East End Film Festival 2009 Catalogue

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WELCOME

TO THE EAST END FILM FESTIVAL CONTENTS 1­ About the Festival 7 Venues and Tickets 9 Opening Night Gala 11 Closing Night Gala 13 Features A – Z 32 Pull-out Calendar 35 Shorts 45 Special Events 61 Youth Events 64 Credits

Eight days of screenings, panels, parties, live music, premieres and special events across eleven East London venues. The festival has always had its heart in the discovery and exhibition of new talent and is fast becoming the UK’s leading showcase for feature debuts. This year a stunning selection of international and UK first features are vying for our ‘Best First Feature’ awards, and we are pleased to welcome talented emerging directors from Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Austria and India who join us to discuss their work. Following the success of our East Meets East strand in 2008 we will once again be celebrating the march of essential new talent from Eastern Europe. From the remarkable Romanian feature Elevator, shot for just 200 Euros, to Oscar entrants from Estonia and Bulgaria our programme is bursting with UK premieres and Q&As from debut and established Eastern European directors. While our eyes are open to the best new international cinema, our feet are planted firmly in London’s East End, an area which is changing fast. With the Olympic project well and truly underway for 2012, new developments are having an impact on the everyday lives and future plans of Eastenders. This is a time to consider the East End’s past and future and this year’s festival includes fascinating archive events alongside new documentary work from local filmmakers. We’re proud to have our favourite Hackney-based writer and cultural commentator Iain Sinclair host two days of screenings and discussion at Dalston’s Rio Cinema, as well as joining us for a screening of his own diary films shot in Hackney in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. At Whitechapel Gallery, Will Self will join a panel to discuss the psychogeography of 1


London’s Edgelands in The London Perambulator. A strong selection of local documentaries examine subjects from East End gangster culture to issues of local development surrounding the Olympics, while fiction too gets a look in with the UK premiere of the East End set City Rats starring Danny Dyer. We will also be screening work from locally based artists The Desperate Optimists, and celebrating mid-length cinema at the ten-hour Cinéphilia Mid-length Film Jam. Our 3D film strand examines the impact 3D technology is having on film production and distribution while demonstrating some of the creative applications of the 3D method. Throughout the festival we will be screening specially commissioned 3D time-lapse films from local artists Brian McClave and Gavin Peacock in Spitalfields Market. Music, both live and on film, is also a major focus for the festival. We are proud to present the world premiere of On/Off, a documentary on musical pioneer and godfather of the Bristol sound Mark Stewart, who will take part in a night of music following the film. On Saturday night don’t miss our free outdoor screening of Nosferatu in Spitalfields Market, accompanied live by a magical mixture of electronica and post-rock from soundscapers Minima. If Euro-glitter is more your scene you will have the chance to catch a performance from teenage Eurovision superstars Trust at the after-party of our closing night screening of Sounds Like Teen Spirit. Elsewhere we will be presenting live performances from nu-folkers The Memory Band and up-andcoming London indie outfits Kasms and Bretton, as well as J-Rock and hip hop at our spectacular Anime extravaganza. You’re sure to find something to get your teeth into in this year’s colourful programme, and don’t forget to check our website - www.eastendfilmfestival.com - for up-to-date information, surprise events and exclusive news during the festival week. We hope you enjoy it. The Festival Team

INTERVIEW LUCY IZZARD

Director of the East End Film Festival trailer This year’s fantastic festival trailer charts the adventures of a wily crew of cartoon characters as they peer and hop through portals throughout the East End and discover a world of film. The trailer’s director, Lucy Izzard of Slinky Pictures, drew her initial inspiration from the EEFF logo, “the eyes in the EEFF logo reminded me of the round, black portable holes you find in cartoons which magically pass through into another world”. The variety of screening locations on this year’s bill provided the perfect backdrop for the characters’ exploration. The varied texture of the East End’s appearance also played a part in choosing a range of backgrounds. “From the transparent, shiny glass buildings in Spitalfields to the rough bricked alley behind the Whitechapel gallery… there are so many diverse and inspiring pockets around every corner”. From the very first meeting to the trailer’s completion one month later, the project was a rip-roaring creative experience for director Lucy. This film, with its energetic original musical score by David Schweitzer, undoubtedly captures the vibrant and colourful spirit of the East End Film Festival. You can see more of Lucy’s work at the Tea Smith Gallery throughout the week of the festival. (See page 48). Laura Shacham

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Thankyou to all our patrons for their continued support: Danny Boyle Nitin Sawhney Pawel Pawilowski Steven Berkoff Tony Grisoni

Parminder Vir OBE Jeremy Wooding Simon Channing-Williams Stephen Woolley

You can see Toni Grisoni’s latest film Kingsland at Stratford Picturehouse on Tuesday 28 April (as part of East End Tales shorts). Steven Woolley will be joining us for a Q&A with his latest film Sounds Like Teen Spirit on Thursday 30 April at the Genesis Cinema for our Closing Night Gala. Congratulations of course to Danny Boyle for his phenomenal success with Slumdog Millionaire, the rags-to-riches tale of a young boy from Mumbai. This year we are pleased to welcome three new Patrons to the East End Film Festival: composer Michael Nyman, director Asif Kapadia and director Joe Wright. A local Hackney resident, Joe Wright was born in London where his parents founded the Little Angel Theatre, a puppet theatre in Islington. Joe Wright is a three times BAFTA-winning, Golden Globe-nominated English film director best known for Pride and Prejudice and 2007’s Atonement with Keira Knightley. He is currently working on The Soloist which stars Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. and is the true story of musical prodigy Nathaniel Ayers who developed schizophrenia in his second year at Juilliard and ended up homeless on the streets of downtown L.A. performing the violin and cello. Joe Wright will be opening the East End Film Festival on April 23 at the Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel. British born of Indian descent, Asif directed a number of award-winning short films including The Sheep Thief (which won an award at Cannes) before his debut feature The Warrior picked up best film awards at BAFTA and the BFI London Film Festival. His most recent feature film Far North starred Michele Yeoh and Sean Bean. You can see Asif’s short film My World, made in conjunction with BBC Blast and the National Youth Theatre written by under 19-year-olds, on Saturday 25 April at Genesis (as part of Tales From The Youthside shorts). Michael Nyman was born to a working class, secular Jewish family in East London who made their living assembling furs. His work encompasses operas and string quartets, film soundtracks and orchestral concertos but far more than just a composer, he’s also a performer, conductor, bandleader, pianist, author, musicologist and now a photographer and filmmaker. Last year we were lucky enough to host the premiere showing of his own short films now touring the country. Although he’s far too modest to allow the description ‘Renaissance Man’, his restless creativity and multi-faceted art has made him one of the most fascinating and influential cultural icons of our times. 4

Trophy by: georgina@forwoods.org

OUR PATRONS

THE AWARDS Best International First Feature sponsored by the East End Film Festival The East End Film Festival is fast becoming the UK’s leading showcase for international first features. In light of this, we are proud to launch our brand new award for Best International First Feature. There is tough competition with first rate debuts from countries as diverse as China and Serbia vying for the trophy. In 2010, we will be welcoming the winner to the East End Film Festival as Director in Residence. Best UK First Feature sponsored by Lone Wolf TV At East End Film Festival we are seeing the emergence of a new generation of world-class British filmmakers snapping at the heels of the all-time greats and re-establishing UK film at the forefront of the global industry. In 2009 we are delighted to be screening a stellar selection of debut features from a range of these future heavyweights. The winner of our Best UK First Feature Award will receive £5000 of post-production from Lone Wolf TV. The IFG Inspiration Award for Best Documentary Feature sponsored by the International Film Guide We’ve got an incredibly diverse programme of international documentary feature films screening at this year’s festival; unforgettable stories from all corners of the world. The International Film Guide are sponsoring this new award at the East End Film Festival, the winner of which will receive coverage in the print and online 2010 International Film Guide, the definitive annual review of world cinema, along with £500 worth of classic DVDs and cinema books from Cinéphilia.

Best UK Short Film sponsored by Altec Lansing New talent is at the heart of this festival, and we love to see the diverse and inspired short film offerings which arrive on our doorstep every year. 2009 boasts a wonderfully colourful selection of shorts from Wales to Walthamstow. The award winner will receive a special prize from our friends at Altec Lansing. Short Film Audience Award sponsored by the London Film Academy Everyone has their own opinion, and yours counts as much as any of our industry judges. After viewing the short films you will have the opportunity to make your decision as to which is the best and cast your vote! The winner will get the chance to develop their skills at the London Film Academy. 5


VENUES Amnesty International UK Human Rights Action Centre 17 – 25 New Inn Yard, Hoxton, London, EC2A 3EA www.amnesty.org.uk/hrac The Alhambra Club 33 – 35 Commercial Road London, E1 1LB By Tube: Aldgate East BASH 65 –71 Scrutton Street, London, EC2A 4PJ Please see www.eastendfilmfestival.com for booking information. Cineworld West India Quay 9 Hertsmere Road, London, E14 4AN Box Office: 0871 200 2000 www.cineworld.co.uk By Tube: Canary Wharf / Poplar DLR / West India Quay Genesis Cinema 93 – 95 Mile End Road, Whitechapel, London, E1 4UJ Box Office: 0870 060 6061 www.genesiscinema.co.uk By Tube: Stepney Green / Whitechapel By Bus: 25 / 254 / 205 Rich Mix 5 – 47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA Box Office: 020 7613 7498 www.richmix.org.uk By Tube: Liverpool Street By Bus: 8 / 149 / 242 / 67 / 48 / 26 The Rio Cinema 107 Kingsland High Street, London, E8 2PB Box office: 020 7241 9410 www.riocinema.org.uk By Rail: Dalston Kingsland By Bus: 67 / 76 / 149 / 243 6

TICKET PRICES Rhythm Factory 16 – 18 Whitechapel Road, London, E1 1EW Tel: 020 7375 3774 www.rhythmfactory.co.uk By Tube: Aldgate East By Bus: 25 / 254 / 205 Stratford Picturehouse Salway Road, Stratford, London, E15 1BX Box Office: 0871 704 2066 www.picturehouses.co.uk By Tube / Rail: Stratford Spitalfields Market Commercial Street, Spitalfields, London, E1 6BG www.visitspitalfields.com The Vibe Live (above Vibe Bar) The Old Truman Brewery, 91 – 95 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL Tel: 020 7247 3479 Tel: (info line) 0870 850 4989 www.vibe-bar.co.uk Please see www.eastendfilmfestival.com for booking information. By Tube: Liverpool Street / Aldgate East

It is a firm commitment of the East End Film Festival to keep all it’s screenings, galas and events openly accessible to all. We do this by keeping our prices as low as possible and offering concessionary rates. Tickets for all screenings are £7 / £5.50 concessions and are available for advance booking unless otherwise stated. Venues: Rich Mix Tickets available directly from the venue

Whitechapel Gallery Tickets available on door only

Rio Cinema Tickets available directly from the venue

Vibe Live Tickets available on door only

Stratford Picturehouse Tickets available directly from the venue

BASH Tickets for Afro Samurai available from ticketweb. Please see www.eastendfilmfestival.com

Genesis Cinema Tickets available directly from the venue Rhythm Factory Tickets for Mark Stewart Live at the Rhythm Factory can be booked via Genesis Cinema Cineworld West India Quay Tickets available directly from the venue (N.B. Cineworld screenings are open to Cineworld unlimited pass holders)

