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London Film-Makers' Co-op
Celebrating 50 years of the LFMC (now Lux), the ground-breaking production and distribution cooperative for artists’ moving image.
The London Film-Makers Co-op was begun in October 1966 by a group of film enthusiasts that met in the basement of the Better Books shop on Charing Cross Road, with founder members including Ray Durgnat, Simon Hartog and Stephen Dwoskin. Inspired by the activities of Jonas Mekas and the New American Cinema Group in New York, the LFMC was initially established as a non-profit distribution cooperative. But with the arrival of a new generation of members, including Malcolm Le Grice, Fred Drummond and David Curtis, the LFMC expanded into organisation that incorporated a film workshop, cinema space and distribution office. Through the 70s, 80s and 90s, the LFMC was the UK’s principle hub for experimental and independent film culture. Following its demise, a new organisation LUX was formed in 2002, which continues to be the UK’s leading agency for the support and promotion of artists’ moving image. This selection of films from the first 25 years of the LFMC have been newly digitised by LUX as part of the LFMC’s 50th anniversary commemorations.
FociiFocii
Animation & Artists Moving Image19759 minsSilent
A female dancer performs in front of what appears to be a wall of mirrors until her reflection takes on a life of its own.
Emily (Third Party Speculation)Emily (Third Party Speculation)
Animation & Artists Moving Image197962 mins
Filmed in a closed domestic environment, this film investigates the question of identification and point of view in cinema.
Tea LeafTea Leaf
Documentary19888 mins
An intimate account of frustration and disarray in 1980s Britain from the point of view of a young woman.
Spot the MicrodotSpot the Microdot
Animation & Artists Moving Image19698 mins
An unprintable film, handmade by punching holes into an opaque 16mm strip.
Guerillere TalksGuerillere Talks
Animation & Artists Moving Image197824 mins
Six film portraits of women associated with the punk music scene in 1970s New York.
Blind White DurationBlind White Duration
Animation & Artists Moving Image196813 minsSilent
Interaction between a blank white screen and filmed snow.
Colours of This TimeColours of This Time
Animation & Artists Moving Image19722 minsSilent
A time-lapse study of a London park during the course of a summer day
BreathBreath
Animation & Artists Moving Image197413 mins
Three people with cameras converge on a remote location near Hay Toor in Dartmoor.
Angles of IncidenceAngles of Incidence
Animation & Artists Moving Image19738 mins
The view through the filmmaker’s window opens up the flat surface of the film screen.
Real TimeReal Time
Animation & Artists Moving Image197133 mins
As she recollects her childhood, the filmmaker reflects on time, family and ageing.
Muybridge FilmMuybridge Film
Animation & Artists Moving Image19754 minsSilent
Anne Rees-Mogg pays tribute to Muybridge’s studies of human motion with this portrait of filmmaker Renny Croft.
Welcome/AdieuWelcome/Adieu
Animation & Artists Moving Image19833 mins
Victorian lantern slides and a ‘patriotic’ rendering of God Save the Queen
Sentimental JourneySentimental Journey
Animation & Artists Moving Image197734 mins
A poetic tutorial about how to make an experimental film
Nothing Is SomethingNothing Is Something
19669 mins
The delicate everyday beauty of soap bubbles, moving water and rainbow reflections.
Living MemoryLiving Memory
Animation & Artists Moving Image198039 mins
The filmmaker revisits the landscape of her youth and her memory of it
Grandfather's FootstepsGrandfather's Footsteps
Animation & Artists Moving Image198336 mins
The filmmaker re-evokes the presence of her great-grandfather, Henry Stiles Savory, a Victorian clergyman, photographer and scientist.
TransmogrificationTransmogrification
Animation & Artists Moving Image19809 mins
Two girls become 18th century ladies in this short film about the assumption of roles.
Film No. 1Film No. 1
Animation & Artists Moving Image197110 mins
Film No. 1 emphasizes the material process of film printing through repetition, seriality and permutations of colour
The Man with a Movie CameraThe Man with a Movie Camera
Animation & Artists Moving Image19739 minsSilent
A carefully controlled reflection on the process of filmmaking, playfully demonstrating the camera as a tool for constructing a filmed image.
EerieEerie
Animation & Artists Moving Image19921 mins
A vertiginous lesbian kiss in a mountain cablecar inspired by German expressionism.
