Free
London Film-Makers' Co-op
Celebrating 50 years of the LFMC (now Lux), the ground-breaking production and distribution cooperative for artistsβ moving image.
The London Film-Makers Co-op was begun in October 1966 by a group of film enthusiasts that met in the basement of the Better Books shop on Charing Cross Road, with founder members including Ray Durgnat, Simon Hartog and Stephen Dwoskin. Inspired by the activities of Jonas Mekas and the New American Cinema Group in New York, the LFMC was initially established as a non-profit distribution cooperative. But with the arrival of a new generation of members, including Malcolm Le Grice, Fred Drummond and David Curtis, the LFMC expanded into organisation that incorporated a film workshop, cinema space and distribution office. Through the 70s, 80s and 90s, the LFMC was the UKβs principle hub for experimental and independent film culture. Following its demise, a new organisation LUX was formed in 2002, which continues to be the UKβs leading agency for the support and promotion of artistsβ moving image. This selection of films from the first 25 years of the LFMC have been newly digitised by LUX as part of the LFMCβs 50th anniversary commemorations.
FociiFocii
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1975 9 minsSilent
A female dancer performs in front of what appears to be a wall of mirrors until her reflection takes on a life of its own.
Guerillere TalksGuerillere Talks
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1978 24 mins
Six film portraits of women associated with the punk music scene in 1970s New York.
Tea LeafTea Leaf
Documentary 1988 8 mins
An intimate account of frustration and disarray in 1980s Britain from the point of view of a young woman.
Spot the MicrodotSpot the Microdot
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1969 8 mins
An unprintable film, handmade by punching holes into an opaque 16mm strip.
Emily (Third Party Speculation)Emily (Third Party Speculation)
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1979 62 mins
Filmed in a closed domestic environment, this film investigates the question of identification and point of view in cinema.
Blind White DurationBlind White Duration
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1968 13 minsSilent
Interaction between a blank white screen and filmed snow.
Colours of This TimeColours of This Time
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1972 2 minsSilent
A time-lapse study of a London park during the course of a summer day
BreathBreath
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1974 13 mins
Three people with cameras converge on a remote location near Hay Toor in Dartmoor.
Angles of IncidenceAngles of Incidence
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 8 mins
The view through the filmmakerβs window opens up the flat surface of the film screen.
Real TimeReal Time
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1971 33 mins
As she recollects her childhood, the filmmaker reflects on time, family and ageing.
Muybridge FilmMuybridge Film
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1975 4 minsSilent
Anne Rees-Mogg pays tribute to Muybridgeβs studies of human motion with this portrait of filmmaker Renny Croft.
A Length of TimeA Length of Time
1970 22 mins
A documentary on life, filmic time and stock car racing.
Welcome/AdieuWelcome/Adieu
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1983 3 mins
Victorian lantern slides and a βpatrioticβ rendering of God Save the Queen
Sentimental JourneySentimental Journey
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1977 34 mins
A poetic tutorial about how to make an experimental film
Nothing Is SomethingNothing Is Something
1966 9 mins
The delicate everyday beauty of soap bubbles, moving water and rainbow reflections.
Living MemoryLiving Memory
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1980 39 mins
The filmmaker revisits the landscape of her youth and her memory of it
Grandfather's FootstepsGrandfather's Footsteps
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1983 36 mins
The filmmaker re-evokes the presence of her great-grandfather, Henry Stiles Savory, a Victorian clergyman, photographer and scientist.
TransmogrificationTransmogrification
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1980 9 mins
Two girls become 18th century ladies in this short film about the assumption of roles.
Film No. 1Film No. 1
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1971 10 mins
Film No. 1 emphasizes the material process of film printing through repetition, seriality and permutations of colour
Serpent RiverSerpent River
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 32 mins
An anti-nuclear film on a community living in proximity to uranium mines in Canada.
The Man with a Movie CameraThe Man with a Movie Camera
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 9 minsSilent
A carefully controlled reflection on the process of filmmaking, playfully demonstrating the camera as a tool for constructing a filmed image.
EerieEerie
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1992 1 mins
A vertiginous lesbian kiss in a mountain cablecar inspired by German expressionism.
Lady LazarusLady Lazarus
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1991 24 mins
A cinematographic response to Sylvia Plathβs Lady Lazarus with Plathβs own readings of her poetry
TerminalsTerminals
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1985 20 mins
A filmic exploration of the working conditions of female nuclear workers.
ArrowsArrows
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1984 16 mins
A first-person essay on the experience of anorexia and its cultural causes
Uranium HexUranium Hex
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1987 12 mins
Uranium mining in Canada and the destruction of the environment
Plutonium BlondePlutonium Blonde
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 16 mins
A fractured narrative on a female worker at a plutonium terminal
Gloucester Road GrooveGloucester Road Groove
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1969 2 minsSilent
An exuberant night out in buzzing 1960s Gloucester Road.
