A masterfully crafted work with nearly no false notes, Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s Ghostlight is a tender drama bearing profound moments of humor and small triumphs. The smartly constructed script by O’Sullivan buries the lede, revealing new narrative information with each layer as we watch a nuclear family slowly come apart and, later, find solace in the wake of their son’s suicide. Anchored by a real-life family, the film feels as if it’s been meticulously workshopped with the same intimate collaboration that gave O’Sullivan and Thompson’s last feature, Saint Frances, its authentic nuances.
Dan Muller (Keith Kupferer) is first presented to us as a small-town construction worker with a short temper and family drama. He has a rebellious 15-year-old daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) and his marriage to Sharon (Tara Mallen) is on the rocks. Love holds the family together, and following an...
Dan Muller (Keith Kupferer) is first presented to us as a small-town construction worker with a short temper and family drama. He has a rebellious 15-year-old daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) and his marriage to Sharon (Tara Mallen) is on the rocks. Love holds the family together, and following an...
- 3/13/2024
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Legendary filmmaker, Martin Scorsese has been putting his time in lockdown to good use. ‘The Irishman’ director has created an exclusive short based on his time in isolation for the BBC’s ‘Lockdown Culture with Mary Beard’.
The film sees Martin explore what lockdown has meant to him, self-shot by the award-winning filmmaker. It will premiere in the final episode of the show on Thursday 28th May at 7pm on BBC Two. In addition to Martin Scorsese, Director Lee Daniels will also feature, explaining why he believes the current shutdown in Hollywood could be a radical creative opportunity for filmmakers.
Talking about his experience in lockdown, Scorsese said: “What I look forward to in the future is carrying with me what I have been forced to learn in these circumstances. It is the essential. The people you love. Being able to take care of them and be with them as much as you can.
The film sees Martin explore what lockdown has meant to him, self-shot by the award-winning filmmaker. It will premiere in the final episode of the show on Thursday 28th May at 7pm on BBC Two. In addition to Martin Scorsese, Director Lee Daniels will also feature, explaining why he believes the current shutdown in Hollywood could be a radical creative opportunity for filmmakers.
Talking about his experience in lockdown, Scorsese said: “What I look forward to in the future is carrying with me what I have been forced to learn in these circumstances. It is the essential. The people you love. Being able to take care of them and be with them as much as you can.
- 5/28/2020
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Martin Scorsese made a short film reflecting on his lockdown experience in his New York City home during the coronavirus crisis, to be aired on Thursday on BBC Two.
The “exclusive and very personal” movie will air as part of the final program in the series “Lockdown Culture With Mary Beard,” which is presented from Beard’s home study. Beard examines the links between risk, culture and creativity.
“What I look forward to in the future is carrying with me what I have been forced to learn in these circumstances,” Scorsese said. “It is the essential. The people you love. Being able to take care of them and be with them as much as you can.”
“Martin Scorsese makes a wonderful end to the series. We see him at home, thinking about lockdown through the lens of classic movies, like Hitchcock’s ‘The Wrong Man,'” Beard said. “But what...
The “exclusive and very personal” movie will air as part of the final program in the series “Lockdown Culture With Mary Beard,” which is presented from Beard’s home study. Beard examines the links between risk, culture and creativity.
“What I look forward to in the future is carrying with me what I have been forced to learn in these circumstances,” Scorsese said. “It is the essential. The people you love. Being able to take care of them and be with them as much as you can.”
“Martin Scorsese makes a wonderful end to the series. We see him at home, thinking about lockdown through the lens of classic movies, like Hitchcock’s ‘The Wrong Man,'” Beard said. “But what...
- 5/27/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
A new Martin Scorsese joint is coming to screens. Ok, it may not be Killers Of The Flower Moon, but fans will be intrigued by the prospect of a self-shot short made in the filmmaker’s NYC home. The project has been commissioned for the BBC’s Lockdown Culture with Mary Beard and will premiere in the UK on BBC Two May 28.
The short will explore what lockdown has meant to Scorsese, and will also feature fellow filmmaker Lee Daniels explaining why he believes the current shutdown in Hollywood could be a radical creative opportunity for filmmakers.
The final episode of the series, which has been spun off the BBC’s flagship arts programme Front Row (and was previously titled Front Row Late), will also feature artists Gillian Wearing and Michael Landy with their first collaboration in more than 20 years, photographer Don McCullin reflecting on a career spent risking his...
The short will explore what lockdown has meant to Scorsese, and will also feature fellow filmmaker Lee Daniels explaining why he believes the current shutdown in Hollywood could be a radical creative opportunity for filmmakers.
The final episode of the series, which has been spun off the BBC’s flagship arts programme Front Row (and was previously titled Front Row Late), will also feature artists Gillian Wearing and Michael Landy with their first collaboration in more than 20 years, photographer Don McCullin reflecting on a career spent risking his...
- 5/27/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Step into the shoes of the artist! Turner Prize-winning artist Gillian Wearing is currently putting together a cast of Gillians for a short film and is looking for actors of all ages, genders, and ethnicities who can embody herself. Plus, a series about three young girls who discover magic is casting its lead roles, a TV advert for a major airline is seeking quirky kids, and expressive and energetic models are sought to help advertise a new app. Untitled Gillian Wearing FILMTurner Prize–winning artist Gillian Wearing is casting perceptive actors to play her in a short film. Male and female talent, aged 22 and older, is wanted to portray Wearing, though the actor does not need to look similar. Casting and shooting will take place throughout July and August in the London area. Pay is £250. Apply here! “Secrets Of Magic”Casting is underway for “Secrets of Magic,” a kids adventure...
- 7/6/2018
- backstage.com
Hello and welcome to one of our shoutouts for projects casting around the U.K. As always there’s a mix of opportunities for all ages, abilities, and locations but do remember to check if you fit the bill before applying. Although we make every attempt to verify castings before we hit publish, please ensure that you do your own research before firing off those headshots and Backstage links. Gillian Wearing, the Turner Prize–winning artist, is looking for actors to play her in an upcoming untitled short film. The team is looking for male and female actors to portray Wearing and states that you do not need to look like her in order to apply. In fact, they’re encouraging performers of any gender and ethnicity, aged 22 and older, to apply. Actors should have the “conviction and confidence” to play the artist, “whatever your interpretation of her is.” You...
- 7/4/2018
- backstage.com
The Spirit of ’45 to oversee grants as Doc Society’s film fund executive.
Producer Lisa Marie Russo has been appointed by Doc Society (formerly Britdoc) to head up the newly-launched BFI Doc Society Fund.
The BFI selected Doc Society as the delivery partner for its £1m-per-year doc fund in December last year. The commitment, which runs through to 2022, is part of the BFI’s five-year strategy (BFI2022), which includes a promise to support the documentary medium and its emerging filmmakers.
Russo‘s credits include Ken Loach’s The Spirit of ’45, Terence Davies’ Of Time And The City, Gillian Wearing’s...
Producer Lisa Marie Russo has been appointed by Doc Society (formerly Britdoc) to head up the newly-launched BFI Doc Society Fund.
The BFI selected Doc Society as the delivery partner for its £1m-per-year doc fund in December last year. The commitment, which runs through to 2022, is part of the BFI’s five-year strategy (BFI2022), which includes a promise to support the documentary medium and its emerging filmmakers.
Russo‘s credits include Ken Loach’s The Spirit of ’45, Terence Davies’ Of Time And The City, Gillian Wearing’s...
- 3/12/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Musicians The xx presents a curated programme; festival hosts world premieres of new films by Andreas Dalsgaard and Iris Zaki.
Cph:Dox will offer more than 200 films during its 15th event, which runs March 15-25.
In its five competitions (full list below), world premieres include Woman In Sink director Iris Zaki’s new film Unsettling, about Jewish setllers in the West Bank; The War Show director Andreas Dalsgaard’s The Great Game, about a man trying to find out if his grandfather was a spy; Emma Davie & Peter Mettler’s Becoming Animal, about how our relationship with nature has evolved; and Elissa Mirzaei & Gulistan Mirzaei’s Laila at the Bridge, about an Afghan woman trying to save heroin addicts in Kabul.
Highlights also include a specially curated programme by The xx; a focus on justice (films will include Pre-Crime, Recruiting for Jihad and The Congo Tribunal); and a film programme and art exhibition dedicated to social experiments (with films...
Cph:Dox will offer more than 200 films during its 15th event, which runs March 15-25.
