“Digital Revolutions” short film competition with cash prizes

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT - teams up with Sheffield Doc/Fest and Crossover to deliver competition -

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, today announced the launch of the “Digital Revolutions” short film competition, with Sheffield Doc/Fest, the biggest documentary film festival in the UK and Crossover, an international digital media and content programme. The Institute has put up £10,000 for the top prize in the public category, with everyone over 18 encouraged to have a go.

To enter, participants must submit films of up to three minutes that show how they see the world they live in, and how information and information technology impacts it. The aim is to build a unique snap shot of how people view the information society that we live in today. However, creativity and skill alone won’t be enough. The competition is taking a unique approach and will also look at how entrants use social media to get their films noticed. Building a fan base for your film will be as challenging as creating the film itself.

To enter, films must be submitted to the Digital Revolutions channel on YouTube and an entry form on the Digital Revolutions home page must be completed. [http://sheffdocfest.com/view/DigitalRevolutions]

Elizabeth Sparrow, President, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, said:

“We want people in the UK to tell us how their lives have been changed by information and information technology and what this might mean for their communities in the future. We think this will be the biggest ever information competition to unlock the public’s creativity and we’ve teamed up with Sheffield Doc/Fest and Crossover to deliver that”.

Heather Croall, Director, Sheffield Doc/Fest said:

“This unique competition will explore the effects of the digital revolution on the lives of people in the UK. We want people to use their creativity to show how information and information technology has affected every aspect of their lives, including in the areas of safety, health, citizenship, communication, culture, the environment, commerce and work. We’ll also be looking at how social media has been used to promote the films. While it’s never been easier to produce and share content, getting it seen and building up some momentum behind it is a challenge when so much material is out there.”

Entrants will also have the chance to speak to experts and get advice on producing and marketing their films before entering at regional workshops run by Crossover.

Frank Boyd, Director, Crossover said:

“Crossover will be hosting a series of regional workshops where potential entrants are encouraged to take the opportunity to have their questions answered and get expert advice first hand. We will be focused on helping people develop their material and unlock their creative potential so that they can express their ideas in the best possible way. We’ll also be sharing advice on how digital content is best marketed and distributed online to ensure that the films are seen by the widest possible audience.”

Further details of the workshops will follow shortly, as well as a full list of judges.

The winning entries will be decided by a panel of five judges including Frank Boyd, Heather Croall, Elizabeth Sparrow, President of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. A further two high-profile judges will be announced soon.

Entries will open today and close on Friday 15 October 2010. The winners will be announced on 5 November 2010 at an event at Sheffield Doc/Fest that winners will be invited to attend.

More information is available on [http://sheffdocfest.com/view/DigitalRevolutions]

WeeFT at the Ulster Hall

Appalachian tap dancers, Icelandic ‘fishbillies’ and an early work from the director of Star Wars are just some of cinematic treats on offer at the WeeFT, a joint project between QFT and the trans Festival.

From Tuesday 13 – Saturday 17 July, the Ulster Hall Group Space will be transformed into a bespoke micro-cinema, showing a range of cult classics, new avant-garde productions and adaptations. There will be regular lunchtime and evening screenings and tickets are just £3 per film, or £10 for a WeeFT pass. 

Susan Picken, Head of QFT said:

“QFT aims to encourage people to watch new and classic film in innovative ways so we are delighted to be working with trans on the WeeFT.  It offers a great way for new audiences to enjoy what QFT does and with one our most eclectic line-ups ever, film fans are sure to find something they’ll enjoy.”

A silent, non-narrative work from 1943, Meshes of the Afternoon is one of the most influential works in American experimental cinema. It has been identified as a key example of the trance film, in which a protagonist appears in a dreamlike state, and the camera conveys his or her subjective focus.

Described by director Charles Laughton as a “nightmarish Mother Goose”, The Night of the Hunteris a profoundly disturbing psychodrama. Driven by a performance by Robert Mitchum that goes a long way to defining on-screen evil, this is a strange, tense and at times dream-like film that still sends a shiver down the spine.

