British rapper Abra Cadabra’s acting debut, “Trapping,” directed by Penny Woolcock (“Ackley Bridge”), will premiere on new pay-per-view streaming platform The Drop, which will launch on the same day.
The film delves into the world of “going county” or “Ot” (out of town), where children as young as six, and teenagers, are groomed by county line (the mobile phone line used to take drug orders) gangs to carry and sell drugs, move far away from their homes, skip school, sleep in out-of-town “trap houses” and drug dens, keep secrets from their loved ones, and become trapped in a hopeless situation.
It follows the story of likeable London teenager Daz (Louis Ede), who sees dealing drugs as a route to easy cash to help his struggling family. As Daz becomes more involved in a county lines gang and is taken under the wing of lead member Magic (Abra Cadabra), he...
The film delves into the world of “going county” or “Ot” (out of town), where children as young as six, and teenagers, are groomed by county line (the mobile phone line used to take drug orders) gangs to carry and sell drugs, move far away from their homes, skip school, sleep in out-of-town “trap houses” and drug dens, keep secrets from their loved ones, and become trapped in a hopeless situation.
It follows the story of likeable London teenager Daz (Louis Ede), who sees dealing drugs as a route to easy cash to help his struggling family. As Daz becomes more involved in a county lines gang and is taken under the wing of lead member Magic (Abra Cadabra), he...
- 7/25/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Confirmed speakers thus far include Film4 director Daniel Battsek, BBC Film director Rose Garnett and Vue Cinemas CEO Tim Richards.
Media Business Insight (Mbi), publisher of Screen International, Broadcast has announced a three-day virtual industry conference titled Restart.
Register here
The conference will take place on May 18-20 and is free to attend for subscribers of Mbi’s leading media brands: Screen international, Broadcast, Kftv, Broadcast Intelligence, Commissioners Index and Production Intelligence.
Restart will see a number of sessions discussing the impact of the pandemic on the industry and how it can move forward, successfully navigating its way into the future.
Media Business Insight (Mbi), publisher of Screen International, Broadcast has announced a three-day virtual industry conference titled Restart.
Register here
The conference will take place on May 18-20 and is free to attend for subscribers of Mbi’s leading media brands: Screen international, Broadcast, Kftv, Broadcast Intelligence, Commissioners Index and Production Intelligence.
Restart will see a number of sessions discussing the impact of the pandemic on the industry and how it can move forward, successfully navigating its way into the future.
- 4/15/2021
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Mentors include Becky Martin, Nia DaCosta, Bart Layton, Stephen Beresford and Michael Pearce.
The BFI and Bafta have revealed 16 emerging filmmakers and the mentors who will guide them as part of their ongoing initiative to develop talent from under-represented groups.
Veep director Becky Martin and Candyman writer-director Nia DaCosta are among those who will mentor upcoming talent as part of the second BFI Network x Bafta Crew Mentoring scheme.
Others who will provide bespoke support, advice and guidance to young filmmakers as they work toward their first feature or major commission include American Animals director Bart Layton, Pride screenwriter Stephen...
The BFI and Bafta have revealed 16 emerging filmmakers and the mentors who will guide them as part of their ongoing initiative to develop talent from under-represented groups.
Veep director Becky Martin and Candyman writer-director Nia DaCosta are among those who will mentor upcoming talent as part of the second BFI Network x Bafta Crew Mentoring scheme.
Others who will provide bespoke support, advice and guidance to young filmmakers as they work toward their first feature or major commission include American Animals director Bart Layton, Pride screenwriter Stephen...
- 5/14/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
The film-maker on the state of Britain, working with non-professional actors and the similarities between grime and opera
Penny Woolcock was born in Buenos Aires in 1950 and moved to Europe as a teenager. Her career spans art, film, TV and opera. Her fiction films, such as Tina Goes Shopping and 1 Day, often feature non-professional actors. Her documentaries include One Mile Away, which saw her brokering a truce between rival Birmingham gangs. She has directed operas ranging from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers to John Adams’s Dr Atomic at New York’s Met. Woolcock also directs the Yorkshire school drama Ackley Bridge, the third series of which is now on Channel 4. She lives in north London.
What can we expect from this third season of Ackley Bridge?
In a way, the underlying story is the same. It’s about life in a small provincial town, where the Muslim community,...
Penny Woolcock was born in Buenos Aires in 1950 and moved to Europe as a teenager. Her career spans art, film, TV and opera. Her fiction films, such as Tina Goes Shopping and 1 Day, often feature non-professional actors. Her documentaries include One Mile Away, which saw her brokering a truce between rival Birmingham gangs. She has directed operas ranging from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers to John Adams’s Dr Atomic at New York’s Met. Woolcock also directs the Yorkshire school drama Ackley Bridge, the third series of which is now on Channel 4. She lives in north London.
What can we expect from this third season of Ackley Bridge?
In a way, the underlying story is the same. It’s about life in a small provincial town, where the Muslim community,...
- 6/22/2019
- by Interview by Holly Williams
- The Guardian - Film News
Her experiences as a single mum, factory worker and revolutionary gave the artist and film-maker an affinity with the underdog. So she headed right into the heart of British gang culture
Fourteen years ago, Penny Woolcock was mugged in a London street. “Someone ran up behind me and was punching me and I stupidly fought back,” she says. “There was this moment when I caught his eye and we had this very strange connection.”
Though her assailant managed to wrestle her bag off her, it was found the next day on top of a nearby car. It was a life-changing encounter: “I didn’t want to become a frightened person, so I thought I would have to get to know some robbers.”...
Fourteen years ago, Penny Woolcock was mugged in a London street. “Someone ran up behind me and was punching me and I stupidly fought back,” she says. “There was this moment when I caught his eye and we had this very strange connection.”
Though her assailant managed to wrestle her bag off her, it was found the next day on top of a nearby car. It was a life-changing encounter: “I didn’t want to become a frightened person, so I thought I would have to get to know some robbers.”...
- 11/15/2018
- by Claire Armitstead
- The Guardian - Film News
Macbeth, Lego Dimensions and North by Northwest top August Events listMacbeth, Lego Dimensions and North by Northwest top August Events listScott Goodyer8/1/2017 11:00:00 Am It's been a very rainy summer so why not take advantage of those gloomy days and come see a special event screening this month? The following is a list of some screenings you should definitely check out and for more information on each event, click on their titles: August 2nd: Kiki's Delivery Service (Japanese w/e.s.t.) From the legendary Hayao Miyazaki comes the beloved story of a resourceful young witch who uses her broom to create a delivery service, only to lose her gift of flight in a moment of self-doubt. It is tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon and set out into the wide world to learn their craft. When that night comes for Kiki,...
- 8/1/2017
- by Scott Goodyer
- Cineplex
The London-based documentary festival gives its emerging talent prize to Algerian director Hassan Ferhani.
Serbian director Ongjen Glavonic’s Depth Two won the grand jury award at the Open City Documentary Festival in London.
The film investigates the story behind a mass grave discovered in 2001 in a suburb of Belgrade.
Jury chair Penny Woolcock said: “It was a unanimous decision to give the grand jury award to Ognjen Glavonic for Depth Two, which tells a complex and horrifying story in a truly compelling way. It’s hard to describe the experience of watching this film — at one level it’s a forensic telling of a dreadful story that gradually reveals its secrets, while simultaneously creating a space for reflecting on universal themes of violence and complicity.”
Glavonic said: “My idea with this film was to uncover and give a voice to this case and the stories behind it which for years have been silenced. This award will...
Serbian director Ongjen Glavonic’s Depth Two won the grand jury award at the Open City Documentary Festival in London.
The film investigates the story behind a mass grave discovered in 2001 in a suburb of Belgrade.
Jury chair Penny Woolcock said: “It was a unanimous decision to give the grand jury award to Ognjen Glavonic for Depth Two, which tells a complex and horrifying story in a truly compelling way. It’s hard to describe the experience of watching this film — at one level it’s a forensic telling of a dreadful story that gradually reveals its secrets, while simultaneously creating a space for reflecting on universal themes of violence and complicity.”
Glavonic said: “My idea with this film was to uncover and give a voice to this case and the stories behind it which for years have been silenced. This award will...
- 6/27/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Enter here for your chance to win two passes to all of the 2016 performances in the Metro Detroit area that are part of the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning Live in HD series of cinema presentations, including Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers), Turandot, Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly, Roberto Devereux, and Elektra.
Go behind the scenes with the Met’s stars! During intermission, interviews with cast, crew, and production teams give a revealing look at what goes into the staging of an opera. Celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Metropolitan Opera’s Peabody and Emmy Award-winning series The Met: Live in HD.
