★★★★ Directed by: #PollyannaMcIntosh Written by: #PollyannaMcIntosh, #JackKetchum, #LuckyMcKee Starring: #LaurynCanny, #BryanBatt, #NoraJaneNoone, #CooperAndrews, #PollyannaMcIntosh Grimmfest Film Review by: Darren Tilby Lucky McKee’s The Woman (released in 2011) provided a commentary on man’s need to civilise the untameable, perhaps even, of our colonial past. But for her sequel, writer/director Pollyanna McIntosh (star of The Woman) turns her ire to organised religion; providing a biting criticism of Catholic hypocrisy and the appalling workings of gay therapy camps. Darlin’ sees the woman’s (Pollyanna McIntosh) return, with a now 16-year old Darlin’ (Lauryn Canny) in tow. Reappearing at church-run St. Thaddeus Hospital, Darlin’ – attempting to enter the building – is struck by an ambulance. After being admitted to St. Thaddeus, she comes to and attacks the staff. Until that is, she’s stopped by a kindly nurse, Tony (Cooper Andrews), whom she quickly befriends. Under Tony’s care, Darlin’ begins to shed herself of the woman’s influence—actively shutting her out on several occasions. But when the Bishop (Bryan Batt) arrives with Sister Jennifer (Nora-Jane Noone) to take her away to his Catholic school for orphaned girls as a publicity stunt, the woman goes in search of revenge. Anyone who’s seen The Woman will tell you, regardless of their opinion of the film as a whole, McIntosh was superb in the titular role. She reprises that role in Darlin’ (her feature debut), and she’s every bit as brilliant as she was before. But, as the title might suggest, this isn’t her movie. That honour goes to young Lauryn Canny – playing the now titular character, Darlin’ – who really nails the nuances of her character. These two central characters are anchored by a proficient supporting cast; with standout performances from Maddie Nichols, Nora-Jane Noone, and Cooper Andrews. Darlin’ works so well because while McIntosh has taken the concept and characters from The Woman, she’s adjusted just enough to make this feel fresh. Making the movie, very distinctly, her own, while also remaining true to the events, and spirit of the prequel. And while the concept is the same, moving the focus to a more specific topic (religion) has allowed McIntosh to create a narrative which feels far more relevant. Not that The Woman is particularly outdated, of course. It’s only 8-years old, after all. But by turning her focus to the nature of religion, McIntosh opens up two prime targets for scrutiny—namely the Catholic church’s child-abuse scandal and the modern-day gay conversion therapy camp. It might sound strange at first, but it actually works really well. The child-abuse element is very apparent, the gay conversion therapy...not so much. And maybe that isn’t what the film’s commenting on (I’d love to know), perhaps I’m looking into it too much. But I definitely felt a hint of The Miseducation of Cameron Post in Darlin’s time spent at the “school” (which is really more like a cult)—sneaking out to the woods to listen to banned music and whatnot. And her friendship with Billy (Maddie Nichols) – a character I felt had subtle implications of homosexuality – and Tony (an openly gay character) lead me to believe this is more than mere coincidence. Regardless, the simple fact that it can be interpreted in different ways is a beautiful thing. Too many films nowadays are all too keen to ram whatever message they’re trying to convey down the viewer’s throat. Which, unfortunately, can have the opposite effect to what is intended; stifling conversation, rather than letting it flourish. Darlin’ – like The Woman before it – is structured in such a way that invites the audience to discuss its intricacies for weeks after. Indeed, Darlin’ really struck a chord with me, and I have considered certain lines of dialogue, glances shared, and gestures made between characters since first seeing it at Grimmfest, almost one month ago. And that’s quite an achievement.

