Over £1million awarded to talented North West film makers

The North West’s most promising film makers, scriptwriters and media development organisations are celebrating after being awarded over £1million funding through North West Vision.

Since April 2002 North West Vision the TV, Film and Moving image Development Agency for englandsnorthwest has received 291 lottery applications with 93 being successful. The funding from lottery funding and treasury money has been a tremendous benefit to the region not just for film makers but for businesses and cultural organisation’s with filming production generating millions for the local economy.

Of the total £1million, £530,000 has been allocated to key partner organisations, including the Cornerhouse in Manchester; WFA based in Trafford and First Take in Liverpool. Filmmakers and creative media cultural organisations have benefited from the remaining £470,000.

In the recent round of lottery funding over £140,000 was awarded to 27 out of a total of 106 applicants. The money will be spent making innovative films, organising exciting media events, and diverse film festivals. To date the funding has been a fantastic way of helping to develop and promote the creative talent in the region and put the North West on the International Media map.

Alice Morrison, Chief Executive for North West Vision said:

“The wealth of talent that we have in the North West is overwhelming and North West Vision is extremely proud to be able to offer exciting opportunities and support for new and emerging film makers in the region. North West Vision is passionate about the region as a media destination and a vibrant, innovative cultural centre. The growth of the film making industry will have a positive knock on effect on the sustainable growth of the media industry and tourism and business development in the North West as a whole”.

Brief Information on recent round of allocated Funding

Promising Manchester Producer Mike Ogden has set up a number of challenging short film projects for North West Vision over the past year. Mike who is originally from Salford has been working in TV for over ten years. Since making his first award winning short film ‘Me, You and the Dead’ for North West Vision in 2002, Mike has gone on to full time directing for Mersey TV. His current projects for North West Vision include ‘Small World’ a film about a group of semi unrelated characters who sort out their lives through a self help book and ‘Pots and Pans’ a comedy that explores the feelings of friendship and childhood.

‘Script top Screen is a Liverpool based pro-active project that North West Vision is proud to support. It is run by BAFTA North and will run a series of events that pull together the creative teams of the North West’s best Network drama’s such as Clocking Off and Cops, to show clips and discuss the creative process when getting a programme from script to screen.

Kendal Mountain Film Festival is one of the best Film Festivals in the world. It attracts hundreds of visitors from all over the world. This year’s festival will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest with many guests from the mountain climbing profession. The festival will screen features, shorts, documentaries, IMAX and will run an education programme. The BBC and North West Media will run the ‘Filming Extreme’ film school. This is an annual event at which the BBC provides workshops and support to encourage young and aspiring filmmakers to explore any mountain subjects, culture, sport and the environment.

All funded projects and events are set in a variety of North West locations including Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cumbria, Cheshire and Lancashire.

The Futurist Cinema Company presents
MOVING CONVERSATIONS
STAND UP TO CELLULOID

Six Moving Conversations about comedy followed by a classic comedy feature 4,7,11,14,18,21 August, 6.30pm, Warner Village Cinema, Edinburgh.

Moving Conversations is making six appearances at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Each night we will have three different comedians (some local, some from out of town) who will identify their essential comedy movies and discuss the finer points of stand up comedy i.e. how to cope with abusive punters or how to deliver a contemporary routine without swearing.

The comedy line-up includes:
Gordon Southern [BBC1’s Stand Up Show & R4’s Cheese Shop]
Noel James [Skitzaphrantic]
Will Smith [Will Smith is Much Obliged]
Stephen Grant [Stephen Grant’s Route 1]

The 'classic' (and we use the word advisedly) movies on show are as follows:
4th Le Diner de Cons (1998)
7th Being John Malkovitch (1999)
11th Blazing Saddles (1974)
14th Groundhog Day (1993)
18th Wayne's World (1992)
21st Ferris Buellers Day Off (1986)

Tickets cost a Fringetastic £7.50 (£5.50 concession) and can be obtained at the Fringe box office or via the Warner Village Cinema (Tel: 0131 557 3964).

Note that we are running a 2 for 1 offer on the 4th and a group discount applies for those purchasing 10 tickets or more for any of the shows.

OFT REVIEWS FILM DISTRIBUTORS ORDERS AND UNDERTAKINGS

Orders covering the distribution of films are to be reviewed by the OFT.

The Orders and undertakings followed reports by the then Monopolies and Mergers Commission (now the Competition Commission) and were designed to remedy restrictions on competition. These reviews are the beginning of a programme of reviews of Orders and undertakings imposed under the monopoly provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973.

The OFT has a duty to keep such orders and undertakings under review.

Film Orders

The film Orders resulted from MMC monopoly reports in 1983 and 1994 into the supply of films in cinemas, which found that a number of practices of the large distributors and cinema chains restricted
competition.

The Orders ban exclusive agreements between distributors and cinemas which cover more than one film, and prevent distributors from imposing lengthy minimum exhibition periods on cinemas.

The review is expected to be completed by April 2004.

Full details of the Film Orders were given in DTI press notice
96/942 issued on 16 December 1996.

PUBLIC enquiries: 0845 7224499 enquiries@oft.gov.uk OFT reports and consumer information leaflets are available free from: OFT, PO Box 366, Hayes UB3 1XB 0870 6060321 oft@eclogistics.co.uk

Afterlife (New Found Films)
At the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2003

Afterlife is a beautifully crafted, delightfully scripted film from first time feature-film makers Gabriel Films.

Written by Andrea Gibb, directed by Alison Peebles and produced by Catherine Aitken, the film stars Kevin McKidd, Lindsay Duncan, Shirley Henderson and introducing newcomer Paula Sage.

The film is centred around a young determined, cut-throat journalist, Kenny (McKidd), who is on the verge of a major career breakthrough. His date with destiny and America, is interrupted by a trip home during Easter to visit his mother May (Duncan), after she suffers a fall and injures herself, and his sister Roberta (Sage) who has Downs Syndrome.

Two very different siblings. Two very different lives. But everything is about to change when tragedy strikes and they are forced to reassess their future lives.

Afterlife (World Premiere) Tuesday 19 August - 8.30pm at UGC Fountain Park, Dundee Street, Edinburgh, EH11.

Afterlife (Repeat public performance) Thursday 21 August - 8.30pm at location above.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS

A contemporary British comedy with a western twist, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands is available to buy on video and DVD from 29 September by FilmFour/VCI. The third feature film from the industry respected, Midlands-born director Shane Meadows features an all-star Brit cast including Robert Carlyle, Ricky Tomlinson, Kathy Burke and Rhys Ifans. This critically acclaimed movie also packs in hilarious cameos from Vanessa Feltz, Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer.

Set in a Midlands suburb, this comedy drama is a poignant insight into the lives of live-in partners Dek and Shirley. Together they look after Marlene, Shirley's only daughter by first-love and all round jack-the-lad Jimmy (Robert Carlyle).

The film starts with dull Dek proposing to Shirley live on 'Face to Feltz'. Jimmy sees the proposal on TV and it isn't long before he rides into town to win back the love of his life…little does he know he faces a real, pistols-at-dawn, family standoff.

Baseball bats and Ford Sierras replace rifles and wagons in this story of lost love, honesty and revenge, but as with all great Westerns, good triumphs over evil to win the day - all to the sound of a country-style, guitar-twanging sound-track!

First released to cinemas nationwide in September 2002, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, was nominated for the Grand Prix Asturias at the 2002 Gijon International Film Festival. It is released on video and DVD from 29 September. Presented as a Double Disk set, the DVD also incorporates, early rehearsal footage, 'Once Upon A Time Around Britain' a hilarious video-diary/documentary on the film's promotional tour, the full 'Face To Feltz' episode, deleted scenes and much more.

AsoloArtFilmFestival

Asolo – Montebelluna

22 – 28 September 2003

Three hundred and sixty-three films representing thirty-one countries. This is the extraordinary result of participation in the third AsoloArtFilmFestival, launched in the wake of the Asolo Festival Internazionale del Film sull’Arte e di Biografie d’Artista which was in turn founded way back in 1973 by Flavia Paulon.

This is highly satisfying both to promoters and organisers.

The AsoloArtFilmFestival will take place in Asolo, at the Teatro E. Duse, and Montebelluna, at the Cinema Italia Eden, from 22 to 28 September 2003.

The works submitted have been undergoing selection for more than a month, in what is no easy task given the high overall quality.

The organising body, under the artistic direction of Anna Maria Cerrato, has set the end of July for listing the definitive selection of works to be admitted to the competition.

For details go to:
www.asolofilmfestival.it

Moving Conversations

Edinburgh based ‘itinerant’ cinema operator, The Futurist, is to offer its acclaimed Moving Conversations events at the Warner Village cinema in Edinburgh. Moving Conversations offer a lively panel discussion about a range of subjects, before showing a main feature movie. The Futurist has already partnered with the Royal Museum and the Filmhouse to cover topics such as the Scottish video games industry, personal recollections of the Nazi holocaust, acting and journalism. Now the Futurist has teamed up with
Warner Village to offer a series of these events, initially turning its
sights on comedy and technology...

The Futurist Cinema Company presents
MOVING CONVERSATIONS
WARNER VILLAGE CINEMA, EDINBURGH, 6.30pm, 24th JULY 2003
SPAMMERS & SPOOLS
Moving Conversations, the popular panel discussion with a twist, dips its toes into the world of computers and technology on 24th July at the Warner Village Cinema in Greenside Place, Edinburgh. Scottish technology gurus such as David Farquhar from Interactive University, Dr Aydin Kurt Elli from edNET, Tracey Ward from MX Alliance and Ian Preece from The National Trust for Scotland will each choose a film that represents the best or the worst
of technology. These movies will be impossible to predict, however the choice will be backed up by an impassioned and eloquent argument. The debate will be followed by a showing of the digital cinema masterpiece, Russian Ark - a unique journey through time and Russian history and the first entirely unedited, single take, full-length feature film. All for a mere £6.50 (£5.50 conc).
This is guaranteed to be one technology bubble bursting with goodness and value.
Tickets can be purchased on the door, in advance at the Warner Village box office (Tel 0131 557 3964) or via the automated booking number 0870 2406020.