We Call it Skwee explores a new electronic sound which came out of Scandinavia in 2005. Skwee quickly built up an international cult following with an interest in fun and fresh electronic music revitalised by the funky lo-fi squeaks and bleeps coming from the cold reaches of Finland and Sweden. 

Star Wars fans won’t want to miss THX 1138 – Vers:on, a special screening of one of George Lucas’ earliest writing and directorial projects.  Experienced DJ/VJ team Pete Donaldson and Ed Hughes have rebuilt THX 1138 with contemporary audio and video tools and are performing the cult sci-fi hit live, retaining the atmosphere and loose narrative of the original.

In Daft Punk’s Electroma, the titular band members play two robots who journey on a quest to become human. Their odyssey takes them across a hauntingly beautiful dystopian American landscape from endless highways to deserted towns in a surreal moving painting.

The WeeFT will feature two films from ‘Master of Horror’ and ‘Godfather of Gore,’ cult director Dario Argento, whose feverishly violent films exhibit a level of artistry rarely seen in horror cinema.

Considered by many to be Argento’s finest film, Deep Red is the startling tale of a musician who witnesses the brutal murder of a psychic, and sets out to snare her killer.  Opera is often considered as the director’s last great film, and is also his bleakest work – a serial killer becomes infatuated with a young opera singer in this tale of obsession and sadistic desire.

An hilarious exercise in low (almost no) budget film making from director Shane Meadows, Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee is a mockumentary following the day to day life of Le Donk (Paddy Considine), failed father, second-rate roadie, aspiring music mogul and one of the most monstrously funny characters you will ever see on the big screen.

Jaw droppingly bonkers but also kind of great, White Lightnin’ is a wildly grotesque fantastical biography of the Appalachian mountain dancer Jesco White.  Fuelled by moonshine and lighter fuel, Jesco (a wild eyed Edward Hogg) uses tap dancing to keep his demons at bay, as he takes a phantasmagoric tumble into the dark corners of artistic genius.

trans and QFT are proud to present Iceland’s first foray into the exploitation horror genre – Harpoon: Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre!  A motley crew of sightseers and low-lifes set out on a whale watching expedition. When a freak accident occurs and they are stranded at sea things take a turn for the worse; especially when they are rescued by a family of tourist-hating ‘fishbillies’…

The WeeFT will be open at the Ulster Hall Group Space from Tuesday 13 – Saturday 17 July.  Each screening costs just £3 or £10 for a WeeFT pass.  For further information and online booking, see

www.transbelfast.com   

Commonwealth Foundation pioneers film festival exchange programme

Two world renowned film festivals are embarking on a pioneering exchange programme to share the best of the Commonwealth’s diverse films and cultures. The exchange, taking place between the Zanzibar International Film Festival, Tanzania, and the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival will see films from one region screened at the other, in the first exchange of its kind to take place. The objective of the twinning, a model initiated and supported by the Commonwealth Foundation, is to maximise on the ability of both partners to promote and distribute African and Caribbean cinema to audiences throughout the Commonwealth, introducing them to new films, creating opportunities for networking and building lasting bridges among key film festivals. In order to achieve these goals, both festival directors will travel to their counterpart festival to learn about new ways of working and take away creative ideas. Directors and filmmakers will also take part in panel discussions and networking events. Seven films chosen by Dr. Bruce Paddington, Director of TTFF, will be shown at the Festival of Festivals programme at ZIFF 2010.

“I am very excited that the Trinidad and Tobago film festival is able to be a part of such an exciting new initiative. We look forward to learning from ZIFF, one of Africa's leading film festivals, and sharing experiences so that TTFF10 can continue to lead the exhibition of film in the English speaking Caribbean".

Dr. Bruce Paddington, Director of TTFF

“We are delighted to support this innovative partnership between two festivals. The Audiences should have access to a wider range of cultural offerings from Commonwealth countries and we have worked with both festivals individually for a number of years now. Making links between them is the next step in giving greater exposure to some of the great films being made today throughout the Commonwealth.”

