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19 Nov

10 Film Festivals in London

Posted by Claire Doble in Cinema, Special Events No Comments

Jour de fête (1949). Directed by Jacques Tati

The weather is getting cold and dark – so it’s the perfect time to go to the movies!

Luckily for Londoners, ’tis the season for film festivals. Here’s our pick of 10 film fests that are either happening right now, or very soon. As you can see, it’s a global smorgasboard of cinematic choice!

1. UK Jewish Film Festival, 7-19 Nov
The annual UK Jewish Film Festival ends today, and if you’ve got a ticket to tonight’s closing gala, you’re in for a treat. The final two movies to be shown will be Israeli director Shelley Kling’s 2008 film Gefilte Fish (Hebrew with English subtitles) and the UK premiere of Hello Goodbye (French with English subtitles) at Tricycle Cinema. If you missed out, get the jump on next year’s programme at www.ukjewishfilmfestival.org.uk.

2. London Kurdish Film Festival 20-30 Nov
This event is in its sixth year, and showcases movies from both Kurdish and non-Kurdish directors. Films (127 in total) will be screened in six London cinemas: Rich Mix, Riverside Studios, Amnesty International UK, Birkbeck College Cinema, Shortwave Cinema and Spring Studios.
www.lkff.co.uk

3. Festival of German Films 27 Nov-3 Dec
There’s a diverse mix of German filmmakers’ work at London’s 12th Festival of German Films, which is held at Curzon Soho. This year’s programme kicks off with Same Same But Different – a love story shot in Cambodia that stars David Kross from The Reader – and includes films ranging from costume dramas to action flicks to comedies, as well as the latest in cutting-edge German filmmaking. The festival will also pay tribute to popular German actress Romy Schneider by showing a selection of her films.
www.germanfilmfestival.co.uk

Sleep Dealer - Latin American Film Festival4. Discovering Latin America Film Festival 26 Nov-6 Dec
London’s 8th Latin American film festival kicks off next week. The festival will show films from South American countries including Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Venezuela that often wouldn’t make it to the big screen in the UK. Special guests include awarding winning Argentine director Amat Escalante, the world-renowned Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón, and new Colombian sensation Jorge Navas.  Screenings will take place at London venues including Tate Modern and the Institute of Contemporary Arts.
www.discoveringlatinamerica.com/film-home.html

5. London African Film Festival 26 Nov-3 Dec
The African Film Festival is all about cutting-edge technolgy, young filmmakers and new narrative forms. Held over eight days at five London locations, a mix of feature films and documentaries will be shown. The festival is being held in conjuction with the conference Producing and Distributing African Film in the Digital Era, at the University of Westminster’s Africa Media Centre.
www.africaatthepictures.co.uk

6. French Film Festival 8 Nov-20 Dec
In its 17th big year, the French Film Festival takes place across three cities, London, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Running for more than a month, the festival presents French-language films from blockbusters, to classics, to innovative new cinema. In London, the festival’s tribute to director Jacques Tati ties in with the Barbican’s Tati Directorspective, which runs throughout December.
www.frenchfilmfestival.org.uk

7. Pan-Asia Film Festival, 27 Nov-11 Dec
Presented by Asia House, this festival aims to provide a snapshot of current filmmaking across Asia. The programme includes the latest work from Oscar-nominated director Zhang Yimou (House of the Flying Daggers, Hero) and films from China, Japan, Iran, Taiwan, Bhutan and the Philippines – all with English subtitles. Screenings will be at London’s Apollo Cinema in Regent Street.
www.apollocinemas.com/filmfestival

8. Turkish Film Festival 5-19 Nov
This is another one you’ll have to be quick for, as it ends today! You can still catch some of the finest in Turkish filmmaking at the Apollo Cinema tonight, though.  The festival has been going for 15 years now and shows no sign of abating, so if you want to start planning for next year, or even think about submitting a film, visit the website:
www.ltff.org.uk

9. Darwin, Evolution and the Movies Film Festival 20-28 Nov
This is part of this year’s celebrations of Charles Darwin’s 200th “birthday” this year. The Darwin, Evolution and the Movies festival features films and live comedy with “evolutionary” content, such as Alien, Jurassic Park and  2001: A Space Odyssey. In keeping with the anniversary theme, the first day of the festival – 24 November – marks 150 years since the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species.
www.filmlondon.org.uk/events_details.asp?EventsID=1428

10. ¡Mira México! 21-27 Jan
One to look forward to: in January The Barbican, in partnership with the Mexican Embassy to the UK presents a Mexican film season. The programme shows both new and archive films including recent, highly acclaimed works such as the darkly comic Meet the Head of Juan Pérez, the unmissable Lake Tahoe and a rare screening of Mexican silent film Ghost Train (El Tren fantasma) with live music accompaniment.
www.barbican.org.uk/film

Want more movies? Read our  feature on Film Festivals in London.

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28 Oct

The Hammer House of Horror Festival Opening

Posted by Claire Doble in Arts, Cinema, Special Events 2 Comments

Christopher Lee as DraculaThe Hammer House of Horror Festival opened last night at Idea Generation Gallery in Shoreditch.

