FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN on telly this weekend

So I've only just finished complaining about missing it at a festival and how it only got a very, very limited release in about four Irish cinemas with no UK release in sight... and now it appears that FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN, about the legacy of Ireland's troubles and starring James Nesbitt and Liam Neeson, is to be shown on BBC2 at 9pm, this Sunday. I'd rather have seen it in the cinema but what the hell, at least we're getting a chance to see it fairly quickly.

Anyone seen it? Feel free to post your thoughts if you have. In fact, why not post your thoughts even you haven't, that's what a crazy guy I am.

Irish film on BBC2, Scottish film on STV... it's like they let me control the Sunday night schedules. Set your recording-thingies to record!

ON A CLEAR DAY on telly this weekend

Scottish feel-good drama ON A CLEAR DAY, starring Peter Mullen as an unemployed shipyard worker who plans to swim the English Channel, is airing on STV this Sunday at 8pm, presumably as part of their new commitment to show more Scottish (and, presumably, cheaper) material instead of things like LEWIS.

It's not a classic but it's an enjoyable enough carry on with some good performances (and some not so good) and a few laughs. Support is provided by Brenda Blethyn, Jamie Sives, Billy Boyd, Sean McGinley and a bunch of other folk you'll recognise from Scottish films and TV.

More HotDocs info

I've still not had time to sit down and study the HotDocs programme yet (I know, I'm slipping) but two more interesting pieces of information have popped up.

First of all, the Scottish-related documentary VASHTI BUNYAN: FROM HERE TO BEFORE (which I've already mentioned is hitting the Filmhouse on April 6th) will be showing.

Secondly, I see from the latest Filmbase update that the Irish short film FORTY FOOT will be showing on the evening of May 9th. Good news for those folks, not such good news for anyone (ahem) who may be flying back home that very day...

48 Hour Film Project

This competition is back in Edinburgh from May 22nd 2009. Filmmakers who fancy a crack at it should pop over to the website for more details.

April at the IFI

This month's Irish Film Archive screening is on April 15th and takes the form of a double bill of documentaries in tribute to Tony Gregory, ALIVE, ALIVE O - A REQUIEM FOR DUBLIN and LOOKING ON.

The documentary on Dublin's chip shops, CHIPPERS, is this month's Ireland on Sunday screening and it'll take place on April 26th with the director in attendance.

Further details available from the IFI.

Celtic Media Festival prizewinners

While I spent my weekend at the Belfast Film Festival, the Celtic Media Festival was also going on down in Caernarfon. I did consider that first actually, but Belfast is a hell of a lot easier for me to get to.

Anyway, of the prizes dished out at the festival, a whole heap of them were awarded to Irish and Scottish talent so rather than me regurgitating it all here, pop on over to the official website to find out who won what.

A bit of Belfast... soon

I just popped over to Belfast for a couple of days to check out some more Irish cinema but right now I've just got home, had some deep-fried pizza (if you're ever in Scotland, try it) and am about to go to bed. But be sure to pop back again soon as some time this week I'll be giving some brief thoughts on the films DITCHING, BEYOND THE FIRE and, after missing it at a couple of other festivals, Bob Quinn's VOX HUMANA: NOTES ON A SMALL OPERA.

Actually, I also saw the wee programme of Irish kiddies' animation too but I don't have much to add on that one and can't remember what half the cartoons were anyway. I know, I know, I'm a consumate professional.

Opinions on RTE Storyland

Irish TV station RTE have launched a new competition in which a bunch of filmmakers have crafted some new made-for-the-web series, which are viewable on the website and offer the viewer the chance to vote on what goes through to the next round.

I'm not going to go into all the details as you can see it for yourself, but I thought I'd at least offer up my humble opinion on the first entries. Voting for round 1 finishes on Monday, but keep an eye out for future rounds.

JENNY WAS A FRIEND OF MINE offers up some very natural performances from its young cast (who are all more convincing than any of the adults) and a reasonably effective cliffhanger but the BIG BROTHER style editing ends up more distracting than effective.

HAPPYSLAPPER sees a bunch of young girls getting ready to torture a former friend for some wrong they've done. Not as well acted as the youngsters in JENNY, but it's a shame as the story is slightly more intriguing and well structured.

PUBWORLD is possibly the most technically impressive of the lot as a young man and an alien appear to be trapped in a pub together but it stops just as it gets interesting. That's not to say it's a great cliffhanger, just that it could have done with another couple of minutes to really grab my full attention.

HARDY BUCKS by all accounts seems to have a following already but to be honest I didn't get it. There are a few laugh out loud moments but mostly it's just a bunch of guys being drunk and doing stuff.

