MattFlix presents Oona Grimes' Horsepolish (2021)

Horsepolish sees Grimes revisit Italian cinema, a recurrent material in the artist's filmmaking practice. She draws on her recollections of Vittorio De Sica’s Shoeshine (Sciuscia) (1946) in a film that unfolds like an outtake from a larger narrative.

Shot in East London's Ragged School Museum - the premises of the former Dr Barnardo's Copperfield Road Ragged School - Horsepolish returns to the marginalised and the overlooked. The work of scrubbing and polishing calls up ghosts, enacting past stories. Street children - whether of Barnardo or de Sica’s era - conjure dreams of empowerment and freedom from the daily reality of their Sisyphean tasks.

Duration: 09:00

Film by Oona Grimes
Producer Tony Grisoni
Cinematographer Lily Grimes
Music and sound mix Jem Finer
Editor Lucy Harris
Colourist Jason R Moffat

Oona Grimes is represented by Danielle Arnaud, London.