reels of resilience - audience development and sustainable community

8/14/2019 Reels of Resilience - Audience Development and Sustainable Community

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REELS OF

RESILIENCE


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1. What I intend to do

Community is creating something new which is based partly in peoples

memories, real or imagined, and partly in future visions of society.1

I intend to take moving image material from the BFI NationalArchive showing elements of the recent British past, and how welived then, and show it in an informal community context,facilitating dialogue with and discussion between the audience onwhat they notice and find significant. These screenings would befree of charge to those attending.

The intention is to arrange this exhibition and discussionopportunity with one of the UKs Transition Initiatives2 who will actas host, on the basis that this will help to facilitate local

conversations about community resilience, be an educativeexperience for all participants (including myself and theorganisation of the BFI).

This is an experimental practice to try and find new ways offacilitating communication on resilience and sustainability withincommunities and draws on insights from the field of action research.Evaluating and reflecting on the practice will be an important andexplicit part of the learning. These reflections will lead to proposalsfor changes in practice, continuing a cycle of action research onmethods of both facilitating communication on resilience and

sustainability within communities and providing access to archivalmaterials. It will additionally, possibly lead to other new actionresearch cycles, as new areas of investigation emerge. This initialproject would be a case study.

In exhibiting film from the BFI National Archive in new settings, it isalso hoped and intended to attract audiences which might nototherwise interact with the collection, especially, but not limited to,people of differing ages from schoolchildren to the elderly andpeople from a range of socio-economic backgrounds. In revealingthe past it seeks to make a positive addition to the information

influencing how communities shape their future.

roject, which aims to:

Develop new audiences for the BFI National Archive.

Provide new access opportunities to moving images from the BFI National Archive.

Contribute positively to the movement to build national, regional and local resiliencethe UK.


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This would be an alternate but complementary strategy to the plansfor education in the moving image outlined in the publicationMaking Movies Matter3. Whereas Making Movies Matterexploredhow the education sector might foster a cine-literacy based on acritical formal understanding of film, video and television, this

project would form part of a different kind of pedagogy in which thecontentof various moving image items performs a facilitative role inthe development of reflective knowledge4 whereby learners gainskills in critical analysis applicable to a wider social context. Theproject thus hopes to make movies matter in additional anddifferent ways. The project is influenced by the work ofeducationalist Paolo Freire in his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed.Specifically Freires concept of code, the use of a trigger requiringinterpretation, (in this case archival film) which in the process ofdecoding reveals connections between the code and currentlylived experience and thus tends to encourage reflection on theviewers own life5.

The case study would test out a new practice, developing andstrengthening the BFIs existing work in film education. It would fill arole, not currently catered for, of providing archival film materialsinto the informal learning sector. It has the potential to be appliedmore widely and to influence the work of others in the Museum,Libraries and Archives sector as well as elsewhere and fits with theobjectives of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council ofEnglands Inspiring Learning for All framework6.

2. Why I want to do it

we need to help one another to re-memberwhat has been

dismembered, re-vision how things could alternatively be, and

then organise to re-claim what is needed to regenerate the

community, the link between social history and present-day

liberation is both political and personal7.

I am personally concerned with issues of climate change, resourcedepletion and social atomisation and wish to stop being part of theproblem and to become part of the solution. To this end I amattempting to make my life congruent with my beliefs, and haveasked myself the question How can I bring what I know as a filmarchivist and curator at the BFI to help address the social andenvironmental issues that concern me, in a way that also benefits

that organisation?


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This project is therefore intended to be research for me, for us, andfor them8. In this context us is understood to contain the us, whichis the organization of the BFI and its constituent staff learning fromthis project, but also the us that is the Transition Initiative hostingthe exhibition/discussion and the participants in that

exhibition/discussion. This research aims to be active co-research,by and for those to be helped9. In this context them is understoodto be others who may find interest and utility in the project andwhat can be learnt from it including other archival/heritageorganisations, those acting for sustainability and the widercommunity of practitioners engaged in action research.

