Laura Grace Ford Presents An Act of Unforgetting

At @OpenCityDocs 2019, artist and writer Laura Grace Ford (@LauraOF) will host 'An Act of Unforgetting': a programme of archival TV documentaries centred around social and political upheaval in London during the summer of 1990:
http://bit.ly/LauraGraceFordOCDF


Laura Grace Ford (formerly Oldfield Ford) is a London based artist and writer concerned with spatial narratives, contested space, architecture, fiction and memory. Drawing on cognitive mapping and the dérive Ford interrogates place by mapping the psychic contours of the city. She has developed a multidisciplinary practice where spectral languages erupt as fictions and dreamings, a reconnection with emancipatory forces embedded in the city.  Ford has curated a combined programme of archival TV documentaries, placing Battle of Trafalgar (1990) alongside an episode of Summer on the Estate (1991) and will be present to discuss and contextualise the programme

Date Sat 07 September, 20:40

Location Curzon Soho

For more info and tickets see here: 

https://opencitylondon.com/events/laura-grace-ford-presents-an-act-of-unforgetting/

Comment: 200 Years On - The Politics of Peterloo

[From London Socialist Historians Group Newsletter 67 (Summer 2019)]




As Mike Leigh’s film of the Peterloo Massacre is screens in the US it’s worthwhile keeping in mind that while even critics agree Leigh has the historical detail accurate, they still cannot agree on the significance of the events of that day.

It is an important point because it underlines that what Peterloo represented is not a settled question in either British history or politics. Leigh himself deliberately leaves the film open ended rather than providing an historical link to Chartism, which campaigned for the vote for men from the 1830s.

The link here is to a piece the cultural historian Dominic Sandbrook wrote in the Daily Mail on 24 August 2018. It is quite measured when it comes to the history of Peterloo, much less so in assessing what it meant. According to Sandbrook it was ‘barely a massacre’ at all which won’t be much consolation to those who were killed and injured on the day.

It’s worth remembering that the magistrate who sent the yeomanry in at Peterloo, Hulton, was a lifelong Tory and he never managed a public apology.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the attempts, mainly by those in authority, to downplay the numbers on popular protests, the numbers who attended
Peterloo on that August Monday in 1819 have also come into question.

The generally accepted figure has been 60,000 or upwards. More recently a claim has been made, using modern methods of calculating how many people can fit into a particular space, that it can’t have been anywhere near that number.

However it seems unlikely that those attending Peterloo were aware of the work of crowd theorists who calculate how many people can in theory fit into a particular space.

A much more useful way of looking at the space of Peterloo in 1819 has been demonstrated by Katrina Navickas, who was one of the advisors on Leigh’s Peterloo - see here

Keith Flett 

Peterloo in Manchester 2019

There are several notable exhibitions in Manchester this year which focus on Peterloo on the 200th anniversary.

The Peoples History Museum: details are here https://phm.org.uk/exhibitions/disrupt-peterloo-and-protest/

The John Rylands Library: details are here https://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/rylands/whats-on/peterloo/

A reasonably comprehensive summary of Peterloo events in Manchester is here: https://peterloo1819.co.uk/

In addition Red Saunders is producing one of his Hidden montages featuring Peterloo and is crowdfunding for the costs. https://www.gofundme.com/peterloo-massacre-hidden-project

There has also been criticism focusing on the point that the exhibitions don’t make the connection between Peterloo and modern-day protests sufficiently well or sometimes at all.

Revolution - New Art for a New World - new documentary on the Russian avant-garde

A new political documentary will be showing at Curzon Bloomsbury on 10 November: 

Revolution - New Art for a New World is a bold and exciting new feature documentary which seamlessly weaves the tumultuous period of the Russian Revolution with the story of the artists that shaped it, including Chagall, Rodchenko, Kandinsky and more. 

You can see more information here http://revolution.film and http://www.curzoncinemas.com/bloomsbury/film-info/revolution-new-art-for-a-new-world

Dennis Skinner film coming soon - Nature of the Beast

New film documentary on Dennis Skinner coming soon ... Nature of the Beast

 A cinematic portrait of the committed socialist and trade unionist who has fought for the rights of the working class for over half a century – Dennis Skinner MP. A feature length documentary, Nature of The Beast will not only trace his rise to a political icon, but will reveal the man behind the Beast of Bolsover. A lover of nature, sports, music and performing, there's more to Dennis Skinner than the wit and passion seen in the House of Commons. A film about one of Britain's most prominent politicians is long overdue. Nature of The Beast will be available next year.

