ScreenPlay Programme 2009

28 AUGUST 6 SEPTEMBER 2009

WELCOME TO SCREENPLAY 2009 �������� ������ ��������

This year the festival has two strands – the first being our theme of ‘Compass Points’, where the films have a connection with north, south, east or west either in their titles, their content or the countries in which they were made. So, we’ll be going north to Iceland with Heima, South with Sir Ernest Shackleton and the ‘Endurance’, east with Howl’s Moving Castle and west to Skye

with Seachd and The Inheritance, to name but a few.

We will be screening films around the north, south, east and west of Shetland too, thanks to a partnership with Shetland Film Club. The Club will visit various venues around the isles, including some schools and care centres, in order to make this a festival that can be enjoyed by as many

folk as possible (if we don’t get to you this year, there’s always next year…..).

Of course, any point on the compass is a relative one, and the north of England features largely this year in our second festival strand, the works of acclaimed British director Terence Davies. We are honoured to have Terence Davies visiting the festival this year to talk about his films. Of Time and the City, his most recent film, has gathered enormous critical acclaim worldwide, and will close the festival on the Sunday evening.

Our regular curators Mark Kermode and Linda Ruth Williams will be here, and other visitors include film director Simon Miller, screenplay writers Joanne Cockwell and Mark Grieg, TV producer Foz Allan, writer/producer Tim Barrow, the BBC’s Head of Independent Drama and Drama Scotland, Anne Mensah, and her colleague Matthew Read, Executive Producer for Drama Scotland.

There are all sorts of screenings: archive material, movie classics, late night features,

works by independent film-makers, animation for all age groups, music video and feature film, plus the regular audience favourite – an evening of new short films made in Shetland.

There will also be a television strand, with a screening of an episode of the BBC’s Robin Hood, followed by a panel discussion on adapting work for TV. So many films, so much to see and hear – look out for special ticket offers for festival goers.

We look forward to seeing you all at The Garrison and at venues Shetland wide.

CURATORS MARK KERMODE Celebrated film critic Mark Kermode has developed a cult following from his honest reviewing style.

After completing his PhD on modern horror fiction, he became a film journalist, contributing to many publications including NME, The Observer, Fangoria, and Sight and Sound. He has written books on The Shawshank Redemption and The Exorcist, and made TV documentaries about such milestone movies as Blade Runner,

The French Connection, and The Devils. His favourite films include Mary Poppins and The Seventh Seal. He presents The Culture Show on BBC 2, and is resident film critic for BBC News 24 and BBC Radio Five Live.

LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS Linda Ruth Williams is Professor of Film in the English Department at the University of Southampton. She has written four books including, most recently,

The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema (2005) and Contemporary American Cinema (2006). She has published on a variety of film topics including women in film, fantasy and horror cinema, pornography and censorship, and the relationship between film and contemporary art. She is a regular contributor to the BFI journal Sight and Sound.

VISITORS TERENCE DAVIES Terence was born in Liverpool. He studied at The Coventry Drama School, and the National Television and Film School. Between 1974 and 1983 he wrote and directed his “Trilogy” – Children (1976), Madonna and Child (1980) and Death and Transfiguration (1983), drawing on his own childhood in Liverpool. It screened worldwide and won many international prizes. In 1987 Terence wrote and directed his award winning Distant Voices, Still Lives.

The Long Day Closes received numerous

honours including being selected in the Official Competition at The Cannes Film Festival 1992, winning Best Film at The Birmingham Film Festival in 1992, and The Golden Spike in Valladolid. Recently, Terence wrote, directed and narrated a documentary about Liverpool entitled Of Time and the City, which has taken the critics by storm. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw wrote that “Nothing has given me more pleasure this year”. Terence has adapted various novels including The Neon Bible, The House of Mirth and

Sunset Song. He has also adapted work for radio, including The Waves

by Virginia Woolf. His novel, Hallelujah Now, is available in paperback by Penguin.

SIMON MILLER Film writer and director, Simon Miller, was previously a Wall Street investment banker and music industry executive before seeing the light.

