Free outdoor screenings on Trafalgar Square at LFF
Story by Jack Foley
FOR the fifth year running, Film London and The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival will host FREE outdoor screenings on Trafalgar Square on Thursday and Friday, October 23 and 24 from 6.30pm.
London Loves offers two nights of rare films which celebrate London and all that London loves, accompanied by live music improvised on the night by acclaimed pianist Neil Brand.
Screening on Thursday (23) will be the silent classic High Treason (1929), preceded by the 10min short The Fugitive Futurist (1924) – both offering audiences a 1920s take on visions of London in the future.
Kicking off the festivities on Friday (24) will be a special screening of a film not seen in the UK for over 100 years, offering viewers a unique look at early 20th century London: Living London was an ambitious 1904 documentary originally made to show London off to the world.
The film, thought lost, has recently been discovered in The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia and has been especially restored for this screening.
Following Living London will be a selection of 15 archive short films celebrating London through the ages, from John Krish’s fond farewell to London’s tram network, The Elephant Will Never Forget (1953) to news footage of Charlie Chaplin being mobbed by fans in Chaplin Visits London (1921) and unique footage of a 1930s London wedding in Wedding at Belmont Free Church (1931).
Members of the public can also be in with a chance of having their name in lights as part of The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival.
Before the main programme commences each night, contemporary Londoners’ views of the capital and what they “Love” about London will be projected on the screen in Trafalgar Square on the Thursday and Friday evenings.
Thoughts, or alternatively digital photos depicting favourite London landmarks, should be emailed to londonloves@filmlondon.org.uk. London Loves submissions should include the name of the sender, plus the area of London they are from.
Programme details
Thursday, October 23 2008, 6.30pm – Trafalgar Square
The Fugitive Futurist (Gaston Quiribet, 1924)
An extraordinary alternative future as suggested for some of the capital’s best known landmarks.
High Treason (Maurice Elvey, 1929)
Two great superpowers stand on the brink of war as a band of evil agitators conspire to further encourage conflict. Will London’s peace league save the world? An intriguing glimpse into what seemed possible in the inter-war years.
Friday, October 24, 2008, 6.30pm – Trafalgar Square
Living London (1904)
Ambitious 1904 documentary by Charles Urban, the dynamic American film pioneer who came to London in 1897. Urban’s film was believed lost, until archivist Ian Christie identified it among the holdings of the Australian National Film and Sound Archive in 2006. This fragment, about one quarter of the original, has now been restored and will be screening in the UK for the first time in over 100 years.
The Smallest Car in the Largest City in the World (1913)
The film shows a miniature Cadillac driving through London. The car passes landmarks including the Bank of England, the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square.
Chaplin Visits London (1921)
News footage of Charlie Chaplin mobbed by adoring fans on a visit back to his home town.
London’s Contrasts (Harry B Parkinson, 1924)
One in a series of the ‘Wonderful London’ films of the 20s. A coachman takes us through London from the well off West to the less affluent East.
What’s Wrong With Fish: Topical Budget Newsreel (1925)
Billinsgate traders expound the virtues of a fish diet.
Wedding At Belmont Free Church (1931)
Intimate home movie footage of a 1930s Sutton wedding party.
Fires Were Started (Humphrey Jennings & Harry Watt Pat Jackson 1939 – extracts)
Bun Eating Race, Sutton and Hackney (early 1950s)
Footage of bun eating races at local sports day events.
It Always Rains on a Sunday (Robert Hamer, 1947 – extract)
East London housewife who’s ex lover, an escaped prisoner, turns up on the run asking for her help [clip from box office hit with Googie Withers].
Together (Lorenza Mazzetti, 1956 – extract)
The lives of two deaf-mute dock workers are explored in this lyrical drama documentary set against the bomb damaged landscape of London’s East End.
The Elephant will Never Forget (John Krish, 1953)
A fond farewell to London’s trams.
SE:18 Impressions Of A London Suburb (1966 – extract)
Documentary set in mid 60s Greenwich.
Jemima and Johnny (Lionel Ngakane, 1966 – extract)
The friendship of two young children in a Notting Hill blighted by racism.
Noted Eel and Pie Houses (David Furnham, 1975 – extract)
Documentary about Eel and Pie Houses and the families that run them.
Kenneth Williams: Comic Roots (extract 1983)
Kenneth Williams takes us on a tour around the King’s Cross of his childhood as well as singing a few songs at the local pub.
Latifah and Himli’s Nomadic Uncle (Alnoor Dewshi, 1992)
A witty exploration of cultural diversity. Latifah and Himli walk through the streets of London and discuss their place in the cosmopolitan Diaspora.