Pages 31 - Raindance

Opposite page, clockwise from top left Zan Lyons, Mark Levin, Alessi, Evi Vine, Cosmo Jarvis, Phillip Roebuck; above left Japanther; right Penny Rimbaud
JAZZ NIGHT
WEDNESDAY 8 OCTOBER AT 8PM – THE SPICE OF LIFE
COLONEL JD WILKES, JAPANTHER, PENNY RIMBAUD,
LOUISE ELLIOTT
SATURDAY 11 OCTOBER AT 8PM – THE REX
Raindance and Paul Pace presents some of the UK’s finest jazz acts.
Wednesday is singer’s night, accompanied by top-flight backing. There will
be three sets – mainly invited guests first, then a featured artist (tbc), followed by an open mic set.
EVI VINE, COSMO JARVIS, ALESSI
FRIDAY 10 OCTOBER AT 8PM – THE REX
Evi Vine is a singer/songwriter emerging from the UK’s underground
music scene. Inspired by artists as Leonard Cohen, the Cocteau Twins and
Nine Inch Nails, Evi’s powerful and emotive, but raw minimalist narrative
style is very much her own. www.evivine.co.uk
Cosmo Jarvis is an 18-year-old composer, multi-instrumentalist and filmmaker with over 250 songs composed, 100 recordings and over 60 videos
made including everything from music videos through to short movies.
Cosmo is an exceptional new talent emerging in the British music scene.
www.cosmojarvis.com
Alessi is a unique eighteen-year-old singer-songwriter who is very open
to the world of the imagination. Her songs are a new take on psychedelic
folk music taking a myriad of influences from art and music, and her own
life. In a very short time, Alessi has created her own signature sound, which
she calls very ‘British, and a little like Syd Barrett.’ www.myspace.com/
alessimusic
Colonel JD Wilkes is best known as the singer/frontman and songwriter
for the Nashville-based rockabilly band the Legendary Shack*Shakers.
Recently, JD has branched out into filmmaking with his new documentary Seven Signs which is making its UK premiere at Raindance this year.
His efforts have garnered him praise from several publications like Alarm
Magazine, who described him as ‘the closest thing to the ambassador of
genuine Southern culture’. Joining him on the mandolin is his wife Jessica
Leibel Wilkes. www.jdwilkes.com
Japanther’s music is all at the same time, poignant, intense, danceable
and fun. It’s a happy combination of Noise-Rock, Pop Punk and Indie.
Thurston Moore called this New York based Rock and Roll duo ‘a lean,
slam boogie machine with no time for boredom.’ These guys are sure to
get yer panties in a twist. www.japanther.com
Penny Rimbaud is a drummer, writer, poet, former member of performance art groups Exit and Ceres Confusion, and co-founder of the anarchist
punk band Crass. Penny will join in a performance with Japanther.
Louise Elliott is an Australian tenor saxophonist and has performed with
a wealth of international musicians. Originally known for her appearances with cult rock outfits Laughing Clowns, The Saints, Ed Kuepper and
Paul Kelly, Louise has a fiery commitment to inspiring and energetic live
performance which has been referred to in the media as ‘her profoundly
diverse smorgasbord of funk, blues and rock’ and ‘an African inspired jazz
explosion’. She has played with Penny Rimbaud for 8 years.
