The Scala Beyond film festival opening night was great at the Roxy Bar yesterday night. I wanted to put a review or reflection together to share my thoughts on the event and the films. It was free entry with a free cocktail and huge sofas to lie in. Film clubs that take part in the festival were introducing themselves and were screening their carefully selected shorts and trailers. First, Cigarette Burns Cinema was screening The Lie Chair by David Cronenberg, first time I saw it, a thriller, featuring a couple of funny murderous grandmas. Worth to watch. So good to hear other people laugh at odd scenes in the background. Hot summer night. 29th Oct to 3rd Nov at Leicester Place - says a short, quite disturbing advert, a nurse pushing another man in a wheelchair screaming in a straitjacket.. I forgot what is the advert for. Filmbar70 screened film teasers with music selected from the 70s. I haven't seen anything of those before and now I want to see all of them. This was true for the whole evening. Rare selection throughout. This was one of the teasers on giallo, check out the rest on youtube, amazing music. Watch this 70s commercial - ICI Fibres, was shown by Filmbar70. Then we saw a reading of a story, Late Night Story - Tom Baker 'The Photograph' , again, the darkness and the huge screen helps engaging, and the reading is something we don't often see today but so powerful, it is up to the viewer to visualise the characters, to connect the lines, imagine. There are no mistakes, fake, unreal scenery, I don't try looking constantly behind the scenes, it is only the story and my imagination, emotion. The 'spooky', 'magic realism' continues on Monday at Roxy Bar at the Night of the Psychotronic Soundtrack . Beautiful red curtain separates the screening from the pub, and you can somewhat hear the pub noise in the background, social feeling.
BFI
Flipside brought Skinflicker, a
training film made on how to kidnap a minister. In New Wave style. Characters
were speaking to the cameraman, who was also involved in the story, very
realistic, monologues reminded me of Godard. Tarantino might have seen this
before Reservoir Dogs. I loved the silent 8mm footage, the image speaks for
itself.. How to program films? (I was thinking) Why are these films being
shown? Passangerfilms brought
two films on whale hunt, one was Vive La Baleine by Chris Marker - I love,
love, love La Jetee and I haven't had the chance to see another film of his -
beautiful, the narrator talks to whales, telling their story in history and
their relationship with humanity. Killing whales, killing ourselves, we want to
slaughter all of them as fast as possible. Gives you another perspective on
looking at animals. Whaling in the Antarctic was the next film, by Charles Swithinbank- a British glaciologist in 1949. I believe it is from his own personal records but came to light as part of the British Library Oral History of Science project. Black and white footage of a hunt and the
carving up of whales. Somehow, it is watchable, probably because it isn't red,
and an old footage, and the filmmaker talks you through the process. Surreal
experience. Tiny people chopping up a giant, meat everywhere.
http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/ Have a look at The Whale Hunt by Jonathan
Harris , a photographic project he did in Alaska, might be
interesting. London
Short Film Festival - submissions are open until the middle of
september, if you have a film, please submit it. Or make one. They screened a
short animation by Robert Morgan - Bobby
Yeah. Horrible, horrible, disturbing... improvised story, quality
construction, well made. I didn't understand what is the point of screening
purely disturbing stuff, then when someone shared his opinion at the Q&A,
then I thought: it could be the point. Ask the audience what do they think and
feel, make it interactive, so we can figure something out. As a way of
getting out of that repressed, dark hole. What do they think the story is
about, what is the meaning, who are the characters, what can we do with this,
'What the fuck?' Days are Numbers came on with
refreshing teasers of 70s films with music after the animation, I
recognised the Hungarian version of the Soviet anthem, was the Elvis film that
run underneath Hungarian as well? Codename:
Dragonfly to follow. Suitcase Cinema presented another Chris
Marker film - Valparaiso, straight from 16mm, a poetic documentary on a Chilean
city, it has a Neorealist feel to it. It is really special to see it from the
analogue projector and to hear the rolling noise in the background. Video Tape
Swap Shop screened a must see film the Catman,
one of the funniest things I ever saw. So bad. I love the idea of 'creating
cult films' out of unknown. They will screen The Holy Mountain remade entirely out of dogs
footage in Deptford, 25th of August. The last one
for the evening, morning, was the Duke
Mitchell Film Club with a selection of rare trailers found and
mixed by Alex. Trailer for Black Panther Warriors, Strike Commando, Fun
and Fury (subtitled for the first time by Alex). Tune
for Two. Santo Gold was introduced - to a very joyful,
energetic audience, and I don't remember what was the last thing, but it was
fun. It is the Duke's 5th birthday celebration on Wednesday, check out their program.
Thank you
Scala Beyond, great experience, fill the land with cinemas!!
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