For your chance to receive two (2) complimentary passes to all of the performances listed below, just look for the “Enter the Contest” box further down on this page (we’ll ask what city you live in so we know what might be the closest theater to you).
But,...
Go behind the scenes with the Met’s stars! During intermission, interviews with cast, crew, and production teams give a revealing look at what goes into the staging of an opera. Celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Metropolitan Opera’s Peabody and Emmy Award-winning series The Met: Live in HD.
For your chance to receive two (2) complimentary passes to all of the performances listed below, just look for the “Enter the Contest” box further down on this page (we’ll ask what city you live in so we know what might be the closest theater to you).
But,...
- 12/18/2015
- by Administrator
- CinemaNerdz
Documentary filmmaker places a focus on the lives of women across the globe
Kim Longinotto has been named the 2015 recipient of the BBC Grierson Trustees’ Award.
The documentary filmmaker is known for titles including Sisters In Law, which won the Cicea award at Cannes in 2005, Pink Saris and latest release Dreamcatcher, which won the Directing Award at Sundance in January.
Announcing the award, a statement from The Grierson Trust described Longinotto as: “the creator of numerous groundbreaking films which focus on and explore the lives of women across the globe,. Throughout her career she has consistently given voice to those who have no voice living in some of the world’s most repressive and hostile societies.
Previous winners of the honour include John Battsek, Kevin Macdonald, Alex Graham, John Pilger, Penny Woolcock, Norma Percy, Paul Watson, Mike Salisbury, Nick Fraser, Jonathan Gili, Molly Dineen and Sir David Attenborough.
Grierson Trust chairman Lorraine Heggessey said: “Kim is a filmmaker...
Kim Longinotto has been named the 2015 recipient of the BBC Grierson Trustees’ Award.
The documentary filmmaker is known for titles including Sisters In Law, which won the Cicea award at Cannes in 2005, Pink Saris and latest release Dreamcatcher, which won the Directing Award at Sundance in January.
Announcing the award, a statement from The Grierson Trust described Longinotto as: “the creator of numerous groundbreaking films which focus on and explore the lives of women across the globe,. Throughout her career she has consistently given voice to those who have no voice living in some of the world’s most repressive and hostile societies.
Previous winners of the honour include John Battsek, Kevin Macdonald, Alex Graham, John Pilger, Penny Woolcock, Norma Percy, Paul Watson, Mike Salisbury, Nick Fraser, Jonathan Gili, Molly Dineen and Sir David Attenborough.
Grierson Trust chairman Lorraine Heggessey said: “Kim is a filmmaker...
- 10/13/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Thousands of unseen films digitised and made available online including world’s earliest home movies; new film commissioned from Penny Woolcock.
The BFI (British Film Institute) has today launched Britain on Film, an archive-based initiative through which thousands of unseen films have been digitised and will be made available for free to the public on the BFI Player platform.
By 2017, the BFI aims to have digitised 10,000 film and TV titles from 1895 to the present day, backed by National Lottery funding and the support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
These include the world’s earliest home movies from 1902, The Passmore Family Collection - 10 films of the family on holiday in Bognor Regis and The Isle of Wight and at home in London.
Britain On Film also includes travelogues, tourism films, public information docs, newsreels, a few feature films and a host of other material
What unites all the footage - taken from the BFI National Archive and more...
The BFI (British Film Institute) has today launched Britain on Film, an archive-based initiative through which thousands of unseen films have been digitised and will be made available for free to the public on the BFI Player platform.
By 2017, the BFI aims to have digitised 10,000 film and TV titles from 1895 to the present day, backed by National Lottery funding and the support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
These include the world’s earliest home movies from 1902, The Passmore Family Collection - 10 films of the family on holiday in Bognor Regis and The Isle of Wight and at home in London.
Britain On Film also includes travelogues, tourism films, public information docs, newsreels, a few feature films and a host of other material
What unites all the footage - taken from the BFI National Archive and more...
- 7/7/2015
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Drama starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay takes best British film prize at Edinburgh, with Diary of a Teenage Girl nabbing best international feature
The top prize at the Edinburgh international film festival, the Michael Powell award for best British feature film, has gone to 45 Years, directed by Andrew Haigh.
Written by Haigh and David Constantine, 45 Years stars Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as a married couple whose relationship is thrown into turmoil on the eve of their 45th wedding anniversary. Described by Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw as “a wonderfully acted minor-key study in anxiety and regret”, it is Haigh’s third feature. Previous winners include Penny Woolcock’s One Mile Away, Duncan Jones’ Moon and Anton Corbijn’s Control.
Continue reading...
The top prize at the Edinburgh international film festival, the Michael Powell award for best British feature film, has gone to 45 Years, directed by Andrew Haigh.
Written by Haigh and David Constantine, 45 Years stars Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as a married couple whose relationship is thrown into turmoil on the eve of their 45th wedding anniversary. Described by Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw as “a wonderfully acted minor-key study in anxiety and regret”, it is Haigh’s third feature. Previous winners include Penny Woolcock’s One Mile Away, Duncan Jones’ Moon and Anton Corbijn’s Control.
Continue reading...
- 6/26/2015
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
On Sunday evening, the 58th BFI London Film Festival announced this year’s Festival Awards winners. Top honors went to Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Leviathan,” Russia’s Best Foreign Language Film submission. At Cannes, the small town political drama picked up a Best Screenplay award and was considered a frontrunner for the Palme d’Or. After naming “Leviathan” with Lff’s Best Film award, Jeremy Thomas, BFI Fellow and President of the Official Competition jury said: ”We were all very engaged by the 12 films selected for Competition and really admired many of them, there were extraordinary stories and impressive images. But there was one film that we were unanimous in wanting to award Best Film, Leviathan directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. Its grandeur and themes moved all of us in the same way.” Celine Sciamma’s Girlhood, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, was also commended by the jury. This...
- 10/20/2014
- by Matt Patches
- Hitfix
Other winners include The Tribe, a documentary about Syria and Catch Me Daddy actress Sameena Jabeen Ahmed.
Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan has been crowned Best Film at the 58th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 8-19).
It saw off competition from the likes of Peter Strickland’s The Duke of Burgundy, François Ozon’s The New Girlfriend and Julius Avery’s Son of a Gun, starring Ewan McGregor (click here for full list).
Leviathan tells the tragic tale of conflict between an individual and a corrupt system in a small Russian town.
It marks the fourth feature from Zvyagintsev and is Russia’s submission for the Best Foreign-Language Oscar. The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where many expected it to win the Palme d’Or, instead winning Best Screenplay.
It will be released in the UK by Curzon.
The award was announced at a glitzy ceremony held in London’s Banqueting Hall, Whitehall, and hosted...
Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan has been crowned Best Film at the 58th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 8-19).
It saw off competition from the likes of Peter Strickland’s The Duke of Burgundy, François Ozon’s The New Girlfriend and Julius Avery’s Son of a Gun, starring Ewan McGregor (click here for full list).
Leviathan tells the tragic tale of conflict between an individual and a corrupt system in a small Russian town.
It marks the fourth feature from Zvyagintsev and is Russia’s submission for the Best Foreign-Language Oscar. The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where many expected it to win the Palme d’Or, instead winning Best Screenplay.
It will be released in the UK by Curzon.
The award was announced at a glitzy ceremony held in London’s Banqueting Hall, Whitehall, and hosted...
- 10/18/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Other prize winners include ‘71, Catch Me Daddy and Lilting.
The 25th anniversary of Brittany’s Dinard British Film Festival gave its top prize, the Golden Hitchcock, to Guy Myhill’s The Goob. The prize comes with distribution assistance and direct support to the director, and promotion on the Cine + channels.
The jury was led by Catherine Deneuve and also included Emilia Fox, Jodie Whittaker, Kevin Macdonald, Penny Woolcock, Amira Casar, Rémy Bezançon, Jean-Pierre Daroussin, Suzanne Clément, Léa Drucker and Alexandre Mallet-Guy. A special mention went to Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank.
The Award for Best Cinematography, sponsored by Technicolor, went to Daniel Wolfe’s Catch Me Daddy, which also won the Allianz Award for best screenplay.
Hong Khaou’s Lilting won the Heartbeat Award Le Prix Coup de Coeur, awarded by l’association La Règle du Jeu.
The Audience Award, sponsored by Première, was awarded to Yann Demange’s ‘71.
The Best Short Film Award, chosen from submissions...