SIXTEENTH RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
31
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THE BLUE TOWER
THURSDAY 2 OCTOBER AT 8:45PM & FRIDAY 3 OCTOBER AT 2PM
CountryUK Running Time 87 mins Format HDV/HD-Cam Director/Screenplay Smita
Bhide Producer Jamie Nuttgens DoP AnneMarie Lean-Vercoe Cast Abhin Galeya, Alice
O’Connell, Indira Joshi Print Source Monkey in Heaven Films Email jamie.nuttgens@virgin.net
Playing with Veils 13 mins
CLUBBED
MONDAY 6 OCTOBER AT 7PM & TUESDAY 7 OCTOBER AT 2:30PM
Country UK Running Time 95 mins Format Super 16mm Director Neil Thompson
Screenplay Geoff Thompson Producer Martin Carr DoP Kate Stark Cast Mel Raido, Shaun
Parkes, Scot Williams Print Source Formosa Films Email kellie@formosafilms.com Website
www.formosafilms.com
THE DAISY CHAIN
THURSDAY 9 OCTOBER AT 7PM
Country UK Running Time 91 mins Format 35mm Director
Aisling Walsh Screenplay Lauren Mackenzie Producers
Tristan Orpen Lynch, Dominic Wright DoP Simon Kossoff Cast
Samantha Morton, Steven Mackintosh, Mhairy Anderson P/S
ContentFilm International E rebecca.berry@contentfilm.com
34
SIXTEENTH RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
SCREENING SPONSOR
Mohan is unsatisfied with his life. He is unhappy with his arranged marriage
and, struggling to find a job, he is being pressured by his father-in-law to
join the family firm. With both of his parents dead and with few prospects
in life, he is reliant on his overbearing bed-ridden aunt Kamla for financial
security, and begins to find respite from his menial life in her new nurse
– embarking on an affair with her. At the onset, it seems to be exactly what
he needs from life. But it’s not long before some dark and sinister secrets
begin to emerge, throwing a spanner into the works once again.
Beautifully shot against the backdrop of Southall, Smita Bhide’s debut
feature depicts West London’s Indian community to colourful effect, painting a multi-cultural portrait of the city. Abhin Galeya also provides a terrific
performance as Mohan, who is easy to identify with as he so desperately
tries to escape the trials and tribulations of his everyday life.
It’s a clever and intriguing thriller that will capture your imagination from
the big dreams of its lead character to the symbolism of the film’s titular Blue Tower. Daring enough to be different, it ushers in a new era for
British-Asian cinema – and isn’t afraid of addressing several taboos in the
process. CP
Danny, a factory worker, separated father of two and fearful victim of street
violence, wants to be a fighter. Befriending a group of amateur boxers he is
offered work on the door of a local club. He is, however, no brutish fool and
being an avid reader, writes about his journey in a way that is quite unsettling. His real boost comes from the friends he has made. Louis, heading
up both the boxing and security details, is the voice of reason in the group;
authoritative in stature but rational in thought; he is Danny’s spiritual and
physical guide. Danny is closest to Rob, a complex man brooding over the
mark left on his life by his abusive father.
As Danny learns to stand up for himself and others, the group finds
themselves at odds with a syndicate of drug dealers, headed up by menacing drug baron Billy Hennessy, who threatens them with destructive force.
In this savage world, it seems that friends like these can only prevail if
they stick together. The films strengths include the performance of Colin
Salmon as Louis, whose serenity offers a counterpoint to the dominating
violence and aggression. JG
Following the tragic death of their daughter, young couple Martha and
Tomas move to a remote Irish village. There they take under their wing
Daisy, an autistic child whose own parents have died in a strangely ritualistic fire. Daisy seems to settle in with the couple, and Martha finds a kindred
spirit in her grief, but a growing antagonism towards the young girl from
the locals, linking her to strange occurrences and uncovering tales of faeries, changelings and the malevolent spirits of a bygone age.
With a setting reminiscent of The Wicker Man, laced with the fear of an
unworldly child raised in such films as Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen,
Aisling Walsh’s first feature since the multi-award winning Song for a
Raggy Boy blends the supernatural with raw real-world emotions, wonderfully expressed by Samantha Morton as Martha. Amongst a stand-out
cast, including Steven Mackintosh and Eva Birtwhistle, it is ten year old
Mhairi Anderson, as Daisy, who gives the most stunning performance. A
troubled young girl, an innocent child and at the same time feared by the
witch-hunting locals, this young actress keeps us guessing of the terrifying
conclusion. AStJ
Actor Steven Mackintosh will be present for a Q&A after the screening.
