WAY OF THE MORRIS

FIFTH COLUMN FILMS PRESENTS

A DOCUMENTARY FILM BY TIM PLESTERDIRECTED BY TIM PLESTER & ROB CURRY

with contributions from BILLY BRAGG and members of FAIRPORT CONVENTION

for review copies and any further information please contact:Rob Curry

07753 604923press@fifthcolumn.org.uk

UK CINEMA RELEASE: 9th SEPTEMBER 2011

As quintessentially homegrown as a game of cricket or a plate of fish-and-chips, Morris dancing is one of Olde England’s most ancient roots traditions. And yet to your average man-jack on the street, it’s seen as little more than a national joke. And a bad national joke at that.

Things have always been a little different for actor and filmmaker Tim Plester. Tim hails from a family of Morris dancers, and was raised in a quiet corner of North Oxfordshire called Adderbury; an ironstone village with a proud and fertile dancing history stretching back through the centuries. The tinkling of the shin-bells is part of his heritage. Part of his legacy. Part of his very folklore. And yet, despite the connections, Tim doesn’t dance. Never has.

However, when Tim first hears tell of the “Lost Generation” of fresh-faced young Adderbury dancers who tragically laid down their lives for King and Country during the carnage of The Great War 1914-1918, he begins to experience an awakening deep in his chromosomes. To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the end of WW1, the current Adderbury village side are planning a visit to those former killing fields of Northern France; there to pay their respects and to help repair a too-long broken link in their community’s dancing lineage. When Tim accepts an invitation to join his rural brethren in their preparations for this pilgrimage, he also embarks upon a deeply personal journey of his own.

“A uniquely British documentary.” PHILL JUPITUS

“Metaphysical contemplation mixes with gentle comedy.” THE GUARDIAN

“You would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by this film.” SHIRLEY COLLINS MBE

Running Time: 67 min (Colour, Stereo)Certificate: 12A (tbc)

FOR THESE ARE THE LANDS OF MY FOREFATHERS.

AND THESE ARE THE DANCES OF MY ANCESTORS.

“Elegiac. Rhapsodic. And beautifully-made.” WIRE MAGAZINE

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.wayofthemorris.com

PRODUCTION NOTESWhen we first started making this film back in 2008, we had no idea that our release date would coincide with the biggest revival in English folk music since the late 1960’s.

The film started out as a true labour of love, and grew from these humble origins into a full-blown feature documentary that has secured itself a countrywide cinema release. By a happy co-incidence, over this same period the interest and profile of folk music and traditions has similarly exploded. From Richard Thompson curating Meltdown, to the chart-topping successes of the likes of Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons, to the latest Pimms commercial, the folk revolution is everywhere.

We launched the film at pop-artist David Owen’s hugely successful ‘5000 Morris Dancers’ event at London’s Southbank last year, and it has gone on to play at dozens of festivals worldwide, including a world premiere at SXSW in Austin Texas. The film was recently selected by the UK Film Focus as one of the “Breakthrough” British films of 2011.

Since the cinema release was secured, we’ve been scouring the country for the best short documentaries, and, in traditional style (and in association with the Branchage Film Festival), will be presenting a short film before each screening of WAY OF THE MORRIS.

BIOGSTIM PLESTER (director/writer/presenter/producer)http://www.timplester.comTim Plester was born and raised in a place the Anglo-Saxons named Adderbury. He is a feather on the West Wind. He is the soft smoke rising from a thatched roof. A chalk outline carved into a hillside. A standing stone gathering dust. He is the dogstar. He is the milky way. And his is the ancient dance of The Morris.

Tim’s short film ENGLISH LANGUAGE [WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES] premiered at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival, and has gone on to screen at over 45 film festivals worldwide, picking up 5 awards along the way. Previously he created, wrote and produced the cult short films ‘ANT MUZAK’, BLAKE’S JUNCTION 7 and WORLD OF WRESTLING, whilst his acting credits for film and TV include: KICK-ASS (Lionsgate), CONTROL (Momentum), SHIFTY (Metrodrome), DOCTOR WHO (BBC), LIFE ON MARS (BBC), Poliakoff’s FRIENDS AND CROCODILES (BBC) and the BAFTA-winning short film SEPTEMBER (APT Films). WAY OF THE MORRIS is his first documentary project.

ROB CURRY (director/producer)Rob Curry’s last short, GRANDMOTHER’S FOOTSTEPS, was financed by the British Council, whilst his previous short DOMESTICS was funded by the UK Film Council and premiered at the 2008 Edinburgh Film Festival. His low-budget feature, THE BOAT PEOPLE is available on VOD, and he is currently in postproduction on an interactive feature film version of Shake-speare’s THE TEMPEST.

FIFTH COLUMN FILMShttp://www.fifthcolumn.org.ukFeatures: THE TEMPEST (2012), WAY OF THE MORRIS (2011), THE BOAT PEOPLE (2007).Shorts include: END OF THE LINE (2010), FORBIDDEN (2010) THE LIVING END (2010), DOMESTICS (2009), SCHOOL RUN (2008), SLAPHAPPY (2008).