The Futurist Cinema Company presents
MOVING CONVERSATIONS
STAND UP TO CELLULOID
Six Moving Conversations about comedy followed by a classic comedy feature 4,7,11,14,18,21 August, 6.30pm, Warner Village Cinema, Edinburgh Moving Conversations is making six appearances at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Each night we will have three different comedians (some local, some from out of town) who will identify their essential comedy movies and discuss the finer points of stand up comedy i.e. how to cope with abusive punters or how to deliver a contemporary routine without swearing.
The comedy line-up includes:
Gordon Southern [BBC1’s Stand Up Show & R4’s Cheese Shop]
Noel James [Skitzaphrantic]
Will Smith [Will Smith is Much Obliged]
Stephen Grant [Stephen Grant’s Route 1]
The 'classic' (and we use the word advisedly) movies on show are as follows:
4th Le Diner de Cons (1998)
7th Being John Malkovitch (1999)
11th Blazing Saddles (1974)
14th Groundhog Day (1993)
18th Wayne's World (1992)
21st Ferris Buellers Day Off (1986)
Tickets cost a Fringetastic £7.50 (£5.50 concession) and can be obtained at the Fringe box office or via the Warner Village Cinema (Tel: 0131 557 3964).
Note that we are running a 2 for 1 offer on the 4th and a group discount applies for those purchasing 10 tickets or more for any of the shows.

For more information on Moving Conversations and The Futurist visit
www.futuristcinema.com

bfi pays tribute to film critic and broadcaster Alexander Walker

The British Film Institute today paid tribute to former bfi governor Alexander Walker whose death was announced this morning.

bfi Chairman Anthony Minghella said: "Alexander Walker's contribution to the appreciation and understanding of British film was unique.

"He was passionate about film and that love affair with cinema was clear in everything he wrote.

"He was much more than a film critic. He was a champion for quality cinema in this country. As a broadcaster, commentator and film historian he had no equal. He was a good friend and sometime critic of the bfi. As a former governor he had strong views about the future of film and the work of the Institute. It is to his credit that he never shied away from expressing his views which were always informed."

He added: "The London film world and British cinema are a smaller and less colourful place without him."

bfi Director Amanda Nevill added: " I am sure I speak for everyone at the bfi when I say we are saddened that we have lost such a substantial figure in the cinema world.

"He was film."

She added: "Part of the landscape of film culture has gone with his passing and British cinema is the poorer as a result.

"His association with the British Film Institute goes back a long way. He was a former member governor of the bfi and was never shy to express his views about the organisation and its direction. Throughout, he was a tenacious, determined and vocal advocate for film in this country and although not always a fan, was a supporter of the work of the British Film Institute.

"He was passionate about the movies and had an unrivalled knowledge of Hollywood and the classic years of British and American cinema.

"This is a loss not only to British newspapers and film criticism but to everyone who loves film in this country."

In 'Dietrich' by Malene Sheppard Skaerved (Haus Publishing, 2003) it notes that Marlene hated biographers and covered her edition of Walker's book 'Dietrich' (Harper & Row, 1984) with scribbled notes. She accuses him of lying and writes on one page 'Rot, Rot. Bullshit, double Bullshit.' So he obviously made an impact with her!

Promoting British Talent

The British Independent Film Awards, which last year won the Hollis
Sponsorship Award for Best Low Budget Sponsorship and The Raindance Film Festival, are working with Transmission Inc. Ltd to secure a three year title sponsorship deal.

Although separate projects, both events are intrinsically linked and form the cornerstone of new talent in independent British Film Making. Transmission Inc. Ltd is working with the in-house team to put together a package aimed at building a long-term relationship with a commercial partner whilst promoting British talent in filmmaking.

In its sixth year, the British Independent Film Awards continue to grow in size and stature, filling an important niche in the UK and Independent filmmaking calendar. Over-subscribed for the last five years, this is the UK's fastest growing film event.

This year will also see the introduction of the Best British Feature
Documentary. The organisers feel this is a welcome addition to the current categories, highlighting and publicising an important educational and prolific genre of British independent filmmaking.

Award-winning South African film Amandla added to respectFilm festival

AMANDLA! A Revolution In Four-Part Harmony (2003)
Lee Hirsch/South Africa/2003/103mins/certificate tbc

Curzon Mayfair - Tuesday 15 July 6.30pm £8.50
38 Curzon Street Mayfair London W1J 7TY, 020 7495 0500 www.curzoncinemas.com
tube: Green Park/Hyde Park Corner

The power of song to communicate, motivate, console, unite and, ultimately, beget change: that ideal, gloriously realized, lies at the heart of director Lee Hirsch's inspiring feature-film documentary Amandla! A Revolution In Four-Part Harmony.

Winner of the Audience Award and Freedom of Expression Award at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, Amandla! tells the story of black South African freedom music and reveals the central role it played in the long battle against apartheid. The first film to specifically consider the music that sustained and galvanized black South Africans for more than 40 years, Amandla!'s focus is on the struggle's spiritual dimension, as articulated and embodied in song. It is unlike any other film yet made on the subject of apartheid, and an electrically expressive portrait of South African life then and now.

The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy - The Exhibition

This is a unique visitor experience based on the famous films, opens at the Science Museum on 16 September 2003.

The family exhibition arrives before the eagerly awaited final instalment of the film trilogy and will be the only chance for European fans to explore for themselves the fantastic world created for The Lord of the Rings films.

Hundreds of artefacts from the movies including models, armoury and animatronics will feature alongside interactive computer and mechanical demonstrations of the cutting-edge technology used to bring the story to life.

The fascinating exhibition includes:

* Demonstrations of special effects, including the combining of 'real' and 'digital' action and CGI (computer-generated-image technology)

* A scaling interactive allowing visitors to become Hobbit sized in a scene from The Fellowship of the Ring - and then buy a print of themselves

* A display on prosthetics including Hobbit feet, Orc teeth and the contact lenses used to give the Orcs their unique look

* Giant models including Hobbiton Mill, Treebeard and a cave troll

* An 'armour corridor' featuring weapons belonging to Arwen, Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn

Ø Outfits including Arwen's riding costume, Galadriel's stunning dress, and Gandalf's robes

Visitors will be transported into the world of Middle-earth where they will be met by Frodo and his Hobbit companions, the wizards, the Black Riders, the cultures of Middle-earth and the fearsome warriors - all in the authentic costumes created for the films.

The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy - The Exhibition will enable visitors to experience first hand some of the awe-inspiring special effects used to make the blockbuster films.

Head of the Science Museum, Jon Tucker, said: "This excellent exhibition provides a unique behind-the-scenes look at the science and technology which made the film trilogy possible - from the computer generated special effects to the development of the complex animatronics that created such stunning results."

The exhibition culminates with a face-to-face encounter with the central icon from the films - the One Ring itself.

· Due to the expected demand for tickets to see this exhibition, tickets can be pre-booked on 0870 870 4868.

· The Science Museum will be running a series of adult and family events during the autumn half term and Christmas holidays investigating traditional and state-of-the-art filmmaking techniques.

Exhibition
16 September 2003 to 11 January 2004

Ticket Prices
Monday - Friday: Adults £9.95, Children/Concessions £6.95
Saturday - Sunday: Adults £11.95, Children/Concessions £8.95

Information and booking line
0870 870 4868

GERRY ANDERSON AND THE THUNDERBIRDS MOVIE

Gerry Anderson, creator of the original Thunderbirds series, has issued the following statement regarding the Thunderbirds Movie that is currently in production by Working Title Films at Pinewood Studios:

"A number of journalists I have spoken to, are under the impression that I am both involved with and supporting this feature film.

For the record, I would like to clarify my position with regards to the Thunderbirds Film, once and for all.

I was not approached by anyone, either before or at the outset of production of this movie, to be creatively involved. As a result I know very little about the film. I have not seen the script and have made it my business not to attempt to find out about it - despite the close physical proximity of filming to the facility that I am setting up for the creation of the new Captain Scarlet TV series.

I have a good relationship with the film's Director, Jonathan Frakes, whose previous work I rate highly, however, I am certainly in no position to endorse the film - or otherwise - and I would like this to be clearly understood."

007 Heaven in Cornwall

Your car-filled fantasies are about to become true, as James Bond's Aston Martin Vanquish from "Die Another Day", K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider, the Batmobile and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang all roar down to St Agnes in Cornwall.

The National Film Exhibition will bring out the big kid in you as you wander around the other stars of the show; 007's Lotus Espirit from "The Spy Who
Loved Me" and his Aston Martin V8 from "Living Daylights". Wallace and Gromit, the animation figures will be there, as will Kevin Costner's costume from "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves".

For those who are mad about beautiful cars and enjoy their films, Travelsmith has a holiday package that includes free admission to the
National Film Exhibition at the brand new South West Film studios in St Agnes. Stay in your private two-bedroom apartment (that sleeps four), set in
the heart the beautiful village that is located near the sandy beaches, dramatic cliffs and rolling surf of the Atlantic Coast. The Church View apartment comes with modern private facilities and nearby free parking areas.

Prices for seven night holidays commencing Saturdays start from #310 per apartment and in peak rise to #560 per apartment. All prices include free admission to the film exhibition. Please note Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is on display on certain days by special arrangement and these days can be found by visiting www.thenationalfilmexhibition.com
For more information call Travelsmith on 01621 784 666 quoting "Offer C685".

RIDLEY SCOTT BACKS NEW UK TALENT INITIATIVE

Escape Studios, the UK’s premier visual effects school has announced the Ridley Scott Awards, a new initiative to seek out and support film, television and computer games creatives.

Award winning British director Ridley Scott who is supporting the awards has launched a new enterprise that seeks to reward and promote the very best creative talent in the visual effects and games industries. Ridley Scott, who used extensive special effects in films such as Gladiator, Alien and Blade Runner, said: "I am honoured to have these awards named after me. Escape's initiative is vital to the discovery of new talent for the UK's creative industries."

