C A FILM MB FES RI TIVA DG L E 16 26 SEPTEMBER
www film .cam .org festiv bridge .uk al
SEPTEMBER
2010
Contents Welcome once again to the highly charged, highly anticipated Cambridge Film Festival. Capitalising on the great successes of recent years, we’re going even bigger and bolder for our 30th anniversary, living up to our reputation for seriously stimulating cinema. As ever it is our aim to present a broad range of engaging, arresting films to as wide an audience as possible and, as we start our fourth decade at the cutting edge, this year is no exception. We’ll be launching the Festival in chic Gallic style by presenting Cambridge favourite Luc Besson’s third UK premiere here, with his delightful new romp THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADÈLE BLANC-SEC. Once again expanding our ambitions beyond the three state-of-the-art screens at the Arts Picturehouse, we’ll be bringing the magic of cinema to outdoor spaces across the Cambridge city centre. Watch out for us setting up our projectors and popping-up our screens in a number of quintessentially Cambridge locations including the Grantchester Meadows, along Magdalene Street, at Jesus Green Lido and on the banks of the River
Cam. And adding to the mix will be our celebrated surprise screenings – did you know that the audience of last year’s Surprise Movie were treated to the UK premiere of Pixar’s Oscar-winning UP? – as well as last minute additions and special guests. Keep an eye on www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk to be up to date with Festival news. But remember the films and events described in this brochure are only a teaser for the full range of cinematic delights that will be available soon. So celebrate your August Bank Holiday in style with our long weekend of Movies On The Meadows in Grantchester, then get ready for eleven days in September packed full of moving images which will inspire, excite, delight and provoke. We believe that our diverse, challenging line-up and unique special events illustrate exactly why the Cambridge Film Festival has such enduring appeal, and are sure that you will agree. Happy birthday to us! Tony Jones, Director, Cambridge Film Trust & Cambridge Film Festival
The 2010 Festival sees the launch of The Screen Team, the first ever project to take the Cambridge Film Festival experience across the entire East of England region. This unique three-year events and training programme – the first of its kind for any UK film festival – will enable at least 45 regional participants to learn first-hand from our 30 year experience in the programming, marketing and managing of innovative film events. We’ve already selected ten lucky participants for the project’s first year who are receiving specialist training from the Festival team as well as working on the delivery of this year’s special events, starting with our August Bank Holiday screenings on Grantchester Meadows. For more information and to find out how to be involved next year, contact rebeccacinnes@yahoo.co.uk The Screen Team is a Cambridge Film Trust initiative which has been funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Advance Guide
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Special Events
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First Cambridge Family Film Festival Opening & Closing Films Main Features Millennium Trilogy
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Microcinema
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ShortFusion
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Venue Information
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Cambridgeshire Film Consortium Events
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Ticket Prices & Map
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Sponsors
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ADVANCE GUIDE
YOUR ADVANCE GUIDE TO THE All you need to get the most out of this year’s Cambridge Film Festival, in four practical steps
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SELECT YOUR FILMS AND EVENTS
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BOOK YOUR TICKETS
SAVE
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© Orange Eyes Limited
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TAKE YOUR SEAT
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GET ONLINE AND GET INTERACTIVE
ADVANCE GUIDE
CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL 2010
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SPECIAL EVENTS
MOVIES ON THE MEADOWS
Grantchester Meadows Outdoor Screenings August Bank Holiday Weekend
FRIDAY 27 AUGUST
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE (12A) Director: David Slade. Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner. USA 2010. 123 mins. Calling all Edward and Bella fans! What could be more electrifying than the ultimate outdoor movie experience of seeing TWILIGHT: ECLIPSE in the eerie surroundings of the Meadows after dark? The third instalment in the epic TWILIGHT franchise sees the bloodsucker brood return with aplomb, as Bella Swan is forced to decide whether to side with lover Edward Cullen or close friend Jacob Black when a series of sinister killings put Seattle on red alert. Come and take a bite…
Join the Cambridge Film Festival in celebrating its 30th birthday with special outdoor screenings of classic movies, modern masterpieces and guilty pleasures under the stars in Grantchester Meadows, an idyllic location which is just a short walk, bike ride or punt from Cambridge city centre. A highlight of Cambridge’s summer calendar, these August Bank Holiday screenings will see the Cambridge Film Festival transform a picturesque corner of Grantchester Meadows into the perfect open-air cinema. We’ll be setting up our massive inflatable cinema screen on the banks of the River Cam in Spring Lane Field, which is just behind the famous Orchard Tearooms. And there’s more than just films – come along early, bring a picnic and enjoy the great riverside setting in time to see the inflatable cinema screen rise majestically from the river bank before the projectors roll…
TICKETS
Gates will open at 6.00pm, with the films starting around dusk – roughly 8.15pm. So bring your blanket, pack a picnic and stretch out under the stars to enjoy these cinematic treats.
Adults £12, Picturehouse Members £10, Concessions £9 Family group ticket – 2 adults, 2 children under 16 £25 Children under 12 (only available for UP and METROPOLIS) £5 Discounted group rate: 6 tickets for £50 These screenings are presented with the support of The Screen Team, a Cambridge Film Trust initiative which has been funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
A melodrama in the best possible sense... Witty, funny and intelligent, [this is] a story that has genuine interest and depth. MARK KERMODE, BBC Radio 5 Live
SATURDAY 28 AUGUST
UP (U) Directors: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson. Voices: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai. USA 2009. 98 mins. A twist of fate tugs 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen’s house into the air along with a persistent eight-year old named Russell as they drift towards the wilds of South America. Acknowledged as Pixar’s masterpiece, this double Oscar-winning animation is a lovely, charming and visually stunning family comedy. Bring your hankies, be carried away, and remember when seeking adventure – look UP.
SUNDAY 29 AUGUST
METROPOLIS (PG) Director: Fritz Lang. Starring: Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Brigitte Helm. Germany, 1927 (2010 re-release). 150 mins. SPONSORED BY
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The masterpiece of legendary German director Fritz Lang, with its dizzying depiction of a futuristic cityscape and its iconic female robot, METROPOLIS is the mother of modern sci-fi. This is your chance to see Lang’s 1927 director’s cut of this enduring epic – presented in a newly reconstructed and restored version, as lavish and spectacular as ever with the discovery of 25 minutes of footage previously thought lost to the world.
Jesus Green Outdoor Pool – Sunday 12 September, 8.00pm Join us for our family film event at Cambridge’s renowned open-air swimming pool. Situated a stone’s throw away from the river, the Jesus Green Outdoor Pool is not only a Cambridge institution, but also one of the few remaining of its kind in Britain, and one of the largest in Europe. Imagine, then, the spectacle of punts drifting through the light-filled pool, and a medley of your favourite films playing against the backdrop of the surrounding trees. This year we are proud to offer precisely this exceptional experience for the first time with our unique screenings in association with Jesus Green Outdoor Pool. We have put together an exciting collection of shorts, early silent and under-water classics all loosely based around the theme of water, and can’t think of a more appropriate venue for this celebration of all things liquid.
RIVERSIDE SCREENINGS
TICKETS
Pack a picnic or choose from a delicious range of drinks and snacks from their brand new poolside cafe, then simply sit back and enjoy a relaxed evening with the whole family. This is lounging by the pool as you’ve never experienced it before, so enter into the spirit, soak in the ambience and let us entertain you!
SPECIAL EVENTS
THE LIDO PICTURE SHOW
Adults £7 Picturehouse Members £5 Concessions £6 Family group ticket – 2 adults, 2 children under 16 £16
Cinema on the Cam Friday 3 & Saturday 4 September, Friday 10 & Saturday 11 September For a cinema experience with a difference, it would be hard to top being punted down the beautiful river Cam, bubbly in hand and blankets on knees, to enjoy the magic of cinema as you float down the river as the sun goes down. Book early to avoid disappointment. Embark from Grantchester at dusk on a chauffeured punt to watch our selection of specially curated films, each evening based around a different theme. We provide sparkling wine, warm blankets and the promise of a memorable and magical event.
TICKETS
Check in at the Red Lion pub in Grantchester from 7.30pm where you can enjoy a drink or pre-punt supper. Once checked in, you’ll be escorted to the punts which will be departing at 15 minute intervals between 8.00pm and 9.00pm (you can choose your allocated time on booking).
Adults £25 Picturehouse Members / Concessions £20 Includes chauffeured punt ride and complimentary sparkling wine.
