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In Pod We Trust

02/06/2016

BBC Radio 4 - Artist in the Director's Chair

Miranda Sawyer explores the London Film-makers' Co-op and its refreshing approach to film.

On the fiftieth anniversary of the London Film-makers' Co-operative, Miranda Sawyer explores the work of artist film-makers who rescued film from the grip of commercial cinema.

Fifty years ago the London Filmmakers Co-op was formed to challenge the conventions of mainstream cinema. In a derelict building film enthusiasts gathered to see unusual films and artists could share in the equipment and make their own films, abandoning the stranglehold of plot and script to make more expressive, authored, personal, uncensored visions in film. Here the journalist Miranda Sawyer explores an alternative approach to filmmaking.

In 1983 the small audience and growing number of filmmakers would also find a home on TV. The arrival of Channel 4 television, with its remit to provide innovative broadcasting acted as a huge boon for the independent film and video sector. Monday nights through the 1980s were a feast of strange, non commercial arts programmes and film screenings. 

Today there is more awareness of the idea of the artist film, though it's still considered taboo in cinemas. But as Miranda discovers, in an age of studio-dominated, mass-produced cinema, artist-filmmakers offer a refreshing voice - and not just on the margins. 

Miranda talks to filmmakers Malcolm Le Grice, John Smith, Lis Rhodes, Tacita Dean and Ben Rivers among others.


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