Log in
Common Ground

Common Ground

Nothing is more dry and boring than the fantasies of a locus communis — Karl Marx, Grundrisse

2014 · 92 min

It tells the story of Dennis, whose musician brother Oli is missing. Dennis is not the only person looking for him. Oli’s ex-wife, the members of his band and the local moneylenders are all on the lookout for Oli too. And tramps have moved into Oli’s flat. With Oli nowhere to be found, Dennis inherits a whole set of problems that threaten both him and his family… Set against the backdrop of the contemporary economic crisis and the anti-government protests of late 2011, Common Ground is a neonoir film about family, identity, economics and the dream of utopia.

Directed by William Brown

Your Rating

More from William BrownSee all →

AfterimagesAfterimages · 2010
Afterimages
2010
Movie
Dennis, an introverted baker one day discovers a mobile phone containing nothing but a video of a girl seemingly being raped by a gang of youths. When Dennis discovers that the kids are disaffected teenagers staging street crimes and the like to entertain themselves, he is drawn into a world that is far from the quiet existence he normally leads.
Golden GateGolden Gate · 2019
Golden Gate
2019
Movie
A video-essay about the Golden Gate Bridge and its role in film history.
SelfieSelfie · 2014
Selfie
2014
Movie
An essay-film that tries to understand the phenomenon of the selfie from within – that is, by taking moving image selfies every day for most of 2014.
#randomaccessmemory#randomaccessmemory · 2017
#randomaccessmemory
2017
Movie
An essay-film about what it means to be in love.
ClemClem · 2018
Clem
2018
Movie
A short experimental essay-film about William Brown’s childhood cat, Clem, as well as a contemplation of blindness, ruins, the self-portrait and Jacques Derrida.
App 666App 666 · 2024
App 666
2024
Movie
Inspired by Wim Wenders' Room 666, this collaborative project asks 17 filmmakers about the current state of cinema. Selfie style confessionals explore divides in the contemporary media landscape, and ask whether there is still a place for independent filmmaking.
Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 TableauxUr: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux · 2015
Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux
2015
Movie
Six characters in search of a zombie apocalypse in France’s Périgord region; a searing insight into the decadent lifestyles of the British upper middle class, Ur follows Will, Dennis, Laura and Rosie, who have come to visit Alex and Edward in Bergerac, France. Edward loves Rosie. Alex seduces Rosie. Alex also seduces Laura. Will is having a nervous breakdown. Dennis is trying to put his life back together. Will then gets bitten when out running - and turns into a zombie. Do the others kill him or keep him?
Circle/LineCircle/Line · 2016
Circle/Line
2016
Movie
A documentary that asks people at stops on the Circle Line of the London Underground whether they are happy.
The New HopeThe New Hope · 2015
The New Hope
2015
MovieAdventureComedy
A wilfully anti-cinematic and Jedi-themed adaptation of the first part of Don Quixote.
CINEMA-19CINEMA-19 · 2020
CINEMA-19
2020
Movie
A collection of 190-second short films created in response to COVID-19, commissioned by filmmakers Usama Alshaibi and Adam Sekuler.
Letters to AriadneLetters to Ariadne · 2016
Letters to Ariadne
2016
Movie
A series of video-letters from William to his then-two-year old niece, Ariadne, offering her advice for and thoughts upon the world in which she is rapidly growing up.
Waiting for GodardWaiting for Godard · 2010
Waiting for Godard
2010
Movie
Loners Alex and Annie, who set out to find Godard, suddenly have a double homicide and a ménage à trois on their conscience. 'En attendant Godard' is a funny tribute to one of the biggest geniuses of film history. 'All you need is a girl and a gun', Godard famously said about making films. With his impressive zero budget debut William Brown both pays tribute to and corrects his master - and subtly underlines what we perhaps already knew from the beginning, that all we really need is a girl and Godard.
La Belle NoiseLa Belle Noise · 2019
La Belle Noise
2019
Movie
An experimental film about actors and acting shot primarily at the Fest Film Festival in Espinho, Portugal, in 2018.
China: A User's Manual (Films)China: A User's Manual (Films) · 2012
China: A User's Manual (Films)
2012
Movie
In 2006, filmmakers Christian Bouche-Villeneuve and Sandor Krasna allegedly sent the footage taken in this movie to Sir Hamlet Auberjena, who recently sent it on to William Brown, knowing that he is a film lover. Although no one by the name of Christian Bouche-Villeneuve or Sandor Krasna has - to the best of Brown's knowledge - claimed to know anything about the film, Brown will present the film to interested parties. Although the film is presumably unfinished, Brown has decided to follow what appear to be the original filmmakers' intentions and to call the project China: A User's Manual (Films).
This is CinemaThis is Cinema · 2021
This is Cinema
2021
Movie
Ben is a university professor who is struggling with the loss of his wife and child. A match with a student on a dating app leads to possible complications at work, where he is also forced to fight for his job after his grief has led to a downturn in his productivity. Matters are made more complication by the unexpected arrival of his brother-in-law, Dennis, who brings with him Radhika, a homeless woman who has run away from an unhappy marriage. Meanwhile, Latoya tries to balance her studies at Ben’s university with near full-time work, while her sister Dami gets sucked into a world of dealing drugs to students as she tries to realise her ambitions as a musician.
The Benefit of DoubtThe Benefit of Doubt · 2019
The Benefit of Doubt
2019
MovieDrama
A retelling of the myth of Ariadne and a reworking of Jean Vigo’s classic A propos de Nice as a young woman rediscovers her identity while travelling alone in the south of France.

More Like This

Couldn't load this row right now.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter