The East Anglian Film Archive, the first and largest Regional Film Archive in England, was established in 1976. Since 1984, EAFA has been owned and operated by the University of East Anglia, Norwich (UEA), to support research and work to preserve our moving image heritage. More than 250 hours are freely available online as examples of the wide range of film which attracts interest the world over.
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Extra-terrestrial plantlife is discovered in the Welsh countryside causing mischief for scientist Dr Felix Ackerman, filmed in 1977.
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Overview
Young filmmaker Jon Coley’s imaginative tale of the bizarre – the discovery of alien plantlife in the Welsh countryside. Coley wrote, directed and provided the animations and special effects for this short film, episode four out of eight, making up the ‘Other Realms’ series. Coley enlisted the help of his uncle Tommy (Lloyd) and cousin Andrew to play the farmer and son, with himself starring as the scientist.
Coley was greatly influenced by his Uncle Tommy who he remembers had a Eumig standard 8 camera and projector and would host film shows at family occasions. Coley showed great interest in this hobby from a very early age, marking the start of a life-long career in animation and filmmaking. Coley also took inspiration from the classic Universal horror movies of the 1920s, introduced to him by his grandmother who was a keen Boris Karloff fan. He also loved the work of fantasy animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen. In later years, Coley became great friends with Harryhausen, and the two would showcase work to each other.
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