Cinemagazine 63 was a film by The Ministry of Education Barbados which was produced by the Barbados Film Unit highlighting five key events of 1963 in a cine magazine format. It can be found in The AP Archive (Associated Press Archive) which contains historical and contemporary film and video dating back to 1893. The AP Archive sister channel, British Movietone, contains additional video footage from 1893 – 1986. Another great source is the British Pathé news archive.

The origin of the Barbados Film Unit (BFU) is tied to the Colonial Film Unit (CFU) which was a propaganda and educational film production unit of the British government. It was part of Britain’s Ministry of Information. It was originally established in 1939 to produce British war propaganda. After Word War II the CFU transitioned to making instructional films. Training filmmakers was an important part of the unit’s remit.

An early role model of the BFU was the Jamaican Film Unit (JFU) established in 1951 as a division of the CFU to make films for Jamaicans, by Jamaicans, with Jamaicans.

The CFU was disbanded in 1955.

Cinemagazine 63 by the the Barbados Film Unit is a 19 minute movie which covered five key events of 1963:

1. Space shot from Barbados (position 0:18) First firing of HARP using the original 65-foot long, 16” calibre naval cannon – which was later joined to another barrel, extending the length of this super-gun to 120 feet.
2. University Status – UWI (position 6:40) After 14 years of sponsorship by the University of London, celebration service of the UWI being granted independence held at St. Mary’s Church Bridgetown.
3. Barbados Extra Mural Centre UW (position 8:20) Opening of the Extra Mural Centre of the UWI at the Pine by HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone – Chancellor of the UWI.
4. Clapham Observatory (position 10:36) Opening of The Harry Bayley Observatory at Clapham.
5. School Meals Service (position 14:18) Pilot scheme to give hot meals to children attending Government Schools in Barbados.

Do you recognise anyone in Cinemagazine 63? Please leave a comment of anyone you recognise to help preserve this history.

If you enjoyed this look back in time you may also enjoy these:

• Bridgetown – Barbados – Lady Coal Shovelers In British West Indies (1920-1929) – British Pathé
• Barbados And Grenada (1953) – British Pathé
• Princess Margaret In Barbados Selected Originals (1955) – British Pathé
• Bridgetown Barbados, 1960s – Film 97403 (No sound) – Huntley Film Archive
• Barbados Inauguration – (No Sound) – 6 December 1966 – AP Archive / British Movietone