30° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL
TFFdoc/INTERNAZIONALE.DOC

LONDON -THE MODERN BABYLON

LONDON -THE MODERN BABYLON
by Julien Temple
Country: UK
Year: 2012
Duration: 128'


The story of the world’s first cosmopolitan metropolis, as seen through the eyes of its most eccentric and influential citizens, more or less famous, the originators of the continuous renewal which has always characterized Great Britain’s capital: authors, musicians, radical thinkers, agitators, immigrants in search of freedom and well-being, bohemians and artists. From the early 1900s to today, a gallery of unique images, a chorus of voices and exclusive testimony, taking the viewer on a voyage through the meanders of the past of a city which has always been one step ahead, and a cultural and political reference point for the entire world.

Biography

film director

Julien Temple

Julien Temple (London, UK, 1953) studied filmmaking at the National Film and Television School. He debuted with the short Sex Pistols Number 1 (1977), followed by the punk culture documentary The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle (1980). He directed several music videos, many feature films (including Absolute Beginners, 1986; and Earth Girls Are Easy, 1988), and music documentaries (such as The Filth and the Fury, 2000; and Glastonbury, 2006). He participated at the Torino Film Festival on multiple occasions, presenting the documentaries Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007), Oil City Confidential (2009), Requiem for Detroit? (2010), London - The Modern Babylon (2012), The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson (2015). In 2014 he received the Gran Premio Torino.

FILMOGRAFIA

Sex Pistols Number 1 (coregia/codirector John Tiberi, cm, doc., 1977), The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle (La grande truffa del rock’n’roll, 1980), Absolute Beginners (1986), Earth Girls Are Easy (Le ragazze della terra sono facili, 1988), Vigo (Vigo, passione per la vita, 1998), The Filth and the Fury (Sex Pistols - Oscenità e furore, doc., 2000), Glastonbury (doc., 2006), Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (Il futuro non è scritto - Joe Strummer, doc., 2007), Oil City Confidential (doc., 2009), Requiem for Detroit? (doc., 2010), London - The Modern Babylon (doc., 2012), Rio 50 Degrees (doc., 2014), The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson (doc., 2015), My Life Story (doc., 2017).

Declaration

film director

“The exciting thing about making this film has been the alchemy of various archive material sources. The process of transmuting a dead clip into gold is what keeps me going when I’m chained to the desk for week after week of editing. Stitching the history, sights and sounds of London together feels like tailoring a bespoke Savile Row suit – and it is a challenge because the subject is constantly changing.”

Cast

& Credits

regia, sceneggiatura/director, screenplay Julien Temple
fotografia/cinematography Stephen Organ
montaggio/film editing Caroline Richards
musica/music Maggie Rodford, Chantelle Woodnut
suono/sound Sean Poe, Martin Skorik, Kieron Theater
produttori/producers Julien Temple, Amanda Temple, Stephen Malit produzione/production Nitrate Film Ltd.
coproduttori/coproducers Rosa Bosch, George Hencken
vendita all’estero/world sales Ealing Metro International
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