If I was having coffee with you this week, I would probably tell you about a walk I did on Monday to learn more about the Bristol film industry and discover some of the lost cinemas of central Bristol. We often encounter film crews at work during our walks. Recently we have watched part of Young Sherlock being filmed for Netflix.

Bristol a UNESCO creative city

Not many people know that Bristol was named a UNESCO creative city in 2017 because of its importance to the British film industry. It means that we are given grants to form links with other centres of the film industry around the world to deliver education programs and festivals. This helps the city a lot. It is estimated that the film industry brought over thirty million pounds to Bristol last year as well as attracting lots of tourists.

The UNESCO citation includes the work of cinematic pioneers such as William Friese Greene and film stars such as Cary Grant who was born in the city. It also mentions the BBC Natural History Unit, the Bottle Yard Studio and Aardman Animation which are all based in the city.

William Friese Green

Bristol played an important role in the very early development of the cinema. In the 19th century lectures were often illustrated with magic lantern slides and lots of people were trying to make better movie cameras. One of the early pioneers was William Friese Greene who was born in the centre of the city The house where he was born has been demolished but there is a plaque on the nearby City Hall commemorating the event. He had a studio and workshop nearby. He spent a lot of time attempting to develop a colour camera using different colour filters. After his death his son Claude continued his work.

Many famous film actors such as Cary Grant were either born in the city or studied at the Bristol Old Vic theatre school.

Bristol film studios

Bristol is also home to the BBC wildlife film unit. David Attenborough has made it world famous with series such as Blue Planet and Life on Earth. He is still working despite being well over ninety.

Aardman animation produce Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. Starting with Morph they have mastered the art of working with Plasticine. I love seeing their props which are made with great attention to detail and a lot of love.

The Bottleyard is the largest film studio in the South West. Bristol City Council opened The Bottle Yard Studios in 2010, providing a modern purpose for the cavernous Tank Houses standing on the seven acre Whitchurch Lane site, which had for more than 50 years housed a winery and bottle plant – including at one time the production line for three million litres of Harvey’s Bristol Cream sherry per year.

The area around the harbourside is often used for Victorian scenes. On recent walks we have seen filming for a Netflix production “Young Sherlock.”

Bristol film festivals

Bristol hosts several film festivals each year including Wildscreen , a celebration of natural history films and a slap stick festival. We particularly enjoy the Bristol film festival screenings of old films in unusual places. They are often paired with suitable refreshments. We recently saw Starship Troopers in the Planetarium. A friend saw Whiskey Galore in the local wine vault which included a whiskey tasting session.

Future offerings include Casablanca with a wine tasting. Groundhog day is paired with several glasses of the same type of wine. I am looking forward to a screening of Cabaret which is paired with an early black and white film from prewar Berlin.

Bristol film festival

Bristol Cinemas

It is difficult to find out when the first films were shown in Bristol. Lectures at the Victoria Rooms (above) would often include magic lantern slides and short moving films.

Local music halls would also show short films of local interest or news reels. It can be difficult to find out what exactly was shown as the films did not have title sequences. By the 1920’s Bristol had lots of cinemas including the White Ladies Picture house (now the Everyman Cinema and the Coliseum in Park Row. The Coliseum has long gone but you can still find a statue of Nipper above the door. The dog which belonged to the owner is reputed to be the model for the HMV dog.

You can often recognise old cinemas by the art deco features of the building. This is the Odeon cinema. The bottom floor has become a discount supermarket. I like the flying saucer canopy.

Bristol Theatre Collection

If you would like to find out more the Bristol University Theatre Collection in Park Row houses an enormous collection of costumes. playbills and sets. It is free to visit and open from Tuesday to Friday during term time.

I love exploring more of my home city and sharing my discoveries. I always like reading your comments.