FASHION IN FILM FESTIVAL

Saturday 31 May Doors 6pm£7/£5 members & concessions So what! Two tales of Juvenile Delinquency Guest-curated by Roger K. Burton, costume designer and former mod. The media of the 1950s and early 1960s were obsessed with "rock'n'roll & out of control" juvenile delinquents. American and British filmmakers responded to this debate by producing a number of low budget teenage exploitation movies, most containing a strong moral message. The Violent Years USA 1956. Dir William Morgan. With Jean Moorhead and Barbara Weeks. 56 min. DVD. + The Boys UK 1962. Dir Sidney J. Furie. With Richard Todd, Dudley Sutton, Robert Morley. 123 min. DVD Monday 26th May Doors 7:30pm £5/£4 members & concessions Zoot Suit Riots USA 2001. Dir Joseph Tovares. Documentary. 60 min. DVD. Thursday 29 MayDoors 7:30pm £7/£5 members & concessions Blood and Black Lace (Sei donne per l'assassino) Italy/Monaco/France/Germany 1964. Dir Mario Bava. With Mary Arden, Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok. 88 min. DVD. MORE DETAILS

Monday 26th May Doors 7:30pm £5/£4 members & concessions Zoot Suit Riots USA 2001. Dir Joseph Tovares. Documentary. 60 min. DVD. Tovares's captivating documentary, part of the "American Experience" series on PBS, explores zoot suit culture through LA's infamous "Sleepy Lagoon" murder (1942). The killing of a boy at a party triggered a ruthless police manhunt and the subsequent show trial resulted in the conviction and imprisonment of a group of young Mexican American "zoot suiters" that many - including high-profile figures such as Orson Welles - thought to be innocent. The sensational trial added to the growing anti-zoot suit and anti-Mexican feeling in LA. The baggy attire was condemned as unpatriotic, and those who wore it as ignorant of the war effort. This sentiment eventually led to street beatings and ritual strippings of boys as young as 14. Thursday 29 May Doors 7:30pm £7/£5 members & concessions Blood and Black Lace (Sei donne per l'assassino) Italy/Monaco/France/Germany 1964. Dir Mario Bava. With Mary Arden, Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok. 88 min. DVD. Camp as its title may sound, this creation from the Italian horror maverick Mario Bava is considered a quintessential giallo thriller and a masterpiece, and has a cult following among the likes of Quentin Tarantino. Filmed under the working title "The Fashion House of Death", it revolves around dubious secrets involving a group of nerve-wracked fashion models, and a certain red diary. Like the sumptuously baroque fashion salon, the murder scenes are meticulously staged, with bodies often re-arranged for yet more breathtakingly spectacular effect. Son of Eugenio Bava, an accomplished cinematographer in Italian silent cinema, Mario himself was a brilliant and innovative technician, highly regarded for his use of colour and lighting. All fans of "cinematic" fashion photography, watch this space! The Violent Years USA 1956. Dir William Morgan. With Jean Moorhead and Barbara Weeks. 56 min. DVD. Set in status-conscious mid-50s Los Angeles, and from a screenplay by the one and only Edward D. Wood, Jr. (Plan 9 from Outer Space, 1959) comes a rare girl gang B-movie The Violent Years. As an act of rebellion, spoilt teenage daughter Paula becomes a thrill seeker and turns to crime together with her gang of untamed high school girlfriends. These girls might look sweet and innocent in their California sports styles of tight sweaters, pointy bras, waspy waists and sneakers but don't let their pretty faces fool you, as they are really cold-hearted criminals, and out to do anything that's bad. The Boys UK 1962. Dir Sidney J. Furie With Richard Todd, Dudley Sutton, Robert Morley. 123 min. DVD The Boys readily illustrates the widespread discrimination directed at post-war youth by a conservative Britain. This gripping film centres around the media controversy that engulfed capital punishment at the time, and was one of the first British social melodramas to acknowledge the rise of teenage gangs and the resulting juvenile delinquency. The title characters are four working class teenagers, described here as "Teddy Boys", all implicated in the murder of a night watchman. Furie makes a close study of the sartorial choices made by the boys who all sport the latest Italian slim-line style suits, made fashionable in the UK by Cecil Gee during the late 1950s, becoming a precursor to the mod style of the early 1960s.