In the Beginning

The Arts Council commissioned this film to coincide with their major retrospective of Giacometti's work at the Tate Gallery (now Tate Britain) in the summer of 1965. A similar exhibition was held concurrently at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, sealing the artist's reputation as a modern master.

This documentary asks whether London really was 'swinging' during the 1960s. The film follows arts reporter Robert Hughes, writer Lewis Nkosi and journalist Olivier Todd to gather an Australian, African and French perspective on whether London really deserved its reputation as being a 'swinging, switched on' city. They begin their journey in Carnaby Street, the Mecca of swinging London.