Lady LazarusLady Lazarus
Animation & Artists Moving Image199124 mins
A cinematographic response to Sylvia Plath’s Lady Lazarus with Plath’s own readings of her poetry
TerminalsTerminals
Animation & Artists Moving Image198520 mins
A filmic exploration of the working conditions of female nuclear workers.
ArrowsArrows
Animation & Artists Moving Image198416 mins
A first-person essay on the experience of anorexia and its cultural causes
Uranium HexUranium Hex
Animation & Artists Moving Image198712 mins
Uranium mining in Canada and the destruction of the environment
Plutonium BlondePlutonium Blonde
Animation & Artists Moving Image198616 mins
A fractured narrative on a female worker at a plutonium terminal
Gloucester Road GrooveGloucester Road Groove
Animation & Artists Moving Image19692 minsSilent
An exuberant night out in buzzing 1960s Gloucester Road.
Serpent RiverSerpent River
Animation & Artists Moving Image198932 mins
An anti-nuclear film on a community living in proximity to uranium mines in Canada.
Close UpClose Up
Animation & Artists Moving Image198371 mins
A radical, anti-representational film set against the backdrop of the Nicaraguan revolution
Silent PartnerSilent Partner
Animation & Artists Moving Image197733 mins
Domestic interiors are interrogated by a restless camera in this radical, anti-narrative film.
HallHall
Animation & Artists Moving Image196811 mins
A static shot of a hallway, demystified and disrupted by quick cuts and an alarm ringing.
Condition of IllusionCondition of Illusion
Animation & Artists Moving Image197532 minsSilent
A problematisation of the relation between spectator and photographic image.
KeyKey
Animation & Artists Moving Image196810 mins
A photograph of Nico is abstracted beyond recognition through a zoom.
C/O/N/S/T/R/U/C/TC/O/N/S/T/R/U/C/T
Animation & Artists Moving Image197414 minsSilent
Five layers of optical superimposition demonstrate film as a construct.
8mm film-notes on 16mm8mm film-notes on 16mm
Animation & Artists Moving Image197119 mins
A structuralist collage emphasizing the difference between 8mm and 16mm film gauges
NowNow
Animation & Artists Moving Image19698 minsSilent
A film by an early British pioneer of computer generated filmmaking.
Not to See AgainNot to See Again
198114 mins
An anti-montage film hovering on the line between abstraction and representation
GuessworkGuesswork
Animation & Artists Moving Image197911 mins
Details, fragments, transformations and shadows of a confined space.
The Ten Commandments of LoveThe Ten Commandments of Love
Animation & Artists Moving Image19794 mins
An impassioned embrace on an ocean pier to 'The Ten Commandments of Love'.
ReturningReturning
Animation & Artists Moving Image19807 mins
Looking outside and looking back in the same moment; the collision of memory and reluctance.
JourneyJourney
Animation & Artists Moving Image19764 mins
Reveries during a train journey are suggested though montage
TracksTracks
Animation & Artists Moving Image198928 mins
A feminist collage/essay film that takes a critical look at certain feminist theories.
The Pecking OrderThe Pecking Order
Animation & Artists Moving Image19895 mins
A beautifully painted animated critique of modern intensive farming methods
Fatima's LetterFatima's Letter
Animation & Artists Moving Image199220 mins
A woman remembers her past while travelling on the London Underground
SwanSwan
Animation & Artists Moving Image19863 minsSilent
Close-up images of a white swan as it prepares for flight
Three PacesThree Paces
Animation & Artists Moving Image198914 mins
An urban fairy tale where myth and reality constantly collide
Durga (A Ritual)Durga (A Ritual)
Animation & Artists Moving Image198623 mins
Meaning is built through repetition in this filmic meditation of sexuality, loss and rebirth.
Still LifeStill Life
Animation & Artists Moving Image19765 minsSilent
A traditional ‘still life’ serves as subject for a film on colour transformation
FireworksFireworks
Animation & Artists Moving Image19763 minsSilent
Images of fireworks superimposed in the camera and in the optical printer
CloudsClouds
Animation & Artists Moving Image19753 minsSilent
Clouds filmed from a moving car producing the illusion of space within the frame
Light MusicLight Music
Animation & Artists Moving Image197931 mins
Classic expanded cinema work that proposes a direct relationship between the sonic and the visual.
