Lanterna Magicka: Bill Douglas and The Secret History of Cinema

Synopsis

The Scottish filmmaker Bill Douglas's reputation rests on the trilogy of films he made in the 1970s about his childhood in postwar Scotland. What many people do not know about Douglas is that he was also a passionate collector of cinema memorabilia and pre-cinema optical devices. He incorporated many of these into his last film, Comrades, which tells the story of the first trade union from the point of view of an itinerant lanternist. Lanterna Magicka recounts the story of Douglas's collection, the making of Comrades and the remarkable legacy Douglas left us with.

Details

Year: 2009
Type of project: Features
Running time: 61 mins
Format: HD
Director: Sean Martin, Louise Milne
Producer: Sean Martin, Louise Milne
Editor: Nick Soldan
Screenwriter: Louise Milne
Director of Photography: Sean Martin
Composer: Chris Miles
Principal cast: Robin Soans, Mick Audsley, Alex Norton, Imelda Staunton, Charles Rees, Ian Christie, Saxon Logan, Peter Jewell, Bill Douglas (archive footage)