A Luton filmmaker says that a programme of international cinema has helped bring people from different cultures together, as the community project celebrating the town’s diversity prepares for its final film screenings.
World Cinema 4 Luton has been bringing people from different cultures and ethnic groups together once a month since May to enjoy international movies that showcase those cultures, while film lovers immerse themselves in communities beyond their own.
The programme has brought different communities together through films and activities celebrating south Asian, west African, Caribbean and Irish cultures, with an eastern European day bringing the series to a close on Sunday, 1 November.
There will be two free film screenings, live music and opportunities for people to meet and socialise. The free event is being organised by The Orange Picture Club in partnership with Luton Roma Trust and Link Community Centre.
Jasbir Nangla, an award-winning Luton documentarian and one of the directors of The Orange Picture Club, which is responsible for the initiative, said the project had grown from a combination of existing ideas help from the Citizens Fund to promote a programme of screenings focused on different cultural communities. Groups helped choose the films and contributed activities such as workshops, performances, art displays and food connected with their heritage.
“The purpose has been to get people to pick films that represent their cultures, but then to have people from the south Asian day to come to west African day who would then come for the Irish films,” he said, adding: “There are a lot of different cultures and demographics that exist here in Luton and films can break down barriers quite easily.
“They can give you an insight or window into the lives of someone from a particular heritage or culture, in a way that you wouldn’t be able to get that with just someone talking to you.”
Nangla said the events had also been an opportunity for him and other organisers themselves to learn more about the cultures they were celebrating, particularly through the food and other contributions brought along by community groups.
“It’s also been just very fun to work with people and learn a little bit more about their heritage and they would bring in food and I’ve learned a lot from that. I didn’t know some of the foods that they brought. You realise the depth of each different heritage and culture by finding out what people really eat when they’re at home, or how they talk with their friends and family.
“So we’ve learned quite a lot from doing this and we hope that other people did so as well.”
The project has also helped introduce people to other regular film screenings organised by The Orange Picture Club, such as the Spotlight Luton initiative, to develop community cinema across the town, and their regular movie showcases at Luton Library Theatre.
Nangla said people who attended the funded events have subsequently shown interest in the Orange Picture Club screenings, helping to build a wider audience for cinema in Luton that has made room for both more challenging films alongside familiar mainstream choices.
“The interest we’ve had, not just from community groups, but also just the general audience, is that they want to see more of this. They are interested in thought provoking cinema that asks questions, or just shines a light on something that you wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else,” said Nangla.
One example was The Glassworker, the first ever hand-drawn Pakistani animated feature film, shown during World Cinema 4 Luton’s south Asian day, despite having a limited release in the UK. Nangla recalled a film fan who attended the Luton screening after missing a short opportunity to see the film when it was advertised in the capital.
“She missed it in London and she thought she’d missed the only chance she could have got to watch the watch it in the UK,” Nangla said, adding: “So it’s pretty cool that we were able to promote a film that had a very, very limited release at the time. That’s not just celebrating culture and heritage, but it was also celebrating cinema in general.
“There’s an audience that is interest in watching independent films, who just can’t watch them in cinemas, because those films aren’t shown in most cinemas.”
For the filmmaker, bringing such movies to Luton was part of the value of the project: giving local audiences the chance to see work that might otherwise be difficult to find.
There are plans to apply for further funding for similar events, but for now, the final World Cinema 4 Luton event will feature two final film screenings at Link Community Centre at the Hat Works on Guildford Street on Sunday, 1 November. Entry is free, but spaces are limited and advance booking is required.
Doors open at 1.30pm, with the first film, Black Cat, White Cat (15), screening from 2pm. Directed by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica, the wild comedy is set along the Danube river and follows the schemes, relationships and eccentricities of two criminal families.
The programme continues with socialising and networking from 5pm. At 5.30pm, a children’s choir will perform, featuring young singers taught by Irina Saraiman, a singer, composer and piano and vocal teacher. Bedford-based violinist, composer and music producer Edyta Sawa will follow at 5.45pm with a performance drawing on rock, pop and folk, with each performance lasting around 15 minutes.
At 6pm, the second film, The Yellow Tie (15), will be screened. The biographical drama tells the story of Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache and stars Sean Bean and John Malkovich.
Tickets for Black Cat, White Cat are available at TryBooking, while tickets for The Yellow Tie can be also booked at TryBooking. Advance booking is required.
World Cinema 4 Luton is funded by the Citizens Fund, supported through Luton Rising, Luton Council and Be Active Bedfordshire, in partnership with Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation.
Further information about the programme is available from The Orange Picture Club.
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