The 25th anniversary of Brittany’s Dinard British Film Festival gave its top prize, the Golden Hitchcock, to Guy Myhill’s The Goob. The prize comes with distribution assistance and direct support to the director, and promotion on the Cine + channels.
The jury was led by Catherine Deneuve and also included Emilia Fox, Jodie Whittaker, Kevin Macdonald, Penny Woolcock, Amira Casar, Rémy Bezançon, Jean-Pierre Daroussin, Suzanne Clément, Léa Drucker and Alexandre Mallet-Guy. A special mention went to Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank.
The Award for Best Cinematography, sponsored by Technicolor, went to Daniel Wolfe’s Catch Me Daddy, which also won the Allianz Award for best screenplay.
Hong Khaou’s Lilting won the Heartbeat Award Le Prix Coup de Coeur, awarded by l’association La Règle du Jeu.
The Audience Award, sponsored by Première, was awarded to Yann Demange’s ‘71.
The Best Short Film Award, chosen from submissions...
- 10/12/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Finalists include Clio Barnard, Alison Owen and Susanna White [pictured], Benedict Cumberbatch, Penny Woolcock, and Pippa Harris.
The hClub100, the Hospital Club’s annual search for the most innovative and inspirational people working across the creative industries in the UK, has revealed its finalists including 10 film industry leaders. They were selected from public nominations that were then whittled down by a panel of industry experts.
They are:
Alison Owen, ProducerBen Wheatley, DirectorChiwetel Ejiofor, ActorClio Barnard, Director (a Creative England Trailblazer) David Heyman, Producer, Heyday FilmsIdris Elba, ActorJonathan Glazer, DirectorSusanna White, DirectorTessa Ross, Chief Executive, National Theatre (outgoing head of Film4)Benedict Cumberbatch, Actor (people’s choice)
In the Broadcast category, the finalists are:
Danielle Lux, Managing Director, CPLPippa Harris, ProducerEvan Davis, PresenterGavin Patterson, CEO, BPMartin Freeman, ActorNicola Shindler, Producer, Red Productions (a Creative England Trailblazer)Sharon Rooney, ActorOlly Lambert, DirectorPenny Woolcook, Filmmaker, ScreenwriterGina Lyons, Producer (people’s choice)...
The hClub100, the Hospital Club’s annual search for the most innovative and inspirational people working across the creative industries in the UK, has revealed its finalists including 10 film industry leaders. They were selected from public nominations that were then whittled down by a panel of industry experts.
They are:
Alison Owen, ProducerBen Wheatley, DirectorChiwetel Ejiofor, ActorClio Barnard, Director (a Creative England Trailblazer) David Heyman, Producer, Heyday FilmsIdris Elba, ActorJonathan Glazer, DirectorSusanna White, DirectorTessa Ross, Chief Executive, National Theatre (outgoing head of Film4)Benedict Cumberbatch, Actor (people’s choice)
In the Broadcast category, the finalists are:
Danielle Lux, Managing Director, CPLPippa Harris, ProducerEvan Davis, PresenterGavin Patterson, CEO, BPMartin Freeman, ActorNicola Shindler, Producer, Red Productions (a Creative England Trailblazer)Sharon Rooney, ActorOlly Lambert, DirectorPenny Woolcook, Filmmaker, ScreenwriterGina Lyons, Producer (people’s choice)...
- 10/9/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Other jurors across London’s competitions include Sally Hawkins, James McAvoy, James Corden and Dexter Fletcher.
British producer Jeremy Thomas to to head the Official Competition jury at the 58th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 8-19).
Thomas’s career as producer and executive producer spans Nicolas Roeg’s Bad Timing (1978), Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oscar-winner The Last Emperor (1987), David Cronenberg’s Crash (1996), Wim Wender’s Pina (2011) and Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive (2013).
He will preside over a jury that comprises last year’s Best Film Award nominee Ahmad Abdalla (Rags & Tatters), actress Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine), film producer and programme advisor Lorna Tee (Postcards from the Zoo), actor James McAvoy (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and film critic Scott Foundas.
Jury members who will present work at the festival include Abdalla, whose film Decor receives its world premiere; Hawkins, who features in Morgan Matthews’ debut feature X + Y; and James McAvoy who stars in The Disappearance...
British producer Jeremy Thomas to to head the Official Competition jury at the 58th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 8-19).
Thomas’s career as producer and executive producer spans Nicolas Roeg’s Bad Timing (1978), Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oscar-winner The Last Emperor (1987), David Cronenberg’s Crash (1996), Wim Wender’s Pina (2011) and Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive (2013).
He will preside over a jury that comprises last year’s Best Film Award nominee Ahmad Abdalla (Rags & Tatters), actress Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine), film producer and programme advisor Lorna Tee (Postcards from the Zoo), actor James McAvoy (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and film critic Scott Foundas.
Jury members who will present work at the festival include Abdalla, whose film Decor receives its world premiere; Hawkins, who features in Morgan Matthews’ debut feature X + Y; and James McAvoy who stars in The Disappearance...
- 9/23/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
New shorts commissioned from Mark Cousins, Penny Woolcock and John Akomfrah.
The British Council will open a new exhibition, View From Here, showing archive films of UK life “in a bygone era.”
The exhibition, which opens Monday at the British Council’s London headquarters at 10 Spring Gardens, also includes three newly commissioned short films inspired by the archive: Mark Cousins’ But Then Again, Too Few to Mention: A Life of Bob; Penny Woolcock’s Jerusalem; and John Akomfrah’s The Silence.
The other highlights of the exhibition are late 1930s to early 1950s cultural propoganda films about UK life that were commissioned by the British Council to project the best of the UK to audiences in embassies, consulates and classrooms around the world at a time of global conflict. This collection is now available online at at www.britishcouncil.org/film.
The British Council is also running an international competition for re-editing the existing films or producing...
The British Council will open a new exhibition, View From Here, showing archive films of UK life “in a bygone era.”
The exhibition, which opens Monday at the British Council’s London headquarters at 10 Spring Gardens, also includes three newly commissioned short films inspired by the archive: Mark Cousins’ But Then Again, Too Few to Mention: A Life of Bob; Penny Woolcock’s Jerusalem; and John Akomfrah’s The Silence.
The other highlights of the exhibition are late 1930s to early 1950s cultural propoganda films about UK life that were commissioned by the British Council to project the best of the UK to audiences in embassies, consulates and classrooms around the world at a time of global conflict. This collection is now available online at at www.britishcouncil.org/film.
The British Council is also running an international competition for re-editing the existing films or producing...
- 7/31/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
New shorts commissioned from Mark Cousins, Penny Woolcock and John Akomfrah.
The British Council will open a new exhibition, View From Here, showing archive films of UK life “in a bygone era.”
The exhibition, which opens Monday at the British Council’s London headquarters at 10 Spring Gardens, also includes three newly commissioned short films inspired by the archive: Mark Cousins’ But Then Again, Too Few to Mention: A Life of Bob; Penny Woolcock’s Jerusalem; and John Akomfrah’s The Silence.
The other highlights of the exhibition are late 1930s to early 1950s cultural propoganda films about UK life that were commissioned by the British Council to project the best of the UK to audiences in embassies, consulates and classrooms around the world at a time of global conflict. This collection is now available online at at www.britishcouncil.org/film.
The British Council is also running an international competition for re-editing the existing films or producing...
The British Council will open a new exhibition, View From Here, showing archive films of UK life “in a bygone era.”
The exhibition, which opens Monday at the British Council’s London headquarters at 10 Spring Gardens, also includes three newly commissioned short films inspired by the archive: Mark Cousins’ But Then Again, Too Few to Mention: A Life of Bob; Penny Woolcock’s Jerusalem; and John Akomfrah’s The Silence.
The other highlights of the exhibition are late 1930s to early 1950s cultural propoganda films about UK life that were commissioned by the British Council to project the best of the UK to audiences in embassies, consulates and classrooms around the world at a time of global conflict. This collection is now available online at at www.britishcouncil.org/film.
The British Council is also running an international competition for re-editing the existing films or producing...
- 7/31/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
★★★☆☆Unlike recent pioneering archive-led offerings such as Penny Woolcock's British Sea Power collaboration From the Sea to the Land Beyond and John Akomfrah's The Stuart Hall Project, Paul Kelly's How We Used to Live (2013) isn't a great deal more than what it appears at first glance - an audiovisual document of a London now consigned to history. This is vérité at its most refined, with occasional interjections from Ian McShane kept to a bare minimum in order to allow rolls of colour footage from the BFI National Archive to do the talking. As such, there's not a huge amount to be gleaned from Kelly's collage other than what we see, with the film as a whole peaking and troughing.
