A film by Alex Schady
Camera Assistant Georgie Manly
Starring the young people from the Lithos Road Estate

Special thanks to Camden Arts Centre, Ben Roberts, Michaela Ross and Dan Stafford

In a world with no adults, a group of masked children perform a number of mysterious rituals with apparently supernatural results. The activities seem focused and purposeful yet their aim or ultimate objective is left ambiguous. The children are disguised with masks and costumes that seem to suggest pagan festivals or a kind of homemade/low-tech science fiction, The increasingly anarchic games, from which adults are excluded, seem to conjure up apparitions and magical events.

Everything Must Go combines animation with live action. The animation is resolutely two-dimensional and hovers above, never quite managing to connect with the filmed events. The crudely constructed animations try to grab your attention like fluorescent special offer signs in shop windows. Caught on the surface of the screen they flash and buzz, demanding to be noticed. Innocent messages flash up: 'everything must go', 'last few days', but taken out of context their intent seems bleak and filled with foreboding.  

Ultimately Everything Must Go is an encounter between Alex Schady and a group of children. Filmed entirely on the Lithos Road Estate with the collaboration of local residents, Schady set up a series of structured activities. However, the children determine how the performances unfold, with the artist's camera responding opportunistically to the events that take place. The finished work is thus a collaborative venture that evolved and mutated according to the needs and demands of the participants. 

The footage was shot over a period of six weeks on the Lithos Road Estate in north London. The sequence was edited using Final Cut Pro, with all animations produced using a combination of Photoshop and Final Cut.