In 2002 he retrained into the film industry at London Film School and the National Film & Television School. His first short film, Dead Man Falls, premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2004 and his second, Foighidinn – The Crimson Snowdrop, premiered on the BBC in 2005 and went on to

show at festivals around the world, winning best short film at the Bermuda International Film Festival. Seachd is Simon’s first feature film and he is currently developing his second.

JOANNE COCKWELL Joanne Cockwell is a writer and illustrator from Hampshire, UK. She set up the film company Dead Man’s Shoes with partner Simon Miller; they write feature film scripts together. She has worked as co-writer on short films The Crimson Snowdrop, Dead Man Falls, Windfall and Lazy, and the feature film Seachd.

TIM BARROW The multi-talented Tim Barrow works as an actor, writer, director and producer. His company’s award-winning independent, micro budget Scottish road movie The Inheritance won the Raindance Award at the 2007 British Independent Film Awards.He enjoys making films - acting, writing, producing, directing, designing, creating amazing pieces of work that other people will love. Other passions include running, especially in the rain, exploring forests and mountains, driving fast with the radio blaring, watching Scotland win rugby matches, playing football, basketball, badminton,

snooker, swimming, and being in water.

FOZ ALLAN Foz is a founder member of Plain Vanilla Productions, a company whose focus is on creating popular drama. Previously, as an Executive Producer at Tiger Aspect, he co-created Robin Hood which transmitted on the BBC for three series and has sold in over 80 countries. He was Executive Producer on Vital Sign, a six part series for ITV starring Tamsin Outhwaite. As Series Producer he ran the BBC’s prime time medical show Casualty for two years (gaining its first BAFTA nomination).

ANNE MENSAH As Head of Independents for the BBC, Anne oversees independent drama development across the UK as well as in house and Indie drama development and production in Scotland.

Recent productions for BBC Scotland include Lip Service, a six part series set in Glasgow for BBC3; the return of Wallander; the return of Waterloo Road as well as one-off dramas Fiona’s Story and God On Trial.

Anne’s department is also responsible for Scotlandonly drama projects including the hugely popular soap, River City.

Anne will be accompanied

by Executive Producer, Matthew Read, Drama Scotland.

SCREENPLAY TICKET DEALS FESTIVAL SPECIAL (18 years and over) Gets you in to all screenings at The Garrison and Museum

See lots of films and save lots of money!

£35 (£25 concs.)

FAMILY TICKET DEALS (2 adults, 2 children) for: Seachd South Howl’s Moving Castle East of Eden

FAIR ISLE FILM WEEKEND TICKET (includes all screenings) Gets you in to all screenings during the Fair Isle Film Weekend.

£13.00 per screening

£10 (£7.00 concs.)

TICKETS FROM SHETLAND BOX OFFICE ISLESBURGH COMMUNITY CENTRE 01595 745555

EAST OF EDEN Elia Kazan | 1955 | 115 min | PG With James Dean, Raymond Massey, Burl Ives

Based on the novel by John Steinbeck, Screenplay’s Classic Movie for this year is the film which elevated James Dean to stardom, playing the younger son of a stern, patriarchal father. Set in the Salinas Valley of California, just before the United States enters the First World War, Cal Trask (Dean) constantly battles to gain his father’s love, in doomed competition with his near perfect brother, Aron (Richard Davalos).

“battles to gain his father’s love”

“perfectly evokes the period in which it is set” However, nothing he does can soften his father’s heart, and matters take an even worse turn when Cal finds out that the mother he believed was dead is actually alive and working as a ‘madam’.

East of Eden, directed by the legendary Elia Kazan, perfectly evokes the period in which it is set, and was praised for being true to its original source material by no less a figure than the author, Steinbeck, himself.

WED 2 SEPT 1900 MUSEUM £5.00 /£3.50 TICKETS 01595 745555

SCREENPLAY p8

HEIMA Dean DeBlois | 2007 | 97 min With Sigur R贸s and the people of Iceland

Tune in and chill out with this extraordinary film which follows Icelandic supergroup Sigur Rós as they play a series of concerts in a variety of settings around Iceland in 2006. The group had just completed a hugely successful international concert tour and decided to reconnect with their roots and with the people who had supported them on their road to fame.

