“I don’t want to play someone who’s being racially abused.”
Thandie Newton said she can’t get roles in Britain because there are so few parts for black actors in historical dramas like Downton Abbey or Call The Midwife.
The Westworld star told The Sunday Times: “I love being here, but I can’t work, because I can’t do Downton Abbey, can’t be in Victoria, can’t be in Call The Midwife - well, I could, but I don’t want to play someone who’s being racially abused.”
“I’m not interested in that, don’t want to do it… there just seems to be a desire for stuff about the Royal Family, stuff from the past, which is understandable, but it just makes it slim pickings for people of colour.”
Newton, set to star in Line Of Duty on BBC One and the upcoming Han Solo Star Wars spin-off, is not the...
Thandie Newton said she can’t get roles in Britain because there are so few parts for black actors in historical dramas like Downton Abbey or Call The Midwife.
The Westworld star told The Sunday Times: “I love being here, but I can’t work, because I can’t do Downton Abbey, can’t be in Victoria, can’t be in Call The Midwife - well, I could, but I don’t want to play someone who’s being racially abused.”
“I’m not interested in that, don’t want to do it… there just seems to be a desire for stuff about the Royal Family, stuff from the past, which is understandable, but it just makes it slim pickings for people of colour.”
Newton, set to star in Line Of Duty on BBC One and the upcoming Han Solo Star Wars spin-off, is not the...
- 3/20/2017
- by orlando.parfitt@screendaily.com (Orlando Parfitt)
- ScreenDaily
“There’s nothing like the smell of diversity in the morning.”
David Oyelowo opened the Black Star Symposium at the BFI South Bank in London last week with a joke – actually a comedy routine, during which he suggested that talking about diversity, for him, was akin to Idris Elbe being asked yet again about James Bond.
But this was simply a softening up of his audience of actors, filmmakers and industry movers and shakers. Oyelowo really could have been wearing Colonel Kilgore’s army fatigues (rather than a dapper white suit), because hereafter he was in fighting mood, at the heart of a discussion about the limited opportunities for black actors on screen in the Us and the UK – and what more can be done to effect “positive change.”
The gathering was the headline industry event of this year’s London Film Festival, which opened with a screening of Amma Asante...
David Oyelowo opened the Black Star Symposium at the BFI South Bank in London last week with a joke – actually a comedy routine, during which he suggested that talking about diversity, for him, was akin to Idris Elbe being asked yet again about James Bond.
But this was simply a softening up of his audience of actors, filmmakers and industry movers and shakers. Oyelowo really could have been wearing Colonel Kilgore’s army fatigues (rather than a dapper white suit), because hereafter he was in fighting mood, at the heart of a discussion about the limited opportunities for black actors on screen in the Us and the UK – and what more can be done to effect “positive change.”
The gathering was the headline industry event of this year’s London Film Festival, which opened with a screening of Amma Asante...
- 10/10/2016
- by Demetrios Matheou
- Indiewire
New BFI research reaffirms alarming diversity trends.
Research conducted by the British Film Institute (BFI) has revealed that 59% of UK films over the last 10 years featured no black actors in a named role.
Only 13% of UK films feature a black actor in a leading role, and 50% of those parts were found in just 47 films, which is less than 5% of the overall total of films surveyed (1,172).
The research was revealed at this morning’s [Oct 6] Black Star Symposium at the BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16).
BFI creative director and Lff chief Heather Stewart commented that “diversity is one of the biggest issues facing film” and that the new research clearly indicated that “the number of lead roles for black actors has not really changed over ten years”.
Further findings from the research include that there are only four black actors in the list of the 100 most prolific actors in the UK – Noel Clarke, Nonso Anozie, [link...
Research conducted by the British Film Institute (BFI) has revealed that 59% of UK films over the last 10 years featured no black actors in a named role.
Only 13% of UK films feature a black actor in a leading role, and 50% of those parts were found in just 47 films, which is less than 5% of the overall total of films surveyed (1,172).
The research was revealed at this morning’s [Oct 6] Black Star Symposium at the BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16).
BFI creative director and Lff chief Heather Stewart commented that “diversity is one of the biggest issues facing film” and that the new research clearly indicated that “the number of lead roles for black actors has not really changed over ten years”.
Further findings from the research include that there are only four black actors in the list of the 100 most prolific actors in the UK – Noel Clarke, Nonso Anozie, [link...
- 10/6/2016
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Headlining the BFI London Film Festival’s industry strand, the event will spotlight challenges for black film talent.
The British Film Institute (BFI) has revealed the line-up for its headline industry event at this year’s BFI London Film Festival (Lff, Oct 5-16), the Black Star Symposium on Oct 6, which will explore the continuing challenges for black talent in the film industry.
Delivering the event’s opening address will be David Oyelowo, who appears here at Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 8-18) in both Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom, which opens this year’s Lff, and Mira Nair’s Queen Of Katwe, which also plays at Lff. Oyelowo will be the event’s lead speaker, while Asante will also make a panel appearance, as will Barry Jenkins, director of Moonlight (playing in Toronto’s Platform strand). Other confirmed speakers include Noel Clarke (Brotherhood), Julie Dash (Daughters Of The Dust), Karen Blackett (MediaCom), Ramy El-Bergamy (Channel 4), and...
The British Film Institute (BFI) has revealed the line-up for its headline industry event at this year’s BFI London Film Festival (Lff, Oct 5-16), the Black Star Symposium on Oct 6, which will explore the continuing challenges for black talent in the film industry.
Delivering the event’s opening address will be David Oyelowo, who appears here at Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 8-18) in both Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom, which opens this year’s Lff, and Mira Nair’s Queen Of Katwe, which also plays at Lff. Oyelowo will be the event’s lead speaker, while Asante will also make a panel appearance, as will Barry Jenkins, director of Moonlight (playing in Toronto’s Platform strand). Other confirmed speakers include Noel Clarke (Brotherhood), Julie Dash (Daughters Of The Dust), Karen Blackett (MediaCom), Ramy El-Bergamy (Channel 4), and...
- 9/12/2016
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
With a special reissue of classic Boyz N the Hood, genre surveys, seminars, concerts and interviews, this comprehensive retrospective is well timed
At a time when the Hollywood’s wretched record on diversity is under scrutiny as never before, the BFI’s wide-ranging and comprehensive retrospective examining the landmarks of black cinema, announced on Wednesday, could not have been better timed. Titled Black Star, and running for nearly three months in venues across the UK, the season will feature cinema reissues of key films, in-depth surveys of specific areas such as blaxploitation and hip-hop cinema, and numerous live events including seminars, concerts and on-stage interviews.
Attention has recently focused on the hundreds of new members appointed to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that organises the Oscars, and part of Black Star’s ambition is to focus audiences’ attention on the issues that still dog the industry.
At a time when the Hollywood’s wretched record on diversity is under scrutiny as never before, the BFI’s wide-ranging and comprehensive retrospective examining the landmarks of black cinema, announced on Wednesday, could not have been better timed. Titled Black Star, and running for nearly three months in venues across the UK, the season will feature cinema reissues of key films, in-depth surveys of specific areas such as blaxploitation and hip-hop cinema, and numerous live events including seminars, concerts and on-stage interviews.
Attention has recently focused on the hundreds of new members appointed to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that organises the Oscars, and part of Black Star’s ambition is to focus audiences’ attention on the issues that still dog the industry.