Established archival film exhibition tends to follow a hierarchicalmode10 whereby the meanings of the films shown are given to theaudience by the BFI (by accompanying text and/or a presentingspeaker). There is sometimes time allocated for a short discussion

phase subsequent to the screening, but this is generally in the formof a Q&A session in which questions are asked from the floor andanswered by the presenting speaker at the front of the auditorium.The situation thus enacts what Paulo Freire has called bankingeducation, where in extreme cases knowledge is a gift bestowedby those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whomthey consider to know nothing11. I have recently been introducingscreenings of Housewives Choice12, the BFI touring programme ofarchival film showing in regional cinemas across the UK. In thecourse of this I have experimented with opening the subsequent

discussion phase to a more open space where my facilitative rolebecame less that of expert in the hierarchical mode and more thatof teacher-student with student-teachers no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with thestudents, who in turn while being taught also teach13 acting therebyin a co-operative mode14.

This shift in mode produced interesting new situations, where theaudiences brought their own life situations into the discussion andmade connections with elements of the past noticed in the films andthe current world (e.g. in Chichester a group of women expressed

affinities between the austerity visible in the film and the creditcrunch). However, it was not entirely successful in breaking thehierarchical mode due to time constraints in occupying the venuespost the screenings, the seating arrangements of auditoria andpodium encouraging a lecture hall experience, and insufficientpreparation on my part for acting in a co-operative mode.

Nevertheless, this experiment indicated both that commonalitiesbetween experiences of the audience and content of archival filmsprovoked the expression of generative themes15 revealing theaudiences concerns and that lessons could be learnt in presenting

the material within a different context. Creating opportunities toview material in more conducive spaces could bring new life into


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archival film exhibition, while careful selection of material could helpfacilitate dialogue within communities about issues of concern. Anumber of synergies exist with the work of Transition Initiatives,which offer an excellent opportunity to explore this form ofexhibition. The public events arranged by Transition Initiatives

frequently include film showings with subsequent space fordiscussion, but thus far these have tended to be of contemporarydocumentary material16. The importance of intergenerationalconversations is promoted, especially in relation to the skills andexperiences of the past that the elder community can beencouraged to share and communicate17. There is also anestablished wider interest in history and how knowledge of the pastoffers important insights into our current situation18, explicitlyincluding images of the past19.

British non-fiction films of the first half of the 20th century reveal a

country a century or less ago set up very differently than it is now.Films of the 1930s to 1950s in particular reveal concerns withcommunity and local resilience comparable with current concerns(while concerns now are primarily environmental, those of the pastwere born of economic depression, wartime isolation and post-war-austerity). The concerns, recollections, and generative themes ofdifferent generations might find a meeting point in issues raised bythese films.

The affinities, in particular, between the situation the UK facedduring World War II and the situation it faces now in the light of

environmental constraints are being increasingly noted. Whilst notyet widespread, other heritage organisations have begun toimplicitly make these connections, in projects such as The ImperialWar Museum and the Royal Parks Dig For Victory; War on Waste in200720. Literature for the exhibition noted that[t]he Dig for Victorycampaign was a response to a wartime problem of food shortagesthat reflects concerns that we also share today having access tofresh healthy food, being active and living sustainably21. TheImperial War Museum has also engaged in a longer-term project,with the support of the Big Lottery Fund, called Their Past Your

Future which encourages participation and concentrates onsupporting intergenerational conversations facilitated by heritageitems, the project website states that [t]here is a strong focus ondeveloping meaningful contact between young people and veteransof eyewitnesses of conflict, and on utilising the resources of UKmuseums, libraries and archives to provide innovative and excitingopportunities for learning22.

