Free Party: A Folk History

30 May 2025 - Press release

A DOCUMENTARY BY AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR AARON TRINDER
FREE PARTY: A FOLK HISTORY 

THE UNTOLD STORY OF HOW RAVE CULTURE SHOOK THE SYSTEM AND SPARKED A GLOBAL REVOLUTION 

FEATURING SPIRAL TRIBE, BEDLAM, CIRCUS WARP, DiY SOUND SYSTEM, YOUTH (KILLING JOKE), COLIN DALE, CHARLIE HALL (DRUM CLUB) and many more

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW FOR WORLDWIDE VIRTUAL PREMIERE ON 30 MAY 

http://freepartydoc.info/streaming 

Free Party: A Folk History is a major new independent documentary by Aaron Trinder that tells the untold story of the free party movement and its explosive impact on music, culture and protest – from the infamous 1992 Castlemorton free festival to the introduction of the Criminal Justice Act in 1994. Featuring first-hand accounts from those at the heart of the scene, the film offers a rare, insider’s view of a movement that changed a generation. Following film festival screenings across the world, the documentary will make its public streaming debut at a virtual premiere on 30th May. £15 Early Bird tickets (including the full film and five bonus features) are on sale now, rising to £20 from 23 May, available at http://freepartydoc.info/streaming.
 
In the wake of the government crackdown on acid house’s early ‘pay parties’, the UK’s underground rave scene faced extinction. Clubland had gone commercial, £50-a-ticket rip-offs were rife, and the energy of the ‘second summer of love’ looked spent. But in 1990, something new sparked into life.
 
Free Party: A Folk History shares the untold story of how ravers, travellers and sound systems like DiY, Spiral Tribe and others came together to rewrite the rules. Across squats, warehouses, and open fields, a radical new underground was born — away from the clubs, away from the increasing commercialisation. The movement grew rapidly, reaching a flashpoint at Castlemorton Common in 1992, leading directly to the Criminal Justice Act of 1994, bringing in sweeping new laws to crush the movement.
 
Featuring first-hand stories from the likes of Spiral Tribe, DiY, Bedlam and Circus Warp, Free Party: A Folk History captures a vital, rarely told moment in UK cultural history — one that resonates today, as new laws across Europe continue to target protests, trespassing, and gatherings.
 
Aaron Trinder said: “This film is a unique look at a much-underrepresented moment in cultural history. It was the last great unifying youth movement before the digital age, one that challenged the authorities, connected environmental awareness with music, and questioned laws on land rights and trespass. With new laws criminalizing trespass and protest across Europe, the story is more relevant than ever.”
 
Mark Angelo Harrison: co-founder of Spiral Tribe said: “The British establishment buries people’s history, celebrating the powerful while criminalising grassroots movements — just as it did with the Free Festival and Free Party scenes. This documentary uncovers the untold story of one of the UK’s most outlawed cultural movements. Intelligent, independent, and defiant, it challenges the commodified idea of social space — and celebrates a movement that, despite relentless repression, keeps on bustin’ new moves. A living history that doesn’t miss a beat.”
 
Early bird tickets are £15 (rising to £20 from 23 May) and include access to the virtual premiere on 30 May — featuring the full film and five exclusive bonus features, including ‘A Conversation with Jeremy Deller’, A Traveller’s Tale (an interview with Alan ‘Tash’ Lodge), Q&As with sound systems and the filmmakers, and unseen scenes. The virtual premiere takes place on 30 May showing all films in one evening, then all films will be available on-demand for 3 days afterwards.
 
Further information and tickets are available at: http://freepartydoc.info/streaming.