The festival lasted four days, but lack of coinage and real world commitments meant I was unable to attend every screening, although I did go to the announcement of the festival winners, this time held at the city's software centre, which it must be said is considerably less dramatic or evocative location, feeling as it does like what it is: a clean and modern, but utterly unremarkable office building. Of course its about what you see rather than where you see it and of the entries that I managed to catch all were at least interesting with most being very good. The eight winners - who each received a years supply of gravy and bus money home - are below (links to films, trailers and clips in title -where I've been able to find them):
Best Drama - I'm in the Corner with Bluebells (Ako Mitchell) - Drama about two biological siblings meeting for the first time as adults and immediately feeling an intense sexual attraction. The (somewhat squicky) subject matter is sensitively handled with the nature of the situation revealed to the audience through pregnant pauses and awkward glances rather than anything too on the nose. Very well acted and beautifully shot.
Best Foreign Film - Dinner's Served (Tony Partamian) - Armenian (I think) story of an ageing couple preparing for their (I guess) children to return to the nest for (presumably) Christmas. Unfortunately the screen was angled in such a way that the subtitles were obscured by the various bonces of the front row. Much as it pains me to admit it, my Armenian is somewhat sub par, so I feel unable to provide any sort of informed judgement on what I'm sure was a wonderful work.
Best Art Film - Intrinsic Moral Evil (Harm Weistra) - Interpretive dance piece about church classification of homosexuality as a sin. Normally I'd wonder what the point is of putting a stage-bound medium on film, though there's enough cinematic flourishes to justify the use of the medium. S'alreet. Definitely at the more abstract end of the spectrum..
Best Documentary - The Reinvention of Normal - (Liam Saint-Pierre) - Lovely documentary following Dominic Wilcox, an inventor who's work revolves around challenging perceptions of what constitutes normal - such as a device that transfers sounds from your left to your right ear an vice versa. I loved the use of animated interludes and the note of disappointment in Wilcox's father's voice when he says that his son is going to forgo the family business to spend his time creating toothbrush maracas.
Best Sci-Fi/Horror - The Herd - (Melanie Light) - Horror about trafficked women. I'm sure it's brilliant, but the organisers were unable to screen it due to the presence of a minor in the audience. The little shit.
Best Animation - Late (Christi Bertelsen) - US animation about losing your keys/phone/bus pass take on a life of their own. Not the most incisive observation perhaps, but there's a definite charm to the animation.
Best Comedy - After Eric: Part of that World (Marcus J Richardson) Mockumentary following Ariel (of The Little Mermaid fame) a few years after she left the sea. Less Walt Disney and more Jeremy Kyle, Ariel is now depresssed, single (Her lover couldn't handle people yelling "fish fucker" at him) and desperate. Her health's declining and her waist expanding ("Y'see I used to go swimming all the time" she explains). It's genuinely funny with a nice melancholy undertone and enough subdued criticism of the occasionally horrendous morals of its source material to make it interesting. How the film, and its score in particular, has escaped the attention of the notoriously litigation happy Disney company I'll never know.
Audience Favourite Award - Stephen Caught a Star (Michiel ten Kleij) Dutch fantasy film about a little boy's flights of fancy which are, in part, a coping mechanism to deal with the breakdown in his parent's marriage. The film contains one trope that has never really worked for me - the parent who is bafflingly aghast that a small children has an active imaginations - but leaving that aside, I love me some whimsy which this had in spades along with some very high production values.
Best Regional Film or Geet Canniest Fillum Road (Robert Carr) A man wakes up on an empty road, shoeless and with no recollection of how he got there. With no other options presenting themselves he begins to head down the road, hoping for answers. It's a nice set up which wasn't, in my opinion, matched by its pay off. Still some of the imagery is striking and imaginative. The guy who made it also looks sickeningly young.
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I originally meant to post the above a week ago, however real life drama reared it's ugly, invidious head and so I've been sufficiently delayed that I might as well mention another festival thingummy that took place the other day; the Sunniside Live Festival.
For those unfamiliar with the area, Sunniside gardens is the historical centre of the city which was redeveloped a few years ago in the hopes of establishing it as a cultural quarter. Unfortunately, due to its perceived isolation from the rest of the city centre, a proliferation of halfway houses, hostels and needle exchanges immediately adjacent and the generally shitty economic climate of the last few years, its highly underused save for skateboarding yoofs and the perpetually refreshed (or piss artists, to put it crassly). Which is a shame as, as it stands, it is by far the best looking part of the city and a lot of time, money and effort has been spent restoring it.
