Spirit of Albion

Produced in association with Britain’s ‘New Age Gypsies’, Albion is politically, emotionally, and spiritually a very moving film, providing a unique insight into the ways of travelling communities, the new nomads such as the ‘Peace Convoy’ and ‘Rainbow Village’, who continue to be the object of authoritarian hatred and brutality as they struggle to re-establish the ancient right to gather for solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, and search for a end to human exploitation and global destruction in the forthcoming New Age of our planet.
‘Alternative lifestyles continue to amaze, annoy and clash with establishment values in England as this fascinating film demonstrates…a film which is often as alternative in style as in subject matter…a film to make you wonder what is happening to England’s tradition of tolerance for eccentricity and new thought.’ – Ken Wlashin, Anthropos International Festival of Documentary Film, Los Angeles.
‘a range of rarely exposed views of contemporary Britain.’ – The Independent.
‘made from the convoy’s viewpoint, the film shows the honesty of their back-to-nature philosophy.’ – News On Sunday.
‘I think you’ll warm to them and to this disturbing and attractive film, ‘film of the week’.’ – Daily Mail.
‘Inviting the viewer to experience, rather than a safe anthropological distance…emotional insight, the revelation of a living community.’ – The Listener.
‘a unique insight.’ – Time Out.
‘This is the first film to examine the whole way of living of such groups and its themes are so relevant to this festival that it will be shown twice.’ – Glastonbury Festival.
‘The British cinema has new things to say. The technical means do not have to be sophisticated, but the language is direct and effective. The example is Spirit of Albion by Richard Philpott.’ – Rui Cardosa, Diario Popular, Lisbon, Portugal.
‘Like many of Richard Philpott’s previous films it explores a facet of the growing authoritarianism of contemporary British society. Spirit of Albion is a chilling and disturbing account of people whose major ‘crime’ appears to be their refusal to join the much-trumpeted ‘property-owning-democracy’.’ – Julian Petley, ‘Declaration of Independence’, Monthly Film Bulletin.