- 6/18/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Festival to open with European premiere of The Auction House: A Tale of Two Brothers.
Open City Docs Fest holds its fourth edition in London next week from June 18-22.
Kicking off with the European premiere of Edward Owles’ The Auction House: A Tale of Two Brothers on June 17, the festival will also screen the likes of David Graham Scott’s Iboga Nights, Gianfranco Rosi’s Sacro Gra, Marc Silver’s Who is Dayani Cristal? and Hilla Medalia & Shosh Shlam’s Web Junkie.
It will close with the UK premiere of Pavel Loparev & Askold Kurov’s Children 404, followed by an awards ceremony.
This year’s awards are for Best UK Film and Emerging International Filmmaker, as well as a Grand Jury prize awarded by Pawel Pawlikowski (chair), Jeanie Finlay, Dr. Grit Lemke, Diana Tabokov and Chris Wilson.
Events at the festival include a talk with award-winning filmmaker Penny Woolcock, a masterclass held by Avi Mograbi and a...
Open City Docs Fest holds its fourth edition in London next week from June 18-22.
Kicking off with the European premiere of Edward Owles’ The Auction House: A Tale of Two Brothers on June 17, the festival will also screen the likes of David Graham Scott’s Iboga Nights, Gianfranco Rosi’s Sacro Gra, Marc Silver’s Who is Dayani Cristal? and Hilla Medalia & Shosh Shlam’s Web Junkie.
It will close with the UK premiere of Pavel Loparev & Askold Kurov’s Children 404, followed by an awards ceremony.
This year’s awards are for Best UK Film and Emerging International Filmmaker, as well as a Grand Jury prize awarded by Pawel Pawlikowski (chair), Jeanie Finlay, Dr. Grit Lemke, Diana Tabokov and Chris Wilson.
Events at the festival include a talk with award-winning filmmaker Penny Woolcock, a masterclass held by Avi Mograbi and a...
- 6/10/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
Scorsese doc in Berlin, Tokyo sets dates, Pan-Asia Film Festival stretches across UK, Locarno to honour Titanus studio, and Ilkley plans first edition.Scorsese & Tedeschi doc added to Berlin
Untitled New York Review Of Books Documentary directed by Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi is the newest addition to the Berlinale Special, where it will be shown as a work in progress, followed by a discussion with the filmmakers and key contributors. More here.
Tokyo sets 2014 dates
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) will be held from October 23-31. Tiffcom will run earlier than last year, from Oct 21-23.
The festival revealed that its 2013 edition drew 121,771 people, up 14%. Tiffcom 2013 hosted 316 exhibitors, up 15%, and 1,074 buyers, up 9%. More info here.
Locarno to celebrate Titanus
The 67th edition of the Locarno Film Festival (Aug 6-16) is planning a retrospective on the Italian production studio Titanus.
The production company was founded by Gustavo Lombardo in 1904, and Locarno will celebrate the company...
Untitled New York Review Of Books Documentary directed by Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi is the newest addition to the Berlinale Special, where it will be shown as a work in progress, followed by a discussion with the filmmakers and key contributors. More here.
Tokyo sets 2014 dates
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) will be held from October 23-31. Tiffcom will run earlier than last year, from Oct 21-23.
The festival revealed that its 2013 edition drew 121,771 people, up 14%. Tiffcom 2013 hosted 316 exhibitors, up 15%, and 1,074 buyers, up 9%. More info here.
Locarno to celebrate Titanus
The 67th edition of the Locarno Film Festival (Aug 6-16) is planning a retrospective on the Italian production studio Titanus.
The production company was founded by Gustavo Lombardo in 1904, and Locarno will celebrate the company...
- 1/28/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Scorsese doc in Berlin, Tokyo sets dates, Pan-Asia Film Festival stretches across UK, Locarno to honour Titanus studio, and Ilkley plans first edition.Scorsese & Tedeschi doc added to Berlin
Untitled New York Review Of Books Documentary directed by Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi is the newest addition to the Berlinale Special, where it will be shown as a work in progress, followed by a discussion with the filmmakers and key contributors. More here.
Tokyo sets 2014 dates
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) will be held from October 23-31. Tiffcom will run earlier than last year, from Oct 21-23.
The festival revealed that its 2013 edition drew 121,771 people, up 14%. Tiffcom 2013 hosted 316 exhibitors, up 15%, and 1,074 buyers, up 9%. More info here.
Locarno to celebrate Titanus
The 67th edition of the Locarno Film Festival (Aug 6-16) is planning a retrospective on the Italian production studio Titanus.
The production company was founded by Gustavo Lombardo in 1904, and Locarno will celebrate the company...
Untitled New York Review Of Books Documentary directed by Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi is the newest addition to the Berlinale Special, where it will be shown as a work in progress, followed by a discussion with the filmmakers and key contributors. More here.
Tokyo sets 2014 dates
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) will be held from October 23-31. Tiffcom will run earlier than last year, from Oct 21-23.
The festival revealed that its 2013 edition drew 121,771 people, up 14%. Tiffcom 2013 hosted 316 exhibitors, up 15%, and 1,074 buyers, up 9%. More info here.
Locarno to celebrate Titanus
The 67th edition of the Locarno Film Festival (Aug 6-16) is planning a retrospective on the Italian production studio Titanus.
The production company was founded by Gustavo Lombardo in 1904, and Locarno will celebrate the company...
- 1/28/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Tokyo sets dates, Pan-Asia Film Festival stretches across UK, Locarno to honour Titanus studio, and Ilkley plans first edition.Tokyo sets 2014 dates
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) will be held from October 23-31. Tiffcom will run earlier than last year, from Oct 21-23.
The festival revealed that its 2013 edition drew 121,771 people, up 14%. Tiffcom 2013 hosted 316 exhibitors, up 15%, and 1,074 buyers, up 9%. More info here.
Locarno to celebrate Titanus
The 67th edition of the Locarno Film Festival (Aug 6-16) is planning a retrospective on the Italian production studio Titanus.
The production company was founded by Gustavo Lombardo in 1904, and Locarno will celebrate the company’s history as well as its present day output.
The Festival audience will have the opportunity to see melodramas starring the screen couple Nazzari-Sanson, directed by Matarazzo, the Pane amore and Poveri ma belli series directed by Comencini and Risi.
It will also screen films that revealed auteurs such as Fellini, Visconti, Lattuada...
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) will be held from October 23-31. Tiffcom will run earlier than last year, from Oct 21-23.
The festival revealed that its 2013 edition drew 121,771 people, up 14%. Tiffcom 2013 hosted 316 exhibitors, up 15%, and 1,074 buyers, up 9%. More info here.
Locarno to celebrate Titanus
The 67th edition of the Locarno Film Festival (Aug 6-16) is planning a retrospective on the Italian production studio Titanus.
The production company was founded by Gustavo Lombardo in 1904, and Locarno will celebrate the company’s history as well as its present day output.
The Festival audience will have the opportunity to see melodramas starring the screen couple Nazzari-Sanson, directed by Matarazzo, the Pane amore and Poveri ma belli series directed by Comencini and Risi.
It will also screen films that revealed auteurs such as Fellini, Visconti, Lattuada...
- 1/28/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Other winners included actors James McAvoy and Lindsay Duncan, For Those In Peril director Paul Wright and Blue is the Warmest Colour.Scroll down for full list of winners
Philippines-set crime thriller Metro Manila has scooped the top prize at the 16th Moet British Independent Film Awards in London, beating box office hit Philomena as well as The Selfish Giant, Starred Up and Le Week-end.
Metro Manila led the pack on the night with three wins including Best British Independent Film, Best Director for Sean Ellis and Best Achievement in Production.
Clearly stunned, Ellis thanked Bifa for supporting “our little holiday film” when accepting the Best Film prize and - holding back tears - dedicated the award to his mother.
The crime drama, shot in the Philippine capital in the Tagalog language with a local cast and crew, debuted at Sundance in January and is the UK’s submission for the Best Foreign-Language Film at the Oscars...
Philippines-set crime thriller Metro Manila has scooped the top prize at the 16th Moet British Independent Film Awards in London, beating box office hit Philomena as well as The Selfish Giant, Starred Up and Le Week-end.
Metro Manila led the pack on the night with three wins including Best British Independent Film, Best Director for Sean Ellis and Best Achievement in Production.
Clearly stunned, Ellis thanked Bifa for supporting “our little holiday film” when accepting the Best Film prize and - holding back tears - dedicated the award to his mother.
The crime drama, shot in the Philippine capital in the Tagalog language with a local cast and crew, debuted at Sundance in January and is the UK’s submission for the Best Foreign-Language Film at the Oscars...