In its five competitions (full list below), world premieres include Woman In Sink director Iris Zaki’s new film Unsettling, about Jewish setllers in the West Bank; The War Show director Andreas Dalsgaard’s The Great Game, about a man trying to find out if his grandfather was a spy; Emma Davie & Peter Mettler’s Becoming Animal, about how our relationship with nature has evolved; and Elissa Mirzaei & Gulistan Mirzaei’s Laila at the Bridge, about an Afghan woman trying to save heroin addicts in Kabul.
Highlights also include a specially curated programme by The xx; a focus on justice (films will include Pre-Crime, Recruiting for Jihad and The Congo Tribunal); and a film programme and art exhibition dedicated to social experiments (with films...
- 2/16/2018
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Kate Middleton looked all kinds of gorgeous when she stepped out for the annual Portrait Gala in London on Tuesday. Kate - who has been a patron of the gallery since 2012 - stunned in a deep-green-colored lace Temperley gown complete with a metallic clutch. The Duchess of Cambridge met with guests and viewed two exhibitions - Howard Hodgkin: Absent Friends and Gillian Wearing and Claude Cahun: Behind the Mask, Another Mask - before attending a dinner at the art gallery. She also met model and British Vogue contributor Alexa Chung before making her way around the museum. Kate attended the event solo and has been keeping busy with her philanthropic endeavors following Prince William's controversial ski trip to the Swiss Alps in early March. After celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a cold glass of Guinness during a visit to the Cavalry Barracks, she helped spread mental health awareness the...
- 3/29/2017
- by Monica Sisavat
- Popsugar.com
Is there any color Kate Middleton can't wear?! The Duchess of Cambridge looks gorgeous in an emerald green lace gown by Temperley at the 2017 Portrait Gala. She paired her gemstone look with a metallic gold clutch and drop down earrings by Kiki McDonough. She complemented her soft look by wearing her brunette locks down in loose waves. Kate is attending to view the latest exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery and to meet guests before having dinner inside the London attraction. The royal mom-of-two has been a patron of the gallery since 2012. The Duchess will view two exhibitions—Howard Hodgkin: Absent Friends, and Gillian Wearing and Claude Cahun: Behind The Mask, Another Mask. The 2017...
- 3/28/2017
- E! Online
TV adverts based on stolen ideas are so commonplace that Private Eye has a regular item devoted to the phenomenon. This endless recycling of ideas reached a peak of blatancy when artist Gillian Wearing complained that a Saatchi TV advert for Vw was based on one of her artworks that she had sold to Charles Saatchi. This habit is perhaps not too surprising in such an ephemeral and profuse medium. Blatant idea theft is, however, more startling when you see it in a feature film that has won four Oscars, including best picture, best director and best screenplay.
- 2/23/2015
- The Independent - Film
Singer, presenter, matchmaker extraordinaire and probably the most Liverpudlian person alive - Cilla Black is a woman of many titles.
She burst onto the '60s music scene with her number one single 'Anyone Who Had A Heart', and quickly became established as a national treasure. The BBC snapped her up to present her own variety show, Cilla, and in the '80s she began presenting ITV's tongue-in-cheek Blind Date - which she continued to host for nearly 20 years.
Earlier this year she received a special BAFTA for her contribution to television, and is now the subject of a three-part ITV biopic starring Sheridan Smith, starting tonight.
In celebration of this, we've dug up ten things you may not know about the British showbiz icon.
1. Priscilla Maria Veronica White was born on May 27, 1943 in Liverpool. Desperate to became a star, she got her first gig playing at the city's Casanova Club,...
She burst onto the '60s music scene with her number one single 'Anyone Who Had A Heart', and quickly became established as a national treasure. The BBC snapped her up to present her own variety show, Cilla, and in the '80s she began presenting ITV's tongue-in-cheek Blind Date - which she continued to host for nearly 20 years.
Earlier this year she received a special BAFTA for her contribution to television, and is now the subject of a three-part ITV biopic starring Sheridan Smith, starting tonight.
In celebration of this, we've dug up ten things you may not know about the British showbiz icon.
1. Priscilla Maria Veronica White was born on May 27, 1943 in Liverpool. Desperate to became a star, she got her first gig playing at the city's Casanova Club,...
- 9/15/2014
- Digital Spy
East End Film Festival has unveiled its 2014 award winners, bringing 13th edition to a close.
White Shadow has won the Best Feature award at this year’s East End Film Festival (Eeff).
Noaz Deshe’s debut feature is set in Tanzania and, focusing on a young albino, is an exploration of folk religion.
The film was chosen by a jury comprising of Eeff’s director-in-residence Sebastian Hofmann, Screen International chief film critic Mark Adams, BFI director of partnerships Eddie Berg, English photographer and video artist Gillian Wearing and screenwriter Peter Straughan.
Deshe will be invited to the festival in 2015 as director-in-residence.
In addition, Tom Berninger’s Mistaken for Strangers was named Best Documentary by a jury comprising British film-makers Iain Forsythe and Jane Pollard, director Emad Burnat, documentary film-maker Tristan Anderson and BBC Storyville’s Shanida Scotland.
The inaugural Accession Award, championing the art of cinematography, was judged by Barry Ackroyd and awarded to Jonathan Fairburn’s [link...
White Shadow has won the Best Feature award at this year’s East End Film Festival (Eeff).
Noaz Deshe’s debut feature is set in Tanzania and, focusing on a young albino, is an exploration of folk religion.
The film was chosen by a jury comprising of Eeff’s director-in-residence Sebastian Hofmann, Screen International chief film critic Mark Adams, BFI director of partnerships Eddie Berg, English photographer and video artist Gillian Wearing and screenwriter Peter Straughan.
Deshe will be invited to the festival in 2015 as director-in-residence.
In addition, Tom Berninger’s Mistaken for Strangers was named Best Documentary by a jury comprising British film-makers Iain Forsythe and Jane Pollard, director Emad Burnat, documentary film-maker Tristan Anderson and BBC Storyville’s Shanida Scotland.
The inaugural Accession Award, championing the art of cinematography, was judged by Barry Ackroyd and awarded to Jonathan Fairburn’s [link...
- 6/26/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
Bath Film Festival | Nordic Film Festival | Assemble: A Survey Of Recent Artists' Film And Video In Britain 2008-2013 | Utopia
Bath Film Festival
As well as funding this festival, IMDb (the world's biggest movie site) is sponsoring some new awards, all of which hopefully means punters get a great selection of films. Sneak previews include Ralph Fiennes's Dickens movie The Invisible Woman, Robert Redford's All Is Lost and Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom. Plus a striking pair of religious screenings: The Last Temptation Of Christ in Wells Cathedral, and The Passion Of Joan Of Arc in Bath Abbey, with a live score by Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Will Gregory (Goldfrapp).
Various venues, Mon to 8 Dec
Nordic Film Festival, London, Edinburgh & Glasgow
Our Scandinavian neighbours are probably scratching their heads at our seemingly never-ending obsession with their TV detective shows. Why aren't we as fascinated with their movies as well?...
Bath Film Festival
As well as funding this festival, IMDb (the world's biggest movie site) is sponsoring some new awards, all of which hopefully means punters get a great selection of films. Sneak previews include Ralph Fiennes's Dickens movie The Invisible Woman, Robert Redford's All Is Lost and Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom. Plus a striking pair of religious screenings: The Last Temptation Of Christ in Wells Cathedral, and The Passion Of Joan Of Arc in Bath Abbey, with a live score by Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Will Gregory (Goldfrapp).
Various venues, Mon to 8 Dec
Nordic Film Festival, London, Edinburgh & Glasgow
Our Scandinavian neighbours are probably scratching their heads at our seemingly never-ending obsession with their TV detective shows. Why aren't we as fascinated with their movies as well?...
- 11/23/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
The director talks artists' film and video, from advances in technology to moving-image art being taken more seriously
Hi Steven, can you tell us a little bit about Film and Video Umbrella?
Film and Video Umbrella (Fvu) produces, presents and promotes artists' work with the moving image. The projects we commission are made more for gallery exhibitions than the cinema circuit, and by people who probably went to art school rather than film school! But that distinction aside (and it's not an absolutely hard-and-fast one) our brief is pretty wide-ranging, stretching from the experimental fringes of the film avant-garde to the new horizons opened up by the internet, social media and digital technology.
I've been director for just over 20 years and, in that time, the organisation has grown from a small-scale two-person operation to become the leading commissioners of artists' film and video in the country, with almost 200 projects to our name now,...
