Canalside Cinema

The Floating Cinema

As part of the UK City of Culture, UP Projects’ award-winning mobile structure The Floating Cinema toured to eight locations across South and East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

The Floating Cinema presented its programme at canal-side locations in Sheffield, Rotherham, Swinton, Doncaster, Thorne, Goole, South Ferriby, ending its tour at Hull Marina.

The programme for the tour, titled In Dialogue, presented a new commission by Leeds-based artist Harry Meadley alongside a line-up of films including international feature films, cult classics and award winning documentaries.

On the Bench, the new artwork by Harry Meadley was central to the overall programme. Composed of a series of eight short films, this context-specific artwork spotlights the nuances and creative diversity of South and East Yorkshire. Developed and created with participants living or working in the eight locations where The Floating Cinema toured, On the Bench featured interviews with individuals who articulated how these places influenced their identity and inspired their creative pursuits.

The conversations featured in On the Bench informed the line-up of the corresponding film and documentary programme. Focusing on themes of dedication, determination and perseverance, In Dialogue presented 15 International films and documentaries from 9 countries, screening a number of films in Arabic, English, Farsi, French, German, Italian Polish, Russian and Tuareg. The overall programme was devised in collaboration with the multiple partner organisations located along the tour.

The Floating Cinema arrived at Hull Marina with a packed week-long programme with stories covering a range of topics such as sport, music, art and dance.

The free programme of films included:

Pina (Germany)

A story about world-renowned contemporary dance choreographer Pina Bausch, told by the dancers she inspired and choreographed.

In this moving docu-film about the work of Bausch, the dancers she taught reflect on her dedication to dance, the impact her guidance had on them as performers, and recreate some of her most famous performances for film.

Cinema Paradiso (Italy)

Young Salvatore Di Vita (Salvatore Cascio) discovers the perfect escape from life in his war-torn Sicilian village: the Cinema Paradiso movie house, where projectionist Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) instils in the boy a deep love of films.

Following the Fleet: DRIFTERS (UK)

Sound artist Jason Singh performed his live vocal score for Drifters, John Grierson’s dramatic silent documentary of life in the North Sea herring fleets in the 1920s. The screening of Following the Fleet: Drifters was preceded by a performance by Harry Meadley, alongside archival footage selected by the artist. The UK tour of Following the Fleet: DRIFTERS was presented by A Kind of Seeing.

On the Bench (UK) and Chronicle of a Summer (France)

Presented within the floating gallery alongside Chronicle of a Summer. This was film created in collaboration between filmmaker-anthropologist Jean Rouch and sociologist Edgar …… socio-political circumstances through interviews with political issues alongside the hopes and dreams of a wide array of people. Artists, factory workers, an Italian émigré and an African student make up some of the many people who are interviewed in this film.

The In Dialogue programme hosted a number of events and activities, catering for diverse interests and responding to local demand. The events and activities programme was delivered in partnership with ten organisations based in the locations where The Floating Cinema moored.

The outdoor film programme was devised in collaboration with Hull Independent Cinema and events were delivered in partnership with Artlink, Crafts Council & Humber Street Gallery, The Ropewalk, Rotherham Open Arts Renaissance, Site Gallery, Swinton Lock Activity Centre, The Point and Yorkshire Waterways Museum.

The Floating Cinema was supported by Arts Council England’s Strategic Touring Programme, BFI, Film Hub North, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Canal & River Trust, Hull City Council and formed part of the UK City of Culture. With thanks to Anna Plant.