Special Events

British Film Institute (BFI)

24 October 2020

Down the Film Lane

A Selection of Short Films from the British Film Institute, London

Curated by Mark Reid, Head of UK Learning, British Film Institute

 

Down the Film Lane, Mark Reid , British Film Institute ,UK

 

1. Alice in Wonderland (1903) - Lewis Carroll | BFI National Archive

2. An Interesting Story (1904) - James Williamson

3. Colour on the Thames (1935) - Shot by Adrian Klein

4. Snow (1963) - Geoffrey Jones | BFI National Archive

5. Lucky Dip (2001) - Emily Skinner

6. Taps (2003) - Matthew Gravelle

7. Flat Life (2004) - Jonas Geirnaert

8 Borderline (2005) - Alex Chandon

9.Breakfast (2006) - Alexander Magnioani

 

1. Alice In Wonderland (1903) Lewis Carroll | BFI National Archive

The earliest version of Alice in Wonderland, made in 1903, and restored in 2010.

It features quite a bit of trick photography from a century ago !

 

2. An Interesting Story (1904) - James Williamson

The film shows a man so engrossed in his book that his time is spent dangerously oblivious to everything else happening around him. This earliest slapstick film, with lots of trick effects, includes an incredible inflatable man!

3. Colour on the Thames (1935) : Shot by Adrian Klein

This film is tricky to describe: is it a boat study, a film-poem, an experiment, a picture postcard? One thing is certain: it's a rare colour snapshot of the Thames and London in the 1930s - and it looks quite magical.

An early colour film: there are so many different colour processes in the history of film, and this one is called Gaspar Colour, but it never really took off. Colour on the Thames was essentially an advert for Gaspar Colour, and it uses the river Thames, in the 1930s, as its canvas. 4. Snow (1963) The film showcases something quintessentially British, and you can tell what just from the title: Snow. It was made in the most ferocious British winter of the last 70 years, partly to advertise the great response of the national railways to extreme weather. It also has a soundtrack directly echoing the rhythms of a locomotive.

4. Snow (1963)

The film showcases something quintessentially British, and you can tell what just from the title: Snow. It was made in the most ferocious British winter of the last 70 years, partly to advertise the great response of the national railways to extreme weather. It also has a soundtrack directly echoing the rhythms of a locomotive.

5. Lucky Dip – Emily Skinner (2001)

On a seaside fairground, a little girl helps a rabbit toy escape from a lucky dip machine.

Continuing the British theme, this film is set in a very British location - a pier at the seaside. Piers are exciting but sometime scary places, and in this film a little girl escapes from her grandparents for a few minutes and enters an amusement arcade. There she encounters the scary 'Pin Man' and a rabbit trapped in a Lucky Dip machine.

6. Taps : Matthew Gravelle (2003)

Three taps battle their differences to conclude a rhythmic tune.

A very simple animation, with only one shot, and some noises. You can decide if there any real 'characters' or not - a debate every time it is screened !

7.Flat Life (2004 ) : Jonas Geirnaert

Furniture and neighbours ! It's a very funny look at how people live alongside each other in high-rise buildings. Although it was made in Belgium, it could easily have been made in an English city!

 

8. Borderline : Alex Chandon ( 2005 ) Set in London but set in a kind of dystopian future - maybe everyone can recognise a world with too much traffic, and overwhelming concrete neighbourhoods on an inhuman scale

 

9. Breakfast - Alexander Mugnioani (2006) A very gentle observation of the breakfast routines and rituals of a selection of British people, from a lonely pensioner, to a hassled businessman. It was made by a group of schoolchildren. aged around 14.

 

So, I hope you all enjoy these, and learn some more about the UK, and the wider world. bye!

 

Curated by

Mark Reid