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Four Seasons

The changing rhythm of the seasons are captured in this award-winning short film – which also features skipping, lambs, picnics and bikinis

Amateur film 1952 7 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for Screen Archive South East

Overview

Phil Ellis' award winning film starts with daffodils, primroses and grown-ups, full of the joys of spring, skipping and picnicking while new-born lambs gamble on the Sussex Downs. On a summer beach a bikini-clad woman contrasts nicely with an old man with a newspaper on his head. On Hindhead Common, heather is gathered while wheat ripens in the fields. When autumn comes there's time for one last picnic amid the larches before the inevitable arrival of winter snow.

Philip Ellis was a keen amateur film-maker who lived in Brighton from 1948 to 1962. The films he made were intended for screening at family get-togethers, especially at Christmas.