JAMES by Connor Clements on DVD

Director Connor Clements has enjoyed a lot of success on the festival circuit with his short film JAMES (which I saw back in Cork last year). The film stars Niall Wright (MICKYBO AND ME) as a young boy struggling with an adolescent awakening and with nobody but one of his teachers who seem to understand him.

As a novel way of financing the film's appearances in other upcoming festivals, Clements is selling copies of the film on DVD through the film's website.

For $14 you can have the plain old no-frills version (DVD in protective card sleeve) or for $20 the DVD comes complete with case and sleeve, signed by the director.

It's a cracking little film and given how rare it is for a short film to receive any kind of commercial DVD release, this is an approach it would nice to see happening more frequently for some of the more well-travelled shorts. I'm clutching my copy of JAMES right now, and I know there are plenty of other shorts I'd be only to happy to buy were they to be made available.

Head on over to the JAMES website and buy a copy now!

Andy Warhol's screen tests

Nothing to do with either Scottish or Irish cinema, and I don't even particularly like Andy Warhol, but 13 MOST BEAUTIFUL...SONGS FOR ANDY WARHOL'S SCREEN TESTS will be receiving its UK premiere on July 8th at 8pm in the Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline. Being a Dunfermline lad, I'm biased, so thought I'd mention the show since it's a bit of a big deal given the profile of the show.

It consists of thirteen of Andy Warhol's screen tests with live accompaniment from Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips (formerly of Luna). The project was commissioned by the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. The connection to Dunfermline's most famous son obviously makes it the appropriate venue for the UK premiere. See the link above for details of tour dates.

THE KINGS OF CORK CITY (2005)

Isn't the internet a wonderful place? One minute you're on the Internet Movie Database examining filming locations of a crap Scottish film from the 1990s, next thing you know it's half an hour later and you've followed countless links to the point where you're sitting watching a mockumentary about warring Elvis impersonators bringing gangland violence to the streets of Cork.

I'm as fond of Cork (and Elvis) as anyone, but I have to admit this was (for once) not the result of me sitting sifting through various Irish websites but rather pure chance. From what I've since garnered this amusing short film played at a couple of film festivals back in 2005 - which by my reckoning is also the first time I ever visited Ireland so I guess I can be forgiven for having missed out - and doesn't appear to have had much of a profile since. Praise be for Youtube's existence.

The film is directed by Padraig Trehy, features decent use of music, mocked up archive material and bad Elvis covers and is well worth ten minutes of your time. I didn't realise how incomplete my life was until I'd heard the work of the King being sung in a Cork accent. Enjoy.

A new film (or 140 of them?)

Here's a film project I've been meaning to mention for some time but never quite got round to, and it may be of interest to you if you're a filmmaker.

Do you use Twitter? I certainly don't. I just don't get it. Okay, so I blog here and yes, I do frequently bombard my friends with rubbish via the world of Facebook, but that's as far as these new-fangled interweb-things encroach on my life. Nevertheless, fair play to Irish filmmaker Frank Kelly for coming up with a novel Twitter-inspired film idea.

I'm interested in this because of my love of not just Irish film, but especially Irish short films, and this new project kind of lies somewhere in the middle. Incidentally, Kelly has directed a couple of acclaimed Irish shorts but I'm not going to do my usual bit about how good they are because, um, I've not seen any of them.

Anyway, back to 140 (because that's what it's called). Twitter, generally speaking, is kind of like that status thing on Facebook, only it's limited to 140 characters and a bit more instantaneous. The idea here is to get 140 people from 140 different places to film exactly 140 seconds of footage at the same time (a Twitter post from Kelly being the starting pistol).

From there, everything will be in Kelly's hands to edit together, score etc. and see what the movie turns out like. There's a lot more to it than that, I'm doing a really crap job of explaining it. What you should do is read the FAQ that has been set up, and then follow the progress on Frank Kelly's own blog. At the time of me typing this, there's only 20 places still to go. (By my reckoning that only includes two from Scotland, but I love the fact that one of them is from the Outer Hebrides).

So check it out. It sounds like a great idea and if you're taking part you've not really got anything to lose. Worst case scenario? You waste a couple of minutes of footage and Mr Kelly gives himself a nightmare editing job. Best case however? You could end up with a low-budget BARAKA. Which would be nice.

New Film Ireland website

On one of my regular trips over there, I noticed that the Film Ireland website has had a complete overhaul. Click on the link to check it out, and while you're there you can fill in an online survey to have your say on the content of the magazine.

Unless of course you never read it and have no intention of reading it, in which case offering your opinion here would just be silly.

Screen Academy Scotland on tour

I mentioned in my last round-up of Scottish material coming to Filmhouse that there is a programme of shorts from the first four years of Screen Academy Scotland. It's currently embarking on a tour and I've managed to find the dates and venues confirmed so far.

• Tuesday 26th May, 18:30 @ CCA (Glasgow)


• Tuesday 30th June, 18:30 @ Filmhouse (Edinburgh)


• Wednesday 8th July, 18:00 @ Eden Court (Inverness)


• Tuesday 14th July, 18:00 @ DCA (Dundee)


• Date TBC @ The Belmont (Aberdeen - see below)

The exact details of the Aberdeen screening are to be confirmed but they will be part of the Aberdeen City and Shire Film Festival, which runs from 27th July to 2nd August.

