Tag: Raindance

Our dirty questions to Brittany Snow

Posted on by victorfraga

Brittany Snow has been acting since she was a child, appearing in the US soap opera Guiding Light and episodic dramas including Seaquest DSV and From the Earth to the Moon. Her transition behind the camera, came first with the 2019 short film Milkshake. Her feature debut Parachute (2023), co-written with Becca Gleason is a thoughtful film that tackles heavy issues of eating disorders and mental health.

The New York City set story takes place over seven years, and begins with Riley (Courtney Eaton), sitting outside an eating disorder clinic. Her best friend Casey (Francesca Reale) picks her up and persuades her to go out that night to a karaoke bar, where she meets stranger, Ethan (Thomas Mann). The attraction is immediate, but Riley explains that she shouldn’t enter into a relationship during her first twelve months of recovery. An awkward encounter back at her apartment temporarily extinguishes their lust. However, unable to deny the attraction for long, they decide against a romantic relationship only after sleeping together.
The film’s issues are not thematic concepts, but entry points into a conversation about the difficulty of loving ourselves and being comfortable in our own company, the perils of co-dependency and how we help people in the most difficult of circumstances.

Parachute premieres at the 31st edition of Raindance!

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Paul Risker – Parachute is your debut feature. How did the expectations compare to the realities of the experience, and has it always been your ambition to direct?

Brittany Snow – It wasn’t my ambition to direct. It seemed too daunting and I was insecure about not ever going to a film school. I think I was surprised how much I knew through my experiences as an actor and how much I needed to trust my intuition. Sometimes it seemed a little witchy how I knew things without really understanding how. During the pandemic, I put myself through mini film school and read, watched and listened to endless research on all things directing. I also asked a lot of questions and relied on people who were gifted at their jobs.

PR – Could you please tell us about the biggest challenges that an established actor has to overcome in order to become a director?

BS – I’m not sure if I’m too established in that way but personally, my biggest hurdle was people assuming I couldn’t do it. Perhaps as a woman having grown up as a kid actor and perhaps because of the films I’ve been in, it fuelled me to be better and learn more. I really love proving people wrong.

PR – What compelled you to believe in this film and decide to tell this story at this particular point in time?

BS – I always knew I wanted to tell this story. I felt there was a lack of films about living with addiction instead of focusing on the addiction itself. I find it more interesting to see how people are trying to love, fail, do common tasks, navigate friendships and live, not just seeing the interior of a rehab. Many people regard eating disorders and body dysmorphia as something vain or self-induced and I tried to show how all addictions are connected; people just use different drugs of choice. I felt this film could be a way for someone to feel less alone in their struggle.

PR – Is Parachute a political film?

BS – It’s not political but it is hopefully showing a societal norm that we perhaps need to question. Today, validation is intrinsically tied to social media and comparison. It’s more of an epidemic than I think people realise and has a hugely significant impact on addiction, mental health and depression. Obviously, I don’t have the answers but I think we need to start asking the questions.

PR – How do you use cinematography and editing in order to communicate the point-of-view of your character?

BS – It was important for me to always be honest. Thankfully, this is my own experience as well, so I decided to depict how I saw things in my own head. I hoped that my honesty of how I perceived my reality, translated in a way which could feel universal. The cinematography was done in a very specific way. I wanted the story to remain timeless and romantic. I wanted the audience to fall in love with how beautiful these little moments were and how relatable they seemed, spanning different time periods, even if they are painful and dealing with a subject some might not understand. The editing was so much fun to play with and we worked for a long time to make sure the non- linear storyline was used in a way to show someone’s interpretation of memories and not just as a “cool” device.

PR – The camera respects your character’s privacy and dignity, even in moments of severe self-loathing. Do you think that conveys the private hell that she’s forced to endure, and the limitations of external support networks?

BS – That was very intentional. My first priority was to not trigger anyone who had an ED or was going through any addiction currently. When you have an eating disorder you don’t always view your body as a body, you see darkness. I wanted the camera to show the anatomy of an addiction and not the beauty. Courtney Eaton is one of the most stunning human beings I’ve ever seen but we worked together to make sure we didn’t glamorize her struggle and she graciously let me really see her in the most human way.

PR – The film effectively peers beneath body image issues, to explore its psychological and emotional causes, but not in an intellectual or preachy way. Your thoughts?

BS – Thank you. That was my goal. I would say to my producers all the time, we cannot make this movie or it’s message didactic in any way. I am not an expert nor do I claim to be. Also, I do not think this disease can be summed up in one movie. Personally, I relate and find connection in things when it’s a shared experience and not a prescriptive lesson.

PR – Cinema is often described as an empathy machine,. Could you discuss the role art plays in creating conversations about, and representations of mental health and body image issues?

BS – I think it’s the most important medium we have. It’s hard to encapsulate someone’s mental health experience by using words alone but I think people can understand and relate to it through a feeling. (As cheesy as that sounds.) Art is the sinking into and the knowingness of that shared feeling. The more people relate, the more people share their stories and the more people we can help feel not as alone.

PR – Is it correct to say that Parachute is preoccupied with the difficulty of loving ourselves and being comfortable in our own company?

