UK Film Network

THE TIMES BFI 53^RD LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 14-29 October 2009

Published by: Tremayne (Potter)

Thursday 22 October

Mugabe and The White African

Dir.: Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson/ UK 2009/ 88 min

“The white man is not indigenous to Africa.  Africa is for Africans.  Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans.’ – Robert Mugabe

‘This film is an intimate account of one family’s astonishing bravery in the face of brutality, in a fight to protect their property, their livelihood and their country.’

Michael Campbell is one of the remaining white farmers in Zimbabwe since Mugabe took up presidency and started his fierce land ownership program.

In 2008, Michael, a 75-year old grandfather, made the exceptional choice of taking Mugabe and his government to The SADC (South African Development Community) International Court, on the charges of racial discrimination and discrimination of Human Rights.

‘This is the only film to have come out of Zimbabwe in recent years, where a total press ban still exists.  Much of the footage was shot covertly.  To have been caught filming would have lead to imprisonment.’

And should you strip away every other aspect of this film, it is ultimately about the strength of people’s beliefs and how far they are willing to go to protect them!

THE TIMES BFI 53^RD LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 14-29 October 2009

Published by: Tremayne (Potter)

Saturday 24 October 2009

Glorious 39 Premiere

Never in my life have I felt so unglamourous.  I remember asking myself, ‘where is my personal stylist, hairdresser and make-up artist?!’  One exception was when I attended the World Premiere of David Morrissey film, Don’t Worry About Me, where I wore my Kate Moss LBD, complete with Grecian-style stilettos.

Of course yesterday’s red carpet event did not help, getting caught up behind the cast of Glorious 39, which included: Romola Garai (who recently appeared in the BBC series Emma and who is set to be the next Kate Winslett), Billy Nighy, rising starlet Juno Temple (whom the photographers seemed most keen on taking photos of), Jenny Agutter and Doctor Who’s David Tennant, whom the crowd had been waiting on tenterhooks for in the hope of catching a mere glimpse of him and he did not fail to disappoint).

I found myself scurrying along the carpet with an obnoxious American journalist, and, oh-my-God, I could not believe how amazingly rude she was!

Thursday 29 October 2009: It just so happened, that on the final day of the festival I had the misfortune of bumping into her again.  This time at The Hampshire Hotel, where a suite had been put aside for BFI delegates.  I had gone there in between films, in the hope of finding some solace but, instead, I had to put up with her jibbering voice towering over me!

Jokily I mentioned what had happened on the red carpet and how it had put her out being made to walk around to the back of the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square, after barriers had been erected in aide of the Glorious 39 Premiere, which interestingly she was only too quick to shrug off!

I was fortunate enough to meet director Stephen Poliakoff at The Filmmakers Afternoon Tea on Wednesday 28 October 2009, where a group interview took place in one of the Mayfair Hotel’s private suites.

Glorious 39 is based on fact and looks at the twelve weeks leading up to the Second World War, the first few weeks of what became known as ‘The Phoney War’.  What is particularly special about this film is the fact that its director Stephen Poliakoff is himself of Jewish descent and also that actress Julie Christie plays a very different character to the ones we are used to seeing her play.

Stephen Poliakoff has been making award-winning dramas for over a decade, including dramas such as: Shooting The Past and Gideon’s Daughter.  He reverts back to cinema with the film Glorious 39, which draws us in with its thriller-type quality.  It focuses in on the upper-class Keyes family who are doing everything within their power  to continue to lead the lifestyle they have become accustomed to, even amongst political unrest.  Alexander (Bill Nighy) is head of the household and is an important conservative MP.  His son, Ralph (Eddie Redmayne), works for The Foreign Office.  Romola Garai plays adopted daughter, Anne, and is an aspiring actress until her carefree life is thrown up in to the air when she comes across suspect recordings hidden away in the family home’s outbuildings.  In an attempt to get to the root of the matter she gets sucked into a world that is full of betrayal and secrets.