Scottish/Irish films on TV

Another little heads up on some things to watch out for.

If you remember the groundbreaking BBC documentary film JOHN'S NOT MAD, which brought Tourettes Syndrome into the public eye, or its follow-up several years later (THE BOY CAN'T HELP IT), you may be interested to know that another follow-up documentary is airing this week. TOURETTES: I SWEAR I CAN'T HELP IT will be shown on BBC1 on 28th May at 9pm. There will also be a repeat screening at midnight on Sunday night (except Northern Ireland).

A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, set in Dublin in the 1960s and starring Albert Finney and Brenda Fricker, airs on BBC2 on Saturday night/Sunday morning at 00:40.

That's followed immediately by THE RECKLESS MOMENT, which isn't Irish but as I mentioned before does feature James Mason as an Irish thug and that's always got to be worth watching.

Michael Powell's amazing Mull-set romantic romp I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! will be shown on BBC Alba on 31st May at 4pm.

A final reminder also for those of you with Sky Movies that ONCE receives its UK TV premiere starting Saturday 30th on Sky Movies Premiere.

ODD MAN OUT (1947)

Last Friday night I took the opportunity to see Carol Reed's ODD MAN OUT, currently working its way round the country as part of a James Mason retrospective. It's not the first time I've seen it - in fact it's not even the first time I've seen it in the cinema - but any lover of cinema would have to be insane to pass up the opportunity to see this on the big screen at least once.

Reed is perhaps most famous for THE THIRD MAN but aside from the ferris wheel scene or that Orson Welles entrance that everyone knows, I'm afraid I'm going to have to say that there is very little in that film which can hold a candle to the breathtaking beauty of this underrated classic.

The plot of the film sees James Mason as the Belfast leader of "The Organisation" (never mentioned specifically, but clearly IRA-inspired) who finds himself seriously wounded and on the run in Belfast after a heist goes wrong. In that respect it's a simple piece - a man on the run with various parties after him for their own reasons (love, salvation, greed, justice). The main strength lies not in the story however, nor even in Mason's performance (which, mind you, is one of his best) but in the visuals.

Shot in stark black and white, the film's look is one of high contrast. As winter takes hold of Belfast, Mason finds himself wandering down sidestreets where darkened doorways share the screen with bright white snow. We see characters framed in doorways as the snowflakes fall, seemingly illuminated from nowhere. Men run down brightly lit streets where their shadows fill the length of the screen. Nobody who hears William Alwyn's driving, ominous music underscoring Mason's urban odyssey can fail to be affected by it.

Although there is genuine Belfast footage in the film, much of the action takes place in studio interiors, but interiors which have been painstakingly put together with reference to the architecture of Belfast (they even recreated the interior of the Crown bar). What emerges is a slightly off-kilter portrait of Belfast, a Belfast that is simultaneously recognisable and alien, both down to Earth and otherworldly, homely yet cinematic.

In this respect it feels like one of the great "city" movies. By this I don't mean cinematic loveletters like MANHATTAN, but rather the classic old film noir movies like PANIC IN THE STREETS or NIGHT AND THE CITY; the kind of films where you seem to get a sense of both the real city and the artifice of the cinematic vision of the city - a kind of combination of gritty realism with nightmarish fairy tale qualities. (The snow certainly helps too.)

If anything, the look of the film is so impressive that the special effects-based scenes in which Mason begins to suffer ever-crazier hallucinations end up being the least impressive looking scenes of the film. It's not that they're badly done or that they're not technically clever - they just can't compare to Reed's vision of night on the streets of Belfast.

Throw in some great performances, some delightful characters and a finale that is incredibly downbeat yet unspeakably romantic and you have true classic of British cinema. But above all these it is the look of the film that astounds again and again. It needs to be seen on the big screen to fully appreciate its beauty, its power and its testament to the full glorious imagery that cinema is capable of. It's a haunting, mesmerising film and for my money ranks right up there with NIGHT OF THE HUNTER as one of the most beautiful-looking black and white films ever made. It feels halfway between a movie and a dream.

If you can't see it at the cinema, then just make sure you're watching a decent quality DVD on as big a telly as possible. And if it's snowing outside, so much the better.

KISSES and NEW TOWN KILLERS

I've mentioned already that Lance Daly's KISSES and Richard Jobson's NEW TOWN KILLERS are both released in UK cinemas in June. The former has already done the rounds in festivals and has managed both a theatrical release and DVD release in its home country; the latter is only now stepping out from the festival circuit to hit regular screens.

The reason I mention them both now is that the new Empire magazine dropped through my letterbox this morning and I was pleased to find both films getting 4-star reviews. In the case of Mr Daly's Irish gem, I agree with it, having already seen the film; as for Mr Jobson's Scottish cult-destined thriller, I'm just glad there are signs that it's actually quite good.

