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Flesh, Wax & Glass pt. 1 & 2 By George Finlay Ramsay

Jarman Award 2025 / Film London

,Cinema 2
Flesh, Wax & Glass

Two powerful short films charting a Southern Italian bloodletting ritual and one family’s journey through mourning, faith and devotion in the 21st century.

Part I, The Age of the Father, follows Saturno, a Calabrian lorry driver undertaking his 33rd Vattienti procession, where men hit their legs with glass-embedded disks of cork known as a cardo (thistle). Shot on 16mm, the film presents a tender portrait of ritual, interweaving the Holy Week with imagery of the Stromboli volcano and pelicans, a medieval symbol for Christ. Shortly after filming, Saturno died suddenly, shaping the sequel.

Part II, The Age of the Son, revisits the rite through Saturno’s son Francesco, focusing on the hugely emotional moment where he undertakes the ritual without his father for the first time. The film becomes haunted by Pasolini’s The Gospel According to St. Matthew, and Coby Sey’s delicate score is underpinned by a cover of the gospel tune ‘Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child’.

Tagged with: Cinema

Screening as part of the Jarman Award 2025 shortlist.

Film information
  • Release year   2025
  • Country  
  • Director   George Finlay Ramsay
  • Runtime  

Ticket prices

Standard
£13 *
* Excludes £1.50 booking fee

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Programme

Flesh, Wax & Glass I: Saturno’s Dream (2023), 24 mins

Flesh, Wax & Glass II: The Age of the Son (2024), 38 mins

Biographies

George Finlay Ramsay is an artist working with performance, poetry and analogue filmmaking. He was shortlisted for the Margaret Tait Award in 2023 and has presented work at PAF Olomouc, Czech Republic; Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, Scotland; Barbican, London; CTM Festival, Denmark; Beijing People’s Art Theatre, China; BFI Southbank, London; Camden Art Centre, London; CCA, Glasgow and Matadero, Spain; MUBI; NTS Radio; Rupert Residency, Lithuania and Nida Art Colony, Lithuania.

Cinema 2

Location
Barbican Cinema 1 is located within the main Barbican building on Level -2. Head to Level G and walk towards the Lakeside Terrace where you’ll find stairs and lifts to take you down to the venue floor.   

Address
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London
EC2Y 8DS

Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.