Shepherd's Bush

A quintessential Co-op film made using the contact printer

A quintessential Co-op film, Shepherd’s Bush was made through a process contrary to the generally accepted method of making a film: without a script, without a camera. The entity of the film was conceived in response to the Debrie Matipo step contact printer used at the Co-op workshop, and to its precise control of the light reaching the film stock so that a series of transformation are effected on a loop of film material.

Founded in 1966, the London Film-Makers’ Co-operative started life at Better Books, a counter-culture bookshop on Charing Cross Road, where a group led by poet Bob Cobbing and filmmakers Stephen Dwoskin and Jeff Keen met to screen films. Initially inspired by the activities of the New American Cinema Group in New York, the London Co-op grew into a pioneering organisation that incorporated a film workshop, cinema space and distribution office. During its four-decade history, the Co-op played a crucial role in establishing film as an art form in the UK and participated in a vibrant international film scene. This BFI Player collection brings together new scans of films distributed by and/or produced at the London Co-op.