Mainly though I'm just chuffed because, being optimistic, I'm hoping that getting decent reviews in somewhere like Empire will be a decent sign for distribution. Granted, neither film got great reviews in the latest Sight & Sound, one of my other regular reads, but at the risk of sounding cynical, I suspect more of your average cinemagoers pay attention to Empire than Sight & Sound (great though they both are).

I'm reasonably confident that KISSES should at least play in a decent selection of venues anyway, but reviews like this can't hurt. I think it's more important for NEW TOWN KILLERS however, given that too often Scottish indie films like this land about three screenings in one cinema before disappearing. Just once I'd like to think that Jobson's vision and his courage to make the films he wants rather than the films that Scottish funders want to sell just might get rewarded with a reasonable distribution. The cynic in me says it won't happen and that this talented and important filmmaker will once more be crapped on by the establishment, but I hope not.

Here are a couple of trailers again just to get you in the mood. Roll on June!

EIFF in the open air

As part of the Homecoming celebrations, this year's Film Festival Under the Stars, which sees the EIFF show a bunch of films outdoors, will feature a group of films relating to the work of the EIFF's patrons.

Despite them all being Scottish or Irish, the only film with a specific focus as far as this blog is concerned is the screening of STONE OF DESTINY, which takes place on June 20th at 6:30pm at the Grassmarket.

See the website for details of all the screenings.

Oh, and while I'm talking about the EIFF, a message for Ken Loach. The EIFF is a festival of film. If you want the Edinburgh Festival of Politics, come back in August.

Cinema News (3 of 3): Irish Film Festival!

How happy am I? It's been quite a while since the Filmhouse did their "Reel" season (combining Scottish and Irish filmmaking) and by my reckoning that was probably the last time they had a dedicated Irish strand. It gives me great delight then to bring to your attention that they are doing an Irish season in July. Luckily it's in late July so at least I don't need to worry about it clashing with the Fleadh.

Concentrating on contemporary Irish cinema means that I've seen most of the films already - on the big screen too - but I'll be there again anyway. Aside from those films however, there's one other showing and it's probably the most notable. John Ford's THE RISING OF THE MOON is a little-seen 1957 film which, unlike some of his other Irish efforts, doesn't pop up very often and is, as far as I know, unavailable on DVD anywhere in the world (legally at least).

If you're interested (and why would you have read this far if you weren't?), the other films showing are:

• ONCE (previously described by me as the best film of 2007)
• IN BRUGES (yes, we all know it's not technically Irish but if Scotland could make a claim to a film this good, however vague, you can bet I would)
• KINGS (which I don't think has ever had a UK cinema release outside of festivals)
• KISSES (the wonderful Lance Daly film which is getting a limited release here in June)

You can download the next month's programme from the Filmhouse website.

Cinema News (2 of 3): Filmhouse

Lots of Scottish stuff at the Filmhouse in their June/July programme (and a nice Irish announcement too, but that'll be in update number 3)...

"Made in Edinburgh" continues on Tuesday 30th June with the documentary about the infamous Scottish parliament, THE HOLYROOD FILES, while July's entry (on the 29th) will be a selection of animation from Ko Lik Films. Both screenings are at 6pm.

The Edinburgh Bike Week strand returns this year and Scottish contributions include HOME, INSPIRED BICYCLES - DANNY MacASKILL APRIL 2009, and THE BIKER.

There's a showcase of work from Screen Academy Scotland on Tuesday 30th June, which is a free event but unfortunately takes place at 6:30pm so you'll have to choose between this or THE HOLYROOD FILES.

Finally, there are a bunch of degree shows from Napier, Telford, Queen Margaret and the ECA.

Cinema News (1 of 3): IFI

I've already covered the Stranger Than Fiction festival's line-up, but it's also time for the monthly round-up of what else is on at the Irish Film Institute. June's line-up includes the following.

THE DEAD, the magnificent Joyce adaptation which was to be John Huston's last film, gets another outing on June 16th. This is part of Bloomsday and will include an introduction and special guests.

Also on a Joycean note, June 13th sees a screening of documentary IMAGINING ULYSSES which is, unsurprisingly, about Joyce's (in)famous novel.

Jake McKone's STRANGE DAYS ARE THESE, which played at Galway last year although I missed it, is the subject of this month's entry in the "Ireland on Sunday" strand.

June's archive screening is a John McCormack double bill consisting of the documentary about the man, THE PEOPLE'S TENOR, and a drama film in which he features, SONG O' MY HEART.
Finally, THIS SPORTING LIFE gets a token mention since it's directed by a Scotsman (Lindsay Anderson) and stars an Irishman (Richard Harris).

As usual, hit the website for more information.

EIFF addendum

Just seen on the EIFF website that a couple of the Scottish events will have extra tickets released this Monday. They are the double bill of JUST ANOTHER SATURDAY & THE ELEPHANT'S GRAVEYARD and the 21st June screening of the world premiere of CRYING WITH LAUGHTER.

Stranger Than Fiction 2009

The programme for this year's Stranger Than Fiction documentary festival at the Irish Film Institute in Dublin is now online. Unfortunately the decision to reschedule the festival up against EIFF means I'll be giving it a miss this year, but here's a summary of the films of Irish interest anyway.

