​​HAVE THE FILMS INFLUENCED YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GRIEF? 

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• "Witnessing and watching A Peculiar Shade of Blue changed my relationship with grief. It reminded me just how much grief I hold. It made it feel OK that this is the case. It reflected honestly the horror-side of grief; the painful dark places from which you think you will never escape or recover, that seem to suck you in and threaten to extinguish you utterly. Then the endless, grey, achingly stuck times. The stasis and the dejection and the sheer exhaustion of it. But it also showed the calming periods; the ‘in between’ times when the light cuts through and all is not forever lost. And the beauty of it. The strange human beauty of loss and grief. . . . I’d say the main impact on my relationship with grief is that I am not as afraid or as ashamed of it as I used to be. In some strange way, A Peculiar Shade of Blue sanctified my grief and made it ok to have it, to hold it, to bear it, and to share it. It’s like my grief settled in me, and it feels good."

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• "I felt connected. Thinking about it now, I think there is a strong ritualistic element to the films which bridges the connection between the work and the audience member and gives those watching a sense of connection to a shared experience. And not just with other people, but also a powerful sense of connection with the natural world. They make me feel less alone with my grief. And knowing I am not alone helps me to process some of the things I don’t want to deal with. The films have shown me a language that can help me to explore and express those things within myself which until now have remained untouched because I did not know how to express them."

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• "They have influenced my relationship to grief a great deal. As they are exploring different expressions of grief, it has made me conscious of just how many there are and that grief expresses itself in very different ways and changes over time/with time. Grief is a feeling and expressions that do not have a natural place in our society today, it is something left for us to deal with behind closed doors. Therefore it is easy to pack it up and try to make it as small and personal as possible. But it is not just personal and has a natural place with us humans, also in-between in our relationship, if it is allowed. To be able to travel with the films, and also with the discussion afterword it is a great way to open up to all the different shapes. To give the opportunity to reflect on grief, how you have come across it, how it feels and how you have seen it express, both within yourself and with others. I have found the films to deepen my relationship with grief and to be more allowing to feel it and explore it, in different aspects of life as loss is something that happens to us constantly in different shapes."

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HOW DID YOU FIND THE EXPERIENCE OF SLOW CINEMA?

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• "Super intelligent, it left the viewer to write their narrative, their own journey with grief.  Freedom where it’s really needed."

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• "I admit I was dubious (about the idea of slow cinema). How would it keep my attention span if very little was happening?  But, I realised that there was something very special going on: the look; the sound, the willingness to really explore this theme, all hit me from the opening shots of the film. In fact, I was excited to see what came next."

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• "This is a medium which is revealing, in the course of time, to hold great potential for the 'more than cinematic' experience of film. It requires the attention of the viewer to deepen and become more self reflective level than is usual, being a heightened aesthetic and sensual experience. There is a contemplative element at work which the power and pace of narrative can sometimes obscure, but here is allowed to open out and breathe. This is a key element in its immersive nature as an experience, but, it also widens and heightens the range of personal experience available amongst viewers, as conversations revealed after the film share - everyone's experience of the films was individual to the person, a mirror to their experience of the film's inner qualities and narrative. This is inherent to the space and time which the medium offers, and to this extent, evolving slow cinema as a medium holds immense potential and, as yet, remains an unexplored territory which could not only change how we connect with our own perceptions, and reflections, but, with each other and the world we live in. It is, in a sense, also a timely reaction to the dynamics of consumer aesthetics, where instant gratification has become a surrogate for truly integrative experience and depth of appreciation - this could be a challenge, where simply sitting and watching, being led by the experience so to speak, is the expected norm and habit, but, where the space exists for growth beyond these conditioning elements slow cinema offers, in my experience, a culturally recognisable medium and means of meeting that challenge. I personally love the opportunity for a richer, more paced aesthetic experience within the arts, as well as what may for some be an unexpected aspect of this as a filmic experience, its spacious facilitation for personal participation in the film's themes and content, and how these both reflect, affect and catalyse my own inner reflections and experiences."​​

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• "I just loved it! I don’t find it slow a bit, it is soothing and so uplifting in many ways. Also it was not like it was long just because, the reason behind it is clear."

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HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE A PECULIAR SHADE OF BLUE AT WORK IN THE WORLD? ​​​

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• "The potential interactive nature of this filmic experience, as well as its adaptability, suggest that, given the appropriate contexts and right physical circumstances, an enhanced immersive Peculiar Shade Of Blue event could be both aesthetically rich and enriching, cathartic and healing, catalyse further discussion and personal transformation. What you call these/this matters less perhaps than how it is allowed to find its own appropriate form, appropriate that is to the time, place, cultural and historical contexts, peoples and communities, all of which suggests careful curation in relation to individual screenings. An online experience will be different in this respect to physical screenings, less restricted, and determinable, perhaps, but the physical manifestation of the event is where the greatest potentials exist."​​

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• "Anyone who has experienced grief will benefit from these films. So that means everyone. Their special gift is helping us to express what we usually repress or leave unsaid because we have no words. At the end of the day, these films are not just about the journey of grief – they are also inspiring, especially in the creative sense. They open a dialogue about grief: if they don’t express how you process grief or how it feels to you, then why not create your own language or artwork around it? I suffered with depression (and I choose those words carefully) since I was a teenager and I’ve almost succumbed to the grief and despair of those thoughts all through my adult life. I have been very lucky that I had the support I needed to work through these issues – not as fully as I thought I had, mind you – the films showed me that! So I think they would be very beneficial to young people, especially those who are struggling and who might see a way to use the films and their process/approach as a springboard to find a way to connect creatively with the world. But we all experience the pain of loss in our lives, so these films and the process they advocate are really for everyone. In terms of venue, they would need to be flexible enough to offer spaces for not just the screenings, but also the post-film talks, reflection, etc. I would think art gallerys or local arts/multi-media venues would be more suitable than a standard cinema showing. For me, this work is about community – in all senses of the word. So it makes sense that the venue would have that community feel and ability for outreach also. There may also be some historical sites with venues which would work well and add value to the sense of reflection and/or that connection to the natural world or the world of our ancestors in certain surroundings after the screenings." 

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WOULD YOU RETURN TO THE FILMS AGAIN?

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• "Yes, I need to see it once more."

• "Most definitely."

• "Yes. I really enjoyed it. I found the films had a very important message and is just so beautifully done."​​

• "Yes!"