CHEZ SPUDS is possibly the most imaginative of the first batch and deserves full credit for that, although it borders on being perhaps just a little too weird to catch on.

PSYCH WARD is a very well made little drama about a nurse in a psychiatric hospital and the first episode actually makes for a terrific little self contained film in its own right. The problem there however is that with no hook, cliffhanger or whatever, will people feel the need to vote for more episodes?

THIS IS NOT A CONSPIRACY is carried by an able performance in its lead character, but doesn't manage to cram in enough in the first episode to really grab me. It's mainly the usual paranoid conspiracy stuff we've heard before, with no real incentive for me to seek any further knowledge. Potential, but it had better step up a gear.

RENTAL BOYS is, on the surface, nothing we've not seen before in the endless annals of pop culture-referencing slacker comedy (they even work in a video store) but once you start watching some decent humour and enough charm in the leading characters should win you over.

RUNNING LOW is a post-apocalyptic tale of two men running an otherwise deserted petrol station long after the oil has run out - and the effect of an unexpected visitor. Imagine a cross between GARAGE and SURVIVORS and you're nearly there. The cliffhanger isn't the most effective, but kudos to the film for some well written comedy and dialogue.

Irish Famine/Toronto documentary

I recently watched the excellent two-part documentary series FLEEING THE FAMINE on the History Channel (in the UK) and have mentioned it here before. Well after much confusion (on my part mainly) I've discovered that in some places it's airing as one feature-length documentary rather than in two parts and it's also being shown under the title DEATH OR CANADA.

Now that I've established that they are one and the same I'd like to reiterate that you should definitely watch it if you get the chance. It's a tale of the impact, in the early days of Toronto when the city numbered just 20,000 people, of an influx of more than 40,000 Irish famine refugees.

I'll warn you in advance however that it is one of the saddest stories I've ever seen. I already knew what a major tragedy the famine in Ireland was but this particular film focuses on the plight of one family in particular and their story is so sad that if you can watch it without a tear in your eye, you're either dead or just have no soul.

The official website is at http://www.deathorcanada.com/main.html where you can see the trailer. You can also order a DVD as well but as much I love the film I think I'll see if it pops up somewhere that doesn't charge $30 shipping.

[UPDATE: I've just found out that it's on History Channel in the UK, again in two parts, at 9am on the 29th and 30th of March. Told you just in time!]

Update on SUMMER at FTH

I previously mentioned here that there would be a special screening of SUMMER at Falkirk Town Hall. Apparently Kenneth Glanaan is no longer able to attend, but the film will still be screened.

THE HARD WAY out now on DVD

Network recently released the 1979 TV movie THE HARD WAY on DVD in the UK. I've never seen this "one last hit" movie and know very little about it. However, consider the following important facts:

• It was filmed in Dublin.
• It's got Patrick McGoohan.
• It's got Lee Van Cleef.
• It's got Donal McCann.
• It uses music by Brian Eno.

If that combination doesn't make it sound like one of the greatest films ever, I don't know what does.

MA BAR at Hot Docs

I've not yet had time to really study the programme for this year's HotDocs festival in Toronto, but I can confirm that there's at least one film in there that falls into the remit of this blog.

The acclaimed Scottish documentary MA BAR will be showing three times, accompanying another documentary BIG JOHN. See the HotDocs site for screening details.

Vintage Irish film on TV

It's pretty rare that I mention anything about what's on Irish TV, largely on the grounds that I don't live in Ireland and thus the Emerald Isle's television schedules probably seem like an odd thing to pay attention to.

However, I'd like to mention last night's episode of SCEALTA ON RIOCHT which aired on TG4 (and is repeated during the week). It is the story of how an Irish-Canadian filmmaker returned to Ireland and churned out a load of films made in Killarney, way back in 1910. I thought this sounded like the sort of thing that would interest me and, I hope, others with an interest in Irish film.

So it's worth mentioning because you can go and watch it on TG4's website even if you're outside of Ireland. Not every Irish station does this with their programming due to rights issues, fees or what have you (yeah, I'm looking at you, RTE) so if you're outside of Ireland you may want to pop over to TG4 and watch it.

NEW BOY (again)

I already saw Steph Green's NEW BOY way back at Cork in 2007 but following its Oscar nomination got another chance to see it as the Oscar nominated shorts tour the country.

I found it no less enjoyable or touching second time around; if anything I actually enjoyed it more. Once again, just as in Cork, it went down well with the audience who got plenty of laughs from the film, largely helped by wonderful turns from a bright young cast of kids. Given the seriousness of most of its fellow nominees it was certainly welcome, too.