★★★★ Directed by: #RichardLanni Written by: Richard Lanni, #MikeStokey Starring: #LoganLerman #HelenaBonhamCarter #GérardDepardieu Film Review by: Ieuan Walker Regardless of the conflict, the actions of our fellow humans typically dominate the history of war. Such anthropocentric biases are equally evident within the countless filmic recreations of civilization’s darkest moments that specifically focus on human endeavor and heroism. Consequently, the integral service of our animal comrades has all too often gone unrealised within the cinematographic annals of history. Richard Lanni’s heartening war-film Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero however, proffers a persuasive reconsideration of the unsung heroes of victory irrespective of species. Sgt. Stubby depicts the valiance of the real-life eponymous mutt who became the official mascot of the United States’ 102nd Infantry Regiment during the First World War. After unwittingly stumbling into an army boot camp, Stubby swiftly builds a rapport with the soldiers especially young Corporal Robert Conroy. The ensuing loyalty between the two results in Stubby accompanying the troops within the French trenches as they combat the Germans. Although the Regiment is reluctant to accept the merit of Stubby, his unique lifesaving talents eventually acquire him the status as the most decorated dog of World War One. Watching Sgt. Stubby is an uplifting experience. Now, one may feel that assessing a family film about a heroic animal as ‘uplifting’ is a truism in the greatest sense of the word. Yet contrarily, one does not derive the same satisfaction from watching Rover Dangerfield or Valiant as they do with Lanni’s work. This is due in part to Lanni and Mike Stokey’s screenplay which maintains a necessary degree of simplicity without delving into sheer patronization. In fact, Sgt. Stubby is a rare example of modern family-oriented animation that maintains a lighthearted tone without forgoing the inevitably bleaker side of reality. The First World War was full of horrors like mustard gas attacks and Lanni and Stokey refuse to veil the fact. Yet neither is the violence depicted throughout Sgt. Stubby to an extent that it terrorizes its more sensitive viewers. The resulting film is a pleasurable experience that functions as a crucial introduction to a pivotal moment in history by retelling one of its more universally optimistic narratives. It is not only the masterful tact within Sgt. Stubby’s script that produces a gratifying viewing experience. It is evident throughout the film that Mikros Image shared an exact vision with Lanni to create an uncondescending depiction of the First World War. As a result, their animation is exemplary inasmuch as it maintains their uniquely palatable stylings but fills each frame with multi-dimensional detail. Through the immense work of Mikros Image, Sgt. Stubby is subsequently grounded in a comprehensive reality whilst maintaining a unique image thereby demonstrating the contagious passion of their animators. Likewise, Lanni’s direction as well as his work alongside Stokey exemplifies his genuine commitment to creating an experience that is equal parts educationally fulfilling as it is enjoyable. It is this tandem that allows Sgt. Stubby to stand out within the continuously saturated field of contemporary family animation.

★★ Directed by #ScottMcQuaid Written by: Scott McQuaid Starring: #AmirulAfiqBinAmri, #YiJane, #MiaSaraShauki Film Review by: Benjamin Schofield Space. Ninjas. Right off the bat you know what this film is going to be. A tongue-in-cheek comedic parody of popular Hollywood films. They take the stock characters and the hero’s journey three act plot structure and all the genre signifiers from teen horror films and then tells you all about how its using those tropes and isn’t it clever for doing that? It’s pretty funny at first; the blatantly archetypal characters are pushed to their logical conclusions, and the actors give, what I assume to be intentional, one-dimensional performances. In fact, one-dimensional might be lending them more depth than is justifiable – they could quite happily be called zero-dimensional, or perhaps even negative-one-dimensional. I mean this as a compliment, of course. The performances go to great lengths to strip the characters of any sense of individuality, and they seem to exist only to demonstrate the bland nature of such stock characters. The problem is, this gets old real fast, and you’ve still got eighty minutes of film left to watch, and its all pretty much the same. The film does nothing to subvert these character types, or audience expectations, nor does it have any commentary on these genre tropes beyond “wow, it like movie”. More than anything else, it lacks energy. Each shot lasts a good half a second longer than it needs to, and dialogue is awkward and slow, the action is even worse. The camerawork is simple, the colour palette is dull, the lighting is awful, the characters have no likeability or charisma. Much of this stuff might well be by design, as part of the criticism and parody and whatnot, but rather than feeling as though the film is mocking these Hollywood conventions, it just ends up being the same as them, but without the budget and likeable stars that make those films entertaining. Ultimately, the film falls into the trap of thinking that by addressing its flaws, they somehow don’t count. Well, they do. Words by #Benjaminschofield