BS – Definitely. Thank you for picking up on that. A huge theme I wanted to portray was our inability as humans to be in the present moment. Parachute not only describes Ethan as a crutch to help her fall, but it also describes all the “easy buttons” people use to get out of “feeling” and being with ourselves. (Social media, food, people, podcasts, people pleasing, snark etc) I wanted this movie to shed some light on how we are all doing these things in one way or another and we can help each other by recognizing that.

PR – Parachute comments on body image – women are bombarded and programmed with expectations of how they should look, and how they should care for their appearance, in ways that men aren’t. Does this need changing, and how?

BS – That is a hard question because I do think it needs changing but it is so interwoven into culture and societal norms that I feel overwhelmed with how to suggest it changing. I find it refreshing that this generation coming up now is seeing through the curtain of “perfection” and laughing at it in a way. I think it takes people becoming vulnerable and accepting of themselves. I am victim to this as much as the next person but I try to give myself grace.

PR – Parachute‘s tension derives from the conflict between Riley’s public and private lives, that are in conflict with one another. Was this intentional, and what message are you trying to get across?

BS – It definitely was my intention. There’s a great quote that says, “people have their public life, their private life and then, they have their secret life.” I wanted to be brave enough to show someone’s secret life. The things we are all trying to hide but doing to merely get by. I think one of the great things about Riley is her drive to get better. She’s actively trying to be a good person it’s just very, very difficult. I remember telling Courtney to watch The Worst Person in the World (Joachim Trier, 2021) as many times as she could because there was such beauty in the main character’s relentless brazen quest to find herself. (Even when seemingly selfish and difficult).

PR – A British filmmaker called Carol Morley once told me: “You take it [a film] 90% of the way, and it is the audience that finishes it. So the audience by bringing themselves: their experiences, opinions and everything else to a film is what completes it.” Would you agree that there is a transfer of ownership?

BS – I would hope so. Everything is subjective. It’s been so lovely to hear different people’s perspectives on what they related to with the film.

PR – Is filmmaking transformative, and where/how do you change as a person?

BS – This has ultimately changed me more than anything I’ve ever done. I see myself in a new way and I have a new confidence and a knowing that I didn’t have before. Filmmaking to me is curiosity. I love being curious and asking as many questions about a subject or an idea as I can. I’m very lucky I get to do this now and ask even more questions.

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The two images above are stills from Parachute. Britanny is pictured at the top of the article (image by Lara Jade)

Parachute premieres at the 31st edition of Raindance!

Raindance: “younger” and more audacious than ever?

Posted on by victorfraga

Now on its 31st edition, and with a history of three decades showcasing “the best of Independent Cinema at the heart of London”, Raindance has decided to return to its roots, with an almost exclusive focus on debutant filmmakers. Seventy-five percent of movies showcased this year are made by first-time directors, the figure reaching nearly 90% once second and third features are added. The Festival describes itself as a place to “discover and be discovered”.

The action takes place from October 25th to November 4th. The Central London venues include the Vue Piccadilly, Curzon Soho, Curzon Mayfair and the Garden Cinema, with The House of Raindance industry hub and the Raindance Immersive VR Showcase hosted this year at Wonderville on Haymarket (near Piccadilly Circus). Gala projections and parties take place at the glamorous Waldorf Hilton, in Covent Garden. Raindance founder Elliot Grove explains: “We are wholeheartedly back in London’s West End, the beating heart of cinema in the UK. And we will continue to champion new filmmakers and the edgy, under-the-radar films that we at Raindance love so much”. Further screenings will be held at Genesis Cinema, in East London

We asked Raindance’s Artistic Directors Malaika Bova and Martyna Szmytkowska more about their decision to focus on new directors, how this affected the structure of their programme, and whether being a first-time filmmaker really makes you more prone to risk-taking.

You can book your tickets for Raindance and find out more by clicking here.

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DMovies – Raindance has decided to focus almost exclusively on first and second features this year, in line with your “discover and be discovered” proposition. How did this decision come about?

Malaika Bova – “When we were first appointed Artistic Directors [last year] we thought long and hard about Raindance’s identity but also about its unique selling point within the world of UK festivals and the wider industry. We realised we were stepping into a precious legacy of championing not only indie but also new voices in filmmaking, and we decided to go back to our roots and focus our research on bringing to light first-time films and filmmakers. There’s a wealth of debuts out there looking for a place to shine. And sometimes more prestigious festivals are not exactly the right place for them to be on the forefront of the line-up. We are.

DM – And how does that affect the breadth and the depth of your programme?

Martyna Szmytkowska – Once we decided what the Raindance platform was about, it was surprisingly easy to populate it with the right content. We put ourselves in a position to research and find debuts before they manage to catch the industry attention, or if they have it already we offer our support to promote them. So in fact we have been spoilt for choice and had to make hard decisions to create a coherent programme, which we feel is stronger and has more identity as a final result. Out of 37 feature films we have 29 first and two second features. We managed to consciously build almost an entire programme around the “discover and be discovered” motto, including the Opening Night film, a debut feature by Jack Huston, Day of the Fight. Additionally we made a very compact selection to ensure each individual first-time filmmaker was properly taken care of and supported by the whole team.

DM – The focus on nascent director isn’t something entirely new, but instead a “return to the roots”. Could you please tell us more about that?

