We Made Our Own Disaster
A study of fascism in late 20th century democracies. Television, with its life flashing before its eyes.
Promo. The full 66-minute film is available for screenings on request.
We Made Our Own Disaster is a feature-length audiovisual album by Robin Mahoney and Si Begg. It runs 66 minutes. There is no narrator and no script. Picture and sound were built together, passed back and forth between the two until each sequence held.
Every frame was cleared or out of copyright. NASA footage. Training films. Public information films. Test commercials, corporate reels, 1950s military films and features long out of print. Material nobody valued. Cut together, it started to make its own case about media, power and democracy.
Begg's score moves through glitch, breakbeat and warped ambience. The images run from 1930s nitrate to blocky 1990s video. Mahoney described the result as television dying, with its whole life flashing before its eyes.
Commissioned by Addictive TV for their Optronica label, with production funding from NESTA. Released on DVD in 2010 in Dolby 5.1 and stereo, distributed by PIAS.
Press room: interviews, reviews and images Watch the promo
Screenings, licensing and press enquiries: hello (at) menschfilms (dot) com
“Like an Adam Curtis documentary remixed by Llamasoft.”
DVD Times
“Robin Mahoney and Si Begg transcend bedroom-remix standards… a mesmerising end product.”
Joel McIver, DVD & Blu-ray Review
“A revealing document.”
Groove, Germany
“Visually… at times stunning and gripping.”
Subba Culture
“A notch above many of the video mixtapes now abundant online.”
Skynoise, Australia
| Created by | Robin Mahoney and Si Begg |
|---|---|
| Picture and edit | Robin Mahoney |
| Music and sound | Si Begg |
| Executive producer | Nick Clarke, Addictive TV |
| Label | Optronica |
| Distribution | PIAS UK |
| Supported by | NESTA |
| Format | DVD-Video, PAL 4:3 |
| Sound | Dolby 5.1 and stereo |
| Running time | 66 minutes |
| Certificate | E (exempt) |
| Released | 2010 |
Frames from the film. Training films, public information, news and archive footage, 1930s to 1990s.
