The Malleable Spectacle: London on Film study day

As part of the BFI's London on Film season, the UCL Urban Laboratory is hosting a study day, asking how film has been used to document urban change, and how it has actively shaped the city.

Often celebrated as a time capsule, film gives us a glimpse of a world that has passed – allowing us to see buildings and entire neighbourhoods that no longer exist. But, like any historical record, film is enmeshed with the concerns and attitudes of the time in which it was created – and is a powerful tool for advancing particular agenda. Representations of London’s built environments in moving image can tell us as much about evolving ideas about housing policy, shifting identities of neighbourhoods, and the different ways London has wanted to present itself to the world, as it can about the changing physical composition of the city.

This day will include illustrated presentations, in-depth discussion and screenings, examining how moving image reflects and moulds attitudes towards London.

Ben Campkin, Director, UCL Urban Laboratory
Ian Christie, Professor of Film and Media History, Birbeck, University of London
Richard Martin, Author, The Architecture of David Lynch
Hilary Powell, Artist and filmmaker
Simon McCallum, Curator, BFI National Archive