Dr Mark Collins, Director of the Commonwealth Foundation

The first phase of the exchange will take place at the Zanzibar International Film Festival taking place from 10 to 18 July 2010. About ZIFF ZIFF is East Africa’s largest film, music and arts festival, bringing new talents together from all over the world. Each year, some of the most captivating and cutting-edge cinema from Africa and beyond is screened in venues across the island. From world-premiers to local shorts, we've got it all, with a long history of showcasing the highest quality film from all over the world. Films are submitted based on a yearly theme - this year is 'Hopes in Harmony' - and entered into various categories and competitions. Screenings from the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival will be taking place on 13 July from 14.00 to 17.30 at ZIFF 2010. For other screening times and the full festival schedule please visit http://www.ziff.or.tz/ About TTFFThe Trinidad and Tobago film festival seeks to highlight excellence in filmmaking. TTFF is a cutting-edge Caribbean film festival that continues to evolve and expand in celebrating expression and empowerment through film. With a series of well-organized workshops and events, TTFF is quickly emerging as the premium film festival of the Caribbean. http://www.trinidadandtobagofilmfestival.com

Czech Showcase

Screenings of
Auto*Mate (2009)

and Jan Kaplicky / Eye Over Prague  (2010) 
 International Architecture Showcase

London Festival of Architecture

29 June, 8.45 pm, Barbican Centre, Silk St, London EC2Y 8DS   (Auto Mate)

2 July, 7 pm, Wren Room, RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London W1B 1AD (Eye Over Prague)

see  www.czechcentre.org.uk, www.lfa2010.org for details

* *

                                                           

Directly addressing the key theme of the London Festival of Architecture 2010 - 'The Welcoming City' - is the Czech documentary film Auto*Mate (Czech Republic, 2009) by Martin Marecek. Born out of a cultural and social project created to promote activities to make Prague a healthier livelier city, safe for pedestrians and cyclists, Auto*Mate follows the progress of the project including meetings with politicians, group bike-rides, exhibitions and debates, to capture the growth of this inspiring, city awakening initiative. This playful film essay about our automobile-obsessed society crossed the boundary of its media, turning into a social act. Screened as a part of the DocSpot documentary series at the Barbican, the film will be followed by a debate with Martin Marecek and other guests chaired by Patrick Hazard, director of the London International Documentary Festival, comparing experiences in Prague and London and discussing current trends in urbanism.

The second Czech instalment at the International Architecture Showcase is the international premiere of the documentary Eye Over Prague (Oga Spatova, Czech Republic 2010) dedicated to the late Czech architectJan Kaplicky, founder of London based architectural practice Future Systems (Stirling Price 1999 for Lord's Cricket Ground Media Centre). Featuring Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Vaclav Havel and others, the film tells the story of Kaplicky's design for the National Library in Prague. After winning the international competition, it met fierce opposition from the Czech government and the local administration and the battle began. Director of the Design Museum Deyan Sudjic will chair a debate with architect Eva Jiricna and other guests following the screening.

Both screenings are part of the International Architecture Showcase, one of the highlights of this year's LFA programme, which presents a broad spectrum of exciting international architecture projects organised by more than 30 Embassies and Cultural institutes around London. 

The London Festival of Architecture 2010, a city-wide celebration  of architecture in the capital, will take place from 19 June to 4 July 2010.  www.lfa2010.org 

Wild Target

Jean Rochefort, one of France’s finest character actors, stars in possibly his finest ever role, in writer/director Pierre Salvadori’s outstanding debut Wild Target. This wickedly funny crime-caper sees experienced and meticulous hitman Victor’s (Rochefort) fortunes change as he takes on a hot-headed accomplice, Guillaume Depardieu (son of Gerard), it shoots on to DVD for the first time ever courtesy of Second Sight Films on 21 June 2010.

Wild Target aka Cible Émouvante, one of the standout French comedies from the nineties, is now the subject of a British remake starring Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt and Martin Freeman, which is released in cinemas in June. Victor, a middle-aged professional killer, encounters young messenger, Antoine (Depardieu), when he inadvertently becomes involved during a hit. Without a son to pass on the family business, the assassin takes the naïve youngster under his wing as his apprentice. Their next assignment is Renee (Marie Trintignant), a glamorous art forger and petty thief who has conned a gangster, but Victor has softened and can’t go through with it. The unlikely trio team up and await the inevitable showdown with an unhappy client.

