Films by artist Melanie ManchotAbout this Event
Screenings followed by Q&A with Melanie Manchot and Lena Theodoropoulou (Lecturer in Public Health, University of Liverpool)
This unique screening of the feature film STEPHEN includes additional short films and clips, selected by Melanie Manchot to offer a unique insight into her practice, create context and provide sources of ideas for discussion. It will feature earlier works with Stephen Giddings, the main character in STEPHEN, such as Bronson Monologue and Lost Weekend from Melanie’s multi-channel installation Twelve (2015) and other filmic material that have influenced STEPHEN. This illustrates both Melanie’s over decade-long creative relationship with her collaborator Stephen Giddings, her deep engagement with the language of cinema and her enduring commitment to collaboration; STEPHEN was made with Liverpool communities in recovery from substance use, bringing together creative professionals with non‑professional actors who bring honesty, truth and a raw realism to their roles.
STEPHEN also draws on a historical reference. Thomas Goudie was a bank employee who embezzled £170,000 to pay gambling debts, and whose arrest became the subject of the first ever police reconstruction filmed by Mitchell and Kenyon in 1901.
STEPHEN offers a compelling and deeply human exploration of identity, recovery, mental health and the blurred boundaries between performance and lived experience. Centred on Stephen Giddings as both a real person and the protagonist he portrays, the film follows his transformative journey as he auditions to play a version of himself, navigating themes of addiction, trauma, and self-understanding.
Through a blend of scripted drama, observational footage and interviews, Manchot constructs a layered narrative in which fiction and reality continually fold into one another.
Visually bold and emotionally charged, STEPHEN is both a portrait of one man and a reflection on universal desires for change, connection, and meaning. It stands as a testament to the power of collaborative filmmaking and the elasticity of the documentary form.
Programmed as part of the exhibition at the Whitworth until 5 July 2026. A partnership between the Whitworth led by Portraits of Recovery, a visual arts charity working with contemporary art and people identifying as in recovery from substance use.
Melanie Manchot
Across film, video, photography and sound, Melanie Manchot's work pursues enquiries into the processes that lead towards our individual and collective identities. Her projects interrogate and employ acts of care, resistance and communality to engage in discourses on social and political urgencies. Performance-to-camera, reconstruction and participation as well as location-based research are recurring methodologies in her work. Using cameras as organizing principles, works operate on the threshold of documentary and staged events to investigate how fact, fiction and observation offer strategies for speaking about our shifting place in an increasingly mediated world.
About the venue
The Whitworth is a venue with level access throughout, and facilities to support you during your visit. Alongside this our visitor team will be on hand to assist you in the gallery. Find out more about planning your visit to the Whitworth and accessibility information for you.
If you’d like to speak to a team member about any access or additional needs, please get in touch with the gallery and we will be happy to assist you. Email [email protected] or telephone 0161 275 7450.
The Whitworth art gallery and gardens is driven by a mission to work with communities to use art for positive social change, and actively addresses what matters most in people’s lives. We are proudly part of The University of Manchester, operating as a convening space between the University and the people of the city.
Event Venue
The Whitworth, Oxford Road, Manchester, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00 to GBP 3.00