- 12/8/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Classics professor Mary Beard also honoured at 23rd Women in Film and TV Awards event at Hilton hotel, London
Angela Rippon has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award at an event recognising women in broadcasting. The 69-year-old, who also presents BBC1's Rip-Off Britain, collected her prize from the BBC director-general, Tony Hall, at the Sky Women in Film and TV (Wftv) Awards in London.
Others feted at the event included the actor Sheridan Smith, who took the best performance award for her portrayal of great train robber Ronnie Biggs's wife Charmian in the ITV drama Mrs Biggs. The academic Mary Beard, who has worked on many historical documentary series, took the best presenter award at the 23rd annual awards event, staged at the Park Lane Hilton hotel.
Rippon was the first regular female newsreader on national television in Britain, beginning her journalism career more than half a...
Angela Rippon has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award at an event recognising women in broadcasting. The 69-year-old, who also presents BBC1's Rip-Off Britain, collected her prize from the BBC director-general, Tony Hall, at the Sky Women in Film and TV (Wftv) Awards in London.
Others feted at the event included the actor Sheridan Smith, who took the best performance award for her portrayal of great train robber Ronnie Biggs's wife Charmian in the ITV drama Mrs Biggs. The academic Mary Beard, who has worked on many historical documentary series, took the best presenter award at the 23rd annual awards event, staged at the Park Lane Hilton hotel.
Rippon was the first regular female newsreader on national television in Britain, beginning her journalism career more than half a...
- 12/7/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Sheridan Smith and Angela Rippon were among the winners at this year's Women in Film and TV Awards.
The 23rd annual ceremony was held today (December 6) at the Park Lane Hilton Hotel in London, hosted by Ruby Wax.
Angela Rippon received the Eon Productions Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by BBC Director General Tony Hall.
The prize recognises Rippon's contribution to the industry for over 50 years, including her work as a journalist and newsreader, and presenting roles on shows such as Antiques Roadshow and Come Dancing.
Sheridan Smith was awarded the Mac Best Performance Award for her role in Mrs Biggs.
Doctor Who actor Peter Capaldi presented the Nep Visions Presenter Award to Mary Beard, for her work as a female TV academic and fighting against Twitter trolls.
Call the Midwife executive producer Pippa Harris received the Envy Producer Award, while Last Tango in Halifax creator Sally Wainwright was handed the Technicolour Writing Award.
The 23rd annual ceremony was held today (December 6) at the Park Lane Hilton Hotel in London, hosted by Ruby Wax.
Angela Rippon received the Eon Productions Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by BBC Director General Tony Hall.
The prize recognises Rippon's contribution to the industry for over 50 years, including her work as a journalist and newsreader, and presenting roles on shows such as Antiques Roadshow and Come Dancing.
Sheridan Smith was awarded the Mac Best Performance Award for her role in Mrs Biggs.
Doctor Who actor Peter Capaldi presented the Nep Visions Presenter Award to Mary Beard, for her work as a female TV academic and fighting against Twitter trolls.
Call the Midwife executive producer Pippa Harris received the Envy Producer Award, while Last Tango in Halifax creator Sally Wainwright was handed the Technicolour Writing Award.
- 12/6/2013
- Digital Spy
Actress Sheridan Smith, producer Pippa Harris, and director Penny Woolcock are among the honorees at the 23rd annual Sky Women in Film and TV awards in London.
The 2013 Eon Lifetime Acheivement award goes to broadcaster Angela Rippon.
Nearly 1,000 industry guests are in attendance at the Park Lane Hilton in London. Ruby Wax hosts this year’s event.
Presenters of awards included BBC Director General Tony Hall, actors Peter Capaldi, Ashley Walters, Julie Walters and James Corden, and BFI London Film Festival director Clare Stewart
Wftv CEO Kate Kinninmont said: “We have a new talent award which this year goes to Kelly Marcel for creating Terra Nova for Steven Spielberg, scripting Saving Mr Banks for Tom Hanks and now being commissioned to bring Fifty Shades of Grey to our screens.
“Sheridan Smith walked away with our acting award for her role as Mrs Biggs, and Clio Barnard won the directing award for her exquisite feature film, The Selfish Giant.
“It...
The 2013 Eon Lifetime Acheivement award goes to broadcaster Angela Rippon.
Nearly 1,000 industry guests are in attendance at the Park Lane Hilton in London. Ruby Wax hosts this year’s event.
Presenters of awards included BBC Director General Tony Hall, actors Peter Capaldi, Ashley Walters, Julie Walters and James Corden, and BFI London Film Festival director Clare Stewart
Wftv CEO Kate Kinninmont said: “We have a new talent award which this year goes to Kelly Marcel for creating Terra Nova for Steven Spielberg, scripting Saving Mr Banks for Tom Hanks and now being commissioned to bring Fifty Shades of Grey to our screens.
“Sheridan Smith walked away with our acting award for her role as Mrs Biggs, and Clio Barnard won the directing award for her exquisite feature film, The Selfish Giant.
“It...
- 12/6/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: One Mile Away director Penny Woolcock is to make a documentary about illegal dog-fighting for UK broadcaster Channel 4.
Going To The Dogs (working title), which recently finished shooting and is now in edit, explores the underworld of contemporary dog-fighting in Birmingham.
It is being made through social enterprise Latimer Creative and will draw on interviews with dog-owners, historians, academics and criminologists.
Woolcock began shooting in late summer and aims to complete the edit by the end of January.
It is her third film for C4’s Cutting Edge strand and was ordered by C4 commissioning editor, documentaries, Emma Cooper, who said: “Penny is one our foremost filmmaking talents and once more she has secured the most exceptional access to a secretive, hidden world.”
Birmingham was also the setting for Woolcock’s previous documentary One Mile Away, about the city’s gangs. It won the Edinburgh Film Festival’s 2012 Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature...
Going To The Dogs (working title), which recently finished shooting and is now in edit, explores the underworld of contemporary dog-fighting in Birmingham.
It is being made through social enterprise Latimer Creative and will draw on interviews with dog-owners, historians, academics and criminologists.
Woolcock began shooting in late summer and aims to complete the edit by the end of January.
It is her third film for C4’s Cutting Edge strand and was ordered by C4 commissioning editor, documentaries, Emma Cooper, who said: “Penny is one our foremost filmmaking talents and once more she has secured the most exceptional access to a secretive, hidden world.”
Birmingham was also the setting for Woolcock’s previous documentary One Mile Away, about the city’s gangs. It won the Edinburgh Film Festival’s 2012 Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature...
- 11/28/2013
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Judi Dench, Scarlett Johansson: 2013 British Independent Film Awards nominations (photo: Judi Dench in ‘Philomena’) Since the likes of Judi Dench, Scarlett Johansson, James McAvoy, and Tom Hardy are in the running for the 2013 British Independent Film Awards, expect at least a little overlapping between the determinedly indie-oriented BIFAs and other awards season nominees and/or winners elsewhere. (See also: “Judi Dench Sole Bifa Nominee Surely to Get BAFTA, Oscar Nominations.”) Judi Dench and Scarlett Johansson are competing in the Best Actress category; Dench for Stephen Frears’ Philomena, Johansson for Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin. Tom Hardy and James McAvoy are in the running for the Best Actor British Independent Film Award; Hardy for Steven Knight’s Locke, McAvoy for Jon S. Baird’s Filth. The top Bifa 2013 movie, however, is David Mackenzie’s Starred Up, with a total of eight nominations including Best British Independent Film, Best Director,...
- 11/14/2013
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
The question of quotas for diversified talent in the UK film industry was a hot topic at Screen International and Broadcast’s Diversify conference today; experts’ views were decidedly mixed.
Femi Oguns, founder of Identity Drama and Identity Agency Group, said emphatically, “We should force a quota.” Director Penny Woolcock agreed: “I actually think it’s worth a try…it could open the door to new kinds of stories. It’s the only way of changing it to force people.”
But writer/director Amma Asante said: “I’m nervous about quotas. I’ve heard too many times even today, ‘Oh she’s there because she’s black or she’s a woman’… it’s not the reality I’m worried about, it’s the perception.”
Jason Bradbury of Lgbt-friendly distribution company Peccadillo Pictures was also fearful of quotes: “I’m not sure quotas would work, it’s a dangerous route to go down.”
Writer/actor/director...
Femi Oguns, founder of Identity Drama and Identity Agency Group, said emphatically, “We should force a quota.” Director Penny Woolcock agreed: “I actually think it’s worth a try…it could open the door to new kinds of stories. It’s the only way of changing it to force people.”