★★★★ Directed by: #MarielleHeller Written by: #MicahFitzermanBlue, #NoahHarpster Starring: #TomHanks, #ChristineLahti, #WendyMakkena BFI London Film Festival Review by: Andrew Young A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood Movie Review At several points during A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, the third feature from Marielle Heller, I was reminded of the great critic Roger Ebert. In 2000, upon seeing Almost Famous for the first time, he simply declared, “Oh, what a lovely film.” Despite thinking for some time about how best to sum up Heller’s achievements with this film, I believe all I can do is to paraphrase Roger. What a lovely, lovely film this is. After the critically adored Diary of a Teenage Girl and the Oscar-nominated Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Heller is on a roll, and here has decided to work from a largely true story again. The film’s source is an Esquire profile of the famed American children’s TV presenter Fred Rogers, and at its core tells the story of the thorough kindness and decency that he embodied. This is not, however, a Mister Rogers biopic because, as Heller herself as pointed out, with somebody who seems to represent absolute good there is little opportunity to present a satisfying dramatic arc. There is no journey, no development. Writers Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, therefore, have drawn on that famous Esquire piece to primarily tell the story not of its subject, but of its author: the journalist Tom Junod. Junod is recast here as the fictional Lloyd Vogel, an investigative journalist working at Esquire to simultaneously produce award-winning writing and piss people off. As the film’s plot is set in motion, Lloyd’s editor sends him out to write 400 words on Rogers as part of a special edition on ‘heroes’. The writer is initially reluctant as he hates writing ‘puff pieces’ and his in-built distrust senses that Mister Rogers cannot be as nice as he seems. As Lloyd embarks on his assignment, he visits the presenter on set at Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood, the show in which Rogers would invite his young audience to join him to meet a host of characters, both puppet and human, and discuss more troubling issues that might face them such as death and divorce. All is done with a quiet, relaxed tone that comes across as the TV equivalent of a gentle hug. As Lloyd observes this, he is battling his own demons, most notably a difficult relationship with his father whose at-first unspecified wrongdoing has instilled a keen sense of anger in Lloyd. With a film that depicts what could have been a fairly basic kindness vs. cynicism dynamic, Heller and her writers duly handle it with care and complexity. Lloyd is not a bad person, not by any stretch of the imagination. What the film hits upon is the desire within many of us to be a Lloyd, not a Fred. Lloyd is a man of integrity, pulling back the curtain on the nastiness of those in power, and he delights in it. He is a ‘good person’ in the firecracker way, giving a ‘fuck you’ to those in the wrong and not looking back. This is in its own way a kind of morality, but it is not the kindly, forgiving Mister Rogers method. What Rogers teaches Lloyd is largely not the harm he is doing to others, but the harm he is doing to himself. Often, in our wish to prove our own goodness, we wish to be aggressively moral, not just fighting for what we think is right but always fighting against something or someone else. It is a fight that has taken its toll on Lloyd, as seen through his familiar yet subtly executed relationship with his wife and son. To sell the carefully-observed Vogel-Rogers dynamic, and to bring out the complexities in the two men, requires great skill from its stars. Thankfully for Heller she has elicited two wonderful performances from Tom Hanks and Matthew Rhys. I don’t think you need me to tell you who takes which role. Asking Tom Hanks to play the world’s nicest man seems like cheating, but he delicately brings out the humanity Rogers here. He is so slow, softly-spoken and syrupy-sweet that it takes some getting used to but there is a crucial, subtle sadness behind his eyes. This is never overplayed, but it makes a world of difference to how we view him. One of the film’s key observations comes from Rogers’ wife Joanne who chooses not to think of him as a ‘living saint’ because “that implies that what he is cannot be achieved by others.” Hanks’ greatest achievement with this performance is to make Mister Rogers feel like a real person, whose goodness is the result of a daily battle against the evils of the world and in himself. Rhys, meanwhile, as the smart yet weary Vogel is fantastic. His emotional journey, using Rogers as the catalyst, runs through anger, disbelief, mocking humour and wonder. He is the real driving force of the film, and the audience surrogate into the frankly bizarre world of unabashed goodness that Rogers represents. Rhys makes his journalist feel lived-in and natural, drawing out the intense feeling in everyday grievances. Where Mister Rogers is an exceptional figure, Lloyd resembles the average person’s struggle to be a good, happy person without letting cynicism get in the way. With such a rich story to tell, Heller could be forgiven for making a stylistically straight-forward film. For the most part she does play things simply, allowing her actors to shine and pacing their development admirably. There are risks here, however, that largely pay off. There is an extended dream sequence where Lloyd literally experiences the neighbourhood first-hand whilst he is at the height of his obsession with Rogers’ befuddling goodness. Heller employs a neat trick between scenes too, as typical shots of the city are stylised as if it is a part of the neighbourhood, all fuzzy edges and bright colours. A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood feels like it takes place in a heightened reality. It has the quality of a fable, imparting wisdom onto its audience with a delicate kindness befitting of Mister Rogers himself. With real, convincing portrayals from Rhys and Hanks, Heller manages to keep the film grounded enough for its message to really resonate. Yet it remains magical enough for us to delight in its sweetness throughout, showing us the possibility of a happier world that does not ignore the darkness, but embraces it with a more powerful light. ’Oh, what a lovely film’ indeed. #AndrewYoung #BFI #LFF #LFF2019