The picture her discoveries paint are as shocking to Anne, as they are to us.

‘Poliakoff handles the shift in tone  with great skill, capturing the full sense of threat and unease of this significant moment in history.’

THE TIMES BFI 53^RD LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 14-29 October 2009

Published by: Tremayne (Potter)

Thursday 29^th October 2009 (Morning Screening for PRESS only!)

Nowhere Boy

Dir.: Sam Taylor-Wood, Scr.: Matt Greenhalgh.

Cast: Aaron John, Kristin Scott Thomas (Mimi), David Threlfall (Uncle George), Ann-Marie Duff (Julia), David Morrissey (Bobby), Thomas Brodie Sangster (Paul).

‘Mother.. you had me, but I never had you.’

(Imagine) John Lennon’s childhood…

Liverpool, 1955, a bright but disturbed fifteen year-old craves recognition.  Caught up in a family holding lots of secrets, two powerful women fight over John.  One is Mimi, his pent up aunt who raised him, the other, Julia, his prodigal mother who has now returned after leaving him.

Desperate for a normal family life,  John discovers a more meaningful existence within the world of rock ‘n’ roll, where his talents find those in teenage soul mate, Paul McCartney.

As John’s life begins to make more sense, something traumatic happens.  But always the fighter, he finds himself and an icon is born.

“Surrealism had a great effect on me because then I realized that the imagery in my mind wasn’t insanity.  Surrealism to me is reality.”

(John Lennon)

Director Sam Taylor-Wood was nominated for a Palme d’Or at The 2008 Cannes Film Festival for Film4 debut short Love You More, produced by Mentor Anthony Minghella. Her debut feature film Nowhere Boy is dedicated to him. She is best known for her work as an artist and photographer. Her work is displayed in many reputable galleries throughout the world.

“Visualize everything when you’re writing, ..otherwise you’re looking at ink.  ..I acted the scenes out, I walked around Mendips, and Woolton, I went to St. Peter’s Church Hall where John and Paul first met.  I wanted to understand exactly what the locations were, it’s about imbibing, getting the look right, feeling the dialogue is right and trying to capture the way people spoke at that time.  Once that’s all in place, the pictures come into your head.”

(Matt Greenhalgh, screenplay writer of the award winning film Control).

Nowhere Boy will open in cinemas across the UK on 26 December 2009.

(Certificate and running time remain to be confirmed).

THE TIMES BFI 53^RD LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 14-29 October 2009

Published by: Tremayne (Potter)

Wednesday 28^th October 2009 (Morning Screening for PRESS only!)

A Serious Man

Dir-Scr: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen/ with Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Simon Helberg, Adam Akin (106 min).

The Coen brothers’ film this time around is a much more personal one but shows no signs of being any less fun.  Set in the late 1960s it appears, at first sight, to be in the seemingly ordinary world of Larry Gopnik. He cannot be criticized either for his marital or parental skills.  A hardworking professor at restful Midwestern University,never one to be swayed by the trials and tribulations that his life throws at him, one day everything changes and his life takes a turn for the worse.

His beloved opts to end their marriage for reasons she is not willing to discuss. To make matters worse her new man has the nerve to intervene in their family life and the home he has built up. She manages to persuade him, although short of cash, that it would be better all round if he started living in a motel.  Also, to top it all off, his career is then put on the line through a series of unidentified letters, questioning his favouritism over students, along with his brother who no-one is willing to employ and who is becoming an ever increasing problem.

Larry tries to find some kind of balance and to keep his head held high during all this hardship.  It is the root of all his problems that the film portrays well with its use of rather quaint humour and it is particularly funny when he attempts to find solace by visiting  a series of rabbis  who are less than helpful.  Michael Stuhlbarg plays Larry brilliantly, seemingly underplaying him.

A well put together Coen brothers classic, painting an extremely detailed picture of one character.

