Film: Fire in Babylon Screening + Q&A + Afterparty @ Usain Bolt’s Tracks & Records, Thu July 25, 2019, 7pm.
Michael Holding celebrates the dismissal of Tony Greig
(E765044) 61370-11A
photograph by Patrick Eagar
Film: Fire in Babylon Screening
Michael Holding celebrates the dismissal of Tony Greig
(E765044) 61370-11A
photograph by Patrick Eagar
Film: Nothing But a Man
Nothing But a Man, @BFI Southbank, Tue 16 & Sat 27 April.
https://bit.ly/2I3i233
“Roemer’s landmark movie about African-American lives in early 1960s Alabama finds an itinerant labourer (Dixon) falling for a preacher’s daughter (Lincoln), and striving to make a success of things despite familial obstacles and near-ubiquitous racism. It’s a tough but tender, wholly unsentimental account of a man determined to be true to himself, but having to work out exactly what that entails.”
Book: The Friend – Dorothy Koomson
Kindle edition currently 99p on Amazon UK
The Guardian’s Positive Action Scheme 2019 – #BAME
Internship/Work Experience/Trainee: The Guardian’s Positive Action Scheme 2019 – #BAME Podcasting and Audio storytelling
Deadline for receipt of applications: Monday 25th March 2019.
https://workforus.theguardian.com/jobs/kin0001lk/
Successful applicants will spend two weeks in The Guardian’s London office, alongside their podcast producers, editors and hosts, with an experienced podcast producer as a mentor to offer careers advice.
^SJ
Films to see at the 62nd London Film Festival 2018
“225 features. 77 countries.
14 cinemas. 12 days.
One Festival.”The 62nd London Film Festival runs from the 10th to the 21st October 2018, with a bumper selection of films to choose from, here is our selection of 40 feature films and 32 short films for you – films from the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, Italy, Norway, Austria, Finland, Luxembourg, Sweden, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands, Libya, Lebanon, Qatar, Kenya, Brazil, Jamaica, Namibia, Congo, Dominican Republic, Martinique, Sudan, and South Africa.
See what the festival has to say about these films by clicking the links below or heading to the website.
FEATURE FILMS
Assassination Nation
The Salem witch trials are given a digital overhaul in this ferocious femme exploitationer.
Friday 19 October 2018 | 21:30 | Cineworld Leicester Square
Saturday 20 October 2018 | 14:30 | Embankment Garden Cinema
Sunday 21 October 2018 | 20:30 |Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
Angelo
The powerful story of Angelo Soliman, a forced Europeanised African who makes his way through Viennese society in the early 18th century without ever belonging.
Wednesday 17 October 2018 | 18:00 | Cine Lumiere
Thursday 18 October 2018 | 15:00 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 7
Amin
Philippe Faucon’s understated drama is a subtle and tender evocation of a friendship that develops between a lonely Senegalese immigrant and a French divorcée.
Sunday 14 October 2018 | 18:20 | Cine Lumiere
Monday 15 October 2018 | 14:45 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 6
aKasha
With his striking, gently comedic debut, set amidst an endless war in his beloved country, hajooj kuka announces himself as one of Sudan’s most unique cinematic voices.
Thursday 11 October 2018 | 21:00 | Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
Friday 12 October 2018 | 13:15 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
Been So Long
Chewing Gum star Michaela Coel leads a talented cast in Tinge Krishnan’s contemporary London musical, which reimagines Camden as a romantic neon-soaked wonderland.
Friday 12 October 2018 | 21:00 | Embankment Garden Cinema
Saturday 13 October 2018 | 14:00 | Cineworld Leicester Square
Monday 15 October 2018 | 21:00 | Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
Capernaum (Capharnaüm)
Acclaimed Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki delivers her most assured and affecting work yet with this astonishing and heart-wrenching depiction of life in the shadows.
Wednesday 17 October 2018 | 17:30 | Embankment Garden Cinema
Thursday 18 October 2018 | 11:30 | Embankment Garden Cinema
Friday 19 October 2018 | 18:10 | Picturehouse Central, Screen 1
Dilili in Paris (Dilili à Paris)
The great master of French animation, Michel Ocelot, returns to the Festival with his exquisite tale set in Paris during the Belle Epoque.
Saturday 20 October 2018 | 12:45 | Cine Lumiere
Sunday 21 October 2018 | 12:30 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
Eldorado
Markus Imhoof blends the intensely personal with the socio-political to powerful effect in this documentary, a penetrating examination of how migrants are treated upon arrival in Europe.
Tuesday 16 October 2018 | 17:15 | Curzon Mayfair, Screen 1
Thursday 18 October 2018 | 15:20 | BFI Southbank, NFT1
The Elephant Queen
Shot over eight years, this stunning documentary tells the story of Athena, the Elephant Queen, who leads her family across Africa when drought hits their region.
Sunday 14 October 2018 | 15:15 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 7
Etangs Noirs
Nothing is quite what it seems in this enigmatic mystery which promises to be one of the most original films of the year.
Tuesday 16 October 2018 | 21:00 | BFI Southbank, NFT3
Thursday 18 October 2018 | 15:15 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 6
Freedom Fields
Charting six years of Libya’s nascent women’s football scene – a journey never short of obstacles – Freedom Fields celebrates the determination of an incredible team.
