Modern Life

Whilst working on a project in Leeds last month, I got the chance to catch up on some cinema- going at Bradford's National Media Museum. One of the films that stood out as having lots of parallels with Broughton, Woodland and the Duddon Valley was Raymond Depardon's Modern Life. Here's what the London Film Festival had to say about it:

"One of the finest films in Cannes this year came from photographer and film-maker Raymond Depardon, he of the unparalleled reputation as chronicler of French rural life. In Modern Life, he returns to the Haut-Garonne region and to the subjects of his earlier Profils Paysans films: l’approche and le quotidien. The octogenarian Privat brothers are struggling with age and declining health, and with the arrival of an outsider into the family fold; another elderly couple sees their dairy herd dwindle to just one cow; a middle aged man resents his responsibility for the family farm; and an enthusiastic young woman finds herself faced with insurmountable obstacles in her ambition to be a smallholder."

"Depardon approaches all of them with empathy, and the relationships he has forged over many years are clearly invaluable and integral to the film. For the most part, these are not people who find it easy to talk about themselves. Even the film-maker’s familiarity and understanding cannot completely remove their discomfort, and the tacit recognition of this speaks volumes. If Depardon’s portraits of the paysans are affectionate and astute, so too is his approach to the landscape, filmed in wide shots to capture its remote beauty. Day turns to night, people grow old, the world changes around them: ineffable facts, but presented here in uniquely moving style." Sandra Hebron

Meeting with The Film Club Committee

We had a very encouraging meeting with the Broughton Film Club Committee yesterday afternoon at the Square cafe. Members Jane, Richard, Paul, Malcolm and David have offered their full support for the festival and are all keen to get on board with the development over these coming months.

It was a real pleasure to talk to people who volunteer their time to a community project like the Film Club. Since they have been running the club for over four years now, they are able to offer us lots of advice on areas such as pricing tickets, audience development and identifying groups of people they'd like to encourage to come along to the festival who don't normally attend film club events.

After the meeting Richard dropped off a film called 'Behind The Scenes; Farmers' Diaries From England's Lake District', which we'll be watching this week and are hoping to include in the programme.

The committee have kindly given permission for us to use the DVD projector and screen for our focus groups in August, September and October so we can start to get a feel of which films will work best in the hall.

We both left the meeting feeling very excited with lots of new ideas on how we can engage with a wider audience and hopefully get a full house during the festival!