MB – We are definitely returning to the roots with the idea of championing first-time filmmakers but this time we wanted it to be crystal clear. So we have come up with a to-the-bone programme structure that emphasises our attention to new voices. We have devised four simple competitive sections that highlight our main objectives: Best UK Features, as we are a UK festival with a large network of home-grown filmmakers; Best Documentary Features as we always want to follow the current topics and because many first time filmmakers venture into filmmaking through documentaries; Best International Features because it allows us to bring to the London audience a more diverse and multicultural offering; and last but definitely not least the Discovery Award for the first time filmmakers with a strong vision, whose films have already travelled or we believe will be picked up by the festival circuit.

DM – Does “nascent” mean “audacious”? In other words, do debutant directors tend to take more risks than established ones?

MS – We believe most times they do. Before they enter the market circuit they have more to prove and less to lose and therefore are inclined to make bolder choices. But it is also very important for us that these choices are relevant for an audience and do communicate something to viewers. That they have a strong story that resonates with many even if their tools of expression may be unconventional and controversial. So, yes, we like audacious. Like Mountain Onion a Biennale College project by Eldar Shibanov, a Wes Anderson-esque film from Kazakhstan or Only The Good Survive by Dutch Southern, a genre-bending gory horror comedy.

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The programme

Opening Gala

Day of the Fight (Jack Huston):

UK Premiere. Debut feature. Award-winning British actor Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire, American Hustle, House of Gucci) makes his directorial debut with this story of a once-renowned boxer who takes a redemptive journey through his past and present, on the day of his first fight since he left prison. This formidable drama stars Michael Pitt alongside a cast including Ron Perlman, Joe Pesci, and a cameo from Steve Buscemi. Director Jack Huston will take part in a post-screening Q&A, followed by a gala opening party at the Waldorf Hilton.

Closing Gala

Un Amor (dir Isabel Coixet):

Based on Sara Mesa’s bestselling novel, award-winning actress Laia Costa (nominated for the 2017 BAFTA EE Rising Star award for Victoria) plays a young woman who escapes her stressful life in the city and relocates to rural Spain. When she accepts a disturbing sexual proposal, it gives rise to an all-consuming and obsessive passion. Nominated for the Golden Seashell at San Sebastián Film Festival, it’s a striking account of existential doubt and the transformative power of carnal desire.

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Special guest focus: Catalonia

Raindance is honoured to welcome Catalonia as the special guest this year. Closing gala Un Amor is presented as part of this special focus in partnership with Catalan Films, along with the UK Premieres of Upon Entry, Tender Metalheads and La Singla (more details below). A dedicated Shorts Programme will further showcase the vision, ambition, and vibrancy of Catalan filmmakers. Special sessions during Raindance’s Industry Programme will also champion Catalonia’s film industry.

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In Competition: Discovery

1. Parachute (Britanny Snow)

The directorial debut by actress Brittany Snow won her the Thunderbird Rising award at SXSW. Lead actress Courtney Eaton also picked up a prize at SXSW for her powerful performance as a young woman with an eating disorder and addiction issues.

2. All the Colours of the World are Between Black and White (Babatunde Apalowo):

Winner of the Best Feature Teddy at Berlin, it portrays two men who develop a deep affection for each other when they first meet in Lagos – but in a society which considers homosexuality taboo, they feel the pressure of social norms.

3. Upon Entry (Alejandro Rojas, Sebastián Vasquez):

Acclaimed at festivals including Málaga and Tallinn, it follows a young couple as they move from Spain to the United States, only to face an unpleasant inspection and gruelling interrogation when they enter New York airport’s immigration area.

Read our exclusive review of Upon Entry here. This pieces was written during the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (where the movie world premiered last November).

5. Only the Good Survive (Dutch Southern):

Multi-award-winning actress Sidney Flanigan plays a young woman who, after a heist gone wrong results in the deaths of three of her friends, finds herself in the custody of the small town sheriff in this impressive horror/thriller.

6. Mountain Onion (Eldar Shibanov):

This Venice Film Festival prize-winner follows an 11-year-old boy who finds his mother with a truck driver, and so he travels from Kazakhstan to China to find what he believes is the only thing that can help his father save the situation and become a strong man: Gold Viagra.

7. Lost Soulz (Katherine Propper):

A young rapper leaves everything behind and embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery, music, and friendship in this slow-burning Texas-bound road btrip movie.

8. Storm (Erika Calmeyer):

After her son drowns in an accident, a mother tries to restart her and her daughter’s life in this tough and powerful drama – only for rumours to surface that the daughter pushed her brother into the water.

9. The Land Within (Fisnik Maxville):

This Kosovan-Swiss production was the Best First Feature winner at Tallinn. It follows an adopted boy living in Switzerland who returns to his native Kosovo at the request of his cousin, to help identify the exhumed bodies from a mass grave in their childhood village. Lead actress Luàna Bajrami won the Raindance 2021“Best Director award for her directorial debut The Hill Where Lionesses Roar.

Read our review of The Land Within, also originally written in Tallinn.

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In Competition – International

1. All the Silence (Diego del Rio):

An actress and sign language teacher learns that she is soon to become deaf. Despite having deaf parents, deaf friends, and a deaf girlfriend, she refuses to accept a world without sound.

2. Blood for Dust (Rob Balckurst):

With a cast including Kit Harington, Josh Lucas and Stephen Dorff, it tells of a struggling travelling salesman who finds himself on a dangerous path after a chance encounter with a former colleague.

