About The Elstree Project
The history of one studio town — and the film and television it gave the world
The Elstree Project is an ongoing oral-history and research project dedicated to recording, preserving and sharing the history of Elstree and Borehamwood’s eight film and television studio sites, the UK’s only “studio town”.
For more than a century, productions made in this small area of Hertfordshire have been watched by audiences around the world. From 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars and The Shining to The Muppet Show, The Crown and EastEnders, Elstree and Borehamwood have made an extraordinary contribution to international film and television.
The Elstree Project explores that history through the people who created it.
Recording the people behind the productions
Since 2010, we have filmed more than 80 in-depth interviews with actors, directors, producers, technicians, craftspeople and studio staff.
Our interviewees include internationally recognised figures such as Steven Spielberg, Sir Roger Moore, Dame Diana Rigg, Dame Barbara Windsor, Sir Ken Adam, Brian Blessed, Christiane Kubrick and Trevor Horn. Just as importantly, the archive preserves the experiences of camera crews, editors, carpenters, grips, scenic artists, assistant directors, production managers, publicists, studio administrators, chefs and many others whose work took place behind the scenes.
We believe that every contribution matters. The history of a studio is not only the history of its stars and directors, but of the whole community of people whose skill, ingenuity and hard work made production possible.
Together, these interviews provide a unique first-hand record of studio life: how productions were organised, how creative and technical problems were solved, how departments worked together, and what it was really like to spend a career inside the studios.
Eight studio sites
The Project documents the histories of eight principal film and television studio sites in Elstree and Borehamwood:
Eldon Avenue (Fairbanks Studios), Shenley Road (Elstree Studios), Elstree Way (MGM), Imperial Studios, Danziger’s New Elstree Studios, Station Road (The Gate), Millennium Studios and Sky Studios Elstree.
Some of these sites have operated under many different names and owners. Some have been demolished or substantially changed, while others continue to produce internationally recognised film and television today.
By documenting all eight sites, The Elstree Project reveals the scale and complexity of a filmmaking community that has often been described simply under the collective name “Elstree Studios”.
More than an interview archive
The Project shares its research through documentary films, exhibitions, public events, screenings, publications, academic research, social posts, and digital heritage projects.
We have organised film seasons, cast and crew reunions, screenings and live conversations; created documentary films from the oral-history collection; contributed to books, broadcasts, exhibitions and other film productions; and presented our research at museums, cinemas, universities and cultural institutions in the United Kingdom and internationally.
Our work has been presented at organisations including the National Portrait Gallery, the Design Museum, the BFI, the Museum of the Moving Image in New York and the Frankfurt Film Museum, as well as through BBC, ITV and Channel 4 broadcasts.
We are also using technologies including 360-degree photography and digital reconstruction to preserve historic studio spaces. This work is particularly important where buildings have been demolished, redeveloped or are no longer accessible in their original form.
The beginnings of the Project
The Elstree Project was founded by filmmaker, film editor and historian Howard Berry in 2009.
It has its roots in an initial University of Hertfordshire research project, Kubrick Visions, which recorded members of Stanley Kubrick’s family and crew. From those first interviews, the research expanded to encompass the wider history of all eight studio sites and the thousands of productions associated with them.
The Project’s early development benefited from the support and involvement of Dr G. D. Jayalakshmi, the Kubrick Estate and Elstree Screen Heritage. We gratefully acknowledge the important contributions made by these teams during the Project’s formative years.
Since 2016, The Elstree Project has been directed and run by Howard as part of his continuing research at the University of Hertfordshire, supported by student crews, colleagues, photographers, filmmakers, partner organisations and members of the local studio community.
About Howard Berry
Howard Berry is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, film editor and Reader in Film Heritage Practice at the University of Hertfordshire. He is recognised as the Official Historian of Elstree Studios and of Hertsmere’s film and television studios, and is a professional consultant on Stanley Kubrick’s work to Warner Bros, the Kubrick Estate and the Stanley Kubrick Film Archive.
His documentary Her Name Was Moviola was nominated for an American Cinema Editors Eddie Award and won the Royal Television Society East Award for Best Craft Editing. His films and research have been screened and exhibited at major festivals, museums and cultural institutions around the world.
Share your story
The Elstree Project continues to record new interviews.
We are particularly interested in hearing from people who worked at any of Elstree and Borehamwood’s studios—whether in front of the camera, behind the scenes, in production offices, technical departments, workshops, administration, catering, facilities or any other part of studio life.
No story is too small to tell. Every contribution forms part of this remarkable local history and its worldwide legacy.
Please contact us if you, a relative or a former colleague may have a story to share.