Shoreditch-Occupy London-Ladderview Movie Night

Last Saturday I was invited to a film club screening by a close friend of mine. My friend T is a real film buff who is full of creative ideas and unexpected activities. When she said the film club was called Ladderview, and that I should bring a blanket with me I knew another special zeal was awaiting me. “A blanket? Where are we going to watch the movie” I asked. T answered “We will watch it at School of Ideas, which might be a little cold at night. Did you think that we were going to sit at home to watch a movie like couch potatoes?” That was when I realised Ladderview wasn’t only about watching a movie, it was the whole experience with movies and spaces. We were going to watch the movie somewhere related to the theme. T added quickly, “Just be at the School of Ideas at 7pm, and don’t forget to bring a blanket.” School of Ideas? Blankets? Movies and spaces? I was wondering what T got me into. When I arrived at the School of Ideas, I realised why the building was named after such a utopian style. It was a derelict school building squatted by the Occupy London protesters. Previously, the school was called Bank of Ideas for protesting against the banks of London. Recently, the school got a more organised face, running activities for local people with discussions, film screenings and workshops. I thought the School of Ideas was a much better name. At the school hall, people were gathered all wearing various colours of the rainbow, chatting brightly. Coloured paperboards were scattered around the floor and the walls. This school seemed to have a lot of colourful ideas.

I stepped inside the movie room where everyone was smiling kindly and introducing themselves. In the next room there was a group of people meditating quite eccentrically. Some chanting from the meditating room still could be heard in the chilling movie room. As Ladderview members and guests, we settled down with our blankets. A mild breeze of friendship was warming up the cold room when we were ready to see our German movie about squatting and political activism. What To Do In Case of Fire? (Was tun,wenn’s brennt?) was telling a funny story about six former anarchists who lived as squatters in Berlin in 1987. As they got older, activists went and carved their own separate lives. The movie narrated the idealism of the youth vis-à-vis the necessities of the daily life. I was giggling at how the left-wings became capitalists with humour whilst watching Berlin in the background. During the movie the freezing cold inside the School of Ideas made me think about the Occupy London protesters in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral, surviving in their tents in the cold weather. What those activists were doing for changing the world was marvelling.

After the screening, while the Ladderview members were gathering to go to a pub for a discussion, I had a chance to glance through the charts at school. The papers on the walls were full of plans, and ideas from the Occupy protesters. Everything they had written was very idealistic: world peace, better jobs for everyone, free education etc. Yet, I still could not see what method they wanted to follow to pursue these goals. The Ladderview members chose a nearby pub for discussion. We were all impressed by watching a squatting movie in a squatted

 

building. The club was a brilliant way of movie watching. The founder of the club, an inspiring Slovakian girl, Barbora explained their previous screenings. The members of the club had climbed to a roof to see In the Mood for Love and had been to a crypt of a church for Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow . These people really loved film and spaces (the motto of Ladderview). I kept on discussing the movie with the people I met that night among whom there were Greek, Bosnian, Canadian, Slovakian and Turkish citizens. With the amicable conversation flowing in the air people were feeling more connected. I looked at our drinks on the table. I could see a variety of German hefeweizen, Czech lager, English tea, Italian wine…I started wondering, “Why is it difficult to see the whole picture of certain issues, like globalisation?” I certainly think Occupy Movement is a great idea. There should be some action against the growing gap between the rich and the poor all over the world. Raising your voice is important but the more important thing is what you say. It is not enough to say globalisation is bad for local economies. One should be able to see what globalisation really brings and takes from societies. Globalisation brought me to Shoreditch that night to see a movie about German activists and meet with people all around the world. So the diversity slice of the globalisation cake did not taste bad at all. After all, Shoreditch is the place to have a huge yummy slice of diversity. That’s why we love it, coming from all different backgrounds and occupying this beautiful district of London. Perhaps some of you might wonder what Mr. Purple was doing while I was getting all Dharma (I mean the hippy-happy chick in Dharma &Greg). Well, he was watching a movie that night too…At a pub…Predator! Aren’t we made for each other? Such a diverse couple!