8 March 2010
Projecting Britain: memories of screenings in Freetown, Enugu, and Uyo.
by: Counterpoint
To coincide with Counterpoint's ongoing exploration of the British Council film archive of the 30s through 50s, we asked British Council employees to recount their experiences of using films as part of their work.
David Evans, who worked for the British Council from 1965-2002, here describes his memories of working with films abroad, and the far-reaching benefits, hilarity, even outrage, that ensued from their use. Vividly describing the practical ways in which British films made their way into diverse communities around the world, by providing for example, the resonant image of a field ambulance converted into a travelling projectionist's van to tour films overseas in the 40s, David's observations also speak of the constructed nature of every culture's visual sensibility, and the role of film in the active structuring of cultural memory and identity.
David Evans, who worked for the British Council from 1965-2002, here describes his memories of working with films abroad, and the far-reaching benefits, hilarity, even outrage, that ensued from their use. Vividly describing the practical ways in which British films made their way into diverse communities around the world, by providing for example, the resonant image of a field ambulance converted into a travelling projectionist's van to tour films overseas in the 40s, David's observations also speak of the constructed nature of every culture's visual sensibility, and the role of film in the active structuring of cultural memory and identity.