Mechanical BalletMechanical Ballet
19759 minsSilent
Double-screen found-footage film in which car crash tests take a sinister and humorous quality.
FootstepsFootsteps
Animation & Artists Moving Image19746 mins
Actor and cameraman engage in a game of ‘grandmother’s footsteps’ in a playfully delightful film.
Some FriendsSome Friends
Animation & Artists Moving Image19735 mins
Polaroid portraits of the filmmaker’s friends are filmed against various backdrops
Cezanne's EyeCezanne's Eye
Animation & Artists Moving Image198223 mins
An experiential journey through the landscape of Cezanne’s Provence.
The Red SeaThe Red Sea
Animation & Artists Moving Image199221 mins
A tragic journey of self-discovery through land, sea and the body
ChameleonChameleon
19905 mins
A woman searches through an interior landscape, where she is both trapped and contained
A NosegayA Nosegay
Animation & Artists Moving Image198617 mins
A homoerotic homage to Genet and Lautréamont with an angel and a hermaphrodite.
L'Ange FrénétiqueL'Ange Frénétique
19865 mins
A study of frustration and insolence featuring an epicene angel played by Cerith Wyn Evans
AloneAlone
Animation & Artists Moving Image196313 mins
A girl alone in her room, smoking, putting on make-up, masturbating.
Chinese CheckersChinese Checkers
Animation & Artists Moving Image196513 mins
Two masked women make love while playing the board game.
NaissantNaissant
Animation & Artists Moving Image196413 mins
A woman in a bedroom, alone with her own thoughts .
The Cat and the Woman, A Cautionary TaleThe Cat and the Woman, A Cautionary Tale
Animation & Artists Moving Image19872 mins
A woman loses her head to a cat in return for a man.
Thinking TwiceThinking Twice
Animation & Artists Moving Image199710 mins
A film which attempts to reflect the rigour of the music featuring pianist Katharina Wolpe.
Free ShowFree Show
Animation & Artists Moving Image197917 mins
Three potentially violent domestic activities performed by a woman.
The Garden of EatingThe Garden of Eating
Animation & Artists Moving Image19863 mins
A stop-motion collage film that constructs a garden out of flowers, candles, plastic cellophane and food
SnigSnig
Animation & Artists Moving Image19825 mins
A young woman shakes eels out from between the sheets of a bed.
Shower ProofShower Proof
Animation & Artists Moving Image19689 minsSilent
A quotidian yet abstract bathroom sequence, printed on high-contrast negative film.
Looking for the MoonLooking for the Moon
Animation & Artists Moving Image19875 minsSilent
Tentative gestures of hands and body become symbolic of trust and the need to escape
ImaginaryImaginary
Animation & Artists Moving Image198916 mins
A film in three parts shot in varying intimate and personal environments.
Hide & SeekHide & Seek
198715 mins
A metaphorical and lyrical journey of discovery through childhood memories
Yes No Maybe NotYes No Maybe Not
Animation & Artists Moving Image19678 minsSilent
Black and white images of lapping water are juxtaposed with and superimposed upon Battersea Power Station in this double-screen film.
Soul in a White RoomSoul in a White Room
Animation & Artists Moving Image19683 mins
An intimate encounter suggested by two pairs of hands
Milk and GlassMilk and Glass
Animation & Artists Moving Image19939 mins
Boundaries are blurred as images of a woman’s body are projected onto domestic objects
WindowframeWindowframe
Animation & Artists Moving Image19757 mins
A domestic scene with a man and woman, as seen through a window
That’s Entertainment/The Conjuror’s AssistantsThat’s Entertainment/The Conjuror’s Assistants
Documentary197823 mins
Frame by frame analysis of documentary footage taken at a children’s Christmas party.
LenselessLenseless
Animation & Artists Moving Image19714 mins
The lens is removed from the camera resulting in a complex interplay of light patterns
VariantVariant
Documentary197317 mins
A film that attempts to create the rhythm and transience of felt experience.
CrossCross
Animation & Artists Moving Image197442 minsSilent
Instinctive yet formal, a film that takes a drawing of a cross as a score.
SignSign
Animation & Artists Moving Image197443 mins
An experiential film that captures the filmmaker’s flux-like process of being in a room, filming.
Stabat MaterStabat Mater
Drama19908 mins
An exultant journey through the emotional landscape of the filmmaker’s native Gibraltar.