- 7/13/2016
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Although worthwhile restorations are unveiled on a semi-regular basis, some — such as Out 1, perhaps the greatest thing cinema offered last year — are in a league of their own. The most recent case in point is another hard-to-find, epic-length title of staggering ambition: Napoleon, Abel Gance‘s five-and-a-half-hour, 1927 silent epic whose most recent restoration has been a decades-in-the-making endeavor. It’ll be heavily credited to the BFI, yet historian Kevin Brownlow “spent over 50 years tracking down surviving prints from archives around the world since he first saw a 9.5mm version as a schoolboy in 1954.”
The fruits of that labor will be enjoyed soon: BFI National Archive, Brownlow’s Photoplay Productions, and Dragon Di have restored the film — funding for 35mm elements came in 2000 — while Philharmonia Orchestra recorded the entirety of Carl Davis‘ score, both of which are forming a U.K.-wide release that will roll out in 2016. When this will come to the U.
The fruits of that labor will be enjoyed soon: BFI National Archive, Brownlow’s Photoplay Productions, and Dragon Di have restored the film — funding for 35mm elements came in 2000 — while Philharmonia Orchestra recorded the entirety of Carl Davis‘ score, both of which are forming a U.K.-wide release that will roll out in 2016. When this will come to the U.
- 1/28/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
The BFI has uncovered what is believed to be the world’s earliest known, surviving inter-racial kiss on TV from "You in Your Small Corner," first broadcast on ITV in June 1962 and not seen on TV since. The discovery was made in the BFI National Archive while researching a panel discussion at BFI Southbank (Tues November 24th) on Race and Romance on Television as part of the BFI’s Love season. The kiss will be seen by audiences at the event.
"You in Your Small Corner," was a Granada TV Play of the Week and an adaptation of a play by Jamaican-born Barry Reckord which had originally been staged at the Royal Court. It was only when researching the BFI’s Love season in the BFI National Archive that BFI TV Programmer Marcus Prince realized this on-screen kiss between actor Lloyd Reckord (brother of the playwright) and actress Elizabeth MacLennan predates all other known examples, and is one of several intimate exchanges between the two leading players.
Heather Stewart, Creative Director, BFI said, "This ground-breaking TV play is such an important re-discovery. A document of British social history, it demonstrates the role of progressive television drama as a reflection of our society and underlines the vital work of the BFI National Archive as the guardian of our national memory. 50 years on, diverse on-screen representation is still an urgent issue and we must continue as an industry to effect much-needed change."
The famous kiss between Lieutenant Uhura and Captain James T. Kirk in an episode of "Star Trek" from 1968 is hailed as the first inter-racial kisses on Us TV, whilst the kiss between Joan Hooley and John White from an episode of "Emergency Ward" 10 in 1964 is generally acknowledged as the first inter-racial kiss in an ongoing series.
"You in Your Small Corner" was first broadcast live on ITV as the Granada Play of the Week on June 5th 1962. It follows the arrival of a young man from Jamaica to Brixton where he is staying with his mother before going up to Cambridge to study for an undergraduate degree. He meets a young woman on the rebound and they become lovers. The play is a sophisticated dissection of the subtleties and difficulties which affect the couple across race and class lines.
In Race and Romance on TV the panel will include contributions from actors Art Malik and Adrian Lester, director Gurinder Chadha, BBC’s Head of Drama England, Hilary Salmon and BBC’s Head of Diversity & Inclusion Tunde Ogungbesan. The event will be hosted by broadcaster Samira Ahmed.
The panel will discuss how TV has represented Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic relationships over the years, from the ‘radical’ plays of the 60s that aimed to break taboos, right up to the present day, illustrated with archive clips. They will pose questions such as where is the black-led ‘romantic’ primetime series? And is TV guilty of turning romance into a white middle-class affair? Our distinguished panel will address these important issues and discuss how TV might address them in future. An extract from "You in the Your Small Corner" will be screened to illustrate this key moment in British, and world, television history.
The full program is available to view for free at BFI Mediatheques around the UK.
In October the BFI announced details of a £1m BFI Diversity Fund and the introduction of BFI Diversity Standards across all BFI Film Fund Lottery funding schemes, including film development, production, distribution and audience development, in a bid to help improve on and off screen diversity across the film industry. The BFI Diversity Standards have been enthusiastically welcomed by industry bodies and BFI funded partners. Underpinning the BFI Diversity Standards is a BFI definition of diversity, applicable across all BFI Lottery funded projects: to recognize and acknowledge the quality and value of difference.
"You in Your Small Corner," was a Granada TV Play of the Week and an adaptation of a play by Jamaican-born Barry Reckord which had originally been staged at the Royal Court. It was only when researching the BFI’s Love season in the BFI National Archive that BFI TV Programmer Marcus Prince realized this on-screen kiss between actor Lloyd Reckord (brother of the playwright) and actress Elizabeth MacLennan predates all other known examples, and is one of several intimate exchanges between the two leading players.
Heather Stewart, Creative Director, BFI said, "This ground-breaking TV play is such an important re-discovery. A document of British social history, it demonstrates the role of progressive television drama as a reflection of our society and underlines the vital work of the BFI National Archive as the guardian of our national memory. 50 years on, diverse on-screen representation is still an urgent issue and we must continue as an industry to effect much-needed change."
The famous kiss between Lieutenant Uhura and Captain James T. Kirk in an episode of "Star Trek" from 1968 is hailed as the first inter-racial kisses on Us TV, whilst the kiss between Joan Hooley and John White from an episode of "Emergency Ward" 10 in 1964 is generally acknowledged as the first inter-racial kiss in an ongoing series.
"You in Your Small Corner" was first broadcast live on ITV as the Granada Play of the Week on June 5th 1962. It follows the arrival of a young man from Jamaica to Brixton where he is staying with his mother before going up to Cambridge to study for an undergraduate degree. He meets a young woman on the rebound and they become lovers. The play is a sophisticated dissection of the subtleties and difficulties which affect the couple across race and class lines.
In Race and Romance on TV the panel will include contributions from actors Art Malik and Adrian Lester, director Gurinder Chadha, BBC’s Head of Drama England, Hilary Salmon and BBC’s Head of Diversity & Inclusion Tunde Ogungbesan. The event will be hosted by broadcaster Samira Ahmed.
The panel will discuss how TV has represented Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic relationships over the years, from the ‘radical’ plays of the 60s that aimed to break taboos, right up to the present day, illustrated with archive clips. They will pose questions such as where is the black-led ‘romantic’ primetime series? And is TV guilty of turning romance into a white middle-class affair? Our distinguished panel will address these important issues and discuss how TV might address them in future. An extract from "You in the Your Small Corner" will be screened to illustrate this key moment in British, and world, television history.
The full program is available to view for free at BFI Mediatheques around the UK.
In October the BFI announced details of a £1m BFI Diversity Fund and the introduction of BFI Diversity Standards across all BFI Film Fund Lottery funding schemes, including film development, production, distribution and audience development, in a bid to help improve on and off screen diversity across the film industry. The BFI Diversity Standards have been enthusiastically welcomed by industry bodies and BFI funded partners. Underpinning the BFI Diversity Standards is a BFI definition of diversity, applicable across all BFI Lottery funded projects: to recognize and acknowledge the quality and value of difference.
