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Who is the man on the left? Depends whom you ask. Either: ‘He looks not quite honest or something, I don’t know … There’s some sort of cunningness in him.’ Or: ‘East European, quite genuine person, probably quite likes to go out for a few pints.’
These are just a couple of the comments made when 29 strangers from London’s diverse East End gathered to watch videos of each other and make judgments based on appearance alone. What can be gleaned from a face? As everyone takes a turn as judge, what do their analyses say about their own preconceptions and worldview? An absorbing and frequently surprising social experiment, Conversation was originally presented as a two-screen art installation before screening at film festivals, including the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2007 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
Director: Lenka Clayton, James Price
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Stories and literature
Robert Frost’s poetic reflection on youth, as read in his unforgettable baritone
5 minutes
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Sex and sexuality
After a sextortion scam, Eugene conducts an unblushing survey of masturbation
14 minutes
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Film and visual culture
‘Bags here are rarely innocent’ – how filmmakers work around censorship in Iran
8 minutes
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Language and linguistics
Closed captions suck. Here’s one artist’s inventive project to make them better
8 minutes
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Thinkers and theories
A rare female scholar of the Roman Empire, Hypatia lived and died as a secular voice
5 minutes
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Anthropology
Why are witchcraft accusations so common across human societies?
4 minutes
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Subcultures
Drop into London’s eclectic skate scene, where newbies and old-timers find community
5 minutes
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Technology and the self
A deepfake porn victim confronts the pain of having her likeness stolen and vandalised
19 minutes
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Wellbeing
Born in China, Zee seeks a gender-affirming life in the American Midwest
11 minutes