The Bull Laid Bear “lays bare” the economic recession (bear market) that hides behind each boom time (bull market). The film combines interviews with four US economists: William K. Black, a white-collar criminologist; Yves Smith, author of the blog Naked Capitalism; Tiffiniy Cheng, campaign coordinator for A New Way Forward; and Gerald Epstein, co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute with hand drawn animations to create a quasi-fictitious criminal world of gangster bankers and corrupt courts.
Sydney based performer Singing Sadie provides a sound track with a reinterpretation of Billie Holiday’s classic lament on money, God Bless The Child.
The Bull Laid Bear probes our collective “beliefs” in financial markets, unravelling responsibility for the 2008 financial meltdown and looking at the spiraling economic crisis in Europe and beyond.
Concept, film editing and production:
Zanny Begg & Oliver Ressler
Animation and drawings: Zanny Begg
Camera and interviews: Oliver Ressler
Vocals: Singing Sadie
Piano: Mick Hana
Other music: Captain Ahab
Camera Singing Sadie: Arunas Klupsas
Sound Singing Sadie: Jon Hunter
Sound and image editing: Rudi Gottsberger
Special thanks to: Nancy Folbre, Brian Holmes, Jon Hunter, Pascal Jurt, Arunas Klupsas and Singing Sadie
Grants: Kulturamt der Steiermärkischen Landesregierung and New Work Grant, Australia Council for the Visual Arts.