Harry Birrell Presents Films of Love and War

Synopsis

In 1928 at the age of eleven, Harry Birrell was given his first cine camera. ‘The greatest toy a child could ever receive’ he would say. His obsession with making movies would span the rest of the 20th century, despite the onset of blindness. In love, war and other adventures Harry recorded everything with a wonderfully cinematic eye on thousands upon thousands of feet of high quality 16mm film.
From commanding a battalion of Ghurkas in the Indian army at the start of the WWII, to dangerous sorties deep behind enemy lines in Burma at its end; from the ballroom dances of his youth in the 1930s to teaching his children to twist in the 1960s: Harry’s entertaining and errant adventures are filmed with the intimacy of home movies but on the scale of 'Lawrence of Arabia'.
Today, his granddaughter Carina, uncovers a lifetime of memories all spliced together in over 400 films, personal diaries (narrated by Richard Madden) and countless photographs that have previously lain undiscovered, along with the many cans of cine film, in rusting metal trunks in a garden shed.
It’s one man’s cinematic vision of the 20th Century and his own personal journey through it.
http://www.harrybirrellpresents.com/

Details

Year

2019

Type of film

Features

Running Time

90 min

Format

9.5mm, 16mm, HD

Director

Matt Pinder 1st Feature

Producer

John Archer, Carina Birrell, Matt Pinder

Executive Producer

David Harron, Mark Thomas, Ewan Angus

Editor

Colin Monie, Matt Pinder

Director of Photography

Harry Birrell

Sound

John Cobban

Music

Ian Dolamore

Principal Cast

Narration: Richard Madden

Genre

• Scottish
• Documentary

Production status

Complete

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Last updated 17th October 2019