Wholly Communion (Peter Whitehead 1965)

Wholly Communion is a short documentary film made in 1965 by British film-maker Peter Whitehead. It was filmed at the Royal Albert Hall, London, and documents a poetry event held on 11 June 1965 called the International Poetry Incarnation. It features poetry readings by Beat poets from the UK and U.S., including Allen Ginsberg, Michael Horovitz and Adrian Mitchell. The event was hosted by everyone's favourite sixties Scottish sometime-situationist beat junkie, Alexander Trocchi. Peter Whitehead's first independently produced film, won the Gold Medal at the prestigious Mannheim Documentary Film Festival 1966, and was shown at Film Festivals round the world. It was England's first cinema-verite documentary film - filmed with a silent Eclair camera - 'one of the audience' - at the legendary, spontaneous International Poetry Incarnation at the Albert Hall, London, 11th June 1965 - 7000 people unexpectedly filled the hall to listen to Beat poets from America - making the event into the first major "Happening".