Directed by Lorenza Mazzetti • Documentary • 1956 • 52 minutes
Italian director Lorenza Mazzetti borrowed techniques from the neorealist school to conjure this striking study of East End life, one of the original Free Cinema shorts. Following the ambling existence of two deaf-mute dock workers, Mazzetti crafts a poetic depiction of post-war London populated by unruly children, sparse bedsits and harsh realities.
With its minimal dialogue and focus on the everyday minutiae of working-class life, Together shared some stylistic similarities to the emerging documentary movement Free Cinema, but it was still the only narrative film included in the original Free Cinema programme as presented at the National Film Theatre in 1956.
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Nice Time (Claude Goretta & Alain Tan...
Directed by Claude Goretta & Alain Tanner • Documentary • 1957 • 16 minutes
The swirling neon frenzy of Piccadilly Circus has never been better captured than in this innovative short, which presents the London landmark as a bewildering collage of image and sound.
Swiss film enthusiasts and BFI ...
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Every Day Except Christmas (Lindsay A...
Directed by Lindsay Anderson • Documentary • With Alun Owen • 1957 • 40 minutes
Lindsay Anderson followed his Free Cinema debut O Dreamland with this affectionate tribute to working-class life, depicting the hustle and bustle of Covent Garden market. On the back of his renowned Free Cinema film ...
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Refuge England (Robert Vas)
Directed by Robert Vas • Documentary • 1959 • 27 minutes
Director Robert Vas was himself a refugee from Hungary, having arrived in London only three years earlier when he received a grant from the BFI to make the film. Despite its slightly incongruous use of voiceover, the film was adopted by th...