Thursday 11 October 2018 | 18:15 | ICA Cinema, Screen 1
Friday 12 October 2018 | 15:30 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
The Hate U Give
This powerful adaptation of Angie Thomas’ YA novel stars Amandla Stenberg as a teenager who witnesses the fatal police shooting of her childhood friend.
Saturday 20 October 2018 | 20:45 | Cineworld Leicester Square
Sunday 21 October 2018 | 14:30 | Embankment Garden Cinema
Sunday 21 October 2018 | 17:30 | Odeon Tottenham Court Road, Screen 3
If Beale Street Could Talk
Barry Jenkins follows his Oscar-winning Moonlight with an audacious, distinctive and assured adaptation of James Baldwin’s account of love, injustice and racism in America.
Saturday 20 October 2018 | 17:30 | Embankment Garden Cinema
Sunday 21 October 2018 | 11:00 | Embankment Garden Cinema
Sunday 21 October 2018 | 18:00 | Picturehouse Central, Screen 1
In Fabric
Impeccable red talons slide a flick knife across a box to reveal its contents, a beautiful silky dress… that can kill!
Thursday 18 October 2018 | 20:30 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 7
Thursday 18 October 2018 | 21:00 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 5
Friday 19 October 2018 | 12:00 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 7
Friday 19 October 2018 | 15:30 | Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 1
Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver (Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer)
This quirky, upbeat fantasy adventure is based on the bestseller by the author of The Neverending Story.
Saturday 20 October 2018 | 12:45 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
Jinn
A black LA teenager is torn between traditional Islam and notoriety for becoming the popular #HalalHottie in this powerful take on identity and sexuality.
Thursday 11 October 2018 | 20:30 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 6
Friday 12 October 2018 | 12:45 | Odeon Tottenham Court Road, Screen 3
Saturday 13 October 2018 | 21:00 | Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
Joy
Sudabeh Mortezai (Macondo, LFF 2014) presents a vital and hugely affecting drama that tackles the vicious cycle of sex trafficking in modern Europe.
Tuesday 16 October 2018 | 20:50 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 7
Tuesday 16 October 2018 | 21:15 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 5
Wednesday 17 October 2018 | 12:30 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 7
Wednesday 17 October 2018 | 12:45 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 5
Ladyworld
Welcome to Ladyworld, a shadowy dwelling where tensions run high and nothing is ever quite what it seems.
Friday 19 October 2018 | 21:00 | ICA Cinema, Screen 1
Saturday 20 October 2018 | 18:00 | Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
Madeline’s Madeline
The third feature from acclaimed director Josephine Decker is a jazz-infused fever dream that tackles head-first the thorny themes of cultural production and appropriation.
Wednesday 17 October 2018 | 20:50 | ICA Cinema, Screen 1
Friday 19 October 2018 | 13:00 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
Sunday 21 October 2018 | 12:40 | BFI Southbank, NFT3
Make Me Up
Rachel Maclean follows her Venice Biennale piece Spite Your Face with a daring new film that incisively deconstructs art history’s myth of feminine beauty with a savage, satirical blade.
Friday 12 October 2018 | 18:30 | BFI Southbank, NFT1
Sunday 14 October 2018 | 12:45 | BFI Southbank, Studio
Maki’la
Machérie Ekwa Bahango’s directorial debut is a compassionate and acutely observed portrait of homelessness experienced by young people in Kinshasa.
Wednesday 17 October 2018 | 21:00 | BFI Southbank, NFT3
Thursday 18 October 2018 | 21:00 | Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
Mayfair
Sara Blecher (Ayanda, LFF 2015) returns with a markedly different film – a groundbreaking, multi-cultural African gangster thriller.
Friday 19 October 2018 | 18:15 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
Sunday 21 October 2018 | 15:30 | Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
Miriam Lies
(Miriam Miente)
A quinceañera celebration is nothing but nerve-racking for teenage Miriam, in this nuanced film that tackles race and class tensions in the Dominican Republic.
Friday 12 October 2018 | 18:40 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
Sunday 14 October 2018 | 20:45 | ICA Cinema, Screen 1
Mr. Soul!
This is a heartfelt and politically engaged profile of Ellis Haizlip, the openly gay host of the ground breaking PBS all-black variety show SOUL!
Saturday 20 October 2018 | 18:00 | Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
Sunday 21 October 2018 | 21:00 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 5
Pixote (Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco)
Like a bullet to the heart, Hector Babenco’s visceral portrait of the brutalisation of children and teenagers has lost none of its power.
Saturday 20 October 2018 | 20:30 | BFI Southbank, NFT1
Rafiki
Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.
Saturday 13 October 2018 | 18:15 | BFI Southbank, NFT1
Sunday 14 October 2018 | 15:00 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
The Raft (Flotten)
Imagine Big Brother at sea, but with no evictions. Director Marcus Lindeen innovatively uncovers the human stories behind a 1970s social experiment, salaciously dubbed ‘The Sex Raft’.
