Unknown Hand

3:19 minutes / 16mm / 2021

An individual reflects on the inevitability of change, how we know ourselves and how we wish to be known. This film discusses the impact of degenerative illness on one's sense of identity and authenticity, asserting an individual's right to approach a major change in their health in a way that remains true to them.

“Saul Pankhurst’s Unknown Hand, a portrait of a man living with a degenerative illness, presents a fascinating interplay of its subject’s testimonies and the artist’s own photography. Straddling themes of masking and disclosing, Pankhurst’s film gives us a touching glimpse into change and a fragmented construction of self.” Rhea Storr, Alchemy Film & Arts Festival.

Please get in touch for links to the work.

CREDITS

  • Subject - Robert Wylie

  • Music - Tilmann Dehnhard

  • Film - Saul Pankhurst

  • Camera Assistant - Charlie O'Brien

  • Special Thanks - Tracey Fearnehough & Amy Hardie

SCREENINGS / OFFICIAL SELECTION

  • 05/2023 - Festival of Moving Image (UK)

  • 04/2023 - Underneath the Floorboards (UK)

  • 12/2022 - Doc.Berlin Film Festival (GER)

  • 11/2022 - Les Instants Video (FR)

  • 11/2022 - Raindance Film Festival (UK) w/ Q&A

  • 08/2022 - Venice Film Week (ITA)

  • 07/2022 - Doc.Boston Film Festival (USA), winner of Best Extreme Short

  • 07/2022 - St. Albans Film Festival (UK)

  • 04/2022 - Alchemy Film & Arts Festival (UK) w/ Q&A

  • 03/2022 - Ann Arbor Film Festival (USA)

  • 03/2022 - Doc.London Film Festival (UK), winner of Best Short and Tarkovksi Grant

  • 10/2021 - Margate Film Festival (UK)

  • 10/2021 - Suffolk Shorts (UK)

  • 09/2021 - Darkroom Film Festival (UK)

  • 08/2021 - South Maltings 5 Minute Film Festival (UK)

  • 08/2021 - Fear No Film, Utah Arts Festival (USA)

  • 06/2021 - Sunday Shorts Film Festival (UK)

  • 05/2021 - Scottish Mental Health & Arts Festival (UK)