'Secret Cinema' Immerses Fans in Film

Cinema screenings offering people the chance to immerse themselves in the world of classic films have become a huge hit with in-the-know Londoners. 'Secret Cinema' stages elaborate, interactive performances in disused buildings around the British capital, and the film to be screened remains a mystery to participants up until the last minute.

Published

5 months ago

Categories

Arts & Society

Topics

Arts & Culture

Places

London, United Kingdom

Transcript

SCRIPT : UPSOT of man dressed as judge: "Connor Marshall. Kidnapping. 8 years !" For these film fans, a night in an east London jail beckons. And yet they're here by choice - in fact, they've all paid more than 50 euros each for the privilege. UPSOT: « … confined space, gentlemen. » Welcome to 'Secret Cinema.' There will be a film screening later, but the similarities with your local multiplex end there. For a start, participants don't know what the film is - their only clue is an instruction to come dressed in 1950s clothing, with long underwear underneath. SOUNDBITE 1 Fabien Rigall, Founder Secret Cinema (English, 22 sec) : "It's part of a cultural shift in that people are looking for real experiences, they're looking for something in which they can feel part of, contribute to, they are "culture", rather than just being very separated between the stage and the audience, the whole production is a stage." UPSOT Policeman: "You can call me sir, you can call me boss. Now don't you call me anything else you hear me ?" After a fifteen-minute bus ride, the inmates arrive at an old school, converted to look like Oak Hampton penitenciary, the setting for the popular 1990s film The Shawshank Redemption. Under the stern gaze of the wardens, played by actors, the film fans are forced to strip off and change into prison uniforms. UPSOT: « I like that. See you in the showers, boy. » Secret Cinema stages four screenings per year, often in some of London's most spectacular abandoned buildings, and with a huge cast of actors and crew bringing various classic films to life. SOUNDBITE 2 Charlie Folorunsho, Actor (English, 28 sec) : "Every night is very different... There's the spectators, who just look, and they're not gonna get involved, then you got lurkers, who are lurking around who want to get involved, they're not quite sure and you have to try to coax them to do this, and then you have the interactors, there's no problem with the interactors you know, they'll do whatever, and then you got the interrupters... They're dangerous, we don't want too many of them." Participants are largely free to wonder and immerse themselves in the environment. Those who find themselves in the right place at the right time may get caught up in scenes inspired by the film - the rape of an inmate, or a brawl in the prison courtyard. UPSOT - fight, gunshot, cries SOUNDBITE 3 – Andy, participant, (English, 7 sec) : "I got convicted for fraud. It was a really big fraud. It was very bad: 100 years." SOUNDBITE 4 - Particpant (English, 16 secs): "It's the sort of exeperience you don't really get anywhere else... the actors, they're really good, they kind of actually pull you in and make you feel part of it as well and you start acting yourself, it's like I'm in a prison now !" Secret Cinema is not quite as secret now as when it began in 2007 - almost 200 thousand people have taken part. Next year, organisers plan to export the concept to Athens and New York, but the watchword will remain the same: Tell No One. --------------------------------------------------- SHOTLIST : LONDON, 29 November 2012 (Source : AFPTV) UPSOT -VAR judge and participants UPSOT -Participants queuing and being lead into a bus SOUNDBITE 1 UPSOT -VAR actor playing policeman with participants in the bus -VAR participants undressing in a gymnasium UPSOT -Participants run outside in underwear SOUNDBITE 2 -Participants in cells -VAR prison 'church' with participants singing SOUNDBITE 3 -VAR scenes played by actors: detainee beaten by other inmates; fight in prison courtyard SOUNDBITE 4 -VAR prison courtyard, 'injured' actor evactuated -VAR participants watching 'The Shawshank Redemption'