Interior (The Spectator), HD video, 18 minutes 52 seconds, 2023

A film by Matthew Burdis, narrated by Willem Dafoe.

Interior (The Spectator), short excerpt



Interior (The Spectator) contemplates Burdis’ relationship to the painter Howard Hodgkin. The film is narrated by Willem Dafoe.

The highly personalised domestic interior of Hodgkin’s London home becomes a container to explore this relationship: as objects and belongings draw out themes of personal loss, memory and identity.

Seemingly beginning as a memoir, the narration and images directly correspond to each other. This structure begins to fracture as images disjoint from the text, before reconnecting at particular moments. The script is collaged from personal writing, gathered quotes and references to literary sources to create an equivocal identity.

Exhibitions and Screenings:
March edition, Art Station Film, screening of Interior (The Spectator), Saxmundham, UK, March 22nd 2024
The Ingram Prize 2023, Cromwell Place, London, November 2023

Film Festivals:
Art Film Spirit Awards, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Interior (The Spectator) *Nominee*, December 2023
Video Art and Experimental Film Festival, New York City, United States, Interior (The Spectator) *Honorable Mention* November 2023
Slow Film Festival, London, Good Shepherd Studios, London, Interior (The Spectator) *Official Selection* October 21st - 22nd, 2023
Lunenburg Doc Fest, Nova Scotia, Canada, Interior (The Spectator) *Semi-Finalist* Experimental Short Documentary, September 2023