But writer/director Amma Asante said: “I’m nervous about quotas. I’ve heard too many times even today, ‘Oh she’s there because she’s black or she’s a woman’… it’s not the reality I’m worried about, it’s the perception.”
Jason Bradbury of Lgbt-friendly distribution company Peccadillo Pictures was also fearful of quotes: “I’m not sure quotas would work, it’s a dangerous route to go down.”
Writer/actor/director...
- 11/13/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Starred Up leads British Independent Film Awards noms, followed by The Selfish Giant. Scarlett Johansson and Judi Dench among Best Actress nominees.
David Mackenzie’s Starred Up leads the Moet British Independent Film Awards nominations with eight nods, including Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor for Jack O’Connell, and two Best Supporting Actor nominations.
The Selfish Giant picked up seven nominations while Filth, Metro Manila and Le Week-end picked up five nominations each.
Best Film nominations comprise Metro Manila, Philomena, The Selfish Giant, Starred Up and Le Week-end.
Nominations for Best Actress are Judi Dench for Philomena, Lindsay Duncan for Le Week-end, Scarlett Johansson for Under The Skin, Felicity Jones for The Invisible Woman and Saoirse Ronan for How I Live Now.
Along with O’Connell for Starred Up, Best Actor award nominees include Jim Broadbent for Le Week-end, Steve Coogan for Philomena, Tom Hardy for Locke and James McAvoy for Filth...
David Mackenzie’s Starred Up leads the Moet British Independent Film Awards nominations with eight nods, including Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor for Jack O’Connell, and two Best Supporting Actor nominations.
The Selfish Giant picked up seven nominations while Filth, Metro Manila and Le Week-end picked up five nominations each.
Best Film nominations comprise Metro Manila, Philomena, The Selfish Giant, Starred Up and Le Week-end.
Nominations for Best Actress are Judi Dench for Philomena, Lindsay Duncan for Le Week-end, Scarlett Johansson for Under The Skin, Felicity Jones for The Invisible Woman and Saoirse Ronan for How I Live Now.
Along with O’Connell for Starred Up, Best Actor award nominees include Jim Broadbent for Le Week-end, Steve Coogan for Philomena, Tom Hardy for Locke and James McAvoy for Filth...
- 11/11/2013
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
The documentary Project Wild Thing hopes to get kids off computers and embracing nature. But do protest films ever change anything – and who actually watches them?
What are you doing about global warming? Or fracking? Arab democracy? Diminishing bee populations? Nuclear energy? Gun control? Repression in Uganda? Russia? Burma? Increasingly, what we're doing about the world's problems seems to be watching documentaries on them – which does feel like doing something, while at the same time being very close to doing nothing. Now, at least, we can do nothing about more issues than ever before. The current cinema landscape is saturated with documentaries and fictionalised movies highlighting important political, humanitarian or environmental issues. That should be a good thing, but somehow, it doesn't always feel like it.
In the past month we've already had films on bees (More Than Honey), the internet and children (InRealLife), and climate change denial (Greedy Lying...
What are you doing about global warming? Or fracking? Arab democracy? Diminishing bee populations? Nuclear energy? Gun control? Repression in Uganda? Russia? Burma? Increasingly, what we're doing about the world's problems seems to be watching documentaries on them – which does feel like doing something, while at the same time being very close to doing nothing. Now, at least, we can do nothing about more issues than ever before. The current cinema landscape is saturated with documentaries and fictionalised movies highlighting important political, humanitarian or environmental issues. That should be a good thing, but somehow, it doesn't always feel like it.
In the past month we've already had films on bees (More Than Honey), the internet and children (InRealLife), and climate change denial (Greedy Lying...
- 10/17/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Before Midnight's stellar work for the Greek tourist board and Moby's mission to help indie film-makers
Get us to the Greeks
Director Richard Linklater was pretty smart about his filming locations for the low-budget Before Midnight . In fact, this latest production sets the bar high for product placement in indie movies, though the film's so light and charming you can forgive it any brazen advertising. But, make no mistake, you too can now stay in the Before Midnight suite at the luxury Costa Navarino resort, where the couple stay in the movie. Interestingly, Linklater was brave enough to use the location as the setting for a monumental argument between lovers Jesse and Celine, played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. But in general, the film is a great advertisement for the sunlit heaven of Messenia in the southern Peloponnese, an area of Greece the characters mention by name several times during the film.
Get us to the Greeks
Director Richard Linklater was pretty smart about his filming locations for the low-budget Before Midnight . In fact, this latest production sets the bar high for product placement in indie movies, though the film's so light and charming you can forgive it any brazen advertising. But, make no mistake, you too can now stay in the Before Midnight suite at the luxury Costa Navarino resort, where the couple stay in the movie. Interestingly, Linklater was brave enough to use the location as the setting for a monumental argument between lovers Jesse and Celine, played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. But in general, the film is a great advertisement for the sunlit heaven of Messenia in the southern Peloponnese, an area of Greece the characters mention by name several times during the film.
- 6/23/2013
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
Clio Barnard, whose film has been described as 'hauntingly perfect', says Brits should be 'very proud' of their native industry
There may be no British film in the main competition for the Palme D'Or this year, but that has not stopped a Yorkshirewoman from becoming the toast of Cannes. Clio Barnard's film The Selfish Giant has already been described as "hauntingly perfect" and "jaggedly moving" by critics as it premieres in the Director's Fortnight section of the film festival, with the director herself hailed as a significant new voice in British cinema.
And, despite gloominess about the complete absence of a UK presence from the main Cannes competition lineup, Britons should embrace their native film industry, according to Barnard. "We should be very proud of, in the same way that we should be proud of the NHS," she said.
While "the rest of the world responds to it", she said,...
There may be no British film in the main competition for the Palme D'Or this year, but that has not stopped a Yorkshirewoman from becoming the toast of Cannes. Clio Barnard's film The Selfish Giant has already been described as "hauntingly perfect" and "jaggedly moving" by critics as it premieres in the Director's Fortnight section of the film festival, with the director herself hailed as a significant new voice in British cinema.
And, despite gloominess about the complete absence of a UK presence from the main Cannes competition lineup, Britons should embrace their native film industry, according to Barnard. "We should be very proud of, in the same way that we should be proud of the NHS," she said.
While "the rest of the world responds to it", she said,...
- 5/18/2013
- by Charlotte Higgins
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★★☆ Featuring prime cuts from the BFI's extensive National Archive and a typically soul-stirring soundtrack from acclaimed Brighton collective British Sea Power, director Penny Woolcock's lyrical visual collage From the Sea to the Land Beyond (2012) gets a live screening at Sundance London this week, having already wowed audiences at last year's Sheffield Doc/Fest. Effortlessly recalling British documentary filmmaking's heyday, Woolcock and Bsp have co-produced perhaps the definitive celebration of this nation's scenic coastline, cataloguing our obsession with 'ol' briney' from 1901 all the way through to the modern age.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 4/25/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Sundance London returns with a keen momentum to the O2 Arena from the 25th to the 28th of April and this year the festival’s twin strands of music and film are even more intertwined with some must-see headline events.
Below we’ve picked three of the events we’ll be looking out for in our coverage and we’ll be in attendance bringing you reviews of the festival’s films and events. If the events spark your interest we’ve included further information and booking details for each of our selection and for the list of features playing in this year’s festival get busy clicking here.
Our interview with John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival and Trevor Groth, Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival can be found here and you can see all of our coverage for Sundance here, and, importantly, here’s the...
Below we’ve picked three of the events we’ll be looking out for in our coverage and we’ll be in attendance bringing you reviews of the festival’s films and events. If the events spark your interest we’ve included further information and booking details for each of our selection and for the list of features playing in this year’s festival get busy clicking here.
Our interview with John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival and Trevor Groth, Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival can be found here and you can see all of our coverage for Sundance here, and, importantly, here’s the...
- 4/9/2013
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
London – Indie rockers British Sea Power is the latest music act to sign up to play at this year's Sundance London film and music festival. The band will hit the stage April 28 to perform their original score composed for From the Sea to the Land Beyond. The band will be playing live to a screening of the film. From the Sea to the Land Beyond, directed by Penny Woolcock, is a lyrical portrait of Britain's coastline, created through a combination of archive footage drawn from the BFI National Archive and music. British Sea Power created an original score
read more...
read more...
