Hold

Hold, a film by Shona Illingworth (20 minutes), was filmed at the Lions Hospice, Gravesend over a three month period in 2001. Illingworth with ten people who were terminally ill to explore the capacity of intense recollection for moments that lie outside of autobiographical narratives to provide a new poetic and deeply connected space to express feelings and ideas about living and dying. Each speaker was recorded in one take, recounting in vivid detail their memory of smells, sounds, light, temperature and emotional resonance of their chosen moment. Almost prolonging this moment that would otherwise die with them. Drawing on deeply personal iconographies, each recording provided an extraordinary insight into the speaker's relationship to living and dying.