- 11/21/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The BFI has just uncovered what is presumed to be the first kiss between a black woman and white man on national television, a scene from a TV drama entitled "You in Your Small Corner." First broadcast on ITV in June 1962, it has just been discovered in the BFI National Archive. Read More: Anthony Asquith's 'Shooting Stars' Selected as BFI London Film Festival Archive Gala The revival of Lloyd Reckord and Elizabeth MacLennan's kiss is a timely one in light of BFI’s Love season, and subsequently, the infamous scene will be seen by audiences at the ongoing event. Heather Stewart, Creative Director of BFI, said in a statement that "This ground-breaking TV play is such an important re-discovery. A document of British social history, it demonstrates the role of progressive television drama as a reflection of our society and underlines the vital work of the...
- 11/20/2015
- by Elle Leonsis
- Indiewire
John Gordon Sinclair and Clare Grogan were the ultimate feel-good movie couple in Gregory's Girl back in 1981, and the pair are to reunite for a special Q&A in December.
As part of BFI Southbank's 'Love' season starting today (October 19), the pair will appear for a "kind of date" alongside a special screening of Bill Forsyth's quaint comedy on December 5 at 6.10pm.
The 'Love' season will also include various screenings and Q&As surrounding classic movies - whether they are romantic or heartbreaking.
Dangerous Liaisons director Stephen Frears, Love and Basketball's Gina Prince-Bythewood, Four Weddings and a Funeral's Mike Newell and Bend it Like Beckham creator Gurinder Chadha will also take part in Q&As about their work.
Actors Derek Jacobi, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Adrian Lester will also appear during the season, as well as singer KT Tunstall.
Heather Stewart, Creative Director at BFI, said: ''Film can...
As part of BFI Southbank's 'Love' season starting today (October 19), the pair will appear for a "kind of date" alongside a special screening of Bill Forsyth's quaint comedy on December 5 at 6.10pm.
The 'Love' season will also include various screenings and Q&As surrounding classic movies - whether they are romantic or heartbreaking.
Dangerous Liaisons director Stephen Frears, Love and Basketball's Gina Prince-Bythewood, Four Weddings and a Funeral's Mike Newell and Bend it Like Beckham creator Gurinder Chadha will also take part in Q&As about their work.
Actors Derek Jacobi, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Adrian Lester will also appear during the season, as well as singer KT Tunstall.
Heather Stewart, Creative Director at BFI, said: ''Film can...
- 10/19/2015
- Digital Spy
Interstellar director slams exhibitors who fail to “put on a show”.
Cinema attendance is set to plummet if exhibitors fail to improve the current experience for customers, according to director Christopher Nolan.
Speaking at a debate on the future of film as part of the BFI London Film Festival, the British director said that cinemas move from film projectionists to unmonitored digital presentations was devaluing the experience.
“For some reason, it’s become acceptable to say – we’re providing an empty room with a TV in it for you to watch a film,” said Nolan.
“We’re not putting on a show. This has to change. Forget film. If that experience isn’t valued, people will stop going.”
The director of the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Interstellar added: “Cinema attendance is relatively stable but it’s not standing up the way it used to.
“The idea it’s dying as an experience or undervalued by younger...
Cinema attendance is set to plummet if exhibitors fail to improve the current experience for customers, according to director Christopher Nolan.
Speaking at a debate on the future of film as part of the BFI London Film Festival, the British director said that cinemas move from film projectionists to unmonitored digital presentations was devaluing the experience.
“For some reason, it’s become acceptable to say – we’re providing an empty room with a TV in it for you to watch a film,” said Nolan.
“We’re not putting on a show. This has to change. Forget film. If that experience isn’t valued, people will stop going.”
The director of the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Interstellar added: “Cinema attendance is relatively stable but it’s not standing up the way it used to.
“The idea it’s dying as an experience or undervalued by younger...
- 10/10/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Read More:'bfi London Film Festival Adds 'Steve Jobs,' 'A Bigger Splash,' 'High Rise,' 'Black Mass,' & More The BFI has revealed its three-month, UK-wide 2015 series, "Love: Films to Fall in Love With... Films to Break Your Heart," sponsored by UK internet provider, Plusnet. News that Mike Newell, Tess Morris and Jenni Murray will discuss love on the big and small screen at the BFI Southbank has also just been announced. Heather Stewart, Creative Director of the BFI said, "Film can bring love to life more powerfully than any other art form – it is cinema's most seductive illusion and has transformed the way we see ourselves, and our love lives. Our season is not about sex. We’re getting back to Love: embracing the intimacy of the close-up and the anticipation of the much longed-for screen kiss: the very language of cinema itself." With this aim,...
- 9/22/2015
- by Elle Leonsis
- Indiewire
The 59th BFI London Film Festival has announced Lff Connects – a brand new series of thought-provoking talks intended to stimulate new collaborations and ideas by exploring both the future of film itself and how film engages with other creative industries including television, music, art, games and creative technology.
British filmmaker Christopher Nolan, internationally acclaimed for some of the most original, compelling and successful films in contemporary cinema ("Interstellar," "Inception," "The Dark Knight," "Memento"), and Tacita Dean, lauded for her art work in film (and whose grand-scale Tate Modern exhibition Film transfixed audiences), will launch the new series of high profile talks on Friday October 9 at the BFI Southbank with a conversation that reframes the future of film.
Christopher Nolan and Tacita Dean are both passionate advocates within their fields for film – not simply as a technology – but as a medium that offers intrinsically rich and unique qualities needed by artists and filmmakers, as well as a hugely engaging experience for audiences. In the Lff Connects Film conversation moderated by BFI Creative Director Heather Stewart whose work in cultural programming is bringing new audiences and creative collaborators to film, Nolan and Dean will also explore the importance of seeing films projected on film as an essential part of our cultural experience, as well as the necessity of determining new archival and exhibition standards that secure film’s future, and why the debate around film needs to change.
They will also be joined in the discussion by Alexander Horwath, Director of the Austrian Film Museum who has written and spoken extensively about the importance of showing film as film and preservation, asking how can any cultural heritage remain intelligible when handed down to future generations without attention to its medium?
Tacita Dean says, “As an artist who makes and exhibits film for reasons indexical to the medium, I have had no choice but to fight to get film re-appreciated for what it is: a beautiful, robust and entirely different way of making and showing images in the gallery and in the cinema. Film has characteristics integral to its chemistry and internal discipline that form my work and I cannot be asked to separate the work from the medium that I used to make it. We need to keep the medium distinct from the technology; we need to keep the choice of film available for artists, filmmakers and audiences.”
Trailblazers from other creative fields who are having an impact on how we make and think about films will be announced in the coming weeks as Lff Connects headliners.
Clare Stewart, Festival Director, BFI London Film Festival, says: “This year we launch a new direction for the BFI London Film Festival’s industry engagement program – building on the position of London as one of the world’s leading creative cities – with Lff Connects, a series of events designed to look at the future of film and its intersection with the wider creative industries. We could not hope to have a more dynamic, impactful launch than to bring together Christopher Nolan and Tacita Dean, two of the greatest creators working in film and art to discuss the future of film as a medium.”
This year’s Lff program will be announcing further events imminently that offer unique opportunities for industry professionals to engage in debate, explore important areas of policy key to growth, share knowledge, generate business opportunities and showcase talent.
