In a British film scene increasingly dominated by multiplexes, Islington’s Screen on the Green remains a landmark. It may no longer be as independent as it once was – having been bought up 14 years ago by the Everyman department store – but still a notable North London stalwart, with its quirky half-moon facade, red neon signage, and heavy pavilion drawing crowds into one intimate hall. .
Programming these days blends artistic distinction with commercial necessity: This week’s bill, for example, balances “everything everywhere at once” and “Doctor Strange and the multiverse of madness,” with an offbeat short film showing and an album release over the weekend. the week. This balance of holistic and eccentric has made it a favorite of film lovers in London, and it is the legacy of its former owner, British show and distribution legend Romain Hart, who passed away last December at the age of 88.
In 1970, London native Hart—the daughter of a film director who showed her the ropes of programming and running theaters—acquired a family-owned mini-movie, The Rex, turning it into Screen on the Green. In doing so, she changed the face of a city art arena that was polished but not particularly fun, bringing a punk feel to the place that aligns with the increasingly audacious and experimental in filmmaking of the era.
Cinemas reopened with the premiere of Robert Redford’s stunning ski play “Downhill Racer” – a fitting compromise between mainstream and avant-garde sensibilities – with Laurence Olivier and Richard Attenborough among the stars in attendance. Hart’s programs for money have continued throughout the decade, drawing large crowds to the likes of Peter Weir’s “A Picnic at Hanging Rock”, Robert Altman’s “Nashville” and Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, and even challenging them with such provocations as John Waters’ Pink Flamingoes and Monty Python Life of Brian”. Moreover, she saw cinemas as more than just movie venues, as Screen on the Green—plus six other screen cinema venues it acquired in the wake of its groundbreaking success—will host comedy nights, poetry readings, and themed parties. Most famously, the all-night punk party, interspersed with movies interspersed with shows of sex pistols, Clash and Bozcocks.
Ultimately, just showing off a great cinema wasn’t enough for the cinema buff and aspiring businesswoman, and she got into the distribution game. Having founded her own brand, Mainline Pictures, in the late 1970s, she demonstrated the same playful, broad-minded sense of acquisitions she did on her shows. David Lynch “Eraserhead”, Rob Reiner’s “This Is Spinal Tap” and Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay!” It was among the eclectic films that she brought to the UK; In particular, she was keen on new talent, leaping into debuts by Kathryn Bigelow (“The Loveless”), Whit Stillman (“Metropolitan”) and Todd Haynes (“Poison”), among others.
Domestic cinema also flourished under her auspices. Although Stephen Frears’ queer drama “My Beautiful Laundrette” was initially destined for television – after it was produced for Channel 4 on a budget – its success at the Edinburgh Film Festival caught the eye, and forced Hart to screen it in cinemas, thus becoming one Technical breakthroughs in the year. As her career progressed, she gave more to the industry at all levels, sitting on the admissions board of the National School of Film and Television and serving on the board of the now-defunct National Film Finance Corporation.
Other professions flourished under her stewardship and influence, before her eventual retirement in 2008. BAFTA Award-winning producer Stephen Woolley (“The Crying Game”, “Carol”) began his journey to the cinema as a humble mentor on Screen on the Green; Later, as a programmer at Scala Cinema in London, he collaborated with her on the release of “Eraserhead”. In his own tribute to Hart, which was published in The Guardian, Woolley Cave stated, “As a woman in the slow, male-dominated British film industry of the 1970s, her wit, good taste, quick wit and infectious sense of humor stood out as a beacon of hope for many who followed.”
The Lagoon Releasing brand of producer and distributor Mike Kaplan capitalized on Hart’s seizing of its unusual nicknames (including innovative David Hockney hybrid doc “A Bigger Splash”) in the 1970s. “[She was] He’s a straightforward shooter who understood the art of film distribution, and a whirlwind of social fun,” he recalls. “Her antennae quickly discovered trends and talent, exploring new locations that would lead to her Screen brand. As opposed to dealing with the bureaucratic levels of the studio’s decision makers, Romain was a breath of fresh air.”
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