Hi Steven, can you tell us a little bit about Film and Video Umbrella?
Film and Video Umbrella (Fvu) produces, presents and promotes artists' work with the moving image. The projects we commission are made more for gallery exhibitions than the cinema circuit, and by people who probably went to art school rather than film school! But that distinction aside (and it's not an absolutely hard-and-fast one) our brief is pretty wide-ranging, stretching from the experimental fringes of the film avant-garde to the new horizons opened up by the internet, social media and digital technology.
I've been director for just over 20 years and, in that time, the organisation has grown from a small-scale two-person operation to become the leading commissioners of artists' film and video in the country, with almost 200 projects to our name now,...
- 9/12/2013
- by Matthew Caines
- The Guardian - Film News
Bill Murray called it 'probably the best work I've done' and, 20 years after its release, Groundhog Day can still take your breath away. Its original screenwriter Danny Rubin and admirers such as director David O Russell explain its lasting appeal
I am holding for David O Russell, the Oscar-nominated director of Silver Linings Playbook and The Fighter, who has agreed to talk about one of his all-time favourite films: the comic masterpiece Groundhog Day, released in the Us 20 years ago this month. (It reached the UK in May 1993.) But the person on the other end of the line doesn't sound like Russell: it's more of a shrill whine, the vocal equivalent of nails on a blackboard. Then the penny drops.
"Ryan? It's Ned! Ned Ryerson! Bing!" After a prolonged chuckle, Russell drops his impersonation of Groundhog Day's irksome insurance salesman, a minor but intensely memorable character, and explains excitedly...
I am holding for David O Russell, the Oscar-nominated director of Silver Linings Playbook and The Fighter, who has agreed to talk about one of his all-time favourite films: the comic masterpiece Groundhog Day, released in the Us 20 years ago this month. (It reached the UK in May 1993.) But the person on the other end of the line doesn't sound like Russell: it's more of a shrill whine, the vocal equivalent of nails on a blackboard. Then the penny drops.
"Ryan? It's Ned! Ned Ryerson! Bing!" After a prolonged chuckle, Russell drops his impersonation of Groundhog Day's irksome insurance salesman, a minor but intensely memorable character, and explains excitedly...
- 2/8/2013
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
The Guardian's art critic Adrian Searle gave his opinion of the film shortly after its release: he was impressed by the accuracy of Jacobi's performance, if not by the insertion of YBAs into the pub scenes …
The painter Francis Bacon, who turned down both the Order of Merit and the Companion of Honour, is crouched over the bed in nothing but his underpants. He waits. His lover, a Kray gang hanger-on called George Dyer, stands over him, a cigarette in his mouth, a belt twisted in his fist.
This is a scene from John Maybury's Love Is the Devil, subtitled "Study for a portrait of Francis Bacon" starring Derek Jacobi as the painter, and Daniel Craig as Dyer, Bacon's lover, tormentor, victim and model. In the film, Dyer, a hapless East End burglar, introduces himself by crashing through the skylight of Bacon's tiny South Kensington studio, while attempting a burglary.
The painter Francis Bacon, who turned down both the Order of Merit and the Companion of Honour, is crouched over the bed in nothing but his underpants. He waits. His lover, a Kray gang hanger-on called George Dyer, stands over him, a cigarette in his mouth, a belt twisted in his fist.
This is a scene from John Maybury's Love Is the Devil, subtitled "Study for a portrait of Francis Bacon" starring Derek Jacobi as the painter, and Daniel Craig as Dyer, Bacon's lover, tormentor, victim and model. In the film, Dyer, a hapless East End burglar, introduces himself by crashing through the skylight of Bacon's tiny South Kensington studio, while attempting a burglary.
- 11/9/2012
- by Adrian Searle
- The Guardian - Film News
With the exception of household names, most people in the creative arts need a day job to make ends meet. But should artists have to work or should they be supported by the state?
Jennie Rooney is the first to admit she has something of a split personality. By day, she is an in-house lawyer for a television company. By night, she is something different altogether: a novelist.
Typically, she will cycle into the office in central London, where she spends much of her day "drawing up contracts involving production companies buying formats such as The X Factor". At 5.30pm, Rooney returns home, eats an early supper and then sits down at her laptop for four hours to write, immersing herself in the world of cold war espionage that provides the backdrop for her third book.
Rooney would like her life to be different. She'd like to be a full-time novelist and,...
Jennie Rooney is the first to admit she has something of a split personality. By day, she is an in-house lawyer for a television company. By night, she is something different altogether: a novelist.
Typically, she will cycle into the office in central London, where she spends much of her day "drawing up contracts involving production companies buying formats such as The X Factor". At 5.30pm, Rooney returns home, eats an early supper and then sits down at her laptop for four hours to write, immersing herself in the world of cold war espionage that provides the backdrop for her third book.
Rooney would like her life to be different. She'd like to be a full-time novelist and,...
- 7/28/2012
- by Elizabeth Day
- The Guardian - Film News
Our critics' picks of this week's openings, plus your last chance to see and what to book now
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this weekTheatre
I Dreamed a Dream
SuBo is played by Elaine C Smith in this new musical based on the life of the Britain's Got Talent sensation, who has given her personal endorsement to this money-spinner – sorry, show. Theatre Royal, Newcastle (0844 811 2121), until 31 March, then touring.
Fierce festival
Birmingham gets ready for boundary-busting performances from UK and international performers, including Ann Liv Young, Playgroup and Graeme Miller. The festival takes place in unusual spaces all across the city, including the soon to be demolished library and under Spaghetti Junction. Various locations, Birmingham, Thursday to 8 April.
Film
The Hunger Games (dir. Gary Ross)
Suzanne Collins's teen bestseller is turned into an exciting dystopian thriller. Jennifer Lawrence stars.
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this weekTheatre
I Dreamed a Dream
SuBo is played by Elaine C Smith in this new musical based on the life of the Britain's Got Talent sensation, who has given her personal endorsement to this money-spinner – sorry, show. Theatre Royal, Newcastle (0844 811 2121), until 31 March, then touring.
Fierce festival
Birmingham gets ready for boundary-busting performances from UK and international performers, including Ann Liv Young, Playgroup and Graeme Miller. The festival takes place in unusual spaces all across the city, including the soon to be demolished library and under Spaghetti Junction. Various locations, Birmingham, Thursday to 8 April.
Film
The Hunger Games (dir. Gary Ross)
Suzanne Collins's teen bestseller is turned into an exciting dystopian thriller. Jennifer Lawrence stars.
- 3/25/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
Our critics' picks of this week's openings, plus your last chance to see and what to book now
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this weekTheatre
Gypsy
Everything should be coming up roses in Leicester, where Paul Kerryson revives Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim's legendary musical, inspired by the memoirs of burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee. Caroline O'Connor plays the monstrous Mama Rose, who pushes her daughters to perform on stage to satisfy her own thwarted dreams of stardom. Curve, Leicester (0116-242 3595), tonight to 15 April.
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein's creator comes under the spotlight in Helen Edmundson's new play, which follows hard on the heels of her RSC success, The Heresy of Love. Polly Teale directs for Shared Experience, a company that has done so much to put women's lives centre stage. West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds (0113-213 7700), Friday to 7 April.
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this weekTheatre
Gypsy
Everything should be coming up roses in Leicester, where Paul Kerryson revives Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim's legendary musical, inspired by the memoirs of burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee. Caroline O'Connor plays the monstrous Mama Rose, who pushes her daughters to perform on stage to satisfy her own thwarted dreams of stardom. Curve, Leicester (0116-242 3595), tonight to 15 April.
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein's creator comes under the spotlight in Helen Edmundson's new play, which follows hard on the heels of her RSC success, The Heresy of Love. Polly Teale directs for Shared Experience, a company that has done so much to put women's lives centre stage. West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds (0113-213 7700), Friday to 7 April.
- 3/12/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
Established figures in the industry are getting together in Newcastle-upon-Tyne to run workshops for our future Spielbergs
BBC Salford job opportunities have been massively over-subscribed, but here is another opportunity for creative northern talent. Northern Film and Media in Newcastle upon Tyne has partnered-up with Channel 4 in a pilot programme for would-be creators of TV programmes and/or films.
