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Film No. 1
Film No. 1 emphasizes the material process of film printing through repetition, seriality and permutations of colour
Overview
In Film No. 1 the screen is divided into four quadrants. Looped images oscillate between these rectangles and go through different permutations of colour, superimposition, positive or negative images. The repetitions respond to an unknown score, but rather than try to figure out the structure, the viewer is taken with the film’s psychedelic imagery and rhythm. Film No. 1 was one of the first films to be printed in the LFMC workshop.
Founded in 1966, the London Film-Makers’ Co-operative started life at Better Books, a counter-culture bookshop on Charing Cross Road, where a group led by poet Bob Cobbing and filmmakers Stephen Dwoskin and Jeff Keen met to screen films. Initially inspired by the activities of the New American Cinema Group in New York, the London Co-op grew into a pioneering organisation that incorporated a film workshop, cinema space and distribution office. During its four-decade history, the Co-op played a crucial role in establishing film as an art form in the UK and participated in a vibrant international film scene. This BFI Player collection brings together new scans of films distributed by and/or produced at the London Co-op.
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