Soft Floor, Hard Film: 50 Years of the London Film-Makers’ Co-op

The London Film-Makers’ Co-operative (LFMC) started life at Better Books, a counter-culture bookshop on Charing Cross Road, where a group led by poet Bob Cobbing and filmmakers Stephen Dwoskin and Jeff Keen met to screen films. Initially inspired by the activities of the New American Cinema Group in New York, the London Co-op grew into a pioneering organisation that incorporated a film workshop, cinema space and distribution office. 

The LFMC played a crucial role in establishing moving image as an art form in the UK and internationally. Malcolm Le Grice, Peter Gidal, Annabel Nicolson and Lis Rhodes were among its active members in the 1960s and ’70s, and later associates included John Akomfrah, Derek Jarman and Isaac Julien. Through the work of LUX, which continues to manage its distribution collection, the radical, inventive and varied output of the LFMC continues to influence artists and filmmakers today.

On the 50th anniversary–to the day–of the LFMC’s formation, Frieze Video presents Soft Floor, Hard Film, a short video about the organisation produced in collaboration with artist and writer Matthew Noel-Tod, who will chair a discussion with former LFMC members on its early ideals and ongoing legacy.

The event also marks the launch of a new book, published by LUX and edited by Mark Webber. Shoot Shoot Shoot: The First Decade of the London Film-Makers’ Co-operative 1966–76 brings together texts, interviews, images and archival documents, and includes newly commissioned essays by Mark Webber, Kathryn Siegel & Federico Windhausen.