Friday 12 October 2018 | 18:15 | Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 1
Saturday 13 October 2018 | 12:30 | Cine Lumiere
Wednesday 17 October 2018 | 12:15 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 6
Rudeboy: The Story of Trojan Records
This stylish documentary about the iconic ska, reggae and rock-steady label is a timely and wide-ranging celebration of British Jamaican working-class youth culture.
Friday 12 October 2018 | 18:00 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 7
Saturday 13 October 2018 | 15:00 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
Monday 15 October 2018 | 13:10 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
Sew the Winter to My Skin
Confirming the promise he showed with his powerful Of Good Report (LFF 2013), Jahmil XT Qubeka delivers a superb thriller based on a true story.
Friday 19 October 2018 | 17:45 | Cine Lumiere
Saturday 20 October 2018 | 15:45 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 7
Sorry to Bother You
A mild-mannered call centre operator whizzes up the corporate ladder after he discovers a unique ability to adopt a “white voice” in writer-director Boots Riley’s breathlessly inventive satire.
Thursday 11 October 2018 | 18:10 | BFI Southbank, NFT1
Friday 12 October 2018 | 14:15 | Embankment Garden Cinema
Sunday 14 October 2018 | 17:30 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 6
Sugar Cane Alley (Rue cases-nègres)
Based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Joseph Zobel and directed by Euzhan Palcy, Sugar Cane Alley is a critically acclaimed and award-winning coming-of-age story.
Friday 19 October 2018 | 20:30 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
Support the Girls
Andrew Bujalski serves up a big-hearted comedy with his day-in-the-life look at Double Whammies – a Hooters-style bar and its tight-knit, all-female staff.
Wednesday 17 October 2018 | 18:15 | Picturehouse Central, Screen 1
Saturday 20 October 2018 | 20:50 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
Sunday 21 October 2018 | 13:00 | Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
Twin Flower (Fiore Gemello)
This beguiling drama, unfolding amidst the beauty of Sardinia’s sun-dappled landscape, charts the unlikely friendship between a traumatised woman and an illegal immigrant.
Thursday 11 October 2018 | 18:15 | Cine Lumiere
Friday 12 October 2018 | 15:45 | Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
Twenty-Two Hours
Bouchra Khalili’s meditation on revolutionary histories considers the poet Jean Genet’s secret 1970 visit to the United States at the invitation of the Black Panther Party. Plus the following short films: + Another Decade + Namibia Today + Promised Lands
Tuesday 16 October 2018 | 21:00 | ICA Cinema, Screen 1
United Skates
A charming and dynamic tribute to the electrifying underground African-American roller-skating scene, whose future looks in doubt.
Monday 15 October 2018 | 18:15 | Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
Wednesday 17 October 2018 | 21:00 | Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
Vs.
Southend’s battle-rap scene comes to the big screen, in this sharp-tongued drama starring Connor Swindells as a troubled teenager trying to make rhyme pay.
Saturday 13 October 2018 | 18:00 | Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 1
Monday 15 October 2018 | 15:30 | Odeon Tottenham Court Road, Screen 3
What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?
Thought-provoking and all-too-relevant, Roberto Minervini’s documentary paints a portrait of a Louisiana community in the aftermath of a police shooting.
Monday 15 October 2018 | 18:00 | Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 1
Tuesday 16 October 2018 | 20:30 | Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
Widows
Academy Award® winner and BFI Fellow Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, Hunger, Shame) opens the Festival in pulsating style with this female-fuelled heist thriller that features a cast to die for.
Wednesday 10 October 2018 | 19:45 | Embankment Garden Cinema
Thursday 11 October 2018 | 14:00 | Embankment Garden Cinema
Friday 12 October 2018 | 20:40 | Odeon Tottenham Court Road, Screen 3
Young and Alive (L’ Époque)
A young and politicised generation share their beliefs and worries in this galvanizing fresco set on the streets of Paris at night.
Sunday 14 October 2018 | 18:20 | ICA Cinema, Screen 1
Tuesday 16 October 2018 | 15:30 | BFI Southbank, NFT2
Yours in Sisterhood
Women across the US give voice to letters sent by readers to a feminist magazine in the 1970s, in this galvanizing and elegantly assembled documentary.
Friday 19 October 2018 | 20:50 | BFI Southbank, NFT3
Sunday 21 October 2018 | 18:30 | Vue Leicester Sq, Screen 5
SHORT FILMS
As well as the short films being shown with the feature film Twenty-Two Hours, there are a selection of short films within the short film programmes – here are our picks:
A Female Body
Another Decade
Besida
Black Sheep
Colourbirds
Entitled
Fly
Four Quartets
Girl
Goddess
Hair Wolf
Haircut
Hello, Rain
Holy Beef
A is for Artist
Jerk![Juck [Thrust]](https://jampotmedia.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/juck-tartan-01.jpg?w=149&h=84 "juck-tartan-01")
Juck [Thrust]
Mahogany Too
Mic Drop
Namibia Today
Nevada
Night Out
Picking Up The Pieces
Promised Lands
Rebirth Is Necessary
Richland Blue
Skip Day
The Startled Faction
Still Water Runs Deep
Third Sorrow
This Is Bata Bola
Tween
Lust to Love and In Between – 12, 14 Oct
The pursuit of love is a road well travelled. This series of short films shows the universality of desire and breadth of love. Including:
Nevada – The prospect of an unplanned pregnancy exposes minor tensions but, ultimately, strength and certainty in a loving relationship.