Under the heading "Irish Communities Abroad", there is a triple bill featuring a couple of Radharc documentaries (GOODBYE TO GLOCAMORRA and THE FORGOTTEN IRISH) and GUESTS OF ANOTHER NATION. I'd really love to have seen these ones, and what little I know of Radharc really makes me wish they'd get some of their films out on DVD.

There's another trio of films under the heading "Alternative Communities" which features THE SILENT ORDER, FAMILY (by acclaimed Irish director Bob Quinn of POITIN fame) and ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES.

There will no doubt be a healthy Irish selection in the shorts programme, though it isn't available on the website. Interesting that the awards are apparently to be presented by Sean Farnel, who is a director at HotDocs, my other long-standing documentary destination. The picture on the website is from MA BAR though, so at least there's looking like being some Scottish representation in there too!

THE LIBERTIES is a documentary portrait of the titular area of Dublin, accompanied by the short film CLUBS ARE TRUMPS, which also ties in with the subject.

Slightly irritating that I can't make it, but if you get the opportunity head along as it looks like another enjoyable year.

Edinburgh's former Odeon needs help

Self explanatory really, but the thought of them demolishing this auditorium makes me vomit with rage.

If you think it's important to preserve these buildings (I do) or if you think cinemagoing is more than simply the act of watching a movie (I do), please sign this petition.

BSP's MAN OF ARAN

While posting my earlier stuff, I forgot to mention by way of a reminder that the British Sea Power-scored release of MAN OF ARAN is now available. It's a 2-disc job, featuring a CD of their soundrack and the DVD itself with five soundtrack options.

The DVD features BSP's new soundtrack in 2.0 and 5.1, their score recorded live at last year's EIFF (I'm still kicking myself for missing that, especially since it was in The Caves - great venue) again in 2.0 or 5.1, and finally an extra "bonus" soundtrack option.

It's available for less than a tenner and, if my usual record of getting round to watching DVDs is any indicator, look for a review of it on this blog sometime within the next two years.

Fastnet Fest

Okay so I wasn't there and I'm not going to pretend I was, but it sounds like it was a fun little event. But because I'm the helpful and friendly guy I am, I thought I'd direct you to comments by people who were.

Savaege Blog features some coverage from one of the filmmakers; Southernman Films scooped an award for Penny; The Stub has some lengthy coverage of the weekend's events and a list of winners; and I expect a few more folks will have something up by the time you read this.

You know, I've got a long-standing tradition - it might even be my very own rather rubbish superpower - which sees me demonstrate an incredible ability, no matter which film festival I attend, to always miss out on the films that end up winning the awards or wowing the critics. Despite not being at Fastnet's fest, I like to think I was there in spirit since, even though I'd seen a few of the films, only one prize actually ended up going to something I'd seen (OF BEST INTENTIONS picked up an award for music). It's almost uncanny.

Maybe next year. At least I've got my fix of Irish shorts at Galway and Cork still to come this year.

Future Shorts on tour

I've mentioned it previously but now it's time for a reminder, particularly as I went along to the event in Glasgow last night.

Future Shorts are taking their latest selection on tour round the UK over May and June - see here for a list of dates and venues (at the time of writing, this list doesn't look complete).

The main interest in their selection is the Irish film PLEASE SAY SOMETHING, an insanely brilliant animated short by David O'Reilly.

However, the plan is also to show some additional content tailored to the particular venue, so for example last night's Glasgow event had some (mainly) locally-produced film, which obviously I'm now duty bound to tell you about.

TEARS OF FORTUNE by Ian Robertson is a tale of a potter who suddenly acquires the ability to cry pearls (it's inspired by a short story in "The Kite Runner"). My first impressions were that the film seems a bit rough around the edges and the acting not exactly first rate either, but as the film progresses into darker territory it actually becomes rather more compelling, albeit without surprises.

THE IMMACULATE ART (OF DELETING THE PAST) by Laurence Brook is a chronologically-shuffled tale of love told through the medium of, well, a bloke looking through some text messages. I'm pretty much a textophobe so I can't say it sat entirely well with me - just seeing stuff written like that irks me - but it's an interesting little tale well told with a few interesting stylistic flourishes.

SOMETHING I LEARNED TODAY (Alain Johnston) is described as "an experimental documentary about the harmony in the chaos of life" etc. but to be honest it's also a brief insight into the world of documentary in general. Too brief to deliver anything too insightful, but the format wouldn't have sustained a much longer film either. Interesting.

THE QUEEN OF ATLANTIS by Francis Gallop is an attempt to recreate the days of silent adventure movies using special effects that were available at the time. I don't know whether the acting was bad or whether it was a deliberate tribute to the acting styles of the past, but it didn't quite work in that respect either way and obviously an experiment like this isn't helped by being shot on modern video. Nonetheless, the film oozes inventiveness and is quaintly enjoyable. I'd like to see more.

THE WAY (Carter Ferguson) is credited as being "inspired by a passage from Sun-Tzu's The Art of War" which immediately made me think "oh god, pretentious art student movie coming up" but actually what follows is a brief action film (well, basically one long action sequence) which is, for the most part, well choreographed, has an appropriately action-packed score and benefits from some decent pacing. It's certainly not without its flaws but it does suggest that the director could actually come up with something pretty impressive given a bit of budget behind him.