Wild Target features some brilliant black humour and a superb central piece from the deadpan Rochefort in one of his best performances ever. 

Title: Wild Target Release Date: 21 June 2010

RRP: £19.99 Cert: 15

Cat.No.: 2NDVD3179

Running Time: 97 min

Company K, DVD

‘Company K’, a gripping and emotion-charged story of a unit of American marines in World War 1, is being released on retail DVD by Scanbox Entertainment on July 26. 

It is based on the classic novel by William March and his own personal WW1 experiences in the trenches of Frances. March’s book has long been considered one of the greatest war novels by an American author. 

The cast is headed by Ari Fliakos, Steve Cuiffo and Joe Delafield and the film is a stark reminder of the carnage and horrors of war in the First World War trenches.

Sergeant Joseph Delaney (Ari Fliakos) signs on for service with the US Marine Corps and the unit is shipped off to the front line at Verdun, France. On arrival the unit immediately comes under attack firstly from a German biplane bomber and then from the dreaded mustard gas which is thrown at the Americans as they enter the trenches. 

Delaney is ordered to stay on his feet and move forward but when the fighting subsides he’s taken off to spend time at a hospital behind the lines for treatment to his injuries. 

Meanwhile, back in the trenches a new lieutenant arrives who soon senses the men have no respect for him. Brashly he orders one of his sergeants to take some soldiers, advance to a clump of trees and set-up a machine gun nest, despite being warned against it. 

The Germans see the men crawling across No Man’s Land and open fire, realising that the Marines have no chance of retreating back to their own lines. 

The incident subsequently turns many of the men in Company K against their officers and for them the war becomes more and more of a test of sanity and survival which comes to a head when Delaney’s best friend Private Edward Carter (Steve Cuiffo) murders an officer.

When the war ends Delaney has his own burden of guilt to bear -  a German soldier he killed in a forest when he knows he could have taken him prisoner instead. 

Delaney, Carter and their friend Private Emile Ayres (Joe Delafield) must now learn to live the quiet life as civilians but they find its not as easy as they thought it would be to leave the memories of the war behind. 

“I have watched the reactions of many men to pain, hunger and death but all I have learned is that no two men react alike and that no one man comes through the experience unchanged”

                                                                               

‘Company K’ has a run time of 103 minutes, a 12 certificate and a recommended retail price of £12.99
Bonus Features :

• Three trailers
• Five deleted scenes
• William March Documentary
• Audio Commentary with Director Robert Clem
• Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio

Airport Control Simulator

Airport Control Simulator is a casual simulator game in which players need to land the incoming airplanes on the runways. The game features 15 internationally known airports. Players operate as Air Traffic Controller and need to take in consideration the different angles of an increasing number of incoming planes, their speed and their altitude, before landing them all safely and as quickly as possible. This combination of factors makes Airport Control Simulator a very entertaining, fun and addictive game for everyone.

For a demo of Airport Control Simulator please visit our friends at GamersHell or FilePlanet.

To find out more about Airport Control Simulator and to keep up with the latest news on the game, visit www.iceberg-interactive.com.

 About Airport Control Simulator

Is the altitude correct? Which plane can stay in the air longer? What direction are other planes coming from and is a collision likely? You are in control. Land all types of airplane on your airport, until there are no more incoming flights.

As Air Traffic Controller you will experience the stress, the hectic pace and the satisfaction of landing all of your planes as safely and as quickly as possible. Avoiding collisions at all times, direct planes to their correct landing path and runway, while monitoring their fuel load closely. Your results will be strictly monitored, a score attributed and new airports unlocked – but any accident will result in your immediate firing.

Airport Control Simulator Features:

• Casual addictive game play

• 15 Different International Airports

• Realistic Air Plane Behavior

• Dynamic Weather conditions

• Complete control over the airspace

• Progressively harder levels and complex manoeuvres

Space Shuttle Mission Simulator for PC

NASA has announced quitting the space shuttle program, gamers can enjoy launching space shuttles for years to come courtesy of videogame publisher Iceberg Interactive and developer Simsquared Ltd. Iceberg announced that its hardcore simulation game for PC “Space Shuttle Mission Simulator: The Collector’s Edition”, is available at all major UK retailers and good independent game shops since this past weekend, as well as in several other European territories that release English versions. The fully localized German release is scheduled for 18 June 2010 and the French one for 15 July 2010.

