Under The Cranes, a cinematic illustration of the history of Hackney went on show on Sunday the 12th May.

The event was split into two parts, the first centring on the screening of Emma-Louise Williams’ powerful film of the same title, which explored the world of the East London borough, from the council built maisonettes to the people who lived in them, based on Michael Rosen’s ‘Hackney Streets’, a self proclaimed ‘play of voices’.

The film beautifully weaved together a montage of both new and old footage, accompanied by a variety of narration, which ranged from personal recollections of war-time stories to traditional rhymes; patriotic pub choruses to a poem representing the ethnic minorities of Ghana.

What struck me most were the light-hearted songs of childhood echoing around the bleak images of derelict buildings, high-rise estates and post-Blitz streets. It gave somewhat of a sense of beauty to the most of ugly of situations.

The one criticism I could give is that the film was very much static and although it was meant as an aesthetic piece it could have benefitted from a more definite beginning and end to give the audience a structure to follow.

The screening was followed by a Q&A and a panel discussion including Michael Rosen, Emma Louise-Williams and author, Leo Hollis.

This focused on opinions on the history, regeneration and meditation of urban areas and evoked the question: ‘How can a city be for all of us?’

Overall, ‘Under The Cranes’ in the words of Williams’ film not only brought the world to Hackney, but brought Hackney to the world.