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Heartbeat in the Brain

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Heartbeat in the Brain
Screenshots from the film
Directed byAmanda Feilding
Produced byAmanda Feilding, Joseph Mellen
StarringAmanda Feilding
Narrated byAmanda Feilding
Release date
  • 1970 (1970)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUnknown

Heartbeat in the Brain is a 1970 documentary film produced and directed by Amanda Feilding, an advocate of trepanation.[1] It was filmed by Joseph Mellen.

Summary

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In the film, Feilding, a 27-year-old student at the time, drills a hole in her forehead with a dentist's drill. In the documentary, surgical scenes alternate with motion studies of Feilding's pet pigeon Birdie.[2]

Release and rediscovery

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In 1978, Feilding screened the movie at the Suydam Gallery in New York. More than one audience member fainted during the climax.[1]

The 1998 documentary A Hole in the Head contains footage from Heartbeat in the Brain.[3]

The documentary, long believed to be lost, was publicly screened at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London on 28 April 2011.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Turner, Christopher (Winter 2007–08). "Like a Hole in the Head". Cabinet. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  2. ^ Colton, Michael (31 May 1998). "You Need It Like... ...a Hole in the Head?". The Washington Post.
  3. ^ Sirius, R. U. (25 August 2010). "Fixing A Hole in the Head". h+.
  4. ^ "PR Talks Films Music Ourhouse 02 Feb 2011". Official Website Institute of Contemporary Arts. ICA. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
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