Acknowledgement of Country

Gwenno performs her original score to Mark Jenkin’s beautiful, lo-fi gem Bait.

“One of the defining British films of the decade.” Mark Kermode (The Guardian)

Embittered fisherman Martin Ward lives on the idyllic coast of Cornwall, where his traditional way of life is at odds with everyone and everything around him. His childhood home has been purchased and renovated by a family of upper-class Londoners who see their efforts as a boon for the town’s burgeoning tourist trade. Worse, Martin’s brother has assumed ownership of their late father’s fishing vessel, using it to operate his new cruise business for vacationers. As Martin’s grip on his world falters, his intensifying fury becomes a threat to the very way of life he intends to preserve.

Though Bait was conceived prior to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, the tensions that epitomise so-called ‘Brexit Britain’ are present throughout. Echoing the temporal displacement of its protagonist, Mark Jenkins’ debut is a modern-day fable masquerading as classic British cinema. Shot on 16mm monochrome film with a hand-cranked Bolex camera, Bait is both a technical marvel and a captivating thriller, timeless and of its time.

Cornish-Welsh musician and Welsh Music Prize winner Gwenno Saunders has created a stunning live score which will be performed alongside Australian experimental musician Sia Ahmad for the very first time – a soundscape which blends synth loops, guitar drones, found sounds, and live vocals.

25 January, ACMI.
28 January, Theatre Royal, Castlemaine.
29 January, Mona Foma.
4 February, City Recital Hall, Sydney
Tickets on Sale Now.

ACMI & the BFI present, Who Are We Now? a programme across film, performance and moving image art that explore themes of representation and identity include Bait.

Overview

ACMI, Australia’s national museum of screen culture, and the British Film Institute (BFI) will present a series of programmes across film, performance and moving image art that explore themes of representation and identity and ask ‘Who We Are Now’.

ACMI will host a BFI-curated season of contemporary British films exploring identity. The centrepiece of which will be a special presentation of Mark Jenkins’s award-winning film, Bait. Hailed as “one of the defining British films of the decade” by the Guardian, Bait examines class and globalisation against the backdrop of a picturesque Cornish fishing village. A breakout hit of 2020, Bait is an extraordinary film that offers an exacting sense of place whilst tackling entirely universal themes.

BFI Southbank will host an ACMI-curated season which asks ‘Who We Are Now’ by putting classic and contemporary film texts in conversation with moving image artworks and short film works.

About the artist

ACMI is a museum of screen culture which navigates the universe of film, TV, videogames and art. Located in the heart of Melbourne, Australia, ACMI is the only museum of its kind and the most visited moving image museum in the world. It presents global and Australian voices from the past, present and future, with curated stories, people and objects to excite and challenge your preconceptions. ACMI has a vibrant calendar of events which explore the stories, technologies and artists that create our shared screen culture.

BFI is a cultural charity, and the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image. Their mission is to:

• Support creativity and actively seek out the next generation of UK storytellers
• Grow and care for the BFI National Archive, the world’s largest film and television archive
• Offer the widest range of UK and international moving image culture through our programmes and festivals – delivered online and in venue
• Use knowledge to educate and deepen public appreciation and understanding
• Work with Government and industry to ensure the continued growth of the UK’s screen industries