The new ultra realistic and award-winning simulator game Space Shuttle Mission Simulator: The Collector’s edition is designed to provide the experience and excitement of the NASA Space Shuttle missions in extreme detail, from the first mission back in the 80’s to the newest ISS missions. So if you’ve ever wondered how it feels to be in command of the Space Shuttle, perform “space walks” and float around the ISS, while enjoying the beautiful view of our planet at dawn or sunset from space, Space Shuttle Mission Simulator is a must-have game for you! 

 

FEATURES

•       Experience the Liftoff shakes and engines roar right from the Commander's or Pilot's seats.

•       Perform mission procedures: press buttons, rotate knobs, control the General Purpose Computer and manually guide the Shuttle to a safe landing etc.

•       Perform variable-difficulty historical missions from STS-1 (the maiden flight), through secret DoD missions, and up to the recent ISS missions.

INCLUDES

•       Beautifully rendered Space Shuttle 3D virtual cockpit, Shuttle, International Space Station, Hubble, satellites

•       TrueEarth™ Global Satellite Imagery – licensed from TerraMetrics Inc. These are the same textures used by Google Earth.

•       First Person View, including Space Walks – you cannot get any closer to the ISS or Hubble than that!

•       Launch Control, Mission Control, Shuttle and Astronauts audio smart communications.

•       Three difficulty modes: from Novice which leads the "astronaut" through the tasks with context arrows and full text subtitles, to "Read the Manual and Checklists Commander!"

•       TrackIR(tm) Support in 3D Virtual Cockpit and first person view during EVA

•       Multiple-Monitor support for Matrox TripleHead2Go(tm) and Nvidia nView (tm)

•       Native support for Vuzix iWear VR920 Stereoscopic goggles + head tracking. This is the closest you can get to the NASA VR Labs where Shuttle Astronauts train for ISS missions (on compatible systems).

•       You can find more about the Space Shuttle Mission Simulator at the official website at www.space-shuttle-mission.com

Stanley Park

Stanley Park is a new comedy drama pilot on BBC Three, written & created by Leo Richardson and directed by Misha Manson-Smith (LALA Land and High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman). Stanley Park stars comedian Morwenna Banks (Saxondale) and Antonia Thomas (who played Alisha in E4's comedy drama Misfits).

Set in a south London suburb, the show follows young friends enduring the poignant and often hilarious emotional upheavals during a life-changing period. All living on the same street, it's hard to really keep secrets, and it seems everyone has something they're hiding, or hiding from.

First there's “Dirty” Debbie (Holliday Grainger), a sassy fashion designer and self-proclaimed ‘Carrie Bradshaw of Croydon’ who, from the moment she arrived to live with gin swigging, Superking smoker and serial internet dater, Auntie Pat (Sharon Horgan writer and star of BBC’s Pulling), knew the place had trouble written all over it. And she wasn’t wrong. Debbie's outfits are as outrageous as the erotic fiction she writes and no man can resist her charms but, across the road, there's competition in the form of emo, Raggedy Ann (Jennie Jacques - Desperate Romantics, Shank), who claims she was a bohemian poet in her past life.

Then there's “Bent” Ben - Ann’s fabulous, Beyonce-loving best friend who is always on hand to provide a shoulder to cry on and a constant source of advice, but who could do well to counsel himself occasionally. And who can forget Sadie (Antonia Thomas who played Alisha in E4's Misfits), waggish with a nice job, a hot boyfriend, and a Gucci bag who thinks her life will really take off since she got engaged in Pizza Express.

As the residents of Stanley Park go about their everyday lives, Harry “the hottie” winks at Debbie as she walks home and sets in motion a chain of events that will change everything and everyone in the street forever...