The Transition Initiatives are also explicitly making the connectionsbetween current experience and some of the national experience ofWorld War II. Rob Hopkins, a founder of the Transition movement

asks in his Transition Handbookcan we learn anything useful fromBritains last wartime mobilisation? and finds that much can be


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learned from the experience of World War II23. The wider movementfor sustainability in the UK has also made many allusions to theexperience of World War II, notably the Centre for AlternativeTechnologys Island Britain scenario outlined in its recent reportZero-Carbon Britain24. Hopkins has recently referred directly to film

from the BFI National Archive collection25 subsequent to viewing theBombs at Teatime compilation of touring material from the BFIMediatheque. I believe that film from a wider time frame will proveequally utilisable and appropriate.

The opportunity to engage new audiences for BFI archival film innew ways that will be participatory and serve wider social andenvironmental objectives seems clear, timely, practical andachievable. I have connections with several Transition Initiativesand have recently been in contact with Rob Hopkins, who isenthusiastic about the possibilities. In section 3, I outline how we

might proceed.

3. How will it work?

Nasrudin decided that he could benefit from learning

something new. He went to see a master musician. How

much do you charge to teach lute-playing?

Three silver pieces for the first month; after that, one silver

piece a month.

Excellent! said Nasrudin. I shall begin with the second

month.26

mmary of potential benefits:

BFI: gains wider exposure; reaches regional audiences; reaches new audiences; meetsaims; meets wider government agenda; learns more about the national film collection.

Transition Initiative: gains wider exposure; reaches different elements of the communi

learns from the past; gains access to high quality materials Participants: learn about past; learn about moving image heritage; reminiscence;

conversations about community; inspiration; awareness raised about sustainability issu


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The initial tasks will be to select films from the BFI National Archivecollection, which are appropriate to this opportunity and to beginworking with a UK Transition Initiative. Subsequently a screeningevent will be planned and executed. After the screening a reviewphase will be completed with a report examining what went well,

what was challenging, a future vision for what could be achievedusing the project method and proposals for the next achievablesteps in continuing the project nationwide.

3.1 Selection of material (now to April 2009)

I have begun the work of researching films already, with theintention of producing a long-list of selections. I am keen that theproject should have a high degree of participation from our

partners, and that this should include their involvement in theselection of material. I suggest that this occur after the long-list hasbeen filtered to exclude material that is currently difficult to accessdue to technical issues and/or difficult to exhibit due to thecopyright of third parties.

In this initial case study we may therefore restrict selection to thosecollections in which the BFI holds rights to exploit (Topical Budgetnewsreel, Government films, British Transport Films, National CoalBoard films etc.) or which believes to be outside copyright term(much produced until the 1930s). If budget is available we might

seek to clear material in which third parties hold rights, and thisshould certainly feature in any subsequent development, as it wouldgreatly enhance the range of material available. Regional FilmArchives will also hold material with increased local relevance andwould make ideal partners at this and later stages.

Exhibition is likely to occur in unconventional and non-theatricalvenues; therefore material will need to be made available in a form,which is widely useable. I suggest that the production of one ormore DVDs (DVDR may be suitable) with individual items accessibleseparately with a simple menu structure. Additionally, or perhaps

alternatively, we may wish to make encoded files available as highquality transcodes (ideally in both Windows Media and QuickTimeformats). As this material must be capable of exhibition via digitalprojection, the transcodes would need to be higher quality thanthose generally made available for web access and home use.

3.2 Choosing a UK Transition Initiative (now to March2009)

For the purposes of this case study it is envisioned that the BFI willwork with a single Transition Initiative. Following a small-scalerequest for expressions of interest, I have already received some


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positive responses. We might:

i. Work with one of Transition Initiatives amongst the earlypositive responders.

ii. Put out a larger request to the Transition Initiatives forexpressions of interest, this time addressed from the BFIrather than me.

iii. Work with a Transition Initiative that is near to BFI staff andthe collections of the BFI National Archive.

iv. Collaborate with the founders of the Transition Movement toestablish a working model, choosing an Initiative they findappropriate.

In the spirit of collaboration and in order to benefit from the

established experience of others involved in the process ofcommunity engagement I suggest that option iv. is the mostadvisable course of action.