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SPECIAL EVENTS
BEGGARS OF LIFE
With live accompaniment from the DODGE BROTHERS Sunday 19 September, 4.00pm Arts Picturehouse
STEPHEN FREARS: LOOKING BACK
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Offering a powerful insight into American subculture, BEGGARS OF LIFE is both thought provoking and uplifting, qualities mirrored to great effect by the Dodge Brothers’ soundtrack. Using motifs redolent of old railway songs and melodies influenced by those of the period, it is imbued with both bittersweet nostalgia and a joyous sense of celebration, managing to be both idiosyncratic and utterly authentic at the same time.
The Dodge Brothers features Mike Hammond (lead guitar, lead vocals), Mark Kermode (bass, harmonica, vocals), Aly Hirji (rhythm guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Alex Hammond (washboard, snare drum, percussion). Culture Show presenter and film critic Kermode, the Dodge Brothers’ energetic bass thumper, cites the main preoccupations of the band’s distinctive music as “trains, heartbreak, alcohol and death”. This meeting of live music and film promises to be an exhilarating exploration of love, conflict, poverty and the thrill of the journey, creating an electric atmosphere and a compelling study in humour and heartbreak. This presentation of BEGGARS OF LIFE will include ‘honorary’ Dodge Brother Neil Brand providing accompaniment on the piano.
TICKETS
In this special live performance by the Dodge Brothers, we combine their exuberant skiffle sound with William Wellman’s 1928 melodrama BEGGARS OF LIFE, a late silent film featuring Louise Brooks as a girl forced to flee the country after murdering her violent foster father. Assisted by Jim, Richard Arlen’s young vagrant, she masquerades as a boy and embarks upon a rail-riding adventure through all walks of life in an attempt to evade the police and escape to Canada.
Adults £12.50 Picturehouse Members £10 Concessions £11
Tuesday 21 September, 6.30pm Arts Picturehouse
Renowned British director Stephen Frears is our special guest for an on-stage conversation about his career and his latest film TAMARA DREWE. Graduating with a Law degree from Cambridge University in 1963, Frears went on to become an assistant director on iconic ’60s British films such as MORGAN: A SUITABLE CASE FOR TREATMENT and IF, before becoming a television director at the BBC. His directorial debut, GUMSHOE (1971), was an affectionate spoof of pulp detective novels of the past, starring Albert Finney as an aspiring private eye in Liverpool. But it wasn’t until the mid ’80s when Frears became a major figure in the British and American film industry with the Academy Award nominated MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (1985), starring Daniel Day Lewis and Gordon Warnecke. His first Hollywood film, DANGEROUS LIAISONS, earned him a BAFTA nomination for Best Direction and paved the way for a successful career in both the UK and the US. In recent years Stephen Frears has gone on to make a variety of classic films such as Nick Hornby’s HIGH FIDELITY, heart-racing crime drama DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, and the critically acclaimed box office sensation THE QUEEN.
Arts Picturehouse
MAGDALENE STREET SCREENINGS (CFF U) Sunday 19 September from 8.00pm
The Festival is delighted to return again to Cambridge’s oldest shopping street, where we will set up our screens to present you with a special evening out, giving you the opportunity to watch films completely FREE. Taking place along Bridge Street and Magdalene Street, these public screenings give you the chance to discover film in an entirely new way. We invite you to come along and stroll from the top of Magdalene Street down to Quayside to view screens on Magdalene College’s immaculate lawns, and on to Bridge Street and the stunning backdrop of St John’s College.
The Cambridge Film Festival invites you to explore Stanley Kubrick’s greatest ever achievement never to reach the big screen. Through photos from pre-production, primarily sketches, and talks from people who knew Kubrick best, we sift the facts from fiction of the much-discussed aborted epic, NAPOLEON.
SPECIAL EVENTS
KUBRICK’S NAPOLEON Monday 20 September, 9.00pm
The screenings begin at 8.00pm – but arrive any time until 10.00pm. There will be a continuous programme so if you miss the beginning, you can simply stay until it comes around again.
Even whilst working on 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, Kubrick’s thoughts turned towards mounting the greatest historical film ever made. Describing Napoleon Bonaparte’s life as “an epic poem of action”, Kubrick’s admiration for his idol knew few bounds. Meticulous research for a large-scale biopic began in the mid-1960s when Kubrick despatched an assistant around the world to literally follow in Napoleon’s footsteps. Casting considerations included David Hemmings and Audrey Hepburn, with Alec Guinness and Laurence Olivier as supporting characters. Alas then that Kubrick’s effort met its own Waterloo when the studios decreed that his dream was financially too risky, due to a clash with another Napoleon film, WATERLOO, which was released in 1970. The dream lingered into the early 1980s when he still talked of wanting to make the film. Sadly Stanley Kubrick died in 1999 with his great work unrealised. Today Kubrick fans can console themselves that his vision may yet be realised in conjunction with talents of the calibre of Ridley Scott and Ang Lee. For this live event Bill Lawrence will introduce the film producer and brother-in-law to Stanley Kubrick, Jan Harlan, and Alison Castle, author of The Stanley Kubrick Archives. We hope to welcome filmmaker Andrew Birkin.
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Dates to be confirmed
Three years in the making, COMMON GROUND is Littleport’s Field theatre group’s most ambitious community project to date. Working alongside professional filmmaker Peter Harmer, COMMON GROUND is an evocative and haunting series of episodes that depicts Fen life in the early 1900s. Shot around Cambridgeshire at locations including Wicken Fen and Burnt Chimney Drove, the ever-shifting and brooding essence of the Fen landscape has been met with painstaking attention to detail, beautifully composed imagery, and a dramatic musical score by local composer Lewis Newman. With a cast made up of the local community that spans all generations, and support from local farms and businesses, COMMON GROUND is a true community endeavour and a celebration of the men, women and children whose lives were bound by the field edge. These were a generation of folk who carved out fields and farms with back-breaking labour, and whose stories are imprinted in the black soil of the fen earth. This poetic exploration of rural life has touched many of those whom have been involved in its creation. A tribute to Fenlanders’ past, and a lasting record of Fen life for future generations, COMMON GROUND is a remarkable achievement that shines a light on the potential for communities to explore their heritage through the moving image. Funded by Grassroots, Awards For all, and ADeC. View the trailer for COMMON GROUND at www.adec.org.uk
Watch out for special screenings in Sawston and at the Arts Picturehouse.
THE FIRST CAMBRIDGE FAMILY FILM FESTIVAL
SPECIAL EVENTS
COMMON GROUND
What do Bob The Builder, Charlie and Lola, Bagpuss, Ivor The Engine, The Gruffalo, Grandpa In My Pocket and Thomas and Friends have in common? They’ll all be joining in the fun of the first ever Cambridge Family Film Festival! Designed to make a visit to the cinema with youngsters affordable and enjoyable, we’ll be presenting shorter-length programmes featuring kids’ favourite TV and film characters – old and new - in a family-friendly environment. There’ll even be a ‘chill-out’ zone if all the excitement gets a bit too much for little ones… With fancy dress competitions, workshops and free craft activities adding to the film fun you’ll be able to enjoy a family trip to the cinema as never before, sharing in the excitement as your children discover the magic of the moving image where it belongs – up on the big screen. Highlights to look out for will include: the team behind the CBeebies hit GRANDPA IN MY POCKET will be attending a preview screening of new episodes featuring the pint-sized star; there’ll be terrible teeth and terrible claws on the loose as we present the BAFTAnominated version of the nation’s favourite bedtime story, THE GRUFFALO, as well as an enchanting visit to Rainspell Island with RAINBOW MAGIC. The Cambridge Family Film Festival runs throughout the Festival. Titles and full date and times to be published in the full programme and on the website.
10 THE GRUFFALO © Orange Eyes Limited
THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADÈLE BLANC-SEC (15) LES AVENTURES EXTRAORDINAIRE D’ADÈLE BLANC-SEC Director: Luc Besson. Starring: Louise Bourgoin, Mathieu Amalric, Gilles Lellouche, Jean-Paul Rouve. France 2010. French with English subtitles. 105 mins. Who else could unleash a pterodactyl swooping above the boulevards of pre-First World War Paris! Set your imaginations to soar with French director Luc Besson’s return to the big screen with his version of Jacques Tardi’s much-loved cartoon strips and books. Intrepid young journalist Adèle BlancSec (Bourgoin) laughs at fear and is ready for anything. Which is just as well as she must face down Egyptian mummies, buck-toothed villains and a refugee from the Jurassic era in her quest to find a cure for her desperately ill sister. THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES... blends eye-popping fantasy with gorgeous period detail and precisely the sort of strong female lead we’d expect from the man who gave us NIKITA. France fell in love with Louise Bourgoin, for her portrayal of a thoroughly French heroine full of wit and charm, as we’re sure you will too.