Watch out for the Future Shorts tour hitting a venue near you soon.

THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE (1969)

Having been forced to read the book at school (many years ago now) and having seen the film at the time, I was curious to see how this film would hold up and how it would compare against my memory of it (which wasn't exactly glowing).

That's perhaps not much of a comparison since, apart from not really liking it, the only thing I remember about it was that it caused myself and my friends to repeatedly put on exaggerated posh Scottish accents and shout "I am in my prime!" and "give me a girl at an impressionable age..." repeatedly. Actually, to be fair, we still do that.

The story, in case you're unfamiliar with it, centres around a teacher in 1930s Edinburgh whose free-thinking ways don't always jibe with the establishment but seem to endear her to her students.

I find now, as with so many of the things I wasn't keen on in English lessons only to revisit as an adult, that it's a very enjoyable film. The fact that those phrases stuck in my mind is perhaps testament to one of the greatest strengths, which is the endlessly quotable and snappy dialogue in the film (which of course owes much to Spark's original novel).

Helping that along is a delightful cast including Gordon Jackson (THE GREAT ESCAPE), Celia Johnson (BRIEF ENCOUNTER) and of course Maggie Smith in the lead role, for which she deservedly received an Oscar. (The film also received a couple of nominations for its music, courtesy of Rod McKuen, and this is another major strength of the film)

The look of the film is distinctive also, another factor which stuck in my mind from viewing it all those years ago. The interior of the school is ridiculously grey - to the point of pastiche, with several objects painted grey that never would be in real life - and when we venture out into the streets of Edinburgh it's mainly (but not exclusively) in the Old Town, which itself is pretty much all a sooty shade of grey. One can only assume that this was entirely deliberate in order to ensure that, were her performance not enough to grab the attention, the screen would certainly focus on Smith when she swans into the classroom in her collection of bright and colourful outfits, reinforcing her attitude towards life and the establishment.

In some ways it can be seen as just another entry in the "unorthodox teacher" genre, though that takes away from the fact that it's a fine adaptation of a classic novel. Aside from this however, it also becomes more notable when viewing it all these years later that it certainly isn't the typical film in which a stranger pops up, uses unusual teaching methods to win over some underprivileged kids and then departs with all the kids forever changed.

For one thing, it's certainly not a feel-good film, and secondly the kids are far from underprivileged. Above this though, it's got a great deal of darkness throughout. Whether it's the idea of an art teacher having sexual liaisons with a pupil (a strict no-no in the tabloid-controlled media of today), the spectre of Franco's war in Spain or even the occasional throwaway line about religions (hinting at an awareness of Scotland's history of religious bigotry), there's always some grim material bubbling away underneath all the talk of art and music and young ladies entering the world.

So a decent film then, and one which I was happy to finally revisit. Above all else, however, it struck me that there was one other possible distinction visited on this film.

Could this be the only Oscar-winning film ever to feature the word "hoor"?

Reeling in the Pain

"Reeling in the Pain" is a campaign being run to raise awareness of chronic neuropathic pain, fronted by acclaimed Irish writer-director Jim Sheridan. As part of this initiative, three award-winning Irish directors have created a short film each, based on stories submitted by those who have been affected.

Each of the three films deal sensitively with a difficult subject matter and are each beautifully made while serving their intended purpose. Not exactly happy viewing, but very worthwhile. The films are as follows.

THE KNIFE is directed by Colm Quinn. Colm directed NO REGRETS IN THE WEST, which I've mentioned on countless occasions. His short film THE DISCREET CHARMS OF THE REFUGEE can also be viewed online.

KEEPING THE BEAST AT BAY is directed by Vanessa Gildea. Vanessa has a number of achievements to her name, although I believe the only one I've seen is THE WHITE DRESS. (Also available online)

HEAT is directed by Darren Thornton. I confess I've never seen his work, which is odd since his acclaimed short film FRANKIE was selected for about a billion different film festivals.

To see the three films mentioned above and for more information on the campaign, click here.

More Scottish TV drama coming

Already reported elsewhere, including Sweet on Sigma Films if you happen to read the links I provide, the news has also just been reported on Scottish Screen's website that a new Scottish drama is in the works (courtesy of BBC Scotland) and looks very interesting indeed. I'll let you check out the link for the full details on ONE NIGHT IN EMERGENCY, but Scots in the cast include:

• Kevin McKidd (TRAINSPOTTING, 16 YEARS OF ALCOHOL, AFTER LIFE)
• Jamie Sives (A WOMAN IN WINTER, WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF, DOCTOR WHO)
• Ewen Bremner (TRAINSPOTTING, MATCH POINT)
• David Hayman (SMALL ENGINE REPAIR, A SENSE OF FREEDOM)
• Gary Lewis (TRUE NORTH, MY NAME IS JOE)
• James Cosmo (Pretty much everything Scottish)

It's pretty much a who's who of Scottish acting talent there. On top of that, it's written by Gregory Burke. Burke was the man who wrote mega-super-smash-hit play BLACK WATCH and whose current play HOORS is still running at The Traverse Theatre. More importantly, he's from Dunfermline. (Yay!)

