A GROUP of film ethusiasts have been making dramas and documentaries for 60 years and is celebrating its anniversary with a special screening.

The Walthamstow Amateur Cinevideo Club was founded in 1949 by three film enthusiasts as a splinter group from the 100-year-old Walthamstow and District Photographic Club.

Since using film in the early days, through to the digital age, members have been meeting weekly and are currently based at a hall in Barnabas Road, Walthamstow, where they build sets and shoot scenes for films, one of which won awards.

In the 1960s, its drama 'Backfire', about a man who tries to murder his wife and accidentally kills himself, won tenth place in Amateur Cineworld's '10 Best Films in the World' and the Alfred Hitchcock Cup at the Edinburgh Film Festival for its short film in the same year.

The club has an archive of dramas and comedies, as well as documentaries, including 'Hollywood E17' which documents the history of Walthamstow's film studios in the 1940s.

They have also been documenting Waltham Forest since the 1940s with a collection of film clips, which are archived at Vestry House Museum in Walthamstow.

Chairman and treasurer Adrian Owen has been a member for 12 years and says that it is a great hobby in allowing members to learn about the technical side of filming as well as dabbling in performance.

He said: “It is such a wide scope of hobbies. It is not just holding a camera, we have members getting involved in sound, direction, scenery and acting.

“We don't take it too seriously, we do it for our own enjoyment and it lightens life up a bit more.”

The 66-year-old said he thinks it is the enthusiasm of the members which has kept the club going for so many years and he hopes it will continue for another 60.

The club is marking its Golden Jubilee with a screening of a selection of short films on Saturday, October 17, at St Mary's Welcome Centre, Church End, Walthamstow. Entry is free but space is limited so call 8520 3463 or email waccpost@wacvc.org.uk.

Anyone wishing to join or find out more can contact the club on the same number.