This is where I'm supposed to point out the rest of the tour dates so that you can go along and see it too - except it would appear that tonight was the last date in the UK for the live action Oscar nominees. Guess I should have reminded you sooner.

I'm rubbish, and I apologise.

[Note: pop over to the IFB for some awards news about a few other Irish shorts, a couple of which have been covered by me in the past]

Scottish award wins

First of all congratulations to LIFE OF A PIGEON on scooping its prize at the BAFTA Scotland New Talent awards. I've already written about this one so you should know by now how great it is. If not, it's on Vimeo so you can watch it below, since I've now managed to get the hang of this whole embedded video thing.

Life of a Pigeon 11:28 mins from Billy Campbell on Vimeo.

I also need to say congratulations to the youngsters behind DOODLE DISASTER, which scooped the Best Fantasty Adventure prize at the First Light Movie Awards in London recently. I knew nothing about this one I confess, but I simply had to mention it since it was made by a group of my fellow Fifers. It's online at Vimeo, so you can now watch it (see below).

Doodle Disaster from First Light Movies on Vimeo.

Help for Hot Docs

The Irish Film Board website mentions their scheme for assisting documentary makers to Hot Docs, the documentary film festival in Toronto (and the largest in North America). I'm pretty sure Scottish Screen provides some kind of similar assistance to Scottish filmmakers too.

I'm not a filmmaker so it's of no real consequence to me but I just thought I'd mention it because of the Irish/Scottish thing and because it's a marvellous festival (and it's always nice to bump into any Scottish/Irish folk on my travels). Definitely worth the trip if you can make it so if there are any aspiring Scottish or Irish documentarians out there I urge you to give it a try. As a fan of documentaries, it's a great fest; but I also happen to know that they do a lot of stuff for filmmakers, producers, buyers, etc. with a number of pretty big doc people in attendance.

As for the films being shown, the programme is announced early next week so I'll be sure to scour it for any sign of any Irish or Scottish related content that might be featured (and then see if it fits into the holiday I've got scheduled)...

More Scottish-Irish collaborations

Given the subject matter of this blog, it's not surprising that I love the idea of Irish/Scottish co-productions, hence my excited rambling about OUTCAST the other day. So it's surprising perhaps that I've just realised that I don't think I've written anything about Advance Party II yet. If you don't know what the hell that is, read on. If you do know, well, I'd like you to read on as well. It's why I write this stuff after all.

You may remember Advance Party was the initiative of a bunch of filmmakers to make a trilogy of films following certain rules (it's the latest follow-on from that Dogme nonsense), the first of which was the excellent RED ROAD.

Now I'm no fan of this rules-based filmmaking (especially not the Dogme stuff) but admit that perhaps it gets more publicity for some films that might otherwise not have had it. So despite my misgivings about it, I'm still delighted to hear that the latest scheme, Advance Party II, involves a collaboration between Denmark, Scotland and Ireland. Of course Scotland has already made a number of collaborations with the lands of northern Europe, but the fact that this time we're getting a partnership between Scotland and Ireland excites me the most.

I couldn't give a toss about the set of rules that have been established so go and search the web if you want to find out what they are (or see this article at Filmbase) but I thought I'd mention some of the filmmakers involved.

The ones I'm familiar with are Ciaran Foy (I saw his excellent short THE FAERIES OF BLACKHEATH WOODS) and Steph Green (the Oscar-nominated NEW BOY) but the list shows a number of filmmakers with decent credentials and every reason for people like me to get excited.

Then the cynicism kicks in. Looking back at the original Advance Party trilogy, to date we have still only seen RED ROAD. ROUNDING UP DONKEYS, the second film, is still listed as being "in production" with the IMDb quoting a release date of simply "2009". God knows if we'll ever see the other entry in the series. I don't even know much about the second film, but that's not surprising - go and read this impassioned rant at the Sigma Films blog and it'll save me saying any more on the matter.

So I have to wonder why, given how difficult it appears to be to get three or even two of these things out there, they think they can pull off the task of having eight filmmakers involved in the latest exercise. I personally feel that the scheduling of the original series was hamstrung by its rule about using the same cast members, so hopefully we might not have so long to wait between films under the APII initiative.

Good luck to all involved and I hope to be writing about the APII films before too long - and maybe even about the rest of the original AP scheme too, which would be nice. I'm as desperate as anyone out there to see these films but I hope that the ambition doesn't outstrip the means, and that the need for "rules" doesn't end up crushing the series rather than liberating it.

If anyone finds any coverage of these films, whenever they may start, please let me know.

Upcoming: WAVERIDERS

No idea where it'll be showing yet, but the prize-winning Irish surf documentary WAVERIDERS is hitting UK cinemas as of 3 April. If anyone knows where, let me know.

