Lindsay Anderson's 'O Dreamland' screening in London

There will be a screening of Lindsay Anderson's O Dreamland next Thursday in London as part of a night of poetry, performance and film screenings under the banner of 'Plectrum Live Edition'.   The event 'Plectrum Live Edition: Postcards from the Promenade' is organised by 'Plectrum - the cultural pick' - an arts magazine published on-line and bi-monthly in print.  I heard of this event via The Horse Hospital - this is an arts venue in London. In their own words "The Horse Hospital is a three tiered progressive arts venue in London providing an encompassing umbrella for the related media of film fashion, music and art." Oh, so many things to explore when I move to London!  Although unfortunately I'll miss this event as I'm travelling back up from London on the 23rd after a few days flat hunting and starting a film course at Lux - Opening up the Archive - a Guided tour of Artists Moving Image.

Here is some more information about the event which the screening of O Dreamland is a part of:

"Returning from a seaside summer holiday, the first Plectrum Live Edition of the autumn mixes postcards from the promenade and the view into the fairground fortune teller’s crystal ball, with fresh perspectives on the sights and sounds of London, to present an evening of author readings, film screening, live music, poetry, and more with Travis Elborough, Lindsay Anderson’s O Dreamland, Karen McLeod, The Vatican Cellars, and Benedict Newbery, hosted by Guy Sangster Adams."

Thursday 23 September at The Horse Hospital, Colonnade, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 1JD.  Doors at 7.30 performances begin 8pm.    Tickets £6 on the door.

Set in a funfair in Margate called 'Dreamland' Lindsay Anderson's 1953 film O Dreamland wasn't actually screened until the first Free Cinema programme at the National Film Theatre in 1956.  A short film of 12 minutes which tours round the funfair showing the 'attractions' which in this film appear very bleak, and at times, sinister.  The effect of the film is described brilliantly by Gavin Lambert in an article he wrote on Free Cinema:

 "Everything is ugly... It is almost too much. The nightmare is redeemed by the point of view, which, for all the unsparing candid camerawork and the harsh, inelegant photography, is emphatically humane. Pity, sadness, even poetry is infused into this drearily tawdry, aimlessly hungry world."

Lindsay Anderson on location for O Dreamland,
© Lindsay Anderson Collection, University of Stirling Archives

N.B. The funfair at Margate is still there today although it closed in 2005.

N.B. If you are in a Library, College or University which has an account with BFI Screenonline then you can watch O Dreamland  for free online at http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/438978/

A Lucky Find

I'm just back from a week's holiday in Crete where we had a lovely time enjoying the beautiful scenery and lovely hot weather, eating tasty local food (including lots of fresh fish), and basically relaxing after the recent hectic time of the end of my post at Stirling University and celebrating my husband's new job and our imminent move to London - yay!

So on our return from Crete we're spending a few days in London exploring some of the areas we're thinking we might move to.    Yesterday we were in Stoke Newington first which we both really liked but which is maybe not going to be feasible re commuting.  Anyway we had fun exploring and of course doing a wee bit of shopping.  On our wander we came across a lovely shop on Church Street which drew me in with the lovely array of vintage tea pots I could see through the window.  They also had a great selection of prints, including reproductions of Cuban film posters.  I wasn't planning to buy anything but when I came across this poster for Lindsay Anderson's O Lucky Man! (1973) I just had to buy it!  The artist is Antonio Fernandez Reboiro and the poster is from 1977.  I didn't want to take the poster out it's plastic until I get home so apologies for the poor quality of the image but the quality of the art work shines through I think. 

I don't know much about Cuban movie posters but found a few interesting blogs that will start me off on a bit more reading when I get back to Glasgow - for now we're off to Borough Market for some tasty food!

Here are the blogs I came across:

Tales of a Cinesthete

Cuban Posters

Our new Archive space in the University of Stirling Library

The newly renovated library building is getting all the finishing touches put in now - ready for the big opening on Monday 30 August.  The new archive space is looking, and smelling great!  Yes, I did say smelling - I had forgotten how much I love the small of an archive store!  Hmmn, just brought to my mind Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore's "I love the small of napalm in the morning" when I wrote that line down - I guess to some I might sound a bit mad with my love of the small of an archive store, but hopefully not in the same league as Kilgore!  The new search room is lovely and bright and spacious as you can see from the photos.  I think the archival material we've chosen for the display cases (each shelf having its own theme) work really well and hopefully the staff and students will agree when we open on Monday.

Image from the archive

Well I forgot my camera again today so no images of the lovely new archive.  So, as a quick post I thought I'd share this striking image from a 1984 aerogramme sent to Lindsay Anderson.  It is promoting the 1984 US Olympics (as you can see!) and there are quite a few of these in the collection, sent by different people.  I really like all the bright colours and the design and I think it would be so nice to receive a letter dressed up like that.  I was talking to someone last night about the lost art of letter writing - well actually not quite so lost, I don't think, as I know that me and my friends often write letters to each other, send cards, postcards and Cd's etc.  There is really something so wonderful about receiving a letter that is quite different than online communication. I know people still use the post for communicating but only as one of many forms of communication and this is what is so exciting nowadays- the myriad of ways in which people can speak to each other. 

Now I'm off back to the archives store to carry on with organising all the boxes in the Lindsay Anderson Archive - it's very satisfying to see it all in its new home! 

Reaching the end of the project

A week today will be my final day working at Stirling University on the Lindsay Anderson Archive and the 'Cinema Authorship of Lindsay Anderson' AHRC project.  I'm excited about the new challenges the future will bring- including the immediate challenge of finding a new job!  However after three years working with the archive I'll be incredibly sad to leave Lindsay (as I now think of him) behind.  I feel like I've really come to know him over the past 3 years - though I know that this is in no way comparable to those who actually knew him during his lifetime.  I also feel rather possessive of the archive - is this a common feeling amongst archivists when you work so long with one collection? I imagine so - but I know that it is in good hands at Stirling University, particularly now it will be housed in the lovely new Archive store (more pictures of the new archive to follow tomorrow as I forgot my camera today).  London is calling though and I am super excited about the move to London with my husband to start a new stage in our life in a city which we both already love.  For today though I better stop gabbing and get back to David Vaughan (yes, I'm on 'V' of the named correspondence files - not long to go now!).  I did try and scan a rather lovely piece of sheet music which David Vaughan sent to Lindsay Anderson for the 1929 film 'The Broadway Melody' but my highly temperamental scanner seems to have finally given up the ghost. 

So instead here is a photo of my co-workers from the Lindsay Anderson project on a team away day we recently enjoyed.  The photo is taken near the Standing Stones on Machrie Moor on the Isle of Arran.  We had a lovely day, we walked for three hours in total, saw lots of beautiful countryside, enjoyed each others company - and a well deserved pint at the end of the walk!