‘Lights on for the Territory’ explores some of the issues of representation raised by John Wallett’s map of East London which was commissioned for On the Wrong Side of the Track?. The map itself includes a ‘Hall of Fame’ and depicts the cultural and political geography of the area, both in the past and present, with a nod in the direction of Iain Sinclair. The film introduces the concepts of map and territory, and depicts the technical and aesthetic process of narrative cartography.
The film is the part of a larger project working with students and communities in East London to produce new mappings of the area’s past, present and future. The aim is to challenge the dominant images and discourses of deprivation that have defined the East End as site of urban regeneration and social reform.
The film has been produced by Aura Films, a video production company who have won a number of online competitions hosted by companies including Dell, Microsoft, Cisco and Aldi and their various short films have won awards at festivals around the world. Aura Films also organise Film Colchester a networking group for local aspiring filmmakers and screenwriters and the Colchester Film Festival an international short film festival, which is growing in popularity across the UK and Europe. More information about this project can be found here: www.livingmaps.org.uk