Last weekend hundreds of cycle and film lovers celebrated the Bicycle Film festival at the Barbican in London. After watching the Friday show, all of the films where unique and inspiring, but there where a few that stood out in particular. 

The silent film 'Boy' was very moving, and I couldn't help but hear a few nose sniffles at the end of people trying to disguise their emotion...me being one of them! Directed by Justin Chadwick and featuring actor Timothy Spall, the film tells the story of a carpenter at the Olympic Velodrome track and his cyclist son. Click here to watch it. 

The second that stood out was Line of Sight by Lucas Brunelle, who has travelled the world filming high speed races through busy city streets. Expect to sit on the the edge of your seats throughout...and whoever said cycling under water wasn't possible?! Great stuff! Check out the video here.

After being hit by a bus whilst out cycling in New York, Brendt Barbur was determined to turn his experience into something positive. So in 2001 he set up the Bicycle Film Festival to celebrate the bicycle through music, art and film! Since then it has grown into a world wide cycle-fest taking place in around 30 countries around the world. 

Next stop....Milano!! 

The Big Draw is the world’s biggest celebration of drawing and has grown into a month-long festival throughout October all over the UK. Every year more people across the world join Big Draw events and engage in creative activities. 

Which is why for the whole of October we want you all to get involved! We are calling all cyclists who either love to draw, or fancy getting back into it.

Gerard Scarfe is a Patron of the Campaign for Drawing and gave a fantastic talk at the launch of The Big Draw at the V&A in London on Sunday. Gerard is most famous for his animation for Pink Floyd, political cartoon work, and more recently, Walt Disney’s Hercules. Gerard said at the talk;

"At 8 or 9 years old we become self-concious and give up, which is sad as drawing is very therapeutic. Just start by picking up a pen and making a pattern". 

The Big Draw is part of The Campaign For Drawing. A small arts education charity that raises the profile of drawing as a tool for thought, creativity, social and cultural engagement.

The Campaign's work will finish when the words 
'I can't draw' are dropped from our vocabulary.

click on this link to find an event in your area!