Amnesty International UK Tickets for Not In Our Name are free and can be reserved at: www.amnesty.org.uk/events Spitalfields Market All events are free, seating for Silent Cinema is on a first come first served basis

Whitechapel Gallery 80 – 82 Whitechapel High Street, London, E1 7QX Tel: 020 7522 7888 www.whitechapel.org By Tube: Aldgate East By Bus: 5 / 15 / 15a / 25 / 40 / 67 / 78 / 254

All venues are fully accessible for disabled visitors, except for the following areas: Rio viewing Balcony is not accessible via wheelchair. Genesis Screen 1 is not accessible via wheelchair. 7


OPENING NIGHT GALA

INTERVIEW NICOLA & TEENA COLLINS (Director / Producer: The End) Filmmakers and twin sisters Nicola and Teena Collins had moved all the way to Los Angeles before it struck them that the most powerful story at their disposal had been right on their doorstep at home. This was the story of their father and his friends, who had grown up deeply involved with the East End’s violent underworld. “We can be very persuasive” the women admit. “Our father resisted a lot, but once we had the idea we wouldn’t give up on it.” In fact, shooting on the film began just three weeks after the inception of the original idea “before he could change his mind!” Although they are now based in the States, the East End remains close to Nicola and Teena’s hearts. “There has always been a realness and a grittiness to the East End which has made it a cool place, then and now. We love the East End and so do the subjects of the film.” The sisters have been involved with film and modelling from a young age and featured in Guy Richie’s Snatch, in roles written specially for them. They believe that their experience in front of the camera has taught them to create a sense of ease and trust on set. “If you can put yourself in the shoes of your subject, then you know how to get the best out of them” explains Nicola. Nicola and Teena are currently working on a fictional feature film about a pair of twins written by Jennifer Lynch. Carla MacKinnon.

FEATURES OPENING NIGHT GALA THE END 83 min | UK | 2009

Genesis Cinema / The Alhambra Club Thursday 23 April 7.30pm £10

Director: Nicola Collins (First Feature) Full-length World Premiere + Q&A with Director and Producer Against the background of the East End of London England, first time filmmaker Nicola Collins and sister Teena explore the fascinating complexity of the life of their father and his friends: infamous criminals that shaped their war torn environment into a violent underworld. The End is a story never before told, of a group of men with a common bond. All born into poverty in the East End of London, striving for a better life and finding that life in crime. Unashamed and unapologetic these men live their lives defined by a code of honor. The End reveals the bloody history and confessions of the cockney gangster. The End is a gripping exploration of human nature - grimaces, warts, tattoos and all, told as a series of exclusive interviews. It explores the complexity of these renegade London lives from their efforts to escape poverty in a war torn 1950’s environment through an escape into a violent underworld. It is not a pretty tale but it has an irresistible and frightening logic, and it is difficult not to be seduced by the gang’s respect for friendship and honour. The Collins sisters spent seven years modelling for the likes of Elle, Vogue and on catwalks around the world, before taking their own turn behind the camera with this remarkable directorial debut. The screening will be followed by a once in a lifetime guest appearance from all the featured guys and an East End party to end all parties this is a night not to be missed!

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CLOSING NIGHT GALA

INTERVIEW JAMIE JAY JOHNSON (Director: Sounds Like Teen Spirit)

Jamie J Johnson’s first feature Sounds Like Teen Spirit is a tender, quirky exploration of that unique point in life where childhood meets adolescence and hormones rage. The film follows the dizzying highs and teary lows of four contestants from hugely different backgrounds and cultures as they represent their countries in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and negotiate the trials of growing up. “If this film does one thing, I hope it makes you remember what it’s like to be 10 years-old again.” says Jamie. It is difficult not to get swept up as these sensitive, candid children allow Jamie, and us in turn, to join them on their moving journeys. Jamie, who began making shorts in his bedroom using just the VCR and pause button, describes how Eurovision provided an exceptional opportunity to “get under the skin” of both the national idiosyncrasies and the universal experience of being a teenager. This film packs an emotional punch but not without a hefty dose of frills, thrills, shrieks and peaks… and plenty of razzle dazzle. Laura Shacham.

CLOSING NIGHT GALA AND AWARD CEREMONY Sounds Like Teen SpirIT 92 min | UK | 2009

Genesis Cinema / Rhythm Factory Thursday 30 April 7.30pm £10

Director: Jamie Jay Johnson (First Feature) UK Premiere + Director’s Q&A Join us on a white knuckle ride behind the scenes of the teenage Eurovision Song Contest as East End-based, BAFTA, Broadcast and Grierson nominated filmmaker Jamie Jay Johnson follows the songs, sequins, tears and tantrums of a group of kids from very different backgrounds, battling it out for that coveted Eurovision prize. This engrossing documentary follows the 2007 competition as we are introduced to a bevy of groups and individuals preparing for the European finals. At the end of the day there will be only one winner in this film about hopes and dreams, hard work and dedication. The screening will be followed by a night of glitter and dancing at our very own exclusive Euro Teen Party at the Rhythm Factory, with live performances from some of our favourite Eurovision stars of the film including Belgian band Trust. Trust consists of singer Eva (14) and musicians Mirek (15), Matthieu (15) and Laurens (15). They were the oldest participants in the contest.

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FEATURES A–Z 60 x 60 secs

Artistic Director: Ali Zaidi + Directors and Producers Q&A 60x60 Secs is sixty one-minute films commissioned by Motiroti via an open submission. Established and emerging artists from the South Asian Diaspora – twenty each from Britain, India and Pakistan – present their personal perspective on what ‘home and boundaries’ mean to them. Using a wide and highly creative variety of media and techniques, the films uncover new voices and images. They presents comic, unsettling and arresting stories of everyday life and global events; a very different angle than the one commonly projected by the media.

60 min | UK | 2008

Rich Mix Saturday 25 April 4pm

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with selected filmmakers from the project and representatives from Motiroti, the film’s commissioner.

City Rats 100 min | UK | 2009

Genesis Cinema Friday 24 April 8pm

Director: Steve Kelly (First Feature) European Premiere + Q&A with Director and cast Danny Dyer (The Business, Football Factory) and Tamer Hassan (Cass, The Business) return to explosive form in the year’s most highly anticipated Brit-flick. Welcome to the world of the City Rats where eight lives collide in a Pulp Fiction style blend that reveals London’s true dark and twisted underbelly. Dyer and Hassan give career-best performances in their first collaboration since British gangster film The Business. This is a story of London’s lonely and lost, looking for redemption in each other and finding solutions in darkness and light. Followed by Q&A with key cast and crew and a late night star-studded City Rats party.

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FEATURES A–Z

FEATURES A–Z East End Lives

Director: Hazuan Hashim / Phil Maxwell World Premiere + Q&A with Director and cast An East End social housing estate plays home to an eclectic mix of characters including a black cab driver, spiritual healer, opera singer and community worker in this compelling new documentary. The film explores the cultural life and landscape of the area through the real lives and observations of long term residents from very different backgrounds.

60 min | UK | 2009

Rich Mix Saturday 25 April 6pm

What emerges is a common sensitivity and warmth for their area that reverberates into a celebration of the East End. The changes that have occurred to the social and economic fabric of the area over the past 70 years are carefully unwrapped through the candid observations of the film’s diverse characters.

ELEVATOR 85 min | Romania | 2008

Genesis Cinema Tuesday 28 April 9pm

Director: George Dorobantu (First Feature) UK Premiere This film, dubbed “The event of the year in Romanian cinema”, tells the story of a teenage boy and girl who get stuck in a cargo elevator. With no one around to hear them, and tension increasing with each failed escape attempt, they have to accept that their entire universe is now reduced to a small metal box. This unmissable, edge-of-the-seat movie experience is a tour-de-force of low budget filmmaking. Shot with just one camera in one location and with a cast of two on a miniscule budget of just 200 Euros; this film is a perfect example of the import and power of a good script!

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For full programme information, visit www.eastendfilmfestival.com

EVERYBODY DIES BUT ME

Director: Valeriya Gai Germanika (First Feature) The school disco is on Saturday night and as the girls feverishly prepare, it rapidly becomes the most important moment ever in their universe and looks like the ideal way to escape their daily lives. This feature film debut from 24-year-old Valeria Gai-Germanika set in a contemporary Moscow suburb provides a real insight into the lives and uncertainties of her heroines by eliciting some extraordinarily convincing performances. The story, which provides an almost universal portrait of teenage dilemmas, is enacted with a rare degree of conviction and understanding.

80 min | Russia | 2008

Rich Mix Saturday 25 April 9pm

Double bill with Iska’s Journey. (See page 18).

57 min | UK | 2009

Genesis Cinema Tuesday 28 April 7pm

FIRE BURN BABYLON

Director: Sarita Siegel Sneak Preview + Q&A with Director and cast Don Letts narrates us through the story of a crew of Rastafarians evacuated to London in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption in Montserrat. Living in exile in inner city East London, the friends reinvent themselves as “rude-boy” rappers and small time hustlers on the nightclub circuit. The film examines how Montserrat’s Rastafarians adjust to life in England as they pitch between enjoying the thrills of the city and committing to Rastafari ideals. Will their dreams of celebrity be realised before the law catches up with them, and can these ‘mighty-lions-ofJudah’ remain true to their spiritual identity? 15


FEATURES A–Z

FEATURES A–Z HELEN

FOUR CHAPTERS (CHATURANGA)

Director: Suman Mukhopadhyay European Premiere + Q&A with Director and Producer Based on the novel by Nobel Prize winning author Rabindranath Tagore, this beautiful film is the only Bengali language feature made this year. Set in Calcutta during the early 20th century, it follows the son of a prosperous Hindu family who flees from radical positivism to religious mysticism in his quest for life’s meaning. Ultimately his search yields nothing but crushing disillusionment because he cannot square his abstract ideals with the powerful presences of the two women in his life. In a stark landscape beyond human laws, the film plays out the eternal conflict between ideas and desires.

125 min | India | 2008

Genesis Cinema Friday 24 April 7.30pm

Directors: Desperate Optimists, Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor (First Feature) + Q&A with Directors and supporting short film programme An 18 year-old girl called Joy has gone missing – she had a loving family, a boyfriend and a bright future. Another girl called Helen is asked to play Joy in a police reconstruction that will retrace Joy’s last known movements. Helen is parentless, has lived in institutions all her life and has never been close to anyone. Is Helen trying to find out what happened to Joy that day, or is she searching for her own identity?

79 min | UK | 2008

Who Killed Brown Owl 9 min | UK | 2004 Joy 9 min | UK | 2008

Short film programme Directors: Desperate Optimists

WHO KILLED BROWN OWL? It is a sunny afternoon in an enchanted corner of England. Strains of elegiac classical music fade up on the soundtrack, as the perfect English arcadia gives way to varying kinds of misfortune, disruption and violence.

Genesis Cinema Sunday 26 April 6pm

JOY

A companion piece to the feature film Helen. Over the past four years the creative duo Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor have been working on a project called Civic Life, involving local community groups in the production of 35mm short films for the cinema, which began with Who Killed Brown Owl? Helen is the culmination of this series.

