Stage invasion at the NFT

Tony pretty much lived at the NFT in the early 80s. “This was my film school! I’d spend all day here – it was fantastic. It took me a ling time to understand the structure of a film.

He was weaned on Hollywood biblical epics, so the experimental films were a steep, exciting learning curve

We skate into NFT screen 1, unsettling the woman who’s just about to open it for a screening. Everything seems bigger in memory, according to Tony as he stands on the stage, watched by bewildered members of a gathering film audience. This memory of hugeness is true of synagogue and silver screen room – both places of worship in one way or another.

And now we’re off to the Kabbalah Centre at Tavistock Place, “where all the pennies from heaven fell into place” for Tony, in the blissfully comfy Nissan Cube…