★ Directed by: #KevinHoffer Written by: #PeggyLewis Starring: #ChantelleAlbers, #MarkCarapezza Short Film Review by: Corey Bulloch Boring, limp and tiresome, Kevin Hoffer’s attempt at a mystery thriller about a woman trying to discover why she is trapped in a warehouse is never able to get off the ground. Locked In falls into several traps of trying to use less as more, with Chantelle Albers's character of Meg wandering around the location just talking to herself about the situation. No hook is derived from this set-up, Albers moves from one area to the next voicing her confusion for why she is there but there no urge to care from the audience. The film opens with Meg being attacked by a man and then waking up in the warehouse but Hoffer’s direction is unable to create an ounce of tension for Meg’s situation, is she in danger? Is the man still there? What is her goal in this story? The main issue with Locked In is with Peggy Lewis’s script as there is no discernible character or personality to the film. Meg’s dilemma becomes very obvious when the first flashback occurs but Lewis and Hoffer don’t seem sure what they want to do with the film. There is no commentary, there is no thematic relevance it is a just an actress moving from room to room in an empty film. The conclusion of the story is troublesome not because it's obvious but that there is no proper set up to take the audience there, the film barely provides the answers to the questions it scarcely asks. Leading the audience through this aimless endeavour is Chantelle Albers's performance, who is not terrible and would probably thrive in a role with far better writing. Alber’s tries to give humanity to Meg’s character as she searches the warehouse for her fiancé Jack and answers to why she is there. However, without any tension and any escalation to the story, Albers is just left meandering, the revelations from the flashbacks not driving the story forward or her character in any meaningful way. To fill dead air, the script has the majority of Alber’s dialogue recounting her actions for the audience, she’s constantly asking why this happening but makes no effort to take of charge of the situation or the story. Locked In is very bland, even the warehouse that Albers finds herself trapped within has no allure. The music that plays over the end credits is the most engaging piece of the film but at that point, it’s all moot. Meg’s story is one that has very little if nothing at all to care about with no interesting filmmaking to salvage any element of the film. #CoreyBulloch #shortfilmreview

★★★ Directed by: #IsyraqiYahya Written by: #IsyraqiYahya Starring: #ShashaFairus, #EliseShick, #FahmiHarun Film Review by: Shrubaboti Bose This peculiar short film can be considered a philosophical exploration of human faith in God and our belief in His retribution for the sins we commit. It is interesting to note how the core narrative is framed within the shells of other alternative narratives. The story unfolds slowly like the unfurling of leaves of an onion. In the opening scene, one of the two characters laments on how technological advancement has made it possible for anyone to make a film these days. He ponders on what’s the use of being passionate about something when it can be so conveniently achieved by an outsider with hardly enough skills. The director deliberately leaves the question hanging for us to think about, should he just give up then, accept things as they are and give up? But the other character voices how faith in the almighty drives us to pursue our dreams. The second narrative frame opens with the second pair of characters, who introduces us to the basic premise of the film by discussing shortly about the story of a restless widow spending her days in misery, repenting her disobedience to her husband. As the boat is pushed into the waters, the music spills over the scene and establishes the actual start of the film. Earlier we see the widow walking in the foreground with a photograph of her dead husband cradled in her arms, while the first pair of men talk about globalisation and commercialism in the background. She walks across the landscape but the camera does not follow her. She remains insignificant throughout the banter of the two men behind her. Nevertheless, in the following scene, she occupies a space in the mid-ground, standing on the shore while the boat pulls away and finally the camera shifts its focus from the boat to rest on her, identifying her as the subject of the film. A particularly beautiful scene is when Maria walks around the house, her loose red blouse contrasted against the dark background, vaguely recounting us her past relationship with Fatimah and the incidents that probably led to the present situation, while Kamal follows her from window to window asking her questions as he pushes them ajar, one by one wide open. It’s almost symbolic of their