Hillcrest Cinema presents Eric Ravilious - Drawn to War, followed by a Q&A with the film's director Margy Kinmonth, and Sara Cooper, Head of Collections at Towner.
Join us for this special screening of this first major feature film about Eric Ravilious (1903-1942), the much loved but hugely underestimated British Official War Artist artist, who captured our Sussex landscape so famously, and who was killed in a plane crash over Iceland in 1942.
Featuring contributions from artists Ai Weiwei and Grayson Perry, writers Alan Bennett and Robert Macfarlane, the film recounts a life as compelling and enigmatic as his art, set against the dramatic wartime locations that inspired him. The story is told in Ravilious's own words through a wealth of material drawn from a treasure trove of private correspondence and previously unseen archive.
It is produced by Margy Kinmonth for Foxtrot Films, who says: "As a filmmaker and artist myself, I am telling the story of an artist whose life was cut short by conflict. Ravilious was a brilliant painter whose art portrays a very British way of life, creating his unique point of view at a time of historic change. The film asks what his life and art tells us about the elusive concept of Englishness, and what it means to be a war artist."
The screening is timed to coincide with the Following Ravilious public art trail taking place in Newhaven this summer, and is one of a number of fringe events to enjoy.
Join us before the screening for a two course meal in the Hillcrest Café.
Meals will be served at 6.30pm in the Hillcrest Café. (We will email the menu prior to the event. A Vegetarian option will be available.)
Screening starts 7.30pm. Refreshments available from 7pm.
The evening is sponsored by Creative Newhaven and proceeds will support the running of the Hillcrest Centre.