HOMECOMING

68 min | Serbia | 2004

Genesis Cinema Wednesday 29 April 6.30pm

Director: Jovan Arsenic (First Feature) UK Premiere + Director Q&A After five years Marko returns to his home village in a secluded rural region in northern Serbia to see his old girlfriend Anja. Tormented by memories of the events that drove him away, he tries to establish a new trust with Anja, but the atmosphere in the village is unbearably tense and very few people are pleased to see him. Finding hostility and threatening behaviour at every turn, Marko is clear on one thing, he is not going to leave alone. Arsenic’s film is not just about murder and sexual abuse, but shows social and cultural problems in Serbia at the start of the 21st century, as well as being a painful love story. Double bill with Revanche. (See page 23)

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FEATURES A–Z

FEATURES A–Z

I WAS HERE 95 min | Estonia | 2008

Rich Mix Monday 27 April 7pm

Director: Rene Vilbre UK Premiere + Director Q&A “This whole story is really about a lack of love and family. Maybe it’s the story of one generation of orphans, one that talks about a need for closeness.” - Sass Henno Estonia’s Oscar entry, this is the powerful story of Rass, a 17-year-old in an Estonian suburb who is living on his own and harbouring big dreams of family and love. When he agrees to sell drugs he is drawn into a series of events that he can no longer control. This is a powerful story of one boy’s adolescence, based on the bestselling Estonian novel by Sass Henno.

ON/OFF MARK STEWART FROM THE POP GROUP TO THE MAFFIA

80 min | Germany | 2009

Iska’s Journey

92 min | Hungary | 2007

Rich Mix Saturday 25 April 7pm

Director: Csaba Bollók Followed by Director Q&A This harrowing story follows a 12-year-old girl and her sickly younger sister who show courage in the face of harsh poverty (played by real life sisters Mária and Rozália Varga who were found living under much the same circumstances as their characters). In a decaying mining town in Romania’s Zsil River valley, they scavenge for scrap metal under deplorable conditions, a practice rife in the ageing grey industrialized areas of Eastern Europe. An authentic, documentary feel gives us a moving portrayal of the ravages of one girl’s world. This feature film is one of the most stunning entries in a flagship year for Hungarian cinema. Double bill with Everybody Dies But Me. (See page 15).

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Genesis Cinema / Rhythm Factory Tuesday 28 April 7.30pm

Director: Tøni Schifer World Premiere + live gig featuring Mark Stewart The World Premiere of Tøni Schifer’s documentary about musical pioneer and godfather of the Bristol Sound, Mark Stewart. The film features interviews from Nick Cave and Massive Attack, following Stewart’s career from the post-punk of late 1970’s Bristol in The Pop Group, through to the dark avant garde dub sounds of the 1980s underground with his band The Maffia (made up of members of New York’s hip hop pioneers The Sugarhill Gang). Stewart soundtracked the Thatcher years with his agit-prop mix of groundbreaking sampled beats and dub reggae influences which were a massive influence on those growing up at that time, from Tricky to Daddy G and from 3D to Massive Attack. Stewart is now based in Berlin and continues to release work and perform live, most recently at Massive Attack’s Meltdown on the South Bank in 2008. Following the screening Mark Stewart will feature in a live gig at the Rhythm Factory with The Bug, who for over 10 years has led the way with his groundbreaking mix of dubstep, industrial beats and hip hop, plus On-U Sound pioneer DJ Adrian Sherwood, and experimental electronica artiste Russell Haswell and special guests. 19


FEATURES A–Z

FEATURES A–Z POLAR BEAR LIVE AT THE SPITZ

Directors: Gea Russell / Ken Kamanayo + Q&A with the filmmakers and Seb Roachford. It’s one of the hottest days of the year. Seb Roachford’s acclaimed group of anarcho-punk-groove-electronica-free improv upsetters show up to play their farewell concert at the condemned Spitz in East London. This film takes an up close and personal look at Polar Bear at the peak of their game delivering a legendary appearance at the venue they called home. The film will be presented in conjunction with live jazz at Rich Mix’s Sunday afternoon jazz sessions.

94 min | Turkey | 2008

Rio Cinema Monday 27 April 6.30pm

LODOS

70 min | UK | 2009

Rich Mix Sunday 26 April 3pm

Director: Didem Erayda (First Feature) UK Premiere When a woman finds a man beating his girlfriend in a park she attacks him. Believing him to be dead, the two women flee. This unexpected crime takes them to the road in a film dealing with disappearance, coincidence, insanity, failure and dreams. Lodos, a Turkish word for a strong Mediterranean wind, follows them on their journey. This debut feature by a first time female director explores relationships, alienation, cruelty and violence in modern urban life.

PARK

50 min | UK | 2008

Stratford Picturehouse Monday 27 April 6.30pm

Directors: Justine Gordon Smith / Marlene Schiott Rasmussen + Q&A with Director and crew A revealing urban portrait of a local park and the rich assortment of characters who spend time there. This documentary, made over five years, gains the trust of its subjects and offers a unique insight into one of London’s lesser known green areas. In an age when entertainment and documentary are often difficult to distinguish, it is refreshing to find a non-fiction project that approaches it’s subject with intelligence and integrity. The film looks at the little things that can help us all to make our own judgments and see the bigger picture. Plus a Q&A with the filmmakers including Justine Gordon Smith, Chris Hall, and Marlene Schiott Rasmussen.

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103 min | Pakistan | 2008

Genesis Cinema Monday 27 April 7.30pm

Ramchand Pakistani

Director: Mehreen Jabbar (First Feature) Based on actual events, this film tells the story of a 7-year-old Pakistani Hindu boy and his father who accidentally cross the border into India from their village. Set during the 2002 war between Pakistan and India when tension between the two countries was high, the father and son end up in prison whilst the mother (left behind), wonders what has happened to them. Written and produced by former Pakistan Cabinet Minister and Senator, Javed Jabbar, and directed by his daughter Mehreen, it won a FIPRESCI Award at the New Delhi Film Festival. This is a rare film dealing delicately with difficult subject matter, and is an example of how a diverse cast and crew can deliver with credibility an excellent film on controversial issues.

For full programme information, visit www.eastendfilmfestival.com

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FEATURES A–Z

FEATURES A–Z REVANCHE

Director: Gotz Spielmann + Q&A with lead actor Johannes Krisch Nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the 2009 Oscars. Ex-con Alex dreams about starting a new life with the Ukrainian prostitute Tamara. To do so he plans to erase his debts by robbing a bank, so making his flight towards the South possible. An unfortunate shooting during the robbery, however, causes Alex to flee to his father’s farm where he hides out harbouring thoughts of revenge. Director Götz Spielmann has crept his way slowly but surely to the centre ring of Austrian cinema, culminating in the profound revelation that is the major artistic breakthrough Revanche.

RENE 83 min | Czech Republic |2008

Cineworld West India Quay Tuesday 28 April 8.30 pm

121 min | Austria | 2008

Genesis Cinema Wednesday 29 April 8.30pm

Double bill with Homecoming. (See page 17).

Director: Helena Trestíková “Why has my shitty life turned out like this? No-one knows. Not even God. God’s on holiday and he’s reading porn.” With raw authenticity, this powerful and essential piece of documentary filmmaking records the fate of a repeat offender over twenty years as he yo-yos between prison and freedom.

Helena Trestikova first met Rene in the late 80s when she directed a series of documentaries on young Czech people from varying backgrounds. Rene was the token young criminal. Helena lost funding for that particular project but found Rene interesting enough to want to follow him further. Since age 15, Rene Plasil has been in and out of the slammer as if it had a revolving door. He seems like the definitive loser, a petty criminal with a sense of entitlement and a chip on his shoulder. There is even a mis-spelling in the obscene tattoo across his neck; ‘fuck of people’. Life in gaol has a timeless, listless quality, and the passage of time is marked only by the swearing-in of different presidents, the revolution and the break-up of Czechoslovakia (all viewed at a distance on fuzzy prison televisions). Rene seems oblivious to the momentous changes around him but the mirroring of a country’s and an individual’s growing pains are plain to see. As Rene becomes an adult with a throaty, chainsmoker’s voice, he develops an intelligence and poetry. With Helena’s help, he has two books published and starts to achieve a strange kind of fame in his native country. In a moment when Rene stops performing his role of disaffected, value-free social outcast, he tells Helena gently, “I would have been nothing without you”, yet at other times he is bitter and angry, accusing her of ruining his life, of putting his life on display and buying him from himself because he had no other choice but to sell himself to her for her creative use. As the film progresses it seems more and more like a dysfunctional love relationship, Rene’s lack of parental love in some part replaced by the lens of Helena’s camera. You are left wondering about the impact Helena’s ‘attention’ had on the path of Rene’s life. Eventually the documentary becomes a documentary not on the passage of a young man’s life but as a study of manipulation (on both sides) and an exploration of the difficult relationship between a documentary filmmaker and their ‘subject of study’.

22

THE SHAFT 98 min | China | 2008

Rich Mix Monday 27 April 9pm

Director: Zhang Chi (First Feature) UK Premiere This social-realist drama is a hypnotic depiction of ordinary lives at the harsh coalface of modern China. A series of three distinct but interlocking episodes, it plays like the cinematic translation of a fine short-story collection as its small but gripping dramas unfold through repeated images, masterful composition and stunning painterly cinematography. Shot entirely on location, The Shaft takes place among the ruggedly imposing mountains of China’s western reaches, examining the dreams and frustrations of a family whose lives revolve around the coal mine where each of them work. They’re a very long way, both geographically and economically, from their affluent countrymen further east. 23


FEATURES A–Z

FEATURES A–Z THE DAY AFTER PEACE

81 min | UK | 2008

96 min | Iran | 2008

Rio Cinema Friday 24 April 6.30pm

SONG OF SPARROWS

Rich Mix Saturday 25 April 2pm

Director : Jeremy Gilley + Q&A with Richard Cotton from the Peace One Day organization The remarkable 10-year journey of award-winning filmmaker Jeremy Gilley to establish an annual Peace Day on 21 September. The camera follows Gilley as he galvanises the countries of the world to recognise an official day of ceasefire and non-violence. But even after the member states of the UN unanimously adopt Peace Day, the struggle isn’t over. As the years pass, there’s not a single ceasefire. The voices of the cynics are growing louder – and now Gilley’s non-profit organisation, Peace One Day, is in dire financial straits. But he can’t let it fail. The film’s breathtaking conclusion finds Gilley joined by Jude Law in Afghanistan attempting to spearhead a massive vaccination against polio on Peace Day. Will peace prevail? Will lives be saved? Or were the cynics right? The Day After Peace is a moving testament to the power of an individual and the perseverance of the human spirit.

Director: Majid Majidi London Premiere Karim, fired from his job as an ostrich farmer, ventures off to Tehran to earn some money and find means to upgrade a broken hearing aid desperately needed by one of his daughters. Using amateur actors, this beautifully crafted, deeply humanistic, often hilarious story set among society’s underprivileged, explores how capitalism and technology can corrupt man, making him lose spiritual purity and all-important connections to family, friends and nature...

TRAIL OF THE SPIDER

54 min | UK | 2008

Stratford Picturehouse Monday 27 April 8.30pm

Directors: Anja Kirschner and David Panos + Q&A with Director and cast Western genre motifs are transformed to the landscape of East London. Questioning and re-imagining the Western’s portrayal of the “Vanishing Frontier”, this film recreates the epic panoramas of the Western in Hackney Marshes, the Thames Gateway and Essex. Using landfills, wastelands and gravel pits linked to the construction of the 2012 Olympic Park, it questions volatile financial speculations, private interests and the spectre of the Olympic gold rush. Working with a large cast of actors and non-actors (many of whom are themselves residents of East London), the film explores the compromises of a population facing this new order. The screening will be followed by a discussion panel with the filmmakers, cast members and Rose Cupit, manager of Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network.