Ken Loach film evening in Hayes

Ken Loach Film Evening in Hayes: 

‘Cathy Come Home’ screening followed by discussion with John McDonnell MP and Ken Loach 

Friday 6^th March, 6:30pm -9pm, The Social Centre, Botwell Lane, Hayes, Middlesex UB3 1HA. 

Register attendance here 

You are cordially invited to an evening of film, discussion and radical politics with acclaimed British director Ken Loach and Hayes & Harlington MP, John McDonnell.

The ground-breaking Cathy Come Home, first broadcast in 1966, is a seminal work and widely described as among the most important British works ever produced.

Directed by Ken Loach prior to making the transition from TV to cinema, Cathy Come Home was pivotal in the launch of the housing charity Shelter and instrumental in changing the law regarding homelessness.

Following the screening of the film, John McDonnell will chair a discussion with Ken on the film, the current housing crisis and need for local homes campaign.

Full schedule of the evening:

6.30pm: Welcome from John followed by Ken to say a few words by way of introduction to the film.

6:45pm: Cathy Come Home (75 minutes)

8pm: Discussion with Ken, chaired by John on the film and the current housing crisis and launching of local homes campaign.

9pm: Finish

The Social Centre is a short, 7 minute, walk from Hayes and Harlington station or alternatively can be easily accessed using the 195, H98, U4 or U5 local bus routes from the station towards Botwell lane.  Map attached at the foot of this email.

I look forward to seeing you there.

John McDonnell MP

Still the Enemy Within film premiere in Sheffield

One week until premiere of Still the Enemy Within!

World Premiere on 7th June @13.45 &  11th June @20.30    Showroom 4 Cinema, Sheffield  Still the Enemy Within will be screened at the prestigious Sheffield International Documentary Festival   There is just one week until 'Still the Enemy Within' has its world premiere at the Sheffield Documentary Festival on 7th June and 11th June. Tickets are selling fast for both screenings so please book today to avoid disappointment. If you do join us in Sheffield please remember to vote for us in the audience choice awards. We hope as many of you can join us as possible! We have more screenings coming up that will be announced shortly

Still the Enemy Within conference

Still the Enemy Within Conference
Remembering the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike, learning lessons for today:
Film, long lost archive, music and debate from the strike that divided Britain and defined an era.
Date: Saturday 8 March, 12 noon-9pm.
Speakers include: Seumas Milne, Paul Mason, Women Against Pit Closures, Mike Jackson, (co-founder Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners), members of Test Department, Paul Symonds, Joe Henry and other former striking miners and more.
Films include: Preview of Still the Enemy Within, Dancing in Dulais, Battle of Orgreave, Miners’ Campaign Tapes, plus UK premiere of Miners Shot Down – the Marikana miners’ struggle.
Venue: RichMix: 35 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA (nearest tube Shoreditch, Liverpool Street,)
Tickets: http://bit.ly/1hYekDT Contact: miners84@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StillEnemyWithinDay

Readers of the LSHG blog may also be interested to know that The Great Strike: The Miners' Strike of 1984-5 and Its Lessons by Alex Callinicos and Mike Simons, a fine book written in the aftermath of the strike, is now online - Simons was a journalist on Socialist Worker who covered the strike at the time, and has been involved with the making of Still the Enemy Within.

An appeal for Still the Enemy Within film

From Mike Simons:

 

I just want to let you know that the film to mark the 30th anniversary of the miners’ strike that we have been working on for the past year achieved a real milestone yesterday with our first semi-public showing of some of the footage.

Dartmouth Films, The Fire Brigades Union and The Communication Workers Union jointly hosted the launch of our new crowdfunding campaign and it went really well.

Jane Loftus, president of the Postal Workers’ Union spoke, as Did Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union – whose members were out on strike the next day. I was particularly pleased that Dave Hopper, the Durham miners’ leader, who now runs the Durham Miners’ Gala, came down and lent us his support. He pledged £1,000 to the film, which is a real honour because the Gala always needs money itself.

In the audience were many old friends and comrades alongside the young film makers who are working all hours, without pay to make this project a reality. It was great to see Mike Jackson, one of the founders of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, Nell Myers, the NUM press officer during the strike and for long afterwards, Gareth Pierce who acted for the Orgreave defendants, a number of leading trade unionists. Lindsey German from Stop the War was there and sitting quietly at the back, Ken Loach, who today made a contribution towards the film.

It was quite a nerve wracking event for us because we hadn’t really shown anything of the film to an audience. The reaction was brilliant, however. For those who were active in the miners’ support networks in 84 – 85, or who were miners on the picket line, the clips brought back all the anger and bitterness of the strike. For those who weren’t born when the strike took place it was a real eye opener.