next decision to take Fatimah out of town and let her get some air. Certain transitions in the plot are marked by an extraordinary splash of jarring black and blue spirals, perhaps to directly signify the sudden shift in tone or mood of the film. While we can discuss the identity crisis that Fatimah undergoes in considering the goat as her husband, it is necessary to realise the cause for her mental breakdown. If we were to psychologically analyse her behaviour, it is not very far-fetched to conclude that she descends into madness or psychosis after being traumatised by the guilt of knowing that her husband died while saving her even though she had cheated on him. But, what the film does here, instead of implicitly showing us this insane side of her, it paints everyone else in an unreal fantastical world that could be just Fatimah’s imagination completely. In choosing to depict her condition as something surreal, the film leaves it open-ended, allowing us to interpret faith and sin in our own terms. Throughout the film there is intense music being played at random intervals, otherwise crucial moments, not ideally in sync with the film narrative and often drowning out dialogues; however, it contributes to the whole enigmatic and abstract style of the film. Even though the film loses a lot of its symbolic significance due to cultural differences and language barriers, what is important to remember is that religious beliefs to a large extent do not make much sense to non-believers and it is this innate essence of human faith that the film ultimately captures.

★★★★★ Directed & Written by: #TommyBardal Starring: #MargreteNgo Editor & Producer: #DidrikBjerkomp Film Review by: Will Girling Spores is a short horror movie from writer/director Tommy Bardal, based, in part, on a section from Kenneth Moe’s book Rastløs (which itself sounds interesting enough to make me want to learn Norwegian to read it). A masterclass in less-is-more creativity, Bardal’s work is a perfectly paced, lean and suspenseful film: the audience isn’t given much, but what we are given works faultlessly and effectively. If there’s a benchmark that short filmmakers should aim for, this is indubitably it. The seemingly agoraphobic Ava (Margrete Ngo) arrives at her new apartment – the kind many will be familiar with: small, bare and modest – and sets to work making it feel a little homelier, accompanied by a soundtrack of 80s tunes and her warring neighbours. Settling down for bed in the evening, she spots a tiny patch of mold on her bedroom wall but wipes it clean with ease and goes to sleep. Woken up in the night by loud arguments upstairs, Ava sees that the mould has not only come back, it has positively bloomed! Over the next few days & nights, living in an increasingly agitated state between her strange neighbours and her rapidly deteriorating living situation, Ava is confronted by inexorable circumstances that are seemingly way beyond her control. Eivind Torjussen’s cinematography captures the ‘Nordic noir’ aesthetic that is intriguing audiences right now, particularly in the UK. Establishing shots are bleak, snowy, and foreboding: the colour palette consists of icy blues, greens, and whites for the most part. Bardel is very adept at breaking this up, however, when the narrative calls for it. For example: at the beginning, when Ava is decorating her apartment, she does so in ordinary yellow/white house lighting to emphasise the ‘calm before the storm’; later there are villainous shades of red pouring in through the window of her front door, illustrating perfectly, without dialogue, the fear and danger that the outside world presents to her. As a matter of fact there is no dialogue in the film whatsoever, aside for some unintelligible (and occasionally frightening) noises from the people beyond Ava’s apartment, yet every emotion is cued up and executed brilliantly. Credit for this must go to Didrik Bjerkomp’s editing and Ngo’s naturalistic and sympathetic portrayal of the character; she really does carry the film entirely on her shoulders and does so with aplomb. Aside from the aforementioned reference to Rastløs, Spores is highly reminiscent of claustrophobic stories by Kafka or even the weird tales of H.P. Lovecraft. What exactly, if anything, the titular ‘spores’ represent is never made clear, neither are we (or Ava) certain of where they came from or why they have their disastrous effect. In some short films these kinds of omissions can work against the story, but here the mystery is perfectly entwined with its charm. The audience feels powerless and confused with Ava, which only serves to raise the emotional stakes as things get progressively worse for her. I couldn’t also help but be reminded of the black mold in The Haunting of Hill House TV series, an allegory for the corruption of the house itself. Edgar Allan Poe was famously averse to allegory and sometimes horror can be its most visceral when what we see is what we get; even if the spores have no deeper symbolic meaning, they are still a great villain nonetheless: silent, deadly and relentless. Already well-recognised for its quality, Spores has won awards and acclaim since its release in November 2018, including ‘best student film’ at the Vegas Movie Awards 2019 and ‘best horror’ at Feel the Reel IFF 2019. It’s a wonderfully shot film with a strong central performance and very intelligent direction to hammer its horrors home. As with all short films of this calibre, there really is no excuse for not watching it. Spores is as taut as Hemingway’s prose and as creepy as being home alone on a sleepless Halloween night.