One Million Unemployed in Winter 1971One Million Unemployed in Winter 1971
Documentary 1971 7 mins
A film on unemployment, which was made to be shown at Claimants Union meetings.
Close UpClose Up
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1983 71 mins
A radical, anti-representational film set against the backdrop of the Nicaraguan revolution
Silent PartnerSilent Partner
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1977 33 mins
Domestic interiors are interrogated by a restless camera in this radical, anti-narrative film.
HallHall
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1968 11 mins
A static shot of a hallway, demystified and disrupted by quick cuts and an alarm ringing.
Condition of IllusionCondition of Illusion
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1975 32 minsSilent
A problematisation of the relation between spectator and photographic image.
KeyKey
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1968 10 mins
A photograph of Nico is abstracted beyond recognition through a zoom.
C/O/N/S/T/R/U/C/TC/O/N/S/T/R/U/C/T
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1974 14 minsSilent
Five layers of optical superimposition demonstrate film as a construct.
8mm film-notes on 16mm8mm film-notes on 16mm
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1971 19 mins
A structuralist collage emphasizing the difference between 8mm and 16mm film gauges
NowNow
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1969 8 minsSilent
A film by an early British pioneer of computer generated filmmaking.
Not to See AgainNot to See Again
1981 14 mins
An anti-montage film hovering on the line between abstraction and representation
GuessworkGuesswork
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1979 11 mins
Details, fragments, transformations and shadows of a confined space.
The Ten Commandments of LoveThe Ten Commandments of Love
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1979 4 mins
An impassioned embrace on an ocean pier to 'The Ten Commandments of Love'.
ReturningReturning
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1980 7 mins
Looking outside and looking back in the same moment; the collision of memory and reluctance.
JourneyJourney
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1976 4 mins
Reveries during a train journey are suggested though montage
TracksTracks
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 28 mins
A feminist collage/essay film that takes a critical look at certain feminist theories.
The Pecking OrderThe Pecking Order
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 5 mins
A beautifully painted animated critique of modern intensive farming methods
UnfoldingUnfolding
1987 15 mins
A council launderette as a site of oppression and possible resistance
Fatima's LetterFatima's Letter
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1992 20 mins
A woman remembers her past while travelling on the London Underground
SwanSwan
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 3 minsSilent
Close-up images of a white swan as it prepares for flight
Three PacesThree Paces
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 14 mins
An urban fairy tale where myth and reality constantly collide
Durga (A Ritual)Durga (A Ritual)
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 23 mins
Meaning is built through repetition in this filmic meditation of sexuality, loss and rebirth.
Still LifeStill Life
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1976 5 minsSilent
A traditional βstill lifeβ serves as subject for a film on colour transformation
FireworksFireworks
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1976 3 minsSilent
Images of fireworks superimposed in the camera and in the optical printer
CloudsClouds
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1975 3 minsSilent
Clouds filmed from a moving car producing the illusion of space within the frame
Light MusicLight Music
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1979 31 mins
Classic expanded cinema work that proposes a direct relationship between the sonic and the visual.
Mechanical BalletMechanical Ballet
1975 9 minsSilent
Double-screen found-footage film in which car crash tests take a sinister and humorous quality.
FootstepsFootsteps
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1974 6 mins
Actor and cameraman engage in a game of βgrandmotherβs footstepsβ in a playfully delightful film.
Some FriendsSome Friends
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 5 mins
Polaroid portraits of the filmmakerβs friends are filmed against various backdrops
Cezanne's EyeCezanne's Eye
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1982 23 mins
An experiential journey through the landscape of Cezanneβs Provence.
The Red SeaThe Red Sea
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1992 21 mins
A tragic journey of self-discovery through land, sea and the body
ChameleonChameleon
1990 5 mins
A woman searches through an interior landscape, where she is both trapped and contained
A NosegayA Nosegay
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 17 mins
A homoerotic homage to Genet and LautrΓ©amont with an angel and a hermaphrodite.
L'Ange FrΓ©nΓ©tiqueL'Ange FrΓ©nΓ©tique
1986 5 mins
A study of frustration and insolence featuring an epicene angel played by Cerith Wyn Evans
AloneAlone
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1963 13 mins
A girl alone in her room, smoking, putting on make-up, masturbating.
Chinese CheckersChinese Checkers
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1965 13 mins
Two masked women make love while playing the board game.
NaissantNaissant
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1964 13 mins
A woman in a bedroom, alone with her own thoughts .
The Cat and the Woman, A Cautionary TaleThe Cat and the Woman, A Cautionary Tale
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1987 2 mins
A woman loses her head to a cat in return for a man.
Thinking TwiceThinking Twice
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1997 10 mins
A film which attempts to reflect the rigour of the music featuring pianist Katharina Wolpe.
Free ShowFree Show
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1979 17 mins
Three potentially violent domestic activities performed by a woman.