Anyway, we need another £30,000 to pay for archive and do some more filming. Some of you will have given money already through the initial Kickstarter campaign earlier this year or in memory of Rosey. This appeal isn’t meant to be a further ‘tax’ on people who have already given, though anything you can spare would be most welcome.

What I would really like is for you to try and tap your networks for donations. If everyone got a donation from five or ten people we would be well on our way. If you were around in the miners’ strike it would be worth trying to dig out your old friends from the support groups. If you weren’t around in the strike, many people are interested in it and in seeing the story put across from a working class viewpoint.

If you are in a union branch or on a trades council, please try to get a donation and also think about how you can use the film next year. With official backing by the FBU, CWU, NUT and the Durham miners, with the support of Labour MPs Dianne Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn and the backing of Ken Livingstone, to say nothing of Ken Loach’s backing you should be able to win support.

Please send round the link to all your friends and also follow up with a direct approach, asking people to donate. We need money quickly – both to get our crowd funding campaign off to a good start, but also to feed the film crew who are turning down paying jobs to work on this project for free.

Here you go

http://www.sponsume.com/project/still-enemy-within

Many thanks

Mike

Support the Still The Enemy Within film

Thirty years ago Thatcher went to war. Still the Enemy Within is a documentary about the miners who fought back. 

To see the latest trailer and fundraising video, with messages of support from John Pilger, Ken Livingstone, Michael Rosen and Diane Abbott visit:

SPONSUME 

http://www.sponsume.com/project/still-enemy-within 

We have a whole new load of rewards this year. If you donated last year and you donate again, you will automatically go into a special loyalty raffle to win 'The Miners: Box Set' our favourite selection of films about mining and striking from both here and abroad, chosen by the team.

You can also still by tickets to our Solidarity with the Miners Xmas Meal here
https://www.eventbrite.com/event/9046756091

We must raise another 35K by Xmas to complete this project to the standard required. With your help, we know we can do it.    Next year,  the legacy of the strike will be bitterly contested, we need to this film to give the miners a voice.

For more information visit www.the-enemy-within.org.uk

CLR James / Beyond a Boundary films

Two superb films by Mike Dibb about CLR James have recently been put online - Beyond a Boundary - a fine introduction to James's seminal study of cricket from 1976 and an interview with the great man himself from the 1980s, CLR James in conversation with Stuart Hall - enjoy!

When Jim Crow met John Bull

When Jim Crow met John Bull: The Battle of Bamber Bridge 1943
 
University of Central Lancashire and Preston Black History Group
present a weekend of commemorative events
 
21st- 23rd June 2013
 
Friday 21st June, 1-7pm, University of Central Lancashire
Symposium with Film Showing and Performance
 
Speakers:
 
Graham Smith (Author: When Jim Crow Met John Bull)
Neil Wynn (Author: The Afro-American and the Second World War)
Steven Bourne (Author: The Motherland Calls: Britain’s Black Servicemen 

and Women 1939-45)
Alan Rice (Author: Creating Memorials, Building Identities) 
Gregory Cook (Producer: Choc’late Soldiers from the USA)
 
Film showing of Choc’late Soldiers from the USA (first shown at the 

Smithsonian, Washington DC, 2009) and discussion with producer Gregory 

Cook from Philadelphia
 
'Lie Back and Think of America'
Fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe, a one-woman show and post-show 

discussion with Front Room Theatre Company’s Natalie Wicox
 
Symposium is free and open to all: please book with Professor 

Alan Rice arice@uclan.ac.uk by June 7th
 
22nd - 23rd June:  Events in Bamber Bridge including church service etc. 

Organised by Preston Black History Group, Chair Clinton Smith 

clinton@Prestonblackhistorygroup.org.uk

Oral Labour Histories symposium timetable

Oral Labour Histories: Britain at Work 1945-95


Britain at Work (B@W) in association with:

British Universities Industrial Relations (BUIRA) IR History Group and

Oral History Society (OHS)

SYMPOSIUM

Saturday 11 May 2013

The Goss Room, Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate (nearest tube: Liverpool Street)

Click on this hyperlink for full location details:

http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/content.aspx?CategoryID=980

