MEMBERS of the Walthamstow Amateur Cinevideo Club have been making films from the early days of cinema right up to the digital age.

The club will celebrate its Golden Jubilee this week with a screening of a documentary about its history.

The club was founded in 1949 by film enthusiasts who left the 100-year-old Walthamstow and District Photographic Club because they were more interested in cinematography.

The club has moved with the times and embraced new technology.

Members began shooting with gauge 9.5mm cine film in its early days - giving the club its original name Circle 9:5 - and now shoots with a miniature digital video camera.

Scenery is created at the club's hall and IT analyst John Butcher, a member for five years, said the group does most of filming there these days because they don't have to get permission from the authorities.

He said: “To give you an idea how times have changed, we once filmed one of our members crossing London Bridge brandishing a duelling pistol in the middle of the rush hour. These days he would have been arrested by armed officers before he got half-way across. At the time no-one batted an eyelid.”

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

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 in the same year.

Chairman and treasurer Adrian Owen has been a member for 10 years and said many members dabble in performance as well as the technical side of filming.

He said: “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.”

The Golden Jubilee screenings take place on 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.