Himself
'The Ambiguity of David Thomas Broughton' is a musical documentary following the creative process of one of the UK’s most enigmatic musicians and performers. As a musical act, David Thomas Broughton is almost unclassifiable. His live shows are a exhilarating mix of musical experimentation and performance art, underlined with a raw unpredictability. His recorded material is dark but beautiful, marrying traditional folk with a surrealist edge. Off-stage, he’s an introvert with a passion for bird watching. Who is the real David Thomas Broughton? Through a series of interviews with friends, family and collaborators, filmmaker Greg Butler attempts to unravel this ambiguity. His journey takes him to David’s home town of Otley, where we track David’s creative process as he records new material to be played at the End of the Road Festival.
Music
Greer is a girl on the cusp of womanhood. Like some curious fabled creature she lives in a remote, rundown woodland farmhouse with her Dad, Ivan, a former gamekeeper whose mind has been ravaged by chronic mental illness. Father and daughter are suspected and ostracized by the nearby village. Greer spends her working days tending to elderly, failing residents of the local care-home and the rest of her time looking after her dad. But despite her loving devotion to Ivan, Greer imagines life beyond the narrow confines of her own and is troubled by the heavy burden she bears. Greer romanticises about a life lived in colour. The impossibly glamorous Francoise and Seamus crash into the care-home to visit his mother. Greer is entranced. They seem to epitomize everything she's dreamt of: beauty, success, sophistication and access to the world in all its glory. She attaches herself to them, flattered by their awareness of her and enraptured by the atmosphere of decadence they inhabit.
A professional video production of the July 2007 performance of Daniel Johnston at Union Chapel in London.
