“A feminist sci-fi musical extravaganza… Remains consistently fresh and unpredictable”- Sight and Sound
Whilst the season foregrounds Channel 4’s revitalisation of British filmmaking in the 1980s it should not be forgotten that both the Arts Council and the British Film Institute were supporting experimental filmmaking and “new and uncommercial filmmakers”. Sally Potter’s roots in experimental dance and the artists’ filmmaking hub of the London Filmmaker’s Co-op led to support first from the Arts Council for her short films then a partnership with the BFI for her bold and radical debut feature. Starring Julie Christie and shot in rich black & white by Babette Mangold (Chantal Akerman’s cinematographer) The Gold Diggers is in striking cinematic provocation. Made with an all-woman crew, it embraces a radical and experimental narrative structure. Celeste (Colette Laffont) is a computer clerk in a bank who becomes fascinated by the relationship between gold and power. Ruby (Christie) is an enigmatic film star in quest of her childhood, her memories and the truth about her own identity. As their paths cross they come to sense that there could be a link between the male struggle for economic supremacy and the female ideal of mysterious but impotent beauty.
With thanks to the BFI National Archive.
This screening is part of Cinema Rediscovered with the support of the BFI Audience Projects Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, and principal sponsors Park Circus and STUDIOCANAL.
With an introduction by writer and film curator So Mayer.
Doors to Curzon Clevedon open at midday to give you the opportunity to see behind the scenes of this historic cinema.