Together with Ridley Scott, Escape Studios has recognised that with the UK fast becoming a strong force in all areas of visual effects and games production, it is vital that efforts to encourage and develop the next generation of artists is maintained. For the Awards’ winners, the prizes on offer - which includes an exclusive training package at Escape Studios- will provide an enormous foot-up into a notoriously inaccessible profession; for Escape Studios, the winners will continue the flow of creative talent passing through their doors.

The Ridley Scott Awards comprises of four categories - Animation, Visual Effects, Motion Graphics and Games - with each of these individually sponsored by a key organisation from the creative industry.

The Ridley Scott Awards provide a fantastic opportunity for anyone wanting to enter the visual effects, games, television or animation industries but who doesn’t know how. Winners from each category will be given full training at Escape Studios; full copies of both Alias Wavefront’s Oscar winning 3D Animation package, Maya and Apple’s industry standard tool for digital compositing Shake, and an exclusive work experience placement with the corresponding sponsoring facility.

Escape’s Managing Director Dominic Davenport said: “Escape Studios are honoured to have the support of an industry luminary such as Ridley Scott as it only emphasises the importance of such an initiative and the benefits of industry focused education.”

Entry to the award scheme is open to anyone who is not currently employed in the fields of visual effects, 3D animation, motion graphics or games development. School leavers, college leavers and graduates or those wishing to enter the industry from other fields are all invited to participate. The closing date is Tuesday, 30 September 2003 and no entries received after this will be judged.
All entrants must enter online at www.escapestudios.co.uk in order to be eligible for the awards.

Escape’s Managing Director Dominic Davenport adds: “The Ridley Scott Awards are designed for those who have artistic skill but haven’t had the opportunity to be educated in the techniques and processes. These awards reward potential rather than accomplishment, a concept which is central to Escape Studios ethos.”
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INDUSTRY GREAT AND GOOD GATHER TO SUPPORT GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL

A star studded line up of screen greats such as Ken Loach, Peter Mullan and Daniella Nardini will grace the UGC Cinema in Renfrew Street in Glasgow this Thursday (26 June) for the ninth Real to Reel Film Festival created by Cardonald College, Glasgow.

Legendary Film Director Ken Loach (currently filming in Glasgow) will make a speech on why he is so keen to return to Glasgow and Scotland time and time again to make films.

The acclaimed director and actor Peter Mullan, patron of the Real to Reel Film Festival, will open the ceremony via video as he is currently on location in LA.

"I am delighted to be patron of The Real to Reel Film Festival. I feel that the basic ideology of Real to Reel facilitates a great chance for new talent, based solely on merit and regardless of culture and budget providing
a genuine opportunity for new filmmakers from the international working classes," Mr Mullan said.

The ceremony is being presented by BBC Scotland's Janice Forsyth and award presenters include Daniella Nardini (This Life, Sirens, Rough Treatment) Gary Lewis (Billy Elliot, Gangs of New York), Martin Compston (Sweet Sixteen) Kathleen McDermott (Morven Callar) amongst others.

Nick Park (Wallace and Gromit) has sent a very amusing video endorsement congratulating the winner of the animation category and Craig Armstrong (Moulin Rouge) has left a good luck message to be read out during the proceedings requesting a new music category for next year!

Peter Mullan also hopes that his support will help Real to Reel expand into an independent, professional event for next year becoming Glasgow's International Short Film Festival.

The Festival consists of 5 categories: Drama, Documentary, Animation, Open and a New Community category to encourage young film makers from youth and drama groups.

SNAP UP THE LATEST POCKET DVD DIGITAL CAMCORDERS ON NIFTY-GADGETS.NET

Steven Spielberg wannabes, Brad Pitt look-alikes and budding Nicole Kidmans are clawing to get their hands on the latest pocket DVD camcorders, available now on the Web's newest online gadget site, www.nifty-gadgets.net.

Retailing from just 99, some of the best mini movie-makers around - including Aiptek's immensely popular DV2 and DV3100 - are finding their way into the hands of tomorrow's film stars. Currently in stock and in high
demand is Aiptek's bestseller, the DV2 - a Pocket DVD camcorder that features a 1.4" colour LCD screen, expandable memory (through additional CompactFlash cards that can also be purchased through Nifty-Gadgets.net), audio/video out and a generous 1.3 Mega-Pixel resolution.

Visitors to Nifty-Gadgets.net looking for a digital camera will also be pleased to find Aiptek's PocketCam digital camera that comes complete with a digital zoom, 16 MB CF Card, TV out and 1.5" TFT LCD screen.

Steve Harris, General Manager, Nifty-Gadgets.net, enthused, "Pocket-sized DVD camcorders are definitely one of 2003's must-have gadgets and I am confident Nifty-Gadgets.net will be swamped with requests for digitals
cameras - especially with online stores such as Nifty-Gadgets.net slashing the prices consumers are paying on the high street."

For more information about Nifty-Gadgets.net log on to www.nifty-gadgets.net

respect Festival

10-17 July 2003
a celebration of diversity through film

First ever respect film festival launches with gala screening of Raising Victor Vargas

RAISING VICTOR VARGAS by award winning director Peter Sollett will have an exclusive screening at the opening gala for the very first respectfilm, a week long season of films celebrating diversity from around the world, at cinemas across London from 10-17 July. Raising Victor Vargas tells the story of young love in New York's Lower East Side and has received excellent reviews in the States. The film will be screened at the Curzon Mayfair on Thursday 10 July.

respectFilm is being programmed by Marc Boothe on behalf of the Mayor of London and will be one of the highlights of respect week , a wide-ranging programme of arts, community and educational events taking place across the capital in the run up to the Mayor's respect anti-racist festival at the Dome, Greenwich on 19 July.

Amongst several premieres and exclusive screening are STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN, the documentary and live performance film about the pivotal role played by the Funk Brothers in the musical legacy that spawned the once ubiquitous 'Motown sound', which changed the course of music around the world, will close the festival at the Ritzy, Brixton, on Thursday 17 July.

There will be world premiere screenings of SCARRED, TASVIH and A LONG WAY FROM PICCADILLY, three films made by and for refugees living in London and funded by the Princess Diana Memorial Fund and the Prince’s Trust. Other festival highlights include Rick Famuyiwa's hip-hop tale BROWN SUGAR and Rick Elgood and Don Letts' Jamaican feature ONE LOVE, about love across religious and social borders.

There will also be an exclusive preview screening of THE MAKING OF 1 GIANT LEAP, the Duncan Bridgeman-Jamie Catto movie record of their musical tour of 25 countries, including a Q&A with Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman.

Other special events include Q&As with Sophie Fiennes (director, HOOVER STREET REVIVAL); Michael Ocelot (KIRIKOU – THE SORCERESS); Safina Uberoi (MY MOTHER INDIA), whilst One Love will be introduced by directors Rick Elgood and Don Letts.

Also due to take part in education events are screenwriter Tony Grisoni at a special screening of Michael Winterbottom's IN THIS WORLD and broadcaster Henry Bonsu, who will be talking to actor Chiwetel Ejiofor from Stephen Frears' DIRTY PRETTY THINGS. Playwright and critic Bonnie Greer will be interviewed by film critic Peter Curran at a special showing of her favourite film, THE THIRD MAN.

Marc Boothe says: 'The respectFilm festival provide a unique and much needed platform for London's multi-ethnic communities to celebrate the wealth and diversity of stories from the around the world on the 'Big Screen. It's a great honour to be part of something that is so positive and inclusive.'

respectFilm takes place from 10-17 July at the Curzon Mayfair, the Other Cinema, Ritzy Cinema, Brixton, Rio Cinema, Hackney, Genesis Cinema, Mile End, and the ICA.

The festival programme is as follows:

RespectFilm

THURSDAY 10 JULY

RAISING VICTOR VARGAS OPENING NIGHT GALA
Peter Sollett/US/2003/88mins/cert 15
Victor Vargas (Victor Rasuk), is a self-styled lower east-side teenage Casanova who, despite his adolescent hubris, has a lot to learn about love. Caught between regaining his grandmother’s trust and helping his kid brother and sister negotiate the oft-baffling ways of the world, Victor discovers that there’s a difference between acting like a man and becoming one.

Plus
SCARRED World Premiere
UK/2003/12mins/cert 16
See special events

Curzon Mayfair Thursday 10 July 6.30pm £8.50

FRIDAY 11 JULY

THE CLAY BIRD (Matir Mona)
Tareque Masud/Bangladesh/2002/100mins/English subtitles/cert 15
Cannes award-winning story tells of family life during the upheavals of East Pakistan in the 1960s.
Check Box Office for details 020 7780 2000

Genesis Friday 11 July at 3pm 6pm 9pm £5.50/£4.50/£3.65

MY MOTHER INDIA
Safina Uberoi/Australia/2001/52mins/no certificate
Delightful portrait of the director’s family introduces us to a kitsch academic father, an Australian mother and their Indian neighbours. What begins as a humorous documentary unfolds into a complex commentary on the social, political and religious events of the anti-Sikh riots in 1984, which tore this family apart. Includes Q&A with director Safina Uberoi

ICA Friday 11 & Friday 18 July at 7pm £6.50/£5.50

SATURDAY 12 JULY

SERIOUS ABOUT SHORTS: DIASPORA SHORTS SHOWCASE
Produced by B3 media
A short film showcase featuring the best in short films from the UK’s Black and Asian filmmakers. Shot on film and digitally the showcase will provide a unique opportunity to discover tomorrow’s hot talent today.

Curzon Mayfair Saturday 12 July 11am £3

COWBOY BE-BOP: the Movie
Shinichiro Watanabe/Japan/2003/115mins/English subtitles/Cert 12A
In the days leading up to Halloween 2071 the bounty hunting crew of the spaceship BeBop are bored and broke. This Bladerunner-esque post-modern anime epic delights with its goony touches and unexpected delicacy.

ICA Saturday 12 July 2pm & 10.30pm £6.50/£5.50

HOOVER STREET REVIVAL
Sophie Fiennes/US/2002/100mins/Cert U
This unique and innovative film takes as its subject life, death and the Word of God as experienced around Greater Bethany Community Church, in the notorious South Central, LA.

