Tilda and The Ballerina Ballroom Cinema of Dreams
Thanks to all who added some thoughts here the other day. Literature as an artform and artform as literature seemed to have been a theme. And with many shades of variety in between. As well as giving me some cracking new suggestions to look into (many, if not most, have been added to my online list of 'must read's), it let me - and others - into a few reading habits and styles. Good stuff.
There's a really insightful look into the role of the critic ("Who Needs Critics?", pp 16-26) in October's Sight & Sound* that's more than worth a browse. As well as what traditional print criticism means now, it takes a look at how film reviewing and criticism (some who contribute to the articles differentiate) have been altered by blogging. Many of you might find it interesting. (* the link takes you to September's edition; October's hasn't been added just yet, but the link is here anyhow)...
... there's also a great small article in it about Tilda Swinton's and Mark Cousins' new film festival, The Ballerina Ballroom Cinema of Dreams. It ran between 15th-23rd of August (Here are three links with some more about it). Shame I only found out about it yesterday... but hopefully it'll be an annual event. It's in Nairn (Swinton's hometown) on Scotland's Moray Firth: tickets cost £3, or if you baked stuff and brought it along you'd get in free; the cinema was furnished with beanbags and deckchairs instead of typical cinema seats; and if there was a big queue Swinton handed out free cakes! It was all ages and active audience interaction was encouraged, too.
Bless her, but somehow I can't really see Catherine Deneuve handing out slices of Battenberg and mugs of coffee at Cannes.
Some of the films shown seemed to nicely fit into the ethos of the event (the links will tell you more): Powell & Pressburger's I Know Where I'm Going!, Murder Most Foul (Margaret Rutherford as Mrs. Marple), Ozu's I Was Born, But..., Henry Hathaway's Peter Ibbetson, Djibril Diop Mambéty's Hyènes (I would've travelled up there just to catch this!), Mohammad-Ali Talebi's The Boot, and so on... also, the Coen Bros. selected a couple for it, too: Ray Enright and Busby Berkeley's 1934 kaleidoscope musical Dames and Akira Kurosowa's High and Low.
Most fests have themes or agendas that they adhere to for some screening strands, which show a commitment to seeking out new trends, variety in world cinema and the rediscovery of older gems and the like, but what I really love about the sound of this one is that they do all that (kind of... not sure about the 'new trends' thing, but hey), but there is a clear idea of personal selection (without being too self-centric specific or non-inclusive). Being made aware of the presence of certain films that you may not have otherwise been aware of is a criteria for any good, and individual, festival. Some of the films above might not get screened anywhere except at events such as this. I love Tilda.
Anyway, it looked a whole lot better than what the Cambridge Film Festival has on offer, in its new slot - 18th-28th Sept. The line-up this year is very, er, lacklustre shall we say? I haven't fully looked into the entire list of films, but at a cursory glance it doesn't look too exciting. I went two consecutive years as a viewer and one as a writer, and it was a blast, but why the move from early July to a week's time? For one, I can't go due to work, and secondly, positioned nearer the end of the year it may get a bit lost and forgotten amid many other, bigger fests coming up, like BFI's own London Film Festival. July was a good time for it. Now, their outdoor screenings may get rained off... or, well, more so than in July - it can certainly rain by the fuckload here in July... and the attendance figures could be in jeopardy. I may go with dandywalker and catch a couple of films on one of its weekends, but its doubtful. If the LFF wasn't so expensive (£10.50 and upwards for a ticket!) I'd go to a few there. Ho hum.
There's a really insightful look into the role of the critic ("Who Needs Critics?", pp 16-26) in October's Sight & Sound* that's more than worth a browse. As well as what traditional print criticism means now, it takes a look at how film reviewing and criticism (some who contribute to the articles differentiate) have been altered by blogging. Many of you might find it interesting. (* the link takes you to September's edition; October's hasn't been added just yet, but the link is here anyhow)...
... there's also a great small article in it about Tilda Swinton's and Mark Cousins' new film festival, The Ballerina Ballroom Cinema of Dreams. It ran between 15th-23rd of August (Here are three links with some more about it). Shame I only found out about it yesterday... but hopefully it'll be an annual event. It's in Nairn (Swinton's hometown) on Scotland's Moray Firth: tickets cost £3, or if you baked stuff and brought it along you'd get in free; the cinema was furnished with beanbags and deckchairs instead of typical cinema seats; and if there was a big queue Swinton handed out free cakes! It was all ages and active audience interaction was encouraged, too.
Bless her, but somehow I can't really see Catherine Deneuve handing out slices of Battenberg and mugs of coffee at Cannes.
Some of the films shown seemed to nicely fit into the ethos of the event (the links will tell you more): Powell & Pressburger's I Know Where I'm Going!, Murder Most Foul (Margaret Rutherford as Mrs. Marple), Ozu's I Was Born, But..., Henry Hathaway's Peter Ibbetson, Djibril Diop Mambéty's Hyènes (I would've travelled up there just to catch this!), Mohammad-Ali Talebi's The Boot, and so on... also, the Coen Bros. selected a couple for it, too: Ray Enright and Busby Berkeley's 1934 kaleidoscope musical Dames and Akira Kurosowa's High and Low.
Most fests have themes or agendas that they adhere to for some screening strands, which show a commitment to seeking out new trends, variety in world cinema and the rediscovery of older gems and the like, but what I really love about the sound of this one is that they do all that (kind of... not sure about the 'new trends' thing, but hey), but there is a clear idea of personal selection (without being too self-centric specific or non-inclusive). Being made aware of the presence of certain films that you may not have otherwise been aware of is a criteria for any good, and individual, festival. Some of the films above might not get screened anywhere except at events such as this. I love Tilda.
Anyway, it looked a whole lot better than what the Cambridge Film Festival has on offer, in its new slot - 18th-28th Sept. The line-up this year is very, er, lacklustre shall we say? I haven't fully looked into the entire list of films, but at a cursory glance it doesn't look too exciting. I went two consecutive years as a viewer and one as a writer, and it was a blast, but why the move from early July to a week's time? For one, I can't go due to work, and secondly, positioned nearer the end of the year it may get a bit lost and forgotten amid many other, bigger fests coming up, like BFI's own London Film Festival. July was a good time for it. Now, their outdoor screenings may get rained off... or, well, more so than in July - it can certainly rain by the fuckload here in July... and the attendance figures could be in jeopardy. I may go with dandywalker and catch a couple of films on one of its weekends, but its doubtful. If the LFF wasn't so expensive (£10.50 and upwards for a ticket!) I'd go to a few there. Ho hum.