Project Detail

Elstree 1976

Synopsis

In 1976, during the hottest summer on record, 'Star Wars' was shot in suburban North London. Nobody involved had any idea how big the film would become, many couldn’t even remember the title. Yet, for the extras and actors in smaller roles, their faces hidden in masks and helmets, this seemingly insignificant job would go on to colour their lives even four decades later.
BFI London Film Festival 2015 - World premiere

Details

Year: 2015
Type of film: Features
Running time: 101 mins
Director: Jon Spira
Producer: Hank Starrs
Editor: Jon Spira
Screenwriter: Jon Spira
Director of Photography: Sonny Malhotra
Composer: Jamie Hyatt
Principal cast: David Prowse, Garrick Hagon, Jeremy Bulloch

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Canal Cat Films

elstree1976@gmail.com

Sales Company

The Works International

5th Floor, Fairgate House
78 New Oxford Street
London
WC1A 1HB

Visit Website

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

A landmark feature documentary about astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle. Eileen’s incredible journey starts with her smalltown beginnings, sees her smash through many glass ceilings, and culminates in four dramatic space shuttle missions, the last being possibly the most dangerous and most important of them all. At its heart the film is the moving human drama of one family, where a mother’s extraordinary career takes us straight to the big philosophical question of what is the level of acceptable risk in human endeavour? This film celebrates Commander Collins’ trailblazing NASA career which opened the way for women to become spacecraft pilots and commanders, and proved a perfect riposte to a previous generation of male astronauts who thought there was no place for women to lead the way in space. Official Selection DOC NYC 2024 - World premiere Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025 - European premiere

Woman Director

Power Station

Director: Dan Edelstyn, Hilary Powell

Year: 2025

Two artists in Walthamstow set out to take their street off the grid, kickstarting a solar-powered energy revolution. Inspired by lockdown mutual aid initiatives, artist-activists Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn decided to turn their street into an energy-generating powerhouse – a prototype for a new way of living, with the hope of galvanising a wider push towards sustainable alternatives. Directed by the duo, POWER STATION charts their turbulent journey, from pitching the idea to their neighbours and sleeping on the roof of their home to raising finance and launching a bid for a Christmas number one single. By turns funny and heartwarming, Powell and Edelstyn’s film is a vibrant portrait of their local neighbourhood, and a charming testament to the power of art in changing minds about what could be possible. Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2025

Climate / Environment

Nova '78

Director: Aaron Brookner, Rodrigo Areias