They're calling it The Artist's Cut and acknowledge that the success of films by directors such as Gillian Wearing, Sam Taylor-Wood and Steve McQueen (namesake of the legend) has influenced the idea. The plan is to run workshops aimed at producing two pieces of work which could go on for filming; these will cover pretty much everything the would-be Spielberg needs to know, from storytelling through cinematography, casting, directing and distribution to marketing methods.
Wearing, who won the 1997 Turner Prize, received investment from Nfm for Self Made, her directorial debut...
BBC Salford job opportunities have been massively over-subscribed, but here is another opportunity for creative northern talent. Northern Film and Media in Newcastle upon Tyne has partnered-up with Channel 4 in a pilot programme for would-be creators of TV programmes and/or films.
They're calling it The Artist's Cut and acknowledge that the success of films by directors such as Gillian Wearing, Sam Taylor-Wood and Steve McQueen (namesake of the legend) has influenced the idea. The plan is to run workshops aimed at producing two pieces of work which could go on for filming; these will cover pretty much everything the would-be Spielberg needs to know, from storytelling through cinematography, casting, directing and distribution to marketing methods.
Wearing, who won the 1997 Turner Prize, received investment from Nfm for Self Made, her directorial debut...
- 2/8/2012
- by Martin Wainwright
- The Guardian - Film News
I've only just now caught wind of a one-time-only event that took place in the Port of Tallinn last Thursday, 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero, via Alison Nastasi at Movies.com: "An international collective of directors… contributed their shorts to the single 35mm film anthology that was screened for an audience one time — as part of Estonia's 2011 European Capital of Culture celebration — and then burned to the ground (along with the screen itself). Why, exactly? The project's website describes it as 'flying in the face of the cynicism of marketing, production, business operators, and the moral majority … dedicated to preserving freedom of thought in cinema.'" The roster of participating directors and artists is pretty impressive:
Brian Yuzna (USA), Michael Glawogger (Austria), Aku Louhimies (Finland), Ken Jacobs (USA), Gustav Deutsch (Austria), Tom Tykwer (Germany), Mark Boswell (USA), Malcolm Le Grice (UK), Aki Kaurismäki (Finland), Bruce McClure (UK), Mika Taanila...
Brian Yuzna (USA), Michael Glawogger (Austria), Aku Louhimies (Finland), Ken Jacobs (USA), Gustav Deutsch (Austria), Tom Tykwer (Germany), Mark Boswell (USA), Malcolm Le Grice (UK), Aki Kaurismäki (Finland), Bruce McClure (UK), Mika Taanila...
- 12/27/2011
- MUBI
The golden envelope is opened. It's your name. And then what? Four award winners talk to Shahesta Shaitly about life after the applause
It's the awards season, the time of nominations, shortlists and statuettes. And if you happen to be up for one, whether it be employee of the month or the gong for best vegetable patch, you'll be in the spotlight. But imagine how much more intense it would be if, as with the Oscars, you knew that more than a billion people across the planet were settling down to watch your reactions and judge your acceptance speech.
Natalie Portman, winner of the best actress Oscar for Black Swan, cautions winners to remain grounded, saying: "When you start valuing yourself based on other people's accolades, it is a little dangerous, because then you have to start valuing yourself based on other people's insults, too."
Julian Barnes, once described the...
It's the awards season, the time of nominations, shortlists and statuettes. And if you happen to be up for one, whether it be employee of the month or the gong for best vegetable patch, you'll be in the spotlight. But imagine how much more intense it would be if, as with the Oscars, you knew that more than a billion people across the planet were settling down to watch your reactions and judge your acceptance speech.
Natalie Portman, winner of the best actress Oscar for Black Swan, cautions winners to remain grounded, saying: "When you start valuing yourself based on other people's accolades, it is a little dangerous, because then you have to start valuing yourself based on other people's insults, too."
Julian Barnes, once described the...
- 12/18/2011
- by Shahesta Shaitly
- The Guardian - Film News
This intriguing feature-length documentary by 1997 Turner prize artist Gillian Wearing is simple in conception and infinitely complex, both morally and aesthetically, in execution. A newspaper ad invites members of the public to participate in a method-acting experiment that would lead to them discovering their inner selves, which would be realised through scenes dramatising their alter egos. Seven applicants, mostly from the north-west of England, are chosen, all go through classes conducted by the charismatic teacher Sam Rumbelow, and five are channelled into mini-films that range through a troubled daughter playing Cordelia, a professional Lear, a would-be suicide identifying with the last days of Mussolini, and a sad 40-year-old romantic casting herself as a working-class Celia Johnson in a deadly serious reworking of Brief Encounter. This is a glib, exploitative project that toys with vulnerable people. It is perhaps of limited interest to popular audiences, but of value to film and drama students.
- 9/3/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Kill List (18)
(Ben Wheatley, 2011, UK) Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Michael Smiley, Emma Fryer. 95 mins
Who knew there was a missing link between Mike Leigh, Andy McNab and The Wicker Man? That's how unpredictable this macabre and outlandish tale is, but it unfolds in a credible modern-day Britain scarred by foreign wars and domestic recession. Circumstances lead a blokey hitman and his partner to accept a dodgy new assignment – and by the time they start asking questions, it's too late.
Attenberg (18)
(Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2010, Gre) Ariane Labed, Vangelis Mourikis, Evangelina Randou. 97 mins
Fans of Dogtooth will be ready for another prime dose of Greek oddness. Beneath the animal impersonations, silly walks and bad sex lies an intelligent, intimate study of human behaviour.
Fright Night (15)
(Craig Gillespie, 2011, Us) Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant. 106 mins
A teen vampire horror remake that benefits from superior effects, a shrewd Las Vegas setting, and some lively comedy.
(Ben Wheatley, 2011, UK) Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Michael Smiley, Emma Fryer. 95 mins
Who knew there was a missing link between Mike Leigh, Andy McNab and The Wicker Man? That's how unpredictable this macabre and outlandish tale is, but it unfolds in a credible modern-day Britain scarred by foreign wars and domestic recession. Circumstances lead a blokey hitman and his partner to accept a dodgy new assignment – and by the time they start asking questions, it's too late.
Attenberg (18)
(Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2010, Gre) Ariane Labed, Vangelis Mourikis, Evangelina Randou. 97 mins
Fans of Dogtooth will be ready for another prime dose of Greek oddness. Beneath the animal impersonations, silly walks and bad sex lies an intelligent, intimate study of human behaviour.
Fright Night (15)
(Craig Gillespie, 2011, Us) Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant. 106 mins
A teen vampire horror remake that benefits from superior effects, a shrewd Las Vegas setting, and some lively comedy.
- 9/2/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Gillian Wearing is the latest art-world figure to make a feature film, but her concept of workshops and fictional alter-egos is less than convincing
The artist Gillian Wearing has made a film that is an interesting but unsatisfying experiment. Through ads in the press, she invited members of the public to take part in exploratory improvisational workshops with Method acting coach Sam Rumbelow, there to recall feelings and memories, and then to devise personae who were fictional variants on their real selves, which she would make the centre of filmed vignettes. There are undoubtedly some painful, powerful moments here, but the emotions and ideas sometimes looked glib and superficial, and I wondered if the thoughts and memories being recovered were, in a sense, the product of improv groupthink: an assumption that anger, pain and rage – particularly for the men – are the most authentic and valid things to retrieve through this process.
The artist Gillian Wearing has made a film that is an interesting but unsatisfying experiment. Through ads in the press, she invited members of the public to take part in exploratory improvisational workshops with Method acting coach Sam Rumbelow, there to recall feelings and memories, and then to devise personae who were fictional variants on their real selves, which she would make the centre of filmed vignettes. There are undoubtedly some painful, powerful moments here, but the emotions and ideas sometimes looked glib and superficial, and I wondered if the thoughts and memories being recovered were, in a sense, the product of improv groupthink: an assumption that anger, pain and rage – particularly for the men – are the most authentic and valid things to retrieve through this process.
- 9/1/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
People open up to Gillian Wearing. So the artist made a feature film in which members of the public divulge their innermost secrets – with shocking results
At the Turner prize ceremony in 1997, Gillian Wearing drank a bottle and a half of champagne before the main announcement. She was on the shortlist, but assumed she wouldn't win. The whole scene was pretty overwhelming back then, she says. Interest in young British artists was at its height, the ceremony was televised, and the fascination around the prize kept building. Two years later, there would be frenzied debate over Tracey Emin's unmade bed, and two years after that would come the screaming celebrity zenith, when Madonna turned up to hand over the award.
