Sound and Vision

The continuous bond between music and cinema celebrated by the LFF is once again demonstrated in the Sonic section. This year’s highlights include, Nas: Time is Illmatic, an in-depth look on the making of the New York’s rapper hugely influential debut and Björk: Biophilia Live, the latest fascinating multimedia project from the Icelandic goddess. There are equally interesting music-related films though, outside the Sonic section. Whiplash, for example follows the struggles of an ambitious young jazz drummer to make it to the top. What could be another success story is transformed into an electrifying cinematic experience that constantly surpasses your expectations winning both the Grand Jury and the Audience awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Then there is The Possibilities Are Endless, a heart-warming documentary about the recovery of Edwyn Collins after suffering a massive stroke. A love letter

to an exceptional songwriter and a lovely human being that must be seen not only by Orange Juice fans.   Read more our film festival recommendations below:

• The Stars
• A Trip Around the World
• The Joy and Pain of Being Young
• This time it’s war

The 57th BFI London Film Festival takes place from 8-19 October. Tickets go on sale 18 September and for more info about the programme go to the BFI website.

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Day 1, Wednesday October 9th 

While many Hollywood stars (Sandra Bullock, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Radcliffe to name but a few) will grace the red carpet with their glamorous presence, the spotlight of this year’s festival will fall on Tom Hanks whose two latest films  – Saving Mr Banks and Captain Phillips – have been chosen for the opening and closing night galas. It is fair to say that the two-time Academy Award winner has been unlucky with his recent film choices, Captain Phillips  though is set to be his great comeback. With an intriguing plot based on the 2009 hijacking of a US container ship by a crew of Somali Pirates and director Paul Greengrass –  who offered us the sublime United 93 the last time he dealt with a real-life hostage crisis – the film has all the potential to become the rarest of gems: a thinking man’s high- stakes thriller.

DAY 5, Sunday October 13th

Who could resist a double-bill of the latest films of two of the most exciting British directors working at the moment? Richard Ayoade made his breakthrough in the cult TV series The IT Crowd but since then he has not only directed impressive music videos but also made a well-regarded film debut with Submarine. His second film outing though as a writer-director, The Double is even more ambitious as he transfers Fyodor Dostoevsky’s classic novella to modern day America.

Jonathan Glazer has also made his name by shooting some of the most unique commercials and music videos ever and with just two films (Sexy Beast and Birth) he has created his own characteristic visual style. His latest film, Under the Skin stars Scarlett Johansson in the sexiest role of her career, as an alien creature who uses her sexuality to prey upon hitchhikers is Scotland. With Glazer once again paying more interest in creating a surrealistic atmosphere than following a conventional plot this will probably be not everyone’s cup of tea but it will definitely be an entirely distinctive film.

Click HERE  for Part 2 of our  guide to the 57th BFI London Film Festival

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This intriguing pop up film  festival happening near the happening Portobello Road will showcase some of the most cult faves of the 90s. White Men Can’t Jump, Clueless and, everyone’s favourite, House Party are all there. But, this isn’t your ordinary film festival. Members of the creative community have handpicked all the films billed. Why? Because they were a source of inspiration that propelled them into their field.
Hosts include Damon, No.1 barber to Dizzie Rascal, the sartorial ACF – the most stylish men in London? – female rapper Ninja and top graphic designers Quirksville. All leaders in their field, they will present these cinematic moments from the 90s that influenced their work and gives insight into their practice. Each selector will play host at the screening of their chosen flick and give their personal insight into what makes these movies culturally significant.

The festival will take place on the consecrated ground of the Portobello ‘pop up’: a low cost digital cinema project made from recycled and reclaimed materials. Already well-known for its creative power – it got a mention in a Blur song don’t you know – this is sure to be a hot bed of inventiveness and brainwaves, all taken from the 1990s… fitting! (Words: Laura Thornley)
The festival runs on July 25-28. For more info visit: www.teesandcees.org/welovethe90sfilmfest

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Having been to previous Book Club events, it’s their attention to details that makes their nights so amazing – so here, you can  come dressed up as your favourite teen movie stereotype to spend ‘seven minutes in heaven’, tell your ‘one time at band camp’ stories to win prizes and play beer pong in true American film fashion. There is even the chance to vote for Prom King and Queen (maybe it will be you?) So get your tiara on and indulge in the Mac N Cheese and Chicken Wings  and grab one of their specially created cocktails. For all you singletons out there, the My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard (a strawberry variety with creme de framboise, vodka and whipped cream) sounds like it might just do the trick! (Words: Lucy Palmer)

Teen Dream Prom takes place on February 14th.  For more info, visit: www.facebook.com/events/314012568718689/

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Now in its 10th year, the LSFF is showcasing some of the best independent film-making talent in the UK. Featuring films that have made it through an open call for submissions, the event kicks off at the ICA with New Shorts #1: Funny Shit. Russell Tovey (of Him and Her) stars in Is This A Joke? and there’ll be a screening of Will Self novel adaptation The North London Book of the Dead.

Throughout the week films are split into themes, so Leftfield and Luscious is dedicated to the more experimental film genre (Metamorphosis featuring Anna Friel is one worth seeking out) whilst Romance at the Rio held at Rio cinema in Dalston will be one for rom-dram fans. Femmes Fantastiques will be showing films from female directors including Romola Garai (of BBC drama The Hour) and if you get tired of film-watching, there are retrospectives, networking events and talks to keep you going. Celebrate the best of British talent (and fill that Christmas movie-shaped hole) here.

