''Nice Time'' is a 1957

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

made by

Alain Tanner Alain Tanner (6 December 1929 – 11 September 2022) was a Swiss film director. Early years and education Tanner was born in Geneva, and studied economics at the University of Geneva. In 1951, he joined the film club which Claude Goretta had re ...

and

Claude Goretta Claude Goretta (23 June 1929 – 20 February 2019) was a Swiss television producer and film director. Life and Career His 1973 film '' L'Invitation'' was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His 1981 film '' La pr ...

in Britain and included in the third

Free Cinema Free Cinema was a documentary film movement that emerged in the United Kingdom in the mid-1950s. The term referred to an absence of propagandised intent or deliberate box office appeal. Co-founded by Lindsay Anderson (but he later disdained the ' ...

programme at the

National Film Theatre BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. Hist ...

, London in May 1957. It won the

Experimental Film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

prize at the film festival in Venice and much critical praise. It is approximately 17 minutes in length, and comprises 190 shots of crowds of leisure-seeking people taken over 25 weekends in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

's Piccadilly Circus. There is no narration, and no dialogue; a soundtrack consisting of several folk songs (including the American song "Greenback Dollar" and other

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United States ...

songs) ties shots together into groups, while there is little recorded sound from the scenes shown on screen. The filmmakers, both in their late twenties, made the documentary on a shoestring budget after receiving a grant of £240 from the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

. Chief among the film's subjects are movies and other entertainment; flirting, sex, and

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

; and salesmanship and commodity culture.

References

External links

* * 1957 films British short documentary films Films directed by Claude Goretta Films directed by Alain Tanner 1950s short documentary films Films without speech Films shot in London 1957 documentary films British avant-garde and experimental films 1950s avant-garde and experimental films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{UK-documentary-film-stub