Includes Q&A with director Sophie Fiennes

The Other Cinema Saturday 12 July 6.30pm £7/£4

SUNDAY 13 JULY

'MY FAVORITE FILM': THE THIRD MAN
Carol Reed/US/1949/105mins/cert U
Playwright and critic Bonnie Greer introduces a special showing of her favourite film: Carol Reed’s classic THE THIRD MAN. Interviewed by Peter Curran from BBC LDN The Big Picture 94.9FM.

Curzon Mayfair Sunday 13 July 1pm £6

Double Bill
HAMMAM - THE TURKISH BATH
Ferzan Ozpetek/Italy-Turkey-Spain/1997/98mins/English subtitles/Cert 15
Rome interior designer Francesco leaves his fading marriage behind when he travels to Istanbul to assess the inheritance left by his aunt, an old-fashioned Turkish bath (or 'hammam').

+ IGNORANT FAIRIES
Ferzan Ozpetek/Italy/2001/105mins/English subtitles/Cert 15
Stefano Accorsi, Margherita Buy.
Contrasting lifestyles and unveiling desires, the third film from Turkish-born director Ozpetek is his first based fully in Italy. An affluent thirtysomething doctor (Buy) is distraught after the death of her husband and shocked to discover that he had long-term male lover.

Rio Cinema Sunday 13 July 2pm £7/£5.50

KIRIKOU – THE SORCERESS
Michael Ocelot/ France/1998/74mins/Cert U
The tiny Kirikou is born into an African village upon which a sorceress called Karaba has cast a terrible spell. His adventure-filled voyage leads him to the forbidden mountain, where the wise man of the mountain, who knows of Karaba and her secrets awaits him. Kirikou's stunning visuals are accented by a traditional music soundtrack by African music giant Youssou N'Dour of Senegal.

plus face painters and live African drumming and Q&A with Michael Ocelot.

Ritzy Cinema Sunday 13 July 4.30pm £5

BROWN SUGAR EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW SCREENING
Rick Famuyiwa/US/2002/109mins/cert 12A
Starring: Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, Mos Def, Queen Latifah. Dre and Sidney attribute their friendship and their careers to a single moment - the day they discovered hip-hop. Now some 15 years later, as they lay down the tracks toward their futures, hip-hop isn't the only thing that keeps them coming back to that moment.

Ritzy Brixton Sunday 13 July 7pm £7/£4



MONDAY 14 JULY

BREATH CONTROL: HISTORY OF THE HUMAN BEAT BOX
Joey Garfield/ 2002/ US/ 74mins/cert 15
Forget samplers, drum machines and devices: this is the real deal. Going back as far as the DJ and breakdancing in Hip Hop culture is the art of making music using just the human voice. The first documentary on this skill, using new interviews with those involved, including Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie (The Diabolical) and The Fat Boys. + Diaspora Shorts

The Other Cinema Monday 14 July 7pm £4

TUESDAY 15 JULY

ONE LOVE LONDON PREMIERE
Rick Elgood & Don Letts/Jamaica/2003/tbc mins/cert tbc
Starring Ky-Mani Marley, Cherine Anderson and Vas Blackwood. A contemporary Jamaican 'Romeo and Juliet', One Love tells the tale of young Rasta reggae musician Kassa and Serena, the gospel singing daughter of a Pentecostal preacher who are brought together through their mutual love of music. Introduced by the directors.

Curzon Mayfair Tuesday 15 July 6.30pm £8.50

MON-RAK TRANSISTOR (A Transistor Love Story)
Pen-ek Ratanaruang/Thailand/2001/120mins/English subtitles/Cert 15
From the producers of Tears of the Black Tiger comes the perfect summer movie, a potent blend of Elvis Presley-style musical, love story and poisonous social satire in Hysteric Glamour t-shirts.

ICA ALL WEEK 8.45pm £6.50/£5.50

WEDNESDAY 16 JULY

THE MAKING OF 1 GIANT LEAP EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW
Duncan Bridgeman, Jamie Catto/UK/2002/155min/cert PG
In 2001, Jamie Catto, film-maker and founding member of Faithless and artist/producer Duncan Bridgeman, joined forces to create the project, 1 Giant Leap. They embarked upon a journey of 25 countries including Senegal, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, India, Australia, the United States and United Kingdom, equipped solely with a digital camera and a laptop. This is the story of that journey.

+ Diaspora Shorts and masterclass Q&A with Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman

The Other Cinema Wednesday 16 July 6.30pm £7/£4

THURSDAY 17 JULY

STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN CLOSING NIGHT GALA
Paul Justman /US/2002/116mins/cert PG
Their music is famous around the world, though their names are not. Known as the Funk Brothers, they put the soul into the hits of such legendary performers as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. Standing In The Shadows of Motown tells their story, combining exclusive interviews, archival footage and thrilling new performances, the Funk Brothers backing up Chaka Khan, Ben Harper, Me’shell Ndegeocello, Bootsy Collins.

Ritzy Brixton Thursday 17 July 9pm £7/£4



SPECIAL EVENTS

'23:59' Digital Short Film Competition
Calling all 'guerrilla' filmmakers! The rules are simple: 24 hours to shoot; 24 hours to edit. All you need is an idea, a crew and a weekend. For more information contact info@b3media.co.uk.

Ritzy Brixton 18-20 July

Refugee Short Film Project
In partnership with the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, the Prince's Trust has supported The Transient Film exchange to bring together a group of young refugees living in London, to produce short hard-hitting dramas shot on video. The films, Scarred, Tasvih and A Long Way from Piccadilly will be shown throughout the week before our features and documentaries.

EDUCATION EVENTS
Produced by Film Education in association with B3 Media, suitable for people with or without knowledge of film. 15 years and above. All seats cost £1.

IN THIS WORLD
Michael Winterbottom/UK/2002/89mins/cert 15
This highly acclaimed film follows Jamal and Enayatullah as they set out to travel overland to London, passing through Iran, Turkey, Italy and France, in a journey which is so arduous and life threatening that one is constantly aware of the desperation that lies behind it. Includes Q&A with screenwriter Tony Grisoni.

Curzon Mayfair Friday 11 July at 10.30am

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS
Stephen Frears/UK /2002/97mins/cert 15
An urban thriller in which an African night porter enlists the help of a prostitute, a chambermaid and a mortuary technician to solve a bizarre murder. Set in a world of asylum seekers that lies behind the familiar urban metropolis, it is a tale of two cities, both set in London. Includes Q&A with Chiwetel Ejiofor (TBC) and Broadcaster Henry Bonsu.

Curzon Mayfair Monday 14 July 10.30am

More information at:

respect Festival

Talking Pictures

Virtual Stuntmen Debut in Hollywood Epic Troy

Oxford technology chosen for Warner Bros production starring Brad Pitt

The first ever Virtual Stuntmen will be used in Troy, the Hollywood Iliad adaptation directed by Wolfgang Petersen, starring Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Seven) as Achilles.

Leading visual effects house The Moving Picture Company chose virtual humans developed by NaturalMotion, an Oxford University spin-off company, to help create ultra-realistic action scenes for the movie.
NaturalMotion's software endorphin, born out of Oxford University Zoology research into human motion, uniquely creates virtual characters whose bodies react exactly like real humans to whatever forces are applied to them - offering infinite and totally realistic reactions to, for example, explosions, falls, punches or whatever else an action scene might require.

endorphin uses NaturalMotion's Active Character Technology, which simulates the actor's brain as well as their body. The virtual actors learn how to move and react using neural networks and artificial evolution. They sense and react to the environment and can be directed just like real actors.

Torsten Reil, CEO of NaturalMotion, was doing a Zoology DPhil in Zoology at Oxford, studying the neurobiology of human motion through computer modelling, when he and his colleagues realised the commercial possibilities of their work. Founded in 2001 with Colm Massey and David Raubenheimer, the company looks set to hit new levels of success with this kind of Hollywood collaboration. "We're proud that MPC have chosen our technology for this project," said Torsten. "endorphin is a powerful piece of software, and with MPC's track record, we're looking forward to some incredible scenes."

Julian Mann of The Moving Picture Company said: "endorphin gives us the ability to identify stunt requirements and generate motion capture in a matter of minutes. The data from endorphin is the perfect complement to traditional motion capture data. endorphin stunt men never sleep, they never need an ambulance and they quite happily work after being decapitated."

Torsten Reil: "We spent a long time teaching our virtual actors the necessary skills for this. It's a great feeling seeing them used in such an impressive project."

Shooting for Troy has started in April. The film will be in cinemas in 2004.

Hmmm...so now there'll be films that will not injure or distress animals AND humans during their making, which is good but the next move is to have virtual audiences who won't drop pop corn or slurp cola all over multi-plex seats.

Talking Pictures

Exploring your Mind
Award winning producers, Undercurrents have just released Evolving Minds, a documentary exploring altered realities. We ask just how useful is a Spiritual path? what is the connection between madness and what we eat? Why were British troops given LSD?

Director of the ground breaking work, Melissa Gunasena asks: "What is reality and who defines it? Within Evolving Minds I offer a fresh perspective on alternatives to the mental health system. By presenting clear information in a humorous style I have covered diverse topics such as shamanism, nutrition, war, psychotherapy, meditation and protest against mental health legislation. I believe this will be useful film for anyone suffering from the stress of todays fast paced world."

Evolving Minds can be viewed here:

http://showcase.commedia.org.uk/article/articleview/354/1/75/

VHS Copies of Evolving Minds are available for purchase from:


http://www.undercurrents.org/minds

CITIZEN KANE

It's rated by most critics as the greatest movie of all time. Certainly it is Orson Welles' first and best film. To judge for yourself Universal are releasing a freshly re-mastered video and two-disc DVD special edition of this classic. See our review at:

Citizen Kane

Reel Madness Film Festival

Only two days until the launch of the Reel Madness Film Festival

On Saturday 21st June at 7pm Dr Raj Persaud introduces ‘Completely Cuckoo’ in the UK premier of this illuminating documentary about the making of the ground-breaking ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’

‘Completely Cuckoo’ is Charles Kiselyak’s 1988 documentary about the pre-history, the making, and the reception of the film, featuring luminaries such as real hospital psychiatrist Dean R Brooks playing Dr John Spivey; producer Michael Douglas and director Milos Foreman.