Dir Emily Ann Hoffman. USA 2017. 12min
A Female Body (Um corpo feminino) – This dynamic documentary is an open and honest journey that explores what it means to be a woman.
Dir Thais Fernandes. Brazil 2018. 20min
We Would be Lost Without You – 13 Oct
A sense-expanding programme of short artists’ films that investigate the limits of perception and new sensual relationships with technologies and things, and how these might be re-negotiated into new affective orders. Including:
Mic Drop – Investigating the performative gesture of the mic drop and expanding out to consider the interface and anxiety of the voice in relation to processing and technology.
Dir Keith Piper. UK 2017. 12min
Keep it in the Family – 14, 18 Oct
Family life is never easy. A multitude of evils and secrets can lurk behind closed doors. These shorts draw some of those secrets out into the open in order to explore what is acceptable behaviour within the domestic space. Including:
Still Water Runs Deep – A son goes missing. A father must preserve his pride.
Dir Abbesi Akhamie. Nigeria-USA 2017. 15min
Third Sorrow – Yejide is a single mother preparing for her daughter’s first cutting ceremony.
Dir Myriam Raja. UK 2018. 9min
Tween – Being the only girl of African-American descent at the slumber party can lead to both prejudices and jealousy.
Dir Raven Johnson. USA 2016. 8min
Stop Making Sense – 11, 12 Oct
Laughter at its most bizarre, taking both surreal and all-too-real forms. A programme of laugh-out-loud shorts for these nonsensical times. Including:
Hair Wolf – In this Brooklyn beauty shop, there are definitely some things more terrifying than a white girl who thinks it’s okay to have dreads.
Dir Mariama Diallo. USA 2018. 12min
This is the Sound, This is the Picture – 16, 17 Oct –
It takes the power of recorded images, sounds and dance to capture and transform the world around us. Jump in, sit back and explore. Including:
Four Quartets – Dance along with this teen as he learns to stop forcing the narrative and just lets himself go with the music in queer UK.
Dir Marco Alessi. UK 2018. 11min
Juck [Thrust] – Strutting and unapologetic, this female dance troupe will express themselves.
Dir Olivia Kastebring, Julia Gumpert, Ulrika Bandeira. Sweden 2018. 17min
Rebirth Is Necessary – A personal and powerful exploration of blackness, piecing together dreamlike portraits, including Afrofuturism pioneer Sun Ra and the revolutionary Black Panther Party.
Dir Jenn Nkiru. UK 2017. 10min
Entitled – Take a ride from Peckham to Nigeria and back again.
Dir Adeyemi Michael. UK 2018. 4min
This is Bate Bola – An explosive contest between neighbourhoods, this is the Rio Carnival that you have never seen before. This is Bate Bola.
Dir Ben Holman, Neirin Jones. Brazil-UK-USA 2018. 16min
London Calling – 18, 20 Oct
A selection of new shorts from some of the capital’s most exciting upcoming filmmakers, supported by Film London. Including:
Jerk – A Jamaican man of the community battles depression and disillusionment.
Dir Raine Allen-Miller. UK 2018. 10min
Holy Beef – Due to a bad case of the mumps, Slicker and his crew risk defeat in an escalating college beef. Only divine intervention will help them now.
Dir Dwayne Gumbs, Iain Simpson. UK 2018. 11min
Fly – When you are a female rapper from Bermondsey, you only have one chance to fly. Make it count.
Dir Nadira Amrani. UK 2018. 9min
HairCut – A middle-aged barber has to calm the situation when a desperate teenage drug dealer holds up the barbershop at gunpoint.
Dir Koby Adom. UK 2018. 15min
Night Out – Being a teenager is hard. Figuring out who you want to be is harder. Sometimes a night out can change everything.
Dir Amelia Hashemi. UK 2018. 10min
Today is a Thing of the Past – 13 Oct
The unknown behind the familiar and the history behind the present combine to invite us on expeditions into new cinematic territories. Including:
Richland Blue – A corrupt Police Dept produced several films. This is what they could have been like.
Dir Kevin Jerome Everson. USA 2018. 4min
Goddess – Inspired by a stag film by American photographer Garry Winogrand and corrupt police.
Dir Kevin Jerome Everson. USA 2018. 2min
Is It Me or Is It the World? – 14 Oct
Stories of creative resistance to dominant personal, cultural or political forces that seek to control the self; these films treasure artistic beauty, philosophical discourse, diverse sexuality and personal integrity. Including:
Mahogany Too – Nigerian actress Esosa E beautifully re-enacts Diana Ross’s role in Mahogany as nostalgic Afro-Futurism.
Dir Akosua Adoma Owusu. USA-Ghana 2018. 3min
A is for Artist – A young woman discovers her future by looking into her family’s past.
Dir Ayo Akingbade. UK 2018. 4min
Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences – 20 Oct
This eclectic, exciting and colourful selection of short animated films comes from all corners of the globe. Included are the first two theatrical short films from Dreamworks Animation Studios. English language and subtitles. Including:
Colourbirds (Coucouleurs) – What does a two-coloured bird do amongst birds of just one colour?