3.3 Arrange facilitated screening event (March-June2009) to occur (June or July 2009)

Once the Transition Initiative is engaged, representatives from thatInitiative should be brought into the process of selecting material for

a facilitated screening event.The public event will need to fit into the Transition Initiativesschedule and the calendar of those involved (who will most likely bevoluntary participants), but the event will ideally occur in June orJuly of this year. The stage of development of the Initiative willdictate some of the particular qualities of the planned event, but itis foreseen that the films will draw in an audience that should bebroader than those already involved in its work. I suggest thatfacilitation of the event is largely handed over to the localparticipants with support from a BFI representative (who is not

necessarily me) who can provide background on the films, andgeneral assistance.

The working plan however is to show a programme of archival filmsinterwoven with opportunities for, and encouragements to,discussion amongst the audience in small groups or in plenary.Discussion might be suggested to include: their thoughts aboutwhat they have seen, memories that match or contradict the films,considerations of how the locality has changed from the worlddepicted and the reasons why. They will explicitly be asked abouthow they felt about the event itself and whether they would be

interested in more events like it . The facilitation should beempowering rather than directive.


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The intention is that the Transition Initiative will arrange the venue,equipment hire and promotion of the event while The BFI shouldassist where necessary and appropriate with advice and support.The BFI should contribute to the production of promotionalmaterials, covering costs and providing design expertise with the

expectation that BFI branding plays a part in identifying itsparticipation in the event (this should benefit both parties).

3.4 Reflection, Feedback, Planning next cycle of Action(July-September 2009)

Subsequent to the facilitated screen event I will complete a reporton what has been learnt from the project that might benefit orinfluence the BFI National Archive, the particular Transition Initiative

worked with, the wider Transition movement, other heritagecollection organisations and myself in the future. The report willspecifically address this learning in relation as to how this casestudy project might be scaled up to a nationwide endeavour.

Several sources will be used to contribute to this report, includingprimarily:

i. The impressions recorded by the representative of the BFI,who will note their own experience of planning the event, theevent itself, their subsequent reflections and what they mightdo differently in future as well as any other suggestions.

ii. The representative of the BFI will also gather and record thefeedback and responses from the audience whilst attendingand assisting in the facilitation of the event. The number ofattendees and the general level of participation will be noted.

iii. Participants from the Transition Initiative will be interviewedon their experience of the planning of the event, the eventitself, their subsequent reflections and what they might dodifferently in future and any other suggestions.

iv. It is expected that the Transition Initiative will also beengaged in gaining feedback from the event using methodssuch as the post-it note tool, where participants are invitedto write short comments in response to suggested questionsand to place them up for viewing by other attendees. It ishoped that with the participants agreement that this type ofinformation will also be shared.

3.5 Resource Issues

The major costs associated with the project are expected to be:


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i. The digitisation of selected material and the production ofDVD media.

ii. Production of publicity material.

iii. Staff time allocated to the project.

iv. Staff travel costs.

While these costs might be internalised, with much of the workcapable of being achieved in-house there is recognition that extrafunds would be welcomed. With its combination of heritage,community, lifelong learning and sustainability elements the projectcould approach several funding sources including the appropriateRegional Screen Agency, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Esme Fairbairn

Foundation and others.

The schedule outlined here would probably preclude funds beingavailable for this case study, but it could provide valuable evidenceand experience in support of a larger future funding bid in 2010.


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1 Warburton, Diane A Passionate Dialogue: Community and SustainableDevelopment in Warburton, Diane (ed.) Community and SustainableDevelopment; Participation in the Future (London: Earthscan Publications, 1998),p.19

2 The Transition Initiatives are groups working towards local sustainability acrossthe UK, commonly organised at the town level. A website outlining the aims of theTransition Movement is available here: http://www.transitiontowns.org/ (Accessed13/01/2009). They have received wide public, political and media support, see forexample Lewis, Sarah A Peak into the Future in The Guardian (10/09/2008),online at:http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/sep/10/ethicalliving.transitiontowns(Accessed 13/01/2009).