British filmmaker Christopher Nolan, internationally acclaimed for some of the most original, compelling and successful films in contemporary cinema ("Interstellar," "Inception," "The Dark Knight," "Memento"), and Tacita Dean, lauded for her art work in film (and whose grand-scale Tate Modern exhibition Film transfixed audiences), will launch the new series of high profile talks on Friday October 9 at the BFI Southbank with a conversation that reframes the future of film.
Christopher Nolan and Tacita Dean are both passionate advocates within their fields for film – not simply as a technology – but as a medium that offers intrinsically rich and unique qualities needed by artists and filmmakers, as well as a hugely engaging experience for audiences. In the Lff Connects Film conversation moderated by BFI Creative Director Heather Stewart whose work in cultural programming is bringing new audiences and creative collaborators to film, Nolan and Dean will also explore the importance of seeing films projected on film as an essential part of our cultural experience, as well as the necessity of determining new archival and exhibition standards that secure film’s future, and why the debate around film needs to change.
They will also be joined in the discussion by Alexander Horwath, Director of the Austrian Film Museum who has written and spoken extensively about the importance of showing film as film and preservation, asking how can any cultural heritage remain intelligible when handed down to future generations without attention to its medium?
Tacita Dean says, “As an artist who makes and exhibits film for reasons indexical to the medium, I have had no choice but to fight to get film re-appreciated for what it is: a beautiful, robust and entirely different way of making and showing images in the gallery and in the cinema. Film has characteristics integral to its chemistry and internal discipline that form my work and I cannot be asked to separate the work from the medium that I used to make it. We need to keep the medium distinct from the technology; we need to keep the choice of film available for artists, filmmakers and audiences.”
Trailblazers from other creative fields who are having an impact on how we make and think about films will be announced in the coming weeks as Lff Connects headliners.
Clare Stewart, Festival Director, BFI London Film Festival, says: “This year we launch a new direction for the BFI London Film Festival’s industry engagement program – building on the position of London as one of the world’s leading creative cities – with Lff Connects, a series of events designed to look at the future of film and its intersection with the wider creative industries. We could not hope to have a more dynamic, impactful launch than to bring together Christopher Nolan and Tacita Dean, two of the greatest creators working in film and art to discuss the future of film as a medium.”
This year’s Lff program will be announcing further events imminently that offer unique opportunities for industry professionals to engage in debate, explore important areas of policy key to growth, share knowledge, generate business opportunities and showcase talent.
- 9/2/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Nolan to debate future of film as part of a new series of talks on the industry side of the BFI London Film Festival.
The 59th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 7-18) has unveiled a new series of industry talks under the banner Lff Connects, which will aim to explore the future of film and how the medium engages with other creative industries including TV, music, art, games and creative technology.
Interstellar director Christopher Nolan and artist Tacita Dean, whose exhibitions include the grand-scale Film at the Tate Modern, will launch the new series on Oct 9 at London’s BFI Southbank with a conversation that “reframes the future of film”.
The conversation, moderated by BFI creative director Heather Stewart, will see Nolan and Dean explore the importance of seeing films projected on film as part of our cultural experience, as well as the necessity of determining new archival and exhibition standards that secure film’s future.
Nolan...
The 59th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 7-18) has unveiled a new series of industry talks under the banner Lff Connects, which will aim to explore the future of film and how the medium engages with other creative industries including TV, music, art, games and creative technology.
Interstellar director Christopher Nolan and artist Tacita Dean, whose exhibitions include the grand-scale Film at the Tate Modern, will launch the new series on Oct 9 at London’s BFI Southbank with a conversation that “reframes the future of film”.
The conversation, moderated by BFI creative director Heather Stewart, will see Nolan and Dean explore the importance of seeing films projected on film as part of our cultural experience, as well as the necessity of determining new archival and exhibition standards that secure film’s future.
Nolan...
- 8/28/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Brown makes step up from head of events; will help coordinate BFI audience strategy.
The BFI has promoted existing head of events Stuart Brown to head of programme & acquisitions.
Brown will be among the team to coordinate the BFI’s audience strategy, with a remit to increase cultural and commercial performance across BFI cinemas and BFI distribution, encompassing UK theatrical, non-theatrical, DVD, BFI Player and international programme tours.
The executive joined the organisation in 2000 and has since worked on numerous BFI seasons, including Hitchcock, Gothic and Sci Fi, as well as live performance and music events, including Bug: The Evolution of Music Video and Sonic Cinema.
Heather Stewart, the BFI’s creative director, said: “Throughout his time at the BFI, Stuart has time and again created exciting and innovative programmes and events that celebrate film.”
Brown said: “I’m looking forward to drawing on my experience in this new role at what is undoubtedly an extraordinary time for...
The BFI has promoted existing head of events Stuart Brown to head of programme & acquisitions.
Brown will be among the team to coordinate the BFI’s audience strategy, with a remit to increase cultural and commercial performance across BFI cinemas and BFI distribution, encompassing UK theatrical, non-theatrical, DVD, BFI Player and international programme tours.
The executive joined the organisation in 2000 and has since worked on numerous BFI seasons, including Hitchcock, Gothic and Sci Fi, as well as live performance and music events, including Bug: The Evolution of Music Video and Sonic Cinema.
Heather Stewart, the BFI’s creative director, said: “Throughout his time at the BFI, Stuart has time and again created exciting and innovative programmes and events that celebrate film.”
Brown said: “I’m looking forward to drawing on my experience in this new role at what is undoubtedly an extraordinary time for...
- 7/15/2015
- ScreenDaily
Brown makes step up from head of events; will help coordinate BFI audience strategy.
The BFI has promoted existing head of events Stuart Brown to head of programme & acquisitions.
Brown will be among the team to coordinate the BFI’s audience strategy, with a remit to increase cultural and commercial performance across BFI cinemas and BFI distribution, encompassing UK theatrical, non-theatrical, DVD, BFI Player and international programme tours.
The executive joined the organisation in 2000 and has since worked on numerous BFI seasons, including Hitchcock, Gothic and Sci Fi, as well as live performance and music events, including Bug: The Evolution of Music Video and Sonic Cinema.
Heather Stewart, the BFI’s creative director, said: “Throughout his time at the BFI, Stuart has time and again created exciting and innovative programmes and events that celebrate film.”
Brown said: “I’m looking forward to drawing on my experience in this new role at what is undoubtedly an extraordinary time for...
The BFI has promoted existing head of events Stuart Brown to head of programme & acquisitions.
Brown will be among the team to coordinate the BFI’s audience strategy, with a remit to increase cultural and commercial performance across BFI cinemas and BFI distribution, encompassing UK theatrical, non-theatrical, DVD, BFI Player and international programme tours.
The executive joined the organisation in 2000 and has since worked on numerous BFI seasons, including Hitchcock, Gothic and Sci Fi, as well as live performance and music events, including Bug: The Evolution of Music Video and Sonic Cinema.
Heather Stewart, the BFI’s creative director, said: “Throughout his time at the BFI, Stuart has time and again created exciting and innovative programmes and events that celebrate film.”
Brown said: “I’m looking forward to drawing on my experience in this new role at what is undoubtedly an extraordinary time for...