After Wearing's name was read out that night, she made it to the stage, thanked her family, then drew a blank. "One of my friends lives in Amsterdam," she says,...
At the Turner prize ceremony in 1997, Gillian Wearing drank a bottle and a half of champagne before the main announcement. She was on the shortlist, but assumed she wouldn't win. The whole scene was pretty overwhelming back then, she says. Interest in young British artists was at its height, the ceremony was televised, and the fascination around the prize kept building. Two years later, there would be frenzied debate over Tracey Emin's unmade bed, and two years after that would come the screaming celebrity zenith, when Madonna turned up to hand over the award.
After Wearing's name was read out that night, she made it to the stage, thanked her family, then drew a blank. "One of my friends lives in Amsterdam," she says,...
- 8/29/2011
- by Kira Cochrane
- The Guardian - Film News
The Skin I Live In (15)
(Pedro Almodóvar, 2011, Spa) Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Jan Cornet, Marisa Paredes. 120 mins.
Almodóvar's silky skills and supreme confidence tempt respectable audiences into an elegantly twisted tale of surgical obsession that few others could pull off. It's best not to spell things out too much about this; suffice to say Banderas's project to create a new form of skin, with Anaya his captive guinea pig, doesn't go where you'd expect.
As usual, there's a lot going on beneath the surface.
One Day (12A)
(Lone Scherfig, 2011, Us) Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Rafe Spall. 108 mins.
Fans might not have had Hathaway's migratory trans-Pennine accent in mind when they fell in love with David Nicholls's calendar-crossing odd-couple romance on paper, and the equally wayward period details detract even further. A pity, given the promising material, but Grazia readers will lap it up just the same.
Conan The Barbarian (15)
(Marcus Nispel,...
(Pedro Almodóvar, 2011, Spa) Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Jan Cornet, Marisa Paredes. 120 mins.
Almodóvar's silky skills and supreme confidence tempt respectable audiences into an elegantly twisted tale of surgical obsession that few others could pull off. It's best not to spell things out too much about this; suffice to say Banderas's project to create a new form of skin, with Anaya his captive guinea pig, doesn't go where you'd expect.
As usual, there's a lot going on beneath the surface.
One Day (12A)
(Lone Scherfig, 2011, Us) Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Rafe Spall. 108 mins.
Fans might not have had Hathaway's migratory trans-Pennine accent in mind when they fell in love with David Nicholls's calendar-crossing odd-couple romance on paper, and the equally wayward period details detract even further. A pity, given the promising material, but Grazia readers will lap it up just the same.
Conan The Barbarian (15)
(Marcus Nispel,...
- 8/26/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Leading method-acting teacher who developed characters for one-scene shorts in forthcoming film Self Made
Who is he?
A leading method-acting teacher who has coached Natalie Press and Margo Stilley. He's the inadvertent star of artist Gillian Wearing's first feature-length film, Self Made, out on 2 September.
Explain.
In 2007, Wearing placed an ad in newspapers and job centres. It read: "Would you like to be in a film? You can play yourself or a fictional character. Call Gillian." Thousands replied, whittled down to seven. Enter Rumbelow, who worked with the group to develop characters for one-scene shorts.
So is Self Made a documentary?
Mostly. We watch Rumbelow's workshops – raw, soul-bearing, cathartic – but also five fictional shorts, each starring a member of the group. This is what you want reality TV to be like: revealing, human, touching, unpatronising, intense. Rumbelow was initially worried the film would be "some heavy conceptual rubbish".
Are the actors playing themselves?...
Who is he?
A leading method-acting teacher who has coached Natalie Press and Margo Stilley. He's the inadvertent star of artist Gillian Wearing's first feature-length film, Self Made, out on 2 September.
Explain.
In 2007, Wearing placed an ad in newspapers and job centres. It read: "Would you like to be in a film? You can play yourself or a fictional character. Call Gillian." Thousands replied, whittled down to seven. Enter Rumbelow, who worked with the group to develop characters for one-scene shorts.
So is Self Made a documentary?
Mostly. We watch Rumbelow's workshops – raw, soul-bearing, cathartic – but also five fictional shorts, each starring a member of the group. This is what you want reality TV to be like: revealing, human, touching, unpatronising, intense. Rumbelow was initially worried the film would be "some heavy conceptual rubbish".
Are the actors playing themselves?...
- 8/4/2011
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
Updated through 6/10.
Colin Beckett: "Whether by design or circumstance, this June has become Thai Cinema Month in New York, with an array of the city's art houses and museums boasting otherwise hard-to-see gems from the Thai film renaissance that began in the late 1990s. But the biggest cause for celebration is the belated arrival of two films by Uruphong Raksasad — Agrarian Utopia (2009), running at Anthology Film Archives June 10 - 15, and Stories from the North (2006), which plays Museum of the Moving Image on June 5 [this afternoon at 3] — whose formal ingenuity and geopolitical urgency make the familiar generalizations about national cinemas seem quaint, if not willfully narrow."
Updates, 6/10: For Michael Joshua Rowin, writing for Artforum, "here is an undeniably stunning work of visual art, a premiere example of the equal footing hi-def digital video now holds with celluloid filmmaking. Acting as his own cinematographer, Uruphong finds intimate wonder in lush, verdant hills; in twilights...
Colin Beckett: "Whether by design or circumstance, this June has become Thai Cinema Month in New York, with an array of the city's art houses and museums boasting otherwise hard-to-see gems from the Thai film renaissance that began in the late 1990s. But the biggest cause for celebration is the belated arrival of two films by Uruphong Raksasad — Agrarian Utopia (2009), running at Anthology Film Archives June 10 - 15, and Stories from the North (2006), which plays Museum of the Moving Image on June 5 [this afternoon at 3] — whose formal ingenuity and geopolitical urgency make the familiar generalizations about national cinemas seem quaint, if not willfully narrow."
Updates, 6/10: For Michael Joshua Rowin, writing for Artforum, "here is an undeniably stunning work of visual art, a premiere example of the equal footing hi-def digital video now holds with celluloid filmmaking. Acting as his own cinematographer, Uruphong finds intimate wonder in lush, verdant hills; in twilights...
- 6/10/2011
- MUBI
The Los Angeles Film Festival has announced the world premiere of Richard Linklater's Bernie as the opening night film for the 2011 festival.
The film will kick off the festival on June 16 at Regal Cinemas Stadium 14 at L.A. Live. It is written by Skip Hollandsworth and director Linklater and stars Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey.
The film follows a beloved mortician (Black) from a small Texas town, even winning over the town's richest, meanest widow (MacLaine). Even after Bernie commits a horrible crime, people still will not utter a bad word against him.
"We're thrilled to be opening the Festival with the world premiere of this delicious black comedy - a treat from one of the most original and exciting voices in independent film, Richard Linklater," said Festival director Rebecca Yeldham. "With its fabulous all-star cast, Bernie is a perfect stage setter for the incredible line-up of...
The film will kick off the festival on June 16 at Regal Cinemas Stadium 14 at L.A. Live. It is written by Skip Hollandsworth and director Linklater and stars Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey.
The film follows a beloved mortician (Black) from a small Texas town, even winning over the town's richest, meanest widow (MacLaine). Even after Bernie commits a horrible crime, people still will not utter a bad word against him.
"We're thrilled to be opening the Festival with the world premiere of this delicious black comedy - a treat from one of the most original and exciting voices in independent film, Richard Linklater," said Festival director Rebecca Yeldham. "With its fabulous all-star cast, Bernie is a perfect stage setter for the incredible line-up of...
- 5/30/2011
- by alyssa@mediavine.com (Alyssa Caverley)
- Reel Movie News
The Arbor
Directed by Clio Barnard
2011, USA
In her video instillation piece Trauma 2000, the British conceptual artist Gillian Wearing placed want ads in various newspapers, seeking individuals willing to be taped while detailing their most painful, intimate stories. Of those who volunteered, many opened up about the emotional, physical and sexual abuse they had suffered as children and as spouses. To make the telling bearable – indeed, possible – Wearing employed a device: each volunteer donned a cheap, near-featureless plastic mask that hid the entire face except for the eyes. The masks add an additional layer of aesthetic distance, erecting a second artifice between subject and viewer, this one more readily visible than the camera itself. Like the camera, the eye slits focus both attention and expressive intent. We are drawn to the way the pupils dance in the white of the sclera, the blinks and darts moving in time with the timber of the voice.
