RESTORED ARCHIVE FILM TO BRING YORKSHIRE’S UNIQUE CULTURE AND HERITAGE TO LIFE (02/09/2011)
Residents of Yorkshire will have the unique opportunity to view archive film treasures on the big screen, as Cine Yorkshire and Yorkshire Film Archive present the North Yorkshire's first ever archive film festival, Contrast/brilliance*, from 23rd September – 5th October. Specially curated films preserved by Yorkshire Film Archive with support from the Screen Heritage UK project will be shown alongside screenings of well-known feature films made in the county. The events will take place at venues across North Yorkshire, including village halls, community venues as well as full time cinemas, stately homes, a pub, and even a railway station!
View the programme at www.cineyorkshire.co.uk/contrast/brilliance
Contrast/brilliance* coincides with a major new BBC 2 television series, Reel History of Britain, hosted by Melvyn Bragg. The 20-part BBC and BFI co-production brings the history of Britain to life on the UK's television screens, including previously unseen film preserved by Yorkshire Film Archive as part of the Screen Heritage UK project. The first episode will be screened on BBC2 on September 5th 2011, 6.30pm. 
IAN MCMILLAN PRESENTS A CELEBRATION OF YORKSHIRE'S FILM HERITAGE
Tuesday 13th September
Acclaimed poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan will present a special VIP launch event to coincide with The Reel History of Britain series and preview Contrast/brilliance* at Hambleton Forum in Northallerton on Tuesday 13th September 2011 from 7 pm – 9 pm. Members of the public are invited to join Cine Yorkshire and Yorkshire Film Archive to celebrate over one hundred years of Yorkshire's great film heritage as part of the nationwide Screen Heritage UK project which will give people across the UK an opportunity to discover their culture and history through film.
A limited number of tickets are available for the public to attend the launch. To request a ticket, email your name and number of tickets requested to info@cineyorkshire.co.uk
Highlights of the evening will also include a unique chance to watch archive films in the UK's only surviving Vintage Mobile Cinema Bus as featured in Reel History of Britain and an opportunity to view some of the treasures that have been preserved by Yorkshire Film Archive with support from Screen Heritage UK. Guests will have a first look at excerpts of films taken from across Yorkshire that will feature in the Contrast/brilliance* film festival and Reel History of Britain series.
Regional highlights from Reel History of Britain series include:
A Sentimental Journey (1966) by railway enthusiast and filmmaker Frank Dean, which offers a final glimpse of the Whitby to Scarborough line prior to its closure. Scarborough is shown again in two films made at the end of its heyday: Having A Wonderful Time (1960), a promotional film aimed at attracting holiday makers as ferries and air package holidays begin to tempt Brits abroad and Cayton Nalgo Holiday Camp (1950) by amateur filmmaker John Nunn, which offers a more personal snapshot of family life in the 50s.
The region is shown from a contrasting viewpoint in films documenting the rapid cultural change in the aftermath of the Second World War; Hull Street Scenes (1957, John Turner) provides a fascinating' fly-on-the-wall' portrayal of local communities on the streets of Hull. From gangs of Teddy boy youths and dockworkers to children playing in the derelict areas severely damaged by German bombing. Two films from the same period offer a stark comparison of the Park Hill area of Sheffield, made before and after the Park Hill Complex emerged as the first completed post-war slum clearance scheme of an entire community in Britain in 1960. Currently the largest listed building in Europe, the Park Hill Complex is now undergoing further redevelopment set for completion in 2017.
The event will also provide an opportunity to learn more about the Screen Heritage UK project, a unique collaboration between the BFI and England's regional film archives which has developed 'Search Your Film Archives' an online search facility enabling everyone to find out about their film heritage for free from wherever they live, regardless of where the material is held.
Sue Howard, Director of Yorkshire Film Archive [YFA], said: "Yorkshire's incredible history and culture will play a major role in this historic national TV series, bringing the past to life through archive film. Much more of Yorkshire's archive film will also now be available for anyone across the UK to search via the Search Your Film Archive facility on our website thanks to investment from the Screen Heritage UK project. This much needed investment has made a fantastic difference to YFA supporting critical work on cataloguing and preserving damaged and deteriorating film material.''
Emily Penn, Project Manager at Cine Yorkhire, said: "We're really excited to be working alongside Yorkshire Film Archive to present North Yorkshire's first ever festival of archive film, with events taking place across North Yorkshire, from village halls to stately homes, pubs to cinemas. Film has a unique ability to bring the history of a place to vivid life, and through archive film events screening footage spanning over a century, special screenings of films made in the area, and a selection of classic archive films we look forward to celebrating North Yorkshire's people, landscapes and history in towns and villages from Arncliffe to Whitby."
Heather Stewart, SHUK Programme Director and Creative Director BFI, said: 'I'd like to thank Yorkshire Film Archive for their integral role in the Screen Heritage UK programme. The film archives of Britain have joined forces to truly take film archiving to the next level. Film is an integral part of British culture and SHUK will ensure that we not only safe-guard our film heritage for future generations but that everyone in the UK gets the opportunity to enjoy and benefit from it."