- 7/15/2015
- ScreenDaily
Thousands of unseen films digitised and made available online including world’s earliest home movies; new film commissioned from Penny Woolcock.
The BFI (British Film Institute) has today launched Britain on Film, an archive-based initiative through which thousands of unseen films have been digitised and will be made available for free to the public on the BFI Player platform.
By 2017, the BFI aims to have digitised 10,000 film and TV titles from 1895 to the present day, backed by National Lottery funding and the support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
These include the world’s earliest home movies from 1902, The Passmore Family Collection - 10 films of the family on holiday in Bognor Regis and The Isle of Wight and at home in London.
Britain On Film also includes travelogues, tourism films, public information docs, newsreels, a few feature films and a host of other material
What unites all the footage - taken from the BFI National Archive and more...
The BFI (British Film Institute) has today launched Britain on Film, an archive-based initiative through which thousands of unseen films have been digitised and will be made available for free to the public on the BFI Player platform.
By 2017, the BFI aims to have digitised 10,000 film and TV titles from 1895 to the present day, backed by National Lottery funding and the support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
These include the world’s earliest home movies from 1902, The Passmore Family Collection - 10 films of the family on holiday in Bognor Regis and The Isle of Wight and at home in London.
Britain On Film also includes travelogues, tourism films, public information docs, newsreels, a few feature films and a host of other material
What unites all the footage - taken from the BFI National Archive and more...
- 7/7/2015
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Funding will support the digitisation of 10,000 titles.
Applications have opened today (Sept 8) for the BFI’s Unlocking Film Heritage Digitisation Fund.
A total of £5m ($8.1m) is available over a three-year period through an award of National Lottery funding to the BFI to fund the digitisation of 10,000 titles.
Holders of “important” British film and television items will be eligible to apply for funding for digitisation and the BFI hopes to bring films back to the big and small screen, often not available or seen since first made.
Heather Stewart, creative director at the BFI and executive in charge of the Ufh project, established last year, said: “The Ufh project is an astonishing opportunity to make some of the unseen and unheralded glories of British cinema available to the widest possible range of audiences.
“We are working with rights holders and partners to bring these films into the 21st century and stimulate a renewal of interest in our...
Applications have opened today (Sept 8) for the BFI’s Unlocking Film Heritage Digitisation Fund.
A total of £5m ($8.1m) is available over a three-year period through an award of National Lottery funding to the BFI to fund the digitisation of 10,000 titles.
Holders of “important” British film and television items will be eligible to apply for funding for digitisation and the BFI hopes to bring films back to the big and small screen, often not available or seen since first made.
Heather Stewart, creative director at the BFI and executive in charge of the Ufh project, established last year, said: “The Ufh project is an astonishing opportunity to make some of the unseen and unheralded glories of British cinema available to the widest possible range of audiences.
“We are working with rights holders and partners to bring these films into the 21st century and stimulate a renewal of interest in our...
- 9/8/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The BFI has unveiled a Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder three-month screening programme celebrating genre works in film and TV.
The event will run from October 20 to December 31 with more than 1,000 screenings of big and small screen classics across 200 UK locations.
Days of Fear and Wonder will play across three primary strands: 'Tomorrow's World' will look at futures reshaped by technology, 'Altered States' will journey into the minds and bodies of 'inner-space', and 'Contact!' centres on exploration of new frontiers and visitors from other worlds.
The BFI's creative director Heather Stewart said of the programme: "Sci-fi has come to define the cinematic experience for audiences everywhere. We will celebrate the originality, the craftsmanship and the vision behind some of the most important film and television ever made.
"Its calling card is visual spectacle, but at its heart sci-fi is the genre for big ideas, revealing our...
The event will run from October 20 to December 31 with more than 1,000 screenings of big and small screen classics across 200 UK locations.
Days of Fear and Wonder will play across three primary strands: 'Tomorrow's World' will look at futures reshaped by technology, 'Altered States' will journey into the minds and bodies of 'inner-space', and 'Contact!' centres on exploration of new frontiers and visitors from other worlds.
The BFI's creative director Heather Stewart said of the programme: "Sci-fi has come to define the cinematic experience for audiences everywhere. We will celebrate the originality, the craftsmanship and the vision behind some of the most important film and television ever made.
"Its calling card is visual spectacle, but at its heart sci-fi is the genre for big ideas, revealing our...
- 7/17/2014
- Digital Spy
The BFI has unveiled a Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder three-month screening programme celebrating genre works in film and TV.
The event will run from October 20 to December 31 with more than 1,000 screenings of big and small screen classics across 200 UK locations.
Days of Fear and Wonder will play across three primary strands: 'Tomorrow's World' will look at futures reshaped by technology, 'Altered States' will journey into the minds and bodies of 'inner-space', and 'Contact!' centres on exploration of new frontiers and visitors from other worlds.
The BFI's creative director Heather Stewart said of the programme: "Sci-fi has come to define the cinematic experience for audiences everywhere. We will celebrate the originality, the craftsmanship and the vision behind some of the most important film and television ever made.
"Its calling card is visual spectacle, but at its heart sci-fi is the genre for big ideas, revealing our...
The event will run from October 20 to December 31 with more than 1,000 screenings of big and small screen classics across 200 UK locations.
Days of Fear and Wonder will play across three primary strands: 'Tomorrow's World' will look at futures reshaped by technology, 'Altered States' will journey into the minds and bodies of 'inner-space', and 'Contact!' centres on exploration of new frontiers and visitors from other worlds.
The BFI's creative director Heather Stewart said of the programme: "Sci-fi has come to define the cinematic experience for audiences everywhere. We will celebrate the originality, the craftsmanship and the vision behind some of the most important film and television ever made.
"Its calling card is visual spectacle, but at its heart sci-fi is the genre for big ideas, revealing our...
- 7/17/2014
- Digital Spy
Panel selects two documentaries for support from the BFI Film Fund.
The BFI Film Fund has announced support for two feature documentaries following its latest pitching round in London.
The projects were selected from a short list of the strongest projects submitted to the BFI for support through the second round of the Film Fund’s documentary pitch meetings, in partnership with Sheffield Doc/Fest, which took place on Dec 9.
Five applications were shortlisted by a team of senior executives from the BFI and Doc/Fest, and selected to present to a panel including representatives from the BFI, Sheffield Doc/Fest, leading documentary distributor Dogwoof and Dutch Public Broadcaster Vpr.
In line with the panel’s recommendations, the Film Fund has committed to supporting two films:
Tomer and Barak Heymann’s Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?, which is co-directed and co-produced with Alexander Bodin Saphir, follows the journey of an Israeli man rejected by his community...
The BFI Film Fund has announced support for two feature documentaries following its latest pitching round in London.
The projects were selected from a short list of the strongest projects submitted to the BFI for support through the second round of the Film Fund’s documentary pitch meetings, in partnership with Sheffield Doc/Fest, which took place on Dec 9.
Five applications were shortlisted by a team of senior executives from the BFI and Doc/Fest, and selected to present to a panel including representatives from the BFI, Sheffield Doc/Fest, leading documentary distributor Dogwoof and Dutch Public Broadcaster Vpr.
In line with the panel’s recommendations, the Film Fund has committed to supporting two films:
Tomer and Barak Heymann’s Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?, which is co-directed and co-produced with Alexander Bodin Saphir, follows the journey of an Israeli man rejected by his community...
