Author: Ben Gummery

BAFTA Cymru, IRIS Prize & Cineworld

We were lucky enough to attend a special screening at Cineworld Cardiff that was a joint venture between BAFTA Cymru and the IRIS Prize.

BAFTA Cymru has a remit to ‘champion film, television and games in Wales’ and their latest achievement has been partnering with Cineworld Cardiff with the launch of a BAFTA Cymru branded bar & screening events at the cinema; this being the first.

IRIS Prize is Cardiff’s international LGBT short film festival. 30 short films are in competition every year for a £30,000 prize fund that allows the winner to make another short film in the UK; this is a great initiative that brings interesting film-makers to make shorts in the UK.

The event began with a special screening of the LGBT short film Followers from writer/director Tim Marshall; the recipient of last years IRIS Prize. Followed by a Q&A with Iris Prize producer Grant Vidgen.

“Lynn, a lonely elderly woman, finds solace in an unlikely vision of Jesus that happens to be on the shorts of a young African man at her swimming class”

This is an insightful yet comedic look at what happens when an gay African male is introduced to a small welsh community…full review to follow.

The film has already been well received internationally; garnering selections for Sundance & SXSW film festivals ahead of the film’s UK première at the BFI Flare LGBT film festival.

The evening finished with a preview screening of the series finale of BBC period drama Wolf Hall ‘a historical drama chronicling the rise of Thomas Cromwell, the son of a humble blacksmith who became King Henry VIII’s chief minister’.

This was incredibly well shot, acted; and perhaps darker than most period drama’s in this gripping finale episode.

This was followed by a very interesting Q&A session with assistant location manager Rebecca Pearson and researcher/graphic designer Josephine Watkinson detailing everything from re-creating manuscripts to the difficulties of shooting and lighting with a large number of candles.

We caught up with BAFTA Cymru director Hannah Raybould about the organization’s activities into 2015.

What does the relationship with Cineworld mean For BAFTA Cymru?

“I think it’s really important for us…because we’re a charity and we need to be showing off the great work that is coming out of Wales so we need a screen to do that and Cineworld have very kindly offered us a monthly slot where we can support the local film-making community (by) having preview screenings and q&a’s. So for them (Cineworld) it feeds into their support of the local industry and we get a home….”

Screening events will also continue however at the Chapter Arts Centre; which is the current favoured venue for film events in Cardiff (i.e. Cardiff Independent Film Festival)

“…this allows us to do bigger things because we’ve got more seats and we’ve got the (BAFTA Cymru) bar…..it’s a great relationship to have”

What about your relationship with the IRIS prize?

“They’re fantastic! BAFTA and IRIS Prize I think have had their relationship for the whole nine years that IRIS Prize has been going. It’s a very good, mutually beneficial relationship. We want to be reaching out to anyone that’s making films at BAFTA Cymru…we want to be celebrating their work but we also want them to join BAFTA; to join the network of members so that we can build up this support structure and we want to be talking to every kind of film-maker there is so for us to be able to work with an organization like IRIS Prize that’s got a fantastic network and a great following and is generally seen to be a really fun organization to be part of….it definitely offers them something but it offers us more I think”

What’s going on with BAFTA Cymru in 2015?

“We’ve got Lots going on to be honest! We’re planning about 50-60 events during the year. We’ve got obviously the regular preview screenings at Chapter and the preview screenings here (Cineworld) which will always have Talent; so will always have a Q&A attached. We’ve just finished our Doctor Who season where we’ve been showing a lot of archive films and we’d like to do more archive screenings so we’re looking a various film-makers we can focus on from Wales. We are hoping to do a few events to celebrate the 150 years of Patagonia (welsh settlers) so there’s a few Patagonian films the we’re going to be screening. We’re going to be doing some more intimate gatherings so we’re going to hopefully going to be using the Cineworld bar and some small Q&A sessions with producers & film-makers where maybe 20-30 can come together and ask a few questions. We’re trying to do as much as we can for students and career starters…who need some support, advice and mentoring. And of course we’ve got the awards! So we’ve got the games awards in June and the main awards in October”

24th February 2015
DVD Review: Zombie Resurrection (2013)
From writing/directing team Andy Phelps & Jake Hawkins comes the British zombie thriller/comedy Zombie Resurrection. Interestingly; this was originally written as a screenplay to sell; but with lack of interest the writers chose to take the project on themselves.

After a short intro scene; we break into an animated title sequence with a booming score…..they are really building it up here. Will it live up to this intro?

This soon establishes itself as an a group survival zombie flick…as the group is travelling to a new encampment in the post zombie apocalypse. However the overtone to begin with is purely comical and farce with accents to match; perhaps taking it’s cues from Shaun of The Dead.

There are some enjoyable characters in this group such as Jim Sweeney as tough Scottish soldier Mac and Danny Brown as Beaumont; who in contrast is a more traditional English gent.

