Contrasts in Kensington

Kensington
1937
Silent
11m

Shocking scenes of Kensington slums and 1930s housing developments offer a sharp contrast with today's reinvented area.

Insects living in damp, cracked walls. No running water in the home and an outdoor toilet. Broken windows and rising rents. Tuberculosis. Thankfully these are not rampant problems in the Kensington area today, due in part to the good work of organisations like the Kensington Housing Trust in creating decent affordable housing. Social and demographic shifts mean the area is almost unrecognisably affluent today in comparison with the slum conditions seen in this well-made amateur documentary.

This film was produced by the amateur filmmaking group Ace Movies and sponsored by the Kensington Housing Trust. The use of a non-professional set-up gives it a greater degree of access and intimacy with its subjects than professional films. Also available on BFI Player is Kensington Calling!, also backed by the Housing Trust but produced on professional 35mm film.

Amateur Auteurs

Ever dreamed of shooting your own movie? These pre-digital cine-enthusiasts did - with all the passion and devotion of the true auteur.

These low- (or no-) budget creations reach beyond simple point-and-shoot, back-garden efforts towards something more ambitious and skilful, revealing their authors' passion for film and their often astonishing ingenuity with limited resources. No desktop editing software or digital special effects for these amateur auteurs. The films include fiction and documentary, competition prizewinners and private labours of love. They may be the work of cine-clubbers or individual enthusiasts. But they all show a devotion to filmmaking that far transcends hobbyism. So look out for the delightful handmade intertitles, table-top special effects and library soundtracks which decorate many of the quirky stories, ultra-local documentaries and painstakingly composed home movies featured here.