Cinema
Dummy Jim (PG)

Monday 6 June 2016
15:00

Cinema, Horsebridge Arts Centre

Matt Hulse
(2013, UK, 87 mins)

Hulse worked for 12 years on this visual mix of documentary and fiction. A treat for the eyes and ears. Over 50 years ago, the deaf James Duthie (Dummy Jim) biked from his Scottish fishing village to the Arctic Circle and back again. When he got back home, he wrote down his experiences in the book I Cycled into the Arctic Circle, which he published himself. Years later, the mother of director Matt Hulse found this rarity and sent it to her son, who decided to film the eccentric story. Together with deaf actor and filmmaker Samuel Dore, Hulse set out on the long journey through northern Europe. Hulse mixed fictional and documentary elements into a virtuoso blend: unusual people in fictional Super8 films, playful animated sequences and archive footage of the era in the countries traversed. Back to the present, where the community gives the local hero a memorial and a gravestone. Hulse follows events closely, sketching a fascinating portrait of this small fishing community in the 21st century.

This screening took place on 6 June 2016. Tickets are no longer available.

Book tickets: £5 (£4 concessions).
Whitstable Biennale Film Pass: £15 (£10 concessions).