Film by UCL director examines the lines between life and death, fact and myth

This Blessed Plot is directed by Associate Professor Marc Isaacs (UCL Anthropology), and is centred around Lori, a Chinese student filmmaker and her efforts to document and capture people's lives in the small Essex town of Thaxted.

In this pastoral setting, the film examines the boundaries between life and death, fact and fiction and the origins of English mythmaking, and Lori discovers that that ghosts from the past offer insight into England’s past and present state.

Professor Isaacs said: “Having taught at UCL for a while and having taught a lot of students from around the world, I got quite interested in sending them out into the world to make these films and they’re often in the UK for the first time so they’re discovering England. I started to think about that idea of a Chinese student going out to give us a sort of outsiders take on England and these myths.”

Written by Professor Adam Ganz, of Royal Holloway University of London, the screenplay is built around Lori and the many inhabitants and elements rooted in the picturesque town.

Professor Isaacs said: “The themes I’m dealing with in the film are very much about looking at the creation of myths on both the sort of personal level and on the national, social level. We look at how the characters curate and mythologise their own lives.”

While the story itself is fanciful, Professor Isaacs use techniques that blur the line between fact and fiction. This “hybrid feature film” showcases a cast that are all non-professional actors whose characters draw inspiration from their real-life backgrounds. Most of the cast are from the area, and many have been featured in Professor Isaacs’ previous works including his documentary films. The film also draws on elements from the town’s history, highlighting its early 20^th century socialist vicar Conrad Noel, excerpts from the Boulting Brothers’ 1939 documentary Ripe Earth, the cultural importance of local folk dances, and a film score using music by classical composer and Thaxted resident Gustav Holst.

“It was great fun” Professor Isaacs said.

“We had a really good time making the film and the people in the town were happy to welcome us. We have a screening planned for inside the church and it will be interesting to see how the town reacts to seeing themselves in that way. It’ll be quite fascinating. They were very open and excited to have people turn up there and show an interest in their place.”

Professor Isaacs is best known for producing documentaries exploring a range of topics including the legal system, multiculturalism and the nature of work. In a 20-year career his films have won numerous UK and international prizes. In recent years he has begun to transition into more fictional narrative films, starting with his documentary 2020 film The Filmmaker’s House.

Professor Isaacs said: “What I really enjoy is to pose questions about things rather than give answers. It’s provoking us to think about how we construct our relationship to our identity on a personal level and also on a social level or national level when it comes to ideas of country and belonging.”

This Blessed Plot is set to premiere at the Curzon Bertha DocHouse cinema in Bloomsbury on 24 January, followed by a stint at the ArtHouse cinema in Crouch End before ultimately coming to BFI Player and Curzon Home Cinema.

Links

• Professor Marc Isaacs’ academic profile
• UCL Anthropology
• UCL Faculty of Social & Historical Sciences
• Showings at the Curzon Bertha DocHouse, The Garden Cinema and ArtHouse Crouch End

Media Contact

Mike Lucibella

• E: m.lucibella [at] ucl.ac.uk