SOUP TALK AND SHORT FILM SCREENING: BENJAMIN WIGLEY
Benjamin Wigley is an accomplished artist and filmmaker whose work resides at the intersection of art and documentary. With a keen focus on exploring the enchanting realms of Intangible Heritage and folklore, his projects serve as profound reflections on our connection to the natural world, particularly amidst the challenges posed by the climate crisis.
Ben is a multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker who began ARTDOCS in 2010, to produce his own first award-winning short film ‘PS Your Mystery Sender’ about fashion designer Sir Paul Smaith. His work has shown widely at international film festivals, broadcasters, galleries and museums including SXSW, DocFest, HotDocs, Docs MX, American Museum of Natural History (NYC), Somerset House, Chicago Underground Film Festival, Encounters, LSFF, The Space, BBC, C4, SBS, Amazon Prime, COP26 and within many National Trust Landscapes. He was selected on the Scottish Doc Institute’s ‘Bridging the Gap’ Scheme at ECA, then went on to develop his first feature film, ‘Paa Joe & The Lion’ at the European lead Documentary Masterschool, which premiered at DOCFEST 2016. He studied 16mm filmmaking at No.W.Here in London. Then, in 2017 was invited as Artist in Residence, across Liaison of Independent Film Toronto (L.I.F.T) & Philip Hoffman’s Film Farm in Canada. Ben has been consistently supported by Arts Council England & National Trust with major expanded cinema & visual art projects within landscapes, pushing the boundaries of film, sound & visual art, & live theatre.
He has collaborated with artists, poets, scientists, academics & musicians, and has been mentored by world class filmmakers and producers, most recently working with Andrew Kotting on his multidisciplinary art project, Hart of the Wood. Ben’s film ‘Of Walking on Thin Ice, (Camino to COP26)’, about the 500 mile walk from London to Glasgow for COP26, had its World Premiere at Encounters Film Festival, after the film was walked 135 miles from London to Bristol within the ‘Film Staff’, It screened at over 60 communities across the UK and was screened as part of the Culture COP27, in Egypt. Ben’s most recent expanded film project, ‘Ways of the Plant’, (supported by ACE, the Lapworth Museum, & UNESCO Geopark) blends experimental documentary with live performance & art exhibition, the 30-minute artist moving image work was recently screened at the London Short Film Festival in 2024.