There is a ten-minute extended trailer for the film on Youtube. See below.

Upcoming: IN THE LOOP

Fresh from a crowd pleasing run on the festival circuit (including Glasgow and Dublin) this political satire might not be a Scottish film exactly, but it does feature Peter Capaldi and is directed by the genius that is Armando Ianucci. It's hitting UK cinemas on 17 April.

Upcoming: STATE OF PLAY

Based on the UK TV series, the Hollywood movie version of this political thriller is helmed by Scotland's Kevin MacDonald. Hitting UK cinemas on the 24th of April, watch out for preview screenings with live Q&A via satellite at selected Picturehouse cinemas.

See trailer on Youtube.

Upcoming: FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING

I've mixed feelings about this film based on my admittedly limited knowledge of it so far. On the one hand, I thought Jim Sturgess was a weak link in ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, Ben Kingsley has appeared in some real dross in recent years and the trailer doesn't exactly distinguish it from countless other "troubles" dramas.

On the other hand, the story (based on truth) at least seems to be coming at it from a different angle so I'm cautiously optimistic.

It's released in UK cinemas on 10 April and the trailer is now on Youtube (see below).

Simply Irish

Heads up on a couple of Irish-but-not-really-Irish movies on TV.

I always like to scour the schedules of the various obscure movie channels and recently discovered another one had popped up entitled Simply Movies. They're showing a bunch of obscure old films, some of which are pretty rarely seen. The good news is that most of them, where applicable, are showing in widescreen, the bad news is that you'll need to adjust your TV since they appear to have cocked up the way it's broadcast and seems to be showing a 16:9 picture squeezed into a 4:3 transmission.

Anyway, the reason it rates a mention in this blog is that the films they are showing at the moment include THE LONG GRAY LINE, a John Ford movie about an Irish immigrant working his way through the ranks of the US army (Maureen O'Hara once again features), and THE VICAR OF BRAY, a pretty rarely seen (7 votes on the IMDb at the moment!) British film set in Ireland in the era of Cromwell. I'll probably post my thoughts here if I get round to watching either of them.

Assuming I'm not too busy raking through the TV schedules to see what other obscurities I can unearth.

Another one for Filmhouse

My last post mentioned the Made in Edinburgh season, but I forgot to mention that there's also another Scotland-related film showing at Filmhouse in April.

It's the documentary VASHTI BUNYAN: FROM HERE TO BEFORE and you can find out more information by visiting the Filmhouse website.

Made in Edinburgh

Last week I attended the opening screening (RESTLESS NATIVES) of the Made in Edinburgh season at Filmhouse. Great to see it on the big screen (missed it first time round as I was just a wee kid) where it may still have had the same flaws but was far better than watching it on TV, especially being surrounded by an almost full house in the city where it was shot.

After a short blurb from the people behind the season (more on that further down), screenwriter Ninian Dunet gave an entertaining introduction to the film, full of fascinating anecdotes, and the audience all appeared to have a great time.

I thought I'd now take the time to tell you what else is in the one-a-month season.

April sees an episode of TV's REBUS ("Knots and Crosses") get a big screen airing, this time attended by the screenwriter Roger Gartland.

May's offering is Thomas Riedelsheimer's documentary about Evelyn Glennie, TOUCH THE SOUND, which tells about the Scots girl who managed to become one of the world's top percussionists despite being deaf.

June takes in THE HOLYROOD FILES, the acclaimed documentary on the subject of the infamous Scottish Parliament building debacle, while July gives us a retrospective of the short animation films of Edinburgh-based Ko Lik Films.

And back when I first mentioned this season my exact words were "if they don't use it as an excuse to show the Bill Douglas trilogy I may have to go on a killing spree" so you'll be glad to know that's how the season ends in August, when you'll have the chance to see the greatest piece of Scottish cinema ever made back on the big screen.

As for the Made in Edinburgh season, it's about being proud of your city (it's not my city by the way, but I still like it) but also about selling Edinburgh. Not just abroad, but also to its own inhabitants. If you want to find out more about it, go to the website; alternatively, go and find out about Edinburgh Film Focus.

And then get yourself back to Filmhouse.

ZIG ZAG LOVE (2009)

Produced by BBC Scotland with Scottish Screen (more collaborations to follow, I believe), ZIG ZAG LOVE is a tale of teen love and misguided father figures. While Robert Carlyle understandably gets top billing, the film focuses on Peter and Ziggy, played by Anthony Martin (previously seen in Scottish indie movie NIGHT PEOPLE) and Cara Readle respectively, two teenagers who run away together despite (or because of) the actions of their fathers.

