Bradford Movie Makers' archive team: 'It's a labour of love'

The documentary, directed and produced by Kim Hopkins, features footage from the club’s archive, dating back to 1934. From family trips to The Story of Bradford - showing pre-war life in places such as John Street Market and Lister Park - these remarkable films are social history. Members are now in the process of digitising the archive, to preserve it, but it’s a long, painstaking process and they need funding. “There are 300 films plus VHS tapes and DVDs. Years of work to finish,” says Dave Marshall, of the archive team.

Bradford Movie Makers, with one of their archive films on screen (Image: Newsquest)

One of the oldest surviving amateur film-making clubs in the world, Bradford Cine Circle was founded in 1932. Initially the group of enthusiasts made films using monochrome 9.5mm and 16mm film stock. Membership grew in the 1960s with cheaper Standard 8, then Super 8 colour film. Analogue video cameras appeared in the 1980s, then cam camcorders. Embracing new technology, the group became Bradford Cine and Video Club, then in 2010 Bradford Movie Makers.

Early members of the Bradford Cine Circle (Image: Submitted)

While many amateur film clubs have closed due to dwindling numbers, Bradford Movie Makers have survived, with about 20 members meeting up on Monday evenings. They’d welcome more members though, particularly younger ones to take the club forward. A Bunch of Amateurs, loved by critics and audiences, has boosted interest but, as one club member says: “We get more people at meetings now, but some just come to look at us.”

The club makes films for competitions and festivals, and holds social events. Whenever members need advice, or information about past projects, there’s one person they turn to: Colin.

Colin Egglestone, who turns 90 next month, joined the club in 1976. He has loved film-making since he was five-years-old when his grandad gave him a projector. “I was thrilled to bits. I’ve still got it,” says Colin. “It’s a 35mm wind-up, with a candle in it. Later on I got a 9.5 projector, with an electric bulb inside.”

Colin made films on Standard 8, moving on to sound: “We had family holidays in Germany, Italy, France...I was always filming. I’ve got all my family on film; at picnics and barbecues I used to pan the camera round. I still like to watch my old films.”

Anyone who’s seen A Bunch of Amateurs will have been moved by scenes featuring Colin’s late wife, Shirley. “I used to feel sad when I saw that. Now it makes me smile to see her,” he says. The film has had standing ovations at cinema screenings and audience Q&As. “I’ve been stopped in the street by people who’ve seen it,” smiles Colin.

Lights, camera, action... (Image: Submitted)

The club meets in a Little Horton building, formerly stables. It has its own cinema upstairs, in what was a hay loft. There’s a studio, a green screen and meeting room, a writers’ room and a kitchen which, adjoining the cinema, was a projection booth. A planned sound room is currently used to store film props, and piles of plastic boxes containing archive films.

Thanks to the huge popularity of A Bunch of Amateurs, people have been donating their own family footage to the club. It’s keeping the archive team - Jeremy Norman, Craig Sands, Andrew Cockerill, Dave Marshall, Judith Simpson and Phil Wainman - busy.

“Old films are often hidden away in attics for years, but film has to be kept at the right temperature or it deteriorates,” says Craig. “These films are social history. It’s life as it was lived, through amateur film - from a day out in Blackpool to a big family event. People would have viewing parties to watch films of weddings, christenings, holidays.”

Adds Jeremy: “Some of the footage people bring in is incredible. Home movies are culturally very interesting. There’s a lot of fiction film too.”

With about 300 films dating back to 1934 in the club’s own archive - in 16mm, 9.5mm, Standard 8 and Super 8 - digitising it all is a huge task. Andrew is screening an image from Once Upton a Sheep, a film about working life at Salts Mill, onto the wall. “We have to watch the films first to see what’s on them,” he says. “The longest is 30 minutes and most have no sound.”

One of the films, made on a safari trip, shows incredible close-up footage of lions in the wild. “It’s fascinating going through all the films. Some of them are amazing,” says Phil. “We’re cataloguing them and trying to include as much information as we can.”

Phil Wainman with some of the archive film donated to the club (Image: Newsquest)

Clips from the club’s archive have been used to create a film which was part of Bradford’s bid to be UK City of Culture 2025. “The council was offering grants to film-makers for the bid,” says Dave. “I suggested that we use a mixture of short clips from our film archive and new footage to present an account of the club’s history. Judith Simpson helped me draft the application. We had to demonstrate that the film would give a voice to under-represented people, so we argued that most of us were old, and our hobby was unusual! It also had to highlight the cultural richness of Bradford. This was no problem - we had over 70 years’ worth of film taken at public events in the region.”

The club was given a £1,000 grant to make a film, which they called Bradford in the Frame. “We spent £125 getting two of our oldest club films scanned. Andrew visited scanning services across Yorkshire to try and get a high-quality copy,” says Dave. “The results were rather disappointing, so we ended up making our own copies using the ‘project it on a white card’ method. We used some left-over grant money to reduce our rent arrears. Our landlord has always been very kind to the club.

“Judith and Ian Simpson combined the copied archive film with more recent stock, Ian Egglestone did a voice-over and we managed to produce Bradford in the Frame to a tight deadline, despite the intervention of Covid.

“Between lockdowns, under social distancing, we had the chance to view it at the Cubby Broccoli Cinema in the National Media Museum in 2021. It was very well received. It was also shown on Bradford’s Big Screen last year. David Wilson of Bradford City of Film, who arranged the screening, said Bradford in the Frame offered a ‘brilliant insight into the history of Bradford Movie Makers and of Bradford’.”

The club has always embraced technology - members were shooting in colour in the 1960s when most amateur film was still shot in black and white. In the digital age, film-making is much cheaper. “You can make a film on your phone, but it’s worth moving on to cameras,” says Phil.

The club is always working on projects. Harry Nicholls, whose attempts to re-make Oklahoma! is a highlight of A Bunch of Amateurs, is planning a space travel film. “I want to illustrate it with my astronomical art,” says Harry, a talented artist and magician. Members bring their own skills; there are writers, directors, actors and actor/film-makers. “We’re lucky to have this building, there’s so much space to do different things,” says Phil. “Some film clubs just rent a community centre once a week.”

Members at their club premises (Image: Newsquest)

The club would like to collaborate with other organisations. Says Craig: “We have a great facility - not many clubs have their own cinema - and we’d like to work with university students and others who can make use of it. We need funding to take things further. Making the building warmer and buying better equipment would hopefully attract younger members. Bradford is the world’s first City of Film, and we’re part of its film heritage. People get in touch to say ‘My grandad used to be a member’. Now we’re hearing from film clubs all over the world, as far as Brisbane.”

The club’s most valuable resource is Colin. “He knows everything,” smiles Craig.

Colin fondly remembers the club’s heyday: “When I joined we had a 5ft by 4ft screen that pulled down. This place was full, we had 80 members here. My wife, mother-in-law, father-in-law were all members,” he recalls.

* Visit bradfordmoviemakers.com