‘The Image Speaks’: Pre and Postwar Experiments in Short-Form Documentary

'The Image Speaks’: Pre and Postwar Experiments in Short-Form Documentary

Come join us at The Keep for an immersive exploration of short-form documentaries from the pre and postwar eras.

This screening will feature three short films held by the BFI: ‘Listen to Britain’ (1942) by Humphrey Jennings (one of the founders of the Mass Observation Project), ‘We Are the Lambeth Boys’ (1958) by Karel Reisz, and ‘The Refuge’ (1959) by Robert Vas. The films span two traditions of non-fiction cinema in Britain: The General Post Office’s wartime propaganda films and the post-war Free Cinema Movement, which pursued a more experimental and independent approach to documentary and focused on telling the stories underprivileged peoples; namely, working class and refugee communities.

This event will provoke thought on ideas of documentation and its history, in both film and through the MO project, how and why we do it and what purpose it serves (both good and bad, for both viewer and subject).

A selection of materials selected by the MOA team will be on display.

Please note there will be a £2 fee for the car park.

Host or Publisher The Mass Observation Archive