STEPHEN
Documentary | English | 78 min
Stephen is auditioning to play himself in an inventive, cinematic and moving exploration of addiction and mental health.
Visual artist Melanie Manchot works with a recovery group in Liverpool, who take up roles in a semi-fictional film-within-a-film that explores addiction and mental health from multiple perspectives. It is centred around Stephen, a character recovering from gambling and alcohol addictions. References to the first police crime reconstruction, filmed in Liverpool in 1901, are a reminder that addiction has long existed within the fabric of our culture. It’s a tough process and emotionally charged scenes reveal inner truths, which gain additional power when the people playing the roles are, in some sense, playing themselves. Visually striking,STEPHEN is a startling record of this form of treatment and a reminder of how dextrous the documentary form can be.
DIRECTOR Melanie Manchot
PRODUCER Elena Hill
COUNTRY OF PRODUCTION United Kingdom
Preview screenings + events
Genesis, London | May 2
Screening and Q&A with director Melanie Manchot
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Glasgow Film Theatre | From May 7
Screening and Q&A with director Melanie Manchot on Tuesday May 7
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Storyhouse, Chester | From May 9
Screening and Q&A with director Melanie Manchot
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Rio Cinema, London | May 14
Screening and Q&A with director Melanie Manchot
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Ultimate Picture Palace, Oxford | May 15
Screening and Q&A with director Melanie Manchot
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Castle Cinema, London | May 21
Screening and Q&A with director Melanie Manchot
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Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge | May 22
Screening and Q&A with director Melanie Manchot
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Firstsite, Colchester | May 23
Screening and Q&A with director Melanie Manchot
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FACT Picturehouse, Liverpool | May 24
Screening and Q&A with director Melanie Manchot
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Cameo Picturehouse, Edinburgh | May 25
Screening and Q&A with director Melanie Manchot
Tickets coming soon
Queen’s Film Theatre, Belfast | May 27 + 30
Screening and Q&A with director Melanie Manchot
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Haslemere Hall | June 19
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“fact and fiction blur in Melanie Manchot’s docudrama, where members of the Liverpool addiction and trauma recovery community
partake in a Freudian re-enactment”
— ArtReview
“Stunning”
— Wallpaper
“astonishingly powerful”
— Sight and Sound
AWARDS + FESTIVALS
2023 Sheffield Doc Fest
Official Selection
Installation Version
Liverpool Biennial