LONDON SYMPHONY is a brand new silent film - a city symphony - which offers a poetic journey through the city of London. Made by Kingstonian filmmaker Alex Barrett, the film features many local sights, and includes direct references to Eadweard Muybridge, a Kingston-born photographer who created pioneering work in early motion-picture projection. Taken as a whole, LONDON SYMPHONY is an artistic snapshot of the capital city as it stands today, and a celebration of its culture and diversity.
The film was nominated for the Michael Powell Award for Best British Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2017.
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film's director/editor Alex Barrett, and Kingston Museum Curator Charlotte Samuels will also be on hand to discuss the work and legacy of Eadweard Muybridge
"With this wonderful black-and-white journey through the city of London, director Alex Barrett brings a gloriously beautiful and enjoyable modern-day variation on the city symphonies of the 1920s urban cinema (such as 1929's Man With A Movie Camera). His stunning visuals, combined with James McWilliam's stirring music, help take the viewer on a poetic journey through London, exploring its rich diversity of culture, architecture and religion. It is a meditative and blissful film that celebrates a vibrant and visually stunning city" – Mark Adams, Edinburgh International Film Festival
"As a salute to London, Barrett's work is to be celebrated in itself. But as it comes after a recent spell of significant distress and upheaval to the city and its inhabitants - both locals and tourists - it's existence is all the more significant" - Jamie Neish, CineVue
"majestic and captivating... The profundity conveyed through the imagery is sublime… a wonderful aesthetic experience" – Neil Fox, The Cinematologists
"This virtuoso display of editing weaves together a staggering volume of footage of contemporary London, addressing a wide spread of themes and geography with knife-sharp monochrome cinematography" - Rachel Brook, One Room With A View
"unlike anything else…a real delight, and one that will linger in the memory" – Stefan Pape, HeyUGuys