Policy Wonks
Presented by Sean Grattan and CIRCUIT, Policy Wonks is the debut feature film by Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland-born, Los Angeles-based artist and filmmaker Sean Grattan. Policy Wonks premieres in Aotearoa with two screenings in March at venues in Auckland and Wellington. The screenings will be introduced by the artist and be followed by a Q&A.
12 years in the making, Policy Wonks is a conceptual pseudo-drama that revolves around the ambitious Bureau of Advancement, a political action group operating in Los Angeles that loves money, guns, and yoga. Mixing philosophical inquiry with political satire, Policy Wonks takes the cold logics of neoliberalism to their cinematic conclusion: relentless exposition twisting through a hollow core of violent irrationality, phony wellness practices, and the cultic adulations of ‘exceptional’ humans. As the mind-melting ideological landscape unfolds like verbal jelly, the crisp California sky casts bright light over the psychological shadows of the characters.
Film run time: 80 minutes
Sean Grattan works primarily with digital video, utilising cinematic devices to frame performances that privilege the exchange of ideas over emotionally-driven narrative. Based in Los Angeles since 2009, Grattan holds an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, a BFA (Hons) from Elam School of Fine Arts, and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Auckland.