One again Britain at Work(B@W) is organising an Oral Labour History Day at the Bishopsgate Institute in London, this time on Saturday 11 May. It will be similar to the one organised in March 2012, but with an afternoon theme focusing on migrant workers and their experiences in the UK. B@W is an initiative to capture the memories of people at work between 1945-1995. Working life as experienced during the half-century 1945-1995 was marked by extreme diversity and change and by the growth of trade union organisation and influence to a high point in the mid-1970s. The trade union movement injected a strong democratic current into British workplaces, to which management responded in different ways, as evident from the significant conflicts between unions and employers, associated with the problems of technological change, de-industrialisation and new union legislation. The main theme this year is migrant workers, in particular Irish and Black workers and those involved in the NHS. The day will, however, begin with round table introductions on the projects in which different participants are involved and their interest in oral labour history. Following lunch, the afternoon will focus on migrant workers, and the day will conclude with the showing of Philip Donnellan’s 1965 film The Irishmen. All those engaged in or with an interest in oral labour history are welcome to participate. If you would like to attend, please contact Michael Gold (M.Gold@rhul.ac.uk) or Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk)
Programme

Coffee/ tea 10.30am

11.00am: Welcome and introduction: Stefan Dickers, Bishopsgate Institute

11.15 – 11.45/ 12.00 noon Opening address: Dr Sundari Anitha, University of Lincoln on ‘Asian Women’s experiences in the Grunwick Dispute: recording and disseminating oral history’ with accompanying exhibition

11.45 – 12.00 Michael Gold – Oral History with a Purpose – Oral Labour History, followed by:

12.00 – 1.00pm B@W updates: Round table introductions:

Five minutes from everyone (if they wish), saying who they are, the project(s) they are involved in and their interest in oral labour history

Lunch 1.00-1.40pm

Presentations and panel discussions (in plenaries)

1.40-2.30 Irish migrant workers –led by Linda Clarke and Christine Wall, with Sara Goek

2.30-3.15 Black workers in London – led by Wilf Sullivan (TUC), with Glenroy Watson (RMT)

3.15-3.30 Break

3.30-4.15 Creating the NHS - led by Joanna Bornat (OHS) – Asian doctors, Irish workers

4.15-4.30 Conclusions

4.30 – 5.30 Film showing: Philip Donnellan’s The Irishmen (1965)

Oliver Stone event and screening

Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick will be talking about their new documentary series and book at 5pm on 3 April at the IHR Public History seminar at Senate House, University of London.

The Untold History of the United States re-examines America's financial, diplomatic and military influence on the long twentieth century to produce a polemical account of the rise and fall of an American Empire.

The event includes the screening of one episode of The Untold History of the United States, a Q&A and a book signing. Tickets, priced £3.50, are available here: stonekuznick.eventbrite.co.uk

Half the Battle: Women Fighting Racism in East London

 Half The Battle: Women Fighting Racism in East London

History talk and short film screening celebrating women’s contributions to the fight against Racism in East London. Touring four venues: 

o   Whitechapel Idea Store, Tuesday 19 March, 7pm

o   Redbridge Central Library, Tuesday 26 March, 1pm

o   Barking Learning Centre, Wednesday 27 March, 4pm

o   Hoxton Hall, Tuesday 2 April, 7.30pm 

Eastside Community Heritage is celebrating Women’s History Month (March 2013). We’ll be sharing the stories of women who’ve fought against racism in East London, in their own words.

Half the Battle will draw from oral history interviews with local activists who have been involved with groups such as Rock Against Racism and Unite Against Fascism.

East Londoners have long been on the frontline of the battle against racism. From Brick Lane to Barking, women have played a crucial role in this vibrant and continuing legacy of activism.

Lwam Tesfay, Trainee Oral Historian at Eastside Community Heritage said, “London has a strong history of anti-racist and anti-fascist campaigning, and it’s important that women’s roles within that are recorded."

Notes on the organisation

Eastside Community Heritage is an oral history centre based in East London. For twenty years we have been collecting and archiving oral histories from ordinary and extraordinary Londoners. These hidden histories are available in our archive, as well as a range of exhibitions, publications, films, and more. Visit www.hidden-histories.org.uk to find out more.

(Still) The Enemy Within: a film about the great miners' strike, 1984-85

(Still) The Enemy Within: The story of the Great 1984-85 Miners' Strike as told by the people who made it happen

(Still) The Enemy Within will tell the story of the 1984-85 miners’ strike through the voices of the miners that made it happen.

 "Although it feels like a life time away, the miners’ strike has never really left us behind, the ones who directly lived through it – who experienced the highs and the lows of fighting for the right to work. Realistically it’s never left the consciousness of this country. That is why it’s so important the right stories are told, the right voices are heard." 
  Louise Harrison, daughter of Keith Harrison, Askern Colliery NUM

 (Still) The Enemy Within will tell the story of the 1984-85 miners’ strike through the voices of some of the tens of thousands of young miners who followed their union president Arthur Scargill through a year of unprecedented struggle. It will describe the experiences of ordinary people – striking miners, their families and supporters across the country – who had no choice but to step on to the stage of history in one of the biggest industrial disputes Britain has ever seen.

