Oscar-winning director Arnold Schwartzman OBE RDI, who is a graduate of UCA Canterbury, is making a documentary about Margate - the town he grew up in.
Arnold Schwartzman said: “Margate Paradiso will be a nostalgic love letter to Margate, but it will also look to the future.
“I have a deep desire to offer a personal salute to the Margate of my youth and have collected film clips and photographs to show why it was such a popular holiday destination for 200 years and that despite the decline in tourism it can still be a town to be proud of.
“I also want to try to put down all of the horrible aspects of Margate that some people have been highlighting in recent years and help put Margate back on the map.”
Arnold gave a talk to the public talk about his plans at the Walpole Bay Hotel on Sunday 25 September 2011. The Mayor of Margate and numerous council members were in attendance.
“Inspired by Cinema Paradiso, a film by an Italian filmmaker who returned to his hometown as a successful filmmaker, I will tell the story from a cinema projection booth which is where my career in film also began,” he added.
"The town is picking up rapidly, with the Turner Contemporary gallery and the development of Dreamland and so on. So I think my planned documentary is quite timely.”
Filming for Margate Paradiso will begin early next year and will be crewed by students and graduates from UCA’s different campuses.
“I’m not looking for a cheap crew, I wanted to give something back to UCA and I think it’s a great opportunity for students and graduates to get professional experience and learn,” explained Arnold.
“My cameraman is cinematographer Davide Cinzi from UCA Farnham, whose film was nominated for an Oscar earlier this year. I love working with younger people and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Uwe Derksen, co- producer and fellow governor at UCA, said: “This project is not only inspirational to the local people of Margate but also to UCA’s students and staff who will see many of their famous alumni involved.
“It is a real pleasure and honour to work with an Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker and I’m sure all of the UCA students and graduates who work on the film will be very grateful to Arnold for giving them the opportunity to learn from him and boost their showreels and CVs.”
Last week, Arnold treated the public to a free talk at UCA Farnham (22 September) as part of the university’s “An Evening With…” series.
He spoke about his 52-year career in film, television, graphics and illustration with stories about his work with The Rolling Stones, Orson Welles and Elizabeth Taylor. He complemented these and other anecdotes with photos and film clips of him and the Hollywood elite, including Steven Spielberg, John Travolta and George Clooney.
Margate Paradiso is due to be released Summer 2012.
Visit www.margateparadiso.com for more information.
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