A one-day event on the independent film and video culture of the 1970s: feminist filmmaking and criticism, activist and participatory documentary, political aesthetics and film theory. There will be screenings of rarely seen works and discussions with figures from the era. The event will provide the chance to (re)examine the products and activities of this decade, which range from dense aesthetic theory to grass roots collaborative documentary. The idea is to explore the connections between disparate film cultural strands and open a dialogue between this earlier work and current debates and practices in the moving image.

Schedule:

Morning

11am Discussion: ‘Writing/Theory/Independence, 1970-1985’ with Mark Nash (former editor of Screen), Mandy Merck (former editor at Time Out and editor of Screen), Kathryn Siegel (PhD candidate, King’s College London)

12pm Screening: Mirror Phase (Carola Klein, 1978, 47 minutes)

Afternoon

2pm Screening and discussion: ‘Community Video/Community Action – Screening of Somewhere in Hackney (Ron Orders, 1980, 50 minutes) and discussion with Ron Orders

3.30pm Filmed interview with Ariel Dougherty (filmmaker and co-founder of Women Make Movies)

4pm Screening: Growing Up Female (Jim Klein and Julia Reichert, 1971, 50 minutes), Anything You Want To Be (Liane Brandon, 1971, 8 minutes)

5pm Plenary discussion with James Boaden (lecturer at University of York), Lucy Reynolds (curator and lecturer at Central Saint Martins), Oriana Fox (artist).

Entry is free but please register on Eventbrite to reserve your place.

Supported by Royal Holloway, University of London.