The Garden of EatingThe Garden of Eating
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 3 mins
A stop-motion collage film that constructs a garden out of flowers, candles, plastic cellophane and food
SnigSnig
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1982 5 mins
A young woman shakes eels out from between the sheets of a bed.
Shower ProofShower Proof
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1968 9 minsSilent
A quotidian yet abstract bathroom sequence, printed on high-contrast negative film.
Looking for the MoonLooking for the Moon
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1987 5 minsSilent
Tentative gestures of hands and body become symbolic of trust and the need to escape
ImaginaryImaginary
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 16 mins
A film in three parts shot in varying intimate and personal environments.
Hide & SeekHide & Seek
1987 15 mins
A metaphorical and lyrical journey of discovery through childhood memories
Yes No Maybe NotYes No Maybe Not
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1967 8 minsSilent
Black and white images of lapping water are juxtaposed with and superimposed upon Battersea Power Station in this double-screen film.
Soul in a White RoomSoul in a White Room
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1968 3 mins
An intimate encounter suggested by two pairs of hands
Milk and GlassMilk and Glass
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1993 9 mins
Boundaries are blurred as images of a womanβs body are projected onto domestic objects
WindowframeWindowframe
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1975 7 mins
A domestic scene with a man and woman, as seen through a window
Thatβs Entertainment/The Conjurorβs AssistantsThatβs Entertainment/The Conjurorβs Assistants
Documentary 1978 23 mins
Frame by frame analysis of documentary footage taken at a childrenβs Christmas party.
LenselessLenseless
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1971 4 mins
The lens is removed from the camera resulting in a complex interplay of light patterns
VariantVariant
Documentary 1973 17 mins
A film that attempts to create the rhythm and transience of felt experience.
CrossCross
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1974 42 minsSilent
Instinctive yet formal, a film that takes a drawing of a cross as a score.
SignSign
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1974 43 mins
An experiential film that captures the filmmakerβs flux-like process of being in a room, filming.
Stabat MaterStabat Mater
Drama 1990 8 mins
An exultant journey through the emotional landscape of the filmmakerβs native Gibraltar.
Close to HomeClose to Home
Documentary 1985 28 mins
An image of freedom and the melancholy of parting in this film about Gibraltar
"Now I Am Yours""Now I Am Yours"
Documentary 1993 33 mins
Extreme state of religious and sexual ecstasy in this film on the figure of Saint Teresa
RepertoryRepertory
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 9 mins
The camera circles the exterior of an empty theatre while a voice describes βimaginary presentationsβ inside.
The InstitutionThe Institution
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1978 54 mins
A critique of the institution of mental health care that questions βnormalβ viewing habits.
SheetSheet
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1970 22 mins
A white linen sheet is filmed in a series of locations as focal point
Shepherd's BushShepherd's Bush
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1972 15 mins
A quintessential Co-op film made using the contact printer
Tender KissesTender Kisses
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1972 11 mins
This film questions the convincing illusion produced by the two great illusionists: Television and Cinema.
VistasoundVistasound
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1982 45 mins
A film that raises questions about the associations between song lyrics and particular places.
SheepwomanSheepwoman
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1970 12 mins
A self-reflexive film in which a woman reads a text about shearing to camera.
Red + Green + BlueRed + Green + Blue
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1970 10 minsSilent
In this structural-materialist film, colour is generated by landscape: from the sky, the grass and berries
SoliloquySoliloquy
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1967 9 mins
A girl broods over a failed love affair while the camera roves over her.
Jesus BloodJesus Blood
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 30 mins
A man walks towards the camera to the sound of 'Jesusβ Blood Never Failed Me Yet'.
C-FilmC-Film
Documentary 1970 14 mins
Two women in a swinging London living room in a film that questions acting.
Light Occupations: Lens and Mirror FilmLight Occupations: Lens and Mirror Film
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 3 mins
Playful investigation of the filmic equipment, particularly camera and projector
DeckDeck
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1971 14 mins
A reel of 8mm film undergoes a mysterious transformation through refilming, colour changing and printing
Lens Hand FootLens Hand Foot
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 3 minsSilent
The filmmaker explores the relationship of her own body to the filmmaking apparatus
MysteriesMysteries
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1982 7 minsSilent
A photomontage film that offers an interpretation of the mystery of the harvest.
Red SeaRed Sea
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1982 6 minsSilent
Spring tides and menstrual cycles at the full and new moon
PersistingPersisting
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1978 9 mins
An image of the Yangtse bridge is re-filmed with a soundtrack of popular Chinese music.
At the AcademyAt the Academy
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1974 5 mins
A found-footage film made entirely from the countdown leader that is normally used to cue the start of films.
CyclesCycles
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1972 5 mins
A circular form fluctuates in rhythms of light and sound in this hand-made film.
Salt WaterSalt Water
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 19 mins
Reflections in fish tanks in the windows of restaurants in Chinatown, San Francisco.