THE TIMES BFI 53^RD LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 14-29 October 2009

Published by: Tremayne (Potter)

Thursday 29^th October

On the final day of the festival I made my way across to The London Film Theatre along The South Bank to watch the film ‘Leave Her To Heaven’ which prevented me from checking-in on my e-mails concerning the films that had been awarded prizes and the times they would be screened that very same day, however, it meant I got to experience a re-mastered 1940s film classic, which I might otherwise have never seen.  Check end of review for list of prize-winning films.

Leave Her To Heaven

Dir.: John M Stahl/ Scr Jo Swerling/ with Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, Vincent Price/ USA 1945/ 110 min

‘A film seemingly made in a trance and best seen in a state of fever,’ says David Thomson in Biographical Dictionary Of Film.  ‘A fever pitch’, reflects Anthony Lane in an article for the New Yorker, reminiscing over films past in time for a revival in New York.

John M Stahl is well established for pre-sirk, black-and-white romantic melodramas described as ‘women’s pictures’, for example, in Back Street and Imitation of Life, before taking a brave step in to what has been described by Thomson as being ‘self-destructive technicolour emotionalism’.  And it is through the essence of technicolour and the film’s ‘noir’ feel that our attention is constantly held.  Gene Tierney plays a horrid heroine.  Clearly born to have been projected on to three-strip technicolour.  Her lips said to be ‘as red as a witch’s apple!’  Think Snow White, oozing her sweetness from the offset till domination is allowed to take control.  Tierney’s character Ellen is uncaring, utterly fixated, hanging on to ‘a father complex’, which she allows to transfer across to husband Richard, played by Cornel Wilde, while, in comparison, her sister (Jeanne Crain) remains the forever perfect and doting one. ‘There’s nothing wrong with Ellen, she just loves too much’, says her mother convincing Richard, after which Ellen under an act of jealousy witnesses his disabled brother drowning and does not go to his aide.  She then miscarries their unborn child by purposely stumbling down the stairs.  Over-the-top in every sense of the word but really captures the era in which it was shot.

The Academy Film Archive is to thank for the brilliant restoration of Oscar-winning cameraman Leon Shamroy’s rich Technicolour photography, which was financially supported by  The Film Foundation.

The Awards at this year’s festival acknowledged the following films:

The awards this year were awarded to the following films:

Winner of Best Film Award: The Prophet

Winner of The Sutherland Trophy: Ajami

 Winner of Best British Newcomer Award: The Scouting Book for Boys

Winner of Grierson Award: Defamation

THE TIMES BFI 53^RD LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 14-29 October 2009

Published by: Tremayne (Potter)

Monday 26 October

Kicks

Dir.: Lindy Heymann/ Scr Leigh Campbell/ with Kerrie Hayes, Nichola Burley, Jamie Doyle/ UK 2009/ 81

Nicole, played by Kerrie Hayes, is a reserved Liverpudlian teenager, who is somewhat neglected by her parents,with a mother who devotes her no attention due to working nights and a father who has upped and left to start family number two!  Most of her spare time is spent around Anfield and Melwood training grounds, in a desperate bid to see her idol, who come s in the form of midfielder Lee Cassidy (Jamie Doyle).  It is then that she meets wannabe WAG Jasmine (Nichola Burley), from a well off background, with more street cred than she and attention to fashion but it is their obsession for Cassidy which draws them together.  They traipse across the city and its nightly hotspots, daydreaming about Lee and how one day they may be fortunate enough to be on their own with him.  However, when they get to hear of his transfer to Real Madrid, they take it upon themselves to ensure he does not leave the country whatever the price.  ‘One of the Digital Departures Projects which were developed as part of Liverpool’s Tenure as European Capital of Culture.’  Vaguely adapted from an unfulfilled screenplay by Michael Winterbottom collaborator Lawrence Coriat, Lindy Heymann establishes her mark well with Kicks – her feature debut.  A bright and perceptive take on modern celebrity culture.

