Paul Daly is an artist and filmmaker whose work explores identity, belonging, memory and mortality through analogue moving image.
Working predominantly on 16mm film, he has spent the past decade documenting contemporary England during a period of significant social and political transformation. His observational films focus on everyday lives, communities and rituals, creating portraits that reflect the complexity and diversity of modern Britain.
In 2022, his film Mirrors, supported by BFI Doc Society, premiered in the International Short Competition at Sheffield DocFest and was longlisted for Best British Short Film at the BIFAs.
He is currently completing Shadows, a film examining class, power and identity in England.
Artist Moving Image | 16mm | 4:3
A study of solitude as a medicinal melancholy, a vehicle for introspection and reflection. Focusing on my father, the film’s images were born from our relationship with this interior and exterior state of being.
The film was made in response to 18th-century diary excerpts provided by Warwick University-based researcher Dr Naomi Pullin. The title was taken from a poem by diarist Gertrude Saville.
Filmmaker - Paul Daly
Subject - Gerard Daly
Researcher - Dr Naomi Pullin
Commissioned by Coventry Creates
Funded by Arts Council England