Dir Oana Lacroix. Switzerland 2018. 6min
A World of Conflict – 17, 19 Oct
Conflicts are all around us – in our families, communities and in the world. Local and international stories reveal the effect of how interconnected our lives have become. Including:
Black Sheep – An 11-year-old boy struggles to navigate his way through a new and hostile environment.
Dir Ed Perkins. UK 2018. 27min
Picking Up the Pieces – John and Quiandre try to come to terms with the reality of their new life following the devastation left by Hurricane Irma.
Dir Sebastian Feehan, Josh Bamford. UK 2018. 7min
What’s My Age Again? – 13, 17 Oct
Growing up is hard to do and there’s no denying we all undertake an important journey during our teenage years. In fact, those growing pangs are what connects us across continents and cultures.
Skip Day – School’s almost out. For seniors in Pahokee, the Monday after prom is Skip Day.
Dir Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan. USA-UK 2018. 17min
Besida – In a small tribal village, certain men are on the look-out to drive young girls to the big city. Besida’s older brother steps in to make sure that it doesn’t happen to her.
Dir Chuko Esiri. 2017. 11min
Girl – A young migrant. Her period.
Dir Lowri Roberts. UK 2018. 6min
Performance Anxiety – 15 Oct
A series of distinctive short artists’ films exploring the ways sexuality, gender, masculinity and labour are expressed through performance and dance. They offer a diverse range of approaches, from the highly stylised dance/movement work of Catherine Sullivan to the painfully sadomasochistic interactions of Stephen Sutcliffe’s vignettes and the fragile masculinity of Benjamin Crotty’s eponymous chauvinist. Including:
The Startled Faction – An extraordinary stylised exploration of self-possession and ambiguous labour explored though dance idioms, movement, mise-en-scène and drama, in collaboration with Chicago Dancemakers Forum.
Dir Catherine Sullivan. USA 2018. 35min
Amazing and Astounding – 18, 21 Oct
Surreal landscapes, created by animators and filmmakers, can take the imagination to a thrilling place. Be prepared to be amazed by strange worlds and fantastical scenarios. Including:
Hello, Rain – A scientist-witch who, through an alchemical combination of juju and technology, creates wigs that grant both her and her friends supernatural powers.
Dir C J ‘Fiery’ Obasi. Nigeria 2018. 30min
—
Find out more about all of the films on the BFI London Film Festival Website, and remember, there are often standby tickets available for the Sold Out films – if you really want to see it, take a chance and head to the cinema early.
JAMMIE & EC FORDE
BFI Flare 2018: Part 2
2018 BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival began on
Wednesday 21 March, and ends on Sunday 1 April, and there is plenty to see at this year’s BFI Flare Film Festival. Here are our selections. To find out more and to attend the festival, just click on the links to the BFI website.
Have a look at some of the films in BFI Flare 2018: Part 1
This week you can enjoy:
Monday 26 March
20:30
The Wound
“Kwanda, an edgy city boy, has been taken back to his father’s rural village where he is to undergo the painful initiation ritual that will ‘turn’ him into a man.”
This has to be one of my highlights of the festival. I saw this film at the London Film Festival. Tradition clashes with modern living, with a world of secrets. Absolutely fantastic.
Tuesday 27 March
20:30
SHORTS: Rewind the Film
Queer histories and queer futures are reconfigured in this collection of experimental short films, showcasing the best in contemporary artists’ film and video.
FILM 8 – Something Said
As history is remembered, the body is reimagined.
Thursday 29 March
20:40 (also Friday 30 March, 16:10)
SHORTS: Revelate
You must decide what side of reality you stand on in these stories that revel in the dark, the dream-like and the bizarre.
FILM 3 – A Drop of Sun Under the Earth
A man known as Little Bear lives with his father in a run-down Rio slum, but everything changes when he gets a job with a rich older man and becomes obsessed with a Copacabana rent boy.
Friday 30 March
15:45 (also Saturday 31 March, 16:15)
SHORTS: Dangerous Atmospheres
Sometimes relationships happen in spite of the dangers. Four longer shorts with the power of mini-features explore different situations where things don’t turn out as anyone expected.
FILM 4 – Ursinho
A man known as Little Bear lives with his father in a run-down Rio slum, but everything changes when he gets a job with a rich older man and becomes obsessed with a Copacabana rent boy.
18:20
SHORTS: You Can’t Always Get What You Want
Life and all its complexities are laid bare in these emotionally-charged short films.
FILM 3 – Y
Laura finds more than she bargained for when she steals from the wrong woman.
18:15 (also Saturday 31 March, 16:20)
Southern Pride
Malcolm Ingram’s spiritual companion piece to his acclaimed documentary Small Town Gay Bar (BFI Flare 2007), Southern Pride offers a fascinating insight into LGBTQ+ rights in a post-Trump landscape. Headstrong bar owner Lynn Koval, alongside a team of friends (and her own Republican-voting sister), endeavour against all odds to organise a Pride march in her local town. Meanwhile, in another part of the state, organisers of a Black Pride celebration are simultaneously striving to make a difference, despite the numerous setbacks that stand in their way. Emotionally textured and politically prescient, this inspiring tale of triumph over adversity addresses themes of leadership, struggle, division, community and race relations, ultimately offering a sense of hope in a world that can too often appear so hopeless.
