Pioneering Edwardian Films Outdoors In Forest Hill

Laura Reynolds
By Laura Reynolds Last edited 115 months ago
Pioneering Edwardian Films Outdoors In Forest Hill

Image: Horniman Museum

Following a rather macabre-looking late night event at Horniman Museum, its summer of all things Edwardian continues with outdoor film screenings later this month, courtesy of MASH Cinema.

The first event, on 21 August, is a screening of three of the films of Georges Méliès, who during his time in the late 1800s-early 1900s was seen as a pioneer of cinema. He was one of the first filmmakers to use multiple exposures and time-lapse photography in his work, and was the focus of Scorsese's 2011 film Hugo.

The three silent films of Méliès being shown are A Trip To the Moon (1902), The Impossible Voyage (1904) and The Conquest to the Pole (1912), and they'll all be accompanied by musical soundtracks.

A week later, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916), based on Jules Verne's book, will be shown. Again, it was pioneering for its time, being the first film to be filmed underwater. The story follows Captain Nemo's submarine-based quest for revenge against a wealthy alcoholic, and will be accompanied by an improvised live score by Orchestra Elastique.

To further sidestep the niceties of modern cinema, the Georges Méliès screening will be powered by Electric Pedals, a company which uses people on bicycles to power cinema screens.

Outdoor film screenings take place at Horniman Museum, Forest Hill, on 21 and 28 August. Tickets, £10, must be prebooked.

Last Updated 14 August 2014