The London Short Film Festival runs 4 Jan – 13 Jan at various venues. For more info visit  http://www.shortfilms.org.uk

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The Leicester Square venue showcases the best in independent cinema, has cheap ticket prices, and also understands the importance of remembering the classics. All year they showcase the best in cinema including foreign films, the best of the 80s, the latest Hollywood blockbusters and marathons of films shown in the series and trilogies they’re meant to be viewed in.
However the PCC is perhaps best known for their sing-along-screenings including Rocky Horror Show, Lion King and Sound of Music. And they also add a twist with Schwing Along With Wayne’s World, Swear Along With South Park and Mean Girls Quote Along.

The people at Prince Charles are serious about their movies which only adds to the overall experience of visiting – and it’s little wonder Quentin Tarantino calls it his favourite UK cinema. In fact, the people there are so lovely you can visit their website and request a film and they’ll email you when they screen it in the future. But the best way to keep track of the abundant films they screen is to join their mailing list at www.princecharlescinema.com (Words: Lucy Palmer)

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Highlight of 2012: The Goonies at Nomad Cinema, 18 August 2012

“It is difficult not to get a little bit nostalgic at the end of the year, when you start reminiscing about all the exciting events you attended over the last twelve months. My fond memories of the special screening of The Goonies may well be related to the fact that when I am writing these lines the outside temperature is a little bit above 0 °C and watching a favourite film at the beautiful Queen’s Park under the warm summer sky seems extremely appealing. The Goonies though, do not need an ideal setting to capture your heart and transfer you back to your restless childhood. In a year that many Hollywood blockbusters tackled adult themes and became all dark and serious on us, The Goonies was the most fun cinematic experience I had all year.” http://www.theculturalexpose.co.uk/film/something-you-should-go-the-goonies-at-nomad-cinema/

Something I am looking forward to in 2013: Screwball season at the BFI (Throughout January)

“Welcoming the new year with an unbeatable combination of sophistication, romance and comedy courtesy of Hollywood’s golden era”

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Sent på Jorden (Late on Earth) has been described as Skoog’s first ‘documentary’ film, but it defies this categorisation in its conventional sense. Rather than presenting us with a particular story, narrative or event, the artist documents an atmosphere. The place: the small agricultural town Kvidinge, Sweden, where the artist spent his childhood years. The hour: that specific time of day when the sun sets and a part of the world is bathed in the otherworldly light of dusk.

Sent på Jorden  was shot over ten days, a few weeks after midsummer. Skoog and his producers used these days to plan meticulously what they hoped to capture in the half-hour-long window of the perfect light conditions each evening. The results are extraordinary. In a series of thirteen scenes we watch various figures prepare for nightfall as the day winds down: a high-cheekboned girl with black eyes makes her way home through tall grasses; strawberry pickers with expert hands work against the approaching darkness to gather the final fruit of the evening; a group of children play a last silent game of football before the inevitable call to come inside. Förår (Driver) delves deeper into the psyche of one of these characters. It is a portrait of boredom, solitude and the subconscious, with an inconclusive ending that will leave you decidedly uneasy.

Short-film buffs can marvel at the films’ perfect pacing and Skoog’s careful treatment of light; aesthetes will be blown away by the violet-yellow palette of the landscapes; thrill-seekers will be held captive by the inexplicit sense of threat running throughout. Stop, sit and watch Skoog’s two films at Pilar Corrias and be transported to Kvidinge. They offer an aesthetic feast, but you may feel more than a little weird afterwards. (Words: Florence Ritter)

John Skoog at Pilar Corrias runs until 2nd February 2013.  Click HERE for more info.

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Billed as ‘the post-apocolympic event’, Sci-Fi London East itself opens with a race, the UK premiere of The Human Race directed by Paul Hough. In the film, people from different ethnic backgrounds, different generations, different sexes, and different physical capacities are chosen by an anonymous force, instantly disappearing from whence they came to appear on a path, ready for the race. Friday evening closes with Crawlspace, a tense and claustrophobic blend of sci-fi and horror which sees the producers of Wolf Creek return to the Australian outback, this time to top secret underground military compound Pine Gap.

In Antiviral, the feature debut of Brandon Cronenberg, competing private clinics specialise in infecting patients with genetically modified illnesses harvested directly from celebrities. What better way for fans to get closer to their idols? Set in the vacuously antiseptic clinics made famous by his father David in his early body horror films, identities transform and bodies mutate when a salesman injects himself with the latest virus. It is a biting satire, in the most literal sense, on the contemporary obsession with celebrity culture. Other highlights on Saturday include the UK premiere of Cory Mcabee’s Crazy and Thief, an Anime all-nighter and a Mystery Science Theatre 3000 all-nighter.
Sunday opens with Flight of the Navigator, Disney’s child-friendly sci-fi with a Beach Boys soundtrack, ahead of its Blu-Ray release on November 19. The festival comes to an end with screenings of Metamorphosis, an adaptation of Kafka’s classic short story, and finally Carre Blanc, a gravely stylish vision of the future inspired by Chris Marker and Jean Luc Godard’s Alphaville. (Words: Chris Fennell) 

Sci-Fi London East runs from November 9-11. For more info, visit www.sci-fi-london.com

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