London Line film - 1966

Representations of black people on television and film have, historically, been rare so whilst lockdown browsing friend of The Modernist John Williams came across this fascinating film in the BFI archive.

"Very few on-screen discussions about concrete are preceded by a live Afro-jazz drum workout. Fewer still are packaged alongside a racial re-casting of Swinging London fashion and the nerdiest group of Kent schoolboys ever assembled before a camera. Welcome to the London Line cine-magazine, the Central Office of Information's mid-1960s missive to the Commonwealth (available in four variations of content/language). The "New Commonwealth" edition was distributed weekly to the recently-decolonised countries in Africa - an audience who, on the evidence of London Line No. 113, were hungry to learn about cutting-edge rainwear and science clubs.

And, of course, concrete. Geoffrey Wood of Ove Arup gives a brisk account of the material's advantages for developing countries and a few examples of recent projects in Africa (most of which seem pretty amazing). A quick look at packable plastic furniture and another 15 minute episode is (ahem) "packed away".

From its hyper-contemporary title sequence (designed by Eddie Newstead) to its upfront use of "African Correspondents Reporting From London", one only wonders if a similarly-enlightended format couldn’t have been produced for a domestic audience." 

John Williams works at the V&A and be found Instagram as @john_lordmuck