Film Festival Focuses on Local History
If you’re interested in local history, this weekend’s three film offerings from Telford & Wrekin Council’s film festival are just the ticket for delving into the town’s past.
First up is the free film ‘Telford on Film’ showing at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum from 9am on Saturday (Sept 22).
The film uses newly digitised film from the Media Archive for Central England and features everything from coracles on the River Severn to the world famous cast-iron bridge plus a nostalgic visit from one of the town’s most famous sons, football legend Billy Wright – it’s a celebration of Ironbridge.
Next, on Sunday, September 23, providing a glimpse into Telford’s past, is a unique screening at Dawley Town Hall features two films exploring how Telford developed and the rise of new towns, plus a third documentary and Q&A session with the director.
The 1968 BBC documentary called ‘A Splendid Place To Live’, follows the Hirst family as they move from a Birmingham council estate to a maisonette in Sutton Hill, giving viewers a peek behind the scenes at fraught planning meetings as officials try to strike the right balance between new jobs and new houses – entry costs £2.
That’s followed by ‘The New Life’ - a 1971 sales pitch commissioned by Telford Development Corporation to lure new residents to the embryonic town with director Nick Boy on hand after the screening to answer questions about the film which is sure to provoke some interesting debate – entry to this film is free.
The two films form a detailed picture of Telford’s past, fifty years on from its official birth while the final film, ‘Telford Newtown Dreams & Realities’ explores Telford’s role in England’s urban development is examined in this brand new documentary from director Nick Boy that looks at the history of Shropshire’s only product of the 1946 New Town Act.
Featuring interviews with town residents, architects and town planners alongside a mass of archive footage, Boy forms an engrossing picture of the thinking behind the creation of a remarkable urban planning project that started in the 1960s and is still under way today.
As a part of Telford’s 50th birthday celebrations, the Telford Film Festival runs between 14 September and 31 October. There’s a jam-packed month of screenings and special events in venues all over town, from railway adventures and zombie attacks to camp singalongs and silent classics.
As well as giving you an opportunity to celebrate film in all its amazing variety, it’s also a chance to see Telford itself in a new cultural light.
The Telford Film Festival is the result of a collaboration between Telford & Wrekin Council and Flatpack Projects and is part of Film Hub Midlands’ mission to develop film culture across the region.
Cabinet Member for leisure, green spaces and parks, Councillor John Minor said: “Telford has a fascinating history and was part of a wave of new towns which began in the early 1960s, with the old Dawley in particular affected by shallow mining, spoil heaps and unstable land.
“These films give us the opportunity to look back and building pride in the area’s industrial past while building pride in the traditions of our industrial past and looking to Telford’s future.”
All tickets for the Film Festival can be purchased at www.telford50.co.uk/filmfestival, alternatively call the box office on 01952 382 382 or pop into the film venues where you will be able to buy in person but please contact the venue directly as opening hours vary.