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DUMMY
FRIDAY 10 OCTOBER AT 6:45PM
Country UK Running Time 85 mins Format HD-Cam Director/Screenplay Matthew
Thompson Producer Miranda Robinson DoP David Langan Cast Aaron Johnson, Thomas Grant,
Emma Catherwood Print Source Screensouth Email miranda.robinson@screensouth.org
Playing with 1 or 2 Things I Don’t Know About Him 11 mins
FLICK
FRIDAY 3 OCTOBER AT 7:15PM
Country UK Running Time 95 mins Format HDV Director/
S’play David Howard Producer Rik Hall DoP Chris Segar
Cast Faye Dunaway, Liz Smith E greenmonkeyuk@hotmail.com
Website www.flickthemovie.com
SCREENING SPONSOR
Brothers Jack and Danny have their world turned upside down when their
ill mother dies. Danny, at eighteen, is now responsible for his little brother;
a task he resents, but carries out as a promise to his mother. Jack constructs a surrogate ‘mummy’ out of a mannequin and his mother’s makeup
and wig, in an attempt to hang on to their past existence. Danny falls into
the world of loud parties and drugs, and while his new girlfriend Zoe is
sweet and offers some stability, she has no idea of the situation she has
stepped into. While Danny struggles to juggle taking care of Jack alongside his career as an aspiring DJ, it becomes clear that they both have to
move on in order to do what’s right.
Director Matthew Thompson has crafted an incredibly moving film which
focuses on grief, which is shown from denial through acceptance. This is,
however, far more than just a psychological study. It depicts a coming of
age for Danny (played with a rare mixture of complexity and genuineness
by Aaron Johnson). It also shows the effect of loss at a young age for Jack
(a stunning debut for Thomas Grant), whose extreme politeness endears
us to him. Most affecting, however, is the poignancy that results from seeing that doing the right thing is not always as easy as it sounds. JG
Johnny is a shy and stuttering Teddy boy who goes dancing down the
Palace every Friday night. All he wants from life is one dance with Sally
Andrews – the girl of his dreams. But having finally worked up the courage
to ask her, her boyfriend beats, bullies and humiliates him. Johnny lashes
out violently, and while being chased from the scene his car takes a plunge
into a nearby river- leading him to a watery grave.
After forty years of drifting out to sea, the car becomes caught in the
net of a fishing boat. Johnny’s decomposing body is suddenly resurrected,
and he embarks upon a murderous rampage on those who bullied him that
fateful night.
From first time filmmaker David Howard, Flick boasts a comic book look
that echoes Sin City, and oozes in retro style. Featuring a recognisable
British cast that includes Mark Benton and Michelle Ryan, the big star on
display is 1970s screen goddess Faye Dunaway as a one-armed Police
lieutenant from Memphis. Throw in a kick-ass 1950s Rock & roll soundtrack, mixed in with some tunes specially written by Richard Hawley, and
you’ve got one hell of an entertaining gem. CP
Faye Dunaway will be present for a Q&A after the screening.
HUSH
SUNDAY 12 OCTOBER AT 7PM
Country UK RT 95 mins Ft 35mm Dir/S’play Mark Tonderai
Prods Robin Gutch, Mark Herbert, Colin Pons, Zoe Stewart
DoP Philipp Blaubach Cast William Ash, Christine Bottomley,
Guy Burnet P/S Optimum E hugh@optimumreleasing.com
W www.optimumreleasing.co.uk
SCREENING SPONSOR
A tired and moody Zakes Abbot drives along a familiar stretch of raindrenched motorway with his girlfriend Beth asleep in the passenger seat.
He accidentally misses his turning and in the process cuts off a large white
lorry, narrowly avoiding an accident. The enraged lorry driver then swerves
violently ahead of him with the back panel of the truck swinging up to
momentarily reveal a horrific sight – a terrified young woman chained in
a cage. Zakes stares in disbelief and proceeds to tell the now fully awake
Beth what he thinks he’s just seen. At Beth’s insistence he calls the police
but tensions between the couple begin to flare when she accuses him
of not doing enough to help the woman and erupt further when Zakes
discovers a suspicious missed call on her phone. When the pair stop at a
service station where Zakes carries out his routine job of putting up posters in the restrooms, he discovers that Beth herself has gone missing and
soon comes to realise she may have become the next victim.
Making full use of the British weather to achieve it’s dark forlorn tone,
this is a striking muddy-hued debut by British director Mark Tonderai who
manages to hit every note in the chiller song book with absolute precision
and in the process takes the audience on one hell of a scary ride.
