The rest of the festival’s programme is filled with films with uber cool premises. String Caesar places legendary Shakespearean actor Derek Jacobi alongside real life prisoners in a modern retelling of the Bard’s Julius Caesar. In an equally daring venture, the renowned minimalist composer Michael Nyman attempts to make an updated version of Dziga Vertov’s revolutionary documentary Man with a Movie Camera. The selection of documentaries in this year’s festival is especially strong, with Me@ the Zoo offering an intriguing look in the endlessly self-recorded life of  transgendered man Chris Crocker, and Zero Killed giving us a rare view of the darkest corners of the human mind as director Michal Kosakowski asks people from various backgrounds about their murder fantasies and then gives them the chance to stage them as short films.
Add to the mix a list of international shorts with A-list stars such as Charlotte Rampling, Jenifer Lopez, Malcolm McDowell and Phil Jupitus and retrospectives that celebrate the genius of the French avant guardist Chris Maker (whose short film La Jetée became the inspiration for Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys) and the eccentric work of Trent Harris, best known for Plan 10 From Outer Space, a low- budget sensation with the unbeatable combo of aliens and Mormons and you will understand what a diverse film festival experience feels like. (Words: Apostolos Kostoulas)
The 20th Riverside Film Festival takes place from 26 September-7 October at the West End’s Apollo Cinema. For further information visit www.raindance.co.uk

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