- 1/28/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
UK-wide roadshow begins this week.
The British Film Institute (BFI) is to host a series of roadshows across the UK throughout November to discuss progress on Film Forever, its five-year plan to support UK film, alongside the work of its new partners.
It has been a year since the BFI launched its Film Forever initiative, accompanied by a roadshow to discuss plans for delivery.
The new series, which kicks off Wednesday, will report back on the progress of the last 12 months, to introduce new partners and to discuss the BFI’s work and new funding programmes in greater detail.
Open to the public as well as industry professionals, there will be an opportunity to meet the BFI teams working on the plan at a series of workshops and surgeries.
The sessions will cover the Film Fund, Education, Audiences, Archives, Media Desk UK, Certification and Fundraising as well as the launch of BFI Player and a new research...
The British Film Institute (BFI) is to host a series of roadshows across the UK throughout November to discuss progress on Film Forever, its five-year plan to support UK film, alongside the work of its new partners.
It has been a year since the BFI launched its Film Forever initiative, accompanied by a roadshow to discuss plans for delivery.
The new series, which kicks off Wednesday, will report back on the progress of the last 12 months, to introduce new partners and to discuss the BFI’s work and new funding programmes in greater detail.
Open to the public as well as industry professionals, there will be an opportunity to meet the BFI teams working on the plan at a series of workshops and surgeries.
The sessions will cover the Film Fund, Education, Audiences, Archives, Media Desk UK, Certification and Fundraising as well as the launch of BFI Player and a new research...
- 10/28/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Highlights from four-month project include a weekend of screenings at British Museum and a nationwide release of Jack Clayton's The Innocents
There will be homicidal maniacs, possessed children, haunted houses and lust-crazed vampires aplenty, the BFI has promised, in one of the biggest themed film and television seasons it has ever mounted.
Programmers on Thursday announced details of a mammoth project called Gothic: the Dark Heart of Film. It will be a season "filled with dread and fuelled by lust", said BFI creative director Heather Stewart. "It is a great area of film-making, and anything that is disreputable or maligned is always something you want to be shining a spotlight on."
More than 150 titles will be seen at around a thousand screenings across the UK, with the BFI Southbank having its longest yet dedicated season – four months of gothic-themed movies, TV programmes and discussions.
The season will explore how gothic encompasses not just terror,...
There will be homicidal maniacs, possessed children, haunted houses and lust-crazed vampires aplenty, the BFI has promised, in one of the biggest themed film and television seasons it has ever mounted.
Programmers on Thursday announced details of a mammoth project called Gothic: the Dark Heart of Film. It will be a season "filled with dread and fuelled by lust", said BFI creative director Heather Stewart. "It is a great area of film-making, and anything that is disreputable or maligned is always something you want to be shining a spotlight on."
More than 150 titles will be seen at around a thousand screenings across the UK, with the BFI Southbank having its longest yet dedicated season – four months of gothic-themed movies, TV programmes and discussions.
The season will explore how gothic encompasses not just terror,...
- 6/27/2013
- by Mark Brown
- The Guardian - Film News
The British Film Institute (BFI) is to launch a major project dedicated to Gothic cinema, which includes more than 150 films and around 1,000 screenings throughout the UK.
Running from August until January 2014, the Gothic project include the longest ever season at BFI’s Southbank venue in London, UK wide theatrical and DVD releases, an education programme, a new BFI Gothic book, a range of partnerships, special guests and commentators including project ambassador Sir Christopher Frayling.
Heather Stewart, creative director at the BFI, said: “Gothic has never been more potent or popular, reflecting the turbulent times we are living in, our deepest fears and hidden passions.
“The British discovered sex in vivid Technicolor through Gothic. With a new generation gripped by the post modern Gothic world of Twilight’s ‘vegetarian’ vampires, Harry Potter’s spells and El James’s 50 Shades, its meaning has mutated yet again. It’s now time to look back into the deep dark beating heart of...
Running from August until January 2014, the Gothic project include the longest ever season at BFI’s Southbank venue in London, UK wide theatrical and DVD releases, an education programme, a new BFI Gothic book, a range of partnerships, special guests and commentators including project ambassador Sir Christopher Frayling.
Heather Stewart, creative director at the BFI, said: “Gothic has never been more potent or popular, reflecting the turbulent times we are living in, our deepest fears and hidden passions.
“The British discovered sex in vivid Technicolor through Gothic. With a new generation gripped by the post modern Gothic world of Twilight’s ‘vegetarian’ vampires, Harry Potter’s spells and El James’s 50 Shades, its meaning has mutated yet again. It’s now time to look back into the deep dark beating heart of...
- 6/27/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The British Council, in partnership with the BFI, is supporting an increased presence for British film at the Shanghai International Film Festival (June 15-23).
As part of a new collaboration between the British Council and Siff, the festival is screening seven contemporary British films: The Angel’s Share, Berberian Sound Studio, Shadow Dancer, Ginger & Rosa, Everyday, Song for Marion [pictured] and Quartet. The majority of the films were backed by the BFI Film Fund.
Also the BFI’s recent Hitchcokc 9 restorations will screen at Siff. This is the first time that all nine films will be presented in China.
Two UK short filmmakers will attend Siff supported by funds from the joint British Council/BFI Short Support Scheme; BAFTA-nominated TheVoorman Problem and The Craftsman will both screen as part of ‘Mobile Siff’, the Festival’s short film forum.
A full delegation from the BFI, led by BFI CEO Amanda Nevill and including Creative Director Heather Stewart and Head...
As part of a new collaboration between the British Council and Siff, the festival is screening seven contemporary British films: The Angel’s Share, Berberian Sound Studio, Shadow Dancer, Ginger & Rosa, Everyday, Song for Marion [pictured] and Quartet. The majority of the films were backed by the BFI Film Fund.
Also the BFI’s recent Hitchcokc 9 restorations will screen at Siff. This is the first time that all nine films will be presented in China.
Two UK short filmmakers will attend Siff supported by funds from the joint British Council/BFI Short Support Scheme; BAFTA-nominated TheVoorman Problem and The Craftsman will both screen as part of ‘Mobile Siff’, the Festival’s short film forum.
A full delegation from the BFI, led by BFI CEO Amanda Nevill and including Creative Director Heather Stewart and Head...
- 6/14/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Player scheduled for end of 2013 with experts and public helping to choose which films will be digitised over next five years
An internet "player", which will give unprecedented access to Britain's film heritage online, whether that's the innovations of the early pioneer Rw Paul or the Mass Observation documentaries of Humphrey Jennings, was announced on Tuesday as part of a five-year plan for British film.
The British Film Institute, which has taken on a lead role for all aspects of film since the abolition of the UK Film Council outlined how it plans to spend over £500m over the next five years.
The organisation's chairman Greg Dyke said that included spending £50m a year of lottery money, which was "not as much as you might think". He promised a less London-centric approach and said the BFI's three priorities would be: education and audiences; film and film-making, and film heritage.
On...
An internet "player", which will give unprecedented access to Britain's film heritage online, whether that's the innovations of the early pioneer Rw Paul or the Mass Observation documentaries of Humphrey Jennings, was announced on Tuesday as part of a five-year plan for British film.
The British Film Institute, which has taken on a lead role for all aspects of film since the abolition of the UK Film Council outlined how it plans to spend over £500m over the next five years.