Take Indiana Jones and replace him with a knockout redhead… and you’ll get an inkling of what lies behind Luc Besson’s costumer/creature feature. VARIETY
OPENING/CLOSING NIGHT FILMS
Thursday 16 September, Evening
Sunday 26 September, Evening
MADE IN DAGENHAM (15) Director: Nigel Cole. Producer: Stephen Woolley. Starring: Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson. UK 2010. 113 mins. Once more British workplace politics forms the stuff of international movie hits! After what BILLY ELLIOT did for County Durham and THE FULL MONTY did for Sheffield, now Dagenham earns its time to shine. Back in 1968 the female workers at the Ford car plant in Dagenham walked out when their demand for the same pay as men was refused. Their action led to the introduction of the Equal Pay Act in 1970 no less. In true underdog style the film celebrates their struggle as they strived to bring the sexual revolution home to east London. Sally Hawkins, who won a Golden Globe for her starring role in Mike Leigh’s 2008 film HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, has been singled out by US film critics for her winning performance as Rita O’Grady, the impromptu leader of the walk-out. She leads an all-star cast of British talent with Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson and Geraldine James among the many faces you will recognise.
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THURSDAY
THE HAPPY POET (CFF U) EVENING
Director: Paul Gordon. Starring: Paul Gordon, Jonny Mars, Chris Doubek. USA 2010. 85 mins.
EVENING
Director: Debra Granik. Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Kevin Breznahan. USA 2010. 100 mins.
An organic snack stand is the setting for Paul Gordon’s mumblecore slice of life THE HAPPY POET. This gentle and philosophical story sandwiches itself between romantic comedy and anti-capitalist fairytale. Hope sprouts eternal for vendor Bill (Gordon), who rails against the idea that the only lucrative option for the penniless entrepreneur is drug dealing. The hikers and bikers of Austin love to discover new food carts, and they certainly appreciate Bill’s hummus if not his humour. But will the gloomy gourmet stand by his principles, or sell his soul to sausages? Can he earn his daily bread without buttering up the bankers? THE HAPPY POET is a slow-cooked portrayal of passive-aggressive pluck that pits underdog against hotdog with crusty wit and sweet sensitivity.
SHOWING WITH
16 SEP
Hailed as one of the first Oscar contenders of the year, and emerging from Sundance with the Grand Jury Prize, WINTER’S BONE is set in the rural American Ozark country, and tells the tale of Ree Dolly, who learns that her father left the family house as collateral against his bail before disappearing. If she can’t find him, she and her siblings and her mentally ill mother will be homeless. Jennifer Lawrence shines as Ree, trying desperately to break through the silence that greets her at every turn, as she digs deeper into the local drugs trade to save her family. Sure to be one of the most talked about films this year, unsettling and powerful, WINTER’S BONE is an instant classic.
TOXIC ORANGES* A WALL STREET FAIRY TALE Director: Stephan Littger. USA 2009. 18 mins. Inspired by the rules of Wall Street, a story of a homeless orange seller who tries to beat the markets.
MONSTERS (CFF 15) EVENING
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WINTER’S BONE (15)
HUMAN TERRAIN (CFF 15)
Director: Gareth Edwards. Starring: Whitney Able, Scoot McNairy. UK 2010. 90 mins. Almost indescribably director Gareth Edwards has managed to merge the indie road movie with tentacled abominations! After a space probe breaks up upon re-entry, Mexico has become a quarantine zone. Interrupted from his brief to document events, photographer Andrew (McNairy) is tasked to bring the daughter of his boss back to the US. But when they miss the last boat out the decision is made to go the overland route – right through alien central. Special effects pro Edwards shot MONSTERS from the hip across Latin America by mixing his cast up with the locals whilst continually sparing a thought towards what could be tweaked in post-production. The outcome is the most naturalistic performances in a monster movie you will ever see.
LATE
Directors: James Der Derian, David Udris, Michael Udris. USA 2010. 82 mins. In 2005, the US army formulated a controversial counterinsurgency plan which marked a radical shift in policy regarding the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The Human Terrain initiative enlists experts in social sciences to work alongside combat brigades, conducting research into their localities in order to promote cultural understanding. Gaining rare access to the training camps, the filmmakers offer blistering insight into the implications of the strategy, analysing the problem of what happens when war becomes academic. A second strand of narrative emerges as a result of a tragedy during the making of the documentary - Michael Bhatia, a brilliant recruit and close friend of the directors, was killed in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan. Personal merges with political to produce a work of searing intelligence and honesty. DOCUMENTARY
AFTERNOON
Director: Patrick McGrady. UK/Switzerland/Russia/Germany 2010. 89 mins.
TRIDENTFEST (CFF 18) LATE
SHORT FILM EVENT TBC mins.
Follow Stephen Fry across Europe in this documentary as he explores his love for the music of composer Richard Wagner. But this is not just a journey of appreciation. Being of Jewish descent, with relatives who died in Auschwitz, Fry must confront the fact that Wagner was so heavily associated with Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. Reinforcing this link Leni Riefenstahl infamously used Wagner’s music in her propaganda film TRIUMPH OF THE WILL. Is it possible today to separate the music from the images to which it is now attached? Fry presents the beautiful music and its dark past with his customary wit, humour and intelligence. The contrast makes this unmissable for fans of Wagner and a perfect introduction for everyone else.
Back with a vengeance after last year’s slot the staff of the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse bring lots of unsettling surprises for audiences lucky/ unlucky enough to witness them for themselves! This year’s collection features the likes of BOXES, the story of fanatical jigsaw collector Jane who is delivered a mysterious box by mistake from a pushy deliveryman, and NOKI, which tells of a love triangle between Baz, his girlfriend and laptop computer Noki. Other abnormal delights include THE CURSE OF CA’U PEK – “the tale of a man cursed by the face of a man he does not know, a face that follows him wherever he goes” and an exclusive preview of PROJECT TRIDENT’s “biggest epic to date, THE PURPLE FIEND, still being filmed and already clocking in at over 20 minutes long!”
We are delighted to welcome director Patrick McGrady to the screening.
FRIDAY
WAGNER & ME (CFF PG)
17 SEP
DOCUMENTARY
POLICE, ADJECTIVE POLITIST, ADJECTIV
EVENING
(CFF 15)
Director: Corneliu Porumboiu. Starring: Dragos Bucur, Vlad Ivanov, Ion Stoica. Romania 2009. 110 mins. Romanian with English subtitles. The playful POLICE, ADJECTIVE presents a slow and steady story of surveillance and sesquipedalias* set in the Romanian town of Vaslui. A martyr to the bureaucratic pettiness of low-level police administration, unassuming undercover cop Cristi (Bucur) is assigned to investigate a suspected schoolboy hash dealer. Unable to countenance the incarceration of a harmless young boy, Cristi battles against his officious superiors with his own brand of pedantry. Verbal sparring and subtle performances bring colour and shape to the grey inertia of Cristi’s bleak little world. Winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, the slow burning POLICE, ADJECTIVE brings conscience to the crime scene, and makes an art form of attention to detail. * sesquipedalian = a very long word
THE WEIRD WORLD OF BLOWFLY (CFF 18)
LATE
Director: Jonathan Furmanski. With: Clarence Reid, Ice-T. USA 2010. 93 mins. Singer-songwriter Clarence ‘Blowfly’ Reid has been rapping dirty since 1965, when he released what is widely believed to be the world’s first rap song. THE WEIRD WORLD OF BLOWFLY follows the wrinkly rapper on tour, as he staggers from stage to stage in spandex and sequins, performing his x-rated parodies of soul and R&B classics. Many of these cult hits were originally conceived purely for his own amusement as a young cotton picker in Georgia. Reid went on to enjoy a successful career as a writer and producer, creating hits such as KC & The Sunshine Band’s Sound Your Funky Horn. THE WEIRD WORLD OF BLOWFLY brings to life the story of the grumpiest, funkiest old man who ever rocked a mic. Contains frequent strong language. DOCUMENTARY
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SATURDAY
MR NICE (18) EVENING
BRILLIANTLOVE (CFF 18)
Director: Bernard Rose. Starring: Rhys Ifans, Chloë Sevigny, David Thewlis. UK 2010. 120 mins.