24

TWO LEGGED HORSE

Director: Samira Makhmalbaf UK Premiere A father hires a poor boy for a dollar a day to carry his disabled son around on his back. Two Legged Horse is a stunning, original but deeply troubling piece of cinema. It looks at the injustices that society inflicts on the individual and crafts a story about the abuses meted out between people from the same environment, and in this instance, the same age and sex. Samira is a new force in Iranian cinema and is the daughter of veteran Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf.

101 min | Iran | 2008

Rich Mix Sunday 26 April 7pm

25


FEATURES A–Z

FEATURES A–Z

The Memory Band

THE WORLD IS BIG AND SALVATION LURKS ROUND THE CORNER

VASHTI BUNYAN: FROM HERE TO BEFORE

Director: Kieran Evans + Director Q&A and a live music set from The Memory Band A film about UK singer songwriter Vashti Bunyan directed by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Kieran Evans (Finisterre). Dubbed ‘The Godmother of Freak Folk’, Vashti’s obscurity ended with the rediscovery in 2000 of her lost classic 1970 album Just Another Diamond Day and her subsequent introduction into a previously unknown mainstream. The original record was inspired by a journey across the country by horse and carriage which has only helped mythologise Vashti’s life and career. This lyrical, modern day road movie and wonderfully evocative film retraces Vashti’s extraordinary journey across the British Isles and sets it against the backdrop of her first high-profile London concert. The film features rare interviews with Andrew Loog Oldham, Max Richter, Devendra Banhart and Adem Ilhan, who discuss the huge influence Bunyan’s music has had on their own work and, in Devendra Banhart’s case, the effect it had on his life.

105 min | Bulgaria | 2008

Director: Stephan Komandarev (First Feature) UK Premiere + Q&A with Director and Producer This powerful and moving story follows a young manwho, after losing his memory in a car crash and forgetting his love, finds that backgammon and family ties could offer a way out. In an attempt to cure him from amnesia, his grandfather comes to Germany and organizes a spiritual journey for his grandson back into his past, back to Bulgaria, his home country.

97 min | UK | 2008

Rich Mix Friday 24 April 8pm

Rich Mix Sunday 26 April 6pm

This gripping story follows a man’s journey into his past, through time and across half of Europe.

WMD

113 min | UK | 2008

Rich Mix Tuesday 28 April 7pm

Director: David Holroyd (First Feature) + Q&A with Director and Producer The year is 2002 and the United States and the UK are pushing to invade Iraq. Intelligence sources report Saddam Hussein has biochemical weapons ready for immediate launch – the perfect justification for war. When Alex Morgan, an ordinary MI6 desk officer uncovers deliberate flaws in the evidence being used to support invasion, he has to decide whether to risk his career and even his safety for this deceitful web of lies. A fictional account inspired by real events, WMD explores what intelligence circles knew in the build-up for war. The screening will be followed by a Patchwork Networking session with WMD producer Christine Hartland.

26

ZIFT

Director: Javor Gardev (First Feature) London Premiere The 2009 Bulgarian Oscar entry, this gritty neo-noir thriller unfolds over one night. Moth is freed on parole after spending time in prison on a wrongful conviction of murder. Jailed shortly before the Bulgarian communist coup of 1944, he now finds himself in a new and alien world in the totalitarian Sofia of the 1960s.

92 min | Bulgaria | 2008

Cineworld West India Quay Tuesday 28 April 6.30pm

As he journeys through the diabolical city with its decaying neighbourhoods and gloomy streets he runs into a bizarre parade of characters - agents, barflies, outcasts, gravediggers and other species of the asphalt jungle.

For full programme information, visit www.eastendfilmfestival.com

27


FEATURES A–Z

SHOOTERS

ES

LOV

EAST END

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104 min | Poland | 2009

Genesis Cinema Saturday 25 April 7.30pm + Stratford Picturehouse Sunday 26 April 3.30pm

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Director: Olaf Lubaszenko UK Premiere + Q&A with Director Mirka, a law graduate, was brought up on the tough streets of East Warsaw and is the first in her family to graduate from a prestigious law university. On her return home she finds herself embroiled in a situation which will test herself and her old loyalties to breaking point. She is forced to take on a new identity and even a new gender to help out some old friends.

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29 25/03/2009 15:06:02


8

THE 8TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASTIC FILM

29 April – 4 May 2009

www.sci-fi-london.com

Apollo Piccadilly Circus Tickets: 020 7451 9944

31


PULL-OUT AND KEEP CALENDAR

23rd–30th APRIL

EAST END FILM FESTIVAL 09 Rich Mix

Thursday

Genesis Cinema

Rio Cinema

7pm Shorts: Black Representation on Screen 8pm The World is Big...

7.30pm Four Chapters 8pm City Rats

6.30pm Song of Sparrows

2pm The Day After Peace 4pm 60x60 Secs 6pm East End Lives 7pm Iskas Journey + 9pm Everybody Dies But Me

2pm Youth Event: Make ‘Em Feel 4pm Youth Event: Tower Hamlets Summer Uni 5.30pm Shorts: Tales From The Youth-side 7.30pm Zloty Srodek

1.30pm Iain Sinclair: The Criminal + Mr Arkadin

Sunday

3pm Polar Bear Live at the Spitz 6pm Vashti Bunyan 7pm Two Legged Horse

6pm Helen + Shorts

12pm Iain Sinclair: Hackney: That Rose-Red Empire

Monday

7pm Shorts: Adventures in Experiments 7pm I Was Here 9pm The Shaft

Tuesday

Wednesday

/APRIL 24 Saturday

/APRIL 25

/APRIL 26

/APRIL 27

/APRIL 28

/APRIL 29

Thursday

/APRIL 30

32

Cineworld West India Quay

Whitechapel

Amnesty

Vibe Live

Spitalfields

BASH

10am-10pm Filmmakers Centre 10am-10pm East End in 3D Timelapse Installation

6.30pm Anime Event Afro Samurai - Resurrection

Rhythm Factory

7.30pm The End

/APRIL 23

Friday

Stratford Picturehouse

For full programme information, visit www.eastendfilmfestival.com

11.30am Youth Event: Chocolate Films/ ID:London

4pm Shorts: New Talents 1

10am-10pm Filmmakers Centre 10am-10pm East End in 3D Timelapse Installation 8pm Silent Cinema: Nosferatu + Minima

6.30pm Shorts: New Talents 2

3.30pm Zloty Srodek

1pm Cinephilia Mid-Length Film Jam

10am-10pm Filmmakers Centre 10am-10pm East End in 3D Timelapse Installation

6.30pm 7.30pm Ramchand Pakistani Lodos

6.30pm Park 8.30pm Trail of the Spider

6.pm Music and Video + Kasms & Bretton live

10am-10pm Filmmakers Centre 10am-10pm East End in 3D Timelapse Installation

7pm WMD (+ patchwork Networking) 7pm Ian Sinclair Diary Film 9pm Shorts: World Cinema Shorts 1

7pm Fire Burn Babylon 7.30pm On/Off + live gig 9pm Elevator

6.15pm Dalston Docs

8.45pm Shorts: East End Tales 6.30pm Shorts: New Pathways

7pm Optimistic Immigrants

10am-10pm Filmmakers Centre 10am-10pm East End in 3D Timelapse Installation

7pm Micheal Bracewell presents 9pm Shorts: World Cinema Shorts 2

6.30pm Homecoming +8.30pm Revanche

2.30pm Heritage Screening Pool of London + The London That Nobody Knows 6.45pm Shorts: Documents

6pm First positions

10am-10pm Filmmakers Centre 10am-10pm East End in 3D Timelapse Installation

6.30pm Zift 8.30pm Rene

6.30pm 3D Panel 9.15pm Shorts: East End True Life Stories

7pm Not in our Name

7pm The London Perambulator

9pm Mark Stewart presents live: The Bug + DJ Adrian Sherwood + Russell Haswell

7.30pm Sounds Like Teen Spirit

Don’t forget you can catch two great moving image exhibitions throughout the festival week at:

TeaSmith Spitalfields (see page 48) and at Four Corners (see page 44)

33


SHORTS Says Who Music Exclusive music from award-winning, internationally renowned composers and artists all cleared and accessed via a uniquely creative search journey The founders of Says Who Music will be at the filmmakers centre for one hour everyday providing everything you need to know about music for film. Talks with Q&A sessions include: • • • •

How to use music to help tell your story Working with composers Sourcing music, rights clearance and copyright How to create a high value score on a budget

Next generation music for next generation film

+44 (0) 20 8374 3895 www.SaysWhoMusic.co.uk

OFFICIAL COURIER OF THE

NEW UK TALENTS 1: THE FEEL GOOD FACTOR (96 min) Cineworld West India Quay Saturday 25 April, 4pm A showcase selection of films from across the country split into two parts. Part One is an uplifting collection of the funny and the offbeat, entertaining us with tales of love and humour.

SHORTS Tales From The Youth-Side (90 min)

Genesis Cinema Saturday 25 April, 5.30pm Stories from the frontline: 21st Century youth have to deal with a media obsessed with pressures, drugs and crime. This selection of drama and documentary shows new angles on serious issues as well as taking a positive look at the creative worlds of music and sport.

Albert’s Speech

Same Day - Overnight - International - Passenger call our sales team 02075367184 www.excel.co.uk

UK | 15 min | Dir: Richard Fenwick

Sheep

This Way Up

UK | 6 min | Dir: Justin Villiers

UK | 9 min | Dir: Smith & Foulkes

My World

Special Glue And Other Stories

UK | 4 min | Dir: Asif Kapadia

UK | 4 min | Dir: Andy Sykes

If Not Now When

Small Things UK | 8 min | Dir: Matt Bloom

UK | 10 min | Dir: Nilesh Bell-Gorsia / Akash Lockmun

Chasing

Rollin’ On

UK | 6 min | Dir: Colin Moody

UK | 8 min | Dir: Paola Desiderio

Bill’s Visitors

French Exchange

UK | 8 min | Dir: Simon Deshon

UK | 12 min | Dir: Sasha Collington

One Nice Family Photo

The Reelhood Trilogy

UK | 4 min | Dir: Tom Senior

UK | 32 min | Dir: The Rainbow Collective

The Priest

H

UK | 6 min | Dir: Ivana Bobic

UK | 18 min | Dir: Phil Hayes

September UK | 21 min | Dir: Esther May Campbell

One Of Those Days UK | 15 min | Dir: Hattie Dalton

35


SHORTS

SHORTS

ADVENTURES IN EXPERIMENTS (88 min) Rich Mix Monday 27 April, 7pm This is a selection of work from artists, filmmakers and animators exploring the limits of new form and creative expression.

New UK Talents 2: The Hard Stuff (111 min) Cineworld West India Quay Saturday 25 April, 6.30pm

22arroba Spain | 5 min | Dir: Maximilliano Viale

Under Skies UK | 4 min | Dir: Micheala Nettell

My Amersham UK | 4 min | Dir: Marco Williamson

A showcase selection of films from across the country split into two parts. Part Two brings powerful drama to the fore with a selection of auteur driven short films from new directors destined for great things.