I'll be sure to post when I hear more.

MY LIFE AS A BUS STOP

The low budget Scottish film MY LIFE AS A BUS STOP, a comedy about a bunch of misguided Scottish filmmakers, has been mentioned by me before having played at the Edinburgh Film Festival. All this chat about EIFF in recent days has reminded me to point out the fact that you can watch the film for free - rather nice of them - over at the film's Myspace page.

Yeah, I missed a couple

Okay, so the EIFF website now appears to be listing all the short films in the shorts programmes (which I swear they weren't doing when I looked at the site the other day), so I've a couple of additions to my Irish summary (I'll cover the Scottish ones at a later date).

I was correct that Rory Bresnihan's THE MAN INSIDE is showing; however it appears that I missed the fact that Juanita Wilson's THE DOOR and Michael Kinirons's LOWLAND FELL are also showing - well done to all three.

These three films can be seen in the "International Shorts" programmes 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Click on the titles to go to my opinions; click here to go to the EIFF website.

BEST: HIS MOTHER'S SON (2009)

Another Sunday evening and another BBC drama from the 1970s and Northern Ireland. Following hot on the heels of their airing of FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN came BEST: HIS MOTHER'S SON, a drama based on the life of George Best and the effect his infamous lifestyle had on his family.

Despite his presence in the title and his spectre hanging over proceedings, Best himself (Tom Payne) plays second fiddle to the family. The story centres on Best's mother, Ann (Michelle Fairley) and her own spiral into alcoholism and the lion's share of the drama is hers. While the script has the transformation from loving mother to sick alcoholic happen a little too quickly, Fairley delivers a performance that squeezes every last drop of emotion from it.

The sense of time and place is again skilfully evoked, through fashions, archive football film and the obligatory "troubles" footage, though the progression of time isn't quite so obvious were it not for the slight evolution in hairstyles.

That Best is not the central figure is largely due to the script but there's no escaping the fact that next to Fairley and an excellent supporting cast (especially Lorcan Cranitch and Laura Donnelly as Dickie and Carol Best respectively) Payne has little presence, his wavering accent supplemented only by the requirement to be blue-eyed, cheeky-grinned tabloid-fodder.

The film doesn't break any new ground - and in the end feels awfully like a public information film about the effects of alcohol abuse - but the cast do enough to carry it off and make you wish that TV stations would put more money into quality television drama and less money into humiliating desperate members of the general public.

WAVERIDERS back in Scotland

So far I believe Irish surf documentary WAVERIDERS has only appeared at one cinema in Scotland, and that was in Glasgow and way out of the way for me. Well, according to the official site (click here to keep an eye on screenings) it's coming back to Scotland courtesy of some screenings in Dundee in July at the Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre. Almost as much of a drive for me to get there too to be honest, but I have always been meaning to take a trip to the DCA centre. The proximity to the Galway Film Fleadh makes this one unlikely though - but I shall keep monitoring the situation!

New material from IFI Education

32A, Marian Quinn's enjoyable look at a group of young girls growing up in 1970s Dublin is fun for all ages but as it's most likely to be popular among that particular age group it makes sense that it's the latest film to be featured in one of the IFI's study guides. Head over to the IFI site to download a copy.

Irish win at HotDocs

Bit of a pisser that the only Irish film at HotDocs wasn't shown until the day after I left, but all the same, congratulations are due to the team behind FORTY FOOT, as this Dublin-made short film won the International Documentary Challenge on the closing day of this wonderful festival.

Well done to all involved. If you want to read more about this and the experiences of the filmmakers, head over to their website. You can view the film online here.

Well done folks.

EIFF: Irish events

First a reminder that you should all be watching Ireland on Four. Now, with the Scottish summary out the way, here's what's on offer to cinematic hibernophiles.

Fans of Gabriel Byrne may be interested to know that a few new episodes of his American TV show IN TREATMENT will be getting shown as part of the EIFF's new "Cinematic Television" strand.

It's not named specifically in the programme but there's an Irish short playing as part of INTERNATIONAL SHORTS 1 and it would appear to be Rory Bresnihan's THE MAN INSIDE, judging by the programme's description.

THE SECRET OF KELLS finally gets a UK premiere having already been round the cinemas in Ireland. In addition to an official website (where you can see the trailer), there is also a blog for this film, so expect to see something about the Edinburgh screenings nearer the time.

WIDE OPEN SPACES (a Scottish co-production) is a comedy about two men building an Irish famine theme park. Sounds like it could either be very funny or in spectacularly bad taste - we shall see. It's getting its world premiere at EIFF.

VAN DIEMEN'S LAND is an Australian film but is the third (that I know of) screen treatment of the Alexander Pearce story, so deserves to be put in with the Irish films anyway. First there was EXILE IN HELL by Barrie Dowdall, followed by THE LAST CONFESSION OF ALEXANDER PEARCE by Michael James Rowland and now this. Actually, this latest one appears to have been based on a student short by the director, so I guess this makes it treatment number four. Incidentally, if anyone knows where I can find a copy of Dowdall's version please let me know.

