This Town

An impressionistic portrait of Halfax from 1969, focusing on the demolition of factories and the continuing deprivation in the town.

An impressionistic portrait of Halfax, focusing on the large-scale demolition of old housing stock and remnants of the town’s industrial factories. Despite the promises of reconstruction and the relocation of many residents to suburban areas, we witness the deprivation that still persists when the film was made in 1969.

Benefitting from the funding of the BFI Production Board (intended to subsidise experimental and other non-commercial filmmaking), director Hugh Evans eschews commentary in favour of natural sounds and a rendition of a 19th century folksong, "Poverty Knock".