Real Estate UK | 4 min | Dir: Jonathan Weston

Miraslava Canada | 8 min | Dir: Roberto Santaguida

Beyond Light:The Exquisite Corpse UK | 8 min | Dir: Iria Lopez

Eighteen Long Years

Telemaco

UK | 18 min | Dir: Richard Oliver

Spain | 4 min | Dir: Jorge M. Rodrigo

We Call Her Daisy

Seminar In Film Sound

UK | 23 min | Dir: Stephan Georgiou

UK | 11 min | Dir: Steven Eastwood

Dead Dog

Nathan Evans BA Bankrupt

UK | 8 min | Dir: Edward Jeffries

UK | 6 min | Dir: Nathan Evans

Madrugada

The Fourth Course

UK | 23 min | Dir: Michael Pearce

UK | 5 min | Dir: Ri

Lamb

Ochi

UK | 10 min | Dir: Andrew McVicar

Spain | 10 min | Dir: Daniel Elias de la Torre

One

Light And Sound

UK | 9 min | Dir: Benjamin Stevens

K

UK | 10 min | Dir: Cassie Ashbridge / Gareth Evans / James Stanton / Andy Sowerby

UK | 20 min | Dir: Piers Thompson

36

EAST END TALES (92 min) Stratford Picturehouse Tuesday 28 April, 8.45pm

London’s East End is alive with stories and characters. Local filmmakers know only too well how to draw from that deep well to dramatise life in this vibrant part of London.

Swipe

Urban Framing

Baghdad Express

Look What You Have Done To My Heart

UK | 6 min | Dir: Wanda Hu

UK | 11 min | Dir: Nimer Rashed

UK | 17 min | Dir: Michael Pearce

The Flasher

Here Comes Funky Kazoo

Diana

UK | 3 min | Dir: Magnus Irvin

UK | 17 min | Dir: Paul Fuller

UK | 11 min | Dir: Aleem Khan

How I Learned To Love Richard Gere

Kingsland

UK | 12 min | Dir: Detsky Graffam

UK | 21 min | Dir: Toni Grisoni

UK | 3 min | Dir: Max Blustin

37


SHORTS

SHORTS

New Pathways Film Fund 2009 Stratford Picturehouse Tuesday 28 April, 6.30pm

World Cinema Shorts 1 (74 min)

World Cinema Shorts 2 (77 min)

Rich Mix Tuesday 28 April, 9pm

Rich Mix Wednesday 29 April, 9pm

Two chances to sample the delights of international cinema in shortened form. Part One gives us a varied selection of younger stories, looking at coming of age and first love as well as more harrowing tales of growing up in hostile environments.

Part Two in this varied selection of world stories takes us from a surreal tale of middle class madness in A Juicy Turkey to the hard-hitting world of Israel’s national service in Take Note.

The New Pathways Film Fund is a partnership between the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham and is part of the London Borough Film Fund Challenge. This directorled training programme is designed to take

participants through the first stage of filmmaking, looking at new techniques and technologies and exploring alternative routes of exhibition and distribution.

Milkwatch

Best Hand Car Wash

Dir: Michael Taylor

Dir: Mo Saha

Cuilos

Down The Rabbit Hole

An all-singing, all-crime-stopping musical about milkmen on a mission.

Can someone change your life without saying a word?

France | 11 min | Dir: Paz Fabrega

Romania | 15 min | Dir: Eva Pervolovici

Mena

(En)Terrados

Germany | 11 min | Dir: Eileen Byrne

Spain | 12 min | Dir: Alex Lora Cercos

A Letter To Rothko

Mrs Birk’s Sunday Roast

(Nobody Wants To Go To) Jerry’s Children’s Party

A Juicy Turkey

Dir: Eddie Saint-Jean

Dir: Kyoko Miyake

Sweden | 12 min | Dir: Car Moberg

France | 14 min | Dir: Benoit Ameil

An art teacher attempts to find out what drives his students as artists, but sometimes the truth is too painful to share.

A Japanese food writer embarks on her quest to cook the perfect Sunday roast.

Una Vida Mejor

Take Note

Spain | 13 min | Dir: Luis Fernandez Reneo

Israel | 16 min | Dir: Elite Zexer

La Nuit Passee

Young Blood

Welcome To The Big Top

Germany | 8 min | Dir: Eileen Byrne

China | 20 min | Dir: Shu Hao Lun

Kids Might Fly

Dir: Rachael Castell

Danzak

Dir: Alex Taylor

Journey through the spectacular world of circus performance past and present with Amber and Nisha - the East End’s own Broken Hearts DJs.

Argentina / US | 19 min | Dir: Gabriela Yepes

A young homeless girl is taken into care. Set in an urban wilderness, the film is an offbeat portrait of young people in East London.

38

For full programme information, visit www.eastendfilmfestival.com

39


ach Reach Reach SHORTS

or more!

SHORTS

for more!

yourLondon grasp! within London within your grasp!your grasp! for more!

s Weekly

Internet

Press

elondyn.co.uk is one of the fastest growing Polish information portals within Great Britain. The features of the portal include: latest news from London, Great Britain and the rest of the World. Latest sport news and gossip, cultural events, interesting places and tourist attractions. The portal also has an extensive variety of classified adverts, where you can find a job or an accommodation. elondyn. co.uk also has an extensive catalogue of companies and institutes.

The most influential Polish weekly in the UK. First published in March 2004, dedicated to the Polish Community living and working in the UK. Cooltura is involved in organizing cultural and social events for Polish community and media partnership for most of the Polish events in London. We take care of the quality of delivery, so our magazine is distributed to the places we know very well. 45,000 copies every week. Over 200,000 readers every week.

POLISH RADIO LONDON

POLISH RADIO LONDON

ekly in the UK. First dicated to the working in the UK. anizing cultural community and t of the Polish

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ra.co.uk

Radio

Radio Internet elondyn.co.uk Cooltura Weekly Polish Press Radio London Polish Radio London elondyn.co.uk Cooltura Weekly Polish Radio London started broadcasting in December 2006. Within several months it has become one of the greatest Polish media in the United Kingdom. In October 2007 Polish Radio London, became the first and only Polish station in the world, which started broadcasting in the DAB system. Polish Radio London reaches out daily to more than 200.000 listeners.

Polish Radiowww.elondyn.co.uk London broadcasting www.cooltura.co.uk www.prl24.net elondyn.co.uk is one started of the fastest growing The most influential Polish weekly in the UK. First in December 2006. Withinwithin several months Polish information portals Great published in March 2004, dedicated to the it has become one of the greatest Polish Britain. Polish Community living and working in the UK. media in theofUnited Kingdom. The features the portal include: latest Cooltura is involved in organizing cultural In October 2007 Polish Radio London, news from London, Great Britain and the rest and social events for Polish community and became the Latest first and only Polish station in of the World. sport news and gossip, media partnership for most of the Polish the world, which started broadcasting in cultural events, interesting places and tourist events in London. the DAB system. attractions. The portal also has an extensive We take care of the quality of delivery, so Polish Radio London reaches out daily to variety of classified adverts, where you can our magazine is distributed to the places more thanor200.000 listeners. find a job an accommodation. elondyn. we know very well. co.uk also has an extensive catalogue of 45,000 copies every week. Over 200,000 companies and institutes. readers every week.

www.prl24.net www.elondyn.co.uk mediagroup_136x192.indd 1

www.cooltura.co.uk

Radio Polish Radio London

POLISH RADIO LONDON

Polish Radio London started broadcasting in December 2006. Within several months it has become one of the greatest Polish media in the United Kingdom. In October 2007 Polish Radio London, became the first and only Polish station in the world, which started broadcasting in the DAB system. Polish Radio London reaches out daily to more than 200.000 listeners.

www.prl24.net

DOCUMENTS (79 min) Rio Cinema Wednesday 29 April, 6.45pm A varied programme of short documentaries from across the UK and beyond; from the gay village of Vauxhall to the illegal coalmines of Eastern Europe and from the thrill of the speedway to the hidden underground world of graffiti art.

07/04/2009 10:26:20

EAST END TRUE LIFE STORIES (114 min) Cineworld West India Quay Wednesday 29 April, 9.15pm

With an area of London overflowing with personal stories and social issues, the East End offers the new documentary filmmakers plenty of scope to tell essential stories in creative ways. Rooms With A View UK | 18 min | Dir: Verity-Jane Keefe

07/04/2009 10:26:20 mediagroup_136x192.indd 1

07/04/2009 10:26:20

Steel Homes

The Day Lee Valley Closed

UK | 10 min | Dir: Eva Weber

UK | 7 min | Dir: Holly Stead / Toby Smith

Speedway

Dogs Gone

Sweden | 6 min | Dir: Peter Magnusson

UK | 15 min | Dir: Jonathan Brind

A Village Stroll With David Hoyle

Ground Floor Right

UK | 15 min | Dir: Nathan Evans

UK | 5 min | Dir: Marlene Schiott Rasmussen

Close Your Eyes And Look At Me

Idol Mind

UK | 6 min | Dir: Lindsey Dryden

UK | 14 min | Dir: Kate Greenslade

Sanctuary

A Short Film About Jazz

UK | 4 min | Dir: Lovejit Dhaliwal

UK | 3 min | Dir: Corine Dhondee

Left Behind

The Perfect O

Germany | 13 min Dir: Fabian Daub / Andreas Grafastein

UK | 7 min | Dir: Fizz

Altered Egos

UK | 5 min | Dir: Rob Heard

UK | 25 min Dir: John Molinari / Teilo Vellacott

Pl4te5

Reid’s Of Tottenham

UK | 10 min Dir: Sadia Ur-Rehman / Shazia Ur-Rehman

My Showreel UK | 30 min | Dir: Alejandra Fernandez

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SPECIAL EVENTS The events in this section are listed in order of date

Spitalfields Daily Friday 24 – Thursday 30 April 10am – 10pm This event is FREE

Filmmakers Centre The East End Film Festival Filmmakers Centre will be based aboard a Routemaster bus moored in Bishops Square in Spitalfields Market. Join us on the top deck for a cup of tea and a cupcake to find out about the festival, or come along to one of our workshops or seminars where there’ll be an opportunity to get up close and personal with a whole variety of film companies and Industry professionals. Do drop in and say hello! East End Film Festival friends and partners will join us to deliver workshops (from Friday 24 – Wednesday 29 April inclusive, daily at 3pm and 5.30pm). Please check website for full details and exact times.

Warp X A pioneering digital film studio based in Sheffield, allied to Warp Films and Warp Records.

Slinky Pictures Internationally renowned East London based film and television production company.

Kino London Kino London is the newest branch of the worldwide Kino movement, spanning fourteen countries on four continents.

CIDA (Cultural Industries Development Agency) The leading support organisation for the creative and cultural sector.

Rushes One of the world’s leading fully integrated, HD capable post production facilities.

NPA (The New Producers Alliance) National membership organisation and registered charity dedicated to providing essential training and networking opportunities for filmmakers.

The London Short Film Festival (short fiction film surgery) Bring your shorts down to the Filmmakers Centre to get feedback from LSFF representatives on a first come first served basis. 42

Bulb Ideas Demystifying, informing and explaining the truths about music rights clearance and commercial licensing. 43


SPECIAL EVENTS

SPECIAL EVENTS

Image from ‘Ceres: The True Heads’, created by Rushes Postproduction 3D Department, who will be leading a workshop at the Filmmakers Centre.

Branchage Jersey International Film Festival (short documentary film surgery) Festival Director Xanthe Hamilton will provide advice and feedback on your short docs on a first come first served basis. East15 Vito Rocco (Faintheart) joins us at the Filmmakers Centre to explain how working with actors gives their new filmmaking course a unique creative edge at this hugely internationally respected School.