The organisation's chairman Greg Dyke said that included spending £50m a year of lottery money, which was "not as much as you might think". He promised a less London-centric approach and said the BFI's three priorities would be: education and audiences; film and film-making, and film heritage.
On...
- 10/3/2012
- by Mark Brown
- The Guardian - Film News
Hitchcock has been proposed for the national curriculum. Here are a few life lessons children might learn from watching his films
Never mind that cinema is the most popular storytelling medium of our time, and that if Bill Shakespeare were alive today, he would be writing screenplays, not stage plays; some people still think that, as an artform, it's automatically inferior to literature or theatre. So Heather Stewart, creative director of the BFI, caused a stir last week when she said: "The idea of popular cinema somehow being capable of great art at the same time as being entertaining is still a problem for some people. Shakespeare is on the national curriculum, Hitchcock is not."
One should never underestimate the educational value of films – and not just the worthy literary adaptations or bracing social documents our nannies imagine would be good for us. Adolescent exposure to The Charge of the Light Brigade,...
Never mind that cinema is the most popular storytelling medium of our time, and that if Bill Shakespeare were alive today, he would be writing screenplays, not stage plays; some people still think that, as an artform, it's automatically inferior to literature or theatre. So Heather Stewart, creative director of the BFI, caused a stir last week when she said: "The idea of popular cinema somehow being capable of great art at the same time as being entertaining is still a problem for some people. Shakespeare is on the national curriculum, Hitchcock is not."
One should never underestimate the educational value of films – and not just the worthy literary adaptations or bracing social documents our nannies imagine would be good for us. Adolescent exposure to The Charge of the Light Brigade,...
- 4/23/2012
- by Anne Billson
- The Guardian - Film News
A modest flurry of news has come out of the Cannes Film Festival in the run-up to tomorrow morning's announcement of the lineup for the Official Selection. Nick Vivarelli reports that the festival, running May 16 through 27, will screen the "redux cut" of Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America on May 18. When in premiered at Cannes in 1984, the film ran 229 minutes but was cut down to 139 minutes for its Us release. The full version's been restored by Bologna Cinematheque in collaboration with Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation and Gucci.
Also in Variety, Justin Chang has yet another roundup of likely candidates for the various lineups. And, as Anne Thompson reports, Sony Pictures Classics has picked up North American rights to one of the likeliest of those candidates, Michael Haneke's Amour.
"Bérénice Bejo, co-star of the hit French silent movie The Artist, is to host the Cannes...
Also in Variety, Justin Chang has yet another roundup of likely candidates for the various lineups. And, as Anne Thompson reports, Sony Pictures Classics has picked up North American rights to one of the likeliest of those candidates, Michael Haneke's Amour.
"Bérénice Bejo, co-star of the hit French silent movie The Artist, is to host the Cannes...
- 4/18/2012
- MUBI
Newly restored silent movies included in BFI's biggest ever project, part of London 2012 Festival
Alfred Hitchcock is to be celebrated like never before this summer, with a retrospective of all his surviving films and the premieres of his newly restored silent films – including Blackmail, which will be shown outside the British Museum.
The BFI on Tuesday announced details of its biggest ever project: celebrating the genius of a man who, it said, was as important to modern cinema as Picasso to modern art or Le Corbusier to modern architecture. Heather Stewart, the BFI's creative director, said: "The idea of popular cinema somehow being capable of being great art at the same time as being entertaining is still a problem for some people. Shakespeare is on the national curriculum, Hitchcock is not."
One of the highlights of the season will be the culmination of a three-year project to fully restore nine of the director's silent films.
Alfred Hitchcock is to be celebrated like never before this summer, with a retrospective of all his surviving films and the premieres of his newly restored silent films – including Blackmail, which will be shown outside the British Museum.
The BFI on Tuesday announced details of its biggest ever project: celebrating the genius of a man who, it said, was as important to modern cinema as Picasso to modern art or Le Corbusier to modern architecture. Heather Stewart, the BFI's creative director, said: "The idea of popular cinema somehow being capable of being great art at the same time as being entertaining is still a problem for some people. Shakespeare is on the national curriculum, Hitchcock is not."
One of the highlights of the season will be the culmination of a three-year project to fully restore nine of the director's silent films.
- 4/18/2012
- by Mark Brown
- The Guardian - Film News
At the end of Alfred Hitchcock's long and storied film career he directed a total of 58 films. This summer, London's BFI will feature all of the films, including the premier of nine of his newly restored silent films, the Guardian reports.
From June to October, BFI will show all of Hitchcock's films in "The Genius of Hitchcock: Celebrating Cinema's Master of Suspense."
Hitchcock's horror films are as pervasive in the world of cinema as Shakespeare's plays are to theater. Films like "Psycho" and "Rear Window" were not only a peek inside the psychology of fear, but also that of a innovative and genius filmmaker.
"We would find it very strange if we could not see Shakespeare's early plays performed, or read Dickens's early novels," said Heather Stewart, the BFI's creative director, in an interview with the Guardian. "But we've been quite satisfied as a nation that Hitchcock's early films...
From June to October, BFI will show all of Hitchcock's films in "The Genius of Hitchcock: Celebrating Cinema's Master of Suspense."
Hitchcock's horror films are as pervasive in the world of cinema as Shakespeare's plays are to theater. Films like "Psycho" and "Rear Window" were not only a peek inside the psychology of fear, but also that of a innovative and genius filmmaker.
"We would find it very strange if we could not see Shakespeare's early plays performed, or read Dickens's early novels," said Heather Stewart, the BFI's creative director, in an interview with the Guardian. "But we've been quite satisfied as a nation that Hitchcock's early films...
- 4/17/2012
- by Amber Genuske
- Huffington Post
Voltron The End Short Film. Alex Albrecht‘s Voltron: The End (2011) short film stars Timothy Omundsen and Heather Stewart. Voltron: The End‘s plot synopsis: ”When a man regains consciousness in a Voltron battle lion after an “accident” he has to decide does he live a few more minutes or try to tell the world what happened… the end is only the beginning.”
Voltron! I grew up on this cartoon. Spoiler: I love that the pilot sacrifices himself for a higher cause. I mean he is dead either way but it is still a good dramatic moment. *End Spoiler.
From YouTube:
Better than Transformers 3 without a single [explosion] or SFX and in 3 [minutes].
Very true.
Two things about the Voltron short film Alex Albrecht directed: First, Lion pilots wore helmets so the Red Lion pilot in this short should have no head injure. Second, if I remember correctly, the pilots were...
Voltron! I grew up on this cartoon. Spoiler: I love that the pilot sacrifices himself for a higher cause. I mean he is dead either way but it is still a good dramatic moment. *End Spoiler.
From YouTube:
Better than Transformers 3 without a single [explosion] or SFX and in 3 [minutes].
Very true.
Two things about the Voltron short film Alex Albrecht directed: First, Lion pilots wore helmets so the Red Lion pilot in this short should have no head injure. Second, if I remember correctly, the pilots were...
