In-conversation with Calum Neill

As part of a screening weekend for As You Were at the Fruitmarket gallery in Edinburgh, Calum Neill and I were in-conversation on Sunday 30 March exploring themes from the film. Calum is professor of psychoanalysis and continental philosophy at Edinburgh Napier University. His work focuses on questions of ethics and identity. Calum runs Lacan in Scotland and is editor of The Palgrave Lacan Series. Amongst numerous other publications, he is the author of Jacques Lacan, The Basics (2023).

As You Were is an experimental documentary made with midwives and obstetricians from the UK's National Health Service who have themselves given birth to query the boundaries of professional, personal and institutional understanding. Scenes of a coxed women’s rowing team and the artist's domestic realm intersect with historical maternity instruments and intimate documentation of insect life.

The Fruitmarket programme:

With shared themes of collective experience, labouring bodies and biographical motif, I'm delighted that this screening weekend took place alongside the Portia Zvavahera exhibition. My warmest thanks to the Fruitmarket team for all their support.

As You Were: Second camera: Minttu Mäntynen; Sound design: Tom Drew; Drone: John Duncan; Colour grading: Sebastian Bürkner; Rowing sound recording: Pete Smith.

As You Were was made possible by the generous support of Creative Scotland; Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh; Surgeons’ Hall Museums; The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh; and NHS Lothian Midwifery Research Network.