This is a Scottish production though so it should go without saying that Peter has cancer, Ziggy is disabled and Peter's dad has a drink problem.

The film's opening ten minutes or so are pretty laboured as the film tries to set up the action as quickly as possible in order to squeeze the main story into the remainder of the hour-long running time and suffers as a result. It's not just the story that is strained though, the look of the film never rises above average TV fodder either, settling into that annoying habit of lighting sets as if they're shooting on film but not actually shooting it that way.

Get all that out the way however and it's a lot of fun from then on in. Relationships begin to develop more realistically and with more endearing and entertaining results. The relationship between Peter and Ziggy takes centre stage and is carried off well by the two young leads, but Carlyle and Mark Lewis Jones also make for a delightful double act as the two fathers from opposite sides of the tracks but with many of the same issues.

The film takes on a far more impressive and visually appealing look at this stage as well, as the two youngsters disappear into the country and the drab Glasgow buildings are replaced by lush Scottish hillsides and flowing streams, beautifully captured by director Gillies MacKinnon, who directed the classic Scottish film SMALL FACES.

As for the BBC/Scottish Screen partnership, the film isn't perfect but it's a very promising start and one hopes we don't need to wait too long to see it bearing more fruit. If you missed it but are quick enough you can catch it again on the BBC iPlayer.

Yes! A Scottish/Irish genre film!

I've often moaned about the refusal of Irish and Scottish film bodies to back some decent genre cinema. With only a handful of exceptions, it seems like there's apparently no such thing as Irish or Scottish sci-fi or horror, or whatever.

That's why, without knowing what to expect, I'm excited about OUTCAST. I know very little about it except that it ticks all my Irish/Scottish boxes and it's a genre film.

It's an Irish-Scottish co-production - good stuff; it's got Ireland's James Nesbitt and Scotland's Kate Dickie - excellent; it's currently filming in Edinburgh and is going to shoot in Galway too - brilliant! And on top of all that, it's apparently some kind of fantasy/horror type thing.

Information has been very difficult to come by, up until an article in The Scotsman the other day, which is why I salute the efforts of the wonderful Sweet on Sigma Film blog. They've been going to great lengths to find out all they can about this film, scoring a few bits and pieces before the article in the Scotsman appeared. It's actually been quite entertaining watching said blog scrape together as much as it has so far. Long may it continue! Keep an eye out for more information on this one.

Scotland on Film... on TV

Set your videos, Scottish film lovers. Okay, I know, nobody really uses videos anymore, except for me when I'm watching my collection of obscure films that have never been released on DVD, but I don't really know a suitable catch-all term for things like Sky+ and all that. I think PVR covers them, but most people I speak to don't know what that is. Hang on, let me start again.

Set whatever device/medium you use to record television programmes, Scottish film lovers. Sunday evening (22 March) at 9pm - STV are showing SCOTLAND AT THE MOVIES, an hour long programme in which some luminaries of Scottish cinema talk about Scottish films, presumably involving a lot of talk about Bill Forsyth.

You may have already heard about this since STV have upset a few people by deciding that, in a bid to show more local interest shows ahead of English-made ITV stuff, this (and a special edition of the excellent HIGHLANDS series) is getting shown instead of MORSE spin-off LEWIS. Personally, I think it's a great move. It won't win them any friends and will probably see a drop in viewing figures to be honest, but if they want to show Scottish programmes (especially ones about our films) instead of yet another TV detective, I'm not going to cry about it.

Unless SCOTLAND AT THE MOVIES turns out to be rubbish, in which case I apologise.

Another Irish film blog

So while I was busy trying to transfer all the related articles from my old blog to this new one (I know, I just missed out on a St Patrick's Day launch), it appears another one has popped up too.

IrishCentral.com, a new website devoted to Irish culture aimed primarily at the worldwide diaspora, features a number of bloggers, one of whom is a young lassie by the name of Meghan Sweeney who is going to be blogging about Irish (and Irish-related) film.

In the very first post on the blog (Lights, Camera, Craic!) she admits to never having seen THE COMMITMENTS or THE QUIET MAN. I'm not going to judge her though, since I've never seen MY LEFT FOOT.

David Mackenzie at Aberdeen Uni

Reported by various sources, director David Mackenzie will be in conversation at the University of Aberdeen on May 25th. The event is free but ticketed.

Mackenzie directed YOUNG ADAM (which I've not seen), ASYLUM (which I liked but was only seen by about three people) and HALLAM FOE (which lots more people saw, most of whom liked it more than me). Or rather, MISTER FOE, if you happened to watch it on its American release. No, I don't know why they did that either.