Finally, Irish photographer and Turner nominated film artist Willie Doherty will be in conversation with Irish cinematographer and new EIFF patron Seamus McGarvey.

Let me know if I've missed anything.

EIFF: Scottish events

I'll post separately about the Irish-relevant stuff going on at this year's EIFF later. In the meantime, here's what's on offer for fans of Scottish cinema. Not a definitive list I'm sure (for example, the festival doesn't list exact details for all the individual films in the shorts programmes) but a pretty good idea. So without further ado...

Bill Forsyth will be appearing in person to discuss his career, including the three Scottish classics GREGORY'S GIRL, LOCAL HERO and COMFORT AND JOY.

Black Box Shorts 1, judging from the programme, seems to contain at least one Scottish (Highlands) themed short.

The new print of late, great Scottish director Bill Douglas's COMRADES, his three-hour epic about the Tolpuddle Martyrs, will be screened.

New Scottish features include CRYING WITH LAUGHTER, RUNNING IN TRAFFIC and WASTED. I'll be listing WIDE OPEN SPACES on my Irish update, but it's also a Scottish co-production in case you're interested.

The focus on Peter McDougall will include four of his incredible collaborations with John Mackenzie. Films showing are the Jimmy Boyle film A SENSE OF FREEDOM starring David Hayman and three of his plays for the BBC's PLAY FOR TODAY. They are JUST ANOTHER SATURDAY, in which a young man finds the dark truth behind Orange marches; JUST A BOY'S GAME, a "Scottish MEAN STREETS" with an absolutely blinding performance from Frankie Miller; and ELEPHANT'S GRAVEYARD, in which Connolly and Morrison are again paired up to examine life in 70s Scotland. I've written about these three previously. Don't miss the rare chance to see these on the big screen.

"New Scottish Filmmakers" will be the subject of one of the talks hosted at the Traverse Theatre (just across the road from the Filmhouse).

The GMAC shorts programme will host the best in new Scottish short films.

A KIND OF SEEING will present a wealth of material from the Scottish Screen Archive, hosted by SSA's Janet McBain.

PLAYING WITH THE PAST will present more archive material accompanied by music from three young Edinburgh bands.

Talking of archive stuff, there's a showing of the brand new print (fresh from Cannes) of THE RED SHOES as restored by Scorsese's friends, together with a presentation on how it has been restored. Not a Scottish film, but always worth mentioning, and I can squeeze in the reference to Moira Shearer being from Dunfermline again.

Make-up guru Morag Ross will be appearing at a special event, as will costume supremo Trisha Biggar.

The Scottish Short Documentary Award screening will play host to the nominees of this award, with the prize being given out at the end of the screening.

Danny Boyle's SHALLOW GRAVE has been restored and is getting a 15th anniversary screening.

If anyone spots anything I've missed, please feel free to post a comment here or email me.

Loads of Irish on BBC4 this week

Sorry for the late notice, but I've been away at HotDocs all week and only discovered this when I returned. Why does nobody tell me about these things?

This week, BBC4 is having an "Ireland on Four" season. Check listings for exact details, but the material on offer includes the gripping, acclaimed Storyville documentary by Alison Millar THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOUSEKEEPER (aka AT HOME WITH THE CLEARYS), the three part documentary IN SEARCH OF THE POPE'S CHILDREN, a profile of the Chieftains, a history of Northern Ireland's pop music (plus a session by Van Morrison) and a bunch of Irish features.

The feature films on offer include I WENT DOWN, SALTWATER, THE VAN, PAVEE LACKEEN and DEAD BODIES.

Hotdocs09: CHRISTMAS WITH DAD

CHRISTMAS WITH DAD (Conor McCormack) already comes with a degree of critical acclaim having scooped a prize in Edinburgh last year. The film focuses on a man in his early twenties living on a poor Bristol housing estate with his partner and huge number of kids. It's a raw look at a troubled life, but there are hidden depths here which go beyond just looking like a real life episode of SHAMELESS. It's another emotional, insightful work but rather than have me say anything else, why not go and watch it yourself and make up your own mind, as it's available to view at the BBC's Film Network.

Hotdocs09: CALLING HOME

CALLING HOME (Maria Eduarda Andrade, Marcelo Starobinas) may well be slightly less cinematic than the previous couple of SDI films I've mentioned but it's still a fine piece of documentary filmmaking.

I'm sure we've all walked past these internet and phone shops - you know, the ones that advertise phonecalls to Namibia for 5p or whatever - without thinking much about it (unless, like me, you pop in there whenever you're on holiday to keep up with the latest filmic developments). Not so for our two filmmakers.

A pair of Brazilians living in London, doing a film with the Scottish Documentary Institute already seems like a pretty international film, but it's even more so when one sees the simple beauty behind their plan. That plan involves setting up their cameras in such a shop (with permission, naturally) and recording people of many nationalities coming in and phoning home.