- 4/4/2013
- by Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Having directed an earlier movie set in Birmingham's black community, Penny Woolcock was called in by local gang leaders a couple of years ago to document an attempt to effect a truce there. It starts with representatives of the Burgers and the Johnsons meeting in a neutral hotel room, everyone suspecting it might be an ambush. Both gangs belong to areas with high crime rates and high unemployment whose postcodes are separated by a mile. Subsequent discussions are conducted mostly on the streets, though one conversation between gangsters, a local white parliamentary candidate, and Jonathan Powell, former Downing Street adviser and participant in the Ulster peace process, takes place in a smart hotel where no alcohol is consumed or grass smoked.
There is some revealing material about relations with the cops (which are pretty bad) and the problematic trial of the alleged killers of teenagers Letisha Shakespeare and Charlene Ellis.
There is some revealing material about relations with the cops (which are pretty bad) and the problematic trial of the alleged killers of teenagers Letisha Shakespeare and Charlene Ellis.
- 4/2/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
In The House | Trance | Good Vibrations | 12 In A Box | The Host | GI Joe: Retaliation | One Mile Away | King Of The Travellers | We Went To War | Point Blank | Finding Nemo 3D
In The House (15)
(François Ozon, 2012, Fra) Fabrice Luchini, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ernst Umhauer, Emmanuelle Seigner. 105 mins
A French teacher is instantly drawn in by a student's essay on infiltrating his friend's family, and so are we. Before we know it, we're swept off on a self-reflexive journey into storytelling, voyeurism and ethical boundaries. Both the boy's story and the movie struggle to find an ending, but it's another distinctly "Ozonian" comedy-thriller.
Trance (15)
(Danny Boyle, 2013, UK) James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassel. 101 mins
Boyle chucks everything he can (maybe too much) at this twisty, visceral art-heist thriller, which hinges on McAvoy's hypnosis to reveal the whereabouts of a stolen Goya painting. The result is more of a Jackson Pollock.
Good Vibrations (15)
(Lisa Barros D'Sa,...
In The House (15)
(François Ozon, 2012, Fra) Fabrice Luchini, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ernst Umhauer, Emmanuelle Seigner. 105 mins
A French teacher is instantly drawn in by a student's essay on infiltrating his friend's family, and so are we. Before we know it, we're swept off on a self-reflexive journey into storytelling, voyeurism and ethical boundaries. Both the boy's story and the movie struggle to find an ending, but it's another distinctly "Ozonian" comedy-thriller.
Trance (15)
(Danny Boyle, 2013, UK) James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassel. 101 mins
Boyle chucks everything he can (maybe too much) at this twisty, visceral art-heist thriller, which hinges on McAvoy's hypnosis to reveal the whereabouts of a stolen Goya painting. The result is more of a Jackson Pollock.
Good Vibrations (15)
(Lisa Barros D'Sa,...
- 3/30/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
A documentary that helped spark a reconciliation between rival gangs in Birmingham is a little short on context, but inspiring none the less
Until recently, gang members from the Birmingham suburbs of Handsworth (Burger Bar Boys) and Aston (Johnson Crew) risked their life just by crossing postcodes. One Mile Away is a blow-by-blow account of their stuttering reconciliation, detailing the crossfire killings of Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakespeare, and the surprising unifying effect of the 2011 riots. If signs look good, it's because of repentant gangsters such as Shabba (Johnsons) and Flash (Burgers), who were linked up by director Penny Woolcock, then made the peace process their own. The doc's short on context, and too forgiving of its poster boys, but as a study of their commitment to bettering themselves and the community, it's inspiring.
Rating: 4/5
DocumentaryHenry Barnes
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
Until recently, gang members from the Birmingham suburbs of Handsworth (Burger Bar Boys) and Aston (Johnson Crew) risked their life just by crossing postcodes. One Mile Away is a blow-by-blow account of their stuttering reconciliation, detailing the crossfire killings of Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakespeare, and the surprising unifying effect of the 2011 riots. If signs look good, it's because of repentant gangsters such as Shabba (Johnsons) and Flash (Burgers), who were linked up by director Penny Woolcock, then made the peace process their own. The doc's short on context, and too forgiving of its poster boys, but as a study of their commitment to bettering themselves and the community, it's inspiring.
Rating: 4/5
DocumentaryHenry Barnes
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
- 3/29/2013
- by Henry Barnes
- The Guardian - Film News
Henry Barnes presents our weekly round-up of the big cinema releases. This week we're heading deep into the subconscious with Danny Boyle's Trance; gunning for glory via GI Joe: Retaliation; peering into the domestic life of an unsuspecting family with François Ozon's In The House, and watching two gangs come to an uneasy truce in Penny Woolcock's One Mile Away. With Peter Bradshaw and Andrew Pulver. This is the audio-only version of the Guardian Film Show
Henry BarnesPhil Maynard...
Henry BarnesPhil Maynard...
- 3/29/2013
- by Henry Barnes, Phil Maynard
- The Guardian - Film News
Stone age story bashes Jack the Giant Slayer and Oz the Great and Powerful to take the top spot ahead of Easter weekend
The winner
After the relative disappointment of Rise of the Guardians led to significant job losses at DreamWorks Animation, the outcome for the company's follow-up The Croods was always bound to receive extra attention. What's more, The Croods is the first film going out internationally through new distribution partner Twentieth Century Fox, following a long association with Paramount. The result – a £5.37m UK debut including £1.85m in previews – is a happy outcome for all parties, especially when you consider that snow and bitter cold over the weekend provided one less reason to leave the house, leading to significant drops for many films already on release.
For comparison, Rise of the Guardians debuted last November with £1.97m. Madagascar 3, which benefited from an inherited audience, kicked off with £6.03m including £2.39m in previews.
The winner
After the relative disappointment of Rise of the Guardians led to significant job losses at DreamWorks Animation, the outcome for the company's follow-up The Croods was always bound to receive extra attention. What's more, The Croods is the first film going out internationally through new distribution partner Twentieth Century Fox, following a long association with Paramount. The result – a £5.37m UK debut including £1.85m in previews – is a happy outcome for all parties, especially when you consider that snow and bitter cold over the weekend provided one less reason to leave the house, leading to significant drops for many films already on release.
For comparison, Rise of the Guardians debuted last November with £1.97m. Madagascar 3, which benefited from an inherited audience, kicked off with £6.03m including £2.39m in previews.
- 3/26/2013
- by Charles Gant
- The Guardian - Film News
Post Tenebras Lux | Jack The Giant Slayer | Reality | Compliance | Identity Thief | The Croods | Neighbouring Sounds | Stolen | Reincarnated | Small Apartments | The Servant | I, Superbiker: Day Of Reckoning
Post Tenebras Lux (18)
(Carlos Reygadas, 2012, Mex/Fra/Neth/Ger) Adolfo Jiménez Castro, Nathalia Acevedo, Willebaldo Torres. 115 mins
Terence Malick gone a bit mainstream for you? Then try this latest litmus test, in which Mexican auteur Reygadas takes his penchant for striking imagery and disjointed narratives to commendably ambitious/infuriatingly inscrutable extremes. Centred on a troubled architect and his family, it's a shuffled jigsaw puzzle involving class tensions, rugby, swingers' parties and an animated Satan.
Jack The Giant Slayer (12A)
(Bryan Singer, 2013, Us) Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor. 114 mins
Another souped-up fairytale offering commercially calibrated spectacle rather than genuine wonder. The promising cast and giant budget amount to a hill of beans.
Reality (15)
(Matteo Garrone, 2012, Ita/Fra) Aniello Arena, Loredana Simioli. 116 mins
TV's celebrity culture exuberantly satirised,...
Post Tenebras Lux (18)
(Carlos Reygadas, 2012, Mex/Fra/Neth/Ger) Adolfo Jiménez Castro, Nathalia Acevedo, Willebaldo Torres. 115 mins
Terence Malick gone a bit mainstream for you? Then try this latest litmus test, in which Mexican auteur Reygadas takes his penchant for striking imagery and disjointed narratives to commendably ambitious/infuriatingly inscrutable extremes. Centred on a troubled architect and his family, it's a shuffled jigsaw puzzle involving class tensions, rugby, swingers' parties and an animated Satan.
Jack The Giant Slayer (12A)
(Bryan Singer, 2013, Us) Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor. 114 mins
Another souped-up fairytale offering commercially calibrated spectacle rather than genuine wonder. The promising cast and giant budget amount to a hill of beans.
Reality (15)
(Matteo Garrone, 2012, Ita/Fra) Aniello Arena, Loredana Simioli. 116 mins
TV's celebrity culture exuberantly satirised,...
