Celebrating the New Forest on Film
Do you have some old film or video which records an aspect of life in the New Forest? If you do, we would like to hear from you. This project, led by the New Forest Centre at Lyndhurst, aims to create an archive of old films and videos about the New Forest District. The landscape, wildlife, commoning, farming, forestry, village life, school activities, camping, carnivals, military exercises, industrial installations, railways, sporting occasions... they are all of interest!
First, we need to identify what exists and where it is. If you have something which may be of interest, please tell us by filling in a contact form. We will be in touch in due course.
The New Forest Movieola theatre tent, which launched the whole project at the New Forest Show in 2009, also featured prominently at the 2010 New Forest Show.
This 40 seater cinema screened films, old and not so old, from across the Forest, giving a fantastic insight into the areas history, people, life styles and wildlife during the last seventy years.
New Forest Movieola, supported by Exxon Chemicals and ExxonMobil at the Fawley Refinery, highlights the New Forest Film Archive Project and has proven to be very popular with old and young alike. During the three days of the 2010 New Forest Show almost 1,000 people visited our Movieola tent.
This project is appealing for undiscovered films made by people who recorded life in their time and place, and it’s those films that lay un-loved in attics, sheds or old cardboard boxes which need bringing to life.
The ultimate aim of the New Forest Film Archive is to build a collection of old films showing the diversity of the area, whether professional, amateur, colour, black and white, sound or silent. All are important to add to those already in the collection, many of which can be seen at the Movieola in the Show’s New Forest Corner. As the archive builds, ways will be found to allow the public to view the collection.
The driving force behind the New Forest Film Archive is a partnership of local film buffs, film makers and small film archives.
The collection will be housed safely in a specialist facility at the Wessex Film & Sound Archive, Winchester, but the public’s first contact should be through the New Forest Centre, Lyndhurst.
The first 3 volumes of New Forest Film on DVD can be ordered online from the New Forest Museum Gift Shop.