- 10/14/2011
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
Until the live-action version of the classic superrobot series "Voltron" actually gets going, Voltronites should content themselves with this slick three-and-a-half minute alternative, a fan film directed by Diggnation co-host and World Of Warcraft expert Alex Albrecht. "Voltron: The End" stars Timothy Omundson ("Xena: Warrior Princess," "Psych") as the controller of the Red Lion. Controller Lance comes to in his sentient vehicle (voiced by Heather Stewart), only to realize "the unimaginable has happened." As the Red Lion's charge is the whole universe, this is not good at all.
Watch:
(via IHeartChaos)...
Watch:
(via IHeartChaos)...
- 10/13/2011
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
It's risky, imperfect, expensive – and the stuff of a thousand classics. As Tacita Dean's tribute to celluloid opens, some noted movie-makers give thanks for film
Steven Spielberg Director
My favourite and preferred step between imagination and image is a strip of photochemistry that can be held, twisted, folded, looked at with the naked eye, or projected on to a surface for others to see. It has a scent and it is imperfect. If you get too close to the moving image, it's like impressionist art. And if you stand back, it can be utterly photorealistic. You can watch the grain, which I like to think of as the visible, erratic molecules of a new creative language. After all, this "stuff" of dreams is mankind's most original medium, and dates back to 1895. Today, its years are numbered, but I will remain loyal to this analogue artform until the last lab closes.
Steven Spielberg Director
My favourite and preferred step between imagination and image is a strip of photochemistry that can be held, twisted, folded, looked at with the naked eye, or projected on to a surface for others to see. It has a scent and it is imperfect. If you get too close to the moving image, it's like impressionist art. And if you stand back, it can be utterly photorealistic. You can watch the grain, which I like to think of as the visible, erratic molecules of a new creative language. After all, this "stuff" of dreams is mankind's most original medium, and dates back to 1895. Today, its years are numbered, but I will remain loyal to this analogue artform until the last lab closes.
- 10/11/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
'Thank you, taxpayer,' says BFI as British film heritage preserved on ice in state-of-the-art Master Film Store in Warwickshire
It could make a good movie. A mysterious building on the site of a former nuclear bunker for which there are no signs or even opportunities to see it from the road. Inside will be state-owned artefacts as precious as they are dangerous.
But this is no pitch. This is the nation's new £12m Master Film Store and is considered one of the most important buildings for the preservation of British film ever built.
The store has been built on a nuclear bunker site deep in the Warwickshire countryside and will be capable of holding more than 450,000 cans of the nation's film – everything from Hitchcock to Ealing to Carry On.
Robin Baker, head curator of the BFI national archive, said it was an important moment for Britain's film heritage. "I...
It could make a good movie. A mysterious building on the site of a former nuclear bunker for which there are no signs or even opportunities to see it from the road. Inside will be state-owned artefacts as precious as they are dangerous.
But this is no pitch. This is the nation's new £12m Master Film Store and is considered one of the most important buildings for the preservation of British film ever built.
The store has been built on a nuclear bunker site deep in the Warwickshire countryside and will be capable of holding more than 450,000 cans of the nation's film – everything from Hitchcock to Ealing to Carry On.
Robin Baker, head curator of the BFI national archive, said it was an important moment for Britain's film heritage. "I...
- 8/29/2011
- by Mark Brown
- The Guardian - Film News
New role will give former Sydney film festival director Clare Stewart responsibility for all of the BFI's film exhibition activity
The former director of the Sydney film festival has been appointed to run London's equivalent, as part of a new role as the British Film Institute's head of exhibition. Clare Stewart, who held the post in Australia for five years, will be the inaugural holder of the title, which brings together all of the BFI's film exhibition activity, including responsibility for the cultural and commercial performance of BFI Southbank, BFI festivals and BFI Imax.
Although Sandra Hebron, outgoing artistic director of the London film festival, will oversee this year's event in the autumn, Stewart will take up the post in late August, reporting directly to the creative director of the BFI, Heather Stewart.
Before taking the role in Sydney, Clare Stewart served as the first head of film programmes at...
The former director of the Sydney film festival has been appointed to run London's equivalent, as part of a new role as the British Film Institute's head of exhibition. Clare Stewart, who held the post in Australia for five years, will be the inaugural holder of the title, which brings together all of the BFI's film exhibition activity, including responsibility for the cultural and commercial performance of BFI Southbank, BFI festivals and BFI Imax.
Although Sandra Hebron, outgoing artistic director of the London film festival, will oversee this year's event in the autumn, Stewart will take up the post in late August, reporting directly to the creative director of the BFI, Heather Stewart.
Before taking the role in Sydney, Clare Stewart served as the first head of film programmes at...
- 7/8/2011
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
Hebron's decision follows announcement that artistic director roles at Lff and BFI Southbank are to be merged
Sandra Hebron, the long-standing artistic director of the UK's biggest film event, is to leave the British Film Institute after this year's London film festival.
The decision was reached after "much deliberating and many very enjoyable years", said Hebron, who is also responsible for the London lesbian and gay film festival. The move follows the announcement that the roles of artistic director of the Lff and artistic director of the BFI Southbank are to be merged into one, beneath the new BFI creative director of public programming, Heather Stewart. But while the artistic director of BFI Southbank, Eddie Berg, remains in situ, Hebron has opted not to apply for the combined role.
Hebron, who began her career as an academic before moving on to independent film distribution and running the Manchester Cornerhouse, has...
Sandra Hebron, the long-standing artistic director of the UK's biggest film event, is to leave the British Film Institute after this year's London film festival.
The decision was reached after "much deliberating and many very enjoyable years", said Hebron, who is also responsible for the London lesbian and gay film festival. The move follows the announcement that the roles of artistic director of the Lff and artistic director of the BFI Southbank are to be merged into one, beneath the new BFI creative director of public programming, Heather Stewart. But while the artistic director of BFI Southbank, Eddie Berg, remains in situ, Hebron has opted not to apply for the combined role.
Hebron, who began her career as an academic before moving on to independent film distribution and running the Manchester Cornerhouse, has...
- 7/1/2011
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
Director to curate four night season at Cornish festival with Brunel viaduct providing backdrop to outdoor screenings
Even legendary Hollywood director Martin Scorsese has never had a set like this to play with – a giant screen by a river under the stars, with a backdrop of trains rumbling across a towering viaduct designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Scorsese, who is curating The Director's Cut, a unique four-night film season at the Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall this June, clearly agonised over an opening film that would live up to the grandeur of the setting in 4,000 acres of Humphry Repton-designed parkland.
Trains and clouds of steam were obviously essential ingredients, and he considered both Shanghai Express (1932), with the luminous Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong, or Hitchcock's thriller The Lady Vanishes (1938).
His final choice may surprise devotees of Raging Bull or Gangs of New York: his opener is Murder on the Orient Express...
Even legendary Hollywood director Martin Scorsese has never had a set like this to play with – a giant screen by a river under the stars, with a backdrop of trains rumbling across a towering viaduct designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Scorsese, who is curating The Director's Cut, a unique four-night film season at the Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall this June, clearly agonised over an opening film that would live up to the grandeur of the setting in 4,000 acres of Humphry Repton-designed parkland.
Trains and clouds of steam were obviously essential ingredients, and he considered both Shanghai Express (1932), with the luminous Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong, or Hitchcock's thriller The Lady Vanishes (1938).
His final choice may surprise devotees of Raging Bull or Gangs of New York: his opener is Murder on the Orient Express...
- 3/26/2011
- by Maev Kennedy
- The Guardian - Film News
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