Articles from First Weekenders Club
Sep 10, 2009 | No Comments | ByMarcie Maclellan
Three Miles North of Molkom directed by Corinna Villari-McFarlane and Robert Cannan
Three Miles North of Molkom, a documentary that follows fabulously relatable characters through the Shamanic rituals of a Swedish spiritual-enlightenment festival is a film that should be seen. It has been described as “a sheer delight” by The Mirror, “a hoot” by The Guardian and “hilarious” by The Times, but filmmakers Corinna Villari-McFarlane and Robert Cannan, do not want viewers to walk away with the notion that ‘this is dark’ or ‘this is hilarious.’ Unafraid of confusion, they simply hope that you will walk away sensing that something amazing has happened. And, cynic or believer, hippy or not, you will. Read the full story
Jul 28, 2009 | No Comments | ByRachel Millward
Rumba, in selected cinemas from Friday 31st July
Now this is a film to get excited about. Highly stylised, entirely original, startlingly optimistic and very, very funny, this 77 minute treat from directing trio Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy, is a charming fusion of film and physical theatre. Like a breath of very fresh sea air, the expert cast employ movement and dance to convey narrative and emotion, with hardly any dialogue. It’s quirky in the very best sense of that slightly irritating word. It’s the type of innovative style we have seen occasionally in short film, but which is very rarely given the chance to blossom into a feature. Well, this time, thanks to the creative investment of Belgium and France, it has – and we suggest you don’t miss out!
Our friends at the ICA have very kindly given us 3 pairs of tickets to give away to you lucky readers for the opening night: Friday 31st July, at 8.15pm.
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Jul 8, 2009 | No Comments | ByMarcie Maclellan
Rebecca Miller
BEV’s new reviewer Marcie MacLellan has both read and watched Private Lives of Pippa Lee, and last week had the chance to talk to the inspirational director, Rebecca Miller. Read on for her review:
“I’ve had enough of being an enigma, I want to be known.”
When this line is delivered by the title character of Rebecca Miller’s new film, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, it’s hard to predict what surprises are in store. Played by a subdued Robin Wright-Penn, Pippa Lee appears to be anything but mysterious. But as with any good movie, all is not as it seems.
Perhaps this line is one of the more poignant in the film because Miller is a bit of an enigma herself. Writer, director and best-selling author of the book of the same name, Miller’s life could read like a Hollywood script. But it’s her unwillingness to box her film into a particular genre or wax lyrical about its main message that makes her so elusive – in the best kind of way.
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Jun 30, 2009 | No Comments | ByBirds Eye View
American Teen is the touching and hilarious Sundance hit from Director Nanette Burstein, following the lives of five teenagers through their senior year of high school in a small town in Indiana. It screened at the BEV festival in March this year, followed by a fantastic Director Q&A with Nanette Burstein via video link-up to the States. Audiences loved it!
COMPETITION: To celebrate the release of American Teen on DVD Birds Eye View has five copies to give away to our lucky blog readers. Don’t miss out! Read on for details…
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May 18, 2009 | 2 Comments | BySophie Ivan
Fish Tank, directed by Andrea Arnold
On Saturday BEV managed to catch Fish Tank, one of the three women-directed features screening in competition at Cannes (alongside Isabel Coixet’s Maps of the Sounds of Tokyo and Jane Campion’s Bright Star – more on that coming soon). BEV has been a supporter of director Andrea Arnold since screening her short Dog in November 2002, at the first ever Birds Eye View event! In 2005 we were the first festival to screen her Oscar-winning follow-up, Wasp, and welcomed Andrea for a Q&A just after receiving the award. And in 2006 Andrea spoke at a BEV event about the experience directing her first feature, the acclaimed Red Road, so – to put it mildly – BEV has been getting just a little excited about feasting our eyes on Fish Tank… Read the full story
Mar 3, 2009 | 1 Comment | ByBirds Eye View
Sophie Ivan writes about Peace Mission and why you should get yourself along to the ICA on Monday March 9th for An Introduction to Nollywood – the third largest film industry in the world.
Peace Anyiam-Fiberesima at her desk
Never mind Nollywood, Peace Anyiam-Fiberesima is a one-woman industry all of her own. We first catch sight of her, a mobile phone clamped to each ear, arranging a slew of business meetings as she is driven in a blacked-out car through the choc-a streets of Lagos. Producer, director, talk-show host, founder and CEO of the African Movie Academy, which produces the continent’s equivalent of the Oscar’s each year, Peace is the embodiment of the energy which she describes as Nollywood’s driving force. It produces well over a 1000 films a year, and is Nigeria’s second largest employer (after the oil industry): in terms of sheer output, that makes it the third biggest film industry in the world.
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