Free Your Mind! Giovanni 'Tinto' Brass, 'Swinging London' and the 60s Pop Culture Scene

Between 1967 and 1970 Italian auteur Giovanni "Tinto" Brass directed four feature films in London, each starring a woman as the main character.

Exploring the political, cultural and sexual ideas of their time, often in a deliberate pop-art style, they contain much priceless footage of now forgotten neighborhoods, galleries, clubs and events as well as an abundance of contemporary music.

A fascinating blend of social history, pop culture, cinema, music and TV, Free Your Mind! examines the films, their stars and how they were made.

Based on interviews with many of the surviving participants, Matthews argues that at this stage of his career, before Caligula, Brass was as significant a figure in cinema as Antonioni, Godard and many other better-known directors.

Simon Matthews has had a varied career including a spell running the British Transport Films documentary film library and several years singing in semi-professional rock groups. He has contributed articles on music, film and cultural history to Record Collector, Shindig! and Lobster magazines. Psychedelic Celluloid, his illustrated history of UK music, film and TV between 1965 and 1974 was published by Oldcastle Books in 2016; its sequel, Looking for a New England, followed in 2021.