Synopsis

Black-and-white footage of the E1 Festival 1975 features celebratory outdoor events including various games, events, competitions happening on a field in Stepney. The E1 Festival was a community run event that took place throughout the 1970s on vacant land in Stepney, East London. Originally set up to raise money for the Junior Football League, it was a weekend long event of music, performing arts, stalls, and activities for people of all ages.

The video zooms in on various activities: a mime skit, carnival target games and a bodybuilding competition set against the song ‘Superman’ by the Commodores. During the prize-giving ceremony, a woman jokes, “Let’s just hope they can perform that well in bed.” The camera zooms in on various signs at the festival: ‘Basement Writers’, ‘West Indian Food’, ‘Miss Tower Hamlets 1975’, and ‘For Sports, For the Future’.