What I'm Looking For
2004, 15 minutes

Texts | Images | Video

A woman sets out to photograph moments of intimacy. On an Internet dating site she writes: 'I'm looking for people who would like to be photographed in public revealing something of themselves...'

What I'm Looking For documents this adventure; the connections formed at this intersection between virtual and actual public space. The video is a rumination on the nature of photography and the persistence of vision. It is a short tale of desire and control.

written, directed, edited: Shelly Silver
voiceover: Katrin Sigudardottir
sound mix: William Seery/Mercer Media
high definition online: Troy Thomson/Private Idaho
production company: House Productions
funded in part by New York State Council on the Arts

this project was shot during a residency at The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council

selected screenings
Premieres, The Museum of Modern Art (world premiere)
The Berlin International Film Festival, International Forum for New Cinema
Cinéma du Réel, Pompidou Center, Paris
Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema
Silverdocs Documentary Film Festival, Washington, DC
Newport International Film Festival, Rhode Island                                             Woodstock International Film Festival, NY
International Documentary Film Festival/IDFA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Seoul Film Festival, Korea
Mill Valley Film Festival, California
Exploding Television: Sex & Sadness, Rotterdam Film Festival, The Netherlands
Cinéma du Réel, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Ann Arbor Film Festival, Michigan
Cine-Essay/Cine Esayo, Museo Nacional Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; PhotoFilm, Tate Modern, London, England
Fotograf Festival, Prague, Czech Republic
Modern Love: Brief Encounters, Long Farewell, IMPAKT Festival, Utrecht, The Netherlands

awards & prizes
Grand Prix de la Ville de Geneve, Biennial of the Moving Image St. Gervais, Geneva, Switzerland             
First Prize, Moscow International Film Festival, Media Lab, Russia          
Best Experimental Film, Sopot International Film Festival, Poland Poland      Honorable Mention, Experimental Film, Woodstock Film Festival, NY
Second Prize, Impakt Festival, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Second Prize, Short Film Competition, Three Rivers Festival, Pittsburgh, PA