EVENING
It takes one pirate to play another in Bernard Rose’s adaptation of Howard Marks’ autobiography. Rhys Ifans skins up admirably depicting the Welshman’s progress from humble origins to global hash domination. Dumping teaching, Marks swiftly discovers how lucrative – and easy – the drugs trade can be when he does a favour for a mate by sneaking a load back from Germany. Soon he’s off to Pakistan for ‘testing’ purposes and hooking up with the IRA to bring it all home. Naturally it all ends in jail. Rose advances the current vogue for spicing up biopics by matching the look of his film to fit the period making the film suitably nostalgic. Watch out for David Thewlis as a porno loving terrorist!
18 SEP
Director: Ashley Horner. Starring: Liam Brown, Nancy Trotter Landry, Michael Hodgson. UK 2010. 97 mins. From its opening shot Ashley Horner’s second feature exposes all. Love on screen is rarely this physical, or poetic, or intense. Manchester (Brown) and Noon (Landry) live out of a garage happily exploring their feelings for each other with gusto in some great naturalistic performances. Paradise crashes around them when Manchester leaves his camera behind at the pub with some very intimate snaps on the roll. Pornographer Franny tracks him down and before he knows it Manchester is the latest hit on the modern art scene. But there’s one problem – he hasn’t told Noon that she’s the star. Happy to show all BRILLIANTLOVE dares to follow this logic to the extreme when the deeply personal goes utterly public. We hope to welcome director Ashley Horner to the screening. Contains sexually explicit content.
MY AFTERNOONS WITH MARGUERITTE LA TÊTE EN FRICHE
EVENING
14
(CFF PG)
Director: Jean Becker. Starring: Gérard Depardieu, Gisèle Casadesus, Maurane. France 2009. 82 mins. French with English subtitles. Gérard Depardieu stars in this charming story about chance encounters and unlikely friendships. Germain is a lonely, illiterate 50 year old who unexpectedly befriends Margueritte, an elderly woman with a passion for books. Their time together in a local park is spent with Margueritte reading aloud extracts from novels, so Germain can finally enjoy the wonders of French literature. Through their meetings Germain regains his confidence from an overbearing mother and judgemental drinking buddies, to once again fill his life with a sense of excitement and vigour. When she reveals she is gradually losing her sight, Germain becomes determined to teach himself to read in order to repay her gift. We hope to welcome director Jean Becker to the screening.
Moving, and ultimately inspiring.
VARIETY
GRAVYTRAIN (CFF 15) LATE
Director: April Mullen. Starring: Tim Doiron, April Mullen, Tim Meadows. Canada 2010. 84 mins. Climb aboard the GRAVYTRAIN for the next comedy from the team behind 2007 Festival hit ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS: THE WAY OF THE TOSSER. Until now Gypsy Creek’s #1 cop Charles Gravytrain (Doiron) has struggled to collar the killer of his pop. But he finally scores a lead when teamed up with the foxy Miss Uma Booma (Mullen). Events turn fishy though when the pair are blackmailed into starring in avant-garde filmmaker Hansel Suppledick’s latest! Now with a named cast the filmmakers have upped their game by including comedy legends such as Saturday Night Live veteran Tim Meadows. Visually the film’s a treat expanding the retro-aesthetic of ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS by turning an entire town into a 1970s throwback. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wish you knew where the fish was! We are delighted to welcome filmmakers and actors Tim Doiron and April Mullen to the screening.
AFTERNOON
Directors: Tchavdar Georgiev, Amanda Pope. Russia/USA/Uzbekistan 2010. 80 mins. English and Russian with English subtitles.
NÉNETTE (Cert TBC) EVENING
Nenètte is the senior orangutan kept in the Jardin des Plantes, one of the oldest zoos in Paris. We see her daily routine: interacting with her co-inmates, taking her afternoon tea, and moving around her confined space. But NÉNETTE is not the animal documentary you might expect. It is a scrupulous treatment on human behaviour; an uncompromising close-up to our private thoughts and projections. Charismatic documentarist Nicolas Philibert (ÊTRE ET AVOIR) examines the ape with affectionate curiosity, while the sounds of the visitors’ voices compose a sharp allegory on the consciousness of modern societies. Ultimately, the film plays an elusive hide-and-seek with the visible and the invisible, commenting on the voyeuristic nature of cinema itself, and offers plenty of food for thought that will leave you wondering ‘who is watching whom?’
Like a modern Robin Hood of the arts, penniless artist Igor Savitksy made an audacious decision during the Soviet Regime. He courageously saved 40,000 illicit art works, which would have otherwise been destroyed. Those treasures - censored merely because they captured the Revolution - escaped to the hidden corners of Uzbekistan, where Savitksy formed Nukus Museum, holding now “one of the most remarkable collections of 20th century Russian art”. High-end art residing in the poorest of places is one of the paradoxes that the film tackles. Told through the voices of Ben Kingsley, Sally Field and Ed Asner, this inspiring documentary draws from Savitsky’s diaries and letters, and examines his invaluable legacy through his fellow artists’ works and family testimonies.
Hoi Polloi Present
EVENING
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (PG) EVENING
Director: Hugh Hughes. UK 2010. 75 mins. Artist, comedian and story-teller Hugh Hughes (the energetic alter ego of Shon Dale-Jones) has captivated audiences the world over with his stage shows, Floating, Story of a Rabbit and 360. Now, in association with the Hoi Polloi theatre company, the Festival presents Hugh’s very first film, a roller-coaster ride through his life as an entertainer. Charting his rise from emerging artist in Anglesey to award-winning performer at the Edinburgh Fringe and beyond, Hugh reflects on his incredible journey so far - not forgetting to catch up with friends and family along the way. The screening will be introduced by the man himself and preceded by a selection of excerpts from his chaotic life, with a question and answer session afterwards. DOCUMENTARY
19 SEP
DOCUMENTARY
DOCUMENTARY
HUGH HUGHES: HOW I GOT HERE (PG)
Director: Nicolas Philibert. France 2009. 68 mins. French with English subtitles.
SUNDAY
THE DESERT OF FORBIDDEN ART (Cert TBC)
Director: Fred Zinnemann. Starring: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr. USA 1953. 118 mins. This impressive digital restoration of Fred Zinnemann’s acclaimed drama FROM HERE TO ETERNITY premiered at Cannes 2010. Based on James Jones’ best-selling novel of the same name, the film powerfully depicts the passions and violence of a group of soldiers stationed on Hawaii just before World War II with an all-star cast including Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra and Montgomery Clift. At the Schofield Army Barracks in Honolulu, the soldiers’ melodramatic joys and sufferings are swept away by the Japanese attack on the morning of 7 December. Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr’s romantic nocturnal rendezvous at the beach, in which their bodies passionately intertwine as the waves crash over them, remains a classic love scene in film history.
15
L’EPINE DANS LE COEUR
EVENING
Director: Michel Gondry. With: Suzette Gondry, Jean-Yves Gondry, Michel Gondry. France 2009. 86 mins. French with English subtitles.
BAD COMPANY (CFF 18) EVENING
Visionary director Michel Gondry (THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND) returns to his roots in France for perhaps his most personal film thus far, a documentary about his family. Gondry examines his aunt Suzette’s years as a school teacher and her life in rural France. Gondry cuts his footage with home movies from the family archive as he delves into Suzette’s interesting career and her strained relationship with her son (and former pupil) Jean-Yves. Mixed with his trademark animation and camera trickery, and exploring memories and insecurities, this is a fitting addition to Gondry’s body of work.
20 SEP
THE MIRACLE OF LEIPZIG (CFF 12A)
EVENING
16
Directors: Sebastian Dehnhardt, Matthias Schmidt. Germany 2009. 90 mins. German with English subtitles. Leipzig, autumn 1989. What began in St Nicholas’ church as prayers for peace develops within just a few weeks into the immensely powerful Monday demonstrations with thousands of East Germans taking to the streets. They are demanding more freedom, civil rights and democracy! They are rising up in protest against a state, which suppresses its own citizens, incites people to spy on each other and keeps them under constant surveillance. This docu-drama is the story of party officials prepared to resort to violence and of people who overcome their fears. It is the story of nameless individuals whose courage changes the world and marks the beginning of the end of the East German state - and of the entire Eastern Bloc.
