[Imc-birmingham] [Fwd: [Imc-uk-video] more on the anti-edo schmovie]
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Subject: [Imc-uk-video] more on the anti-edo schmovie
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'A misguided piece of official hysteria'
Police are going to unusual lengths to stop you seeing an obscure,
low-budget documentary about an arms manufacturer in Brighton.
Steven Morris on the bizarre saga of On the Verge
*Steven Morris*
The Guardian,
Thursday March 27 2008
Article history
*Link to this video*
The screening was delayed as organisers waited for stragglers to
arrive at the Friends Meeting House in Bath. Then there was a tense
pause while a technical glitch was ironed out, and you could not
help wondering if the police were about to burst in and halt the
film. Finally, the titles rolled and an audience of 30 or so, mainly
peace activists and anti-war campaigners, breathed a sigh of relief
and settled back to watch a 90-minute film called On the Verge.
Over the past 10 days, the film has become notorious, not so much
because of the material it contains but because of the reaction of
police forces and local authorities to it. Made for less than £500,
the film tells how a small but committed group of activists,
smashEDO, are taking on the Brighton base of an international arms
manufacturer and, in the process, their local constabulary.
The police, who are not shown in a good light in the film,
intervened to stop the movie's premiere at a cinema in Brighton, and
since then police officers and council officials have been paying
calls to venues across the country where On the Verge (so called
because the smashEDO protesters were confined for a while to a
narrow grass verge opposite the factory they were targeting) is due
to be shown, suggesting that it is not a good idea to show the film.
Members of smashEDO and the underground film-maker SchMovies, which
produced the documentary, claim they are the victims of a conspiracy
and that police forces and licensing authorities around the country
have been told to look out for and, if possible, suppress the film.
But the case has implications beyond the showing of this film alone.
The premiere was halted because the film had not been classified,
and independent film-makers and small venues fear that it sets a
precedent that will make it more harder for small-budget films,
political or not, to be made and shown.
The saga began on March 17. The film's premiere was due to take
place at the much loved Duke of York's Picturehouse in Brighton at
6.30pm. At around 4pm, a police officer contacted the city council's
licensing department and told them the film was not classified.
Strictly speaking, cinemas are obliged to ensure films have
classifications either from the British Board of Film Classification
(BBFC) or from the local authority. In practice, independent cinemas
often do show community or foreign films without having them classified.
On this occasion, the council suggested the venue take legal advice
before going ahead with the screening. The cinema felt it had no
choice but to cancel. Being practical people, smashEDO found a local
pub that
was prepared to show it and, in two sittings, the premiere went
ahead, anti-war protesters and their friends mingling with St
Patrick's Day revellers.
Embarrassment followed for the police. Initially they said they had
nothing to do with the cancellation. But the city council revealed
that its intervention had been prompted by the force, and Sussex
police then admitted that a "junior officer" had alerted the city
council to the showing. SmashEDO and SchMovies, who worked together
extremely closely on the film, believed this was a little local
difficulty: the film criticises and mocks the force's attempts to
control their protests.
But as they began to tour the country with On the Verge, they
discovered that the local authorities appeared to be waiting for
them. On the day the film was due to be screened at the tiny Art
House community cafe in Southampton, for instance, a police officer
turned up and asked questions about the venue's entertainment
licence. It does not have one - it is a vegetarian restaurant that
occasionally puts on a little music or the odd community film. Jani
Franck, one of the directors of the cafe, says she felt threatened
by the sudden interest. "It was frightening. The police officer
asked me if I knew anything about the smashEDO people. He said they
were leftwing anarchists. I grew up in South Africa and this felt
like the sort of thing the police there would do. It felt like
political policing." But she felt she could not risk showing the
film in the cafe and it was shown in a private room in a pub instead.
In Bath the film was also due to be shown in a pub, the Bell, on
Tuesday night. But a council licensing officer, Alan Bartlett,
pointed out that the pub only had a licence to show films on
Sundays. Local peace activist John Bampfylde, who had arranged the
screening, says: "I think it's because this film shows how people
doing direct action can take on the establishment. The authorities
don't want people to know that." How did Bartlett get to hear about
the film being shown? He told the Guardian that someone - he could
not recall who - had sent him an email drawing his attention to it.
The screening was switched to the Friends Meeting House.
Last night (Wednesday), the film was due to be shown at the Three
Barrels pub in Hereford. Licensee Peter Amor says that he received a
visit from a police licensing officer.
Amor says the officer told him he had been asked by "someone from
above" to have a word about the film, though he did not suggest the
screening be cancelled. "But you get a bit worried when that
happens," says Amor. Rumours had reached the pub that the film
claims that Sussex police were involved in someone's death - it does
no such thing. When the Guardian spoke to Amor at lunchtime
yesterday he was "90% sure" he would show it. "I believe in free
speech - Voltaire and all that." But then came a hand-delivered
letter from the council saying he did not have a licence to show it
and he felt forced to call it off.
Members of smashEDO are sure someone is co-ordinating a campaign
against the film.
Andrew Trivett says: "At first we thought it was just Sussex police
being spiteful. But it has become clear that there is an organised
effort to stop people seeing it." Sussex police deny involvement in
a campaign. A spokesman says: "To confirm, we haven't sent a
circular to other police forces."
Some good has come of the controversy as far as smashEDO is
concerned. The main reason for taking the film on tour was to raise
awareness of the campaign, and the row will certainly do this.
Several arthouse cinemas have told smashEDO that they want to screen
the film, and offers to show it have come in from as far afield as
Australia and the US.
However, the saga has deeper implications for the independent film
industry. Cinemas like the Duke of York's will have to start
submitting all films like On the Verge to the local authority for
its approval. The taxpayer will foot the bill. Another concern is
that it could be harder for independent film-makers to get their
work shown. Obtaining certification from the BBFC is too costly for
many small-scale film-makers and if venues do not want the bother of
seeking approval from the local authority, some movies may just vanish.
Jerry Morgan, of the Groovy Movie Picture House, a solar-powered
cinema, says: "This seems to be an utterly misguided piece of
hysteria. If every film has to be classified, what is going to
happen to independent films that are made for a few hundred pounds?
What's going to happen to film students' work? " Venues are already
being affected. The Art House community cafe in Southampton, for
one, feels it must get an entertainment licence, which will cost
several hundred pounds.
Meanwhile, On the Verge will continue to tour the country, playing
to audiences keen to find out what all the fuss is about.
*·* Join the debate: watch the On the Verge trailer and give us your vi
*Sophie Kennedy Martin
Woodbarton Cottage
Ditchling Common
Hassocks
East Sussex BN6 8TP
Tel: 01444 243906
*
*Sophie Kennedy Martin
Woodbarton Cottage
Ditchling Common
Hassocks
East Sussex BN6 8TP
Tel: 01444 243906*
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