This is the third feature from Sheffield based Warp X Productions. SB
SIXTEENTH RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
37
LITTLE ASHES
TUESDAY 7 OCTOBER AT 7PM
Country UK Running Time 107 mins Format HD Director
Paul Morrison Screenplay Philippa Goslet Producers Carlo
Dusi, Jonny Persey, Jaume Vilalta DoP Adam Suschitzky Cast
Javier Beltrán, Robert Pattinson, Matthew McNulty
Print Source Met Film
SCREENING SPONSOR
NIGHTWATCHING
THURSDAY 2 OCTOBER AT 6:30PM
Country UK Running Time 134 mins Format HD Director/
Screenplay Peter Greenaway Producer Kees Kasander DoP
Reiner van Brummelen Cast Martin Freeman, Emily Holmes,
Jodhi May Print Source ContentFilm International Email
rebecca.berry@contentfilm.com Website www.contentfilm.com
SCREENING SPONSOR
Paul Morrison’s latest feature since 2003’s Wondrous Oblivion, provides
us with a fascinating account of three of the leading artists of their time;
Salvador Dalí, Luis Buñuel and García Lorca. Little Ashes follows a young
Salvador Dalí from his beginnings living in the Residencia de Estudiantes,
leading to his dynamic relationship with poet Federico Lorca and their
increasing infatuation with each other. Shot against the picturesque landscapes of Spain alone makes Little Ashes an unmisable spectacle.
Set across a timeframe that spans the roots of fascism to the beginning
of General Franco’s dictatorship, Little Ashes depicts love in a time where
homosexuality was deemed immoral – a point particularly reinforced by
Matthew McNulty’s portrayal of surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel, a man
notorious for his contempt regarding the matter.
While it is a far cry from his role in the Harry Potter franchise, Robert
Pattinson brings Dalí to the screen with precisely the irreverent and eccentric personality you would expect from one of the creators of Spain’s
avant-garde movement. It is however newcomer Javier Beltran who steals
the show as García Lorca whose pain and longing is thoroughly portrayed
and always felt, but never overplayed. CP
Peter Greenaway’s first feature film since the completion of the Tulse
Luper Cycle, Nightwatching continues the director’s fascination with
Flemish painting. Nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice, Nightwatching
weaves a tale surrounding the commission and creation of Rembrandt’s
most famous work, known as The Nightwatch; a tale mixing painting,
theatre, politics, loss of sexual innocence and personal vanity in what
eventually becomes a murder mystery. In some respects this harkens back
to Greenaway’s first feature, The Draughtsman’s Contract, as through his
painting Rembrandt shows the guilty natures of the work’s subjects. By
exposing crimes in his painting the conspirators become determined to
obtain their revenge by leading him to personal and financial ruin.
Working with DoP Reinier van Brummelen, Greenaway has lit almost
every scene as a Rembrandt painting, rich in shadows and hidden figures. In a mixed cast of actors, Martin Freeman as Rembrandt, and Eva
Birtwhistle, as his wife, Saskia, bring a contemporary reality to Rembrandt’s
earthy home life, comparing it to the surface pomp of the painting’s subjects, which cover the grim nature of their own various crimes. RO’D
Peter Greenaway and Martin Freeman will be present for a Q&A.
EncountErs
Film school:
thE Final Edit
14th intErnational short Film FEstival
tueSday 18 – SuNday 23 November 2008
veNueS SurrouNdiNg briStol harbour, uK
www.encounters-festival.org.uk
Festival office
T +44 (0) 117 929 9188 E info@encounters-festival.org.uk
38
SIXTEENTH RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
Friday 21 & Saturday 22 November 2008
WaterShed, 1 CaNoN’S road,
harbourSide, briStol
Join Encounters for a special two-day focused
editing workshop including:
talks chaired by industry professionals
hands on training in, after effects, Final Cut and avid
market stands
For more information and registration go to:
www.encounters-festival.org.uk
target audience: edit assistants, technical runners, short
filmmaker/editors, those who have an interest in developing
an existing career in post-production.