Directed by Clio Barnard
2011, USA
In her video instillation piece Trauma 2000, the British conceptual artist Gillian Wearing placed want ads in various newspapers, seeking individuals willing to be taped while detailing their most painful, intimate stories. Of those who volunteered, many opened up about the emotional, physical and sexual abuse they had suffered as children and as spouses. To make the telling bearable – indeed, possible – Wearing employed a device: each volunteer donned a cheap, near-featureless plastic mask that hid the entire face except for the eyes. The masks add an additional layer of aesthetic distance, erecting a second artifice between subject and viewer, this one more readily visible than the camera itself. Like the camera, the eye slits focus both attention and expressive intent. We are drawn to the way the pupils dance in the white of the sclera, the blinks and darts moving in time with the timber of the voice.
- 5/26/2011
- by Louis Godfrey
- SoundOnSight
Holding court downtown from June 16-26, 2011, the Los Angeles Film Festival comprehensively curates the cinematic landscape across a variety of media. Produced by Film Independent, the festival has continued to grow in recent years, and now boasts many of the best independent films of the year.
With the departure of the organization’s CEO, Dawn Hudson, to run the Academy, it will be interesting to see whether the festival’s director Rebecca Yeldham will stay on board past 2011. In the meantime, they’ve announced their line-up for the 2011 festival, and it includes some much buzzed about Sundance and SxSW titles (“Project Nim,” “The Future,” “Crime After Crime,” “The Salesman,” “Terri,” “Another Earth,” “The Guard,” “Natural Selection,” “Tyrannosaur,” “Where Soldiers Come From” and “Higher Ground,” to name a few), as well as 27 world, North American and U.S. premieres.
For the official list of competition and other films, as well as...
With the departure of the organization’s CEO, Dawn Hudson, to run the Academy, it will be interesting to see whether the festival’s director Rebecca Yeldham will stay on board past 2011. In the meantime, they’ve announced their line-up for the 2011 festival, and it includes some much buzzed about Sundance and SxSW titles (“Project Nim,” “The Future,” “Crime After Crime,” “The Salesman,” “Terri,” “Another Earth,” “The Guard,” “Natural Selection,” “Tyrannosaur,” “Where Soldiers Come From” and “Higher Ground,” to name a few), as well as 27 world, North American and U.S. premieres.
For the official list of competition and other films, as well as...
- 5/3/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Holding court downtown from June 16-26, 2011, the Los Angeles Film Festival comprehensively curates the cinematic landscape across a variety of media. Produced by Film Independent, the festival has continued to grow in recent years, and now boasts many of the best independent films of the year.
With the departure of the organization’s CEO, Dawn Hudson, to run the Academy, it will be interesting to see whether the festival’s director Rebecca Yeldham will stay on board past 2011. In the meantime, they’ve announced their line-up for the 2011 festival, and it includes some much buzzed about Sundance and SxSW titles (“Project Nim,” “The Future,” “Crime After Crime,” “The Salesman,” “Terri,” “Another Earth,” “The Guard,” “Natural Selection,” “Tyrannosaur,” “Where Soldiers Come From” and “Higher Ground,” to name a few), as well as 27 world, North American and U.S. premieres.
For the official list of competition and other films, as well as...
With the departure of the organization’s CEO, Dawn Hudson, to run the Academy, it will be interesting to see whether the festival’s director Rebecca Yeldham will stay on board past 2011. In the meantime, they’ve announced their line-up for the 2011 festival, and it includes some much buzzed about Sundance and SxSW titles (“Project Nim,” “The Future,” “Crime After Crime,” “The Salesman,” “Terri,” “Another Earth,” “The Guard,” “Natural Selection,” “Tyrannosaur,” “Where Soldiers Come From” and “Higher Ground,” to name a few), as well as 27 world, North American and U.S. premieres.
For the official list of competition and other films, as well as...
- 5/3/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Film Independent Announces First Round Of Us & International
Film Selections For 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival,
Presented By The Los Angeles Times - 19 Films Chosen for Narrative & Documentary Competition - - International Spotlight to Focus on Cuba -
Los Angeles (May 3, 2011) . Today the Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times, announced the first round of official Us and international selections. The 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival is produced by Film Independent . the non-profit arts organization that also produces the Spirit Awards . and will screen over 200 feature films, shorts, and music videos, representing more than 30 countries. Opening and Closing Night films, Galas, Conversations, Artists in Residence, Lafca.s Films That Got Away, along with additional special guests and programming for the Festival Talks will be announced at later dates.
Returning to downtown Los Angeles, with its central hub at L.A. Live, the Festival will run from Thursday, June 16 to Sunday,...
Film Selections For 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival,
Presented By The Los Angeles Times - 19 Films Chosen for Narrative & Documentary Competition - - International Spotlight to Focus on Cuba -
Los Angeles (May 3, 2011) . Today the Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times, announced the first round of official Us and international selections. The 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival is produced by Film Independent . the non-profit arts organization that also produces the Spirit Awards . and will screen over 200 feature films, shorts, and music videos, representing more than 30 countries. Opening and Closing Night films, Galas, Conversations, Artists in Residence, Lafca.s Films That Got Away, along with additional special guests and programming for the Festival Talks will be announced at later dates.
Returning to downtown Los Angeles, with its central hub at L.A. Live, the Festival will run from Thursday, June 16 to Sunday,...
- 5/3/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Self Made is the feature film debut of Gillian Wearing, an artist who emerged in the unofficial movement (yet branded by the international art world) Yba, or Young British Artist. Wearing’s work has always dealt with identity and its performance, working in various art movements which I believe to be organic, not a reaction to the global art market, but I’m just a naive film reviewer.
Before I get myself into any trouble I shall describe Wearing’s Self Made. She puts an ad out online: “Would you like to be in a film? You can play yourself or a fictional character. Call Gillian.” From the self-selected pool she chooses her collaborators: seven strangers were chosen from hundreds, all with unique and at times rather mundane narratives. Wearing hires a method acting coach, Sam Rumbelow to work with the group, and together they craft “scenes” addressing their greatest...
Before I get myself into any trouble I shall describe Wearing’s Self Made. She puts an ad out online: “Would you like to be in a film? You can play yourself or a fictional character. Call Gillian.” From the self-selected pool she chooses her collaborators: seven strangers were chosen from hundreds, all with unique and at times rather mundane narratives. Wearing hires a method acting coach, Sam Rumbelow to work with the group, and together they craft “scenes” addressing their greatest...
- 3/25/2011
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Viva! Spanish Film Festival, Manchester
Opener Tear This Heart Out recreates a 1930s Mexican town with all its intrigues, and there are star-studded shorts to mark the 100th anniversary of the Mexican revolution, but much of this year's Spanish-lanugage film festival is bang up to date. Chilean movie The Life Of Fish is set at a party, while Aurora Borealis: My Final Day is presented as a Mexican teenager's video suicide note. The Colours Of The Mountain contrasts a rural village with guerrilla wars, and Spanish comedy Fat People focuses on obesity. Also, the documentary Circus tracks one of Mexico's last travelling circuses, while Sins Of My Father is a son's view of drug baron Pablo Escobar.
Cornerhouse, Sat to 27 Mar
Minghella Film Festival, Newport
Three years after Anthony Minghella's death, the shoring up of his legacy continues thanks to his fans, family and celebrity mates. The latter...
Opener Tear This Heart Out recreates a 1930s Mexican town with all its intrigues, and there are star-studded shorts to mark the 100th anniversary of the Mexican revolution, but much of this year's Spanish-lanugage film festival is bang up to date. Chilean movie The Life Of Fish is set at a party, while Aurora Borealis: My Final Day is presented as a Mexican teenager's video suicide note. The Colours Of The Mountain contrasts a rural village with guerrilla wars, and Spanish comedy Fat People focuses on obesity. Also, the documentary Circus tracks one of Mexico's last travelling circuses, while Sins Of My Father is a son's view of drug baron Pablo Escobar.
Cornerhouse, Sat to 27 Mar
Minghella Film Festival, Newport
Three years after Anthony Minghella's death, the shoring up of his legacy continues thanks to his fans, family and celebrity mates. The latter...
- 3/5/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Documentary Fortnight, MoMA’s International Festival of Nonfiction Film and Media, kicked off its 10th season last night with the world premiere of Self Made. The film, a first for British artist (and Turner Prize winner) turned filmmaker Gillian Wearing, takes the audience through the cathartic process of a Method Acting class populated by a small group of hand-picked non-professionals and led by acting teacher, Sam Rumbelow. The movie shows how strong performances can result from emotional excavation. It’s a raw and emotionally powerful film and one that makes clear that Method Acting, first invented by Stanislavski over a hundred years ago, is still relevant.