3. Clashing Differences (Merle Grimme):

Winner of the Young German Cinema award at Munich Film Festival, the all-female cast tell the story of a white feminist organisation who, in a clumsy attempt at diversity, invite a group of queer and BIPOC women to participate in their conference.

Read our exclusive review of Clashing Differences, written during the Munich Film Festival.

4. Tender Metalheads (Joan Tomas):

A Catalonian animated tale of two teenage boys in 1990s Barcelona who take refuge in their friendship and heavy music, escaping the grey world in which they live.

5. Palimpsest (Hanna Västinsalo):

From the Venice Film Fest Biennale Cinema College, this Benjamin Button-esque sci-fi drama follows two elderly roommates who are selected for a medical trial that makes them younger, giving them a second chance at life while retaining the memories of their past life.

6. Pett Kata Shaw (Nuhash Humayun):

Having directed the multi-Oscar® qualifying horror short Moshari (2022), this self-taught filmmaker brings more ancient South Asian folklores to life in this supernatural anthology film – perfect viewing for Halloween.

7. Sweet Sixteen (Alexa-Jeanne Dubé):

Adapted from the late Suzie Bastien’s 2018 play, eight 16-year-old girls unveil themselves through eight bittersweet monologues.

8. White Plastic Sky (Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó):

This bold and visually striking animated film follows a young couple living in a barren, post-apocalyptic Budapest in the year 2123, struggling for food and life as they survive along with the rest of humanity beneath a huge white dome.

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In Competition: Documentaries

1. Satan Wants You (Steven J. Adams, Sean Horlor):

The provocative story of how the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s was ignited by Michelle Remembers, a bestselling memoir co-written by a psychiatrist and his patient, which made lurid claims about Satanic ritual abuse.

2. Dusty & Stones (Jesse Rudoy):

This remarkable debut intimately chronicles the ride of Gazi “Dusty” Simelane and Linda “Stones” Msibi, two struggling country music singers from Swaziland who journey to Texas hoping for their big break.

3. Sex with Sue (Lisa Rideout):

Winner of Best Documentary at the Canadian Screen Awards 2023, it chronicles the life of nurse-turned-sex-educator Sue Johanson, whose popular radio and TV programmes offered sex education from a pleasure-driven, feminist perspective.

4. La Singla (Paloma Zapata):

Romani flamenco dancer Antoñita Singla lost her hearing just days after her birth, so learned to dance by watching her mother clapping. In the 1960s she was considered “the best flamenco dancer in the world” – but ironically, she was more famous internationally than in Spain. This is her fascinating life story.

5. We are Guardians (Chelsea Green, Rob Grobman, Edivan Guajajara):

Produced by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions, this is a poignant portrayal of a group of native people who endeavour to save what is left of the Brazilian Amazon.

6. Another Body (Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn):

Winner of the Special Jury Award at SXSW, it documents a college student’s search for justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself circulating online.

7. Aurora’s Sunrise (Inna Sahakyan):

Combining archive footage with animation to tell the true story of a teenage refugee turned Hollywood star: 14-year-old Aurora lost everything during the Armenian Genocide, but after fleeing to New York her story became a media sensation, leading to a starring role as herself in the 1919 film Auction of Souls (Oscar Apfel).

This is our verdict of Aurora’s Sunrise, which premiered last November at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

8. Omar and Cedric (Nicolas Jack Davies):

Having worked with the likes of Coldplay, Elbow, PJ Harvey and Mumford & Sons, this Grammy-nominated director charts the intimate, artistic and personal relationship between Omar Rodriguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala of American progressive rock band The Mars Volta.

9. The Books He Didn’t Burn (Claus Bredenbrock & Jascha Hannover):

Narrated by Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons, this documentary takes an eye-opening look at history by examining the remains of Adolf Hitler’s private library.

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In Competition: UK

1. Long Distance Swimmer (Charly Wai Feldman, UK):

When former pro swimmers Sara Mardini and her sister Yusra arrived in Germany from war-torn Syria, they were Europe’s most celebrated refugees. Now Sara is facing a 20-year prison sentence for volunteering with a Greek NGO, helping other refugees. Screening in association with Migration Matters Festival.

2. Sisters Interrupted (Caroline Sharp):

Highlighting the medical injustices that people face, this documentary follows two sisters as they both battle forms of epilepsy and together fight for access to a treatment that could save both their lives.

3. Red Herring (Kit Vincent):

Tackling themes of mental health, love and society, a filmmaker enlists his family on an intimate and darkly humorous journey to help them come to terms with his terminal illness.

4. Embers (Christian Cooke):

The first feature by British actor Christian Cooke, he also stars alongside a cast including Ruth Bradley (Humans, Ted Lasso) in this story of a sexual surrogate who is employed to help a high-security psychiatric patient overcome his intimacy issues so he can make parole.

5. Silent Roar (Johnny Barrington):

Chosen to open this year’s Edinburgh Film Festival, this charming coming-of-age drama follows a young surfer on the Isle of Lewis as he deals with unresolved grief following his father’s death.

6. The Portrait (Simon Ross):

European Premiere. Debut feature. After her husband is devastated by a tragic accident, a devoted wife becomes obsessed with a mysterious portrait that resembles how he once was. This eerie thriller stars Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Ryan Kwanten and Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen.

7. Catching Dust (Stuart Gatt):

Erin Moriaty and Jai Courtney play a woman and her criminal husband who are hiding out in Texas, when a couple from New York suddenly arrive resulting in dangerous consequences.

