Perfecting the art of longing

Can I remember it differently?

One man’s poignant search for community via radio waves

A unique and deeply moving piece of biographical filmmaking, the short documentary Echo provides a window into the life of an older man named Allister Hadden living in Northern Ireland. The film drifts between past and present, with a rich, textured, shot-on-film aesthetic tethering together Hadden’s archival recordings and newly shot footage from the Belfast-based filmmaker Ross McClean.

As Hadden revisits old home movies, we see glimpses of a fulfilling life, including images of dirt-bike racing, factory work and a female loved one. In the present, Hadden lives alone, and surgery has left his vocal cords damaged, making communication a constant challenge. Captured atmospherically and with very few words, the film documents Hadden’s laborious effort to connect with the world around him by joining the subculture of amateur (or ‘ham’) radio operators. In his subject, McClean finds a piercing beauty in the universal search for human connection and the unexpected places it can take us.

Director: Ross McClean

Director of photography: Ronnie McQuillan

Editors: Michael Barwise, Ross McClean

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