Long associated with vampires, mummies and b-grade erotica, Hammer is Britain’s most successful film company. Most of the famous Hammer Horror movies were produced from the 1950s to the 1970s. Some of the company’s best-known titles include Dracula (and sequels such as Dracula: Prince of Darkness), The Mummy, The Curse of Frankenstein, and One Million Years B.C.

Bringing together movie posters, film stills and behind-the-scenes pics of the stars, the exhibition part of the festival is a blood-spattered caper through Hammer’s gory ouvre. 

Photo captions give just the right amount of info about their subjects and the films, and the exhibition contains a good mix of kitsch promotional material and interesting “asides”. However, our favourite thing was the knitted dagger, which was stabbed almost surreptitiously into the top of a staircase, with a trail of woollen blood ending in a knitted blood puddle on the ground floor.

The knitted dagger. Photo: Lettice KempIf all this whets your appetite for the undead, why not catch a late night screening of a Hammer Horror classic in London over the Halloween weekend, or one of the festival’s other parties and events. Check out Idea Generation Gallery, the Lexi Cinema and Curzon Soho for more Hammer Horror Festival happenings.

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23 Oct

Sing-a-long-a Rocky Horror Picture Show for Halloween

Posted by Claire Doble in Cinema No Comments

Sing along to Richard O'Brien's 1975 classic - The Rocky Horror Picture ShowWhat’s your favourite movie musical? Whatever it is, I bet you’ve seen it loads, know all the songs and can probably recite most of the script too. Now, imagine if you could do this while watching said movie on the big screen, in a cinema full of like-minded (and similarly well-versed) souls, where no one’s going to complain about your rubbish singing. Sounds like fun?

Well, with Sing-a-long-a films, you can do exactly that. And, if you answered The Rocky Horror Picture Show to my first question, then all your Halloweens have come at once!

Next Friday night, London’s Prince Charles Cinema is hosting a special Sing-a-long-a Rocky Horror screening for all you sweet transvestites and time warped Transylvanians out there.

I went along to the Sing-a-long-a Rocky Horror a couple of months back and it was so much fun. I love the film, and seem to know all the songs scarily well (shades of my teenage gothhood in Sydney) so the night proved a thoroughly enoyable trip down nostalgia lane. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Tim Curry is astoundingly great, and the songs are catchy as hell.

Science fiction, double feature. Get into the Rocky Horror spirit for HalloweenThose of you who are unfamiliar with the film need not worry. The night kicks off with a lesson in how to do the Time Warp and various other vital Rocky routines. You are given a goody bag of props and, perhaps best of all, the song lyrics come up as onscreen subtitles so you won’t miss a beat.

Most people get dressed up, often as their favourite Rocky character, and there’s a lighthearted competition for best costume. In fact, now I’ve written this, I’m very tempted to do the time warp again! It’s just a jump to the left…

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22 Oct

Free Outdoor Film Screening in Trafalgar Square for London Film Festival

Posted by Claire Doble in Cinema No Comments

Film still from 1905 showing transport on Tower Bridge

We’re currently halfway through the 53rd Times BFI London Film Festival (LFF), which showcases films from around the world in cinemas across the city.

You may not have managed to walk the red carpet with George Clooney and co at LFF’s glitzy opening night premiere of Fantastic Mr Fox, but there’s still plenty of time to get involved with the festival.

Tonight there is a free screening in Trafalgar Square of “London Moves Me” – a showreel of archive film shorts that tracks the evolution of transport in London. The footage shows everything from London trams in 1896 to skateboarders in 2009.

London Moves Me is projected on a giant inflatable  screen in Trafalgar Square and will be accompanied by a live pianist. The event is free and suitable for all ages.

For further details about the Outdoor Screening and other LFF events, visit www.bfi.org.uk/lff/events/outdoor_screening_in_trafalgar_square/682

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28 Sep

Eat Film at London Restaurant Festival

Posted by Claire Doble in Cinema, Eating Out, Kids, Special Events 1 Comment

Eat Film - just one of many tasty treats at London Restaurant FestivalYou know what it’s like, you see a really cool movie and, as you leave the cinema, you can’t help but feel like you want to wear that dress, kiss that boy or sit down to that feast from the film.

Well, we may not be able to provide the first two but London Restaurant Festival delivers the meal & movie thing on a plate!

Eat Film is one of the coolest events happening during the festival’s week-long celebration of food and restaurants in London.

At Eat Film you get to watch a film then eat food inspired by it.

For example, watch Goodfellas in the comfortable Soho Hotel screening room, then dine afterwards on delicious spaghetti and meatballs and drink funky Goodfellas-themed cocktails, such as “The Godfather” –  a tasty concoction of whisky, Amaretto and orange zest – or “The Wiseguy” – a muddled apple and rasperry drink featuring Ivan the Terrible vodka.  I bet that hits the spot (pun fully intended).

Or why not sample the new Meryl Streep film, Julie & Julia, which follows two very different American women, separated by time and geography, but brought together by a shared love of French cookery. It’s followed by a très bien French meal, naturellement.

