Arena

Listen to Britain AND Housing Problems

Presents two classic films from the early days of documentary. Featured in last month's True to Life? edition, they're shown complete for the first time on British television. Listen to Britain made in 1941 by HUMPHREY JENNINGS, is a poetic evocation of the spirit with which - and for which - Britain was fighting the war. Housing Problems made in 1935 by Arthur ELTON and EDGAR ANSTEY , simply ' reported ' from the heart of London's East End slums, giving ordinary people a voice for the first time in cinema history. The 'father' of documentary, John Grierson hoped it would give people ' a living sense of what is going on'. In quite different ways, both these films did exactly that. Introduced by Gavin Millar