To see what the Guardian had to say about the film go to -

film.guardian.co.uk

For tickets call the ICA box office on 020 726 7722

See full details at: www.reelmadness.co.uk

Further info email: sheena@reelmadness.co.uk

Talking Pictures

Portobello Film Festival 2003
1 - 18 August 2003

Westbourne Studios Acklam Road London W10
Emslie Hornimans Park Kensal Road London W10
Electric Cinema Portobello Road London W11
The Tabernacle Powis Square London W11

The Portobello Film Festival is unlike any other. This is filmmaking of the raw and, sometimes, rude school, passionate, obsessive, and, above all, experimental.

With a breathtaking programme of over 500 shorts and features, audiences will experience some of the most innovative and culturally diverse filmmaking around. Documentaries, music, animation, drama and travel are just some of the genres featured, others we couldn’t categorise. (Nor would we want to).

Showing everything from “A Tribute To Joe Strummer” featuring rare and unseen Clash footage to the best in new Iranian short filmmaking, from an Extreme Sports selection to an Italian evening, from club films by Pinkypoos and Kinky Gerlinky to an exciting contemporary South African programme.

The Festival climaxes with three days of Megascreen madness in one of Portobello’s superb local parks. This is cinema alfresco at its best, a superbly programmed festival-within-a-festival, featuring everything from family films, to classics, to independent shorts. Sunshine guaranteed.

Free-for-all
Entry to the Festival is free. Free to enter, free to leave, free to think and free to be…

Portobello Film Festival was founded in 1996 as a showcase for Independent film. One of Europe’s largest, it provides a mutually supportive platform on which to show films, share ideas and promote grass-root creativity.Submission policy.

We don’t have one - every film submitted is screened. The festival accepts either shorts or feature length, on DVD and video. We’re especially looking for pieces, which challenge cinematic boundaries but, above all, inspire and motivate others to create film.

Weekly screenings throughout the year.

Find us at portobellofilmfestival.com - where you can download an entry form. Alternatively, we’re at the Video Café, Westbourne Studios, Acklam Road, W10, every Wednesday from 6 – 11pm.

For more info visit their website at:

http://www.portobellofilmfestival.com/pff2003preview.html
Contact Jonathan Barnett on 020 8960 0996

London Respect Festival

This year's Mayor's respect free anti-racist festival takes place at the Greenwich Dome on Saturday 19 July and will be dedicated to Stephen Lawrence. respect will be London’s biggest music event this summer and will round off respect week which runs from July 12-19.

The Mayor’s respect week profiles events celebrating London’s rich diversity that are taking place in locations across London in boroughs, arts and cultural centres, museums and galleries. There is a wide-range of indoor and out door activities for all ages and interests. Many events are free and are open to all. Check with individual venues and centres for full details:

Film
respectfilm

A week long season of films celebrating diversity from around the globe will be shown at the Curzon Mayfair, The Other Cinema, Ritzy, Brixton, Genesis, Mile End, and ICA. Highlights include UK premieres of Latino love story Raising Victor Vargas, Jamaican Romeo and Juliet One Love (both at Curzon, Mayfair) and Motown documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown (Ritzy, Brixton). Plus the premieres of three films Scarred, Tavih and A Long Way from Piccadilly, made by and for refugees living in London and funded by the Princess Diana Memorial Fund and The Prince’s Trust (The Other Cinema) .

respectfilm includes special educational events where directors and writers of major films will discuss their work after screenings. For ages 15 and above.

For more details see the http://www.respectfestival.org.uk website or call the cinemas direct.
Curzon Mayfair 020 7495 0500
The Other Cinema 020 7734 1506
Ritzy Brixton 020 7733 2229
Genesis, Mile End 020 7780 2000
ICA 020 7930 3647

Plagiarism or coincidence?

I've just posted this article where it is alleged that Hollywood stole a screen writer's idea. Let me know what your views are on this subject. Email me at: valis23a@aol.com.

Bite the Mango Film Festival 2003

20 To 26 June 2003
Experience The Difference

The Bite the Mango Film Festival is back for its ninth year celebrating the very best of world cinema. Presented by the award-winning National Museum of Photography, Film & Television in Bradford, this year the festival promises to serve a real treat for all movie lovers. With premieres, previews, retrospectives, master-classes and seminars by renowned guests, Bite the Mango will this year focus on 'music in film'.

There's a mini retrospective of Indian cinema's favourite, Anil Kapoor and he's sure to end the festival in style by talking about his career on stage at the closing night gala.

As well as the best new talent, Bite the Mango is proud to take an exclusive look at the work of legendary Hindi film maker V. Shantaram. This is a rare opportunity to see Shantaram's work and appreciate a genius at his best. At the time of his death, Shantaram was almost 90 years old and had devoted 73 of those years to Indian cinema.
A season of contemporary Nigerian cinema gets a rare UK outing, the Oscar-nominated but much under-rated Hollywood actor Laurence Fishburne gets a long-overdue retrospective, as does the aforementioned A R Rahman, whose collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Don Black brought Bollywood Dreams to London's theatre land.

With a eclectic mix of the latest previews and premieres from Hong Kong, USA, India, UK, South Korea, Belgium, Palestine, France and Japan, Bite the Mango this year lives up to its billing as the leading festival of its kind celebrating the best of cinema from around the globe.

Besides the festival itself the museum itself is well worth a look if you've got a day to spare in Bradford.

For more details of the festival go to:
Bite the Mango Film Festival 2003

Talking Pictures

The Wrong Turn

A new feature of WRONG TURN is now viewable at:

Wrong Turn

There are regional screenings of the Wrong Turn planned for Blackpool, Coventry, Liverpool, Newcastle, Southampton and Stoke on Trent.

Talking Pictures

Debates and talks at the Reel Madness Film Festival
19th – 22nd June 2003, ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art), London

www.reelmadness.co.uk

The Politics of Madness

Saturday 21st June at 5pm

The history of psychiatry has been a mixture of scientific advances and social control. What constitutes a mental illness often says as much about the state of society as the state of medical knowledge. Peter Campbell, founder of Survivors Speak Out, and Professor Graham Thornicroft, Professor of Community Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, kick off this debate by outlining - with film footage - key developments of the past forty years: new treatments; significant legal and policy changes; the expansion of activism and medical developments.

The panel will then reflect upon the 'Politics of Madness'. Will advances in understanding genetics deliver long-awaited wonder drugs, or just create a genetic underclass? Are there any positive implications of receiving a mental health diagnosis? Is there space for separatist politics within the politics of madness, for example, should survivors follow the lead of other rights movements and create a 'mad only' culture in regards to identity, rights and arts? Is discrimination best tackled by promoting greater understanding of mental distress or by challenging stereotypes?

Panelists represent viewpoints from both individuals with direct experience of mental distress, and those with background in a mental health profession, bringing an vital diversity of opinion and experience to the debate. Panelists include Paul Gray (Mental Health Consultant & Project Co-ordinator of Unlocking Potential), Shushrut Jadhav (Senior Lecturer in Cross-Cultural Psychiatry at University College London & Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at St Pancras Hospital, London), John Bowis (former Minister with responsibility for Mental Health and MEP), and Andrew McCulloch (Chief Executive, Mental Health Foundation).

Madness on Film
Thursday 19th June at 7.30pm

Filmmakers from different cinematic traditions have portrayed and interpreted madness in many different ways, sometimes helping to further our understanding and at other times reinforcing our prejudices and sacrificing integrity for the sake of offering entertainment. This talk focuses on the ways in which the representation of madness in both drama and non-fiction has been constantly changing, and questions the relationship such portrayals have with both our scientific and social understanding of mental illness. There is an important focus on discussing the ethical decisions that must often face a filmmaker working with this subject matter.

Against the backdrop of numerous film clips, a panel will explore one of the central themes of this year's festival. Guests include filmmaker Andy Lee, whose recent documentary “Being Bonkers” for Channel 4 told his personal story of being misdiagnosed as having schizophrenia and being sectioned in a Psychiatric Hospital. Alison Cowen will also talk about her experience of being filmed by the BBC for a film documenting her experiences of clinical depression. Dinesh Bhugra is Professor of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity at the Institute of Psychiatry and has written and talked extensively about the portrayal of mental illness in cinema. Dr Cleo Van Velson has written on violence and the therapist-patient relationship as portrayed in feature films.

Psychosurgery
Friday 20th June at 5.30pm

This talk includes a screening of It’s a Bit Frightening, a documentary made in 1976 and screened on Yorkshire Television. The film takes a close look at a very personal subject: we literally look inside Margaret’s head as she undergoes psychosurgery, a procedure intended to calm her fits of violent rage. The filmmakers also probe – although more gently - asking Margaret, her children and friends about her life, her community, and her “condition”. They also press the surgeon about how much anyone fully understands, at this stage, the operation he is about to perform. The surgeon’s have-a-go approach is perhaps as frightening as the Clockwork Orange-style surgery shots that follow.

The film is dated in filmic style, but it still packs a punch. We’ve invited the film’s executive producer Duncan Dallas to take part in a Q&A with the audience after the screening, offering his account of making the film and of being a part of that particular period in Margaret’s life. With him will be Dr Trevor Turner, a consultant psychiatrist from Homerton Hospital, discussing the context of psychosurgery. Why was it an accepted procedure during that era? How is psychosurgery practiced now? What’s the relationship between this most medical of procedures and the deeply personal aspects of who we are and how we relate to others?

Reel Madness is the first national festival dedicated to exploring portrayals of mind and madness on film and will be taking place at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts), The Mall, London from June 19-22nd 2003.

All details of the films can be found at:

www.reelmadness.co.uk

The ICA Box Office is now accepting bookings.
Ring 020 7930 3647 to book your tickets (UKP6.50/5.00/4.50).

