Home Sea Home a collaborative Super 8 film with Audio and Minimalist Composing Created by Maria McSweeney and Shivan Alouf
Maria McSweeney Visual Super 8 Film
"Home Sea Home" is a poetic experimental non-narrative monochrome super 8 film, depicting a character's search for a place of refuge in the coastal landscape, with a sandcastle serving as a metaphor for home. Through its exploration of the concept of home in Ireland, the film touches on various themes, including the housing crisis, emigration of young people, the plight of vulnerable refugees seeking shelter, and the rising homelessness in the country. The film is complemented by a series of monochrome 35mm film stills. All this visual work was created by Maria during her analogue motion residency at The Darkroom Dublin.
Shivan Alouf Audio and Minimalist Composing
The audio for this piece was recorded on the shores of the Irish coast, the sounds were carefully selected and assembled to capture the scenery filmed. There is an emphasis on the voices and songs of birds throughout the recording, to capture the idea of travelling or migrating like the youth of Ireland must do in our current climate. The songs of the Irish sea are powerful, they allow those to hear the beauty of the film presented to them. The soft keys are distorted to create a sense of musicality in an almost ominous manner, but only subtly as the sound of our landscape creates its own delicate music.
35mm Film Stills
Screenings:
Phototropic Shores, Gorey Library, Co. Wexford (solo) (2025)
2 Films 3 Clues Hosted by Irish Artists' Film Index, Lunchtime Screening Event, Visual Artist Ireland Offices, Dublin (2025)
Strandhill Film and Folk Festival, Strandhill, Co.Sligo (2025)
Big Shots, Dolans Warehouse, Limerick (2023)
Clocks For Seeing, The Darkroom, Dublin (2023)
TERRA FIRMA, Oughterard Courthouse Gallery, Co. Galway (2023)
Feile na Phobail, Community Arts Festival, St Mary’s University, Belfast (2023)