3Making Movies Matter; Report of the Film Education Working Group (London:British Film Institute, 1999)

4 Park, Peter Knowledge and participatory research (2001) in Reason, Peter and

Bradbury, Hilary Handbook of Action Research (Concise Paperback Edition)(London: Sage, 2006), p.88.

5 Freire, Paulo Pedagogy of the Oppressed(Revised edition. London: PenguinBooks, 1996)

6http://www.inspiringlearningforall.gov.uk (Accessed 13/01/2009)

7 MacIntosh, Alastair Rekindling Community; Connecting People, Environment andSpirituality(Foxhole: Green Books/Schumacher Society, 2008)

8 Marshall, J. and Reason P. Research as personal process, in D. Boud and V.

Griffin (eds.),Appreciating Adult Learning (London: Kogan Page, 1987), pp.112-126

9 Wadsworth, Yolanda What is Participatory Action Research? inAction ResearchInternational (1998) http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/ari/p-ywadsworth98.html (Accessed 06/10/2008)

10 Heron, John The Facilitators Handbook(London: Kogan Page, 1989), p.66

11 Freire, Paulo Pedagogy of the Oppressed(Rev. ed. London: Penguin Books,1996), p.53

12

http://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/mediatheque_housewiveschoice.htm (Accessed 13/01/2009)

13 Heron, John The Facilitators Handbook(London: Kogan Page, 1989), p.17

14 Freire, Paulo Pedagogy of the Oppressed(Rev. ed. London: Penguin Books,1996), p.61

15 See Freire, Paulo Pedagogy of the Oppressed(Rev. ed. London: Penguin Books,1996) and Hope, Anne and Timmel, Sally Training for Transformation; A Handbook
http://www.transitiontowns.org/http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/sep/10/ethicalliving.transitiontownshttp://www.inspiringlearningforall.gov.uk/http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/ari/p-ywadsworth98.htmlhttp://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/ari/p-ywadsworth98.htmlhttp://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/mediatheque_housewiveschoice.htmhttp://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/mediatheque_housewiveschoice.htmhttp://www.transitiontowns.org/http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/sep/10/ethicalliving.transitiontownshttp://www.inspiringlearningforall.gov.uk/http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/ari/p-ywadsworth98.htmlhttp://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/ari/p-ywadsworth98.htmlhttp://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/mediatheque_housewiveschoice.htmhttp://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/mediatheque_housewiveschoice.htm


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for Community Workers (Rugby: ITDG Publishing, 1984)

16 Hopkins, Rob The Transition Handbook; From oil dependency to local resilience(Foxhole: Green Books, 2008), p.154-155.

17Ibid, p.170-172

18

Ibid, p.57-6719Ibid, p.159

20 Between May and September 2007 the Imperial War Museum and The RoyalParks recreated a wartime allotment in St Jamess Park with an accompanyingexhibition in the Cabinet War Rooms, which harnessed an audience from the newenthusiasm for allotments. Seehttp://cwr.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/79/DigForVictory/index.htm (Accessed13/01/2009)

21 Promotional leaflet for the exhibition Dig for Victory; War on Waste (2008).

22 http://www.theirpastyourfuture.org.uk (Accessed 13/01/2009)

23 Hopkins, Rob The Transition Handbook; From oil dependency to local resilience(Foxhole: Green Books, 2008), p.65-67

24 Helweg-Larsen, Tim and Bull, JamieZero-Carbon Britain; an alternative energystrategy(Machynlleth: CAT Publications, 2007), p.46-48

25 Hopkins, Rob Bombs at Teatime (13/01/2009)http://www.transitionculture.org/2009/01/13/bombs-at-teatime/ (Accessed13/01/2009)

26 Shah, Idries The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin (London: PanBooks, 1975), p.82
http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/79/DigForVictory/index.htmhttp://www.theirpastyourfuture.org.uk/http://www.transitionculture.org/2009/01/13/bombs-at-teatime/http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/79/DigForVictory/index.htmhttp://www.theirpastyourfuture.org.uk/http://www.transitionculture.org/2009/01/13/bombs-at-teatime/

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