The search is on to find the schoolchildren of Norton Park Secondary School whose playground songs and street games were captured on film by a group of local pioneering filmmakers in 1951.

“The Singing Street” is screening on its 60th anniversary as part of the special live film event A KIND OF SEEING: MEMORIES AND MYTHS during the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) on Saturday 18 June 2011 at 1.10pm in the Filmhouse Cinema. Now in its third year at EIFF, A KIND OF SEEING was conceived by independent curator Shona Thomson to shine a light into the darker corners of the Scottish Screen Archive where more than 100 years of Scottish film history is preserved.

A KIND OF SEEING: MEMORIES AND MYTHS is a live, guided tour through a selection of archive films rarely seen on the big screen, exploring how representations of the past can influence our memories. From the classic Scottish seaside holiday myth, through the nostalgic final days of the Capital’s trams, to the entertaining personal memories of comedian Stanley Baxter as one of Scotland’s best-loved pantomime dames.

Shona Thomson said: “A KIND OF SEEING gives us all a chance to watch the cream of Scotland’s celluloid history where it belongs – in the cinema. I love the fact I can watch the trams charging up Dundas Street or hear the songs that were sung on the streets of my home city in the 1950s. It’s thanks to the Scottish Screen Archive that these films have a future: to continue to be enjoyed by those that were there and by those that weren’t. There’s so much to learn from them and from the memories the films evoke for audiences.”

Made in 1951 on the streets around Easter Road and Abbeyhill, The Singing Street was co-directed by art teacher Raymond Townsend, artist and former Evening News writer Nigel McIsaac, and Dalry-born science teacher, poet and collector James Ritchie. The film was originally screened at the then fledgling Edinburgh International Film Festival in 1952 so this is a homecoming screening for the film on the 60th anniversary of its production. As part of the celebrations, Raymond Townsend’s daughter and James Ritchie’s niece will be participating in a question and answer session after the screening alongside Alistair Bell, Assistant Curator at the Scottish Screen Archive, and Dr Julia Bishop, an esteemed children’s folklorist based at the University of Aberdeen.

Dr Bishop is writing the history of this pioneering research into children’s songs and games and said: “I am keen to hear from anyone who remembers the Norton Park Group teachers or knew any of the children who appeared in their films. The Singing Street was the first film documentary about play and is a vivid evocation of the sights and sounds of childhood.”

Anyone interested in being involved in the research are invited to make contact with Dr Bishop at the event on Saturday 18 June or email her directly julia.bishop@blueyonder.co.uk . Tickets cost £6 (£5 concessions) and can be bought online at www.edfilmfest.org.uk , by phone on 0131 623 8030, or in person at the Filmhouse Cinema, Edinburgh.

Additional Information
The Scottish Screen Archive is Scotland's national moving images collection based at the National Library of Scotland. It preserves over 100 years of Scottish history on film and video. More information: www.nls.uk/ssa

The 65th Edinburgh International Film Festival is on from 15-26 June 2011. More details on the programme can be found at www.edfilmfest.org.uk