All aboard the Floating Cinema

Ship shape ... The Floating Cinema. Photograph: Teri Pengilley for the Guardian

It is possibly the only cinema in the UK equipped with life jackets and buoyancy aids – and it is in the vanguard of the cultural events that will surround the Olympics. Two years ago the Cole was a tattered narrowboat with no roof, plumbing or electrics: now it has been transformed into a 12-seat floating cinema that for the next two months will be navigating the waterways of east London.

The Floating Cinema is funded by the Arts Council and commissioned by the Olympic Delivery Authority and it is the brainchild of curator Emma Underhill. "The waterways are the arteries that run through the Olympic parks," she said, "so when we were invited to put forward a proposal for a project that would engage the communities that live in the host boroughs it seemed natural to explore the waterways."

On a traditional British summer evening with the weather veering wildly from lashing rain to bright sunshine, the Floating Cinema hosted a talk from screen historian Ian Christie. As the narrowboat set off from Old Ford Lock in east London, assistant curator Laura wound the windlass to allow water in the lock to reach a high enough level for the boat to move through.

Christie gave a PowerPoint lecture about films shot in the area. He pointed to gas holders near Mare Street Bridge featured in David Cronenberg's Spider and indicated locations used in Mike Leigh's Secrets and Lies and Stephen Frears's Dirty Pretty Things.

As the boat cruised through the green water of the canal, talk was occasionally punctuated by cries of "Oh my God! A floating cinema!" from bemused drunken young people staggering along the footpaths that line the canal. The cinema's programme has been created by Hackney-based arts group Somewhere, which comprises Karen Guthrie and Nina Pope.

"The films we are showing are mostly documentaries," said Pope, "and they are all relevant to the canal or this part of London."

So no chance of a narrowboat screening of Titanic or The Poseidon Adventure? "I'm afraid not." As well as talks, the Floating Cinema will also present larger outdoor screenings for canal-side audiences – with the films projected from the boat – and informal drop-ins on Thursdays that don't require pre-booking, and where visitors can meet the crew and watch a selection of short films. There are also guided tours, including some to the Olympic site.

"The only way the public can ordinarily go to the site is on a bus tour," said Pope, "but we are taking tours right into the Olympic park on a part of the river that has only recently been dredged. It will give people the chance to see the stadium, the Anish Kapoor orbital and the Zaha Hadid aquatic park."

The rain had cleared and the sun was out by the time the Cole moored up at the Waterhouse Restaurant in Shoreditch. Those who had booked tickets for the film tour disembarked and a lively queue had already formed for the evening's film screening. At the front of the queue was a small group of Germans. "I am with some friends from Berlin," said Nicholas, "and this seems a nice way to show them London and have a beer."

"I like this is alternative way to see London," said Charlene, "and I think its cool there is renewed interested in the city ahead of the Olympics." The Floating Cinema is due to end in September but its creators say if they can find more funding they hope to revive it next year when the Olympics finally reaches London.

View the original article here