Tagged: Hackney

Apr 07

‘Trail of the Spider’: an East End Western?

This looks fantastic; a Western set firmly in East London. Here’s the East End Film Festival programme note:

Western genre motifs are transformed to the landscape of East London. Questioning and re-imagining the Western’s portrayal of the ‘Vanishing Frontier’, this film recreates the epic panoramas of the Western in Hackney Marshes, the Thames Gateway and Essex. Using landfills, wastelands and gravel pits linked to the construction of the 2012 Olympic Park, it questions volatile financial speculations, private interests and the spectre of the Olympic gold rush. Working with a large cast of actors and non-actors (many of whom are themselves residents of East London), the film explores the compromises of a population facing this new order.

Trail of the Spider Poster

Trail of the Spider Poster

The trailer manages to transform the scrubby patch down the road, where people walk their dogs and play frisbee, into something wild and strange. Even the hats and the accents don’t break the spell. You can also visit filmmaker Anja Kirschner’s site for more on the ideas behind it. It’s showing at Stratford Picturehouse on Monday 27 April, 8.30pm and followed by a Q&A. See you there?

0
comments

Posted in Film, Hackney, Newham, Olympics, Politics, Regeneration