Join the characters of Stanley Park on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stanley-Park/115872958450682?ref=ts

Catch the first episode of Stanley Park online before it airs on BBC Three 10 Jun 2010 at 21:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sj8f9

Five Films Celebrate IT Pioneers

 BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, today launched five short films that highlight the achievements of the often forgotten and unacknowledged Information Pioneers.The five pioneers, Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing, Sir Clive Sinclair, Hedy Lamarr and Sir Tim Berners-Lee were chosen from a list of 150 IT Greats who span the globe. A celebrity advocate endorses each pioneer. The list of 150 IT Greats, along with the five short films, can be viewed on the Information Pioneers site (http://pioneers.bcs.org) The Institute commissioned Lewis Georgeson, the Emmy-nominated and multi-award winning director of short form digital programmes, to direct the series.

Elizabeth Sparrow, President, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT said:

“We want to celebrate the achievements of these Information Pioneers and demonstrate their contribution to today’s Information Society. Everyone should visit the Information Pioneer campaign website and join in the debate on who should be the greatest Information Pioneer of all time, vote for their favourite pioneer and share their favourite film with their friends and colleagues.”

The five short films star:

Ortis Deley from The Gadget Show presents the achievements of Lord Byron’s daughter, Ada Lovelace, who has been regarded as the first computer programmer.

BBC Click reporter Kate Russell celebrates Alan Turing, the father of artificial intelligence and the man who created a machine to crack the Enigma Code during the Second World War.

British actress Miranda Raison tells us about Hollywood A-list star Hedy Lamarr who apart from her successful acting career also co-invented an early technique for spread spectrum communications, making the use of mobile phone communications possible today.

Phil Tufnell, ex-England cricketer, represents Sir Clive Sinclair the father of gaming who brought computers into the home and made them affordable to the masses at £99.95 each in 1979 with the ZX80. In 1982 the iconic ZX Spectrum was launched complete with sound and eight colours, which marked the birth of the UK gaming industry.

Finally, British comedian, actor and author Dom Joly acts as the advocate for Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the man who created the World Wide Web. Sir Tim Berners-Lee came up with the idea of linking all documents together in one place when he was suffering from information overload.

The films will go live today on the pioneers site (http://pioneers.bcs.org) and on MSN.co.uk. Visitors are encouraged to vote for their favourite Information Pioneer, share the videos and join the discussion about the other pioneers on the website.

Regular updates and commentary are available on Twitter @infopioneers.

The campaign can also be found on Facebook.

9th Fantastic Films Weekend, Friday 4 - Sunday 6 June 2010

National Media Museum, Bradford

The National Media Museum, Bradford, presents the 9^th Fantastic Films Weekend (FFW) promising three fear-filled days of thrills and spine-tingling chills for fantasy, horror and sci-fi fans. This year’s Fantastic Films Weekend takes place from Friday 4 – Sunday 6 June.

As part of the weekend the Museum welcomes British directors Stanley Long (Screamtime and cinematographer of The Sorcerers) and Michael Armstrong (The Image starring David Bowie and Mark of the Devil). This year, the weekend also includes a special guest appearance by English screenwriter and FFW patron Jeremy Dyson, best known for his contribution to the well-known British TV series, The League of Gentlemen.

Films screening over the weekend include Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, an exclusive midnight screening of Birdemic: Shock and Terror, a double-bill of horror with 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later and a selection of popular titles from the Museum’s own film archive including Robocop, The Giant Spider Invasion and Patrick.

Stanley Long has worked with the likes of Roman Polanski on Repulsion and with Peter Cushing on The Blood Beast Terror as well as on the 1960s classic The Sorcerers. He co-directed Screamtime with Michael Armstrong. Both British horror features will be screened at the 9^th Fantastic Films Weekend; Stanley will also be signing copies of his autobiography X-Rated: Adventures of an Exploitation Filmmaker.

Writer/director Michael Armstrong is best-known for his cult horror films and for providing David Bowie with his screen debut in the short film The Image, which was also Michael’s first film. Michael will be discussing his career in the Museum’s Cubby Broccoli Cinema ahead of a screening of Mark of the Devil. The event starts at 6:15pm on Saturday 5 June. Mark of the Devil is a notorious and long-banned film in which a twisted witch hunter hands out God’s will, punishing an array of innocent women.