8. Warhol (Adam Ethan Crow):

The lives of a controversial America shock jock, a desperate deaf girl, a homeless ex-soldier, and a scared young gang member intertwine in this tale of choice, consequence, and redemption.

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Off-Competition:

1. Restore Point (Robert Hloz):

Special Critics Pick selected by Variety’s Guy Lodge. Set in 2038, a female detective investigates the case of a murdered couple when a restoration team is able to bring one of them back to life.

2.To be confirmed:

Special Critics Pick selected by Screen International’s Finn Halligan.

3. Typist, Artist, Pirate, King (Carol Morley):

Kelly Macdonald and Monica Dolan play two women whose friendship grows as they hit the road in an electric car looking for endings and reconciliation. Co-starring Gina McKee.

Read our review of Typist Artist Pirate King here, written in Tallinn.

You can book your tickets for Raindance and find out more by clicking here.

The images on this article are stills from Mountain Onion, Only the Good Survive, Aurora’s Sunrise, Clashing Differences, and Typist, Artist, Pirate, King (top to bottom).

10 dirty movies from the Raindance Film Festival

Posted on by victorfraga

The UK’s favourite indie films festival returns on October 27th for 10 days. The action takes place in seven cinemas across the British capital (Curzon Hoxton, Curzon Soho, Curzon Mayfair, Genesis Cinema, Regent Street Cinema, Bertha DocHouse) and also online (in fact, the event pioneered online screenings between between 2006 and 2011).

Below are 10 dirty films carefully selected and analysed by our writers exclusively for you. They are a combination of movies we viewed earlier in the year, and some reviewed specifically for Raindance. Most importantly: they are dirty movies that will hit you like a ton of bricks. They are listed alphabetically. Click on the film title in order to accede to each individual review.

Book your tickets for Raindance now. And if you are an industry professional, grab now your House of Raindance Pass, network and meet our collaborators, join the Industry Forum and much more.

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1. All Sorts (J. Rick Castaneda):

This bumbling, lo-fi take on Office Space (Mike Judge, 1999), turns up this fantastic sensibility to a truly absurd degree. In Diego’s (Eli Vargas) job interview for the mysterious company Data-Mart, his erratic boss-to-be Vasquez (Luis Deveze) touts the power of typists — saying that no amount of monkeys could ever compose anything approaching a sonnet. Despite only being able to type over 50 words per minute, Diego is hired. The staffing shortage is real. The timing of the film is apt, coming at a moment when people are debating whether or not we need to actually be in an office to do our work.

All Sorts

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2. Beans (Tracey Deer):

Tekehentahkhwa (Kiawentiio) prefers the nickname Beans to her actual birth name. She is on the cusp of adolescence, and grappling with decision whether to leave the Mohawk reserve in order to further her education. Suddenly, she is engulfed by an armed stand-off between the indigenous people and the neighbouring white communities over land control. The incident, which became known as the Oka crisis, eventually led to the reserve being isolated and vilified. An arduous fight for survival ensued.

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3. Best Sellers (Lina Roessler):

Michael Caine is a cranky writer on a tour from hell, in Raindance’s opening film. Lucy Stanbridge (Aubrey Plaza) is desperate for a bestseller. Without one, she’ll be forced to sell the publishing house she inherited from her father. When she discovers an old contract that says the reclusive one time author Harris Shaw (Caine) owes her a book, Lucy sees an opportunity to hold onto her father’s legacy. Dragged along reluctantly on a book tour to promote his new novel, the first in more than 40 years, she struggles to prevent Harris’s antisocial outbursts going viral. As the two grow closer, secrets threaten their newfound relationship.

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4. Father of Flies (Ben Charles Edwards):

Richard (the late Nicholas Tucci) mutters to himself “broomstick and everything”, as his car, leaving the driveway, passes neighbour Mrs Start (Colleen Heidemann) clearing snow from the driveway with her brush. It is easy to see how this old woman, with her shock of upright grey hair, her single working eye, her strange mannerisms and indeed her interest in the occult, might be regarded as a witch, but Richard’s hearing-impaired young son Michael (Keaton Tetlow) rather likes her, even if, like many an artistic, imaginative boy of his age, he is scared of near everything else.

The darkness outside their snowbound house in the woods, the lightning from storms, the monster that may be lurking under or even on the bed – all these terrify little Michael, whose anxious point-of-view largely dominates Ben Charles Edwards’s Father of Flies.

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5. Hating Peter Tatchell (Christopher Amos):

The “most hated man in Britain” is never afraid to be the first on the frontline in struggle for LGBT+ justice and equality. Stephen Fry succinctly describes Britain most (in)famous gay activist: “Peter is a performance artist. He deserves an award for his extraordinary contribution to the lives of those who never heard of him”. The 90-minute documentary that follows, narrated by Ian McKellen and exec produced by Elton John and and his husband David Furnish, provides irrefutable evidence that the English actor is indeed right.

Peter Tatchell was born in Australia in a neopentecostal family, which he describes as “close to fundamentalism”. His stepfather was particularly controlling and homophobic. He feared his parents would report him to the police, at a time when homosexuality was a crime punishable with imprisonment. Peter moved to Britain both because of his family and because he wanted to dodge the compulsory military service, which was at odds with his strong anti-war views. He joined the Gay Liberation Front within just days of arriving in London.

