Looping the Locks, Brentford to Bristol and Back Again
An extraordinary mobile arts venue, The Floating Cinema will this year loop the locks from Brentford to Bristol and back again, stopping at Reading on Saturday 13th – Sunday 14th June.
Navigating the waterways from London, the mobile structure will bring a brand new free programme of open air and onboard film screenings, performances, talks and events to communities along the Kennet & Avon Canal, across West Berkshire and Wiltshire, before taking up residency in Bristol.
The Floating Cinema will stop and moor at Chestnut Walk for two days as part of Reading Water Fest, offering a packed events programme with highlights including a rolling programme of on-board archive films exploring Reading’s Rock Hall of Fame, followed by a late night open air film screening and workshops to collect the sounds and noises of Reading to create a floating library of forgotten sounds.
The ‘On Tour’ theme celebrates and explores the rich diversity of urban and rural living, a slower pace of life and encourages a playful discovery of local landscapes and heritage through archive film and sound. Floating Cinema On Tour is curated by UP Projects with artist duo Nina Pope and Karen Guthrie (Somewhere).
During the eight week journey, Floating Cinema on Tour will stop at eleven locations along the route, offering an action packed event programme that will screen rarely seen film from local archives, alongside features, historic canal classics, artist talks and hands-on educational activities for all ages.
The events, both on-board and on land, will explore the histories, myths and legends along the route including Reading’s rock hall-of-fame, Wiltshire’s world-famous crop circles, and alternative trade in historic market town Newbury.
The boat will also visit local festivals and communities along the route stopping at Newbury Lock on Friday 19th June and Newbury Waterways Festival on the 25th and 16th July.
The return journey will feature a new work by Floating Cinema artist-in-residence Yann Seznec, who will create a floating library of forgotten sounds with communities along the route of the outward journey. It will also premiere Somewhere’s new film ‘Repeat to Flourish’ – a visual odyssey of the Kennet and Avon Canal’s industrial past, subsequent decline and present day renaissance.
Laura Harford Floating Cinema curator said: “We are delighted to be taking The Floating Cinema on its first national tour and to be working with a new network of supportive funders and partners. Our events programme promises to delight and surprise and we hope it will inspire visitors to champion their local waterway as a place for culture as well as recreation and leisure.”
All events are free but should be booked in advance. Bookings for events up to 5 July between Brentford Lock and Bath are now available from the Floating Cinema website – www.floatingcinema.info.
Bookings for the Bristol events and those along the return route to London will be open from the 8 June 2015.
Throughout the tour the Floating Cinema will connect with local residents by offering opportunities to become Volunteer Tour Ambassadors. The Tour Ambassadors will play a vital role in marketing, event support and delivery and will receive training across three hubs along the tour route and support from the UP Projects team.
The Floating Cinema On Tour is supported by the BFI, awarding funds from The National Lottery; Arts Council England and Canal & River Trust. The majority of events are free but booking is often essential due to limited capacity on-board. The founding partner of the Floating Cinema is The Legacy List, charity of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which has recently merged with Foundation for FutureLondon.
Twitter: #floatingcinema; Instagram: Floating_Cinema
EVENTS PROGRAMME
Phase 1 tickets: Brentford to Bath, 4 June – 5 July, booking open 6 May
Phase 2 tickets: Bristol back to Brentford, 7 July – 2 August, bookings open 8 June
BRENTFORD Thursday 4 – Saturday 6 June
Sounds of the Suburbs
Fanfare: Floating Cinema On Tour Launch!
Before the M4
READING Saturday 13 – Sunday 14 June part of Reading Water Fest
No Sleep Till Reading
The Sound Collectors
Silence and Noise – Sound for Film Workshop
ALDERMASTON Wednesday 17 June
Yellowcake: How We Used To Work
NEWBURY Friday 19 June
Feral Trade Talk: Matinee Tours
CROFTON Wednesday 24 June
Matinee Tours
All Smoke & Mirrors
HONEYSTREET Saturday 27 June
Crop Circles & Other Mysteries
DEVIZES Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 June
Moonrakers and Movies – animation workshop
Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon
CAEN HILL LOCKS – Tuesday 30 June
Lock-a-Thon
BRADFORD ON AVON Thursday 2 July
Matinee Tours
BATH Saturday 4 July
Venom and Vittles’ Guided Walk
BRISTOL TUESDAY 7- SATURDAY 11 JULY
Floating Cinema Sound Library
The Slogramme Approach
Make Yourself at Home: Bristol’s Archives Revealed
Somewhere on the Ballast Seed Garden
Cube-Cola Lab
What Does It Take to Really Make an Independent Cinema?
70 Films In 70 Minutes: Tour Screenings Of ‘The Film That Buys The Cinema’
Swansong at Sunset
Return Journey
BRADFORD-ON-AVON Thursday 16 July
DEVIZES Saturday 18 July
HONEYSTREET Monday 20 July
NEWBURY Saturday 25 & Sunday 26 July Newbury Waterways Festival
BRENTFORD Sunday 2 August
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