We’ve worked with the Horniman Museums & Gardens in South London frequently to programme film screenings as part of their Late night opening events covering topics including Taxidermy, Magic, Carnival and China. In August 2014 the Horniman asked us to programme their outdoor summer films on the theme of all things Edwardian. We worked with Electric Pedals on two screenings that took place at the bandstand in the historic gardens.

The first event was a screening of three Georges Méliès films, who during his time in the late 1800s-early 1900s was seen as a pioneer of cinema. He was one of the first filmmakers to use multiple exposures and time-lapse photography in his work, and was the focus of Scorsese’s 2011 film Hugo.

The three silent films of Méliès being shown were A Trip To the Moon (1902), The Impossible Voyage (1904) and The Conquest to the Pole (1912). This screening was powered entirely by bicycle pedal power.

A week later, we screened 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916), based on Jules Verne’s book. It was pioneering for its time, being the first film to be filmed underwater. The story follows Captain Nemo’s submarine-based quest for revenge against a wealthy alcoholic. This screening was accompanied by an improvised live score by Orchestra Elastique.

Header image courtesy of Colin Tonks, Electric Pedals