History of the Present

2023
Country: UK
Duration: 46 mins
Colour,
Sound: 5.1 Surround Sound
Ratio: 16:9
Available Format/s: DCP/ 35mm Print
Original Format: 35mm Film

  ,

An experimental feminist opera-film about class and conflict, ‘History of the Present’ has been made collaboratively by Maria Fusco and Margaret Salmon, featuring new compositions by Annea Lockwood, libretto by Maria Fusco and improvisational vocal work by Héloïse Werner.

This intersectional, intergenerational feminist work forefronts working-class women’s voices to ask: who has the right to speak, and in what way? Layering sociological, cultural, and political themes from the recent history of Northern Ireland, the work exercises voice, breath and field-recording composition through a range of film techniques and operatic articulations, to amplify marginalised stories. Made on 35mm and video in the streets of Belfast, the Ulster Museum and the Royal Opera House in London, History of the Present observes how defensive architecture defines movement to enforce intersectional histories and identities within daily experiences in conflict and post-conflict zones on an international level.

More works by Margaret Salmon

We’d love to hear from you

If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please get in touch

Skip to content