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Matter of Britain (15*)

Open City Documentary Festival

,Cinema 3
A man sits inside a grand medieval building

An Arthurian fantasy and ethnographic documentary set in the landscape and social fabric of East Sussex.

Produced in collaboration with more than 300 local people, Matter of Britain unfolds as a collective act of storytelling. It interweaves documentary observations of contemporary life with staged performance, as community members assume the roles of knights, anchorites and devils in an enactment of a Quest for the Holy Grail.

Shot on 16mm, the film moves between scenes of labour, ritual gathering and play as it slips seamlessly into moments of mythic pageantry. A quiet tension develops between the Grail’s legendary capacity to restore the wasted land and the contemporary realities of ecological degradation. Moving between the ancient and the present, Matter of Britain explores how myths endure not as relics, but as shared practices continually remade through community. 

Cinema itself becomes reframed as a form of civic ritual.
 

Tagged with: Cinema Open City Documentary Festival

Followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.

Please note that this event has been locally classified and we suggest it is suitable for those aged 15+.

 

Film information
  • Release year   2026
  • Country of origin   UK
  • Director   Peter Treherne
  • Runtime   1hr 43mins

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Cinema 3

Location
Barbican Cinema 1 is located within the main Barbican building on Level -2. Head to Level G and walk towards the Lakeside Terrace where you’ll find stairs and lifts to take you down to the venue floor.   

Address
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London
EC2Y 8DS

Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.