“ Every Day Except Christmas ” is a short documentary directed by Lindsay Anderson , filmed in 1957 and included in the program for the third screening of the Free Cinema movement. The film received the Grand Prix of the Venice Festival of Short and Documentary Films, and was also nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.
| Every day except Christmas | |
|---|---|
| Every day except christmas | |
| Genre | documentary |
| Producer | Lindsay Anderson |
| Producer | Leon Clor Karel Reish |
| Author script | Lindsay Anderson |
| In the main cast | Alan Owen (narrator) |
| Operator | Walter Lassali |
| Composer | Daniel Paris |
| Film company | Graphic Films, Ford Motor Company |
| Duration | 40 min |
| A country |  Great Britain |
| Tongue | English |
| Year | 1957 |
| IMDb | |
Story
The film tells about the everyday life of the market in the London area of Covent Garden . In the evening, fruits and flowers from all over the world begin to arrive at the market. Workers are engaged in unloading and placing goods on trays all night. By morning, vegetables are brought from nearby farms. From 5 in the morning, trade begins, by 7 it is in full swing and only by noon comes to naught. In this mode, the market operates daily except for a single day in a year.
About the movie
In 1956, Karel Reish , who was then a Ford employee, suggested that his friend and like-minded “ Free Cinema ” movement, Lindsay Anderson, make a documentary at the company’s expense. The theme was the life of the market in Covent Garden, where the director spent several nights talking with employees. Filming using a 35 mm camera took four weeks and was mainly limited to improvisation on the spot. There was so much material that Anderson had to persuade the producers to double the film - from the planned 20 minutes to 40. The release of the picture was accompanied by almost unanimous approval of the critics. The film reflects what Anderson called “the poetry of everyday life” and is considered one of the best incarnations of the “Free Cinema” aesthetic.
Links
- Dupin C. Every Day Except Christmas (1957 ) . BFI Screenonline . British Film Institute. Date of treatment September 10, 2014.
- “Every Day Except Christmas” on the Internet Movie Database
- “Every Day Except Christmas” (English) on allmovie