Special SUMMER screening in Falkirk

The EIFF and BAFTA Scotland award winning film SUMMER will be shown at Falkirk Town Hall cinema on Saturday 11 April 2009, at 4pm.

This is of particular note as it will be a special screening as part of the Scottish Community Cinema Festival and is to be introduced by director Kenneth Glanaan, who will also participate in a Q&A afterwards.

Shorts at Tribeca

There's already been a number of mentions on Irish film related news sites about Conor McPherson's Cobh-shot THE ECLIPSE getting its premiere at this year's Tribeca Film Festival (surf on over to The Stub, which has covered it a few times). No, I'm not going there (I've visited Cobh a couple of times though - it's very nice), I just wanted to use it as an excuse to mention a couple of Irish short films that will also play at the festival, both of which I've covered here before. Clearly the Tribeca selection committee has its finger on the pulse and hang on my every word... or perhaps not.

Anyway, the films are Thomas Hefferon's THE CONFESSION, a nicely played little joke number that pokes a little fun at an Irish institution, and Brian Durnin's OF BEST INTENTIONS, a stylish film demonstrating the power of that old saying about the road to hell. Both shorts are wonderful so if you happen to be in the area, why not pop in and see them. I would, but I live thousands of miles away.

Welcome to my new blog...

It probably seems a little silly that I'm saying that when there appears to have been well over a hundred posts already, but actually this is the first post made to this blog. Read on...

Originally I maintained a blog entitled "Tales from the Freakpit", which covered loads of films - pretty much whatever I fancied really, with a serious lack of focus on any one thing. For numerous reasons I'm not going to go into here, I decided to call it quits on that one, and replace it with something concentrating solely on my interest in Irish and Scottish films. This is the result.

Of course, I couldn't let all that other material go to waste, so I copied everything Irish and Scottish from my old blog onto this one. So basically, if you're reading anything published before 19 March 2009, it's something that I just copied from my old blog.

With all that out the way, welcome to the new blog. I actually thought "CelticMovies" would have sounded better, but the problems there are that first of all, if you're in Scotland and see the word "celtic" you immediately think of the football team; secondly, I didn't want to upset all the other celtic nations whose cinema I don't cover. So GaelMovies it is.

Quick Scottish/Irish update (10 March)

Further to my last big Irish and Scottish updates, here's a couple of little bits of extra information.

If you missed BBC NI's entertaining and touching documentary OVER HERE, fret not. If you're quick enough, you should still be able to see it on the BBC iPlayer.

Various Irish film sites are reporting that the film WC is getting a limited release from March 13th. Check your local arthouse for details. Not seen this one so can't give you any steer as to the quality.

If you're in or around Glasgow on March 28th, there's a special screening of HELEN at the CCA, by the Irish directing duo Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor (aka Desperate Optimists) who will both be in attendance for an interview. You may remember I saw this one at EIFF last year and didn't like it that much. Too cold and distant for me and just didn't ring true, but it was probably the most beautifully shot film of the 50-odd movies I saw at the festival. I'm not going to enthuse wildly about the film, but the Q&A should be interesting, particularly for low budget or aspiring filmmakers. Ticketed event, but free.

Scottish animated short HERZOG AND THE MONSTERS is now available on the BBC Film Network.

Irish film update (5 March)

Big Irish film update today. Let's crack on...

At the IFI in Dublin, this month's Ireland on Sunday screening (on Sunday 8th, i.e. this weekend) is the documentary WHAT AM I DOING HERE? by Trish McAdam which I am not familiar with at all (this is the world premiere after all) so head over to the Irish Film Institute to find out more.

Also at the IFI, this month's archive screening is the vintage DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE (which I've just heard is going to be introduced by Jim Sheridan). At the risk of destroying my credibility... I've never seen this.

Declared by me to be the joint best film of 2008, Declan Recks's EDEN has just been released on DVD in the USA so for those of you who are either in America (ooh, a wee Irish film pun there) or have multi-region DVD players, buy a copy. Still no sign of it appearing in the UK despite picking up a distributor. Admittedly it's the same distributor who picked up KINGS and I'm still waiting for that to get any kind of a UK release.

While we're talking about DVDs, Lance Daly's excellent KISSES is released to buy on DVD tomorrow, but only in Ireland. I've heard nothing about it getting a UK distributor yet and certainly nothing's been submitted to the BBFC as I write this, so this might be your best bet to see it if you haven't already done so.