“for anyone with an interest in culture and landscape” TICKETS 01595 745555

The result is a magical blend of Sigur Rós’ haunting music and some of the spectacular landscapes that inspired it. Heima has become a cult film, and an ideal ‘late nighter’ for music lovers and for anyone with an interest in the culture and landscape of one of our nearest northern neighbours, Iceland.

“Tune in and chill out” SAT 5 SEPT 2200 GARRISON THIS IS A FREE SCREENING, COURTESY OF SIGUR RÓS. SCREENPLAY p10

HOME MADE MADDRIM - THURS 3 SEPT 1830 GARRISON MADE IN SHETLAND - THURS 3 SEPT 2000 GARRISON FREE SCREENINGS An evening of films made by Shetland film makers, including the ever-inventive Maddrim Media.

A showcase of local talent that is always popular with audiences, this is a free screening but booking is still advisable.

SMALL SCREEN: BIG IDEAS FRI 4 SEPT 1900 GARRISON FREE SCREENING A panel discussion on writing and adapting work for television, and all things TV related, with Foz Allan (Plain Vanilla), author Ann Cleeves, screenplay writer Mark Greig, also Anne Mensah and Matthew Read from BBC Drama Scotland.

TICKETS 01595 745555

This will begin with a screening of the first episode of the third BBC series of Robin Hood, which was directed by friend of Screenplay, Douglas Mackinnon, and produced

by Plain Vanilla.

A discussion and Q&A session will follow, plus some exciting news about a competition for young film makers. A must for all potential TV writers, directors and producers.

SCREENPLAY p12

HOUSE OF MIRTH Terence Davies | 2000 | 140 min | PG With Gillian Anderson, Eleanor Bron and Dan Aykroyd

Gillian Anderson was surely born to play the part of Lily, a beautiful socialite in early twentieth century New York, who is gradually spurned and cast out by the vicious social circle in which she is trying to survive. With a successful marriage as the only option that seems available to women of her class and time, she misses out on happiness with the one man who really loves her, but cannot bring himself to say it, constrained as he is by his pride and by the ludicrous social mores of the era.

“Anderson was born to play the part of Lily” TICKETS 01595 745555

Lily too finds it impossible to express how she really feels about him, a situation made more complex and agonising when she discovers that the only opportunity she has to save herself is by ruining him.

Based on the classic novel by Edith Wharton, this is a sumptuously photographed film, beautifully acted by an all star cast, and directed with elegance and precision by Davies.

“beautifully acted” This screening will be introduced

by Terence Davies and Linda Ruth Williams.

SUN 6 SEPT 1630 GARRISON £5.00 /£3.50 SCREENPLAY p14

HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE Hayao Miyazaki | 2005 | 119 min | U With the voices of Christian Bale, Jean Simmons, Emily Mortimer and Lauren Bacall

A love story between an 18-year-old girl named Sophie and a troubled magician named Howl. Cursed by a witch into an old woman’s body, Sophie sets out to seek her fortune, a journey which takes her to Howl’s strange moving castle. In the castle, Sophie meets Calcifer, Howl’s fire demon.

“A lovely film for all ages”

Peter Bradshaw, Guardian Film Critic

Seeing that she is under a curse, the demon makes a deal with Sophie: if she breaks the contract he is under with Howl, then Calcifer will lift the curse that Sophie is under, and she can return to her 18-year-old shape.

This simple agreement becomes more complex, however, when Sophie TICKETS 01595 745555

falls in love with Howl and helps him confront the powerful sorceress who is bent on destroying him.

“A floatingly delightful fairy tale, with its heart bent on repealing the law of gravity”

Peter Bradshaw, Guardian Film Critic

This screening will be introduced by Linda Ruth Williams.

FRI 28 AUG 1830 FAIR ISLE £4.00 /£300 SUN 6 SEPT 1330 GARRISON £5.00 /£3.50 SCREENPLAY p16

INTO THE WEST Mike Newell | 1992 | 97 min | PG With Gabriel Byrne, Ellen Barkin, Ciarรกn Fitzgerald

Two boys live with their alcoholic father in a dreary Dublin tenement.

