This film is part of Free

Statis Quo

Intriguing experimental cinematography explores many thought-provoking socioeconomic issues keenly debated in Leeds in the late 1960s.

Non-Fiction 1969 15 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for Yorkshire Film Archive

Overview

This enthralling experimental film investigates the vital social and economic statistics of 1960s Leeds and juxtaposes this with the differing views of the city’s population. In-between informative interviews, the editing and camerawork is deliberately disjointed which adds a fascinating eerie, and sometimes comical, cinematic feel to the views espoused by Leeds residents.

Statis Quo was made primarily by student Darryl Johnson at Leeds College of Art. Johnson had little knowledge of film production when he made the film in 1969, but was inspired by the contemporary experimental non-fiction films that he had seen from Britain and the United States.