Two Irish films are on release in Ireland at the moment. The Liam Neeson/James Nesbitt drama dealing with the legacy of the troubles, FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN, is playing at all of four cinemas (as far as I know). I've been too lazy to look up any reviews but it won a couple of awards at Sundance. Looks interesting, so if any of you are in Dublin, Dundrum, Cork or Galway why not go and see it. I'd hope that Neeson and Nesbitt coupled with the fact that it's directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel should be enough of interest to get it some kind of UK release, but I've heard nothing so far and the fact that its release in Ireland is so limited doesn't seem like a great sign - unless it's testing the water before a major release. If anyone know anything about a UK release let me know.

Slightly less likely to get a UK release I fear (although I hope I'm wrong) is the Irish animated romp THE SECRET OF KELLS, which played well at JDIFF last month. It's had some cracking reviews so if you've seen it let me know.

I suppose I could just organise a day trip at the weekend - fly over to Ireland first thing in the morning, see THE SECRET OF KELLS and FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN, pop into the shops to buy a copy of KISSES and then fly home again but even my love of Irish cinema doesn't stretch to such lengths. Actually that's a lie, my love of Irish cinema does... but my bank balance doesn't.

Belfast Film Festival recently announced its programme. There's a lot of Irish feature films playing, including John T Davis's documentary TAILWIND which I've missed at a couple of festivals. I mention this one specifically because it was on BBC NI a few days ago and I forgot to mention it here. I think that was an edited down version though, so if you get the chance go and see the full length version of this documentary about the Northern Irish contribution to World War II.

Their programme of Irish shorts features a whole heap of short films and no less than 14 of them have been covered here on this blog, most of them favourably, so why not go along and see some of them. I'm not going myself. I was tempted, particularly since I have never been there (and I believe my ancestors came from there so I could do the whole stereotypical tourist thing) but I'm reserving my holidays for the various other film festivals that I've still got planned for the year, including many more Irish ones. If there had been some really cheap flights I might still have been tempted with a last minute thing, mind you.

If you go to over to Youtube, the festival has posted a whole bunch of trailers showing at the festival, split into features and documentaries.

Going back to the subject of BBC NI, and to make up for not mentioning TAILWIND, a similar subject (this time American soldiers in Northern Ireland) is covered in OVER HERE which airs on BBC NI next week (9th March, 9pm). If, like me, you live elsewhere in the UK, you can get the regional variations of BBC on Sky Digital and such services.

Just to prove I'm not totally limited to this part of the world, I'll mention that there are a few Irish film festivals in American this month. San Francisco started today and is on tomorrow as well; Seattle is shortly after that; most significant is the Chicago Irish Film Festival. This runs from the 6th to the 11th of this month - features include classics and new films, such as THE INFORMER and KISSES. They'll also be showing a bunch of shorts, including Conor Ferguson's ATLANTIC which you'll recall I declared the fourth best film of 2008. So if you happen to be reading this in Chicago - first of all, hello from Scotland, and secondly, go and see some Irish films. Especially ATLANTIC.

Finally, Irish films are represented at this year's London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Neasa Ni Chianain's FAIRYTALE OF KATHMANDU, covered in this blog back during the Edinburgh film fest, is playing on 6th and 7th of April (paired with SPOTLIGHT: GAY PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, a short film about gays in Ulster). Short films at the festival also include the Irish films MAN HUGS by Aoife Sullivan (26th March) and JAMES by Connor Clements (6th April), the latter also having been covered in this blog.

Scottish update (4 March)

Okay, a bunch of Scottish-related film updates for you. I am seriously considering replacing the Freakpit with an all-new blog concentrating on the Scottish and Irish stuff by the way. Just so you know.

Richard Jobson's cult-destined Edinburgh action film NEW TOWN KILLERS, which I really want to see but have missed thus far, is playing at the Belfast Film Festival, which just announced its programme.

The Scottish short film THE HAPPY DUCKLING is playing as part of a collection of short films for kids at the DCA in Dundee on the 21st and 22nd on March. Additionally, there is a special event with the filmmakers on the 21st.

The MacRobert in Stirling is showing Alfred Hitchcock's fantastic version of THE 39 STEPS on 20th March and is also having a "Tartan Day" screening of STONE OF DESTINY on 4th April.

The Hippodrome, Scotland's oldest purpose-built cinema (completed in 1911) is nearing the end of its restoration and should open its doors as a cinema again in April. Check out these pictures on Flickr and try telling me you don't want to watch films in places like this.

BAFTA Scotland has announced the nominations for this year's New Talent Awards. First of all, well done to Rose Leslie for her nomination for NEW TOWN, as I thought her great performance was one of the few endearing characteristics of this BBC misfire.

What I really wanted to point out however are the nominations in the fiction category, as all three of them - FLASHED, I'M IN AWAY FROM HERE and LIFE OF A PIGEON - were covered by me in my recent round-up of the stuff I saw at the Glasgow Film Festival. LIFE OF A PIGEON also scored an acting nomination for Owen Gorman. Well done to all involved with all three films.