Zombie encounters are minimal with more attention being paid to the dialogue & characters. These are best in the large staged zombie scenes; though I feel at times the score is trying to create excitement that just isn’t there on screen.

DVD Extras
- Trailer
- Making of featurette (32 mins)
  -This is actually quite interesting and extensive; focusing on the story and writing process & character development told from the point of view of the writer/directors. Featuring interviews with the cast & crew. They also detail some of the difficulties faced while making the film & effects.
- Previews of upcoming films from the production company.
3/5 – This is not the next Shaun of the Dead; but watch-able none the less.

The film is out on Blu-Ray and DVD on 23rd March; pre-order available now.
21st February 2015
Score – A Film Music Documentary

Coming soon from production company Epicleff Media and Director/Producer Matt Schrader is the much anticipated film ‘SCORE: A Film Music Documentary’.

So much attention is paid in the media to Actors & Directors; but very little notice is given to the production team behind the scenes that help bring the film together and take very little of the credit for the end result. One such group of un-sung heroes is Composers and this is who this documentary focuses on.

A good or bad score can make or break a film and in some genres is crucial to support the action and/or emotion of the piece. This is no simple task; the composer must shape their score around the director’s vision and work within the constantly evolving nature of a film in production.

“SCORE” promises intimate access to Hollywood’s elite composers, and insight into why film scores give us goosebumps”

Epicleff Media’s thoughtful, engaging documentary will guide viewers through the creative processes of some of the world’s greatest musicians as they create some of the world’s most emotionally expressive music. SCORE highlights the ups and downs of the creative process, a process with as many highs and lows as the winding melodies we’ve come to love.”

Composers already involved include Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman (Batman, Spider-Man, Alice in Wonderland), Tyler Bates (300, Watchmen, Guardians of the Galaxy) and John Debney (Passion of the Christ, Elf, Star Trek: The Next Generation) as well as Marco Beltrami, Christophe Beck, David Newman, Deborah Lurie, Mervyn Warren, Patrick Doyle and Richard M. Sherman with more to be added well as as insight from others in Hollywood.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=f-uQAKlJPvs

The producers are seeking $40,000 to finish the film with a Kickstarter campaign. Please help out if you can and support indie film.

Find out more at www.score-movie.com.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/432767873/score-a-film-music-documentary

15th February 2015
Review: Board To Death (Short – 2015)

From new director Dammie Akinmola and writer/cinematographer Kazi Zaman comes a brand new British noir short; Board to Death. It is produced by a collective called ‘Broken Lens Productions’.

In Board To Death we follow a husband (Joshua Expositio) who is incredibly paranoid and vengeful. He suspects his wife (Victoria Ashford) of being unfaithful and we follow him as he hunts down those who have he feels disrespected his wife and his marriage. Performed mostly as voice-over; Expositio does a great job of creating the seeds of a complex character that is one part villain and one part victim in a larger game that we discover later in the piece.

This alone is enough to maintain interest; supported by some other pop-up characters that range from bar-tenders to priests. The flow is also propelled by a constant techno/ambient score that carries the piece along and builds momentum to the inevitable conclusion.

The noir genre has had somewhat of renaissance in recent years; thanks in part to big-budget film’s such as Sin City (Robert Rodriguez); it is once again stylistically acceptable. A lot of effort has been made in this piece to create this especially with the cinematography and it is very successful in this respect. Visually it maintains a consistent black & white noir look with a generous use of backlight. It also has that dark and menacing feel we have come to expect.

However; I can’t help but feel this is noir for noir’s sake…and it would be nice to see some of the film-makers own creative flair come into play. All that said, this piece shows some promise and I look forward to what this production team will do next.

3/5

13th February 2015
The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story Of Aaron Swartz

The Internet’s Own Boy tells the tale of programming genius and privacy/information activist Aaron Swartz who is known for his involvement in development of web technologies such as RSS & Creative Commons as well as co-founding the website Reddit. Often labelled as a ‘hacktivist’ his political activities and campaigning garnered him many enemies as well as supporters. He was heavily involved in campaigning to stop the SOPA(Stop Online Piracy Act) bill. In the age of the internet these issues are increasingly important and no clearer for most individuals to understand.

This documentary directed by Brian Knappenberger (We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists) explores Aaron’s early work, successes and later activism as well as exploring his personal life and how it was affected in parallel to this.

It features great interviews with prominent people (i.e. Tim Berners Lee – the inventor of the internet) as well as those that knew Aaron personally (some which are very personal/emotional). It is generally easy to follow but it does get involved in some complex programming and legal talk at times. Some graphics are used to help explain this. There is also a lot of archive footage of Aaron himself. I found the narration slightly jarring and distracting from the story at times.

His activities eventually got attention from law enforcement agencies and he had to appear in court. Schwartz sadly took his own life on January 11th 2014 after the pressure of his court case became too much.

4/5 – An insightful look into one individuals struggle with government information policy that has much wider implications.

The film is released on DVD in the UK on 16th March, pre-order available now.

9th February 2015