ROC I
NEM
A
Jason King returns to Cambridge with his first feature BAD COMPANY a psychological thriller about a young woman who is looking after a friend’s house in order to escape an abusive relationship. Jane flees a controlling, abusive and tyrannical relationship with David. Help comes in the form of a best friend from the past, who supports Jane to find the courage and strength to stand up for herself and be the person she really is. At night an eye blinks down from the attic and we realise she is not alone, but is it the ex, the new love interest, or something entirely different? This gives many a high end British thriller a run for their money.
DOCUMENTARY
DAS WUNDER VON LEIPZIG – WIR SIND DAS VOLK
MIC
Director: Jason J. King. Starring: Sonya Sier, Ceri Murphy, Catherine Olding. UK 2009. 90 mins.
SHOWING WITH
MONDAY
THE THORN IN THE HEART (CFF 15)
AMNESIA Director: Cordelia Swann. UK 2009. 7 mins. Short inspired by the plots of afternoon TV and Hollywood melodramas with a special homage to Hitchcock’s REBECCA.
CITY GIRL (U) EVENING
Director: F.W. Murnau. Starring: Charles Farrell, Mary Duncan, David Torrence. USA 1930. 90 mins. F.W. Murnau revisits the theme of the contrast between rural and urban lifestyles explored in his masterpiece SUNRISE. Based on Elliott Lester’s 1925 play, The Mud Turtle, CITY GIRL is a painterly depiction of a fragile marriage among the wheatfields of Minnesota. During a visit to Chicago, country boy Lem falls for and weds city girl, Kate, a tough but lonely waitress. When Lem takes Kate home, their relationship descends into a claustrophobic struggle with the pressure of Lem’s scornful father and the farmhands’ invasive, leering jealousy. We are delighted to receive world-renowned silent cinema musicians Neil Brand and Guenter Buchwald who will provide a live accompaniment to the original silent version of the film.
TUESDAY EVENING
TWO IN THE WAVE
DEUX DE LA VAGUE
WEDNESDAY EVENING
Director: Thomas Balmès. France 2010. 78 mins.
DOCUMENTARY
DOCUMENTARY
WEDNESDAY EVENING
Director: Berthold Viertel. Starring: Conrad Veidt, René Ray, Frank Cellier. UK 1935. 90 mins. Book into this fascinating blend of magical parable and documentary realism adapted from the play by Jerome K Jerome. When a mysterious stranger (Veidt) rents a room in a boarding house of petulant lodgers he helps them rediscover their better selves. Viertel and Veidt, with fellow émigrés cinematographer Curt Courant and art director Oscar Werndorff, lend a subtle Expressionism to a British drama.
The types in the small London ‘private hotel’ are observed with malicious realism. GRAHAM GREENE
Projecting the Archive is a new programming strand being launched in collaboration with the BFI National Archive. Unearthing and reappraising under-known British features, these films offer us a fresh take on British cinema. We are delighted to welcome the writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet to introduce this screening. With thanks to the BFI National Archive.
Director: Emmanuel Laurent. France 2009. 90 mins. French with English subtitles. Documentary TWO IN THE WAVE focuses on the volatile relationship between the two men at the forefront of the highly influential French New Wave, Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut. United by their passion for film, the pair began their careers writing for renowned film journal Cahiers du Cinema. When Truffaut made the shift to filmmaking with THE 400 BLOWS, he encouraged Godard to do the same, offering him the screenplay for BREATHLESS. Godard’s later plunge into radical politics separated the pair considerably and the film explores such aspects of their relationship through “letters, personal archives and films of the two directors, [taking] us back to a prodigious decade that transformed the world of cinema.”
In this touching documentary, Thomas Balmès (THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE PAPUANS, WAITING FOR JESUS) follows the lives of four babies for 400 days, tracking their journeys from birth to toddlerhood. Scarce dialogue and the absence of narration leave the film’s visual brilliance to take the limelight. BABIES is a striking display of observational documentary at its purest. We witness the first cries and triumphant first steps of Balmès’ subjects in Namibia, Mongolia, San Francisco and Tokyo. Despite the great differences in the environments in which these babies are brought up, this heart-warming portrait of young minds exploring and adapting to their surroundings poignantly highlights the universality of human curiosity and resilience in the early stages of the journey of life.
THE PASSING OF THE THIRD FLOOR BACK (PG)
(PG)
ROUND IRELAND WITH A FRIDGE (CFF 15)
WEDNESDAY EVENING
TUESDAY+WEDNESDAY
BABIES BÉBÉS (CFF U)
21 + 22 SEP
Director: Ed Bye. Starring: Tony Hawks, Ed Byrne, Josie Lawrence. UK 2010. 92 mins Based on the biographical book from comedian Tony Hawks, ROUND IRELAND WITH A FRIDGE marks television director Ed Bye’s (MY FAMILY) progression into features. It tells the story of Tony, who, following a dare, makes the decision to hitchhike across Ireland, fridge in tow. After losing Brendan Fraser in its lead role, Hawks decided to step up to the role himself, enlisting his comedy friends to finance, direct and star in the film alongside him. Hawks believes it “absurd that every film in the cinema is American. The French don’t allow that to happen… we’re useless at cultural protectionism.” ROUND IRELAND WITH A FRIDGE is a worthy representative of what the British have to offer, and a heartfelt comedy to boot.
17
THURSDAY
WE ARE WHAT WE ARE (CFF 18)
GARBAGE DREAMS (CFF PG) AFTERNOON
SOMOS LO QUE HAY
Director: Mai Iskander. USA 2009. 79 mins. Arabic with English subtitles.
EVENING GARBAGE DREAMS tells the story of three young boys living on the outskirts of Cairo in the world’s largest ‘garbage village’, the home of some 60,000 Zaballeen or ‘garbage people’. The Zaballeen recycle 80 percent of the waste they collect, keeping their economic system afloat. However, when their community is challenged by the threat of the globalisation of its trade, the young boys are forced to make decisions about their own futures and that of their surroundings. Described by the New York Times as a film that records the “tremblings of a culture at a crossroads”, GARBAGE DREAMS takes its audience right to the heart of the thriving economic village, and, as former US Vice-President Al Gore expresses, “makes a compelling case that modernisation does not always equal progress.”
23 SEP
Director: Jorge Michel Grau. Starring: Francisco Barreiro, Alan Chávez, Paulina Gaitán. Mexico 2010. 90 mins. Spanish with English subtitles. The horror genre continues to be redefined in this new film about a poverty-stricken family with unusual dietary requirements. When a middle-aged man dies in the street, his widow and three children are drawn into an increasingly desperate struggle for survival. Without father to provide fresh ‘meat’ what will they do? Beautifully shot in a Mexico City that is unusually devoid of bright sunshine, WE ARE WHAT WE ARE is equal parts horror, family drama and coming-of-age tale. After screenings at Cannes and the Fantasia film festivals earlier in the year, it has gained much support online and is a must-see for anyone who can stomach the subject matter.
DOCUMENTARY
NOKOTAHEART (Cert TBC) EVENING
MIC
ROC I
NEM
A
Director: Sean Garland. USA 2010. 60 mins.
LATE The true story of Leo Kuntz, Vietnam vet turned North Dakota horse rancher and his fight to save the equine legacy of Sitting Bull from the insurmountable adversity of the 21st Century. Told in Leo’s unique campfire tone this Neo-Western biopic is an unfussy, straight-from-the-gut tale of personal woe and hard-won passion. Leo’s humbling nature and maverick soul is a world removed from the rigid new laws put in place by the US government. As much about the man himself and his newfound spirituality with the land as it is about the legendary horses of the great Indian chief. Intimate and raw, NOKOTAHEART dares to tell it like it is, burnished heart in hardscrabble soil. Winner of the Best Feature Documentary Award at the White Sands International Film Festival.
SHOWING WITH
DOCUMENTARY 18
ROCK AND ROLL FUCKING ‘N’ LOVELY (CFF 18)
GIARDINI DI LUCE Director: Davide Pepe, Lucia Pepe. Italy 2009. 12 mins. An account of the feast of St Trifone in Adelfia, where the patron saint is shown in triumph surrounded by sparkling illuminations.