Hence Sunniside Live, a free music event put on by local artist and businesses to draw people into the area and remind them that there's more to the town than betting shops, Greggs and Poundlands. The event can also be seen as a scaled back replacement for the very much missed Split festival, giving local artists a platform to reach new audiences.
Unfortunately I missed Social Room, who got a place on the bill by virtue of winning a battle of the bands. Since then I've listened to a couple of their tracks via the wonder of Youtube and there's a lot to like, the lead singer's got a good voice if nowt else. Hopefully hear more of them in the future.
To be honest a lot of the acts prior to the headliners seemed to fall into the professional karaoke category, while Olivia Lawson, from The Voice, sounded a bit crap from where I was sitting. The event didn't really get started until Hyde and Beast took the stage just as the weather seemed to be taking a turn for the worse. The band remain as tight as a nut, with a knack for a catchy tune and lovely harmonies. Being completely honest, the band's Randy Newman by way of The Beatles sound, as undeniably well done as it is, isn't something I'm automatically drawn to, although the noticeably rockier and lead track off their upcoming EP definitely is and sounds like it's going to be worth looking out for.
Bill topping duties went to local good eggs Frankie & the Heartstrings The Heartstrings have never really impressed me on record (that is, prior to their just released third record, Decency which I'm still digesting, but so far has done a much better job of grabbing me). Live, they're a much more engaging prospect; fast, wiry and urgent and with a bit of a thump behind the music. The crowd were all onside, the threat of rain vanished and good times were had. Hip Hip - and indeed - hurray
If I had to criticise anything it'd be that there was a stupidly long wait between acts and that the choice of drinks at the bar was shite. I do wonder if this wasn't deliberate as it encouraged people to leave the festival area and sink a few in one of the other pubs and bars in the area, before returning suitably merry. As with the film festival, Sunniside Live is just starting out. It certainly seemed like a success and hopefully it can grow into an annual event with organisers building on the experiences of this year to create something special.
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I originally meant to post the above a week ago, however real life drama reared it's ugly, invidious head and so I've been sufficiently delayed that I might as well mention another festival thingummy that took place the other day; the Sunniside Live Festival.
For those unfamiliar with the area, Sunniside gardens is the historical centre of the city which was redeveloped a few years ago in the hopes of establishing it as a cultural quarter. Unfortunately, due to its perceived isolation from the rest of the city centre, a proliferation of halfway houses, hostels and needle exchanges immediately adjacent and the generally shitty economic climate of the last few years, its highly underused save for skateboarding yoofs and the perpetually refreshed (or piss artists, to put it crassly). Which is a shame as, as it stands, it is by far the best looking part of the city and a lot of time, money and effort has been spent restoring it.
Hence Sunniside Live, a free music event put on by local artist and businesses to draw people into the area and remind them that there's more to the town than betting shops, Greggs and Poundlands. The event can also be seen as a scaled back replacement for the very much missed Split festival, giving local artists a platform to reach new audiences.
Unfortunately I missed Social Room, who got a place on the bill by virtue of winning a battle of the bands. Since then I've listened to a couple of their tracks via the wonder of Youtube and there's a lot to like, the lead singer's got a good voice if nowt else. Hopefully hear more of them in the future.
To be honest a lot of the acts prior to the headliners seemed to fall into the professional karaoke category, while Olivia Lawson, from The Voice, sounded a bit crap from where I was sitting. The event didn't really get started until Hyde and Beast took the stage just as the weather seemed to be taking a turn for the worse. The band remain as tight as a nut, with a knack for a catchy tune and lovely harmonies. Being completely honest, the band's Randy Newman by way of The Beatles sound, as undeniably well done as it is, isn't something I'm automatically drawn to, although the noticeably rockier and lead track off their upcoming EP definitely is and sounds like it's going to be worth looking out for.
Bill topping duties went to local good eggs Frankie & the Heartstrings The Heartstrings have never really impressed me on record (that is, prior to their just released third record, Decency which I'm still digesting, but so far has done a much better job of grabbing me). Live, they're a much more engaging prospect; fast, wiry and urgent and with a bit of a thump behind the music. The crowd were all onside, the threat of rain vanished and good times were had. Hip Hip - and indeed - hurray
If I had to criticise anything it'd be that there was a stupidly long wait between acts and that the choice of drinks at the bar was shite. I do wonder if this wasn't deliberate as it encouraged people to leave the festival area and sink a few in one of the other pubs and bars in the area, before returning suitably merry. As with the film festival, Sunniside Live is just starting out. It certainly seemed like a success and hopefully it can grow into an annual event with organisers building on the experiences of this year to create something special.
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In unrelated news, here are some pictures what I drew:
Love and fishes
Dave Denton