Or you could taste cult film Eat Drink Man Woman, then be treated to a Taiwanese banquet at Keelung restaurant, featuring won tons, “drunken” chicken,  sichuan flavours and a pig’s trotter hot pot.

And families will enjoy the lunchtime screening of Ratatouille at The Barbican, followed by a kid-friendly meal in Searcy’s restaurant at the venue.

I’m getting hungry just writing about it. Get your tickets today from the London Restaurant Festival website.

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10 Sep

London Film Festival Programme Announced

Posted by Claire Doble in Cinema, London, Special Events No Comments

Aaron Johnson as John Lennon in Nowhere Boy. Photograph:Liam Daniel

The full programme for The Times BFI London Film Festival has just been revealed.

Now its 53rd year, the London Film Festival is a celebration of both British film and movies from around the world.  This year’s festival includes 191 features and 113 shorts. The exciting lineup ranges from high-profile films by big-name directors to more obscure works from around the globe, many of which would not otherwise be seen on the big screen in this country.

There are at least three films starring George Clooney: the opening night gala world premiere of Fantastic Mr Fox, directed by Wes Anderson; The Men Who Stare At Goats, inspired by Jon Ronson’s bestseller about secret units in the US military; and Up in the Air by Juno director Jason Reitman.

Julianne Moore in A Single Man Other highlights include the closing night Gala world premiere of Nowhere Boy – artist Sam Taylor-Wood’s directorial debut tells the story of John Lennon’s younger years. French film MICMACS by Amelie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, remastered 1920s film Underground about love on the Tube, Frederick Wiesman’s documentary Le Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet, and fashion designer Tom Ford’s A Single Man starring Julianne Moore.

As well as highlighting New British Cinema, London Film Festival will screen movies from 46 countries around the world.

For a full programme, visit www.bfi.org.uk/lff

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5 Aug

Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House

Posted by Claire Doble in Cinema, Special Events 4 Comments

somerset2

Hailed as London’s most beautiful outdoor cinema, attending the Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House is a lovely experience. People bring picnics, blankets and cushions to stake out their spots early in Somerset House’s ornate courtyard, which accommodates 2,000 filmgoers.

Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire is not the first film you’d think of to watch in an outdoor setting, a fact noted by Film4 Channel Editor David Cox in his introduction to the movie. It’s  a subtle but beautiful story about angels in Berlin who constantly watch over humans, delighted by their idiosyncrasies but detached from both the harsh and wonderful realities of our world.

And yet it worked perfectly, the film’s soulful, soaring scenes offset by seagulls circling while its industrial landscapes were enhanced by the occasional helicopter across London’s night sky.

Due to London’s inclement weather, the Summer Screen programme only runs for 10 screenings and had I observed yesterday’s rainy weather with increasing trepidation from VL towers. Thankfully it cleared to deliver a soft, balmy evening for the film. I guess the angels watch over Somerset House as well.

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15 Jul

Visiting London: Sophie May

Posted by Julie Chappell in Arts, Cinema, Eating Out, Shopping, Special Events 11 Comments

Where are you visiting from? I live in Los Angeles, but I’m staying in Somerset for the school holidays. I was in London for just one day last week and I hope to come back again before the end of the summer.

How was your day in London?  I spent the day with my mum and auntie and had the most interesting and exciting time. I truly saw what this wonderful city has to offer. The combination of things we did in one day was astonishing.

Claude-Oscar Monet: The Beach at Trouville, 1870. Copyright National Gallery, LondonTo start the day we went to the National Gallery which has a great collection of art. One of the best things is that it’s free, like many other museums in London which is wonderful because everyone can appreciate the art the city has to offer. We saw the new exhibition Corot to Monet which is a collection of landscapes by European artists. After the exhibition we looked at some of the museum’s vast permanent collection.

Did you go anywhere nice for lunch? Yes. We walked down The Mall to a great Japanese restaurant called Sake No Hana. The food was amazing, the service was good and everyone was friendly and organized. The interior was very interesting and designed in an authentic Japanese style with a modern twist.

What came next? We went to Dover Street Market in Mayfair to look at the interesting clothes and shoes. The new Haunch of Venison gallery is round the corner so we went there too. I thought the contrast of the lovely old building with contemporary art inside was really interesting.  The Royal Academy of Arts was our next stop and we saw the J W Waterhouse exhibition, which was lovely and featured some beautiful paintings.

The Parlour at SketchWe needed a rest after all that art and went for afternoon tea at Sketch - a restaurant, tea room, art gallery and bar close to the Royal Academy. The interior is amazing. Each piece of furniture and art is different and better then the next. The afternoon tea was delightful and I will definitely go back.

What was the highlight of your day? The most exciting part happened right at the end. We went to a  charity preview screening of Harry Potter and the Half  Blood Prince! It was at the VUE cinema in Leicester Square at the same time as the premiere. The movie was wonderful and it really made a great end to the day.

My day in London was so interesting and diverse, there is so much happening and each experience is different. There is so much to see and do in London and that’s what makes it an amazing city.

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