Director: Josh Bagnall. Starring: Joel Fry, Anton Saunders, Leah Muller. UK 2010. 80 mins. A twisted and sometimes surreal tale, following the rock band The Fuckin Lovelies through drugs, drinking, music and finally a mythical music festival. The making of the film required the forming of a real band, which then went on to score the film; and indeed the film begins like a fly on the wall of the music scene. Then it takes off onto the road with the band, only to make an abrupt and shocking u-turn, ending in a brutal bloodbath. While dark, it has some classic moments, great characters and truly frightening scenes. Part road movie, part rock ‘n’ roll drama, part comedy, part horror, the film is a trip in itself.
EVENING
Director: Daniel Anker. USA 2009. 91 Mins. VOICES UNBOUND recounts the journey of a group of at-risk youths from Long Beach, California who learnt to rise above their circumstances through the art of writing. Inspired by the Diary of Anne Frank and encouraged by their teacher Erin Gruwell, the 150 students began to write the stories of their own lives. Told entirely in cinema-verité style, through the voices of the students themselves, the documentary explores their world beyond the classroom, and the ramifications and impact of telling one’s own story. Director and Academy Award-nominee Daniel Anker (HOLLYWOOD AND THE HOLOCAUST) follows their stories from day one back in 1994 to the present day, and provides insight into the real story behind FREEDOM WRITERS, the 2007 Hollywood feature film version with an all star cast. DOCUMENTARY
DARK SOULS
MØRKE SJELER
EVENING
The ruthless greed and ecological devastation of the oil industry form the backdrop to DARK SOULS, a stylish horror which uses homage as a springboard for its original take on the genre. Lazy clichés such as the slasher movie’s ‘last woman standing’ rule are subverted: our hero is not a nubile teenager but a bewildered, overweight father looking for the man who drilled his daughter, leaving her zombified. References to horror classics are skilful and witty, for example the homeless oil diver’s expositional monologue which mirrors Quint’s famous speech in JAWS. Winner of Best Horror at the Manhattan and Swansea film festivals, DARK SOULS brings slick thrills and oil spills without resorting to easy scares.
NEM
A
LATE
24 SEP
DISCREPANCY (A NEW ALL AROUND
LEAP FORWARD SITUATION IS EMERGING) Director: William E Jones. USA 2009. 9 mins. Images from a propaganda film about nuclear tests made in China in the 1960s juxtaposed with a computer voice reading a manifesto by Isidore Isou.
SU QI-ER
Directors: Mathieu Peteul, César Ducasse. Starring: Morten Rudå, Kyrre Haugen Sydness, Ida Elise Broch. Norway/France 2010. 97 mins. Norwegian with English subtitles.
ROC I
Director: Ron Peck. Starring: Mark Tibbs, Alan Milton, Clementine Dubois, Audrey Mabboux-Stromberg. UK 2009. 105 mins.
TRUE LEGEND 3D
(CFF 18)
MIC
Two English brothers travelling by ferry across the channel to France catch the suspicious eye of a passenger. He overhears their conversation and he begins to obsess about their intentions. The onlooker’s own purposes and needs become entwined with the story of the brothers. After he leaves them at Ouistreham the narrator still seems to ‘see’ the continuing story of the brothers, even to have some effect on it, as if ‘playing God’. CROSS-CHANNEL is a puzzle about motives, innocence and desire, but it is also about the sea and the elements, and about a suspended space and time imposed by the pace of the ferry. The strangely deserted ship provides a haunting setting, sailing between two worlds and two cultures, between reality and the imagination. We hope to welcome director Ron Peck to the screening.
SHOWING WITH
AFTERNOON
CROSS-CHANNEL (Cert TBC)
FRIDAY
VOICES UNBOUND: THE FREEDOM WRITERS (CFF 15)
(Cert TBC)
Director: Yuen Woo-Ping. Starring: Vincent Zhao, Zhou Xun, Jay Chou, Michelle Yeoh, Andy On. China 2010. 111 mins. Mandarin with English subtitles. An important milestone for Chinese language film, with TRUE LEGEND Yuen Woo-Ping takes a step into the world of 3D. Beggar Su has retired from his life as a renowned general in order to pursue his dream of a family and his own martial arts school. However, Su’s peaceful life is shattered by his evil adopted brother, Yuan Lie. Aided by his wife, the reclusive doctor Yu and the mystical ‘God of Wushu’, Su masters the art of Drunken Boxing, and sets out in search of revenge. Featuring impressive set pieces, TRUE LEGEND entertains throughout and is one of the most impressive martial arts epics of recent years. 19
SATURDAY
HARVEST (15) EVENING
Director: Marc Meyers. Starring: Robert Loggia, Barbara Barrie, Jack Carpenter. USA 2010. 102 mins. Asking important questions about life, death and dysfunction, HARVEST is a work of tremendous candour and compassion. As three generations come together around Siv (Loggia), the dynamic patriarch and WW1 veteran who is dying of cancer, student Josh (Carpenter) is initially reluctant to give up his last college summer. However, as tensions mount and years of rivalries and resentments come to a head, he finds himself taking on the role of peacemaker, holding the family together and learning about himself in the process. Love, grief and the inevitability of death are explored with breathtaking realism in this poignant portrait of how an ordinary family learns to deal with an extraordinary loss. Festival audiences will remember director Meyers’s previous film APPROACHING UNION SQUARE which screened in 2007.
25 SEP
MILLENNIUM TRILOGY Saturday 25 September EVENING
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS’ NEST (CFF 15) LUFTSLOTTET SOM SPRÄNGDES Director: Daniel Alfredson. Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre. Sweden/Denmark/Germany 2009. 148 mins. Swedish with English subtitles. The final part of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, based on the best-selling books, THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS’ NEST continues the story of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, as the most famous crime-thriller characters since Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter. Lisbeth is trying to clear her name of murder, with the help of Mikael and Millennium Magazine. But powerful and dangerous forces are trying to silence her, and Lisbeth has to face the past and risk her life at every turn to tell her story. Pulling together all the pieces from the previous films, this final chapter completes a classic trilogy that will not be soon forgotten.
THE MESSENGER (CFF 15) EVENING
20
Director: Oren Moverman. Starring: Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton. USA 2009. 112 mins. A powerful exploration of the effects of war on its casualties, and on those who are left behind. Foster stars as Will Montgomery, a US Army Staff Sergeant re-assigned after injury to the Casualty Notification Team. Partnered with an experienced hand, Capt. Tony Stone (Harrelson), Montgomery learns the delicate business of telling families that their loved ones have died on duty. After he delivers the news of her husband’s death to one particular woman, Olivia (Morton), he finds himself losing his emotional detachment, as he feels ever-increasingly drawn to her in her grief. Extraordinary performances make this Oscar-nominated drama an unflinching examination of grief and loss, laying bare the inner struggles of men and women so often expected to hide them.
Tuesday 21 September LATE
Thursday 23 September LATE
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (18)
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE (15)
Director: Niels Arden Oplev. Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Sven-Bertil Taube. Sweden/Denmark/Germany/ Norway 2009. 152 mins. Swedish with English subtitles.
Director: Daniel Alfredson. Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre. Sweden/Denmark/Germany 2009. 129 mins. Swedish with English subtitles.
The first of the Millennium trilogy has disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist investigating a 40-year old disappearance helped by the mysterious Lisbeth Salander, a private investigator and resourceful computer hacker.
Blomkvist investigates a political prostitution and sextrafficking scandal. But Lisbeth Salander gets linked to the case when she becomes the prime suspect in three murders forcing Blomkvist to investigate her past.
MAN SOM HATAR KVINNOR
FLICKAN SOM LEKTE MED ELDEN
BUY THREE TICKETS FOR THE PRICE OF TWO. Pay full price for THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS’ NEST and you can purchase the tickets for the previous instalments in the MILLENNIUM TRILOGY for half-price.
AN INTRODUCTION
Despite being largely self-financed and made outside the system, this year’s MICROCINEMA programme displays the kind of visual imagination frequently lacking in contemporary British cinema. All four shorts are confident and perfectly self contained, miles removed from the usual ten minute calling card. The four features are real finds.