Hitchcock fans will be thrilled with the 1960 version of Psycho showing in the Museum’s Pictureville Cinema. This 50^thanniversary re-release is a welcome reminder of Alfred Hitchcock’s genius for creating heart-stopping cinema. There will be three separate screenings of the classic thriller during FFW.

Fantastic Films Weekend is proud to announce a special midnight screening of Birdemic: Shock and Terror. Influenced by Hitchcock’s The Birds, Birdemic was first screened at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States and since has played to sell-out theatres across the USA. This amateur but cult film was created on a micro-budget by first time director James Nguyen who has been compared to legendary dud-maker Ed (Plan 9 from Outer Space) Wood.

For those who don’t scare easily, don’t miss the double-bill of shock that will leave viewers hanging on the edge of their seats with Danny Boyle’s zombie chiller 28 Days Later, where animal rights activists storm a laboratory and unwittingly unleash a plague virus that turns humans into mad-eyed, homicidal maniacs. The double-bill continues with 28 Weeks Later, starring Robert Carlyle. This sequel offers cat-and-mouse chases and lashings of gore and blood, definitely not for the faint-hearted.

Once again the National Media Museum has dug deep in its unique film archive and dusted off some blasts from the past that will be showing on the big screen during the weekend. The films include Robocop in which Officer Murphy’s memorable catchphrase “Dead or alive, you’re coming with me” will take fans back to the first time they watched this sci-fi action thriller. Other favorites from the vault include The Giant Spider Invasion, the rarely-seen Three Cases of Murderand Patrick.

Other film highlights from this year’s Fantastic Film Weekend include Plague Town, a film about an American family in search of their roots in Ireland who instead discover a small village with a terrible truth from generations past; Videodromestarring James Woods and eXistenz starring Jude Law. Both films – a David Cronenberg double-bill - are linked to theImmersion exhibition (running in Gallery Two until September 5), in which photographer and video artist Robbie Cooper focuses on our obsession with screen media. Finally, audiences will get the chance to see the sell-out Avatar 3D andAlice in Wonderland 3D on Yorkshire’s only IMAX screen.

For festival passes, day passes or individual tickets visit www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/fantastic or call the NMeM box office on 0870 7010200. Weekend pass £50 (£40 concs), day pass £20 (£15 concs) (passes do not include IMAX titles). 28 Days Later/28 WeeksLater double-bills £10 (£7 concs). Single tickets £6.50 (£4.50 concs), Imax DMR £9 (£7 concs) - FFW pass holders receive £1 discount on IMAX films.

PollyGrind brings out the darkside

Film festival gets underway this Wednesday and runs until May 16 in Las Vegas

MAY 10 — As a fan of genre and independent cinema, Chad Clinton Freeman knows how hard it is to weed through everything and find good movies to watch these days. As a filmmaker, he also knows how hard it is to get independent works out for the public to see them. With both of these experiences in mind, Freeman created the Polly Staffle Grindhouse Fest.

The event, which will consist of five days of programming in the tradition of grindhouse theaters with double and triple features each day, gets underway this Wednesday and runs till May 16 at the Sci-Fi Center (2520 State Street) in Las Vegas.

Thirteen films and more than 31 trailers, music videos and shorts will play the PollyGrind, which has been hyped by Vampires.com as “one of the biggest events for grindhouse and trash film lovers this year.”

“This week the cinematic revolution that is known as the PollyGrind begins,” said Freeman, who has been dubbed the "new champion of unabashed B-movie sleaze" by ArrowInTheHead.com. “This festival is being put on in the same spirit as old school grindhouse cinema - no funding and creatively using whatever is available. With that being said, I think the lineup turned out rather nicely and I think everyone that comes out will enjoy what William Powell’s Sci-Fi Center and the PollyGrind have to offer.”

Five features will have world premieres at the event. John R. Hand’s sci-fi arthouse film Scars of Youth  opens the festival May 12. The Dead Undead, which stars Luke Goss and was directed by stuntmen Matt Anderson and Edward Conna, world premieres May 13. Creep Creepersin will world premiere his films Vaginal Holocaust, Caged Lesbos A-Go-Go, and Orgy of Blood on May 15.