★★ Directed by #AlfonsoGomezRejon Written by #MichaelMitnick Starring #MichaelShannon #BenedictCumberbatch #NicholasHoult #TomHolland Film Review by #MattWeiner Isn’t there a rule that you shouldn’t make a movie about a subject that sets itself up for so many electricity-related puns if the final product is going to be so dim? That’s the fate that befalls The Current War, a diverting but disjointed biopic that relies on an impeccable cast and flashy style to make up for its confused substance. The bright spot: The Current War is much better than its protracted release history would suggest. After an expected holiday release in 2017, the movie was put on hold after the Weinstein Company imploded when news broke about Harvey Weinstein’s rape allegations. Two years and a fresh re-cut from director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon later, The Current War briskly takes us through key moments leading up to the competition between Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon, excellent as always but maybe even better suited for Edison—or better still, just playing all the leading weirdos for an even more interesting gonzo edit) to power the Chicago World’s Fair. The contest was the culmination of the War of the Currents, which pitted the world-famous inventor Edison and his direct current against the alternating current favored by Westinghouse, with an assist from Edison’s former employee and eccentric futurist Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult). The historical details alone should have made for an unusually exciting biopic. Edison might not deserve the blame for Topsy, but his animal body count is still high enough to start his own abattoir. But whether it’s the invention of the electric chair or Westinghouse’s (stylized) backstory, the film lacks either the interest or the courage to pursue any of the subplots with any real depth. Which would be surmountable, but the main action participants suffer the same neglect. As much as The Current War’s quick cuts and glassy sound effects try to ape the frenetic spirit of invention, the film is neutered when it comes to having anything of substance to actually say about these people and the trajectory they put the world on. That’s a bizarre oversight for a script by Michael Mitnick that at least attempts some hand-waving toward a dark reflection of the very same world we’re now living in over a century later: a Gilded Age redux, the foundational mythmaking that has always been tied up between this country and the Great Men doing what it takes in the name of creation, even the vaporware of Silicon Valley (er, Menlo Park) luminaries. But how about the powerhouse acting! That distraction alone coupled with the film’s tortuous journey to screens suggests that while The Current War isn’t the most insightful biopic, it has a good claim to the one we deserve at the moment.