20:15 (also Saturday 31 March, 20:15)
Good Manners (As Boas maneiras)
Clara, a care worker living on the outskirts of São Paulo, accepts the position of live-in nanny to the as-yet unborn child of a wealthy single woman named Ana. The two women immediately develop a strong bond, but Ana’s increasingly strange behaviour hints at a deep, dark secret.
20:30 (also Saturday 31 March, 11:30)
Hard Paint
Moody, disturbed loner Pedro lives in the depressed harbour town of Porto Alegre. He scrapes together a living as webcam performer NeonBoy and erotic displays of his naked body smeared with neon paint attract a devoted following. When he discovers another male performer, Leon, has copied his act under the pseudonym Boy25, it prompts a radical change to Pedro’s performance and life.
Saturday 31 March
13:20
SHORTS: Wanting, Needing, Waiting
Whilst travelling down that rocky road toward true love, a disparate group of men face some difficult decisions in this heart-rending collection of short films.
FILM 2 – The Things You Think I’m Thinking
A burn survivor goes on a date for the first time since his life-changing accident.
Sunday 1 April
18:10
SHORTS: Brown is the Warmest Colour
Insightful shorts charting the queer Asian experience, and the importance of love, relationships and solidarity.
FILM 5 – More Love. Less Pre-Packed Bullshit
It is easy to overlook the simple extension of love to other people.
The festival runs until 1st April 2018, and there’s a lot more to see,
Sunday 1 April is a chance to catch up on some of the films shown earlier in the festival
BFI Flare 2018: Part 1
2018 BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival began on
Wednesday 21 March, and ends on Sunday 1 April, and there is plenty to see at this year’s BFI Flare Film Festival. Here are our selections. To find out more and to attend the festival, just click on the links to the BFI website.
Have a look at more films to enjoy next week in BFI Flare 2018: Part 2. This weekend, you can enjoy:
Friday 23 March
12:00-17:00
Rise: QTIPOC Representation and Visibility in Film
“Elevating the narratives of QTIPOC (queer, transgender and intersex people of colour) characters, this one-day series of free events will provide a platform to examine the importance of inclusion, both on and off screen, whilst inspiring a generation of directors, screenwriters, filmmakers and producers to develop work which best reflects their stories. Featuring a programme of intimate workshops and panel discussions with established industry professionals, this symposium seeks to affirm to the power of film as a disruptive medium that can broaden the lens and draw attention to the nuanced experiences of QTIPOC people.“
20:30 (Also Saturday 24 March, 15:55)
As part of the feature film, “Paternal Rites” you can catch the short film Happy Birthday, Marsha!
“Rare archive footage is used to imagine the night Marsha P Johnson instigated the Stonewall riots.”
20:45 (Also, Sunday 25 March, 16:10; Saturday 31 March, 18:30; Sunday 01 April, 20:20)
Alaska is a Drag
Leo and his sister Tristan work menial jobs in a fish cannery, but have big dreams of ditching the fish, becoming stars and finding their mother.
Also, as part of this screening, you can see Wood.
“A young man is confronted by his own feelings when the gay man he attacked appears at his boxing gym.”
20:50 (also, Saturday 24 March, 20:30)
The Carmilla Movie
“Everyone’s favourite lesbian vampire is back, in a feature length sequel to the hit web series. And this time around the stakes are much higher.”
Saturday 24 March
11:15 (also Sunday 25 March, 18:20)
SHORTS: Relationship Lessons
Whether you’re hooking up online or in a long-term relationship, things don’t always develop the way we would like. There’s tragedy and high comedy here. You’ve been warned!
As part of this stream of short films, look out for:
FILM 1 – Boyfriend
It all seems too easy. You’ve met the perfect guy and he seems wonderful. There’s just one small problem…
FILM 2 – Skai Blue
Simon, a gay refugee fleeing from homophobic abuse in Cameroon, meets Tom on a dating website in a small town in Belgium. Love can’t solve everything, but it’s a start.
20:20; (also, Sunday 25 March, 15:20)
Sidney & Friends
“Scottish filmmaker Tristan Aitchison visited Kenya in 2013. A chance meeting with an activist revealed an underground network of intersex and trans people that wanted their voices heard. Kenya has various discriminatory laws affecting LGBTQ+ people, although the situation has gradually improved over the last five years. Welcomed into their community, Aitchison recorded six young people who bravely shared their candid stories over a long period, revealing the realities of life as a targeted minority.”
Also, as part of this screening:
Half a Life
Short documentary animates a startling episode in the life of a gay rights activist in Egypt.
Clash
A critique on the lack of BAME representation in UK television and film, highlighting inequality and the absence of media engagement with Britain’s colonial past.
Sunday 25 March
13:30
SHORTS: Fighters of Demons, Makers of Cakes: D/deaf and Disabled Queer and Trans Shorts
+ Q&A with Michael Achtman, Sandra Alland, David Ellington, Matthew Hellett, Lynn Stewart-Taylor and Bea Webster.
