EDUCATIVE FILMS

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 150, 21 December 1929, Page 7

EDUCATIVE FILMS

A NEGLECTED SPHERE

KNOWLEDGE OF EMPIRE

INTERCHANGE OF NEWS

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, ISth October.

In a letter to "The Times," Lord Gaiuford makes a strong plea for the use of the cinema as a means of Imperial education. He holds that the cinema is, on the one hand, "the only effective way to convey to the peoples of our Empire, for whose welfare we are responsible, what it is so vitally necessary for them to know in regard to their health and habits and many other subjects. On the "other, it is byfar the most effective method'of showing them the wonders of the United "Kingdom, pictures of the great ship-' building yards round our coast, of our factories and workshops, of our up-to-date collieries, and of the world's greatest seaport, London —a" fact not generally appreciated. Few of the King's subjects realise the triumphs gained by British engineering. I *doubt if 10 per cent, of the inhabitants of the Empire know of Sir Henry Segrave's and Plight-Commander Waghorn's wonderful performances, or if half of 1 per cent, realise that Alcock and Brown crossed the Atlantic eight years before the Graf Zeppelin." Lord Gainford suggests that in view of the next assembly of the Imperial Economic Conference the question of a service of appropriate Empire films is one which might most usefully be taken up by H.M. Government without delay. Other countries without any of our responsibilities of Empire are already far ahead in this matter.

We have," he proceeds, "already demonstrated our ability to make admirable pictures on subjects dealing with natural history, botany, and zoology, but- our range is as yet too limited and might be extended to cover all sorts of geographical, historical, economic, or hygienic subjects, and all of these should be shown throughout our Dominions, colonies, and Protectorates.

"This is definitely a branch of the business where Great Britain can excel. I am informed that it may be impossible for us to compete against Amenca s wealth in mere entertainment pictures, but it seems that we are well qualified to take a leading place in the manufacture of pictures that do some good to those who see them. We have scientists unexcelled and technicians equal to any. I n the Empire we have a vast and undeveloped market Perhaps this market is not as yet capable ot returning the vast sums of money expected by Hollywood, but the production of the class/of film I have in mind calls for comparatively less money but more brains, and would have farreaching beneficial and educative re-

I would like to see Great Britain leading th© world in this branch of the nlm industry. It can be- done, and I suggest that the Government should take some definite action, preferably in conjunction with the Governments of the Dominion and Crown Colonies, to work out a comprehensive scheme suited in detail to the very varying requirements of the individual countries within the Empire." WHAT A MILITARY OFFICER SAW. As a New Zealander, Lieut.-Col. E. V \. Lascelles (Commandant of the Army School of Education, Shorncliffe and formerly of Hawkes Bay) suppprts W ? T 1- I HC Spent a fOW "oaths n ]Sew Zealand, a year ago, after a lengthy absence, and among many and considerable developments that he not ed were the picture theatres in all towns, largo and small—in the cities fine buildings, well equipped and equally well conflicted; in the smallest up-country tou-ns simple wooden buildings showing films with the same efficiency as the large theatres in the cit-

saw^vT' r el'l Pi<? ture play that X saw nas -an American production Every topical film and 'news gazettes tliat I saw was American The only navy that I saw on the screen was the American—a fine picture of cruisers manoeuvring under cover of a smokescreen made by destroyers. "While it is very desirable that the typically British people of New Zealand should understand the great nation largely of kindred b i ood e on th h °n I? ?k *he *»«*«. «is vitally important that they should understand the people of the far-distant land that they still call 'Home,' and that they should kno W something of the daily life of other peoples owning allegiance to the British Crown. This understanding will be promoted by the operation of the law now m force empowering regulations to be made requiring that a quota of Empire-made films fhaU be anHf +? Ut I,* 0 not a^icip a te that eduoarn ? Se- MT WiU be ImperiaUy educational m character unless sterjs are taken to ensure that they shall L

tinT. ri af d T ltlo, n *° fill«s of the descript on that Lord Gainford has in view I suggest the establishment of a reciprocal news-film service; I contemplate for example the exchange between Butain. and Ivew Zealand, End between the Dominion and the" Homeland? by the regular fortnightly mail, o f films-! of important and interesting current events. This would bring the British «ommmities most widely sfparatfd g eo I graphically into living visual contact-' touch*" Th^v 6 *" aCtUal Perso"al of E,w -*i 1S ProP°sal « capable of Empire-wide extension is obvious " INTERCHANGE OF FILMS. iJ? T% skT ith writes that the subject of the interchaugeability of Em?l -r mS, Came before the council of the.British Empire Kirn Institute some time ago, when it was agreed that the establishment in London of an Empire Interchange Bureau was desirable. tntrtV?e? rat 0 this the Klm Insti" tute got into touch with the representatives of the Dominions and colon?™, nod a. ve, been able to. compile a classi^ fied list of such films as are now available showing not only some of the wonw; «c F- nitea King<*<""> but illustiatmg the history, geography Indus tries, and ethnology of tlfe Br&h E- mabl 6; , fl° me - 50, 0 films are now a^ilfilVm,' ♦? SlT ial presentations of these films through the courtesy of the Empire Marketing Board and Sir William IS TaT? + b + een, ol^Uea at the Imperial Institute for some months past tre fr c r r ea 4 d y.filmS "^ t0 tut?l^^ 6 ? the WOrk of the inrtiand «i?E ? e cons^erably extended, the Gnt llgh S* U whether the wTf as such ™ula fina-nce U atriot?JeH' -here is no rea«on Why shnnM l y-lnclinea men an* women ward Vth fin th- 6 lnterVal come for" ward with financial and other support t0 ensure more rapid development.