Swimming To Cambodia is a captivating example of one-man story-telling performance theatre translated to the screen, starring the enigmatic writer and performer that was Spalding Gray. From 1987, this film fully delivers in the entertaining intimate creative atmosphere of performances from that time - think of say Laurie Anderson, Tom Waits, David Byrne (Talking Heads), and a bit of manic monologue Jello Biafra – but it does this in a uniquely down-to-earth personal way. Sitting there in his no-fuss checkered shirt, the artist completely drops his defenses and tells his story with his vulnerabilities and anxieties openly revealed, which has a feverishly dramatic and humorously relatable power. Spalding tells his true story of his time in south-east Asia, starting in Cambodia after he starred in a supporting role as a US diplomat in the extraordinary 1984 film The Killing Fields. A film which itself was filmed with frank realism, right there on location in the aftermath of the war. On his travels Spalding seeks a “perfect moment" in the world, free from the internal monologue of his anxieties and the surrounding complex reality of threats and competitions, but can he ever catch that butterfly? This film was directed by Jonathan Demme, he went on to become famous for major hits such as Stop Making Sense, and The Silence of the Lambs. As a monologue paced with occasional music, the voice and real character of the artist is used to its fullest potential in a bold and unpretentious way.

Darren is a long time film fan originally from England. As an art student in the 2000's he volunteered at The Electric Cinema Birmingham, the UKs oldest cinema- it's future sadly uncertain... He enjoys down to earth 1970s type hard aesthetics and themes that question authority and norms with humour and pathos.