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6. Hostile (Sonita Gale):

Whatever supposedly makes Britain “great” — a moniker blasted upon countless placards when you arrive into a port of entry — it is not our approach to our migrant population, which must be one of the cruellest on the planet. Hostile, set during the boiling point of the coronavirus pandemic, shows how successive governments are slowing destroying British hospitality from the inside, creating an environment of fear and loathing amongst its most valued citizens.

Combining testimony — featuring immigration experts and Labour politicians — with stories from the ground, Hostile is a heartfelt and bitter exploration of policies that are downright evil. It does a fine job of explaining the context of empire and how it relates to crises ranging from the EU referendum to the Windrush scandal.

Hostile

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7. Listen (Ana Rocha de Sousa):

Portuguese couple in London engage in a battle against social services in order to save their three children from forced adoption, in this very Loachian family drama. Bela and (Lucia Moniz) and Jota (Ruben Garcia) live somewhere in suburban London with their three children, aged between 12 months and 12 years. The family struggles in order to make ends meet, with Bela unable to buy a new hearing aid for her daughter, and having to shoplift for home essentials. Bela’s mother in Portugal is unable to wire the money for her granddaughter’s device, instead suggesting that they request support from social services. Butthose who were intended to help the hapless family soon turn out to be their worse enemies. Listen won two major prizes last it at the Venice International Film Festival.

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8. Miguel’s War (Eliane Raheb):

In this probing confessional, a frightened Lebanese gay man makes peace with his past – documentary premieres at Raindance. Although he was best known for his comedies, Oscar Wilde’s most honest came in the form of a letter, later published under the title De Profundis. Fuelled by the betrayal of his loved ones and his family, Wilde committed many of his most unvarnished thoughts onto paper as a way of exorcising any demons that were still swirling in his brain. Fast forward one hundred years, and another gay man uses this same method to move on from his past failings. What makes Miguel’s War so astonishing to watch is its unflinching resolve to allow Miguel Jeleaty the chance to tell his story without shame or embarrassment. The son of a strict Catholic father, Jeleaty watched streets demolished during the Lebanese War. Like many gay men growing up in a war zone, Jeleaty had no one to trust, and couldn’t turn to the support of his Syrian mother. We don’t often get to see someone speak so nakedly about their lives, and Jeleaty’s story is extraordinarily brave to watch.

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9. The Noise of Engines (Philippe Gregoire):

There are films that feel like they’re telling a story, then there are those that feel like acts of creative expression. Philippe Grégoire’s Canadian drama, The Noise of Engines emphasises the latter. It liberates itself from storytelling, from inside the narrative structure, and employs an art house aesthetic to boldly express itself. Alexandre (Robert Naylor), a fire arms instructor at the Canadian customs training facility returns to his hometown in Quebec after being placed on compulsory leave. When sexually explicit drawings that include him begin to appear around town, the police suspect that he’s responsible. Meanwhile, he strikes up a friendship with a female drag racer.

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10. Second Thoughts (Zora Rux):

A failed marriage proposal stunt unleashes a number of unexpected events on a young German couple, in this exquisite debut feature. It’s his younger brother’s wedding, and Julian has an announcement: love is such a wonderful thing, something he sees every time he looks at his girlfriend Marie, with whom everything is fun, with whom everything makes sense. As guests ready their phones, taking her hands in his, Julian proposes to Marie. *Hushed gasps* Aww, how romantic! No, nein, nicht, wrong: public proposals are never good. Add this scene to the pile of evidence for that conclusion.

Second Thoughts is also pictured at the top of this article.

Book your tickets for Raindance now.

Best Sellers

Posted on by Paul Risker

Just as a writer weaves a tale of fiction, so do people construct the narrative of their lives. We take licence with and embellish the truth, or as the cantankerous writer of Best Sellers would say, it’s “bullshite.” We’re all storytellers at heart, and director Lina Roessler and writer Anthony Grieco’s Canadian comedy drama is humorous and warm, a thoughtful reflection of the lies we tell one another.

Lucy Stanbridge (Aubrey Plaza) is desperate for a bestseller. Without one, she’ll be forced to sell the publishing house she inherited from her father. When she discovers an old contract that says the reclusive one time author Harris Shaw (Michael Caine) owes her a book, Lucy sees an opportunity to hold onto her father’s legacy. Dragged along reluctantly on a book tour to promote his new novel, the first in more than 40 years, she struggles to prevent Harris’s antisocial outbursts going viral. As the two grow closer, secrets threaten their newfound relationship.

The appeal of Best Sellers is the journey we watch these two characters go on, who discover they have more in common than they first know. Each are weighed down by their insecurities, but unlike Lucy who wears hers on her sleeve, Harris guards his vulnerability.

From a mutually beneficial transactional relationship, their financial motivation is matched with a genuine mutual respect that brings with it surprising choices. If the story has a message, it’s that a warmth can lie beneath one’s abrasive personality, which may just be a defence mechanism against one’s vulnerabilities. The question is whether we will take the time to peer deeper into a person’s soul to discover who they are? Or as the old saying goes, never judge a book by its cover.