As will be the case in most of the screenings in the festival, there to introduce Self Made and to take questions afterward were director Wearing, Rumbelow and one of the actor participants, Lian Stewart. Because of the demanding emotional work required by those who participated in the film,...
As will be the case in most of the screenings in the festival, there to introduce Self Made and to take questions afterward were director Wearing, Rumbelow and one of the actor participants, Lian Stewart. Because of the demanding emotional work required by those who participated in the film,...
- 2/17/2011
- by webadmin
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The South by Southwest Film Festival announced its feature film line-up Wednesday, piling heaps of cinematic goodness on an already stellar program that includes Jodie Foster’s The Beaver, Duncan Jones’ Source Code, Ti West’s The Innkeepers, Conan O’Brien’s tour documentary, and the latest Simon Pegg-Nick Frost comedy, Paul, with Seth Rogen.
Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) returns to the festival with her latest film, Red Riding Hood starring Amanda Seyfried, after the writer-director spoke on a screenwriting panel in 2009.
Plus a few favorites from the Sundance Film Festival last month, like Tom McCarthy’s Win Win, Morgan Spurlock’s The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and Max Winkler’s Ceremony.
I’m extremely excited, even if I’m already having flashbacks to intense sleep deprivation. Like the last two years, I’ll be on the ground covering as much of the festival as I can within the packed 9 days of screenings,...
Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) returns to the festival with her latest film, Red Riding Hood starring Amanda Seyfried, after the writer-director spoke on a screenwriting panel in 2009.
Plus a few favorites from the Sundance Film Festival last month, like Tom McCarthy’s Win Win, Morgan Spurlock’s The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and Max Winkler’s Ceremony.
I’m extremely excited, even if I’m already having flashbacks to intense sleep deprivation. Like the last two years, I’ll be on the ground covering as much of the festival as I can within the packed 9 days of screenings,...
- 2/3/2011
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
‘Tapping into the cultural zeitgeist,’ at SXSW 2011
Austin, Texas – The SXSW 2011 Feature Film Lineup was unveiled Wednesday afternoon. The festival lineup will consist of 130 features, in nine full days of programming, promising to deliver a film-going experience unlike previous years.
With a reputation for taking chances on relatively unknown filmmakers, the SXSW panel of judges carefully picked 130 films from 1,792 feature-length film submissions, (1,323 U.S. and 469 international). The program consists of 60 World Premieres, 12 North American Premieres and 16 U.S. Premieres.
The main competition categories return with eight Narrative Features, and eight Documentary Features, both competing for their respective Grand Jury Prize. New for films in competition this year, are awards for screenplay, editing, cinematography, music, and acting.
(The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week.)
Here are a few of the Features to be screened, among many others.
Narratives:
The Beaver (World Premiere)
Dir.
Austin, Texas – The SXSW 2011 Feature Film Lineup was unveiled Wednesday afternoon. The festival lineup will consist of 130 features, in nine full days of programming, promising to deliver a film-going experience unlike previous years.
With a reputation for taking chances on relatively unknown filmmakers, the SXSW panel of judges carefully picked 130 films from 1,792 feature-length film submissions, (1,323 U.S. and 469 international). The program consists of 60 World Premieres, 12 North American Premieres and 16 U.S. Premieres.
The main competition categories return with eight Narrative Features, and eight Documentary Features, both competing for their respective Grand Jury Prize. New for films in competition this year, are awards for screenplay, editing, cinematography, music, and acting.
(The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week.)
Here are a few of the Features to be screened, among many others.
Narratives:
The Beaver (World Premiere)
Dir.
- 2/3/2011
- by Albert Art
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Readers of Sound On Sight can be sure that we will indeed be covering the SXSW Film Festival once again. As previously reported, Duncan Jones’ latest film Source Code is opening the festival and there will also be premieres for the documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Greg Mottola’s Paul, and Jodie Foster’s The Beaver. Now the full line-up has been announced it is incredible.
Hit the jump to check out the line-up, and be sure to visit our site during the event.
The 2011 SXSW Film Festival runs from March 11 – 19th in Austin, Texas.
SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup
Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers.
Hit the jump to check out the line-up, and be sure to visit our site during the event.
The 2011 SXSW Film Festival runs from March 11 – 19th in Austin, Texas.
SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup
Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers.
- 2/3/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
The South By Southwest Film Conference and Festival announced this year's features lineup. The festival takes place March 11-19 in Austin, Texas.
There are a total of 130 features screening this year including 60 world premieres, 12 North American premieres and 16 U.S. premieres! This year the a total of 1,792 feature-length films were submitted, which is the most ever.
There are going to be some amazing films shown this yea. Opening night kicks off with Duncan Jones' Source Code (Moon). The fest rolls on with Jodie Foster‘s The Beaver, Greg Mottola‘s Paul, Sundance Grand Prize doc winner How to Die in Oregon, Errol Morris‘ Tabloid, Victoria Mahoney‘s Yelling to the Sky, Azazel Jacob‘s Terri. There will also be a special screening of Catherine Hardwicke‘s Red Riding Hood.
The Midnight and SXFantastic sections will be announced with the shorts program next week.
See the complete lineup below via...
There are a total of 130 features screening this year including 60 world premieres, 12 North American premieres and 16 U.S. premieres! This year the a total of 1,792 feature-length films were submitted, which is the most ever.
There are going to be some amazing films shown this yea. Opening night kicks off with Duncan Jones' Source Code (Moon). The fest rolls on with Jodie Foster‘s The Beaver, Greg Mottola‘s Paul, Sundance Grand Prize doc winner How to Die in Oregon, Errol Morris‘ Tabloid, Victoria Mahoney‘s Yelling to the Sky, Azazel Jacob‘s Terri. There will also be a special screening of Catherine Hardwicke‘s Red Riding Hood.
The Midnight and SXFantastic sections will be announced with the shorts program next week.
See the complete lineup below via...
- 2/2/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
The South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) just announced their entire 2011 feature film lineup, and there’s isn’t a lot of note, with regards to this blog’s focus.
Titles you should be aware of – all of which we’ve previously profiled on Shadow And Act – include, Victoria Mahoney’s feature film debut, Yelling To The Sky (which will actually make its world debut at the Berlin Film Festival later this month); plus Blacktino, the first feature film from writer/director Aaron Burns, a self-described “blacktino nerd from Austin, Texas,” who got his start at Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios doing visual effects; Benda Bilili, a documentary about a band of homeless, disabled Congolese; and last, but not least, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, a documentary about the black man that happens to be the man behind the puppet (which also played at Sundance).
There might be...
Titles you should be aware of – all of which we’ve previously profiled on Shadow And Act – include, Victoria Mahoney’s feature film debut, Yelling To The Sky (which will actually make its world debut at the Berlin Film Festival later this month); plus Blacktino, the first feature film from writer/director Aaron Burns, a self-described “blacktino nerd from Austin, Texas,” who got his start at Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios doing visual effects; Benda Bilili, a documentary about a band of homeless, disabled Congolese; and last, but not least, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, a documentary about the black man that happens to be the man behind the puppet (which also played at Sundance).
There might be...
- 2/2/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
The South by Southwest Film Festival has announced their features lineup for the 2011’s Festival, which will take place March 11th to the 19th in Austin Texas. Read the full press release after the jump. SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week. “This is the most exciting moment for us. After a fantastic festival of discovery in 2010, we can finally unveil the line up for this year’s event,” says Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. “SXSW prides itself on taking chances, sifting for...
- 2/2/2011
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
The BFI is assuming most of the UKFC's functions, Ed Vaizey revealed today, six months after the Tory minister declared the organisations incompatible
Two weeks after the general election, the new culture minister Ed Vaizey called off the proposed merger between the UK Film Council (UKFC) and the British Film Institute which had been under negotiation for months.
The reason, he said, was that the UKFC's industrial mission and the BFI's charitable remit weren't in any way compatible.
But then in July, his boss, the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, decided to abolish the UKFC anyway, on a day when Vaizey was out of the office, and landed Vaizey with the headache of working out what should happen next.
Today, six months after cancelling the merger as a bad idea, Vaizey has revealed that BFI will take over most of the UKFC's functions after all, apart from the job of attracting...