I met Lindy Heymann (director) and Leigh Campbell (screenwriter) at The Filmmaker Afternoon Tea at The Mayfair Hotel on Monday 26 October when I sat in on an interview that was being conducted by another journalist/filmmaker, where I learnt the two female characters in the film, constrasting in hair colour and personality, had been compared to the director and screenwriter themselves.

THE TIMES BFI 53^RD LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 14-29 October 2009

Published by: Tremayne (Potter)

Wednesday 28 October

Giulia Doesn’t Date At Night (Giulia Non Esce La Sera)

Dir.: Giuseppe Piccioni/ Scr. Giuseppe Piccioni, Federica Pontremoli/ with Valerio Mastandrea, Valeria Golina, Sonia Bergamascol.

Italy 2009/ 106 min

Giuseppe Piccioni was an absolute delight to talk to.  Such a pity that I was pulled away from him at The Filmmaker Afternoon Tea on Wednesday 28 October.  It wasn’t my intention but I was to take part in a group interview in one of the suites upstairs with Glorious 39 director, Stephen Poliakoff.

Filmmaker Giuseppe Piccioni is a ‘hidden gem of Italian cinema.’  His exquisite films have been seen by London Film Festival goers for over a decade.  As with his previous work , for example, Light Of My Eyes and Not Of This World, Giulia Doesn’t Date At Night, at first glance has a simple structure but, as the story is unveiled, you realize it is carefully pieced together, with unpretentious performances.  Not to wish to delve too deeply into the plot – a frustrated writer is close to success when he starts up a relationship with a swimming teacher who carries around a desperately unhappy past.  We must give thanks to Piccioni who, as a filmmaker, tells us a sweet tale where disaster inevitably strikes, with echoes of The Reader in it.  Above all  Giulia Doesn’t Date At Night shows a  great understanding of the way  people behave.  Cinema you will not be able to take your eyes off!

‘Italy’s most original yet still underappreciated talents.’

THE TIMES BFI 53^RD LONDON FILM FESTIVAL: 
14-29 October 2009 
Published by: Tremayne (Potter)

Monday 26 October

Ander

Dir-Scr.: Roberto Caston / with Josean Bengoetxea, Christian Esquivel, Mamen Rivera / Spain 2009 / 129 min.

Synopsis

Forty something Ander leads a closed life.  He runs the family farm.  His mother resents the fact that his sister, fourteen years his junior, is getting married before him.

Ander is part of a world where men must behave in a certain way and the women are to be seen and not heard.  But when Ander takes a fall, plans must be put in place for the temporary upkeep of the farm, Jose enters into his life and questions him on how everything has come to be the way it has around him.

This is Roberto Caston’s debut feature, a winner of the CICAE prize for Best Film at Berlin’s Panorama.  He manages to put across a thoughtful perception of a blossoming relationship between two very different characters, against a Basque countryside backdrop.

Josean Bengoetxea purposely downplays his performance of a middle aged man who begins to rethink the meaning of life as Jose becomes a part of it.

Caston is not afraid to show the harsh reality that comes of leading a rural life and has an innate understanding of the different types of community that exist in this muddled contemporary world we live in.

The Times sponsored BFI 53^rd London Film Festival 2009: 14-29 October

Published by Tremayne (Potter)

Wednesday 28 October

The Disappearance of Alice Creed

Dir-Scr J Blakeson/ with Gemma Arterton, Eddie Marsan, Martin Compston/ UK 2009/ 98 min

The film’s director and screenwriter, J Blakeson, was more than happy to talk to me at The Filmmaker Afternoon Tea on Wednesday 28 October at The Mayfair Hotel.   Now let me share with you what the film is about.

Synopsis

Two men concoct a plan in private to steal a van and purchase tools and material  to set-up in a run down flat.  With an air of awkwardness  it’s clear to see the brutality is serious and not merely mild torture.