Why did the miners fight? What was gained? What was lost? How did they change personally? What has happened to the communities and areas that were the battlegrounds for nearly a year? Finally, what has happened to those described as by Thatcher as `The Enemy Within' ?

We want to share a unique and compelling story, introducing the amazing and brave characters who played such a massive role in British history. We want to create an archive, we want to ensure that those who lost in strike do not lose their place in history. We want to create a tool, for all those who wish to engage with current social and political struggles, to learn from one of the greatest social and political struggles ever fought.

 To make this film needs money - please support their financial appeal

Book Launch/film showing: Liberties of the Savoy

Special book launch and film screening

Liberties of the Savoy
Ruth Ewan (2012)

2-3pm, Wednesday 24th October 2012

Barbican Cinema 1, Level 2
Barbican Centre, Silk Street
London EC2Y 8DS

rsvp@createlondon.org

‘The idea for Liberties of the Savoy came from a number of places including a folk song called ‘The Cutty Wren’ which talks of the 14th century Peasants’ Revolt. The site of The Savoy is key to the project. I want Liberties of the Savoy to create a unique situation, all be it for one afternoon, in which the young people involved are unrestricted in their desire and ambition, where they can temporarily experience liberty of sorts.’
– Ruth Ewan

Summoning the spirit of John Ball, Wat Tyler and the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, Ruth Ewan invited 200 teenagers from east London to take over The Savoy’s Lancaster Ballroom for an ambitious event, Liberties of the Savoy, which addressed the social history of the site: the immunity from prosecution wealthy debtors were offered by the historic Precinct of the Savoy, and the freedom of opulence and indulgence offered to those who can afford to guest at the hotel. Through a process of workshops, interviews and essays, young people respond to the demands of liberty through questions of injustice, class division, riots and racial inequality, in voices that resonate with the ancient call for freedom, common ownership and equality.

The book presents the plans, drawings, photographs, interviews and texts led by the students, and gathered throughout the project, alongside commissioned texts, and recipes by Martin Chiffers, executive pastry chef at The Savoy. The film, edited by Sam Hepworth, features video footage recorded by the young people, documenting both the event and the work of making it happen.

Ruth Ewan, a Scottish artist based in London, is known for creating context specific art projects, which highlight the continued relevance of particular historic moments to the present. She works with collaborators to realise her projects, which are often grounded in focused research into the social and political history of the site in which they are based.

Liberties of the Savoy is edited by Caroline Woodley and co-published by Book Works and CREATE London as part of Co-Series. Printed in an edition of 1,000 copies, full colour, 136 pages, soft cover. Designed by Åbäke, 160 x 320mm.

ISBN 978 1 9060125 42 7 – £10.00

This project was produced by Frieze Foundation as part of Frieze Projects East, with the additional support of The Savoy. It is the winner of the 2012 CREATE Art Award, the largest participatory art award in the UK and was a part of the fifth, annual CREATE summer programme alongside commissions from David Bailey, Jeremy Deller and Frieze Projects East. CREATE is a socially focused arts agency, rooted in east London and aims to open up exciting opportunities for artists to work with their neighbours in east London.

For more information contact: gavin@bookworks.org.uk, 020 7247 2536

London Socialist Film Co-op

LONDON SOCIALIST FILM CO-OP
AT THE RENOIR CINEMA, Brunswick Square, London WC1
Nearest London Tube: Russell Square
Buses: 7, 17, 45, 46, 59, 68, 91, 168, 188

10.30 FOR 11AM SUNDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2011

First UK screening of two documentary films:

DEADLY DUST (TODESSTAUB), Frieder Wagner, Germany 2006, 93 mins
This science-based documentary explores the effects of depleted
uranium ammunition used in Iraq, Kosovo and Bosnia, though banned by
the Hague and Geneva Conventions. The surge in post-war birth defects
indicates that an epidemic of reproductive abnormalities is likely to
have been caused by the residue of these munitions.

WITH THE LINCOLN BRIGADE IN SPAIN, Henri Cartier-Bresson/Herbert
Kline, US 1938, 18mins
The internationally acclaimed photographer Cartier-Bresson filmed the
Brigade. Its members were drawn from all walks of life and it is
thought to be the first military unit commanded by a black officer.
The volunteers trained alongside Spanish troops and became know for
their bravery. In 2010 the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archive
discovered, restored and re-released this cinema treasure.

DISCUSSION LED BY Rae Street, CND Council member and active in the
International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons, John Green, former
documentary filmmaker, and Helen Graham, Professor of Modern European
History at Royal Holloway, University of London.