Floating Cinema pootling towards Bristol

Strangely enough, we have the London Summer Olympics to thank for the advent of the Floating Cinema. Back in 2011, public arts organisation Up Projects was commissioned by the Olympic Delivery Authority to find a way to engage Stratford residents with the huge changes that were taking place in the local landscape. “We looked at an aerial map and realised that there are these waterways going through the park, connecting inside and out,” recalls Project Curator Laura Harford. “We knew that film was an incredibly accessible medium so we just combined the two.”

An old narrowboat was customised for a summer programme of open-air screenings, talks and tours. These ranged from critical explorations of the challenges of regeneration to mainstream features made at the nearby Three Mills Studios. This pilot project proved such a success that it gave birth to the idea of the Floating Cinema as a permanent feature of London’s waterways. Architects Duggan Morris were brought in to design a brand new barge from scratch. This was launched in 2013, and for the last two years the Floating Cinema has played to sell-out audiences wherever there’s a river or canal in the capital. “It’s actually quite a challenge to find canalside areas with large spaces where you can seat your audience,” reveals Laura. “We’ve had 400-500 people turning up to screenings, which is great.”

This year, Floating Cinema ventures further afield for the very first time. The epic two-month Looping the Locks journey takes the barge and its merry crew of artists from Brentford to Bristol and back again. Right now they’re in Swindon and are due to arrive in the Floating Harbour for five days from Tuesday July 7. The decision to head west was partly a practical one. Because the barge is a widebeam one, many northern waterways are too narrow to accommodate it. But there were also artistic and geographical considerations. The Kennet and Avon Canal’s history of disrepair and revival at the hands of a team of dedicated volunteers provides a rich fund of stories for onboard artist filmmakers Nina Pope and Karen Guthrie to get their teeth into as they create a brand new archive film charting the journey. In Bristol, the Floating Cinema has also teamed up with three like-minded partners: the Arnolfini, Cube Cinema and Bristol Record Office, who are helping to source archive films about the city docks.

“We’ve always had a really site-specific programme,” explains Laura, “and we felt those partners were a great fit. We’ve always been interested in and amazed by the incredible story of the Cube microplex saving their own building. There’s an affinity, because we see ourselves as a very independent space. It’s multi-disciplinary, it’s expanded cinema, it’s artists’ moving image, with hands-on workshops as well as features and documentaries.

“With the Arnolfini, we were really interested in their ballast seed garden. One of the key themes we always look at with floating cinema is sustainability and green issues. The boat even runs on biofuels. So it seemed like a really natural fit to have some artist-led tours to the garden and talks about gardening projects.”

With a full-time team of three on board, plus a skipper and a revolving crew of volunteers, the Floating Cinema will be well on the way by the time you read this. They’re anticipating some logistical challenges along the way. “Working on the waterways is always a challenge,” laughs Laura. “There are always interesting things that come up – locks being blocked off, works on the waterways that you hadn’t envisaged. You have to think about tides and all sorts of things. So it is a challenge but it’s a fun challenge.”

And if Looping the Locks is a success, could we expect them back next year? “We would really love to come back. But we’ve got to start the journey first…”

The Bristol Programme

Thanks to funding from the BFI, Arts Council England and the Canal and River Trust, many of the Floating Cinema’s events are free of charge. But as these are likely to be heavily over-subscribed, you’re advised to book tickets well in advance. You can find the full programme and booking details here. Here are a handful of highlights:

Make Yourself at Home: Bristol’s Archives Revealed

Wednesday, July 8

Bristol’s history on film, plus speakers.

Somewhere on the Ballast Seed Garden

Thursday, July 9

Two artist-guided tours to the Arnolfini’s ballast seed garden with related short films screened on board.

Tour Screenings of The Film That Buys the Cinema

Friday, July 10

The Cube’s unique fund-raising film screened on a journey through Bristol.

Swansong At Sunset

Saturday, July 11

Open air screenings, including Penny Woolcock’s documentary From the Sea to the Land Beyond, exploring a century of life on Britain’s coastline.