The films Greg Lamberson’s Slime City Massacre (which stars Debbie Rochon, Lee Perkins and Brooke Lewis), Henry Weintraub’s Melvin, Bruce Dickson’s Red Velvet (Henry Thomas, Kelli Garner and Cristen Coopen), James Pronath’s Horrid, Jen Soska & Sylvia Soska’s Dead Hooker in a Trunk, Alex Pucci’s Frat House Massacre and the anthology Terror Overload (Scarlet Salem, Rachel Grubb and Ari Lehman) will have Las Vegas premieres and the Argentina import Zombie Apocalypse Now: A Zombie Hunter will screen for the first time in the United States.

“Personally, I think all of these films are great. Otherwise I wouldn’t have programmed them,” Freeman said with a chuckle. “I will say that I’m very pleased I’m getting to open with the world premiere of Scars of Youth and I think the stuff Creep is bringing for Saturday should be a blast. Also, I think Slime City Massacre, The Dead Undead, Dead Hooker in a Trunk and Red Velvet will be crowd favorites.”

Also highlighting the festival will be works from award-winning filmmakers Michael Ramova (four faux trailers and a short), Calvin Lee Reeder (shorts The Rambler and The Snake Mountain Colada), Aaron Mento (shorts Absent and Heathen’s Gate) and Ginnetta Correli (music video Hippodome Mime).

Other short films playing will range from horror (The Bet, Blood Shed, The Red Hours, Depraved, and Hypochondriac), to animated fun (Frankenstien vs. Wolfman in 3D), to film noir (Stiletto), to sci-fi (Babylon 2084), to experimental (Telefone), and even dark comedy (Sis, and Because There Are Things You Never Forget).

Music videos will include Ryen McPherson’s entry Jitterbug (song by Walker Rose), the world premiere of Alvaro de la Hoz’s Long Goodbye (Lazy), David Wanger’s Anatinus (LIGO) Elona’s Warrior (Elona), and Rob Prior and Paul Jenkins’ Get Your Dead On (Scum of the Earth).

The PollyGrind will also feature appearances by actors, actresses, filmmakers and more. Confirmed special guests include Scream Queens Elske McCain and Donna Hamblin, actor Robert C. Sabin of Slime City and Slime City Massacre, comic book legend Everette Hartsoe (Razor), pinup artist Popeye Wong, and filmmakers Creep Creepersin, Alex Pucci, Sean Cain, Shane Ryan, Michael Dunn, Jeffrey Bliss, Aaron Mento, and Jeffrey Blake Palmer.

Vendor tables will open an hour and half before the movie madness begins each night. There will be items for sale, autograph and photograph opportunities, as well as raffles and giveaways.

Various nightly hosts will include spooks-model Jennique Angel, HorrorNews.net managing editor Dai Green, and Heather Wixson of DreadCentral.com, while sponsors of the event are TheGrindHouse.net, MTI Home Video, Sony Creative Software, FootageFirm, Terror Cards, and Dolls and Dead Things.

When the dust settles, the film festival will hand out more than 14 awards, including the top prize dubbed The Biggest Baddest Mother of the PollyGrind. There will also be awards for best use of music, nudity/sexuality, violence/gore, and most outrageous. The audience will also be casting ballots each night to pick their favorite feature, short, music video and trailer.

Tickets for the event are $10 per day. Five day passes and three day passes can be purchased in advance for $40 and $25 at PollyGrind.com or TheSciFiCenter.com.

In anticipation of the event, Ammon Gilbert of ArrowInTheHead.com has called it “a B-movie jamboree of awesomeness” that “only Vegas has the balls to host.” Josh Bell of Las Vegas Weekly said “there's a fine line, certainly, between underground genre weirdness and artistic ambitions, and the festival will no doubt do everything possible to blur it.”

Freeman said he hopes both journalists are right in their predictions, and then some. “Our aim, as has always been the case with PollyStaffle.com, is to celebrate individuality, diversity, creativity and empowerment,” Freeman said. “Hopefully, PollyGrind is a fun and unique experience that honors the darker side of cinema and showcases the work of filmmakers with defiantly independent visions. I also hope it comes off as an intimate educational experience and a networking function for the audience and the filmmakers that will leave everyone wanting to come back for more next year.”