NOKOTAHEART Jason King returns to Cambridge with his first feature BAD COMPANY a psychological thriller about a young woman trying to escape an abusive relationship. Cordelia Swann’s film, AMNESIA is inspired by the unlikely plots of afternoon TV and Hollywood melodramas. CROSS-CHANNEL
An audacious first feature from Daniel Fawcett, DIRT, is set in the Thames estuary where three young people thrown together by chance and the thrill of adventure discover that life is more complicated than they thought. It plays with Sarah Wood’s short film FOR CULTURAL PURPOSES ONLY, which reconstructs memories of the Palestinian Film Archive.
SATURDAY EVENING
British auteur Ron Peck premieres his latest feature CROSS-CHANNEL, a mystery about motives, a story of the sea and the ferries and the dangers of getting caught up in somebody else’s imagination. It’s accompanied by William E Jones’ short film DISCREPANCY (A NEW ALL AROUND LEAP FORWARD SITUATION IS EMERGING) which takes images from a propaganda film about nuclear tests made in China in the 1960s and juxtaposes them with a computer voice reading a manifesto by Isidore Isou.
(CFF 18)
Director: Josh Crook. Starring: Manny Perez, Denise Quiñones, Paul Calderon. Dominican Republic 2009. 103 mins. Spanish with English subtitles. Shot on the very meanest streets of the Dominican Republic, THE BUTCHER’S SON follows an inexorable arc from innocence to damnation, based on events from the writer’s own life in Santiago. The sensitive Luisito realises his fate as a hardened killer when he witnesses the butchering of his father at the hands of a deported criminal. The angry young man rebrands himself as ‘La Soga’, after the noose his father used to lead pigs to slaughter. He is soon recruited by the Dominican secret police, who exploit Luisito’s hunger for revenge. Following in the footsteps of CITY OF GOD, an acknowledged inspiration, this brutal and spectacular revenger’s tragedy transcends crime drama with its savage portrayal of Dominican gangland.
Sean Garland’s essay film NOKOTAHEART, tells the story of Leo Kuntz, Vietnam vet turned North Dakota horse rancher and his fight to save the equine legacy of Sitting Bull. NOKOTAHEART shares a programme with GIARDINI DI LUCE, Davide Pepe’s account of the feast of St Trifone in Adelfia.
BAD COMPANY
DIRT
THE BUTCHER’SLASON SOGA
SATURDAY+SUNDAY
MICROCINEMA 2010
25 + 26 SEP
PLUG AND PRAY (Cert TBC) SUNDAY AFTERNOON
Director: Jens Schanze. With: Joseph Weizenbaum, Raymond Kurzweil, Minoru Asada. Germany 2010. 90 mins. Computer experts around the world strive towards the development of intelligent robots. Pioneers like Raymond Kurzweil and Hiroshi Ishiguro dream of fashioning intelligent machines that will equal their human creators. PLUG AND PRAY delves into a world where computer technology, robotics, biology, neuroscience, and developmental psychology merge. In this potential reality, man and machine merge as a single unity. Rejecting evolution’s biological shackles tantalisingly dangles the promise of eternal life for those bold enough to seize it. But others, like Joseph Weizenbaum, counter attack against society’s limitless faith in the redemptive powers of technology. Eloquent and tactful, this stunning documentary questions the prevailing discourses on new technologies, and their ethical relationships to human life. DOCUMENTARY
21
SHORT FILMS
FUSION
SHORT
With more than 300 submissions, UK entries overruled our inbox once again this year. Once more it is verified that English filmmaking is not only about the usually familiar grim social realism (though some brilliant surprises came along!), but also about the dream-infused, heart-warming stories, which made the difference. Ranging from family tales, to the perplexities of human relationships, from the psychologically charged to the poetics of the image, and from the rapture of love to the deep abyss of loss, there is something for every soul. UK short film is alive and its heart is beating faster than ever. Gauge its pulse in this selection of the very best that will make you fall in love with the art of short length storytelling.
UK SHORTS
22
As short production continues to flourish, it is with great pleasure that each year we receive submissions from so many different parts of the world. Expanding our horizons into the mindset of different cultures and their unique ways of perceiving life, our selection goes beyond the borders; Italy, Romania, Denmark, Chile, Australia, Iran – to name but a few. Offering thought provoking glimpses inside their worlds, their stories oscillate from the private and personal to the collective and universal. Regardless of the subject matter, they all seem to share a strong reflectiveness; as filmmakers turn the camera - or should we say mirror - towards their societies, the result is a fascinating polyglot collage of the real and the imaginary.
INTERNATIONAL SHORTS
Yes, it is our 30th anniversary at the Cambridge Film Festival, and we want to celebrate our local talent! For all those years we have been receiving immense support and enthusiasm from our dedicated cinephiles. We hope your commitment has been returned with inspiration drawn from our hand picked films. However, the time has come to switch places and give voice to the exceptionally gifted filmmakers from the East Anglia region. For this occasion, we have collected a wonderful bunch of short stories made from the talents-next-door, for your attention only. Not to be missed!
EAST ANGLIA SHORTS
Complete details of the Festival’s shorts will be published in the full programme and on the website.
BOX OFFICE: 0871 902 5720 www.picturehouses.co.uk 38-39 St Andrew’s Street, Cambridge, CB2 3AR Book tickets in advance for ALL venues through the Arts Picturehouse.
VENUES
THE ARTS PICTUREHOUSE
The Arts Picturehouse screens a year-round programme of the best in new and classic cinema over three screens (including one THX-certificated for best quality sound and another RealD 3D enabled). All screens are licensed, so you can take your drink from the café-bar in with you. You do not have to be a member to view films at the Arts Picturehouse, but if you are you’ll receive discounts on tickets, free preview screenings and priority booking for the Festival.
EMMANUEL COLLEGE BOX OFFICE: 0871 902 5720 (via Picturehouse box office) www.emma.cam.ac.uk St Andrew’s Street, Cambridge, CB2 3AP Founded in the 16th century, Emmanuel College is ideally located just opposite the Arts Picturehouse. Its historic surroundings will play host to a number of special screenings and events. The Queen’s Building, designed by Sir Michael and Patty Hopkins and voted ‘Building of the Year’ when it first opened, houses an impressive tiered auditorium.
SAWSTON CINEMA BOX OFFICE: 0871 902 5720 (via Picturehouse box office) www.sawstoncinema.org.uk Youth Community Centre, New Road, Sawston, CB22 3BP Spicer’s Theatre was the home of cinema in Sawston from 1932 until falling attendance led to its closure in the ‘60s. Since then, it has been a Youth and Community Centre managed by the neighbouring secondary school, Sawston Village College – but thanks to support from the Cambridge Film Trust, the UK Film Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, films are once again being screened, with young people from the school running projection and all front-of-house operations. Parking is available on the Sawston Village College site.
JESUS GREEN OUTDOOR POOL BOX OFFICE: 0871 902 5720 (via Picturehouse box office) Jesus Green, Cambridge, CB4 3AX At around 90 metres long the Jesus Green Swimming Pool is one of the longest outdoor lidos in Europe. Found hidden behind tall trees next to the River Cam on Jesus Green the pool was opened in 1923. Today it retains many of its original features and constantly proves to be a much used attraction for Cambridge residents and visitors alike. Back in 2005 a short documentary, JESUS GREEN POOL, exploring the seasonal nature of the pool and its devotees was shown at the Festival.
23
CAMBRIDGESHIRE FILM CONSORTIUM EDUCATION EVENTS STUDENT CRITICS AT THE CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL TWILIGHT: ECLIPSE
Are you in full-time education? Passionate about film? Want valuable film industry experience as a critic?
Write reviews for the Cambridge Film Festival and they could be published in the Festival Daily newspaper and on the festival website. You might even win a prize as BEST STUDENT CRITIC! Opportunities Prizes sponsored by for free tickets before 5.00pm / reduced price evening tickets. Minimum three reviews (200-250 words). Further information e-mail: cpo25@cam.ac.uk
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Thursday 23 September, 10.00am–1.00pm
BEHIND THE SCENES OF TODAY’S FILM AND TELEVISION INDUSTRY An opportunity to hear professionals discuss working in the current film and television industry: finding an agent, working to commission, composing music, the work of the art and set designer and the role of the film reviewer. Also latest news for student filmmakers on becoming a regular contributor to the BBC Video Nation Network, an exciting online project inviting submissions to current BBC features and campaigns.
Speakers:
Speakers from BBC Video Nation and Agent Peter MacFarlane; Film Critic for Sight and Sound Catherine Wheatley; Sloane U’ren, Art Director and Set Director on HARRY POTTER AND THE HALFBLOOD PRINCE, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and BATMAN BEGINS; Ant Neely. Composer for SIX FEET UNDER and BOSTON LEGAL.