Reel Madness festival office: Tel 020 7267 7722 / email: info@reelmadness.co.uk

Talking Pictures

Middle-earth to land at the Science Museum

The Science Museum today announced its next blockbuster exhibition - The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy - The Exhibition.

The family exhibition, which will open before the eagerly awaited final
instalment of the film trilogy this Autumn, will allow visitors to explore
for themselves the fantastic world created for the Lord of the Rings films.

Props, costumes and artefacts from the films - including samples of the
models, armoury, animatronics and miniatures - will feature alongside
interactive computer and mechanical demonstrations of the cutting-edge technology used to bring the story to life.

The exhibition, which will run from 16 September 2003 to 11 January 2004, is expected to be a huge success.

Tickets for the Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy - The Exhibition
will go on sale later in the summer.

The exhibition is developed and presented by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in partnership with New Line Cinema.

The Science Museum is currently both London Tourist Board Visitor Attraction of the Year and English Tourism Council Visitor Attraction of the Year.

Talking Pictures

Dustbingate Movie Project

Optioned by Norfilms ahead of Hollywood studio.

British movie project "Dustbingate", based on the true story of the political scandal that almost brought the British government down in 1998, has been optioned by indie production co. Northern Filmmakers (Norfilms.com) in an agreement that's going to make its original participants even richer then before. Although one Hollywood studio has been reaching out to the writers for the option Norfilms beat them to the deal in a flurry of activity in just seven days of discussion and meetings.

This true tale tells of how a handful of night shift factory workers beat professional investigative journalists to the story of local sleaze surrounding property dealings involving British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and his son. The resulting scandal made the world's headlines for ten days in 1998 and eventually reached the House of Commons.

Although everyone thought at the time that the men involved were intent of some vendetta to destroy John Prescott's reputation or some socialist attempt to overthrow the New Labour government of Tony Blair the truth was far simpler - the lads just wanted a way to break out of their dead-end jobs and lives. As a result of breaking the story themselves the lads went on to earn enough money from the book of their story to change their lives forever.

Norfilms expect that the film will have a comparable return on investment to other British comedy movies of recent years. A consortium of private investors have already expressed interest in backing the project.. The producer's next step is to find a director suitable for the story and its commercial potential at the world box offices.

Not surprisingly, the government haven't commented. I'm sure Prescott is likely to give it two fingers.

Further details are available at the company's web site: www.norfilms.com/

Hope Not Lost

Happy Birthday to Bob Hope who is 100 today. He obviously knows the road to long life.

Contributions

If you have any news or comments to add to this blog feel free to email them to me at: valis23a@aol.com. Also, if you would like to be a regular contributor here let me know.

Matrix Reloaded

A few days ago I noted how The Times had given given it acres of editorial coverage to The Matrix Reloaded and then had given it a bad review. On Saturday another of their reviewers gave it a good review, and The Sunday Times had one good and one bad review. So it's obviously split their reviewers. I saw the beginning of the original Matrix movie on TV the other day but wasn't that impressed. Too much hype always seems to kill films for me.

Perhaps when the fuss dies down I might appreciate what is going to be a Matrix trilogy (it's frightening that filmmakers now feel they have to make a 'trilogy' rather than produce a single film).

The National Film Theatre is Doin’ Time With TCM

TCM (Turner Classic Movies) is sponsoring Crime Scene 2003, the National Film Theatre’s annual festival of fiction and crime films taking place from 10 July to 13 July 2003. To follow TCM will air its Crime Wave season 14 to 20 July.

Crime Scene 2003 is the NFT’s fourth annual festival celebrating the crime genre in the movies and TCM is the main sponsor for the third year running. This year’s festival has a French theme and celebrates the work of legendary director Jean-Pierre Melville whose stylish thriller and gangster films have inspired a generation of contemporary moviemakers in this genre.

One of the festival highlights is the screening of John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle (1950) starring Sterling Hayden, Jean Hagen and featuring Marilyn Monroe in one of her earlier roles. The film, which inspired Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Cercle rouge (1970) (The Red Circle), was considered unique at the time of release for showing the human side of its band of criminals. A version restored by TCM will air both during the festival and as part of the channel’s own Crime Wave season.

Michael Riley, VP and Channel Manager TCM Europe Middle East & Africa said: ‘TCM is delighted to be sponsoring the Crime Scene Festival for the third year in a row. It is a wonderful collaboration and has helped to highlight our wealth of unmissable movies to a wider audience.’

'TCM’s on-going relationship with the NFT includes a commitment to keeping cinema history alive through film restoration work, as in the case of Asphalt Jungle, and nurturing future movie talent with its annual Classic Shorts competition, held at the NFT in November as part of the London Film Festival’.

TCM’s Crime Wave Season

TCM’s Crime Wave season airs on the channel from 14 to 20 July and features a variety of genres from gangster films of the 30s (The Public Enemy, 1931, Little Caesar, 1930) through to noir (The Big Sleep, 1946, The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946), heist films (The Asphalt Jungle, 1950, Ocean’s 11, 1960, The Getaway, 1972) and even detective movies (The Maltese Falcon, 1941, Dirty Harry, 1971). In addition, there will be a series of documentaries, close-ups and studio insiders on some of the stars of the season including Lana Turner, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, to complement and give further background to these memorable movies.

Crime Scene is the 4th edition of the unique, international, annual festival of crime fiction and film held at the National Film Theatre. Crime Scene is programmed for the British Film Institute by Adrian Wootton, Head of Crime Scene and Maxim Jakubowski, Head of Crime Scene Literary programme. The British Film Institute was established in 1933 to promote greater understanding, appreciation and access to film and television culture. Find out more at www.bfi.org.uk/crimescene

JUDE LAW, RALPH FIENNES, BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI & BARRY NORMAN JOIN TCM IN SEARCH FOR BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM DIRECTOR FOR 2003!

TCM (Turner Classic Movies) announces the launch of the TCM Classic Shorts competition, which will hold the awards ceremony as part of The Times bfi London Film Festival (the festival runs from 22 October - 6 November 2003). Jude Law, Ralph Fiennes and Bernardo Bertolucci are just three of the fifteen judges to sit on the competition’s panel to find the best short film of 2003.

TCM Classic Shorts is one of the most prestigious and valuable short film competitions in Europe offering £10,000 in prizes. It has been responsible for discovering some of the best new talent in the UK including 2001 winner Brian Percival, Director of the film About A Girl that went on to win the BAFTA for Best Short. This year, TCM is making a bigger commitment and expanding its involvement with the festival by sponsoring the Short Cuts and Animation strand of the festival for the first time.

The Short Cuts and Animation strand premieres the very best of international short and animated films. The festival recognises the importance of this strand as it can act as a launch pad for new film-makers, student films and independent productions, as well as launching the careers of many high profile actors.

TCM Classic Shorts is open to all UK made short films. The opening date is 2 June and all films must be received by 17 September to be eligible for the competition. The short-listed nominations will be aired on TCM and screened at The Times bfi London Film Festival.

The panel line up features some of the biggest names involved in the British film industry:
Jude Law Actor: Road to Perdition, The Talented Mr. Ripley
Ralph Fiennes Actor, Producer: The English Patient, Schindler’s List
Bernardo Bertolucci Actor, Director, Writer: Stealing Beauty, The Last Empire, Last Tango in Paris
Barry Norman TV Film Critic and journalist
Richard Eyre Director and Writer: Iris
Stephen Frears Actor, Director and Producer: Dirty Pretty Things, High Fidelity
Mark Herman Director, Writer: Brassed Off, Little Voice
Richard Jobson Film Critic, Writer, Producer, Director: Sixteen Years of Alcohol
John Madden Director: Mrs Brown, Shakespeare in Love
Ismail Merchant Actor Director, Producer: A Room With A View
Stephen Woolley Producer: The End of the Affair, Interview with the Vampire
Colin Kennedy Editor: Empire Film Magazine
Nick James Editor: Sight & Sound Film Magazine
Wendy Ide The Times bfi London Film Festival, short film programmer
Tina McCann General Manager of Turner Entertainment Networks Europe

Further information and entry forms are available at: www.tcmonline.co.uk and for further information about The Times bfi London Film Festival, log onto: www.lff.org.uk

Talking Pictures

Matrix Madness

Do you know what? "What?" I hear you answer. Well, I'm sick of broadsheets like The Times being full of features about films that you know for certain will be damned by their film critics as soon as they are released. And, guesss what? "What?" I hear you say. The Times has been full of stories about The Matrix Reloaded, and quite predictably their critic, Barbara Ellen, in the T2 section, 22 May 2003, calls it a good looking dud.

My solution is they sack these critics and get ones in-line with the rest of the paper's editorial policy, or they stop promoting films just because they know they are popular but beneath their critical contempt. It would be great if they gave as much exposure to films they really believed in.

Rant over...

What do you think? Email me at: valis23a@aol.com

Talking Pictures

Reel Madness Festival

Reel Madness the first national festival dedicated to film portrayals of madness and mental distress will be taking place at the ICA, The Mall, London from June 19-22nd 2003.

With Dame Judi Dench as its patron and organized by Mental Health Media, the Documentary Filmmakers Group and Rethink, Reel Madness brings together a diverse range of films and genres from around the world. Included in the four day festival are autobiographical films made by people about their experiences of mental distress, feature films and documentaries, dramas, short films and experimental animation.

The programme features seven UK premieres such as Completely Cuckoo, a documentary about the making of the groundbreaking One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and also award winners such as Kira's Reason which won awards for best film and actress in the 2002 Danish Bodil Awards.

Reel Madness includes uplifting stories of resilience and recovery, portrayals which don't flinch from recording painful realities and emotions, and films which challenge and expose the brutality with which society has responded to mental distress and madness.

For comprehensive details go to www.reelmadness.co.uk

Talking Pictures

Tom Cruise Is Missing

Today's Times (21 May, 2003) notes that Kim Howells is in trouble for saying that Tom Cruise was too frightened to attend the Cannes Film Festival. That's strange since an article by James Christopher in The Times T2 section (15 May, 2003) wrote: 'The sight of Tom Cruise squiring Penelope Cruz...up the red carpet of the Festival Palais in a flashbulb blaze is the vital evidence that the madness has started.' Perhaps he was startled by the flashbulbs?

