Exploding Cinema is both the name for a
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
-based
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
collective and the name for regular short film screenings that the collective organises.
Overview
Anybody can screen their film at the Exploding Cinema; the programme is totally open access, on a first come - first shown basis.
Between 1992 and 1999, the group put on over 80 events in 21 different venues showcasing around 1300 films by 700 film makers.
Film maker
Asif Kapadia
Asif Kapadia (born 1972) is a British filmmaker. Kapadia is best known for his trilogy of narratively driven, archive-constructed documentaries '' Senna'', '' Amy'' and ''Diego Maradona''.
''Amy'' (2015), based on singer Amy Winehouse, had its ...
profiled Exploding Cinema in a 30-minute program for BBC Radio 4 in 2011.
History
The Exploding Cinema was founded at the
Cooltan Arts Centre, a
squatted
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...
suntan lotion factory in
Brixton
Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...
, South London in 1991.
The Cooltan was an underground arts complex with a theatre, gallery, practical workshops and regular raves. The original group was mostly film makers and the earliest shows were made up of their own films and performances.
From the early 1990s onwards, the collective became the key agent in the resurgence of
underground cinema in Britain. Through screenings, events, agitation and propaganda they developed and inspired a new popular movement of independent live cinema and D.I.Y. filmmaking. Over twenty five years the group has screened thousands of unfunded no-budget films/videos in pubs, squats, clubs, microcinemas and cafes. They staged one-off shows in disused factories, ships, museums, car parks, roofs, a circus tent and an outdoor swimming pool. Internationally they have staged shows in Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Malta, North America and Australia.
An offshoot of the group operated in Amsterdam.
References
External links
Official websiteVimeo channel of the Exploding Cinema CollectiveExploding Cinema profiled on BBC Radio 4 in 2011
{{Use British English, date=July 2015
Film collectives