Best Sellers effuses a good-natured spirit in part because of Harris’ lewd personality. When Roessler and Grieco finally decide to show his gentler side, it carries more emotional weight, but the lewd humour also guards against the story becoming too saccharine or sentimental. In the tough world of publishing where success is hard-fought, the story airs on the side of optimism, not realism. It’s offset with darker shades of tragedy and personal anxiety that gives it the genuine vibe of a story that hasn’t been conceived, so much as characters encountered.

If so much of our lives are spent telling stories or constructing narratives, what does this say about the way creatives are represented in stories? Are they has habitually cantankerous as we make out, or is it exaggerating the artistic temperament for entertainment purposes? Thinking about Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas) in Wonder Boys (Hanson, 2000), the writer creates a storm in a tea cup, and Harris is a violent storm that spills over the top and onto the saucer. Stories need their characters to be less than perfect, to confront some personal or professional struggle. Hence, stories lean with a prejudice towards the more devilish side of the writer, and yet, they still manage to show their better natures.

Best Sellers opens the Raindance Independent Film Festival on Wednesday, October 27th

The Raindance Kid speaks up!

Posted on by victorfraga
Image by Bertie Watson

Canadian-born and London based film producer Elliot Grove founded what became the country’s largest and most diverse indie film festival nearly 30 years ago. Raindance started in 1992, initially teaching film courses such as cinematography, editing, directing and producing. The initiative quickly morphed into a much bigger beast, encompassing teaching, the film festival, industry events and much more.

Elegant and eloquent, suit-clad and with his dark shades permanently attached to his face, Elliot opens up and reveals the biggest challenge in putting together such a mammoth event for nearly three decades, the challenges and the perks of an online and a hybrid festival, where most of the film submissions come from and also what the future brings.

The 29th Raindance Film Festival takes place between October 27th and November 6th. Click here in order to check the programme and buy your tickets now (for both online and in-person screenings).

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Victor Fraga – You founded the Raindance Film Festival in 1992. Your baby is now nearly 30 years old. What would you have done differently if you started the Festival now?

Elliot Grove – Starting over I wish I knew what I do now! I was a complete novice with only a love of independent film. It’s embarrassing now to think of all the painful lessons I learned. I think the main lesson is, and still is: how do you market a behemoth that is Raindance – full of independent shorts, features and documentaries made by people that no-one has heard of?!

VF – Raindance 2020 was held entirely online. How did audiences engage with such format? And what lessons did you learn?

EG – The pandemic brought forward the acceptance of the streamers. In fact our 2020 online audience figures soared over 500% from the previous year’s in-person screenings. Engaging online requires a different marketing approach. And the software one chooses needs to carefully consider the customer’s viewing experience, to ensure lots of bolt-ons such as Q&As.

VF – Raindance invites audiences to see “the best of Independent Cinema at the heart of London”. What is it that makes a film truly independent in the post-pandemic world?

EG – All films are “dependent”. Dependent on finance, talent, cast and crew. By “Independent” film we mean film made outside the traditional film industry. These are the films about the downtrodden, the tales of social injustice and the stores of whistle-blowers. Independent films are made without the censorship pressures of the film industry. They are deeply passionate and personal stories about topics that truly matter. And they are inspiring and entertaining.

VF – Raindance 2021 has 11 strands, including two brand new ones created in response to the pandemic. Could you please tell us a little bit how these were created?

EG – Boomerang is a strand we created to host the quirky and usual stories. Comedy if you like. And God knows we need some light relief from these terribly troubled times.

The Icons strand tributes heroes from the past. There is always something we can learn from those who have trod the narrow path of creativity before us.

VF – Which countries or regions outside the UK tend to attract most film submissions?

EG – I think that there is something about Raindance in London that attracts filmmakers from everywhere. Traditionally, the top non-UK countries that submit are: USA, Australia, Canada and France.

VF – Is it correct to say that Raindance is not a genre film festival, and that embraces of types of filmmaking, regardless of language and content?

EG – There are three things that a Raindance film must have, regardless of genre.

It has to be extreme – and by that, I mean an extreme narrative. Secondly it needs to demonstrate extreme filmmaking ability – whether shot on a tuppence, made in a war zone or by utilising new technology. And thirdly, for a film to show at Raindance, it needs to be extremely entertaining – by that I mean: it needs to tell a story.

VF – Raindance is hybrid this year, remaining loyal to viewers outside London who cannot attend movie theatres in person. Is this the way into the future? Do you plan to retain, or perhaps even increase your digital capacity in the years to come?

EG – Raindance pioneered online screenings between 2006-2011. We used that experience to launch a fully online festival in 2020. The response has been overwhelmingly favourable. Raindance will continue as a hybrid festival into the future!

EG – What is your message to filmmakers in the UK and worldwide who would like to showcase their work at Raindance next year and beyond?

VF – Why not have a look at our festival submission site and enter your film into the 2022 festival. Our programmers are already reviewing films flooding in from the four corners of the globe.

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You can find out more details and book your tickets for Raindance 2021 by clicking here.

If you are filmmaker, you can find out how to submit your film by visiting FilmFreeway.

The Raindance Film Festival returns on October 27th: here’s what to look out for!

Posted on by victorfraga

For 11 days, from October 27th to November 6th, Raindance will return to the British capital in its physical format. The action will take place in the following cinemas: Curzon Hoxton, Curzon Soho, Curzon Mayfair, Genesis Cinema, Regent Street Cinema, Bertha DocHouse.