Facts

X Men 2 - First Movie to Feature New Copyright Notice.

The Federation Against Copyright Theft Ltd (FACT) is working with Twentieth Century Fox to protect forthcoming Hollywood blockbusters from being copied, by pirates using camcorders in UK cinemas. As a new preventative measure, a 20 second copyright warning is being introduced as a trailer, the first of which appeared on screens nationwide when ‘X Men 2’ was released on 1 May 2003.

The warning message is the latest advancement in FACT’s drive against video and DVD piracy and serves to educate film viewers that cinema camcording is a crime. It also provides a hotline number to FACT investigators for those who wish to report illegal activities. The text will appear in static form across two screens, following the British Board of Film Classification censorship notice and read as follows:

WARNING FROM THE FEDERATION AGAINST COPYRIGHT THEFT LTD (FACT) "IT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE TO COPY OR ATTEMPT TO COPY ANY FILM, OR FILM RELATED ARTICLE, SHOWN OR DISPLAYED IN THIS CINEMA. PUNISHMENT OR CONVICTION IS AN UNLIMITED FINE AND IMPRISONMENT UP TO A MAXIMUM OF 10 YEARS. YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO BRING ANY CAMERA OR RECORDING EQUIPMENT INTO THIS CINEMA. THIS WILL BE TREATED AS AN ATTEMPT TO BREACH COPYRIGHT. ANY PERSON DOING SO CAN BE EJECTED AND THE POLICE MAY CONFISCATE SUCH ARTICLES. WE ASK THE AUDIENCE TO BE VIGILANT AGAINST ANY SUCH ACTIVITY AND REPORT ANY MATTERS AROUSING SUSPICION TO CINEMA STAFF. THANK YOU."

Spencer Mott, director of operations at FACT comments: "Other than the obvious illegality of using camcorders to copy films screened in the UK, the counterfeit products produced will be sub-standard and in most cases unwatchable. Whichever way you look at this, inevitably it will be the consumer who is defrauded as a result.

"The aim of the copyright warning trailer is to act as a deterrent to potential offenders and also to provide witnesses with the means to report such illegal activity. We expect a significant decrease in the number of perpetrators as a result of this new measure."

FACT estimates that UK counterfeiters are currently costing film retailers and distributors a combined loss of £400 million per year in sales, with a piracy infiltration rate of 20-30 per cent.

Five Years of DVD

Cannes 21 May, 2003 - Commemorating the DVD format’s highly popular first five years in the marketplace, the DVD Entertainment Group Europe (DEGE) has released some ‘DVD at Five’ celebratory facts and figures.

The DVD phenomenon shows little sign of abating as increasing sales for both DVD software and hardware across Europe have confirmed its position as the home entertainment medium of customer choice (there was a 64% increase in software titles sold in Western Europe during January-March 2003 compared to the same quarter last year, according to GfK).

DVD is the fastest selling consumer technology of all time and these DVD Top Five Facts* prove it:
1. Sales of DVDs in Western Europe were nearly 3 times greater than sales of music CDs at the equivalent point in their history
2. After just 5 years on the market, the number of DVDs sold in Western Europe will actually overtake sales of pre-recorded VHS cassettes this year
3. Spending on DVD software has already overtaken spending on VHS software. VHS software spending in Western Europe last year (2002) totalled 3.5bn Euros compared to 5.5bn Euros spent on DVD
4. European DVD player owners are buying more than 3 times as many discs as VCR owners bought tapes at the peak of the VHS tape business
5. The number of DVDs sold grew by over 100 per cent last year in Europe

“DVD has revolutionised the home entertainment market. It is also giving life back to many movies with a number of classic films being restored and released on DVD,” said Jeff Brown, President, DVD Entertainment Group Europe and Senior Vice-President, Co-Managing Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa, at Warner Bros.

According to a pan-European consumer survey conducted by the National Research Group** the Top Five DVD Attributes are:
1. Picture quality
2. Sound quality
3. Special features available,
4. Durability of DVD discs
5. DVD disc size.

New Interactive Freeview Player

New free keyboard, new software, new functionality - at an all-new market-beating price...

Netgem's i-Player, the only set-top box which plugs into Freeview AND the Internet, is now available at a new price and with new software options - and a free wireless keyboard too! A one-off cost of only £129.99 gives you access to Freeview TV and radio, as well as to a host of online options.

The market-beating new Netgem i-Player package comes with a stylish cordless infra-red keyboard, so you can go online while watching TV and without even leaving the sofa!

The new software lets you:
- filter TV channels to create a 'personal favourite' list
- perform manual scanning and background scanning in stand-by mode
- enter your own ISP parameters for Internet access
- use your own existing email address
- connect to a home network and share a broadband ADSL connection via a USB-Ethernet adapter.

What's more, an optimised USB port provides connection to a range of storage devices, allowing the viewing of files and the playing of MP3 files or video clips stored on PCs or other devices. The port also increases support of webcams and other devices from leading manufacturers.

The i-Player's new user interface provides background images and semi-transparency, supports VCR programming, and offers new diagnostic pages to assist with trouble-shooting.

"We've put an awful lot of functionality into this box. This is our best-ever package, and the best deal you'll get anywhere!" said Joseph Haddad, CEO of Netgem.

In particular, the i-Player package is a must-see for the 60+% of Internet users who have unmetered access. They can now watch Freeview and access their favourite services simultaneously, using their own regular service provider and their own regular email address - and the free wireless keyboard gives them more interactive freedom and mobility.

Existing i-Player users will be able to download the new software release for free.

Joseph Haddad added, "The new software and the new keyboard that we are offering - and at a fantastic new price, too - makes the i-Player the best deal around. If you're an Internet user who wants to get more out of Freeview than TV and radio, this is definitely the box for you."

To order, call the freephone number 0870 366 7055 or visit www.netgem.com

Arkoff Film Library

I wonder if films like the X-Men and Matrix will be considered as kitsch and funny as the horror films being released on DVD and VHS from the Arkoff film library? I like these old movies just for their picture of life in the 1950s let alone for their cheap thrills and even cheaper monsters.

The Sense and Sensationalism of Film Festivals

I've just posted this article to coincide with the Cannes Film Festival. Any comments please email me at: valis23a@aol.com

Cannes Film Festival

For two weeks, Cannes becomes the centre of the filmmaking world. Anyone who is anyone in the film world heads to La Croisette for this fortnight of cinematic celebration. The festival this year takes place from 14th to 25th May 2003. This year's festival pays tribute to the great Italian director Federico Fellini on the 10th anniversary of his death. Throughout the festival Fellini's films will be screened and there will be a number of events including special interpretations of the music written for Fellini.

Aside from the prestigious Palme d'Or awarded by the jury, there are many other prizes, but perhaps more importantly the Festival serves as a platform for new talent and innovatitive filmmaking.

Past winners of the Palme d'Or are Polanski's The Pianist which went on to win 3 Oscars this year; Best Actor, Director and Adapted Screenplay. British director Mike Leigh's Secrets and Lies, Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and in 1960 Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita.

52 feature films will be presented during the festival this year.

There are 20 films competing In Competition for the prestigious Palme d'Or of the 2003 festival. The jury for 2003 is an international mix reflecting the various nationalities of the directors involved. Jury members include Aishwarya Rai, Bollywood star and a former Miss World, Chinese director Jiang Wen, a winner of the Grand Prix in the 2000 festival which then prompted a ban on him making films within China. The representatives from the United States are director Steven Soderbergh and actress Meg Ryan. The president of the jury is the French director Jean Rochefort.

Highlights of the films In Competition include:

Samira Makhmalbaf's A CINQ HEURES DE L'APRÈS-MIDI. This film, set in the aftermath of the downfall of the Taliban in Afghanistan, shows a young girl's attempts to make the best use of her new found freedom.

The resurgence of Brazilan Cinema is represented by CARANDIRU directed by Hector Babenco. The film is set in the largest and most overcrowded prison in South America. In the late 1980's a doctor enters the prison in Sao Paolo in order to implement an Aids prevention initiative but becomes more and more involved with the inmates. It is through the doctor that we learn about the experiences of the prisoners.

The only offering from an American director is from Hollywood veteran Clint Eastwood. MYSTIC RIVER stars Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins as three childhood friends reunited after the tragic death of one of their daughters.

DOGVILLE starring Nicole Kidman is the latest film from Danish director Lars Von Trier. The film will be the first part of a trilogy and is based around Kidman's arrival in a small town and the attitudes towards her from the established residents.

The other contenders for the Palme d'Or this year are: BRIGHT FUTURE (Kiyoshi Kurosawa) CE JOUR-LÀ ( Raoul Ruiz), ELEPHANT (Gus Van Sant), IL COURE ALTROVE ( Pupi Avati), LA PETITE LILI (Claude Miller), LES CÔTELETTES (Bertrand Blier), LES ÉGARÉS (André Téchiné), LES INVASIONS BARBARES (Denys Arcand), PÈRE ET FILS (Alexandre Sokourov), PURPLE BUTTERFLY (Ye Lou), SHARA (Naomi Kawase), SWIMMING POOL (François Ozon), THE BROWN BUNNY (Vincent Gallo), THE MOAB STORY (Peter Greenaway), TIRESIA (Bertrand Bonello) and UZAK (Nuri Bilge Ceylan).

The winner will be announced at the closing ceremony on 25th May.

100 Greatest Film Stars

There's been quite a bit of discussion about this list in our ONLINE COMMUNITY pages, and I will be adding some comments by Jaap Mees soon. It was certainly a strange list - Al Pacino came first! We welcome your comments on our Online Community page.

Talking Pictures

Bag it up with the X Film Quiz Rally

(I didn't write that headline - honest)

The X Appeal charity is testing your little grey cells every month with a series of quizzes, and April’s prize has been donated by Bike-in-a-Bag.com

On the 1st of March this year the X Appeal, the official charity of the Royal College of Radiologists, began the X Quiz Rally. The monthly quizzes cover various topics, challenging you to answer 50 questions on every subject from kids TV shows to Indonesian cuisine. April’s quiz is all about films, and Bike-in-a-Bag.com has donated its innovative and aptly named Bike-in-a-Bag as the prize.

