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-23-at-15.49.56.png?resize=728%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 728w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grahamriach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-23-at-15.49.56.png?resize=768%2C1081&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grahamriach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-23-at-15.49.56.png?resize=1091%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1091w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hearing Ghosts: The Life &amp; Times of Josephine Morcashani <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This was such a fun project to work on with Dr Jeff Bowersox and Helen McDonald. The film explores the life of Josephine Morcashani (1870-1929), a Black British music hall star known across Europe as a glamorous cross-dressing diva. We hear tales of brandishing pistols, a flight from wartime Berlin, and discover in the archives the only known recording of Morcashani\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hearing Ghosts: The Life &amp; Times of Josephine Morcashani\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/a6iKodG5kZo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">La Langue Rouge [The Crimson Tongue] <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I composed the music for this film by Violaine de Villers. We were delighted when the film won the <em>Prix<\/em>&nbsp;<em>du Film<\/em> sur l&#8217;<em>Art <\/em>at the Brussels Art Film Festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"La langue rouge - The Crisom Tongue\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/648453216?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mon Amie Pa\u00efvi<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was brought in as an editor on this beautiful film about P\u00e4ivi Pennola, a Finnish artist, and her longstanding friendship with filmmkaer Violaine de Villers. You can see the trailer here: <a href=\"https:\/\/cbadoc.be\/fr\/movie\/mon-amie-paivi\/\" title=\"\">https:\/\/cbadoc.be\/fr\/movie\/mon-amie-paivi\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"764\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grahamriach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/MON_AMIE_PAIVI_Violaine_de_Villers-scaled-1-1024x764.jpeg?resize=1024%2C764&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grahamriach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/MON_AMIE_PAIVI_Violaine_de_Villers-scaled-1.jpeg?resize=1024%2C764&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grahamriach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/MON_AMIE_PAIVI_Violaine_de_Villers-scaled-1.jpeg?resize=300%2C224&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grahamriach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/MON_AMIE_PAIVI_Violaine_de_Villers-scaled-1.jpeg?resize=768%2C573&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grahamriach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/MON_AMIE_PAIVI_Violaine_de_Villers-scaled-1.jpeg?resize=1536%2C1147&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grahamriach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/MON_AMIE_PAIVI_Violaine_de_Villers-scaled-1.jpeg?resize=2048%2C1529&amp;ssl=1 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-background\" style=\"background-color:#002fa7\">Singing Truth to Power: Politics,    Opera, and the Russian State<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This collaboration with UCL is about directing, performing and seeing the opera &#8216;The Life &amp; Death of Alexander Litvinenko&#8217; and explores artistic representation, truth and political assassination in Putin&#8217;s Russia. It focuses on an opera by Anthony Bolton (music) and Kit Hesketh-Harvey (libretto), which premiered in 2021 at Grange Park Opera and features director Stephen Medcalf and mezzo soprano Olivia Ray &#8211; who sang the role of journalist and mediator Anna Politkovskaya &#8211; with writer-journalist Owen Matthews, Russian politics expert Ben Noble and anthropologist Michal Murawski. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Singing Truth to Power: Politics, Opera, and the Russian State\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rD-IOp2jH0s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Compromised Identities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is some information about Compromised Identities, a project at University College London for which I made a series of thirty films. The project is a really fascinating one, and thinks about perpetration and complicity around World War II. Here is what they say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>We readily think of \u2018perpetrators\u2019 as those directly involved in physical violence: giving the orders, pulling the trigger, killing innocent victims. But under Nazi rule, millions were involved in broader processes of persecution. How can we understand not only direct perpetrators, but also those who were complicit in systemic racism, as well as the passivity of \u2018bystanders\u2019?<\/p>\n<cite>https:\/\/compromised-identities.org\/<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-compromised-identities wp-block-embed-compromised-identities\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"FBeedSccHF\"><a href=\"https:\/\/compromised-identities.org\/film-collection\/\">Film collection<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Film collection&#8221; &#8212; Compromised Identities?\" src=\"https:\/\/compromised-identities.org\/film-collection\/embed\/#?secret=Malz3V0bEs#?secret=FBeedSccHF\" data-secret=\"FBeedSccHF\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Philosophy of Public Health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\">Professor James Wilson<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>UCL Professor of Philosophy James Wilson explores major philosophical public health questions that are more relevant than ever after the coronavirus, including: What does it really mean to have a &#8220;human right&#8221; to health? How should states weigh the protection of health against the value of liberty and economic activity?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Prof James Wilson - The Philosophy of Public Health: From Coronavirus to the Neglectful State\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GgvhzMhq1po?start=42&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Angels, Demons and Hungry Dogs: Magic in the Middle Ages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\">Dr Sophie Page<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sophie Page, Associate Professor in History at UCL, takes us back to the Middle Ages to explore how medieval people imagined the cosmos, and their own world, as swarming with invisible spirits &#8211; angels and demons. From a 12th century pious magic text and a 15th century demon conjuring manual to medical illustrations and the natural magic of mandrake roots, this short film offers a glimpse into the beautifully unorthodox side of the medieval European imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dr Sophie Page - Angels, Demons and Hungry Dogs: Magic in the Middle Ages\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5rMel8B9mVU?start=311&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Silent Storyteller: Reading Kafka through his Czech Contemporaries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\">Dr Peter Zusi<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This film is on an author I love: Franz Kafka. This time, I worked with Dr Peter Zusi and the team at the UCL European institute. We spent a lot of time on the sound, so do listen with headphones if you have them handy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dr Peter Zusi - The Silent Storyteller: Reading Kafka through his Czech Contemporaries\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wPvMcNibr3o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Venice Variations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\">Professor Sophia Psarra<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a great pleasure to work together with Professor Sophia Psarra and the European Institute to make a film about Sophia\u2019s research on Venice. You can find the book of her project<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20220126181451\/http:\/\/www.ucl.ac.uk\/ucl-press\/browse-books\/the-venice-variations\">&nbsp;here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sophia Psarra - The Venice Variations: Tracing the Architectural Imagination\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/e8WZGMhuWjU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Postcolonial Writers Make Worlds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I was very pleased to work with Professor Elleke Boehmer on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20220126181451\/https:\/\/writersmakeworlds.com\/\">this project.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Postcolonial Writers Make Worlds: introduction to the project\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q9Npw2f2ARw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Je comme un jeu [B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte] This film, which I co-directed with Violaine de Villers, had its premiere at the Millenium Film Festival in Brussels in 2025! It&#8217;s about the life and work of a wonderful vocal performer called B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte Davin. You can see a trailer for the film here: https:\/\/www.wip.be\/films\/je-comme-un-jeu Hearing Ghosts: The Life &amp; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-17","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grahamriach.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grahamriach.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grahamriach.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grahamriach.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grahamriach.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/grahamriach.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169,"href":"https:\/\/grahamriach.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17\/revisions\/169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grahamriach.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}