Civic Life

Civic Life is a series of seven short films by British filmmakers Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor, documenting communities and everyday life through an experimental, highly cinematic approach. Begun in July 2003, the series was made across the UK and Ireland, working with local residents, community groups, children and animals to create carefully constructed portraits of different places and their inhabitants.

This DVD collects the complete Civic Life series, including Who Killed Brown Owl, Moore Street, Revolution, Twilight, Town Hall, Now We Are Grown Up and Leisure Centre. The films range from observational community portraits to more theatrical and formally inventive pieces, with the series combining documentary filmmaking and staged performance. Who Killed Brown Owl won the Best British Short Film Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2004. The DVD also includes several special features and an accompanying book edited by Gareth Evans, with texts by Ben Slater, Sukhdev Sandhu, Chris Darke and Lucy Reynolds.