Says Who Music The one-stop online music library search engine will join us at the Filmmakers Centre for one hour daily to discuss how to source music and create a high value score on a budget. DV Talent The agents to top-end DV people, will join us at the Filmmakers Centre between 1pm and 2pm from Monday 27 – Wednesday 29 April to answer all your questions regarding shooting a digital film on a low budget.

The Taxi Trilogy Lisa Byrne Four Corners Gallery 23rd - 26th April (closed Sunday 26th), 1pm - 6pm

As part of the East End Film Festival, Four Corners presents a continuous screening of Lisa Byrne's three short films, Taxi I, II & III. Artist Lisa Byrne part funded her art practice by driving taxis in Northern Ireland. From these journeys with passengers she produced three short films which are dark, edgy and tinged with humour. Taxi I Partyin' The camera relentlessly points directly to the passengers to reveal, through duration, an image they project of themselves. In their awareness of being filmed, they disguise and unfold information that holds their own tenuous direction.

EAST END IN 3D: Time Lapse INSTALLATION Spitalfields Daily Friday 24 – Thursday 30 April 10am – 10pm This event is FREE

Brian McClave and Gavin Peacock have teamed up with the East End Film Festival to present five new stereoscopic (3D) time-lapse videos in a specially constructed projection box in Spitalfields Market throughout the week of the festival. Shot using the timelapse method, a whole day’s activity has been compressed into several minutes, showing the daily range of urban landscapes and human activity within the area. Accompanying each film is a soundtrack from a different well-known composer. (See page 47 for the full list of composers). In addition to being time-lapse the videos will also be stereoscopic, an unusual combination that hasn’t been seen in the UK before. To do this McClave and Peacock have built their own 3D time-lapse camera based around two high quality, digital stills cameras The exhibition is supported by Spitalfie1ds, Inition – Everything in 3D, Arts Council England and Site-Eye Time Lapse Films.

Taxi II New Years Day 2007 5am A story just after the event, recounting the previous passage of the drug dealing UFF paramilitary. Taxi III "Stand Up and Cry Like a Man"(Christy Moore) Through bombardment and repetition stories are told by taxi drivers of their experience of surviving paramilitary attack during the 80s and 90s in Northern Ireland. For more information on this and other Four Corners training and events visit:

www.fourcornersfilm.co.uk

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Four Corners’ gallery space has a long and celebrated track record as an exhibition venue, commissioning and exhibiting up to four significant visual arts projects each year.e

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THE COMPOSERS Michael Nyman Michael Nyman’s restless creativity and multi-faceted art has made him one of the most fascinating and influential cultural icons of our times. With recently discovered Polish roots, Michael grew up in East London and we are honoured to have him return for his second year with the festival, this time as a contributing composer for the 3D film installation. Ari Benjamin Meyers Ari Benjamin Meyers is one of the most exciting and eclectic musicians of his generation and is continually developing new musical and performative concepts that push the boundaries of current genres. Working with artists Anri Sala, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster and Tino Sehgal, Ari’s work often takes the form of “productive sabotage” where he constructs and deconstructs musical situations and deliberately plays on the expectations of a given audience. Alabama Three Formed in the 80s in an East London community centre, Alabama 3 (The Sopranos theme tune Woke Up This Morning) is a pop band, a punk rock, blues and country techno situationist crypto-Marxist-Leninist electro band. We are delighted to premiere a never been released track by Alabama 3 in this year’s 3D film installation. David Arnold Best known for the world famous James Bond films with Daniel Craig, Grammy winning composer David Arnold has become one of the British film industry’s most talented and respected players. Switching seamlessly from orchestral grandeur to more scaled down urban grooves, David’s work has style, wit, versatility and an unabashed love of the lush, romantic, ridiculous, energetic and thrilling. Ben Park Ben Park’s family settled in the East End of London after fleeing Nazi Germany. He is joint artistic director of the avante garde Walker Dance Park company (artists in residence at the Oxford Playhouse and the Associate Contemporary Dance Company to the Royal Opera House) and is a renowned composer best known for his TV work including an Oscar Nomination for BBC’s animated series of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

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For full programme information, visit www.eastendfilmfestival.com

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SPECIAL EVENTS

© Takashi Okazaki, Gonzo / Gdh

SPECIAL EVENTS

TEASMITH TEA BAR & GALLERY TeaSmith is pleased to present Lucy Izzard’s animated short film Tea Total, a documentary-style celebration of the quintessentially British tradition of tea drinking. Made as her final graduation film from Kingston University, Tea Total won the BBC Three New Animation Award in 2005 leading to two more British themed films commissioned and produced by BBC Bristol; Come Rain or Shine and One of the Family which can be viewed on her website, www.lucyizzzard.co.uk The film will be shown along side an exhibition of tea themed illustrations in the TeaSmith Gallery, a contemporary space within TeaSmith’s unique tea bar. The bar will be open as usual for service of our exceptional teas and William Curley’s exquisite patisserie and award-winning chocolates during the festival. Please stop by and check us out.

Spitalfields Daily Thursday 23 – Thursday 30 April This event is FREE

Black Representation On Screen

The Path

This evening of screenings and discussion celebrate and examine the work of black filmmakers living in the UK today. A selection of short films will be followed by a panel discussion looking at issues of Black Representation on the British Screen. The panel will be chaired by Nadia Denton, Director of BFM International Film Festival.

Rich Mix Friday 24 April, 7pm

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Short Film Programme: The Path UK | 13 min | Dir: Victor Adegbesan Hair We Are UK | 6 min | Dir: Daniella Blechner Enter The Preacher UK | 10 min | Dir: Paulette James Eb And Flo UK | 10 min | Dir: GX Jacques Franklin Haywire UK | 12 min | Dir: Sinclair Obiora Slapper UK | 15 min | Dir: Chiwetel Ejiofor

AN ANIME EXTRAVANGANZA! AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION Japan | 2009

BASH Friday 24 April 6.30pm Don’t forget to collect a goodie bag (worth £25!) on the way out! Tickets available at: www.ticketweb.co.uk (search for Afro Samurai).

Director: Fuminori Kizaki | UK Premiere + Live music Afro Samurai is back and he’s coming to kick butt at the East End Film Festival 2009! On Friday April 24, Manga, SkepEvents and the EEFF present the UK premiere of Studio Gonzo’s Afro Samurai: Resurrection. With a heavyweight Hollywood voice cast, including Samuel L Jackson, Lucy Liu and Mark Hamill, an incredible soundtrack by legendary hip hop producer The RZA (of the Wu-Tang Clan) and distinctive animation, the Afro Samurai has an edginess and cult popularity that other animations can only dream about. This will be followed by a wild party into the early hours, featuring live performances from virtuoso J-Rock duo Levelload and flavoursome hip-hop DJs Haruka and Butcherd Beats. Throw in a mind-blowing VJ mix by The Photon Shepherds, playable demo pods of the exciting Afro Samurai videogame from Atari, specially commissioned aerosol art by End Of The Line and much more and an unforgettable night is in the making.

Afro Samurai:Resurrection will be joined by a screening of the nerve-wrenching Blood: The Last Vampire, the anime inspiration behind the big screen Hollywood blockbuster of the same name due for release this summer

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SPECIAL EVENTS

THE IAIN SINCLAIR WEEKEND 25 — 26 APRIL Rio Cinema Saturday 25 April 1.30pm

London’s East End is excavated by the city’s most celebrated chronicler. Hackney: That Rose-Red Empire is Iain Sinclair’s personal record of the area of London in which he has lived for almost forty years. Hackney was once an Arcadian suburb of grand houses, orchards and conservatories that has (some believe), declined into a zone of asylums, hospitals and dirty industry. Persistently revived, reinvented and betrayed, it has become a symbol of inner-city chaos, crime and poverty. The Olympics, Sinclair argues, are a final attempt to clamp down on a renegade spirit, seeking to complete the process: erasure disguised as ‘progress’. Double Bill:

THE Criminal UK | 1960 | Dir: Joseph Losey

Mr. Arkadin

Contact Andrew on or 020 7770 6283 co.uk andrew@thebrew.

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US | 1955 | Dir: Orson Welles

“Joseph Losey’s The Criminal (1960) and Mr Arkadin (1955) by Orson Welles: two rarely seen cult films with no obvious local pedigree; both of which, by indirect paths (the only kind worth exploring), haunt my recent book, Hackney: That Rose-Red Empire. The Criminal was the reason for my first visit to Dalston, in the early Sixties. A prison drama, shot in lustrous black-and-white by Robert Krasker. Losey, an exiled American director who had worked with Brecht, presents a fated London gangster with a film noir conclusion in a snowfield out of 51


SPECIAL EVENTS

SPECIAL EVENTS Trauffaut’s Shoot the Pianist. The script, echoing Brendan Behan with its songs and rituals, is by Alun Owen (who was then living near De Beauvoir Square). Stanley Baker, a friend of Albert Dimes and other Soho faces of the time, has something of the look and style of a later Hackney resident, Tony Lambrianou (the Kray associate). Mr Arkadin, in its alternative version, gave my book its subtitle: ‘Confidential Report’. A model of how to make a paranoid detective fable out of a tall tale; out of home movie improvisations, old friends brought back, yet again, to do the business. The monstrous, whale-like Arkadin hires an investigator to tease out the story of his own past. Witnesses, having made their contribution, are murdered. Welles is composing a delirious suicide note to his career, a film built to be lost. And meanwhile its director slipped into London to shoot an interview with a bunch of old ladies, living in an almshouse behind the Hackney Empire (where he was rehearsing Moby Dick). But that’s another story...” Iain Sinclair

Hackney: That Rose-Red Empire Rio Cinema Sunday 26 April 12pm

In this programme of films and discussions, Sinclair presents a cinematic trawl through the borough with a rich tapestry of classic cinema clips, documentary pieces and contemporary film. The afternoon is broken into three parts: The Set Up, The Twist, and The Pay Off, before you step back into the ‘real’ Hackney to muse over what you have seen.

Silent Cinema : Nosferatu + Minima Spitalfields Market Saturday 25 April 8pm This event is FREE

Watch out for Patrick Keiller’s Stoke Newington expedition as imagined by Daniel Defoe, Orson Welles’ visit to the Hackney Empire, John Smith’s seminal Girl Chewing Gum, activist group Open Dalston’s film on demolition of Four Aces / Labyrinth in Dalston Lane, Emily Richardson’s recent Hells Angels footage, plus further work from Simon Pummell, Rachel Lichtenstein, Miranda Pennell, Anja Kirschner, Tony Grisoni, and Javier Correa.

Nosferatu Germany |1929 | Dir: FW Murnau Count Orlok moves to Wisburg, bringing both the plague and an obsession with the lovely Ellen - the only one with the power to end his evil. Nosferatu is the world’s first great horror movie and one of the pinnacles of the German silent era of filmmaking. Made by the German expressionist FW Murnau, the film has the genuine power to be creepy, odd, alluring, mythic, and beautiful by way of disturbing and enduring images. Max Shreck, in his most notorious role as the monstrous Count Orlock, is a vampire who comes out at night to tempt the living and of course, to suck their blood.

Girl Chewing Gum

Open Dalstom

The panel titled Images of the Lost, the Reforgotten and the Resistance will include Sinclair alongside Tony Grisoni, Emily Richardson, Anja Kirschner, Miranda Pennell, and chaired by Gareth Evans from Vertigo magazine.

