The child has been a potent and contradictory figure throughout the twentieth century. At this specially curated event, film scholar Karen Lury, geographer Hayden Lorimer, and filmmaker and curator Emily Munro discuss the ways children are represented on screen, as cherished subjects, citizens of the future, and dangers to themselves.
The discussion will be preceded by a selection of short films from the National Library of Scotland and BFI National Archive, which include public information films, amateur fiction, and a new collage film, Childish (2024), directed by Emily Munro, that examines the choreography of childhood.
Films to be screened (this may be subject to change):
The Magic Wand (1936)
Your Children’s Play (1951)
The Smoking Machine (1964)
Lonely Water (1973)
The Balloon (1981)
Childish (2024)
Please note that while these films are broadly suitable for children age 8+, some of them contain public health messages and warnings which younger viewers may find distressing.
Schedule:
Doors open: 17.30 - 18.00
Selection of films from NLS and BFI: 18.00 - 19.00
Childish: 19.00 - 19.15
Panel discussion: 19.15 - 20.00
About Dr Emily Munro:
Emily Munro is a curator of moving image at the National Library of Scotland, a filmmaker and a writer. Her creative archive documentary Living Proof: A Climate Story (2021) looks at our energy history and complicity with the climate crisis. It has screened widely in Scotland and abroad. Her recent film project, Childish (2024), draws on horror tropes and Scotland’s film collection to explore the choreography of childhood and children’s autonomy under the adult gaze.
About Professor Karen Lury:
Karen Lury is a Professor of Film and Television studies at the University of Glasgow. She has published widely in film and television often focusing on children as represented in film and television and children as actors and film-makers themselves. Between 2010 and 2014 she worked in collaboration with the National Library of Scotland on an AHRC funded project on Children and Amateur Film in Scotland. This led to the commission of BBC Scotland's documentary series Scotland's Home Movies. Her most recent publication is the edited collection, The Child in Cinema (2022).
About Professor Hayden Lorimor:
Hayden Lorimer is a cultural geographer and Chair of Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh. He writes about the connections between memory, landscape and place. Hayden has worked collaboratively with the BBC on radio and television programming, and is currently supervising a PhD project on the history of BBC Schools Radio broadcasting.
This event is free, but ticketed.
You will be permitted to one drink on arrival, while stocks last.
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