BEING JOHN MALKOVICH
HARRY POTTER
BATMAN BEGINS
Cost: £4. Tickets limited. Bookings: 01223 579127 / trish.s@picturehouses.co.uk
A Cambridgeshire Film Consortium event in collaboration with The Department of English, Communication, Film and Media, and Cambridge School of Art, at Anglia Ruskin University
LONDON 2012 FILM NATION: FREE SHORT FILM PRODUCTION WORKSHOPS Win the chance to have your film shown in the stadiums at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. Two workshops from Film Nation: Shorts, a national project with London 2012 and Panasonic. One of the major Cultural Olympiad initiatives, to introduce young people to filmmaking. www.filmnation.org.uk
Sunday 19 September, 9.00am–5.00pm
Monday 20 September, 10.00am–1.00pm
MAKE A FILM IN A DAY WORKSHOP:
FILM NATION: SHORTS – AN INTRODUCTION TO DIRECTING
AGES 14-16. Working with industry professionals through First Light, make a short film in a day, themed around the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Learn about story, camera, sound, directing, editing and producing a short film. Venue: Queen’s Building, Emmanuel College FREE EVENT (excl. lunch). Max. 10 places. Bookings: 0871 902 5720 / www.picturehouses.co.uk
AGES 19-25. Working with 104 Films a rapidly growing Film & TV Production company, and coproducers on the recent Ian Dury biopic SEX AND DRUGS AND ROCK AND ROLL, and two special guest directors, learn the necessary skills & techniques to successfully direct actors on screen. Venue: Queen’s Building, Emmanuel College FREE EVENT. Max. 30 places. Bookings: 0871 902 5720 / www.picturehouses.co.uk
Saturday 18 September, 11.00am-1.00pm I MADE THIS (U)
VENGEANCE- DARWIN, ENDLESS FORMS- MARTIANS IN CAMBRIDGE - FOOD FLASH A celebratory screening of MARTIANS IN CAMBRIDGE Cambridgeshire Film Consortium 2009-2010 films produced by young people. To include animations, documentaries and film dramas, CFC 1-minute-films, and Filmstarz Festival winners. FREE EVENT. Bookings: 0871 902 5720 / www.picturehouses.co.uk Enquiries: trish.s@picturehouses.co.uk
Thursday 16 September, 10.30am-11.30am STUDENT SHOWCASE
SPEED OF LIFE - ECHO’S ANSWER - 8 BELLS – SKY The Department of English, Communication, Film and Media at Anglia Ruskin University proudly presents a screening of outstanding work by student filmmakers 2009-2010. FREE EVENT. Bookings: 0871 902 5720 / www.picturehouses.co.uk Enquiries: trish.s@picturehouses.co.uk
Monday 20 September, 3.00 pm
WORKSHOP WITH NEIL BRAND COMPOSING, AND PLAYING LIVE, TO SILENT FILMS
Visiting Professor of the Royal College of Music, Neil Brand has been accompanying silent films for over 25 years and he has made his name as a writer/ performer/composer, scoring for BFI video releases SOUTH (Shackleton’s Journey to the South Pole), THE RING by Alfred Hitchcock, and for Early Cinema, avant-garde and Russian pre-Soviet cinema. Venue: Queen’s Building, Emmanuel College COST: £3.50 Max. 12 places. Bookings: 01223 579127
Wednesday 22 September, 1.00pm–2.30pm
LUNCHTIME ARCHIVE SHOW: A TASTE OF HISTORY ON FILM ‘Bon Appétit’ is an appetising menu of amateur and professional archive films drawn from Upper Normandy and the East of England. On the menu, French bread and traditional butter, Cambridgeshire jam, Neufchatel cheese, oysters, cockles and other shellfish, eels from the fens and Essex coast - all washed down with Suffolk beer or refreshing Normandy cider. Also tuck in to a feast of films from the BFI National Archive - OLD MAN DRINKING A GLASS OF BEER (1897), Lewis Carroll-inspired food hygiene tips in ALICE IN LABEL LAND (1974) a VISIT TO PEEK FREAN AND COMPANY’S BISCUIT WORKS (1906), fishermen catching herrings along the East Anglian coast in DRIFTERS (1929) and enjoy a slice of cake at MARY’S BIRTHDAY (1951), Lotte Reiniger’s splendid animation.
A VISIT TO PEAK FREAN
Introduced by Alex Davidson, BFI and Jane Jarvis, Screen East Digital Heritage Co-ordinator. Special reduction of £1 off senior citizens’ tickets. Bookings: 0871 902 5720 / www.picturehouses.co.uk
A Cambridgeshire Film Consortium event in association with Cambridge City Council, the DIGITAL HERITAGE cross-channel partnership of Screen East and Rouen’s Pôle Image Haute-Normandie, and the BFI Mediatheque. You can watch over 2000 films and TV programmes from the BFI National Archive free of charge in the BFI Mediatheque at Cambridge Central Library.
SAMPLING GREENE KING BEER
CAMBRIDGESHIRE FILM CONSORTIUM
FOR THE 30th CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL
Friday 24 September, 4.00pm
THE MASKS OF MER Director: Michael Eaton. UK 2010. 40 mins. Alfred Haddon is historically associated with Cambridge University’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. He led the 1898 Cambridge University Expedition to the Torres Strait islands and shot a film which, although less than a minute long, is the world’s first example of anthropological cinema. In the documentary, THE MASKS OF MER, director Michael Eaton traces the extraordinary story of this neglected footage and experiments with reproducing Haddon’s film presentations which were synchronised to his phonographic recordings of the islanders. Introduction/post-screen discussion with Director Michael Eaton OBE Look out also for THE BEGGARS OF LIFE starring the iconic silent film star Louise Brooks, with live musical accompaniment from the fabulous Dodge Brothers (see page 8)
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BEGGARS OF LIFE & DODGE BROTHERS (19 September) Adult Picturehouse Members Adult (non Members) Concessions*
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JESUS GREEN LIDO (12 September) £5 £7 £6
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Adults £25.00 Picturehouse Members / Concessions* £20.00
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Adult Picturehouse Members £10 Adult (non Members) £12 Concessions* £9 Family group ticket – 2 adults, 2 children under 16 £25 Children under 12 (only available for UP and METROPOLIS £5 Discounted group rate: 6 tickets £50
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Buy three tickets for the price of two. Pay full price for THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS’ NEST and you can purchase the tickets for the previous instalments in the MILLENNIUM TRILOGY for half-price.
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one free accompanying adult ticket per each child ticket. No unaccompanied adults to be admitted.
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£3.40 per ticket for all children under 12, with
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Only shows after 5.00pm have allocated seating
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FESTIVAL PASS
Adults Picturehouse Members Concessions*
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SAWSTON CINEMA
Make the most of the Festival and take advantage of our Festival pass! For only £30, you can buy five tickets for any screening at the Arts Picturehouse. For Picturehouse Members and Concessions, the cost is just £20. You can buy as many passes as you like, so it’s great value whether you’re an avid festivalgoer or just coming to watch a film or two with a group of friends. Your Festival pass can be used for one or multiple screenings but you should specify which films you want to watch at the time of purchase. Only applies for phone or in person bookings. Offer excludes screenings at special ticket prices.
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EMMANUEL COLLEGE Prices as above unless otherwise stated
Advance tickets for all venues are available: in person at the Arts Picturehouse Box Office over the phone on 0871 902 5720 (9.30am – 8.30pm) as well as online at www. cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Adults Picturehouse Members Concessions*
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Tickets go on sale to Arts Picturehouse Members on Friday 27 August and to the general public on Saturday 28 August.
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TICKET PRICES
* Concessionary tickets are available at all times for people in full time studies, claimants and senior citizens (valid ID required). You must bring proof of status when you collect your ticket. Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline. The Cambridge Film Festival is operated by the Cambridge Film Trust (registered charity no. 1120059). We therefore regret that for Festival screenings Picturehouse Members cannot redeem their free tickets and Picturehouse gift vouchers cannot be used. There will also be no Student Beans, Big Scream!, Orange Wednesdays, Kids’ Club or Silver Screen offers for the duration of the Festival. The Festival Pass enables you to buy multiple tickets at a discounted rate. We are also happy to offer a discounted ticket price for Picturehouse Members for all our screenings.
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