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On Saturday 25 April a giant outdoor screen will appear in the marketplace for a free, public screening of a classic silent film. The film will be complemented by live music from acclaimed soundscape artists Minima. Comprising of drums, bass, guitar and cello, Minima provide a totally unique live experience without the use of backing tracks. Minima’s music is an audacious 21st Century interpretation of the images of silent and avant-garde film.

Minima Minima’s music is an audacious 21st Century interpretation of the images of silent films. Formed in 2006, Minima have since performed in a variety of cinemas and art centres, as well as music-orientated festivals and challenging unusual venues such as churches and railway arches. The soundtracks evolve organically, each musician adding depth and detail with each performance. Minima comprise of: Alex Hogg - Guitar, Mick Frangou - Drums, Adrian Smith - Bass, Greg Hall - Cello

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SPECIAL EVENTS

SPECIAL EVENTS Music and Video

CinÉphilia Mid-Length Film Jam

Kasms

(incl. Kasms and Bretton LIVE) We play host at Vibe Live to the marriage of sound and image in a selection of creative music videos and short films with exclusive music soundtracks, followed by live sets by two of London’s newest and most exciting bands. Kasms emerge from the wreckage of the groundbreaking Test Icicles and include the banshee vocals of Rachel Mary Callaghan, marrying the punk of The Cramps to the progressive aggression of Sonic Youth. Bretton’s experimental brand of improvised, dance-led post-punk is spawned from the South East London scene. Not just a band, they have immersed themselves in creative projects, including exhibiting audio-visual installations, publishing numerous magazine articles and filming a handful of awardwinning short films - some of which are screening tonight!

Aannatt

Vibe Live Sunday 26 April, 1pm – 11.15pm. £10 on the door. One ticket covers entry to all programmes

What happens to all those films, made consistently throughout the history of cinema, which run to a length of 30 – 65 minutes, outside the usual parameters of comfortable screening as ‘short’ films or as ‘feature-length’? This unique and innovative event will showcase just some of the many excellent contemporary films that fall within this supposedly ‘problem length’, and interrogate the question of duration from the perspective of filmmakers and viewers, festival selectors and cinema programmers. In doing so it will illuminate the industrial constraints from funding and commissioning to distribution and exhibition, that have marginalised films that simply take what time they need to achieve their ambitions, and also asks how the changing nature of film festival activity and alternative forms of dissemination of audio-visual material is allowing more filmmakers to produce works of various lengths and how these films may reach ever more literate and inquisitive audiences.

Vibe Live Monday 27 April, doors open 6.15pm Programme One: 1pm – 3.30pm Rene

Programme Two: 5.15pm – 8.15pm Suddenly Forever (UK premiere)

Short Film Programme: London Vibes

Piccadillly Nites

Switzerland | 29min| 2007 Dir: Tobias Nölle

Poland | 2008 | 42 min Dir: Zbigniew Bzymek

UK | 24 min | Dir: Shih-Yum Su

UK | 5 min | Dir: Ben Osbourne

Round

Project One

Bruno

664KM (UK premiere)

UK | 6 min | Dir: Kirk Hendry

UK | 7 min | Dir: Yohan Forbes

USA | 2007 | 34 min | Dir: Sam Goetz

France | 2008 |42 min Dir: Arnaud Bigeard

Stargames

Wall

UK | 3 min | Dir: Jasmin Jodry

UK | 3 min | Dir: Bertan Cakgoz

Marilena From P7

Meet Me in the Middle

Dictee Magique

Romania | 2005 | 45 min Dir: Cristian Nemescu

UK | 3 min Dir: George Mellor / Hugh Frost

Belgium | 3 min | Dir: Aaron Fuks

June (UK premiere)

Aannatt

Serbia | 3 min | Dir: Milor Gojkovic

Sweden |2007 |45 min | Dir: Fijona Jonuzi

UK | 5 min | Dir: Max Hattler

Hey

Flummox

Israel | 4 min | Dir: Guy Ben Shetrit

Programme Three: 8.30pm – 11.15pm Village in the Snow (UK premiere)

UK | 3 min | Dir: Lilly LaMia

Accordian

This is Where We Live

UK | 4 min | Dir: George Wu

France | 2008 |49 min | Dir: Martin Rit

UK | 3 min Dir: Ben Falk / Josiah Newbolt

Taxidermy

Norway |2007 |52 min Dir: Hisham Zaman

Resident and Occupant

Tea with the Queen

UK | 7 min | Dir: Spencer Cross

UK | 4 min | Dir: Dan Blacker

Primrose Hill (UK premiere)

Indoor Western

Fanfarlo

France | 2007 | 57 min | Dir: Mikhaël Hers

UK | 1 min | Dir: Ivan Willock

Big Brother Britain

UK | 4 min Dir: Klaas Diersmann / Dan Sutherland

UK | 3 min | Dir: Bertan Cakgoz

Bone You

The Night Drew Us

UK | 3 min | Dir: Roman Rappak

Spain | 2 min | Dir: Juan Carrascal

A Long Narrow Street

Shifting Shape

UK | 5 min | Dir: Genio

Liviu’s Dream Romania | 2004 | 45 min Dir: Corneliu Poromboiu

Panel discussion: 3.45pm – 5.00pm ‘The Problem of Mid-length?’ Panellists include international film festival selectors, cinema programmers, film critics, short film producers, and six of the eleven filmmakers whose works are being screened at this unique event.

Winterland

Beirut

UK | 2 min | Dir: Roman Rappak

UK | 2 min | Dir: Rebecca Davies

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For full programme information, visit www.eastendfilmfestival.com

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Maggid Street / Diary Film: Hackney 1969

Optimistic Immigrants A night of film, live music and discussion run by Dan Edelstyn of Optimistic Productions. It builds on the themes of Eastern European exile, immigration and integration seen in his own film How to Re-Establish a Vodka Empire (www.myvodkaempire.com) and brings together films, music and discussion, exploring themes of migration in new and diverse ways. The event focuses particularly on the immigration history and stories of Brick Lane, East London and the surrounding area.

Dalston Docs A triple-bill of East End documentaries, followed by a panel discussion with the featured filmmakers.

Vibe Live Tuesday 28 April 7pm

Writer Iain Sinclair teams up with graphic novelist Dave McKean (Mirrormask) to introduce a re-imagining of Sinclair’s own unique diary film of late 60s / early 70s Hackney and of Maggid Street. They will be joined by fellow Albion Village Press founder and artist, writer, performer and professor of sculpture at Ruskin College Oxford, Brian Catling reading from his book The Vorhh with live saxophone accompaniment from John Harle.

Rich Mix Tuesday 28 April 7pm

Rio Cinema Tuesday 28 April 6.15pm

Save Our Heritage UK | 37 min | Dir: Winstan Whitter

A short sequel to Whitter’s highly acclaimed feature documentary Legacy In The Dust about the history of Dalston’s Four Aces Club. The Club was at the forefront of East London’s nightclub scene from it’s reggae days of the 70s to it’s groundbreaking status as the birth of acid house and rave culture in the 80s. The building was eventually condemned by Hackney Council in the late 90s and has controversially been knocked down to make way for luxury flats and the East London extension line. Life On The Grave Side UK | 32 min | Dir: Marie Bryant

This is a poignant, warm and entertaining portrait of Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington and of those who frequent this extraordinary Victorian burial ground. Handsome Bastard UK | 24 min | Dir: Guy Bolongaro

A charming tale of a veteran artist and Eastender. 56

Not In Our Name

Directors: Hazuan Hashim / Phil Maxwell “Very moving….the film subtly and brilliantly contrasts the difference between destruction and creativity” – Tony Benn Six years in the making, Hazuan Hashim and Phil Maxwell’s film examines the work of Artists Against the War. The film was shot in fourteen different countries and features footage from Iraq and the USA opening up a rich visual landscape to explore the folly of war. The screening of this specially commissioned sixty minute cut of the film will be followed by a panel discussion on the dynamics of art, film and protest. Although this is a truly international film, its roots are firmly in London with plenty of reminders of opposition to the war in the East End. Panellists will include the film’s directors, artists Bob and Roberta Smith, May Ayres and playwright Hussain Ismail.

UK | 60 min | 2008

Amnesty International Human Rights Centre Tuesday 28 April 7pm

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SPECIAL EVENTS

East End Heritage Screening

Another Dimension And How To Get There – The Future Of 3D In Film

Pool of London

85 min | UK | 1951 | Dir: Basil Dearden

With the rapidly increasing production of stereo 3D films around the world, East End Film Festival presents a panel discussion on how this swiftly evolving technology will have an impact on the entire industry from production right through to ‘bums on seats’. Prior to the discussion will be a presentation of the hugely entertaining history of 3D film.

This tale of crime and forbidden love in London’s Docklands is a gripping portrayal of a forgotten city. The film offers a fascinating look into the racial politics of another era, featuring the first interracial relationship in British cinema. The story concerns a member of a ship’s crew whose life takes a serious turn when he finds himself embroiled in a robbery in the City. The London Nobody Knows 53 Min | UK | 1967 | Dir: Norman Cohen

This documentary, adapted from by the book by historian Geoffrey Fletcher captures a little-seen side of the city. Part history lesson, part social commentary, we journey into London’s obscure corners, many of which have now vanished forever. Locations include Old Spitalfields Market. It gives an astonishing insight into the real suffering and poverty in London at a time when decaying housing was being hurriedly replaced by high-rise living.

Rio Cinema Wednesday 29 April 2.30pm FREE entrance to the over 60s (plus tea and cake)

The panel will be chaired by Don Eales – Business Development Consultant at Inition, with panelists including Charlotte Jones – Cinema Analyst at Screen Digest, David Wooster – pioneering stereo 3D producer from Can Communicate, Bob Mayson – Managing Director of Real D in Europe, Peter Buckingham – Head of Exhibition and Distribution for the UK Film Council and Matt Eyre – Vice President of Operations for Cineworld in Europe.

Cineworld West India Quay Wednesday 29 April 6.30pm

The event is sponsored by East End based company Inition – Everything in 3D, leading the way in stereo 3D productions.

The discussion will be followed by an open Q&A session.

First Positions Presents: Right Place Right Time First Positions and the East End Film Festival will host this energetic night of live music and VJs, eating and drinking, relaxed networking and general creative mayhem! Attendees will be filmmakers, festival-goers and members of East London’s young creative community. The aim of the evening is for people to meet and mingle with other like minded people from the film world. Whether actor, director, writer, editor, distributor, established, up-and-coming, film school, art school, university of life, we want you all to come. The main point of the evening is you, and what you can get from it - contacts, friends, jobs, who knows... but come along and find out. Getting on the guest list and confirming your place is easy. Simply email your name and details (size of party, other guests etc) to: firstpositions@eastendfilmfestival.com We heartily endorse this as not only will it save you money but it will ensure that you get in! So anyone that works in the industry should come along and meet fellow professionals, share ideas, experiences, future projects, and most of all have fun! 58

Vibe Live Wednesday 29 April 6pm £6 on door/ £4 guest list

The London Perambulator UK | 2009

Whitechapel Gallery Wednesday 29 April 7pm

Director: John Rogers Leading London writers Will Self and Iain Sinclair explore the importance of the liminal spaces at the city’s fringe, it’s edgelands, through the work of enigmatic and downright eccentric writer and researcher Nick Papadimitriou - a man whose life is dedicated to exploring and archiving areas beyond the permitted territories of the high street, the retail park, suburban walkways. This film looks at the city we deny and the future city that awaits us. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion looking at art, public space and the potentials hidden in the forgotten corners of the city, with panellists including Will Self, Iain Sinclair, chaired by Dr. Andrea Philips, Head of Cross Arts post-graduate courses at Goldsmiths. 59


SPECIAL EVENTS Michael Bracewell In Conversation: Obsessions – Free Cinema To Roxy Music Novelist, writer and cultural commentator Michael Bracewell presents and explores two short films that hold a particular resonance for him. Roxette, made in 1977 as a graduation piece by five art students shows us what it was like to be obsessed with Roxy Music in 1970’s Manchester. These youngsters had devoted their lives to the cause that was Roxy, with both good and bad results. Food For A Blush, produced and directed by Elizabeth Russell and edited by Michael Tuchner was first shown as part of the Free Cinema screenings of the early 1960s. It too looks at a group of art students committed to a life that differs from their surroundings but in this case it is the 1950s, before Lady Chatterley’s Lover and the Beatles’ first LP.