ONE DAY REMOVALS
SATURDAY 11 OCTOBER AT MIDDAY
Country UK Running Time 87 Format HDV Director/
Screenplay/DoP Mark Stirton Producer Ken Fraser Cast
Patrick Wright, Scott Ironside Print Source Stirton Productions
E mike@stirtonproductions.com W www.stirtonproductions.com
WATCH IT ON
Two Aberdeen removal men have a day from hell. A simple job in a remote
part of the Scottish countryside goes awry when they hit a drunk staggering in the middle of the road and decide to load him into the van and take
him to hospital. It seems like a good plan, but then the bodies just keep
piling up.
A very funny dark comedy set in the locale and dialect of Aberdeen, it
resonates with a Scottish humour that reveals both a practicality and a
bravery that resonates and keeps this story feeling both real and surreal in
turns. The dialogue and action is unrestrained and unless you are familiar
with broad Scottish dialects, in this case Doric – apparently brought to the
North east of Scotland by rural Spartans – you may not get every word but
the intent behind the words is clear and evocative.
Writer/director Mark Stirton lets the camera get close enough to
observe the craziness without intruding. The cast are natural although and
what some might lack in screen craft they more than make up for in personality. One Day Removals couldn’t be any more indie and for budding
filmmakers this is a great example of what can be done with little money
and a lot of passion. CT
Playing with Emma’s Last Date 11 mins
SENSELESS
SATURDAY 4 OCTOBER AT 9:30PM
Country UK RT 85 mins Ft 16mm Director/Screenplay
Simon Hynd Prods Micky Macpherson, Nigel Thomas DoP
Trevor Brooker Cast Jason Behr, Emma Catherwood, Joe
Ferrera P/S Plum Films Ltd E julie@plumfilms.co.uk
SCREENING SPONSOR
‘No one is amused by the suffering of others,’ claims American business
man Eliott Gast (Jason Behr) in this shocking horror thriller. Sadly for Eliott,
he is very wrong. Kidnapped on a business trip to Europe he wakes up to
find himself held prisoner in a deceptively comfortable room with only a
few CCTV cameras for company.
His captors soon reveal themselves as terrorists who plan to punish
Eliott for the ‘crimes’ committed by the US government. Over the next forty
days he is subjected to a series of agonising tortures, the nature of which
lend the film’s title a gruesome double-meaning. His appalling ordeal is
broadcast over the internet in exchange for donations from viewers who
in turn get to chose his fate. Their decisions do not exactly reinforce one’s
faith in human nature. As he becomes increasingly incapacitated, Eliott’s
attempts to escape become more desperate and his only hope seems to
be Nim (Emma Catherwood), one of his less enthusiastic tormentors. But
can she be trusted and is Eliott really as innocent as he seems?
Fans of Grand Guignol style films such as Saw and Hostel will find plenty
to thrill them here. The torture scenes are graphic yet ingeniously creative
and the director certainly knows how to build up the tension. AD
Playing with The Bent Penny 16 mins
ZEBRA CROSSINGS
SATURDAY 11 OCTOBER AT 7:10PM
Country UK Running Time 140 mins Format HDV, HDCam, MiniDV Director/Screenplay
Samuel Holland Producer Anastasia Atanesyan DoP Lucio Cremonese Cast Lee Turnbull, Greg
Wakeman, Aaron White, Kyle Treslove Print Source Crown Films Email crown.films@yahoo.co.uk
‘Hard-hitting’ would be an appropriate phrase to describe this tale of four
South London lads from writer and director Sam Holland. Not only because
their lives are depicted completely without compromise but also because
these boys solve most problems with their fists. They are the children of
the council estates, urban thugs with little chance of release from the concrete coliseum that surrounds them.
Fuelled by anger and a hatred of the society that made them, their lives
are characterised by petty crime and violent retribution meted out according to their own bigoted rules. Having long stopped hoping for tomorrow
they live for the moment, relying on the transient pleasures of drugs and
loveless sex.
The gang’s leader Tommy, blinded by his own arrogance and having
recently taken possession of a gun, threatens to take his friends into even
more dangerous territory. Meanwhile, Justin is the only one of the four who
dares to yearn for something more spiritual. Such aspirations threaten to
drive a wedge between him and Tommy leading to a shocking conclusion.
The feature, shot for under £50,000 and with brilliantly realistic performances shows that despite their violent lifestyle, everyone deserves a shot
at redemption. AD
SIXTEENTH RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
39
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