Emma Giffard is the project co-ordinator for the Movie Bus Project, a collaboration between the Vintage Mobile Cinema, the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon, North Devon Theatres Trust, the South West Film and TV Archive (SWFTA), the North Devon Festival and the Bill Douglas Centre of Exeter University. And Emma invited those interested in participating in the project to get in touch with her.
She told D+CFilm: “Part of what we’ll be doing is making and screening these historic films, but we’re also using that as inspiration for aspiring filmmakers to make and showcase their own work. We’re going to be working with schools and community groups, and we want as many people as possible to get involved.
“North Devon is such a rural area that sometimes outlying towns and villages miss out on cultural events. We’re so lucky to have the Mobile Cinema here as a resource, and I hope that people with ideas and interest will get in touch with me. A lot of the films will be silent, so we’re also encouraging participation by recording viewers’ responses to the films and using this as a soundtrack for future screenings.”
Emma is in the process of developing a learning resource tool to take to schools.
“It’s relevant for so many areas of education,” she said. “Whether local history, geography or the arts. We’ll show the historic films to students, who can use them as inspiration to make their own films, as if they were speaking to an audience of the future. The cinema’s such an exciting thing it’ll make learning fun.”
Those who are interested in participating in the project, having a screening near them, or who would like to see the cinema get involved in something else are invited to get in touch.
Emma is available on Mondays and Tuesdays on 01271 346747, or by email at emma.giffard@northdevon.gov.uk