What unfolds is a collage of cultures and people with the same problems faced by anybody from day to day, but with a wide international flavour. It's simply presented, it's brief but it's very effective and uses such a simple idea to paint such a colourful portrait of life away from home for so many people. Once more a brief short manages to completely alter the way you will look at what was previously a meaningless building in the corner of your eye. That's three out of three so far for the SDI films at Hot Docs.

Hotdocs09: STEEL HOMES

STEEL HOMES (Eva Weber) is a look at the stories behind the contents of an array of large storage containers in an anonymous looking warehouse.

It's the sort of place you naturally assume that people just store things while they're moving house, or something equally unremarkable, but as the voiceovers from various patrons reveal, there are often some haunting stories of human tragedy or upset behind them.

As the voices surround us the visuals make the drab storage facilities come alive, a swirling melting pot of humanity all but ignored by the outside world.

A powerful documentary will make you look at the world differently and the haunting, impeccably filmed STEEL HOMES will ensure that the next time you happen to be wandering past a storage depot you just might find yourself wondering exactly what secrets lurk within.

Hotdocs09: MA BAR

As mentioned previously, four short films from the Scottish Documentary Institute were selected for screening at this year's HotDocs festival, North America's largest documentary film festival which takes place annually in Toronto. I'm not in the habit of travelling five thousand miles to watch a few short films, but since I was at the festival anyway it would be dereliction of duty for me not to report on them. Don't say I'm not good to you.

If there's a theme running through all of them, it's the idea (like so many good documentaries) of finding something extraordinary in the ordinary; of making the viewer see something they've not seen before in something that they think they have.

MA BAR (Finlay Pretsell, Adrian McDowall) serves as the first example. Bill is a weightlifter, one who clearly is devoted to the cause and lives to break his records. We see him preparing, we see him taking part, we hear his thoughts and what his aims are. Oh yeah, and he's 73 years old.

What emerges from the obsessive-sounding voiceover and beautifully shot images (mainly of muscle-bound people straining a lot) is a portrait of a man with a dream, a man with ambition, a man obsessed.

Our man is clearly dedicated - how else could you still be weightlifting when by rights you should be lifting nothing more than a cuppa and your pension book - and the eloquent narration backs that up. But what one is left with afterwards, upon consideration, is a nagging question. What happens when Bill fails or finally comes up against a target he can't meet? For a man so obsessed with winning it's difficult to see where exactly he could go from there, and such pondering lends a darker edge to an otherwise quirky little documentary.

The film has played other festivals and achieved acclaim, but this was the first time I'd seen it. I'm certainly glad I finally got the chance though, and encourage you to see it if you can.

One thing I also established at this screening is that the film's title just doesn't sound right when it's said in a Canadian accent.

Coverage of the other three documentaries will follow at some point when I'm not completely jetlagged.

EIFF in brief

I'll post a more detailed breakdown this weekend once I've had time to sit down and digest it in full but the programme for this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival looks like it's got a lot of delightful stuff lined up.

On the Irish front, there are premieres for THE SECRET OF KELLS (it's about time someone here showed it) and WIDE OPEN SPACES, which I confess I know little about. They're also showing the Irish-related Austrailian film VAN DIEMEN'S LAND which, unless I'm very much mistaken, is at least the third screen adaptation of the story of Alexander Pearce.

For Scots, there is a focus on Peter McDougall (recent recipient of Scottish BAFTA's lifetime achievement and also covered by me in the past), Bill Forsyth in person and more besides.

As mentioned, this is not an exhaustive list, just what I've been able to take from a few brief glances over the programme. Full breakdown this weekend. Tickets go on sale on Friday.

Good news for THE ECLIPSE

Numerous websites (including half the ones I've linked to on my blog) have reported the news that Ciarin Hinds has picked up a prize at Tribeca for his performance in THE ECLIPSE, the supernatural Irish thriller filmed in Cobh. Great news for him (and word of mouth on the film has been positive) but I'm rather chuffed too as this sort of thing can only be good for the film.

It's a film that I'm very interested in seeing given my previous moans about Irish and Scottish filmmakers steering clear of this kind of stuff, despite the fact that Hollywood does it really badly and makes a ton of money from it. And of course I know all about Cobh horror stories, because I've been to a few Ramblers games. (Sorry, I can never resist the obvious ones)

It occurs to me that it was this time last year that Eileen Walsh won at Tribeca for her role in EDEN which, even though it never got released here, received a screening at Edinburgh and became one of my favourite films of last year. Given that THE ECLIPSE has yet to receive a UK premiere (as far as I know) it would be nice to think that it could pop up in Edinburgh too.

The EIFF programme is announced on Wednesday, so fingers crossed.

GFT birthday bash

Sunday 10th of May sees an open day at the Glasgow Film Theatre to celebrate its 35th year and what would have been the 70th year of its predecessor, The Cosmo. Various special events and screenings will be going on, so see the website for a full schedule.

Dumfries Film Festival

A bit late but I only just found out about this myself. The Dumfries Film Festival runs from 1st to 4th May. Granted, it's already started, but there's still time for me to mention that there is a screening of SCOTLAND ON FILM - THE MOVIE about 12 hours from when I'm typing this, and Michael Powell's classic I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING to close things on Monday 4th.

See the website for more details.