Two weeks after the general election, the new culture minister Ed Vaizey called off the proposed merger between the UK Film Council (UKFC) and the British Film Institute which had been under negotiation for months.
The reason, he said, was that the UKFC's industrial mission and the BFI's charitable remit weren't in any way compatible.
But then in July, his boss, the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, decided to abolish the UKFC anyway, on a day when Vaizey was out of the office, and landed Vaizey with the headache of working out what should happen next.
Today, six months after cancelling the merger as a bad idea, Vaizey has revealed that BFI will take over most of the UKFC's functions after all, apart from the job of attracting...
- 11/29/2010
- by Adam Dawtrey
- The Guardian - Film News
Bradford Animation Festival
The UK's largest and longest-running animation festival brings the usual cornucopia of creativity – but this being a competition, instead of swamping us with everything out there, they've mercifully sorted it into categorised shortlists, each the size of a single screening (ie: student, music, children). There are features, too: Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal's Chico And Rita harks back to 1950s Cuba, while Vincent Gallo and Juliette Lewis-voiced Metropia fast-forwards to an Orwellian 2020s Sweden. Plus a gaming-oriented offshoot and guests including the visual effects supervisor from Inception and Pixar veteran Paul Mendoza.
National Media Museum, Tue to 13 Nov
Bath Film Festival
Despite the city's refined status, there's nothing snobbish about this festival. Yes, it gives you previews of forthcoming big hitters such as Never Let Me Go and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, but it's not above rounding up decent films released earlier...
The UK's largest and longest-running animation festival brings the usual cornucopia of creativity – but this being a competition, instead of swamping us with everything out there, they've mercifully sorted it into categorised shortlists, each the size of a single screening (ie: student, music, children). There are features, too: Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal's Chico And Rita harks back to 1950s Cuba, while Vincent Gallo and Juliette Lewis-voiced Metropia fast-forwards to an Orwellian 2020s Sweden. Plus a gaming-oriented offshoot and guests including the visual effects supervisor from Inception and Pixar veteran Paul Mendoza.
National Media Museum, Tue to 13 Nov
Bath Film Festival
Despite the city's refined status, there's nothing snobbish about this festival. Yes, it gives you previews of forthcoming big hitters such as Never Let Me Go and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, but it's not above rounding up decent films released earlier...
- 11/6/2010
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Year: 2010
Directors: Gillian Wearing
Writers: Leo Butler
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Ben Austwick
Rating: 9 out of 10
Gillian Wearing is the latest British contemporary artist to turn to cinema, her low key pieces on identity transferring well to the big screen. So well in fact, she may have found her perfect medium, her formerly impact-based work being given room to deepen and expand, bringing her subjects to the fore.
In an approach in tune with her previous artwork, Wearing sets up a situation, stands back and follows its progress rather than planning the film from beginning to end, placing advertisements asking for potential actors to come forward, filming their training and asking them to construct a story they will star in themselves. Method acting teacher Sam Rumbelow provides the training, taking the amateur actors through various exercises in a drama workshop. These uninhibited, noisy activities bring jokes and laughter,...
Directors: Gillian Wearing
Writers: Leo Butler
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Ben Austwick
Rating: 9 out of 10
Gillian Wearing is the latest British contemporary artist to turn to cinema, her low key pieces on identity transferring well to the big screen. So well in fact, she may have found her perfect medium, her formerly impact-based work being given room to deepen and expand, bringing her subjects to the fore.
In an approach in tune with her previous artwork, Wearing sets up a situation, stands back and follows its progress rather than planning the film from beginning to end, placing advertisements asking for potential actors to come forward, filming their training and asking them to construct a story they will star in themselves. Method acting teacher Sam Rumbelow provides the training, taking the amateur actors through various exercises in a drama workshop. These uninhibited, noisy activities bring jokes and laughter,...
- 11/5/2010
- QuietEarth.us
Screenings in harbours, not cinemas. Burlesque instead of after-film Q&As. Sipping urine instead of Frascati. Chris Michael on the new breed of film festival rejecting the Cannes way
Name the festival at which the following event took place. Cult American musician Ian Svenonius stands on an 18th-century military tower a mile from the shore, his gravity-defying hair whipping around in the breeze. He begins an impromptu play, with three randomly selected audience members improvising a rap behind him. Svenonius is talking as fast as he can in order to finish before the tide rushes in and we all get stranded in the English Channel overnight. Latitude? The Brighton biennial? A Comintern club night? None of the above.
If you answered the Branchage film festival, however, you'd be bang on. Svenonius's deadpan performance of "post-apocalyptic cinema" is part of an energetically loopy and welcoming event – now in its third year...
Name the festival at which the following event took place. Cult American musician Ian Svenonius stands on an 18th-century military tower a mile from the shore, his gravity-defying hair whipping around in the breeze. He begins an impromptu play, with three randomly selected audience members improvising a rap behind him. Svenonius is talking as fast as he can in order to finish before the tide rushes in and we all get stranded in the English Channel overnight. Latitude? The Brighton biennial? A Comintern club night? None of the above.
If you answered the Branchage film festival, however, you'd be bang on. Svenonius's deadpan performance of "post-apocalyptic cinema" is part of an energetically loopy and welcoming event – now in its third year...
- 10/28/2010
- by Chris Michael
- The Guardian - Film News
David from Victim of the Time, reporting from the London Film Festival.
“Why would I go to London?! No way!”
A wry chuckle greeted this on-screen outburst during my first public screening of the 54th BFI London Film Festival. I may have already sat through two and a half weeks of press screenings, but in that moment I knew the energy had changed now the festival had kicked into gear. Without the abundance of eagerly-awaited premieres and the bidding wars that come with them, Britain's premiere film festival is fuelled mostly by a pure love of the art of film. It’s my fourth festival, my second as a press delegate (follow the ‘London Film Festival’ tag to delve into last year’s coverage), and my first as a resident Londoner, so it’s a strikingly different experience for me. I’ll be rolling out capsules reviews – accompanied by as...
“Why would I go to London?! No way!”
A wry chuckle greeted this on-screen outburst during my first public screening of the 54th BFI London Film Festival. I may have already sat through two and a half weeks of press screenings, but in that moment I knew the energy had changed now the festival had kicked into gear. Without the abundance of eagerly-awaited premieres and the bidding wars that come with them, Britain's premiere film festival is fuelled mostly by a pure love of the art of film. It’s my fourth festival, my second as a press delegate (follow the ‘London Film Festival’ tag to delve into last year’s coverage), and my first as a resident Londoner, so it’s a strikingly different experience for me. I’ll be rolling out capsules reviews – accompanied by as...
- 10/16/2010
- by Dave
- FilmExperience
Film-maker collects £10,000 prize to make four artworks for Channel 4's 3 Minute Wonder series
Film-maker Emily Wardill has won £10,000 and the chance to make four artworks for Channel 4's acclaimed 3 Minute Wonder series after becoming the recipient of this year's Jarman award.
Wardill, whose work is soon to appear as a part of the major new Hayward Gallery touring show British Art Show 7, was today announced as winner at a special VIP event at the Whitechapel Gallery. She beat competition from other shortlisted artists such as Spartacus Chetwynd, Ben Rivers and Zineb Sedira. The rest of the shortlist receive £1,000 each.
The award is handed out by Film London and Channel 4 in association with the Whitechapel Gallery. This year's jury included: John Akomfrah, film-maker, Iwona Blazwick, director of the Whitechapel Gallery, Avi Grewal of Channel 4 documentaries, Mark Rappolt, editor of ArtReview, artist film-maker Gillian Wearing, and Stuart Comer,...
Film-maker Emily Wardill has won £10,000 and the chance to make four artworks for Channel 4's acclaimed 3 Minute Wonder series after becoming the recipient of this year's Jarman award.
Wardill, whose work is soon to appear as a part of the major new Hayward Gallery touring show British Art Show 7, was today announced as winner at a special VIP event at the Whitechapel Gallery. She beat competition from other shortlisted artists such as Spartacus Chetwynd, Ben Rivers and Zineb Sedira. The rest of the shortlist receive £1,000 each.
The award is handed out by Film London and Channel 4 in association with the Whitechapel Gallery. This year's jury included: John Akomfrah, film-maker, Iwona Blazwick, director of the Whitechapel Gallery, Avi Grewal of Channel 4 documentaries, Mark Rappolt, editor of ArtReview, artist film-maker Gillian Wearing, and Stuart Comer,...
- 10/6/2010
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
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