Press Release Edited by: Chris Olson The [Future of Film] Summit 2019 is a dynamic conference-event designed to create the future of film and storytelling. The mission of the Summit is to inform, inspire and empower storytellers and transform the wider film ecosystem. Taking place on 26 November 2019 at #BFI Southbank, London, the Summit will welcome world-class speakers for keynotes and panel sessions as well as hands on workshops on new tech and cutting edge creative and business strategies. The event is designed for #filmmakers, producers and storytellers and this core audience will be joined at the Summit by key film stakeholders, technology companies and forward-thinking brands investing in films. Already confirmed for the event are a number of forward-thinking leaders in their field. The opening keynote will be delivered by award-winning designer and storyteller Alex McDowell, McDowell is working at the intersection of emergent technologies and experiential media. He is founder and creative director of experimental.design, where he and his team design immersive story worlds for industries and institutions. He has 30 years experience as a production designer of feature films, working with directors #DavidFincher, #StevenSpielberg, #TerryGilliam, and #AnthonyMinghella amongst others. The summit will also include sessions on #interactive #filmmaking, brand-funding, world-building and virtual production. Hands-on demonstrations for delegates will include pioneering spatial computer system, Magic Leap. Confirmed speakers for the day include Dr Jo Twist CEO of UKIE, Black Mirror Bandersnatch Editor Tony Kearns, Jack Attridge, Creative Director of Flavourworks, Art Director of Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Claire Fleming, Pulse Films CEO and Co-Founder Marisa Clifford and Director / Producer HaZ Dullal showcasing his use of Unreal Engine, and many more. The closing keynote will be Tim Webber, Chief Creative Officer at Framestore, the leading BAFTA and Oscar winning creative studio whose VFX slate boasts Gravity, Avengers: Endgame, Blade Runner 2049 and Game of Thrones to name but a few. A selection of the speakers and participants will also take place in the [Future of Film] Think Tank which will take place the following day at King’s College London. Results of this will then be published. Event Details 26 November 2019 9:30am-5:30pm BFI Southbank, Belvedere Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 8XT Ticketing Tickets for the event are now on sale at £179. Partner discounts are available and there are also a limited number of student discounts available. The ticket price includes guaranteed access to all panel sessions and workshops, and a complimentary drinks reception Tickets & full programme information: https://www.futureoffilm.live/

★★★★ Directed by: #ZgjimTerziqi Written by: #ZgjimTerziqi Starring: #SheqerieBuqaj, #IrenaCahani, #ArmondMorina Film Review by: JJ Donoghue Salon, a 2019 short film directed and written by Zgjim Terziqi, proves itself as a shining example of the virtues of simple, understated filmmaking. Taking place solely within the walls of the titular salon and focusing mainly on a family of women who enter the establishment in order to get a haircut for one of their group, a bride to be, the film is driven almost entirely by smart dialogue and a perceptive insight into the way people behave. Though this film is shot in Kosovo, its characters and conversation could be found in any hair salon across the world. The way that the people gossip about their family members, the “good old days”, and the case of a local woman who has murdered her husband all ring true to the tone and type of chatter which is usuallu found in a community space such as this. One moment in which an older woman, played by Igballe Qena, brags of how intelligent her grandchild is and that he reads Aesop’s fables on his iPad all day, while he sits out of her eyesight doodling penises on the aforementioned tablet, is hilarious in its incisiveness, spotlighting the empty bluster of salon gossip. In fact, Salon’s greatest strength lies in its ability to realistically portray people in all their individual quirks of character and imperfections. One moment in which a somewhat narcissistic, uptight woman, played by Irena Cahani, patronisingly accuses a hairdresser of not having understood her instructions only for her face to turn sour when she is immediately proven wrong is the type of moment of human truth which the film thrives on. It’s understated realism and honest conversation rarely seems fabricated. But it is the case of the husband murderer which truly holds this films attention and sparks its intriguing subtexts. While on the surface much of the dialogue around this event seems like regular gossip, there is a conversation about the reliability of social media as a news source underpinning it. One of the women is happy to accept the news she gets from Facebook about the murder while simultaneously discrediting the information that another woman, a proper journalist, has. This seems to ask pertinent questions about gossip as a wider part of our culture, particularly in relation to the way that ‘fake news’ is spread so easily on the internet. Salon thus clearly shows itself to be an intelligent, thoughtful short film. It is therefore something of a shame when it tries to deliver a sensational shock as its final moment, as the film’s slow exploration of human beings was compelling enough to render this type of twist ending unnecessary. The overt, indiscreet manner of this final moment seems to jar against the film’s generally understated style. Nevertheless, this is not in itself enough to discredit Salon’s overall quality. It is a resonant human drama, engaging in its subtlety and genuinely worth watching.

