An hidden love story that’s been waiting in the wings for decades to be told is coming to York for the first time.
A revelatory documentary uncovering the untold love story behind David Lean’s 1945 romantic tragedy Brief Encounter – which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year – is having its Northern debut.
Briefest Encounters – An Untold Love Story is being shown at City Screen Picturehouse in York on Friday 10 April.
Journalist Joanna Crosse discovered the secret past of her grandfather, actor Cyril Raymond, who played the quietly betrayed husband in the iconic film. Through letters, diaries, interviews and archive material, this documentary traces how a real life ‘Brief Encounter’ between two actors during a transatlantic stage production resulted in a child being born out of wedlock.
That child, Nicholas Crosse, was not only brought up in Yorkshire but ended up playing alongside Dame Judi Dench in the York Mystery Plays – a tradition rooted in collective storytelling and the passing of tales across generations.
He was also Chairman of the Bradford Area of the York Minster Appeal Fund contributing to the preservation of one of the county’s most important spiritual and architectural landscapes.
Joanna trained as a journalist in Yorkshire and has worked in newspapers, radio and television at different stages of her career.
She and her colleague Luke Taylor at Meaningful Films premiered Briefest Encounters on the 80th anniversary of Lean’s iconic film in Bath where they both live but York is the first stop on a national tour.
After sell-out screenings they have been ‘encouraged by the very positive response’ from audience goers.
On Friday 10 April there will be a double bill screening of Brief Encounter followed by the documentary Briefest Encounters with a Q&A with Joanna Crosse and Luke Taylor from Meaningful Films.
