Cinecity 2015: Open Colour presents: Penda’s Fen – Alan Clarke / David Rudkin ** 15 Nov 2015 ** Sallis Benney Theatre, Brighton
Sunday November 15th at 7pm (Doors 6.45)
at the Sallis Benney Theatre
Part of CineCity 2015
Penda’s Fen
Alan Clarke / David Rudkin UK 1974 90 mins
Introduced by writer and curator Gareth Evans
A rare 16mm screening of Alan Clarke’s remarkable 1974 BBC ‘Play for Today’ – one of the visionary masterworks of British television drama. Set against the backdrop of the Malvern Hills, the film follows Stephen Franklin, the self-righteous teenage son of a pastor, whose world is about to unravel through a series of mystical experiences and encounters with angels, demons, Edward Elgar and the pagan King Penda – a journey of self discovery that will force him to question his religion, politics and sexuality. Rudkin script is charged with a powerful sense of ‘Deep England’ and its radical potential – the landscape seems alive, knowing and always in flux.
‘An unforgettable hybrid of horror story, rites-of passage spiritual quest and vision of an alternative England that has been hailed as one of the most original and vauntingly ambitious British films of the last half century.’ The Guardian
A revised and expanded edition of ‘The Edge is Where the Centre Is’ – a beautiful small press publication exploring the film with articles by Evans, Rudkin, William Fowler and Sukhdev Sandhu – will be available on the night.
Embla Quickbeam (Rowan Forestier)
To open the evening – an immersive sonic exploration from artist Rowan Forestier using field recordings, found objects, home made sound making devices and tape manipulation. ‘Brighton-based audio-investigator sends chewed postcards from the eldritch heart of England.’ Daniel Spicer The Wire.
The Edge Is Where the Centre Is
Penda’s Fen: A Lasting Vision…
Embla Quickbeam
Tickets £5 / £4 (concs)
Open Colour is a new series of international experimental film, independent cinema and rarely seen classics. Screens monthly, sometimes more, at the
Sallis Benney Theatre
58-67 Grand Parade, Brighton
East Sussex BN2 0JY
contact: info@opencolour.co.uk
Source: Open Colour: Coming Soon
Sussex ArtBeat 