Plymouth past and present: young women's experiences on film

Jill Craigie was one of the first women documentary-makers in the UK and provides the inspiration for this evening of film screenings and discussion in our eponymous venue, the Jill Craigie cinema .

Craigie is perhaps best known for directing ‘The Way We Live’, the iconic 1947 film about the post-war plan to re-build Plymouth after the Blitz. Her female characters in this film reflect her own struggles as a young woman for more freedom, recognition and opportunities.

Inspired by Craigie’s life and works, the evening will open with a premier of short films made by Plymothian school and college students with Imperfect Cinema, in response to 'The Way We Live'.

This will be followed by a screening of ‘Independent Miss Craigie’ (UK, 2021, 93 mins), Lizzie Thynne's biopic about Jill Craigie, revealing her trail-blazing early career in cinema long before she became known to the public as the wife of Michael Foot. Working in and outside the British Documentary Film Movement in the 1940s and early 50s, Craigie's films such as ‘To Be Woman’ (1951), a brilliant argument for equal pay, and 'Out of Chaos’ (1944), the first film about artists at work, featuring Henry Moore and Paul Nash, tackled new subjects for the screen, through an original blend of drama, polemic and often humour. With unique access to the director’s unseen papers, along with her films, letters, photographs and interviews, the documentary uncovers Craigie’s energetic struggles to get her radical films made and distributed.

The evening will close with a Q&A discussion and drinks, supported by The Arts and Humanities Research Council and the University of Sussex.

Date: Saturday 18 January 2025
Time: 16:30 – 19:00
Venue: Jill Craigie Cinema, Roland Levinsky Building
Ticket information: Free, booking required