When their traveller grandfather brings them a mysterious white stallion named Tir na nOg, the boys move him into their high rise flat. The neighbours complain, and a crooked policeman takes the horse and sells him to an unethical racehorse owner.

“Lovely, magical tale with a strong cast”

“the trio set off on an adventure” When the boys rescue the horse, the trio set off on an adventure (with father, grandfather and the police in pursuit) – the end of which only Tir na nOg seems to know. Lovely, magical tale with a strong cast.

FREE EDUCATION SCREENINGS OPEN TO SCHOOL STUDENTS ONLY TUE 1 SEPT WHALSAY SCHOOL WED 2 SEPT AITH JHS THURS 3 SEPT MID YELL JHS SCREENPLAY p18

NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA TOTAL RUNNING TIME 50 min

For many years now the National Film Board of Canada has promoted film making and film makers of all kinds.

Screenplay will be showing five classic animated short films, all suitable for general viewing.

The Big Snit (1985) 10min

Dir. Richard Condie Oscar award winning animation, and one of the best short films ever made.

A man and his wife spend their time arguing, winding each other up and cheating at Scrabble, whilst outside, conflict of a global nature threatens their very existence. A wry, pointed and very funny lesson in getting your priorities sorted out.

My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts ( 1999) 11min

Dir. Torill Kove Quirky, funny reminiscence of a granny who ironed shirts for the King of Norway, and became part of the Resistance Movement during WW2, using the humble shirt as a secret weapon.

Through My Thick Glasses 12min Dir. Pjotr Sapegin Another tale of Norwegian resistance during WW2, wherein an elderly man TICKETS 01595 745555

tells his grand-daughter the story of his involvement.

The Family That Dwelt Apart (1974) 8min

Dir. Yvon Malette A film that will surely ring true for island dwellers, this is the ironic tale of a family of fisherfolk who live quite happily alone on a distant island. One winter they find themselves cut off from contact with the mainland by bad weather; it doesn’t worry them at all, but when the authorities decide they “need help”, their problems start.

The Cat Came Back (1988) 7min Dir. Cordell Barker Cordell Barker’s entertaining depiction of just how hard it is to detach yourself from a feline determined to be friendly.

SUN 6 SEPT 1130 GARRISON FREE SCREENING SCREENPLAY p20

OF TIME AND THE CITY Terence Davies | 2008 | 74 min | 12

Mark Kermode’s favourite film of 2008, which he describes as “at once heartbreaking and hilarious, with Davies’ gorgeously ripe narration rolling like heady wine around a half-filled glass, this life affirming memoir….grows more wonderful with each viewing.” The film invites the audience to meditate along with the director on what has become of Liverpool, his home town, since the end of World War Two. Davies blends archive footage, music, poetry, philosophy and his own thoughts and memories into a 72 minute eulogy to the city and its inhabitants that is intensely moving and thought-provoking.

that Britain has no other film-maker to match Davies in terms of his purely cinematic sensibility. Fine as our other far-from-inconsiderable big names are, it’s hard to imagine any of them creating sheer filmic poetry as may be found here. Davies’s juxtapositions of music and image, especially, are consistently audacious, original and exhilarating...”

Mark was certainly not alone in his praise for Of Time and the City.

Geoff Andrew (critic for Time Out) said: “Watching the film, you realise

Introduced by Terence Davies and Mark Kermode, followed by a Q&A session.

SUN 6 SEPT 2030 GARRISON £5.00 /£3.50

TICKETS 01595 745555

Of Time and the City has received massive critical acclaim. It is a treat for any cinema-lover, but for anyone who has roots or history in the North of England it is simply unmissable.

SCREENPLAY p22

SEACHD: THE INACCESSIBLE PINNACLE Simon Miller | 2007 | 100 min | PG With Aonghas Padruig Caimbeul, Padruig Moireasdan and Dolina McLennan

The pinnacle of Sgrurr Dearg, one of the Cuillin Mountains in Skye, is the inaccessible summit of the title.

Young Aonghas loses his parents in a climbing accident on the mountain, and goes to live with his Gaelicspeaking grandfather (also called Aonghas). Attempting to draw the boy out of his grief, the grandfather tells him stories of the island’s past.

