New town utopia 2017 the new towns can be experiments in design as well as in living so said lewis silkin mp, voiced here by jim broadbent in this, christopher ian smiths heartfelt and absorbing documentary film which is, in turn, both a paean to and an indictment of basildon, essex. Directed by christopher ian smith and executive produced by margaret matheson scum, sid and nancy, sleep furiously. But the utopia of the future isnt quite what he was expecting. At home in utopia brings back to life a lost world of american radicalism. New town utopia features oscarwinning actor jim broadbent as the voice of lewis silkin mp.
Utopia city, its the perfect place to be, whether you are an active working individual with family or a foresighted investor. New town utopia is now in production but also seeking funding on kickstarter campaign to complete the film. Facing austerity, adversity and personal battles the citizens of basildon are driven by a creative spirit to help their community through art, poetry. New town utopia is an intelligent, poignant and delicately ambiguous portrait of a place routinely dismissed as a provincial backwater. New town films film production company specialises in. New town utopia is a feature documentary about the state of the nation, the power of art. This sweet, sad film is an ode to the unique moment when postwar britain allowed itself to dream and shape that dream in concrete. New town utopia features oscarwinning actor jim broadbent iris, topsyturvy, moulin rouge as the voice of lewis silkin mp. An audiovisual journey of art, architecture and memory the film is brought to life through the stories and performances of a group of artists, musicians and poets from basildon. Like a sequence of captivating photographs, new town utopia is a sensitive portrayal of postwar britain which leaves the viewer pondering the complex relationship between place and identity.
Ratings info strong language, sex references, drug references. A documentary about grand utopian dreams and stark concrete realities. Set on the new years eve of 1899, a man manages to build a functioning time machine. A utopia, built with harmony in mind, where everyone gets along and works. New town utopia has been in the making for four years, with over 100 hours of footage filmed. The evening begins with an excerpt from 2017 documentary feature film new town utopia, exploring life in the new town of basildon in essex as told by.
Join whale arts and tower block uk at wester hailes library on tuesday 18th september for an evening filled with film and conversation about highrise and new town living. New town utopia is the story of the broken dreams of the new british town experiment, told through the. The opposite of a utopia is a dystopia utopia focuses on equality in economics, government and justice, though by no means exclusively, with the method and structure of proposed implementation varying based on ideology. New documentary called new town utopia is coming soon, directed by christopher ian smith and executive produced by margaret matheson sleep furiously, scum, sid and nancy.
Watch new town utopia and then read john grindrods book concretopia, an engrossing study of modernist architecture in the uk. New town utopia new town utopia teaser trailer facebook. New town utopia is a documentary about postwar town planning. Welcome to new town films new town is a creative partnership that develops, produces and consults on creative content for the entertainment industry. New town utopia is a 2018 documentary feature film about the british new town experiment. The film talks about basildons scary and tough reputation as a place where looking at someone the wrong way in a pub will. Seven planned utopian towns that you can visit today. This film is a chance to explore the complexities of a place so often derided on local and national level.
Unlikely though that sounds, it leaves a rich impression. From utopian dreams to concrete realities, new town utopia charts the challenging, funny, and sometimes tragic story of the british new town of basildon, essex. Designed and built in the late 1940s, basildon was created with the hope and aspiration for a happier, healthier postwar britain, but 70 years on, what has become of the new town dream. With the machine, he travels forward in time to try and reach the utopian future he dreams of. New town utopia does feature some good photography parts of it are reminiscent of patrick keillers robinson trilogy and i have no doubt that, like keillers films, it will gain a period charm in the future. Whether its producing feature films or short form promos, the new town team have worked on and delivered a.
