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"As a film maker you are bound to honour your material. You must tell the true story that emerges – and that takes time. It’s the only way, though. If you go in with a cut and dried brief all you are likely to do is rape the subject.”
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Philip Trevelyan, Sunday Times Interview, 1971
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CINEMA NATION
The Moon and the Sledgehammer is the main feature in the Cinema Nation slot – ‘the home for films that dare to be different’. This new strand of programming at the Curzon Cinemas is dedicated to experimental, artistic or overlooked/undiscovered film.
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Jonas Mekas
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Producer Jimmy Vaughan
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It was founded in October 2008 under the patronage of Jonas Mekas, the legendary creative force behind Anthology Cinema in New York and long time associate of the film’s producer Jimmy Vaughan, both sharing a deep passion for independent cinema.
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‘ …constantly fascinating’
John Russel Taylor, The Times, July 1971
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THE EVENT
The theme of the event is "Exploring the Influences of Documentary Film Making", and will consider the role of The Moon and the Sledgehammer as an influence on the accompanying short films by today's renowned director Andrew Kotting whose many excellent works include the multi award winning Gallivant and This Filthy Earth; and exciting new comer Ben Rivers, whose tantalizing poetic films include This Land is Your Land and Origin of the Species, both directors being strongly influenced by The Moon and the Sledgehammer.
SESSION FOLLOWING SCREENING
The screening will be followed by a questions and answers session with all three directors onstage, allowing a rare opportunity to hear the views of director Philip Trevelyan, as well as exploring the film’s influences today.
THE DISCUSSION PANEL
Philip Trevelyan, Andrew Kotting, Ben Rivers, Nick Broomfield, Molly Dineen
Host: Gareth Evans
Trevelyan, Kotting and Rivers will be joined by acclaimed film maker Nick Broomfield, whose many daring and riveting works include TV’s Ghosts and Aileen Wuornos; and BAFTA and Royal Television Society award winning UK television documentary director Molly Dineen, whose recent penetrating and revealing no holds barred documentary The Lie of the Land highlights the absurdities of the plight of farmers today. Invited audience members will include a wide range of original associates of the film, including members of the crew and production team and critics who reviewed the film 37 years ago as well as associates and friends of the family.
Gareth Evans, editor of leading worldwide independent film magazine Vertigo, who put the programme together, will host the session.
THE CREATIVE FORCES
The gathering of so many outstanding contemporary British creative forces in cinema today is a serendipitous opportunity to examine The Moon and the Sledgehammer. It has more than proved it has withstood the test of time and, with a new resonance today, is once again enjoying popular and critical acclaim since being re-issued on DVD. The success of the film emanates from the integrity and sensitivity of its director, Philip Trevelyan, coupled with the entrepreneurial flair of producer Jimmy Vaughan. Both possessing a deep and committed sense of cinema, their combined working minds and singular individual opinions produced a truly unique and fascinating document. The excellent camera work of Richard Stanley, patient editing by Barrie Vince and fine sound recording of Paul Robinson also made a major contribution to the success of the final product.
‘ . . . has the rare merit of being utterly unlike any other film one knows.’
David Robinson, Financial Times 1971
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TREVELYAN’S APPROACH
Trevelyan’s approach to his subjects is to portray a truth as it is presented. Like an artist painting a portrait he builds layer upon layer until the subjects extend the two dimensional and something elemental within begins to stir. He uses no voiceovers, only natural lighting and allows a story to gradually unfold. As Philip Oakes said in The Sunday Times in 1971;
‘Trevelyan does more than merely record. His portrait of the Page family is affectionate but unsentimental, lyrical but considered,
. . . Perspectives arrange themselves. Trevelyan adjusts the focus.’
THE FILM
The 65-minute film is a portrait of the outmoded and unusual Page family: Mr Page; his two sons Peter and Jim; and two daughters Nancy and Kathy, who lived a simple but successful self-sustained life in near isolation in their ramshackle woodland home – albeit more wood life than Good Life. The land is littered with inland flotsam and jetsam; rusty iron carcasses, rotting pianos, disemboweled car bodies, parts of old engines and gigantic spanners.
In their unlikely setting the daughters pursued traditional female roles while the men devoted a great part of their time to maintaining and driving their ancient Allchin and Fowler steam engines around their land to no apparent purpose apart from the sheer enjoyment of it.
Cut off from society and its influences, their bizarre personal fantasies and philosophies reveal a true independence of existence. Their seemingly eccentric lifestyle shows a family at one with nature, but at odds with society and each other. Yet for all their eccentricities they ably demonstrate that they are remarkably successful at looking after themselves in a way few of us are today and indeed make us question the accepted sanity and values of today’s ever more homogenized society.
‘A Swiss Family Robinson with tuneless pianos and broken tractors instead of breadfruit and pythons (and certainly without the moral fervour) . . .’
Dylis Powell, The Sunday Times Weekly Review, 1971
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RECEPTION AND FILMING
A reception for all audience members will be held after the discussion session. This will be filmed and will include many interviews with the select gathering. Watch out for it as an extra on the DVD in the future.
If you would like to join the audience on this special occasion please see cinema box office details below. Did you know the family, or visit their home? Do you have any questions about the film? If you are a fan of the film this is an occasion not to be missed.
TICKETS
Tickets, priced £8.00 / (£7.00 Curzon members) are available from the cinema box office:
Tel 0871 7033988
99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5DY.
www.curzoncinemas.com
The afternoon event starts at 2pm and will last approximately 2 ½ hours followed by the reception.
For further news on this event and reception see our website for regular updates.
To be updated about future Cinema Nation events, please join the group on Facebook. Cinema Nation is also open to submissions. For more information, please contact cinemanation@curzoncinemas.com
FURTHER INFORMATION
For more information on the film or to order a DVD please visit the website www.themoonandthesledgehammer.com
Tel: 07930 558 222.
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THE MOON AND THE SLEDGEHAMMER
Director: Philip Trevelyan 65mins colour 1971
Production Company: Vaughan Films Ltd
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