- 3/23/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★★☆ Penny Woolcock's One Mile Away (2012) was the first documentary ever to be awarded the Michael Powell Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival back in 2012 - and it's easy to see why. Woolcock hired a host of non-actors from Birmingham, including Burger gang member Dylan Duffus, for her 2009 fiction film 1 Day, and the pair remained friends after the film was completed. Aware of this friendship, a member of the opposing Johnsons gang, Shabba, called Woolcock and asked her to arrange a meeting with Dylan. One Mile Away follows the efforts of Dylan and Shabba as they attempt to bring about a truce in their community.
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- 3/20/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
A brutal dispute between street gangs blighted Birmingham for 20 years, making national headlines in 2003 when two teenage girls were shot dead. But an uneasy truce reigns now, brokered by a former cabinet minister and a film-maker, who tells the story in an extraordinary documentary, One Mile Away
Ashley "Woody" Woodcock was 15 and hanging clothes on a washing line in his back garden when a bullet came whistling towards him. At first, he didn't understand what was happening but when he looked at his hand, he saw it was bleeding. The edge of his palm had been skimmed by the shot, a wound that would leave a burned-out blackened scar that is still visible now, 10 years later.
Matthias "Shabba" Thompson is 33. He was shot in the leg a few years back. He was in such a state of shock that he didn't even notice until he jumped in a car to...
Ashley "Woody" Woodcock was 15 and hanging clothes on a washing line in his back garden when a bullet came whistling towards him. At first, he didn't understand what was happening but when he looked at his hand, he saw it was bleeding. The edge of his palm had been skimmed by the shot, a wound that would leave a burned-out blackened scar that is still visible now, 10 years later.
Matthias "Shabba" Thompson is 33. He was shot in the leg a few years back. He was in such a state of shock that he didn't even notice until he jumped in a car to...
- 2/24/2013
- by Elizabeth Day
- The Guardian - Film News
Future Film Festival | Turkish Film Festival | Deep Desires And Broken Dreams | Keswick Film Festival
Future Film Festival, London
Have you got what it takes to be Britain's next great film-maker? Come along and find out at this talent-nurturing event, where all you need is youth (it's aimed at ages 15-25), curiosity and a little bit of cash (tickets start at a very reasonable £5 per day). The three days deal respectively with fiction, animation and documentary, and on each you get screenings, hands-on workshops, and advice and support from industry bodies and film-makers such Sally El Hosaini (accompanying My Brother The Devil, pictured), Penny Woolcock and the makers of ParaNorman. If you're young and in Wales, alternatively, check out the Ffresh student film festival in Wrexham (Wed to Fri).
BFI, SE1, Sat to Mon
Turkish Film Festival, London
A new slot in the calendar, just after the Berlin film festival (it...
Future Film Festival, London
Have you got what it takes to be Britain's next great film-maker? Come along and find out at this talent-nurturing event, where all you need is youth (it's aimed at ages 15-25), curiosity and a little bit of cash (tickets start at a very reasonable £5 per day). The three days deal respectively with fiction, animation and documentary, and on each you get screenings, hands-on workshops, and advice and support from industry bodies and film-makers such Sally El Hosaini (accompanying My Brother The Devil, pictured), Penny Woolcock and the makers of ParaNorman. If you're young and in Wales, alternatively, check out the Ffresh student film festival in Wrexham (Wed to Fri).
BFI, SE1, Sat to Mon
Turkish Film Festival, London
A new slot in the calendar, just after the Berlin film festival (it...
- 2/16/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
From the Sea to the Land Beyond (2012), the uplifting and inspirational film by award-winning director Penny Woolcock (Tina Goes Shopping, The Principles of Lust), is a lyrical portrait of Britain's coastline, created through an exquisitely beautiful combination of evocative archive footage - drawn from the BFI National Archive - and stirring music. To celebrate its DVD release on 21 January, we're offering our readers the chance to win one of Three copies of Woolcock's film, courtesy of the BFI. This is an exclusive competition for our Facebook and Twitter fans, so if you haven't already, 'Like' us at facebook.com/CineVueUK or follow us @CineVue before answering the question below.
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- 1/24/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Django | American Mary | From The Sea To The Land Beyond | The Sweeney | Above The Street, Below The Water
Django
This Django, the 1966 original, may not be unchained but it is uncut, retaining all the infamous grislier moments as it finally arrives on Blu-ray.
Other than Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy, Sergio Corbucci's Django is the key title in the Italian western genre, making a star of Franco Nero and spawning countless unofficial remakes and sequels; the Tarantino movie is really just part of a long line of movies that take the Django name (along with, in this instance, the theme song, a cameo by Nero, and the rampant bloodlust). In Japan and Germany the Django name would be attached to almost all Franco Nero movies – even his Jaws rip-off, The Shark Hunter, was renamed Django Django for some markets. The entertaining Django, Prepare A Coffin starring Terence Hill has...
Django
This Django, the 1966 original, may not be unchained but it is uncut, retaining all the infamous grislier moments as it finally arrives on Blu-ray.
Other than Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy, Sergio Corbucci's Django is the key title in the Italian western genre, making a star of Franco Nero and spawning countless unofficial remakes and sequels; the Tarantino movie is really just part of a long line of movies that take the Django name (along with, in this instance, the theme song, a cameo by Nero, and the rampant bloodlust). In Japan and Germany the Django name would be attached to almost all Franco Nero movies – even his Jaws rip-off, The Shark Hunter, was renamed Django Django for some markets. The entertaining Django, Prepare A Coffin starring Terence Hill has...
- 1/19/2013
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
After 10 years the south-east's most prominent film festival has kept its eclectic edge but grown in status and ambition
The latest instalment in our new Festival radar series is from Neil Mitchell, a freelance writer and editor of World Film Locations: London, among other publications. He also blogs here, and you can follow him on Twitter @nrm1972.
Do you know of any festivals that deserve more attention? If so, email adam.boult@guardian.co.uk.
Festival name: Cine-City.
Location: Brighton, West Sussex.
Date: 15 November – 2 December 2012.
This year saw Brighton's Cine-City film festival reach its 10th edition. Running for 18 days across a dozen venues, the festival celebrated the landmark anniversary by looking to both its own future and that of a host of emerging film-makers. A heavy accent on first-time features dominated the schedule, along with guaranteed crowd-pullers such as opening-night film Seven Psychopaths (Martin McDonagh), local boy Ben Wheatley's...
The latest instalment in our new Festival radar series is from Neil Mitchell, a freelance writer and editor of World Film Locations: London, among other publications. He also blogs here, and you can follow him on Twitter @nrm1972.
Do you know of any festivals that deserve more attention? If so, email adam.boult@guardian.co.uk.
Festival name: Cine-City.
Location: Brighton, West Sussex.
Date: 15 November – 2 December 2012.
This year saw Brighton's Cine-City film festival reach its 10th edition. Running for 18 days across a dozen venues, the festival celebrated the landmark anniversary by looking to both its own future and that of a host of emerging film-makers. A heavy accent on first-time features dominated the schedule, along with guaranteed crowd-pullers such as opening-night film Seven Psychopaths (Martin McDonagh), local boy Ben Wheatley's...
- 1/3/2013
- by Guardian readers
- The Guardian - Film News
London Iranian Film Festival | Food For Real Film Festival | Framed Film Festival | London Latin American Film Festival
London Iranian Film Festival
How can one of the world's most culturally repressive regimes produce such brilliant movies? The question still stands, in light of Asghar Farhadi, whose A Separation (which played at this festival last year) won the best foreign film Oscar, and whose About Elly enjoyed a warm reception here, even as its star, Golshifteh Farahani, was exiled for displaying nudity in a French ad. What will the contradictory country come up with next? There are more potential award-winners here, such as Here Without Me or family drama A Cube Of Sugar.
Various venues, Mon to 23 Nov
Food For Real Film Festival, Liverpool
If the words "food" and "film" only trigger the reaction, "Mmmm… popcorn!", you need something more nutritious. Such as this food-related film festival, which gives you thoroughly wholesome films,...
London Iranian Film Festival
How can one of the world's most culturally repressive regimes produce such brilliant movies? The question still stands, in light of Asghar Farhadi, whose A Separation (which played at this festival last year) won the best foreign film Oscar, and whose About Elly enjoyed a warm reception here, even as its star, Golshifteh Farahani, was exiled for displaying nudity in a French ad. What will the contradictory country come up with next? There are more potential award-winners here, such as Here Without Me or family drama A Cube Of Sugar.
Various venues, Mon to 23 Nov
Food For Real Film Festival, Liverpool
If the words "food" and "film" only trigger the reaction, "Mmmm… popcorn!", you need something more nutritious. Such as this food-related film festival, which gives you thoroughly wholesome films,...
- 11/17/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
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