An unconventional and often fantastical examination of LGBTQ+ disabled, neurodiverse, chronically ill and/or D/deaf lives. Packed with experimental docs, dance, animation, poetry, drama and comedy. Plus zombies.
FILM 6 – The Deaf Vs the Dead
When the zombie apocalypse breaks out in Los Angeles, an out deaf man must find a way to survive.
FILM 7 – Awake
Chronically ill Anna is visited by Doreen, a door-to-door proselytiser who invites herself in. Two blind actors. An existential comedy.
FILM 10 – Atlantic is a Sea of Bones
Through everyday acts of refusal, performer Egyptt LaBeija confronts legacies of violence, intimately shaped by HIV/AIDS, against Black queer and trans bodies in this otherworldy film.
18:30 (also, Monday 26 March; 20:30)
The Wound
“Kwanda, an edgy city boy, has been taken back to his father’s rural village where he is to undergo the painful initiation ritual that will ‘turn’ him into a man.”
This has to be one of my highlights of the festival. I saw this film at the London Film Festival. Tradition clashes with modern living, with a world of secrets. Absolutely fantastic.
The festival runs until 1st April 2018, and there’s a lot more to see,
I’ll share a few more over the next few days.
Best Original Song – 2018 Oscar Nominees | 90th Academy Awards
The 90th Academy Awards | 2018, Sunday, March 4, 2018 – Honoring movies released in 2017
These are the nominees for the Best Original Song
- “Mighty River” from Mudbound – Music and Lyrics by Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson
- “Mystery of Love” from Call Me by Your Name – Music and Lyrics by Sufjan Stevens
- “Remember Me” from Coco – Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
- “Stand Up for Something” from Marshall – Music by Diane Warren; Lyrics by Common and Diane Warren
- “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman – Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Listen to them here. Which one would you make the winner in this category?
https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/jammiemedia/playlist/4ci1dwaiwSW2QntJzXTmju
Films to see at BFI’s 61st London Film Festival 2017
If you haven’t managed to get down to the BFIs 61st London Film Festival yet, there are still plenty of films to see.
The festival runs from the 4th to the 15th October 2017.
Available feature films include those set in:
- Congo (Félicité, Makala), Egypt (The Nile Hilton Incident, Sheikh Jackson), South Africa (The Forgiven, Five Fingers for Marseilles / Menoana e Mehlano ea Marseilles, Liyana, The Wound), Guinea-Bissau (Spell Reel), Mauritania (Oh, Sun! /Soleil Ô), and Zambia (I Am Not a Witch), plus (Untitled),
- Brazil (Araby /Arábia, Good Manners /As Boas Maneiras),
- France (Chateau /La Vie de château),
- Italy (A Ciambra),
- UK (Dead the Ends, The L-Shaped Room), and
- USA (The Final Year, Last Flag Flying, Mutafukaz, Gemini, The Shape of Water, Small Town Crime, Saturday Church, G Funk).
| Last Flag Flying – 9,10 Oct
Road trip reunion, w/ Laurence Fishburne |
| Gemini – 9,11 Oct
A crime thriller set in LA with Zoë Kravitz and Lola Kirke |
| The Wound – 9,10,12 Oct
Right of passage boy to man ritual worth seeing |
| Félicité – 9 Oct
Kinshasa singer, Félicité, must raise money for an urgent operation for her son |
| Spell Reel – 9 Oct
Documentary following the preservation of works by filmmakers who documented Guinea-Bissau’s war of independence from Portugal |
| Liyana – 9 Oct
Thandie Newton produces Liyana, a beautiful story created by children in a Swaziland orphanage. Animated by Shofela Coker |
| Mutafukaz – 9 Oct
Dystopian hip-hop sci-fi animation |
| The Final Year – 9 Oct
The Obama administration’s last year in office |
| Chateau (La Vie de château) – 10,13 Oct
Life around the African hair salons near Château d’Eau metro station in Paris and Charles, one of the hustlers that get clients for the hairdressers |
| The Shape of Water – 10,11,13 Oct
Sci-fi aquatic creature US laboratory with Octavia Spencer |
| Makala – 10,12 Oct
Documentary following Hard working miner and his family life |
| Dead the Ends – 10,15 Oct
Experimental film, a man has been sent back into the past to rescue the future. Includes the 2011 London riots |
| Good Manners (As Boas Maneiras) – 11,12,13 Oct
Creative and subversive |
| Small Town Crime – 11,12,14 Oct
Former cop decides to embark on his own investigation when a woman’s body is found. Octavia Spencer plays the cop’s sister |
| The Nile Hilton Incident – 11,12 Oct
A woman is found murdered in Cairo’s Nile Hilton Hotel |
| Untitled – 11,13 Oct
Journeying through the nature of labour in Africa, the Balkans and Italy, Michael Glawogger’s unfinished documentary |
| Sheikh Jackson – 12 Oct
Islamist preacher experiences a crisis of faith following the death of Michael Jackson |
| I Am Not a Witch – 12,14,15 Oct
Rungano Nyoni’s, I am Not Witch, where Shula must join a travelling witch camp or become a goat |
| Oh, Sun! (Soleil Ô) – 12,14 Oct
This 1970s film follows a West African’s experience of racism and immigration on moving to Paris to make a new life for himself |
| The Forgiven – 13,14,15 Oct
Forest Whitaker plays Desmond Tutu in this film about South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee |
