Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor (Desperate Optimists) embarked on the Civic Life series in July 2003 and have since created a unique and richly cinematic series of seven short films that capture different places and communities in single long takes. Filming with complex 35mm equipment and hundreds of extras, they have worked in close collaboration with local residents and community groups to make a body of work that is both theatrical and deeply cinematic, at once experimental and highly accessible.