Boolean Procedure

1980
Sound
22m

Innovative short that is equal parts Beckett, Gilliam, Orwell and life advice for the recently redundant. Yes, really.

Worried about computers taking over your job? This innovative and visionary short film picked up that idea back in 1980 and dragged it through a dark, dystopic vision of the future. Though angry and nightmarish in tone, the film's deeper message is actually a somewhat positive one. Rejection from a cold, consumerist, corporate world is an opportunity to find a new life path, for those who can find it. Note that the final image of the film is the emergency exit.

Filmmakers Nichola Bruce and Michael Coulson met at the Hornsey College of Art, and continued collaborating after graduation. Boolean Procedure was their second film produced together with the aid of a grant from the Greater London Arts Association.

The Animator's Art

Free from commercial restraints, animators explore their art

After WWII, animation was increasingly recognised as a vital art form in its own right. Commercial work put food on their plates, but animators longed for creative freedom, and many production companies and determined animators created independent works in between paid gigs. Unshackled from commercial concerns, the resulting films were often daring in their pursuit of abstraction or personal expression. Meanwhile, many artists from other media have found that animation adds a vital new dimension to their work. But while such films were celebrated in their community they were rarely shown more widely. This collection showcases often hard-to-see examples of the animator's art at its purest and most individual.