Marco Espirito Santo: One fine day in the summer of 2023, I switched on the TV and stumbled upon live coverage of King Charles’s coronation. I live in Lisbon now, but having been born in London and lived there for 13 years, I still feel deeply connected to British culture. So, I watched with genuine interest.
To be honest, the whole thing felt kind of wild – like it didn’t belong in the 21st century. All the pomp, fanfare, and the staggering expense, especially during tough times for the UK and the world, struck me as completely out of step with reality. Seeing the huge crowds cheering made me wonder: what were struggling Britons or citizens of Commonwealth nations still tied to The Crown thinking about all this? I have no ill will towards King Charles personally – he seems more a victim of his circumstances than anything – but the whole institution felt so outdated, I felt compelled to comment.
That’s what triggered the idea: I’d shoot the live coverage directly off my TV, deliberately seeking skewed angles and distortions to make the footage look as weird as possible – a personal video art project, at most. But the concept kept evolving. What if the audio was someone, maybe a frustrated Londoner, calling Emergency Services and voicing his feelings as a poem? Funny, darkly British, and very punk, I thought. Del agreed, so we went for it. I wrote the poem, got it voiced, added it to the edit, and suddenly, the video took on new life. With Del’s sharp design sense guiding me, I spent weeks hand-painting frames in Photoshop, losing my mind, since animation definitely isn’t my thing.
Throughout making this DIY short, two thoughts kept cycling through my mind. First, the monarchy’s a touchy subject – hopefully, people wouldn’t find it too offensive or disrespectful. Yes, it tackles real issues, but it pushes boundaries a bit. And second, a line from The Clash’s “London Calling” kept echoing: “And you know what they said? Well, some of it was true!” Probably.