Young Aonghas rejects his grandfather, his language and his stories at first,

“stories of the island’s past” but as an adult he comes to realise the value of his heritage, and his need to confront Seachd if he is ever to come to terms with the tragedy that has blighted his life.

TICKETS 01595 745555

“the first fulllength film in the Gaelic language” A meditation on the power of storytelling, this is the first fulllength film in the Gaelic language that has gained theatrical release.

Introduced by Simon Miller, with a Q&A session afterwards.

FREE EDUCATION SCREENING OPEN TO SCHOOL STUDENTS ONLY FRI 4 SEPT 1045 GARRISON

SAT 29 AUG 1900 FAIR ISLE £4.00 /£3.00 SAT 5 SEPT 1430 GARRISON £5.00 /£3.50 SCREENPLAY p24

SOUTH Frank Hurley | 1919 | 81 min | U

The astonishing story of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s two year expedition to the Antarctic between 1914 and 1916 was captured by Australian photographer, film maker and adventurer Frank Hurley. He sailed with Shackleton and his crew aboard the Endurance, all of them hoping to be the first explorers to cross the continent. Eighty miles from land, the Endurance became locked in pack ice, and nine months later the crew and their dogs were forced to abandon the ship and row to Elephant Island.

“truly extraordinary landscape” TICKETS 01595 745555

Whilst six of them (including Shackleton) set off on a desperate 800 mile voyage to South Georgia in search of help, the others (including Hurley) remained on Elephant Island.

Miraculously, all of them survived, as did Hurley’s glass plate negatives and his reels of film, which provide this dazzling documentation of the Endurance’s harrowing experience, the truly extraordinary landscape and the birds and mammals that inhabit it.

Note - this is a silent film.

SUN 30 AUG 1500 FAIR ISLE £4.00 /£3.00 THURS 3 SEPT 1830 BALTASOUND HALL £4.00 /£3.00 FRI 4 SEPT 1400 MUSEUM £5.00 /£3.50 SCREENPLAY p26

THE INHERITANCE Charles-Henri Belleville | 2007 | 62 min | 15 With Tim Barrow, Fraser Sivewright and Tom Hardy

We return to the theme of warring brothers in this dark ‘Scottish road movie’, directed by Charles-Henri Belleville, and shot in eleven days on a budget of £5000. Since its premiere in 2007, The Inheritance has played at 8 film festivals and shown on 20 cinema screens across the UK, predominantly in Scotland - being a Scottish film and finding its greatest relevance in Scottish audiences. The film won the Raindance Award at the British Independent Film Awards, gained 2 nominations at BAFTA Scotland New Talent Awards, and was nominated Best UK Feature at Raindance and London’s East End Film Festival.

Estranged brothers Fraser and David are brought face to face at their father’s funeral. He has left them a letter with a key which he TICKETS 01595 745555

tells them fits a lock in a remote spot on the Isle of Skye. If they find the place, the letter promises them, “everything will become clear”. Much against David’s better judgement, the pair set off in the family’s old camper van, bickering, squabbling and getting lost along the way. When they pick up a hitchhiker, Tara, the dynamic becomes even more fraught.

This screening is open to everyone aged 15 and over but is aimed primarily at those film makers who are contemplating making their first feature film. Producer, writer and actor Tim Barrow will be there to discuss his experience of making, promoting and distributing the film.

SAT 5 SEPT 1200 GARRISON £4.00 /£3.00 SCREENPLAY p28

THE LONG DAY CLOSES Terence Davies | 1992 | 85 min | 12 With Marjorie Yates, Leigh McCormack and Anthony Watson

Bud is eleven years old, and lives with his mother and siblings in a grim area of post war Liverpool. On the surface, he has little to be happy about with his life. His abusive father has died (seen previously in Davies’ equally intense Distant Voices, Still Lives), but Bud still faces bullying at school and poverty at home. He rises above all this with the help of cinema and music, as lines and episodes from the films he sees and the music he hears merge into his daily life.

“cinema and music” Director Terence Davies works his magic on the themes of childhood memory and the power of art to TICKETS 01595 745555

“beautifully poetic” lift us out of everyday misery, in this moving and inspiring work.

