FREE screenings of ‘New Towns, Our Town – Stories on Screen’

THE Independent Cinema Office (ICO) is offering community groups and centres including museums, churches and village halls in Crawley, Harlow, Hemel Hempstead and Stevenage the opportunity to book a free screening of extraordinary archive film of their town, facilitated by the ICO Project team.

Supported by Heritage Lottery Fund, this innovative film project takes place in the first four of the UK’s New Towns, using rare archive film footage to explore the shared experiences of their residents. ‘New Towns, Out Town – Stories on Screen’ seeks to increase the visibility of, and pride in, the story of the New Town movement, and the unique social history and heritage of these pioneering towns. For decades these films have been kept in various film archives with limited public access – yet since December 2018 communities have been able to engage with the material once more.

The films reveal a fascinating insight into the development of the Towns, with footage from the 1940s to present day showcasing how the physical and social landscape of these areas have changed over time, enabling residents to see their lives on screen – and possibly spot a familiar face!

Luke Doran, Project Coordinator at the ICO said, “Our film in Stevenage got people discussing a neighbour spotted on screen and questions flew around the room about the identity of a drummer seen playing at the Bowes Lyon Centre.”

“Local pride and passion for people’s towns has been in abundance at our screenings, with amazing stories from childhood being unearthed and people’s recollections of their personal history and that of the town being shared and enjoyed by entire audiences.”

This exciting new project has also enlisted the support of 30 volunteers, highlighting the local pride and community engagement the project has already provided.
Project volunteer Maria Meeham said, “It has been very rewarding to be part of a project bringing archive film back to the communities represented on screen. People have been so generous about sharing their stories and memories and as a result screening events have been great fun.”

To book your free screening, please contact:
[email protected] / 0207 636 7120.

For more information visit www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/tours/new-towns/ and follow
@FilmHubSE on twitter and facebook, #NewTowns.

More educational resources will also be made available in these towns throughout the year. The project worked closely with the collections at the BFI National Archive, the East Anglian Film Archive and Screen Archive South East.