New town utopia is a new documentary from director christopher ian smith, which has been selected to play at the southend film festival on saturday 26th may. Based on a star, it was meant to be an impregnable utopia for its residents. Utopia, internationally titled dreamland, is a logie awardwinning australian television comedy series by working dog productions that premiered on the abc on august 2014. New town utopia is a feature documentary that explores the noble but failed global experiment of new towns through the struggle of one british community to improve their lives through art and culture. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments to this film entry. Christoper ian smiths film new town utopia explores the british town of basildon, viewed as a precedent for postwar planning and social change. New town utopia tracks the lives of the residents mostly artists of basildon, essex. New town utopia is a feature documentary about the utopian dreams and concrete realities of a british new town. The challenging, funny and sometimes tragic story of the british new town of basildon, essex. Known as palmanova, the town was overseen by military architect giulio savorgnan. The challenging, funny, and sometimes tragic story of the british new town of basildon, essex. New town utopia is a film about utopian dreams and concrete realities a feature documentary about the british new town of basildon, essex. In doing so it reflects on the issues impacting all our towns and communities you can follow new town utopia and find out more about the film on twitter, facebook or via their website.
Like so many of the best utopian movies, the time machine is based on an h. New town utopia is a documentary feature about utopian dreams and concrete realities the challenging, funny, and sometimes tragic story of the british new town of basildon, essex. A journey of memory, place and performance guided by the artists, musicians and poets of basildon. Directed by christopher ian smith produced by margaret matheson new town utopia website new town utopia facebook last night thursday 26th july four of us from south essex working class action went to the towngate theatre in basildon for a screening of new town utopia. A feature documentary film about utopian dreams and concrete realities. New town utopia british board of film classification. New town utopia explores the original utopian dreams of a postwar british new town basildon in essex and compares this. The narrative is guided by the artists, musicians and poets of basildon on. New town utopia is directed by christopher ian smith and executive produced by margaret matheson sleep furiously, scum, sid and nancy. New documentary explores the utopian dreams and concrete. This is a film looking at basildon through the eyes.
It is an alternative social history of the essex town of basildon, including interviews and performances from artists, poets and musicians of the town. New town utopia is a feature documentary film about utopian dreams and concrete realities the challenging, funny, and sometimes tragic story of the british new town of basildon, essex. New town utopia is a feature documentary film about utopian dreams and concrete realities. New town utopia, the lovely and melancholy documentary feature debut from christopher ian smith, looks specifically at the development and the fate of basildon, in essex just to the east of london after world war ii. A film about the life and times of legendary clothing retailer john simons, this is the. Conceived as an ideal postwar arena to pursue a happier postwar existence, basildons legacy has since fluctuated from slow structural and communal disintegration to a hotbed of creativity and back again. If you are contemplating a place after retirement, utopia has every. Through the history of a cooperative housing project founded by new york jewish communists, it reconstructs two generations of political activists who sought not only to build a new society but to live out their ideals then and there. New town utopia showing at queens film theatre, belfast. I got a chance to ask smith a few questions about what his inspirations for were creating the film, why he chose to take a look at basildon and working with jim broadbent. The film talks about basildons scary and tough reputation as a place where looking at someone the wrong way in a. The series follows the working lives of a team in the fictional nation building authority, a newly created government organisation. But like keillers work it is also somewhat narrowminded, overly leftist in its diagnosis of britains problems, and too pessimistic. The narrative is guided by the artists, musicians and poets of basildon on a.
October 2016 postproduction begins on my first documentary feature as an editor. Throughout history, people have been in search of the perfect town. The authority is responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects, from. But its story is applicable not only to the spate of other planned, experimental towns across the uk, but also to similar projects in the us, such. After world war two, new towns were designed as social utopias, built to create a new type of citizen, with public art, homes by progressive architects and work for everyone.
They built a brand new city that doubled as a superweapon and tried to convince people to live there. Genres documentary directors christopher ian smith cast includes jim broadbent, terry bird, vincent oconnell, phil burdett, ralph dartford, steve waters. A documentary film about basildon, the power of art, architecture. The narrative is guided by the artists, musicians and poets of basildon on a journey through memory, place and performance. New town films is a boutique film and television production company, started by actor bryan brown in 1983, with the simple philosophy if you own it, they cant tell you that you cant be in it. Documentary feature film about the grand utopian dreams and harsh concrete realities of basildon new town. Produced and directed by christopher ian smith and executive produced by margaret matheson sid and. New town utopia official trailer 2018 basildon essex. Documentary film to explore the fate of basildon, a new.