Trollywood

The starting point for this film was a series of photographs that Madeleine Farley took in Los Angeles. Fascinated by the subject of homelessness in a city famous for its show of wealth, she set off in search of a sign that would crystallise the contradiction between rich and poor. She found just what she was looking for in the shape of shopping trolleys in the malls and supermarkets, which some use to transport provisions and luxury items and others use to store all their worldly possessions. Here, on the one hand, was extravagant consumerism, wealth and superabundance; on the other lay the deep divisions within a society which defines itself largely in terms of the way it consumes. In Madeleine Farley’s film, the shopping trolley becomes a symbol of the contradictions of an affluent society; background information is provided in the form of interviews with homeless people, streetworkers and representatives of government authorities, but also employees of social institutions and hospitals. The more time Madeleine Farley spent exploring the subject and the more she began to talk to homeless people, the more she felt the need to do justice to the personality of every individual she met.