IAC-club showed films on the Continent

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Willy
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Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 10:42 pm
Location: Antwerp Belgium

IAC-club showed films on the Continent

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What a fantastic experience again! The "Haywards Heath Movie Makers" were in Belgium for a return visit. My former club, "Focus Vaartland", visited the "Haywards Heath Movie Makers" in September 2009.

On their way to the beautiful medieval town of Lier the HHMM had a pit stop in Passchendaele. Their guide was Freddy Declerck, the chairmain of the Passchendaele Society. He told everything about the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. 500,000 young soldiers were killed in that part of Belgium in a period of only 100 days . Freddy Declerck met Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II 4 yours ago when she was in Tyne Cot Cemetery to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the battle. The HHMM also visited Langemark Cemetery. Thousands of German young men were burried there.

After a guided walk in the City of Lier the English club showed some of their films in a Belgian club called "Cycloop Schilde". A memorable evening! The last film in the English programme was the Unica-film "Letters" by Ron Prosser, your present IAC-chairman. Len Skipper, the chairman of the "Haywards Heath Movie Makers", introduced every film. The evening started with a reception. More than one glass of cava wine was offered and also some toasts with Belgian paté. During the interval the "Cycloop"-ladies were the waitresses. They gave Belgian fruit tarts and chocolates. The last Belgian film that was shown was called "Dancing in the Air", one of my newest fiction films. Philip Martin and Ron Prosser made a contribution to that film some years ago. So it was an Anglo-Belgian production.

The following day the HHMM were in Antwerp, the Capital of Flanders. The famous painters Peter Paul Rubens and Antony Van Dyck lived there for many years. I told them that the Antwerpians are known in Belgium for not being too modest. I was born in this Metropolis, the centre of the world... Ron, Rod, Ken and other HHMM-members took their cameras... Maybe for a new film reportage. In a Belgian pub they tried our Belgian beers Duvel, Bolleke, Hoppus and Trappist. Unbelievable! They were not tipsy after a few glasses! The ladies seemed to enjoy our "kriek", our cherry beer, and of course also our chocolates.

We talked and talked and talked. Of course about making films, about cameras, about casablancas and other computer systems, about the IAC, BIAFF? Ebensee, Unica, ... but also about the Royal Wedding, about the cup final, about this and about that. Maybe that's what we should do more in the future : inviting clubs and paying them a return visit.
Willy Van der Linden
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