Synopsis:
Photography John Podpadec, courtesy of Commissions East
Bata-ville is a bittersweet record of a coach trip to the origins
of the Bata shoe empire in Zlín in the Czech Republic. Against
the backdrop of regeneration in their local communities, former
employees of the now-closed UK shoe factories in East Tilbury
(Essex) and Maryport (Cumbria) are led on a journey that begins as
a free holiday but soon becomes an opportunity for a collective
imagining of what entrepreneur Tomas Bata's maxim 'We are not
afraid of the future' means for them in 21st century Britain.
Inspired by the contrast between the idealism of Bata and the more
recent industrial decline of East Tilbury and Maryport,
host/directors Pope and Guthrie lead this unorthodox coach
party on a journey through Bata's legacy.
Synopsis:
Bata-ville is a bittersweet record of a coach trip to the origins
of the Bata shoe empire in Zlín in the Czech Republic. Against
the backdrop of regeneration in their local communities, former
employees of the now-closed UK shoe factories in East Tilbury
(Essex) and Maryport (Cumbria) are led on a journey that begins as
a free holiday but soon becomes an opportunity for a collective
imagining of what entrepreneur Tomas Bata's maxim 'We are not
afraid of the future' means for them in 21st century Britain.
Inspired by the contrast between the idealism of Bata and the more
recent industrial decline of East Tilbury and Maryport,
host/directors Pope and Guthrie lead this unorthodox coach
party on a journey through Bata's legacy.