Close to HomeClose to Home
Documentary198528 mins
An image of freedom and the melancholy of parting in this film about Gibraltar
"Now I Am Yours""Now I Am Yours"
Documentary199333 mins
Extreme state of religious and sexual ecstasy in this film on the figure of Saint Teresa
RepertoryRepertory
Animation & Artists Moving Image19739 mins
The camera circles the exterior of an empty theatre while a voice describes ‘imaginary presentations’ inside.
The InstitutionThe Institution
Animation & Artists Moving Image197854 mins
A critique of the institution of mental health care that questions ‘normal’ viewing habits.
SheetSheet
Animation & Artists Moving Image197022 mins
A white linen sheet is filmed in a series of locations as focal point
Shepherd's BushShepherd's Bush
Animation & Artists Moving Image197215 mins
A quintessential Co-op film made using the contact printer
Tender KissesTender Kisses
Animation & Artists Moving Image197211 mins
This film questions the convincing illusion produced by the two great illusionists: Television and Cinema.
VistasoundVistasound
Animation & Artists Moving Image198245 mins
A film that raises questions about the associations between song lyrics and particular places.
SheepwomanSheepwoman
Animation & Artists Moving Image197012 mins
A self-reflexive film in which a woman reads a text about shearing to camera.
Red + Green + BlueRed + Green + Blue
Animation & Artists Moving Image197010 minsSilent
In this structural-materialist film, colour is generated by landscape: from the sky, the grass and berries
SoliloquySoliloquy
Animation & Artists Moving Image19679 mins
A girl broods over a failed love affair while the camera roves over her.
Jesus BloodJesus Blood
Animation & Artists Moving Image197330 mins
A man walks towards the camera to the sound of 'Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet'.
C-FilmC-Film
Documentary197014 mins
Two women in a swinging London living room in a film that questions acting.
Light Occupations: Lens and Mirror FilmLight Occupations: Lens and Mirror Film
Animation & Artists Moving Image19733 mins
Playful investigation of the filmic equipment, particularly camera and projector
DeckDeck
Animation & Artists Moving Image197114 mins
A reel of 8mm film undergoes a mysterious transformation through refilming, colour changing and printing
Lens Hand FootLens Hand Foot
Animation & Artists Moving Image19733 minsSilent
The filmmaker explores the relationship of her own body to the filmmaking apparatus
MysteriesMysteries
Animation & Artists Moving Image19827 minsSilent
A photomontage film that offers an interpretation of the mystery of the harvest.
Red SeaRed Sea
Animation & Artists Moving Image19826 minsSilent
Spring tides and menstrual cycles at the full and new moon
PersistingPersisting
Animation & Artists Moving Image19789 mins
An image of the Yangtse bridge is re-filmed with a soundtrack of popular Chinese music.
At the AcademyAt the Academy
Animation & Artists Moving Image19745 mins
A found-footage film made entirely from the countdown leader that is normally used to cue the start of films.
CyclesCycles
Animation & Artists Moving Image19725 mins
A circular form fluctuates in rhythms of light and sound in this hand-made film.
Salt WaterSalt Water
Animation & Artists Moving Image198619 mins
Reflections in fish tanks in the windows of restaurants in Chinatown, San Francisco.
One Million Unemployed in Winter 1971One Million Unemployed in Winter 1971
Documentary19717 mins
A film on unemployment, which was made to be shown at Claimants Union meetings.
Four FilmsFour Films
196912 mins
Early experimentations with film by a materialist sculptor and future structural filmmaker
Five FilmsFive Films
Animation & Artists Moving Image196917 mins
Five experimentations with film as a medium, a physical object and a record of social reality
Green on the HorizonGreen on the Horizon
Animation & Artists Moving Image198817 mins Location: Cliffe Marshes
The haunting qualities of the English countryside are evoked in this enigmatic film: part fake public information film, part occult jaunt.
Industrial Relations BillIndustrial Relations Bill
Animation & Artists Moving Image19714 minsSilent
Experimental film responding to the controversial Industrial Relations Bill of 1971
Macbeth a TragedyMacbeth a Tragedy
Drama19836 mins
Experimental Shakespeare: prose and poetry, reading and performance, with filming mechanics laid bare
Eros ErosionEros Erosion
Animation & Artists Moving Image198941 mins
A meditation on transcience, trauma and taboo in the cruel wake of the AIDS epidemic