| A Ciambra – 13,14 Oct
Set in Calabria in Italy, a coming of age story of Romani, Pio |
| Araby (Arábia) – 13,15 Oct
Teenager André’s journey through different towns and cities of Brazil |
| Saturday Church – 14 Oct
Musical of a young boy who wants to wear women’s clothes, struggling and finding a supportive group of friends |
| The L-Shaped Room – 14,15 Oct
1962, pregnant French woman moves to Notting Hill and meets a mix of other outsiders at her lodgings |
| G Funk – 14,15 Oct
Warren G, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Dr Dre, and Death Row Records, this is the story of hip-hops move from underground to global |
| Five Fingers for Marseilles (Menoana e Mehlano ea Marseilles) – 15 Oct
A western styled film where Five young friends decide to defend their town, 20 years later, things have changed |
Also, you can catch short films in the following short film strands:
- My Loneliness Is Killing Me – 9 Oct
Laws of the Game
Martin Cries - Hoping. Fearing. Dreaming. – 10,12 Oct
Black Barbie
Hip Hop Cafe
Dear Mr. Shakespeare
The Ancestors Came
Robot & Scarecrow - Heading for that Adult Crash – 10,13 Oct
Work
The Rabbit Hunt - Strange Worlds – 11,13 Oct
Real Gods Require Blood - London Calling – 12,14 Oct
Baby Gravy
Laws of the Game
Martin Cries
Black Barbie
Hip-Hop Cafe
Dear Mr Shakespeare
The Ancestors Came
Robot & Scarecrow
Work
The Rabbit Hunt
Real Gods Require Blood
Baby Gravy
–~–
Borg vs McEnroe
Running time: 100 mins
Release Date: 22nd September 2017
Certificate: 15
Director: Janus Metz
Cast: Sverrir Gudnason, Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsgard, Tuva Novotny, David Bamber, Ian Blackman, Robert Emms, Leo Borg
Synopsis:
It’s the summer of 1980 and Björn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason) is the top tennis player in the world. A powerful and rigorously disciplined player, there is only one obstacle in his pursuit of a record-breaking fifth Wimbledon championship: the highly talented but ferociously abrasive young American, John McEnroe (Shia LaBeouf). With three days until the tournament begins, Borg trains religiously in his lavish Monaco home, aided by his coach and mentor Lennart (Stellan Skarsgård) and girlfriend Mariana (Tuva Novotny). But McEnroe’s explosive confidence and wrecking-ball persona continue to infiltrate Borg’s ice-cool and normally unshakable temperament. With each man the antithesis of the other, both players delve into their formative memories as the climactic tournament draws near and anticipation reaches fever pitch. Visceral and breathlessly tense, the match itself – regarded as one of the greatest of all time – would mark the pinnacle of the ‘Fire and Ice’ rivalry between them.
My first introduction to tennis was at primary school. It was all down to my childhood school friend, Caroline who developed a fascination for Björn Borg. She spent every spare moment, drawing Borg and cartoon strips of John McEnroe, with “You cannot be serious!” speech bubbles, eventually drawing her crush vs his rival into a cartoon complete with headbands.
By the time I finally watched tennis on television, Borg was no longer playing professionally, but McEnroe was still throwing his tennis rackets, I wanted to see what Caroline’s kiddie crush was all about.
The title Borg Vs McEnroe instantly reminds me of those summer days of 1979 and 1980, and the film takes us back to that time, with the great, almost uncanny lookalike casting of Gudnason, and to a lesser degree, LaBeouf. As Borg prepares for his fifth attempt at the Wimbledon championship, we see flashbacks to his childhood (played by Borg’s son, Leo Borg), and highlights of his journey to professional player. These flashbacks give an insight into the inscrutable ‘IceBorg’ character that I never knew about and adds depth to the rivalry between Borg and McEnroe. McEnroe also has flashbacks to his childhood, and again, there are examples of his intelligence, drive and ‘SpoiltBrat’ nickname. I found these insights to their characters fascinating. The same flashbacks were repeated through the film, and I felt they were over-used – we didn’t need to see the same clips over to get the message.
Another challenge the film had was to make tennis look exciting on film. I had a little help with feeling nervous, as I hadn’t checked and didn’t remember the actual outcome of the 1980 championship. I was tense, I didn’t know what would happen next. If I’d known the outcome or how the match played out, I might not have found it so interesting! The film finds the right balance to keep it interesting enough for me.
The claimed rivalry doesn’t really come across on screen, infact, in some way, you get the impression that the players admired each other – this makes it a nicer film, touching. You get a sense of how intense match preparation is, and it offers insight into the off-court pressures and tensions of all tennis players.
I’m not a big tennis fan, I’ll watch a game if I catch it on, but I don’t currently follow the players, and I still enjoyed this film, loved what I learnt, and came away with a good feeling from Borg vs McEnroe.
