Hitchcock’s East End: Year-long series of screenings and events to mark the return of a cinema to Waltham Forest
The opening of a new Empire Cinema in Waltham Forest in late 2014 will mark the end of a 10 year absence of a cinema in the birthplace of Alfred Hitchcock, one of Britain’s most celebrated filmmakers.
Hitchcock’s East End is a series of screening and special events programmed by Create London and the Barbican and has been commissioned by Hill Residential Ltd, in partnership with Waltham Forest Council and ISHA (Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association). The series will begin in September 2013 with a spectacular Saturday night screening of one of Hitchcock’s most celebrated films ‘Vertigo’. The special screening will take place in the Victorian surroundings of St Margaret’s Church in Leytonstone on Saturday 28 September 2013 at 7.00pm.
Tickets, priced at £8.50 and just £5.50 for Waltham Forest residents, are released today and can be purchased from the Create London website www.createlondon.org. With each ticket including entry to a guided walk that takes in Hitchcock’s birthplace and the local streets where the director grew up and the appearance of a very special guest from the film industry for a pre-screening talk, organisers are urging fans to purchase their tickets early to avoid missing out.
Create London, which is sponsored by Deutsche Bank, will produce this season of special screenings and events to bring the suspense, adventure and glamour of Hitchcock’s films back to the place that was perhaps their original inspiration.
By staging screenings across Waltham Forest in a selection of unexpected locations Create London intend to highlight the gothic, enigmatic and eccentric elements of the borough that may have subconsciously inspired the great man. At the screenings established film-makers and critics will introduce the Hitchcock classics that most inspired them and will lead audiences to explore and re-imagine the suburban landscape of his childhood.
This project forms part of a programme of events leading towards the opening of the new Empire Cinema in late 2014 – returning a cinema to the borough after a ten year absence – which will form part of a major regeneration project The Scene at Cleveland Place, a new leisure destination for Waltham Forest. Hitchcock’s East End is presented with the Barbican and produced with The Nomad Cinema. Details of the further screenings and events will be released in Autumn.
Hadrian Garrard, Director, Create London, said: “It’s hard to believe that there hasn’t been a cinema for over 10 years in the birthplace borough of one of this country’s leading film directors. We thought the opening of the new cinema in 2014 was something worth celebrating. Hitchcock’s East End will be a very special series of screenings that will provide a stunning east London setting for some of the director’s greatest work and give the opportunity for local people and wider audiences to discover the heritage and creative history of Waltham Forest.”
Leader of the Council, Chris Robbins, said: “The Scene at Cleveland Place, includes a multi-screen cinema along with homes, shops and restaurants. Transforming the heart of Walthamstow to create a new entertainment destination, this series of Hitchcock screenings, walks and talks is the perfect way to build up to the opening of our very own cinema.”
Robert Rider, Head of Cinema, the Barbican, said: "We're delighted to be working with Create London to bring these Hitchcock classics to the director's birthplace in Leytonstone. The Barbican has a long history of high-quality programming and partnerships with artists and organisations in the east London and we're thrilled to be adding these unique screenings to the Beyond Barbican programme."
Producing and commissioning socially engaged projects in east London for the past four years, Create London work to spread the benefits of being home to Europe's largest cultural quarter to the people who live in east London.
Hitchcock’s East End will be a highlight in Create London’s 2013 programme which includes producing the Open East Festival; a weekend of family arts celebration to celebrate the first anniversary of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games and taking place in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, a new artist residency with Chisenhale Gallery which will see artist Edward Thomasson work with untrained actors from east London to develop a live performance this summer, the forthcoming announcement of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Create Art Award 2013, and the opening of Open School East this September - a non- fee paying art school and communal space set up to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, skills and collaborative opportunities between artists, local residents and neighbourhood organisations in the heart of East London.
