The film, The County That Our Parents Knew (no cert) allows us to step back in time and discover how people in Norfolk lived and worked from the 1900’s to the 1960’s. In 1903 there are horses, trams and gas lamps, people work on the farms, the toilet is a bucket and there is no central heating or running water, yet within half a century Norfolk will be changed beyond recognition. This fascinating film uses rare film from the East Anglian Film Archive to bring the past to life with scenes from Norwich, Thetford, Yarmouth, King’s Lynn and much more.
The series of wonderfully evocative films will continue every Saturday in October, November (except 15th) and December with further films looking at different aspects of life in Norwich and East Anglia with specially low priced tickets (£2 Cinema City members, £4/£3 others). In October The Home Front shows East Anglia during WW11, November will see premiere screenings of the newest film, Ghosts Of East Anglia, exploring real life tales of the supernatural from across our region and December’s presentation is Norwich In The Fifties.
The East Anglian Film Archive is owned and operated by the University of East Anglia. It cares for many thousands of films and video tapes from the region including collections of Anglia Television and BBC East news film, and many amateur collections too. These collections are kept in humidity and temperature controlled vaults within the purpose built Archive Centre which the Record Office also occupies. Many of these collections remain unseen by the public due to the cost and complexity of transferring to modern day formats, but digitising is part of the archive’s long term plan, along with cataloguing its holdings.
Independent Studios UK has become the official production arm of the East Anglian Film Archive, it has produced the films which will be shown at Cinema City on behalf of The Archive and is releasing the Archive's catalogue onto DVD for the very first time.
Andrew Gray, MD of Independent Studios and the director and scriptwriter for the films said ‘Bringing back archive film shows to the cinema is really exciting for us, and we're delighted to be able to work with Cinema City. It's very appropriate to kick-start a Heritage Open Day with a look back at Norfolk's history on film. The earliest footage shows Norwich in the early 1900s, but Norfolk Past covers the whole county, and is a wonderful journey through a century of how people in our county lived and worked.’
Andrew Gray and the editor of the films, Ashley Bond (both locals) are available for interview. Contact me for interview requests, further info etc
Listings info:
Norfolk Past: The County Our Parents Knew, Saturday 13 September, 4.15pm FREE
The Home Front: East Anglia At War, Saturdays 5, 11, 18, 25 October 11.30am
Ghosts Of East Anglia, Saturdays 1, 8, 22, 29 November 11.30am
Norwich In The Fifties, Saturdays 6, 13, 20, 27 December 11.30am
Weds 17 Sept, 6.20pm
Sun 28 Sept, 8pm
Tues 30 Sept, 6.10pm
Tickets for Oct – Dec screenings £4, concs £3, Cinema City members £2
Cinema City Andrews Street Norwich NR2 4AD
Box Office 0871 704 2053 www.picturehouses.co.uk