Rich Mix Wednesday 29 April 7pm

Michael Bracewell has written seven works of fiction as well six works of non-fiction including England is Mine: Pop Life In Albion From Wilde To Goldie (1997), Roxyism (2004) and Roxy Music: Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, Art, Ideas And Fashion (2005). BASH_EEFF_ADVERT-final1.pdf

27/3/09

YOUTH EVENTS

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Genesis Cinema Saturday 25 April 4pm This event is FREE

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A screening of six short and fresh films produced by groups of young people from the East End as part of the award winning Tower Hamlets Summer University funded ‘What We Want!’ (WWW!) project. These 5-minute films give a first-hand insight into what it’s like to be a young person living in London today and cover a range of thought provoking topics they feel passionate about including the complexities of race issues, knife crime, what it’s really like to suffer from manic depression as a teenager and the relationships of young people and their parents. Created by young people aged 13–20 with mentoring from media professional Shake Ur Arts. For more information on www! and the other projects THSU run for young people visit www.summeruni.org

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Genesis Cinema Saturday 25 April 2pm

Director: Odudu Inyang A gritty and thought provoking drama that follows the struggles of young people living in East London as they try and transform their lives through music. Featured characters include: Kieron, who has struggled with violence, survival and a sense of belonging, and Sarah who is a personification of hope and the possibility that things can change. Written by music technology student Odudu Inyang, with an original soundtrack and choreography by members of House of Talent, a youth arts initiative run by A-team Arts. 61


YOUTH EVENTS

LONE WOLF TV TV & FILM

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ID:London and Chocolate Films presents

THE POWER OF BLACK HAIR + SECRETS FROM THE SAZ

POST PRODUCTION

2K POST PRODUCTION

Stratford Picturehouse Saturday 25 April 11.30am This event is FREE

SOHO JUST GOT BIGGER Tired of cramped and expensive edit suites in Soho? Need some space, comfort and expertise to post produce your feature film? Lone Wolf specialise in digital post production and are experts in digital cinema workflows, offering you the latest technology, highly skilled editors and colourists.

SUPPORTING LOW BUDGET FILM ,ONE 7OLF ARE DELIGHTED TO SUPPORT THE 5+ lLM INDUSTRY BY OFFERING BESPOKE POST PRODUCTION PACKAGES FOR LOW BUDGET lLM PROJECTS )NVESTMENT DEFERRED PAYMENT OPTIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE 5SING THE LATEST DIGITAL CINEMA TECHNOLOGY WE CAN OFFER BESPOKE production and post production services to make it much easier for producers to get their films off the ground.

Two films made as part of ID:London, a documentary filmmaking project written, directed, filmed and edited by young people aged 9–12 years and produced by Chocolate Films, exploring London’s cultural diversity through the eyes of young people from its minority communities. Supported by the Lottery through the UK Film Council’s First Light Movies initiative, and Newham Council. The Power Of Black Hair (7 min) charts the history and importance of Afro hair through the ages with surprising explanations and inventive animations. Do you know who invented the shampoo press and curl? Have you ever conked your hair? Ever wondered why the jheri curl was so popular in the eighties? Secrets From The Saz (5 min) is about Murat, a young Londoner who’s chance encounter with an old man busking with a traditional Kurdish instrument takes him on a magical journey back in time to discover his cultural identity. Made in partnership with the Kurdish Community Centre.

SPECIALIST SERVICES s + ($ 3$ /FF LINE EDITING 7ET $RY (IRE s + ($ 3$ /NLINE EDITING s #ONFORMING DIGITISING AND lLM SCANNING s 2%$ MM MM WORKmOWS s + ($ 3$ 'RADING !PPLE #OLOR $UAL ,INK 3$) s $ -OTION GRAPHICS TITLING !FTER %FFECTS !PPLE -OTION s $OLBY TRACKLAY AND MIXING s !WARD WINNING MUSIC SCORING AND COMPOSITION s $6$ $UPLICATION 2EPLICATION s 6IDEO TRANSCODING #USTOM 7EB ENCODING /UR "ATTERSEA FACILITY WITH VIEWS OF THE ,ONDON %YE AND THE "ATTERSEA 0OWER 3TATION OFFERS VERY COMFORTABLE CLIENT SUITES COMPLETE with sofas, private phones lines, fridges, wireless internet access, off street parking and complimentary food and drinks. We want to MAKE YOUR POST EXPERIENCE BIGGER AND BETTER THAN ANYWHERE ELSE EVEN ON A LOW BUDGET

THIRD FLOOR | 220 QUEENSTOWN ROAD | BATTERSEA | LONDON | SW8 4LP | T: 0845 838 25 25 | F: 0845 838 26 26

www.lonewolf.tv 62 east end film full page*.indd

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CREDITS Director: Alison Poltock

Press and Marketing: Stuart Haggas

Producer: Carla MacKinnon

Website Manager/ Marketing Assistant: Mila Lipowicz

Festival Programming: Alison Poltock, Carla MacKinnon, Philip Ilson, Ben Millar Programmer: Philip Ilson

Festival Assistant: Aglaia Gelpke Volunteer Co-ordinator: Sarah Fox

Spitalfields 3D Music Co-ordination: Amelia Robinson Festival Trailer: Lucy Izzard (for Slinky Pictures) Website and Programme Design: Self and Company

THANKS TO: Stephen Murray, Stephanie Turnbull (London Borough of Tower Hamlets), David Fearn, David Curtis. (London Borough of Newham), Lucy Hose, Stephen Bromberg (Lee Valley Regional Park Authority), Caryl Evans (London Borough of Hackney),Nick Smales, Paul Armitage (Tower Hamlets 2012 Unit), Hadrian Garrard ,Anna Doyle (Cultural Olympiad), Rebecca Polding, Elinor Unwin (Film London), Tim Harrison (Arts Council), Dan Simmons (Skillset), Tyrone Walker-Hebborn, Will Holland (Genesis Cinema), Rod Rhule (Rich Mix), Charles Rubenstein (Rio Cinema), Clare Binns, Mark Burkett, Micallar Walker, Madeleine Mullett (Picturehouse Cinemas), Tim Hamlyn, Clare McCollum (Cineworld West India Quay), Alan Miller, John Wright (Vibe Live), Toby Brown, Ray Dervin, Lisa Ispani (Spitalfields Market), Alison Willis (Amnesty International), Nicola Sim (Whitechapel Gallery), Bernie, Stuart & Tom (Rhythm Factory), Steve Burkes (Alhambra), Lyn Turner, Owen Thomas(Four Corners), Reet Remmel (Estonian Embassy), Nick Herbert (Excel Couriers), Kaiser & Kobir (The Filim Company), Andy Millns, Don Eales (Inition), Robin Wealleans, Zac Layton (Pictureworks), Marlena Lukasiak (Polish Cultural Institute), Brian McClave, Gavin Peacock (Site Eye), Yoram Allon (Wallflower Press), Jake, Jez & Danielle (Lone Wolf TV), James Mullighan, Helen Jack (Shooting People), Nicola Millington (Kind Of Blue), Andrew Clough / Niraj Kapur (Skep Media), Judit Koros (Hungarian Cultural Institute), David Pope (New Producers Alliance), Anna MacDonald (London Film Academy), Tom Hunter, Tom Butler (London Calling), Maria Manton / Ryan Smith (Slinky Pictures), Nadia Denton (BFM), Peter Mikl (Austrian Embassy), Kadri Pahla (Amrion Production), Ailsa Ferrier, Daniel Graham (Artificial Eye), Kira Milmo (Bishopsgate Institute), Fleur Buckley, Andrew Youdell, Ian O’Sullivan (British Film Institute), Ana Tovey (Chocolate Films), Camilla (City Rats), Renata Clarke (Czech Centre), Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor (Desperate Optimists), Zoe Flower (EM Foundation), Ron Benson (Eureka Entertainment), Sara Squire (ICA Projects), Eric Stevens (Independent Film Company), Brendan Clarke (Insight Lighting), Spencer Pollard (Kaleidoscope), Katalin Vajda (Magyar Filmhunio), Frederique de Rooij (Fortissimo Films), Thania Dimitrakopoulou, Patrick Nordmann (Match Factory), Adrian Smith (Minima), Hristina (Miramar Film Ltd), Mel Hewes, Karla Barnacle-Best (Motiroti), Natalya Loskunina (New Cinema Distribution), Robert Beeson (New Wave Films), Stephen Woolley (Number 9 Films), Ben Luxford (Optimum Releasing), Dan Edelstyn, Hilary Powell (Optimistic Immigrants), Christine Hartland (Patchwork Productions), Mark Collings (Poplar Boxing Club), Miles Standish (Pro Motion Hire), Alicia Jourdan (Rezo Films), Louis Savy (Sci-Fi London), Stefan Kitanov, Vihrena Ninova (Sofia International Film Festival), Elliot Binns (Verve Pictures), Jon Sadler (Warner Music), Camille Rousselet (Wide Management), Esther Devos (Wild Bunch), Marie Foulston (Soda Pictures), Banafscheh (Sheherazad Media International), Gareth Evans (Vertigo Magazine), Hulya Ozturk (Yeninesil Film), Dean Fisher (Scanner-Rhodes), Oliver Filser (Academy of Media Arts Koln), Firuzan Kocak (Bir Film), Iain Sinclair, Fergal Byrne, John Rogers, Phil Maxwell, Jovan Arsenic, Winstan Whitter, Mehreen Jabbar & Javed Jabbar, Justine Gordon Smith, Anja M. Kirshner, Kieran Evans, Anna Doyle, Zhang Chi, Gea Russell, Avik Saha, Munire Armstrong, Toni Schifer, Hal Wheeler, Ian Simpson, Roman Rappak , Tristan Primagi, Michael Walton, Mustapha Gundogdu, Cary Rajinder Sahwney, Rachael Castell, Annette Gentz, Anna Hevey, Jan Naszewski, Alys Beider, Elizabeth Bottiril, Ilona Cepel, Estelle Csillag, Damien Cullen, Lola Dauda, Joanna Eyre, Naomi Fathers, Freya Eden-Ellis, Jamie Fretwell, William Gilbert, Becky Graham, Samuel Hilton, Roxana Holliman, Theresa Jones, Gemma Mitchell, Tamara Moore, Shelley Ni, Olivier Pierre, Holly Scarlett, Jo Seager, Laura Shacham, Rosa Souter, Sarah Steel, Emma Sutton, Poonam Thaker, Camila Wilson

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