The McGuffin Film Society new movie strand LONDON ON FILM launches with CANAL KNOWLEDGE – a joyous end-of-summer celebration of the capital’s waterways.
From Little Venice to Walthamstow Marshes, we dive straight in at the deep end with a selection of cinematic gems exploring London’s waterways past and present. The evening will include feature films, short documentaries, archive curios and a contemporary silent comedy chronicling one man’s quest for love by the River Lea – all buoyed up with a mighty splash of music videos to get you toe-tapping on that towpath!
Our main movie of the evening is ANCHOR & HOPE, an unconventional romantic tragi-comedy beautifully filmed around North and East London’s canal network.
STORYLINE: Eva and Kat are a British-Spanish lesbian couple living on a vintage barge, enjoying a nomadic but seemingly idyllic life on the London canals. The calm waters of their long-term relationship hit a wave of turmoil when Kat’s philandering old friend Roger pays a visit from Barcelona. As their good-natured patter turns from pints and pizza to procreation and parenthood, the unlikely trio sail into troubled tides which could ultimately threaten to sink all their futures.
Alongside the highly evocative waterway location filming the movie pays several memorable visits to the Anchor & Hope pub (where Kat works as a barmaid), an iconic riverside watering hole overlooking Walthamstow Marshes at Clapton – and a much-loved landmark for many local residents!
Starring Oona Chaplin (former Game of Thrones regular and granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin) and Natalia Tena (Harry Potter’s Nymphadora Tonks and a genuine London houseboat dweller!), the film is directed by the internationally acclaimed Carlos Marques-Marcet. Chaplin and Tena also contribute to a highly atmospheric soundtrack which includes music from British folk stalwarts Ewan MacColl and Molly Drake plus reggae legends Inner Circle.
Amongst other highlights – and perfectly complementing our main feature – will be ANCHOR & HOPE: THE LAST PUB, a slice-of-life documentary shot at the aforementioned riverside hostelry by Walthamstow Marshes. The film soaks up the inimitable atmosphere of this bustling (and apparently indestructible) traditional East London alehouse where damp spirits are never an option.
Plus much, much more – including canalside cameos from Bob Dylan, Jude Law, Soul II Soul and Ronnie Barker!
Take a walk on the wet side with the McGuffin Film Society at LONDON ON FILM: CANAL KNOWLEDGE. Further programme details and film trailers at www.mcguffin.co.uk
Special thanks to Bill Hodgson and the McGuffin Film Society for their work back in 2003, helping to preserve this beloved venue as a space for film and entertainment.
Each event features a completely different line-up, so whether you’re joining us for the first time or coming back for more, you’re in for something new.