London Film-Makers' Co-op
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The London Film-Makers' Co-operative was founded on October 13 1966 and based upon the artist-led distribution centre created by Jonas Mekas and the New American Cinema Group.
Early pioneers like Len Lye, Antony Balch, Margaret Tait and John Latham had already made remarkable personal films in Britain, but by the mid-60s interest in "underground" film was growing. On his arrival from New York, Stephen Dwoskin demonstrated and encouraged the possibilities of experimental filmmaking and the Coop soon became a dynamic centre for the discussion, production and presentation of avant-garde film.
Several key figures such as Peter Gidal, Malcolm Le Grice, John Smith and Chris Welsby went onto become internationally celebrated. Many others, like Annabel Nicolson and the fiercely autonomous and prolific Jeff Keen, worked across the boundaries between film and performance and remain relatively unknown, or at least unseen.
In 2006, Shoot Shoot Shoot, a major retrospective programme and research project, will bring these extraordinary works back to life.
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