The Moon and the Sledgehammer + Short Film

classified U

part of Off The Beaten Track

Film

Sun 8 June 14:00

Director
Philip Trevelyan
Details
65 mins, 1971, UK
Primary language
English

A fascinating documentary which captures the eccentric lives of the Page family, who live a simple life in the woodlands of Sussex, in a home without running water, gas or electricity. Released in 1971 the film has quietly assumed cult status, influencing filmmakers from Nick Broomfield to Andrew Kötting, with fans including Maxine Peake.

“What’s extraordinary about it is I don’t think you could ever make another documentary like it ever again. It’s beautiful; very poetic. He’s very articulate, Mr Page. They sort of all are. There’s something about all of them that their use of language is extraordinary. They feel like some sort of poem; an ode to another way of life. The old English ethos, the connection with the land, the pagan element running through… Something very magical and quite spiritual about it….” - Maxine Peake

The feature will be preceded by a screening of the short film Forest Coal Pit, an intimate Super 8 portrait of the hyperlocal world of two elderly brothers who live together on a small farm in the Black Mountains of South Wales.

Introduced by Siôn Marshall-Waters, director of the short film Forest Coal Pit.


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