★★★★ Directed by #BruceSpringsteen #ThomZimny Starring #BruceSpringsteen Film Review by #HopeMadden and #GeorgeWolf Back in 1985, with “Born in the USA”-mania raging, Bruce Springsteen’s small acting performance in the John Sayles video for “I’m On Fire” spurred talk of a Boss move to feature films. Aside from a cameo or two, it never happened. But now, after becoming both an author and playwright in the last five years, Bruce hits the big screen as both star and co-director of Western Stars, an enchanting and meditative live presentation of his 19th album. Gathering his current, non E-Street band, a 30 piece orchestra and a select audience of friends inside his one hundred-year-old barn, Bruce brings emotional new life to his musings on “the struggle between individual freedom and communal life.” Tramps like us already know these songs are not what many expect from the Boss. There are no fist-pumping anthems here. These are lush pop symphonies, draped in the 1970s California pop sounds of Brian Wilson, Jimmy Webb, Glen Campbell and even Burt Bacharach. Bruce has toyed with these styles as far back as “New York City Serenade,” but it was his 2007 album “Magic” that unveiled the first major step toward the musical promise fulfilled by Western Stars. And though the comments by Bruce and band about the music “taking on a life of its own” sound like self-serving cliches, these live performances back them up. His speaking voice may show his 70 years, but Bruce’s singing only seems richer and more inviting. “Sleepy Joe’s Cafe” is powered by a more joyous swing and “Sundown” soars with a newfound drive. For both “Stones” and “Moonlight Motel,” by sharing one mic with wife Patti Scialfa, Bruce adds layers of confessional intimacy. The soul searching is only bolstered by dreamy, between-song vignettes from Bruce and co-director Thom Zimny. Amid gorgeous vistas, charming home movies (the Boss likes tequila!) and flashbacks to the America that shaped him, Bruce shares the songwriting inspirations he found in cars, risk, lies and love. Longtime fans have often heard Bruce speak of the “conversation” he’s always had with his audience. In that vein, after his autobiography and broadway show, Western Stars is a can’t miss portrait of both the artist and the human being taking life’s journey. And if you’re new to the conversation, welcome. Today’s Springsteen may not be quite what you’re expecting, but the days are still pretty glorious.

★★★ Directed by #BrianPresley Written by #BrianPresley Starring #BrianPresley #TreatWilliams Film Review by #RachelWillis If you’re looking for a movie to watch with your extended family this holiday season, you likely won’t go wrong with director Brian Presley’s film, The Great Alaskan Race. Based on a true story, Presley’s film, in which he also stars, is a touching dedication to the mushers and sled dogs who saved the children of Nome, Alaska from a deadly diphtheria outbreak in 1925. The film opens in 1917 with a voiceover narration introducing the audience to Leonhard Seppala (Presley), a man who has embraced the Alaskan wilderness and its people. We jump ahead one year and learn a flu epidemic has killed half of the native population, including Seppala’s wife, leaving him to care for their infant daughter, Sigrid. The opening feels like an unnecessary prologue to a film that addresses this past through dialogue, but its intention is to help us understand Seppala’s motivation to participate in the treacherous run to deliver the diphtheria antitoxin. Once the disease begins to affect the children of Nome, Seppala is terrified his daughter will fall victim to the deadly illness. Much of the film’s first act is devoted to understanding the tight-knit community in Nome. Through Sigrid (portrayed by Presley’s daughter, Emma), we see that she is beloved by both her indigenous relatives and the settlers to the region, as they share in raising Sigrid while her father works in the area’s gold mines. The movie does a good job of letting us know who the characters are, but when it comes to portraying the epic 674-mile run to deliver the lifesaving medicine, it falls short. There are too few scenes of the mushers and their sled dogs fighting the elements and too many scenes of Dr. Welch (Treat Williams) and his nurses tending to the sick kids. For a historical event known as the Great Race of Mercy, we never truly feel the danger and daring involved in such a momentous undertaking. That’s not to say there aren’t any scenes in which Seppala and some of the other mushers contend with blizzards and subzero temperatures, there just aren’t enough. The scenes they do include are the movie’s most interesting moments. For those who already know the story (or have seen the animated Balto from 1995), there may not be many surprises. But for audiences who don’t know this history, or the reason the Iditarod is run yearly, or why there is a statue of Balto the dog in Central Park, they’re likely to learn a few interesting facts. Either way, The Great Alaskan Race is a movie that celebrates community and the great things people can achieve when they work together to help those in need.