Joyce Skinner

• Joyce Skinner was born in 1920. Ebin.pub

• She originally trained to be a secondary school teacher, though that was interrupted by wartime events. Ebin.pub

• Her specialisms in her teaching career included art and physical education. Ebin.pub

Film-Making & Amateur Cinema Work

• Despite being a teacher, film was her passion. She borrowed a camera early on and began making films in her spare time. Ebin.pub

• She co-founded the South Birmingham Cine Society in the early 1950s. Ebin.pub

• In that club:
  • She and other women made films together, sometimes working separately from the male members in sub-groups. Ebin.pub
  • Joyce Skinner became chair of the club. Ebin.pub
  • She donated a trophy which she won repeatedly in competitions. Ebin.pub

Career Outside Film

• As a single person during her teaching career, she had flexibility to take opportunities outside school, which occasionally involved film commissions. Ebin.pub

• She attained the rank of Deputy-Head in her school career. Ebin.pub

Filmworks & Themes

• Her films often focused on educational, community, local life and travel themes. Subjects included:
  • School life, including inventive teaching setups (e.g. an improvised ski slope inside a school hall) Ebin.pub
  • Educational cruises, visits abroad, tours, and travelogue content. Ebin.pub
  • Commissioned work: films on electricity, safety / accident prevention, elderly care, disability, youth and career options. Ebin.pub
  • Wildlife & local nature – she recorded flora/fauna, for instance bird-box activity using small or closed circuit cameras. Ebin.pub
  • Documentaries of local & regional life: village anniversaries, floods. She also filmed from aerial viewpoints later in her life. Ebin.pub

Later Life & Technological Evolution

• After retiring from teaching, she continued making films for another 26 years, adapting to changing formats & technology (from film to Super-VHS, later digital). Ebin.pub

• Her interest in invention and nature persisted into later work. Ebin.pub

Recognition, Style & Impact

• Skinner’s work won respect within amateur film circles. Her competition successes (through the cine society and amateur cine competitions) earned her recognition from male and female peers alike. Ebin.pub

• Some commissioned films meant she was paid modestly, but that had implications, for example, making some works ineligible for certain competitions like those run by Amateur Cine World. Ebin.pub

• Her quote: “If I had known how things were going to progress … and there had been the openings, I think I would have enjoyed a job as a filmmaker,” reflects how she saw amateur filmmaking almost as a parallel career. Ebin.pub