According to one critic, “Such is Davies’ artistry that he shapes his material (an impressionistic series of brief, plotless scenes recalled from 1955-56 when he was about to leave junior school) into a poignant vision of a paradise lost……Beautifully poetic, never contrived or precious, the film dazzles with its stylistic confidence, emotional honesty, terrific wit and all round audacity.”

Introduced by Mark Kermode and Terence Davies.

SAT 5 SEPT 1915 GARRISON £5.00 /£3.50 SCREENPLAY p30

WALTZ WITH BASHIR Ari Folman | 2008 | 90 min | 18 With the voices of Ari Folman, Ron Ben-Yishai, Dror Harazi and others

This blistering animated film starts with director Ari Folman and a friend in a bar, discussing a recurring nightmare. They conclude that the nightmare refers to their possible involvement in the massacre of over three thousand Palestinian refugees in 1982 at the Sabra and Shatila camps when they were both conscripts in the Israeli Army. The Palestinians were murdered by the Lebanese Christian Militia, but questions remain as to the extent of Israel’s complicity. Questions remain, too, for Folman and he begins to investigate his memories through animated reconstructions of the events leading up to the massacre, and by interviewing former comrades.

of their collective memories, Folman gradually closes in on the terrible events at Sabra and Shatila, and the role he may have played in them.

Using animation to point up the apparent unreality and uncertainty

FRI 4 SEPT 2130 GARRISON £5.00 /£3.50

TICKETS 01595 745555

The Guardian’s film critic Peter Bradshaw described it as follows: “Live action footage on videotape has been digitally constructed into a bizarre dreamscape in which reality is resolved into something between two and three dimensions. Planes and surfaces stir and throb with colours harder, sharper, brighter than before. It looks like one long hallucination and therefore perfect for the trauma of Folman’s recovered memories.”

Not for the faint-hearted.

SCREENPLAY p32

SCREENPLAY FAIR ISLE FILM WEEKEND

In partnership w/ Shetland Film Club FRI 28 AUG HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE p.15 1830 SAT 29 AUG SEACHD p.23 1900 SUN 30 AUG SOUTH p.25 1500

EDUCATIONAL SCREENINGS

In partnership w/ Shetland Film Club Open to students only INTO THE WEST p.17 TUES 1 SEPT WHALSAY SCHOOL WED 2 SEPT AITH JHS THURS 3 SEPT MID YELL SCHOOL SEACHD p.23 FRI 4 SEPT GARRISON 1045

CARE CENTRE SCREENINGS In partnership w/ Shetland Film Club Open to residents only SOUTH p.25 TUES 1 SEPT FERNLEA 1730 WED 2 SEPT WASTVIEW 1430 THURS 3 SEPT NORDALEA 1500

WED 2 SEPT EAST OF EDEN p.7

FRI 4 SEPT 1900

M

THURS 3 SEPT

SOUTH p.25

1400

M

SMALL SCREEN p.12

1900

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WALTZ WITH BASHIR p.31 2130 G

SOUTH p.25

1830

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HOME MADE: p.11 MADDRIM MADE IN SHETLAND

1830 G 2000 G

M: SHETLAND MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES | BS: BALTASOUND HALL, UNST | G: GARRISON THEATRE FAMILY TICKET DEALS (2 adults, 2 children) for: Seachd, South, Howl’s Moving Castle, East of Eden £13 per screening FESTIVAL SPECIAL (18 years and over) All The Garrison & Museum films. £35 (£25 concs.)

FAIR ISLE FILM WEEKEND DEAL (includes all screenings) £10 (£7 concs.)

SAT 5 SEPT THE INHERITANCE p.27 1200

G

SEACHD p.23

G

1430

THE LONG DAY CLOSES 1915 p.29 HEIMA p.9

G

2200 G

SUN 6 SEPT CANADA SHORTS p.19

1130

G

HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE 1330 p.15

G

HOUSE OF MIRTH p.13

G

1630

OF TIME & THE CITY p.21 2030 G

TICKETS FROM SHETLAND BOX OFFICE ISLESBURGH COMMUNITY CENTRE 01595 745555