ALŽBĚTA BARTONÍČKOVÁ (KOVANDOVÁ) 

Loneliness is easy to hide and easy to miss.

But what does it look like? Do we all perceive it similarly? Is there any solution to loneliness?

Collaborative documentary Too Much of No One features Corrine, David, Jan, Ken, Leo and Stafford and through six chapters presents their unique perspectives on the growing issue of loneliness in later life. Each chapter is different, depending on the filmmaking style, music and location the individual person has chosen, providing valuable insight into the distinctive notions of loneliness.

 

 

The film is a result of a multidisciplinary art-research, practice-based project which deals with the subject of loneliness in later life and the use of technology. It was developed in 2018 in partnership with FACT Liverpool (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) and LJMU (Liverpool John Moores University). 

After six participants over 65 years old were approached and found through leaflets distributed around the city, three workshops focused on filmmaking were conducted at FACT. These workshops laid the groundwork for the collaborative film subsequently made as it gave the participants a better understanding of filmmaking techniques and the overall possibilities that film offers. 

Consequently, each participant was asked to direct their own chapter in the film to express best their experience, opinion, or way of dealing with loneliness. 

The resulting film is therefore composed of six very distinct chapters, each directed by one of the participants, each offering a unique narrative lens through which to examine the theme of loneliness.

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The aim of the project was to explore the relationship between loneliness and technology in later life, to give voice to the participants through the collaborative creation of the film and to offer a different perspective on the subject. Last but not least, the project also intended to create new social connections and relationships between the six people who took part in it through the use of workshops, several subsequent meetings and an official cinema premiere at FACT.

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As part of the project, an academic MRes thesis spanning 21,000 words was written, delving into the project's process and findings in depth.

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Dedicated to the river Mersey and to all the lonely people.