Bird's Eye View

Pop stars and vampire bites: Day 3 at BEV 2011

Kate Nash

The rollercoaster third day of this year’s Birds Eye View Film Festival took us all the way from BRIT Award-winning pop stars to the bloodiest depths of the female mind. While platinum-selling music sensation Kate Nash introduced Festival favourite Music Loves Video, we welcomed Total Film news editor Rosie Fletcher to introduce her childhood favourite, Kathryn Bigelow’s seminal vampire flick Near Dark. Meanwhile excitement built as musicians were in their final rehearsals for tonight’s musical-cinematic spectacular Sound & Silents at Southbank Centre.

‘I have always been a feminist’, proclaimed BRIT Award-winner Kate Nash as she warmed up the crowd for the return of our ultimate cinematic mix tape Music Loves Video with a heartfelt account of her own passionate commitment to female creativity. Curator Amber Parsons’ inspired line-up was followed by four of the programme’s sensational directors: Jo Apps, Miranda Bowen, Kathryn Ferguson and Lucy Needs, the latter directing a bittersweet turn from The Office star Mackenzie Crook in Slow Club’s ‘Giving Up On Love’. Super-slick journalist and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer returned to BEV to host this post-groove analysis.

BEV will return to rock the ICA’s music scene once more with Saturday’s sure-to-be-legendary Festival Party, featuring master songsmiths Paper Aeroplanes, Wendy Bevan’s decadent Temper Temper – plus Groove Armada collaborator Crazy Girl and vintage vixens The Bees Knees on the decks.

Over at the Prince Charles Cinema, Total Film’s Rosie Fletcher charmed an unexpectedly gothic-looking crowd of cult fans and innocent horror newcomers for her introduction to Kathryn Bigelow’s groundbreaking vampire-western Near Dark. Fletcher talked about first seeing the film at the age of 17 and quickly succumbing to its reckless, sexy wiles. Part of this year’s Bloody Women programme, the screening was accompanied by the UK premiere of ShriekFest winner Devi Sniveley’s short noir horror Last Seen on Dolores Street, a bone-chilling preview of Saturday’s Horror Shorts at the ICA.

Plus our retrospective of legendary German director Margarethe von Trotta came to an end with the UK premiere of her latest film, Vision. And on the other side of town the Holst Singers and London Contemporary Orchestra principal conductor Hugh Brunt had their final rehearsal with Imogen Heap ahead of tonight’s live premiere of her full choral score to The Seashell and the Clergyman at Southbank Centre – bring it on!