The Animal Christmas Cracker Family Fun Day on Sunday 17 December, was exciting, energised and eclectic – just like Vauxhall itself. This was our sixth and final community pop-up cinema event at THE WORKSHOP, Vauxhall, London, for 2017. Our aim with this series has been to help re-establish local cinema in Lambeth as an important social and cultural hub, and to amplify the female voice in film – which still accounts for only a fraction of cinema’s global output. The VAUXHALL POP-UP CINEMA is a BIRDS EYE VIEW and THE EXTRAORDINARY TRAVELLING FILM SHOW co-promotion.
Inspired by the success of our Moana Film and Family Fun Day in September, Animal Christmas Cracker combined a wide range of activities for children, including, Dance workshop with instructors, Emanuela and Aleksandra from Vauxhall’s NEON PERFORMING ARTS / wreath making with Bridget Virden’s Meanwhile Club / Badge making / Christmas Card Designing with Mother Christmas / Calendar making with Andrew and Sue from Walnut Tree School / Face painting / Balloon making / Fancy-dress / and a visit from Bert & Ernie, two handsome donkeys from Vauxhall City Farm.
As well as this, we showed an award-winning package of short animations from around the world, many by women, curated by the BRITISH ANIMATION AWARDS, via the ICO; the archive package was put together specially for us by LONDON SCREEN ARCHIVE, and we showed the beautiful, award-winning FEAR OF FLYING short from NEXUS STUDIOS.
Delicious, fresh (stone) oven-baked pizza from PIZZA MASSIMO, and coffee & cakes from SERIOUSLY COFFEE, was available all day. Affordable snacks, refreshments and popcorn were provided – courtesy of the hosts, plus free fresh fruit and mince pies, kindly donated by SAINSBURY’S and WAITROSE in Vauxhall.
Prizes and trophies were awarded for three categories: Best Costume, Best Christmas Card and Best Performance (and runner up). Trophies were kindly donated by EXECUTIVE TROPHIES in Lambeth.
Highlights of the day included a wonderful performance of The Lion King by children from the local Neon Performing Arts School. And the magnificent Mother Christmas was on hand as a gentle reminder of BEV’s gender equality message.
BIRDS EYE VIEW spotlight, celebrate and advocate films created by women, and support women working in film, and will seek to continue our successful partnership with THE EXTRAORDINARY TRAVELLING FILM SHOW, a pop-up cinema that shows great films in unique locations, in 2018.
With these events we hope to demonstrate the social, cultural and educational value of cinema, as well as strengthen cinema’s role as an activity that promotes a sense of community and social cohesion.
Lambeth is one of the most deprived areas of the country and is under-served by cinema. Vauxhall needs cinema and this is why our pop-up events are important – for making cinema local again.
Most of all we couldn’t function without our incredible volunteers – particularly Betsy Wilce who organised so much for this event and the others throughout the year. Thank you.
Event supported by VAUXHALL ONE and by FILM HUB LONDON, managed by Film London.
Proud to be a partner of the BFI Film Audience Network, funded by the National Lottery. www.filmlondon.org.uk/filmhub
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