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24 FILM Lost Connections : A Collaborative Short Film Featuring by Laura Patterson the East Anglian Film Archive “Can we always be connected?” are the opening and anchoring words to Lost Connections, a new archive-based short film set to
of loneliness transcends time and generations. The shots of places that should be busy but were not, (offices,
be screened across cinemas and schools. It is also available and
theatres, schools and playgrounds), stirred me emotionally – because we have all had something taken away from us for the
easy to stream on YouTube and the BFI Player online. Led by the Yorkshire Film Archive, Lost Connections brings together various excerpts of footage from twelve film archives
past 18 months: community. Overall, this 13-minute short film questions our integral desire for human connections, how we feel
across the UK. The film was also a collaboration with Film Hub North on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network, made
when it is taken away from us, and if we will recover as we learn to reconnect.
possible through National Lottery funding. Andy Burns created and edited the project, with the help of artist Hussina Raja, who
The East Anglian Film Archive (EAFA), based in Norwich, was one of the 12 contributors to this nation-wide project. Angela
co-wrote and narrates the moving and poetic voiceover. The contributions of over 200 visual and audio recordings
Graham, the Archive Manager at the EAFA, said: “The East Anglian Film Archive is pleased to be part of this project which
from the past century reveals a timeline of feelings that have been familiar to all of us during the pandemic - of separation,
uses archive film to explore the themes of hope and humanity. It reflects on experiences during the pandemic but also looks
isolation, uncertainty and emptiness - but also of community and togetherness, digitally and in person.
forward.” The EAFA aims to preserve and celebrate the rich audio-visual heritage in our local county – this short film is just
Beautifully intertwined together are scenes of bustling citylife in time-lapse alongside empty streets: families hugging and
one example. It’s poetic. It’s poignant. Lost Connections gives us hope for the future by returning to our past.
kissing each other shift to a bird stuck alone in its cage and solitary figures confined to their homes. The ineffable experience
aUTUMN fiLMS TO cuRL UP TO THIS MONTH So, it’s officially autumn! That time of year when you can put on cosy coats and walk with a pumpkin spiced latte amongst the
by Hamilton Brown
falling leaves, or when it’s a rainy day and you want a film to curl up to. I’ve got some suggestions for every genre over this season,
Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. This is the kind of film I’d want to put on when it’s a rainy Sunday afternoon and I’ve got a bowl
from cult-classic Halloween films, to seasonal-rom-coms!
of butternut squash soup in my hands. The classic 1989 romcom is a veritable love-letter to autumn and follows the story
The first movie I’d recommend for the drama-lovers out there is 1998’s Step Mom. I only recently watched this movie when looking for autumn films, and I fell in love. This is a loving
of two graduates who, after a short-lived friendship, find each other again five years later. The backdrop of a golden brown
family drama set over the autumn months, and it stars Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon. It focuses on the relationship
New York is enough to make you want to book a flight to New York in the autumn.
between a terminally ill mother, Jackie, coming to terms with her
Another arguably important trait of an autumn movie is for it to take place over Halloween. And there’s only one I will be
divorced husband’s new fiancée, Isabel, and the prospect of her raising Jackie’s children after she dies. There are some tender and hilarious moments in this movie, but this is your warning to bring some tissues! 2017’s Get Out is what I’d class as perfect Halloween Horror, something that will properly scare you with both jump scares and its questions around race and equality, which is important over this Black History Month. It focuses on an interracial couple, Chris and Rose, played by Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams respectively, and a weekend where Chris meets Rose’s parents. Initially, Chris feels slightly uneasy about being the only black man there at a house party, aside from the black staff members, but what occurs over that weekend is nothing short of terrifying. For those among you who aren’t a horror fan, I have the perfect movie to curl up with: When Harry Met Sally, starring
watching when the 31st October comes round: Hocus Pocus. Yes, this camp cult classic about three 17th Century witches, Winnifred, Mary and Sarah, played by Bette Middler, Kathy Majimy and Sarah Jessica Parker respectively, who are brought back to life after 400 years to present day 1993 Salem, will never manage to not make me smile. It’s jam-packed with classic lines, characters and I Put A Spell On You will be stuck in your head for days after. You can’t beat the classics, and that’s why it’s on this recommendation list! So whether you want to be tricked or treated this season, grab some popcorn and cosy up to some, or all, of these great movies!