Talking of LIFE OF A PIGEON, I believe that you can actually watch it on the director's website at www.billycampbell.co.uk so off you go and do that now. There's another film he made as well, ISLAND TO ISLA, but I've not watched it (yet).

While we're on the subject of the shorts I saw at Glasgow, I should also point out that you can see FOUR FUR A FIVER on Youtube. Go here to see this short documentary.

Finally, again on the subject of Scottish short films, one of Scotland's most successful shorts, CRY FOR BOBO, is available on the BBC Film Network.

That's all for now. There's an Irish update coming tomorrow night.

GFF09: I SELL THE DEAD

It's directed by Dubliner Glenn McQuaid and it seems to be maybe, possibly set in Ireland (Ron Perlman even sports an Irish accent) so I feel justified in attaching the Irish film label to this one, even though it's really an American one. The time the film is set in is equally vague, but it looks kind of Middle Ages like.

Dominic Monaghan and Larry Fessenden play a couple of grave robbers who spot a way to make a bit more money but, as you'll have guessed by the fact that this was part of Glasgow Film Festival's day-long Frightfest event, things go horribly awry.

The old favourite of having a man on death row (Monaghan) telling his incredible story to a priest (Perlman) has been done before but there's something grim about it that always lends a bit of weight to a horror film. Sadly a bit more weight is what this film could have done with.

There are some good gags in the script and the leading duo have some chemistry, but by and large the film doesn't sustain the gag ratio successfully enough for what is essentially a comedy film with horror trappings.

The budgetary restrictions also leak through in many parts of the film. Clearly made for little money, the film feels too claustrophobic in places. I don't mean that in a good way either, I just mean that all too often it feels far too much like the film has been made on a tiny soundstage - even when it's on location.

Credit to McQuaid though, he does do a grand job of getting a lot of the moody lighting and smoke-draped countryside just right, creating a perfect homage to the old Hammer films and sundry other British imitators of the '70s. It's a shame then that the US location work eventually overwhelms the mood of the piece, with a beach-set showdown involving some zombie-like creatures destroying the atmosphere that McQuaid worked so hard to generate. For most of the running time it's an effective Hammer tribute but the beach scenes just make it feel like another American made-for-DVD cheapo.

That may well be the case too, since I don't see it troubling a cinema any time soon. If you're getting friends round for a late night film romp, you could certainly do a lot worse than this likeable little movie but in the end it's a film that never quite overcomes its humble resources.

GFF09: DOROTHY

DOROTHY, or rather DOROTHY MILLS if you want to give it the name it seems to have been released under in other territories is an Irish/French co-production. I mention this not just because of my enthusiasm for Irish cinema but because it perhaps sums up what a mixed bag this film is.

In the lead, we have Carice van Houten. Now I thought she was terrific in Paul Verhoeven's BLACK BOOK - not only did she did she manage the impressive feat of still looking sexy while covered in excrement, she turned in a terrific lead performance which carried the whole film. Having not watched anything she's done since, I was glad of the opportunity to catch her in some rather different material.

So, a Dutch lead actress, playing an Irish woman. Okay, interesting. In the supporting cast we have the wonderful Scottish actor Gary Lewis, again playing Irish. Van Houten ends up sounding like a curious Irish/American kind of thing while Lewis sports a kind of Ulster/Scottish hybrid accent. Both good performances, mind you, just a little odd.

That's in keeping with the film though. The story isn't terribly new (woman turns up in small town, weird things happen, hostile locals, dark secret from the past, etc.) but it's an enjoyable mash-up of horror staples. Again it contributes to the mixed up feel of the film - at times it wants to be Hollywood teen horror, at other times it's more in keeping with the traditional WICKER MAN style of story. You know the one, outsider stumbles across weird rural community who do things differently.

Good use is made of the sparse Irish landscape, the cast is solid enough and director Agnes Merlet manages to get some good tense scares out the material. As much as the film is a passable way to spend the time however, the real reason for watching it is Dorothy herself.

I must confess that when young Jenn Murray was nominated at the IFTAs for her performance it passed me by. I'd never heard of her, never heard of the film and my attention was focussed on some of the more well known material. Shame on me. As the teen girl haunted/possessed/whatever by the spirits of, well, loads of people, Murray packs as much emotion and versatility into the role as it can possibly allow. It's thanks to her incredible efforts that an otherwise fairly average horror film becomes extremely engaging indeed.

The downside is that the film suffers whenever she's not around, although van Houten and friends manage a reasonable job of keeping things ticking over. But the star of DOROTHY is Dorothy.