They disguise themselves using masks and carry guns on them, as they grab a young woman from a derelict part of town.  She is thrown into the back of their van and driven to a hideout where she is then handcuffed.

As disturbing as the opening scenes of The Disappearance of Alice Creed are, it is from this point that we, as viewers, are led to believe we are about to witness your typical terror movie.

We must, however, take our hats off to J Blakeson, who manages to sustain the unsettling style he set out with. Even after more about the protagonists is revealed, as with their relationships to one another…

Each has their own motive but we’re always unsure as to where we will be led next.

J Blakeson even slips in a spattering of black comedy.  Gemma Arterton, Eddie Marsan and Martin Compston use the film to show off their constant readiness within film acting.

‘An endlessly inventive debut feature.’

‘A committed, claustrophobic three-hander.’

The Times sponsored BFI 53^rd London Film Festival 2009

Published by Tremayne (Potter)

THE FINAL DAY OF THE FESTIVAL: 29 October 2009

Starsuckers

UK 2009/100 min

A docu-film by director Chris Atkins, who was BAFTA-nominated for his Blair-baiting documentary, Taking Liberties.  

‘Starsuckers probes various aspects of celebrity culture with a scathing wit and sense of mischief, from the pushy parents who seek recognition for their children to the established public figures who use their position to gain political influence. It illustrates how truth has become devalued by the modern news media.’

Chris Atkins made an unexpected appearance yesterday at The Vue Cinema, Leicester Square on the final day of The BFI 53^rd London Film Festival after the 13h00 screening of the film Starsuckers, allowing for a 10-min window where people could ask questions.

1)Where did you get your inspiration from for the film?

“A critique has never been done before on media companies.  I got the inspiration for it about two years ago.

I thought, if you can make someone laugh, you engage them a lot more. That’s why it took two years to make. There’s no central character, so I

invented the personage of God of the Starsuckers, who helps  to create media concepts that are all around us.”

2)On your own Blog it mentions the £5,000 grant you were refused by The UK Film Council.  Your film exposed the media and its spin doctors, how can we believe that this isn’t just another hoax?

“Of course, there’s a circular pattern of cynicism on this subject and this week we’re up against James Cameron film Avatar and Michael Jackson movie – This is it.  You’re rightfully meant to be given a £5,000 grant from The UK Film Council but instead they gave us a £5,000 fuck-off!”

3)What were your reasons for making the film?

“Because these people are conning us out of money and I wanted to expose them for what they really are!”

4)Why is your narrator’s voice American?

“It wouldn’t have worked with my own voice, an Oxbridge graduate, especially when the main media swaggering has come from America, and I wanted to create something that was unique.”

5)The film doesn’t offer any solutions to the problems.  Why is that?

“If you’re not careful you run the risk of being like Live8 where more coverage was devoted to the stars themselves. I believe that all gossip columns should attach the tag ‘probably not true’ to them!”

6)What resources would you recommend to prevent this media juggernaut from catapulting out of control?

“Stop your children from watching T.V. It hasn’t done me any harm.  And stop buying trashy magazines.”

7)For the scene in the shopping centre where you asked parents’ permission to allow their child to take part in an infomercial, explaining what happens to an animal after it has been taken to the slaughterhouse, using a rubber chicken and a toy axe, did many refuse?

“2 out of the 42 we asked.”

8)To reach a television audience how would you have to alter the film?

“It would have to be massively edited, cut down by half and most probably be only shown on More4 after midnight.”

9)Have you noticed any recent changes in the world of the Media?

“Yes, the circulation in magazine sales is dropping.”

The difference with today’s Journalists is that they’re not given time to sift through news, casting aside the bad from the good, with the exception of Private Eye whose information doesn’t go out to press until two weeks later.”

Starsuckers is released on October 30^th by City Screen & Curzon Screen.