RITA DI SANTO assesses the winners of the most politically charged festival to date
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Utopia undone
Christopher Ian Smith's powerful documentary charts the rise and fall of the visionary project that was Basildon new town, says MARIA DUARTE
KATARZYNA KOSMALA introduces a retrospective by one of the most significant figures in contemporary US photography
MAYER WAKEFIELD is entertained but let down by an audacious production that, sadly, doesn't ring true
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by drama that, despite accomplished performances, cannot overcome an unfocused script
New releases from Sam Carter, Spell Songs and Les Thomas
New Town Utopia (15)
Directed by Christopher Ian Smith
★★★
THIS visually arresting portrait of Basildon New Town and the hopes it spawned on becoming a beacon for a social and classless utopia make for a thought-provoking documentary.
Director Christopher Ian Smith shows you the Essex town as you have never seen it before through its bleak and striking architecture and its colourful and eye-catching sculptures and murals.
The words and works of local artists, musicians and poets are interwoven throughout and shed a fascinating light on life in this former new town, its slow demise and the demonising of its working-class inhabitants.
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