Seeking Sydney

The documentary Seeking Sydney, explores the work and life of Sydney Bligh. Bligh specialised in making newsreels of Canterbury during the 1930s, many of which were filmed in colour. His films are a significant record of local history and include internationally significant sequences of the Canterbury Cathedral Plays. These feature T.S. Eliot at the first performances of Murder in the Cathedral and Dorothy L Sayers with her first performances of The Zeal of Thy House and The Devil To Pay. Seeking Sydney reveals the importance of these sequences.

Seeking Sydney also provides insight into Count Zborowski’s long lost private railway. The Count was a multimillionaire who built his own racing cars and was the inspiration for Ian Flemings’ Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The Count was also known for building a mile-long 15” gauge railway around his estate. This has long fascinated railway enthusiasts as no visual record was thought to exist. Seeking Sydney reveals the route of the long-lost track. and features the Count on the railway in 1924 where he recreates favourite scenes from Hollywood films of the era.Seeking Sydney provides an insight into the scope, ambition and technical level of an early amateur filmmaker.

This film has won an award of excellence at the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Film Festival, the Headline International Film Festival and at Cinema World Fest. It was also selected for the Kiwi International Film Festival and the Short Film Awards in New York.