11am screening at the Renoir Cinema, London map
Folk America - This Land is Your Land
Jill Nicholls, UK 2008, 60mins
Only a Bookseller
Chris Reeves, UK 2009, 60mins
The first event of our new season is dedicated to the memory of British Socialist and Labour activist Jack Firestein (1917 – 2004).
Tickets must be obtained as usual but they will be issued free. We appreciate donations to cover expenses and to contribute to the cost of completing the making of Only a Bookseller. We are grateful to Jill Nicholls and the BBC to screen This Land is Your Land.
Folk America – This Land is Your Land
Jill Nichols, UK 2008, 60mins
In the depression of the 1930s, convicted murderer Leadbelly set a new agenda for folk music, redefining it as the voice of protest, the voice of the outsider and the oppressed. Dustbowl drifter Woody Guthrie fitted the mould perfectly and the two of them teamed up with friends who believed they could make a better world if they all got together and just sang about it.
Only a Bookseller
Chris Reeves, UK 2009, 60mins
Jack Firestein ran a book stall, rain or shine, every Saturday morning outside the old Labour Party rooms in Bayham Street, NW1. He was a feisty campaigner for all the good causes. He fought at Anzio, was one of Lady Astor’s ‘D-Day Dodgers’, was wounded and imprisoned by the Germans. He was one of the first members of the Unity Theatre Society from the 1930s and an active founder member and convenor in 1990 of the London Socialist Film Co-op. But Jack was best known for his lifetime contribution to the labour movement – first in the Communist Party, then the Camden Labour Party and in his union.
The screening will be followed by a discussion led by Jill Nicholls and Chris Reeves.
If you would like to view our full 2009/2010 programme please click here