Retailing at around £175.00, the bike transforms into a compact package that fits in the tiniest car boot, such as a Porsche or even the little Smart car. It's so compact and lightweight it can be taken on a bus, train or even a plane as easily as any other piece of luggage.

In only a few seconds it opens into the nippiest of cycles, transporting a six-footer and his briefcase at speeds of around 10mph with minimum effort. A two-mile journey in the city can be completed in no time, so you arrive on time, every time. With the current congestion charges in force, this could be the best solution for public-transport weary city workers.

Allan Byrne, speaking on behalf of Bike-in-a-Bag.com, said; “The X Appeal is a great cause and I’m delighted that we can help in some way.”

The X Appeal plans to hold 12 quizzes over the course of the “X Quiz Rally” and so far other generous donations have included a Quick Kick Scooter and Digital Binoculars.

The X Appeal is predominantly concerned with funding research projects to develop imaging studies and benefit the science of diagnosis. It is also committed to fighting cancer and eliminating children’s diseases.

If you know Ginger Rogers real name, or which newspaper Clark Kent worked for, then this quiz is for you! You can find full details of how to enter the quizzes by visiting www.x-appeal.com/

Visit Bike-in-a-Bag.com at www.bike-in-a-bag.com/

Talking Pictures

Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone‘s dramatic and haunting (often very weird) soundtrack music is now available in a New Mid Price Collection. It incorporates 7 highly collectable original soundtracks:

A GUN FOR RINGO
THE RETURN OF RINGO
DEATH RIDES A HORSE
Label: Camden Deluxe
2CD:82876 511372 4


SVEGLIATE E UCCIDI
SACCO E VANZETTI
Label: Camden Deluxe
CD: 82876 511352 6

GENTE DI RISPETTO
SPASMO
Label: Camden
CD: 82876 511362 5

Film Fund Appeal

FILM directors of tomorrow learning their craft at Plymouth College of Art and Design are appealing for funds to complete work on their final year major project.

The BA (Hons) Photomedia Design and Communication students are currently filming ‘The Coffee Stays Strong’ before they graduate and search for their first jobs in the UK and international film and video industry.

The six-minute film is a promotional video for James Lucas ‘theboylucas’, a Bristol-based musician known to Max Windows, 22, one of ‘The Coffee Stays Strong’s’ three co-directors.

The other two directors are Rupert Morrison, 21, and Nathan Kendall, 23. The film is being shot at the East End Café in Coxside, Plymouth, using a local actress, Sonya Lees, and David Watkins, a camera operator of 40 years experience who has worked with the likes of Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick on projects as diverse as The Saint and most recently, the James Bond film, ‘Goldeneye’.

Rupert said: “The promotional video is being shot in colour on 16 millimetre film, which is pretty unique as most final year students tend to shoot their films on digital video. We wanted to use a more professional format, but this means the post-production process will be more complex and the costs will be higher.

“We are appealing to the local business community and anyone with an interest in music and film to help sponsor ‘The Coffee Stays Strong. All we need is another £200 to complete post-production work on the film.”

The trio are shooting ‘The Coffee Stays Strong’ using their name of their film production company, The Rilis Creatives. ‘The Coffee Stays Strong’ is one of the songs on James ‘theboylucas’s’ latest as yet untitled album, which he is recording in Bristol.

They have already raised £1,500 from friends and from their own finances to shoot 30 minutes of footage, which will then be edited and produced for their final year major project. Plymouth College of Art and Design has also helped the trio by providing some of the resources and materials they needed, including film and camera equipment.

Rupert said: “The Coffee Stays Strong’ will be screened at the Warner Village Cinema in May and hopefully on the music television channel MTV2 later this year to promote one of the songs on theboylucas’s latest album. We’re confident it will provide a springboard to launch our careers in the film and music video industry when we finish our course in June.”

Rupert, Max and Nathan decided to study at Plymouth College of Art and Design because its BA (Hons) Photomedia Design and Communication degree is recognised by two of the leading industry bodies, the Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph & Theatre Union (BECTU), and the British Kinematograph Sound & Television Society (BKSTS).

Some of their work on the Foundation Degree course in Moving Image has already been featured in Plymouth College of Art and Design’s higher education prospectus.

“Plymouth College of Art and Design is a great place to study at because they have all the equipment and facilities that we need and a fantastic reputation within the industry,” Rupert said. “We are all actively seeking work in the industry. It looks as if I will have to relocate to Bristol or London if I can’t find a job with film and video companies in Devon or Cornwall.”

For more information about studying at Plymouth College of Art and Design please ring 01752 203434, e-mail enquiries@pcad.ac.uk or log on to www.pcad.ac.uk.

Max Windows is from Bristol. He completed a Foundation Media course at the University of the West of England in Bristol and has honed his skills in the film industry through a variety of work experience projects, including a video for ‘Posh Spice’ Victoria Beckham.

Nathan Kendall is from London. He worked for 3 years in the film and video industry in London and Cambridge before studying at PCAD. He has travelled extensively in Europe and the Far East, and while in Vietnam was an extra in the film ‘The Beach’, starring opposite Leonardo di Caprio. Besides studying for his degree, Nathan also teaches Steadicam Techniques and Sound Design at PCAD, on equipment he has obtained for the college from the industry.

Rupert Morrison is from Totnes. He acquired a National Certificate of Further Education in Lens Based Media at Plymouth College of Art and Design and progressed to the Foundation Degree in Moving Image and now the BA (Hons) in Photomedia Design and Communication. He has also worked as a freelance web designer.

Talking Pictures

The Little Polar Bear

The Little Polar Bear will be scampering onto screens nationwide on April 11th 2003, when the first feature length animated version of the much loved series is released!

Official site: www.thelittlepolarbear.co.uk

Join Lars and his friends as they try to uncover the mystery of why fish are vanishing from the Arctic, and end up embarking on an adventure that takes them all the way to Africa!! Ideal for kids this Easter, whilst you can sneak off to a CPA Track Day...

Talking Pictures

CPA Track Days

Have your ever dreamt of driving a top flight Supercar around a race circuit ? If so then a CPA Track Day will make your dreams come true, plus they give you an opportunity to get out of the cinema for a few minutes!

CPA Track Days are a unique concept, designed to let you experience some of the world’s finest performance cars at top UK Race Circuits.

High Quality, Fun, Safety and Value for Money.

Throughout Spring/Summer 2003 we will be running a number of professionally organised events catering for drivers of all abilities – at affordable prices. Their first event is on the 28th of April and we still have a number of spaces available.

Prices start at £170 (plus VAT) - a very significant saving on normal rates.

A typical day

CPA Supercar Trackdays are held at prestigious motor racing circuits throughout the UK away from Police, on-coming traffic and speed cameras – in performance cars many of us can only dream of.

Every event is organised to the highest standard to help you get most out of the day - you’ll be looked after by their experienced team of instructors and co-ordinators. Starting with a driver/safety briefing.

They aim to bring you more than just high-speed enjoyment, as fun on the track is not just about driving quickly! By learning the right line through corners, when, where and how to use braking, together with understanding handling characteristic’s, you will acquire a higher degree of driving skills resulting in heightened enjoyment of your own road car.

Free professional tuition is an integral part of the CPA Supercar Trackday package.

A minimum of 4 types of car will be available including the 535bhp Ultima GTR and the new BMW M3. Safety Helmets are also provided.

Book Now!

Whether it’s a company event, personal gift or you simply would like to experience the thrill of piloting up to 600 horsepower, their Supercar Trackday provides fun and excitement for all in a relaxed environment.

To learn more or book an event please visit their website www.coulsonpritchard.com/trackdays.asp/ or call 01480 470220 - give Talking Pictures a mention as well!

Talking Pictures

BBC Two Broadcasts New Animated Film of Janacek Opera

BBC Two broadcasts a magical new version of Janacek’s much loved opera, The Cunning Little Vixen over the Easter season. The film has been specially created for BBC Television and combines the talents of international conductor Kent Nagano and acclaimed animation designer and director, Geoff Dunbar. The visual style is derived from the drawings by Stanislav Lolek in the original 1920’s newspaper strip which inspired Janacek to write the opera. Spellbinding animation has been created by using hand drawn techniques, combined with computer generated imagery.

Kent Nagano and Christophe Durrant have created a new edition of the music, which is performed by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester. The international cast of young soloists, the stars of tomorrow, were selected by the European Opera Centre, following extensive auditions and they are joined by singers from the New London Children’s Choir and the BBC Singers. The title role of Vixen Sharp-Ears is sung by soprano Christine Buffle, baritone Grant Doyle is the Forester, Richard Coxon is the Vixen’s lover, Dashwood Fox and Keel Watson is the poacher while Blue Peter presenter, Matt Baker, sings the role of Lapáák the Dog.

Peter Maniura, Head of Classical Music Television says: “We are thrilled with this new special television version of Janacek’s much loved opera. The story of Vixen Sharpears is a dramatic tale guaranteed to appeal to audiences of all ages. Like all good fairy tales, there is a dark side to the narrative, redeemed by Janacek’s affirmation of humanity within the natural order and the cycle of life and death. We are also delighted to be joined by Opus Arte and The Los Angeles Opera in co-producing the film."

Geoff Dunbar has received international acclaim for his work, including the Palme d’Or at Cannes for Lautrec. He is particularly well-known for his collaborations with Sir Paul McCartney on film projects, such as the Bafta winning Rupert And The Frog Song and Daumier’s Law. Geoff was very involved with The Cunning Little Vixen project, visiting Janacek’s home in Huckvaldy, in the Czech Republic, where the action takes place and attending the vocal recordings to ensure the animation expressed the singing as vividly as possible.

The Cunning Little Vixen is a co-production between the BBC, Opus Arte and Los Angeles Opera.

Transmission date: Sunday April 20th, subject to change.