The Festival will also cater for audiences elsewhere in the UK. Last year, the event was held entirely online, and they are not letting their keen digital viewers down! That’s why their full programme will be available online through their new partners at Curzon Home Cinema. Films in the Official selection will get two digital screenings!

The opening night on October 27th will present Canadian Best Sellers (pictured at the top of this article), Lina Roessler’s debut feature. It stars a cranky Michael Caine as a writer seeking a publisher for his very last work.

The closing night will showcase Brazilian Medusa, by Anita Rocha da Silveira, a movie that wowed audiences and critics alike three months ago at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes.

Raindance is a competitive event, with a number of awards to follow. The choice of female directors at both the opening and the closing gala might suggest that women will shine this year at Raindance, just as they did at the Oscars, Cannes, Berlin, Venice and San Sebastian (all festivals bestowed their top prizes on talented female filmmakers). In fact the Festival has an entire strand dedicated the Female Gaze.

Watch out for these two ladies: Portuguese filmmaker Ana Rocha’s Listen (pictured above) appears in the Homegrown section. The British drama about forced adoption, à la Ken Loach, won two prizes last year in Venice, moving the director to tears. And Latvian Helmer Laila Pakalnina delivers the “selfie-movie” In the Mirror (pictured below) – guaranteed to have you spinning around vertiginously.

Stay tuned for more detailed information in our Top 10 dirty movies from the Raindance Film Festival soon!

Other strands include Absurdities (with the most ferociously innovative, weird and downright filthy movies), Boomerang (with the most upbeat indie dramas). Discovery (first-time directors), Generation (Millennials and Generation Z), Icons (Biopics) and much more, demonstrating the breadth and depth and the independent cinema.

Raindance founder Elliot Grove encourages every single one of you to join the action and support independent cinema: “Now that cinemas have reopened, Raindance is ready to reconnect with the energy, vibrancy and insurgent spirit of indie film. We hope you will join us too!!!”

Book your tickets for Raindance now.

Five dirty picks from the Raindance Film Festival

Posted on by victorfraga

The largest platform for the exhibition of independent cinema in the UK starts this week, for 12 days. The Raindance Film Festival is now on its 25th edition, and it’s hoping to welcome up to 20,000 visitors. It includes a vast selection of features, shorts, documentaries as well as industry events, talks and even a marketplace for industry pundits.

The Festival was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove, the immediately recognisable face running the event to this date. He’s pictured here with his usual silverfox and dark shades look, alongside DMovies’s director Victor Fraga.

Click on the film titles in order to accede to our exclusive review of each dirty gem (well, at least the ones we’ve already seen) And don’t forget to click visit the Festival’s website for more information about the event, and in order to guarantee your ticket or Festival pass right now!

1. The Misandrists (Bruce La Bruce):

We unearthed this dirtylicious gem of transgressive-queer cinema earlier this film, when the film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. Not since Polanski’s Repulsion (1965) and Patty Jenkins’s Monster (2003) have you seen such rabid females repulsed by man. They despise their odour, their presence, their proximity and their existence. They refuse to live in a phallocentric society. What’s more, they do not strive for equality, as they don’t want to mirror themselves against what they see as a corrupt establishment.

Bruce LaBruce’s latest film is a return to the politics of sex, which he explored in minute detail in Rapsberry Reich (2004), plus a commentary on extreme feminism. The female characters here seek “to reconcile the revolutionary need with sexual politics” by rejecting men and setting up their Female Liberation Army (FLA) in an unidentified remote location.

2. The Public Image is Rotten (Tabbert Fiiller):

We uncovered this dirty gem at Tribeca (in New York), also earlier this year. It’s fair to say that the title film title has become far more accurate since Johnny expressed his support for Donald Trump, Nigel Farage and Brexit earlier this year. We just don’t know whether he has lost his grip on sanity or is simply infested with ego!

Filmmaker Tabbert Fiiller has worked together with Lydon for four and a half years in order to tell the story of one of the most influential lead singers of all times. Shortly after the Sex Pistols broke up, Lydon travelled to Jamaica. He was in search of who he could become as an artist on his own. But the truth is that John Lydon can never be a solo artist.

The documentary mentions PIL’s first concert in Brussels in 1978. It tells about the many problems John had because there wasn’t enough money to pay for the musicians. Some of his collaborators sampled some PIL’s songs in their own records. Fiiller shows statements and recollections from the past and current band members in order to fill in the gaps and add their own perspectives. Strangely, no film trailer is available.

3. The Nobodies (Juan Sebastián Mesa):

This one comes from last year in Venice, where it snatched the Critic’s Week prize. Shot in black and white and full of heavy metal songs and attitude, The Nobodies centres its narrative on a group of street artists planning to embark on a runaway road trip, leaving behind their tedious lives. The lyrics of the heavy metal tunes played by Pipa and his band elucidate their frustration. The system oppresses them, capitalism sucks, and so it’s time for a revolution, a new solution.

The film investigates the personal stories of the five young people (pictured above), and what triggered their revolt. Medellín is shining with activity, and yet their future does not look very promising. Some of them work as street artists in order to make pocket money. And somehow they feel that they don’t belong in their own homes.

4. Cahier Africain (Heidi Specogna):

This is one we haven’t seen (yet), but have reliably advised of its explosive content. Filmed over 7 years the film bears witness to the collapse of order and civilization in the Central African Republic, a country torn apart by civil war and coup d’états.

The filmmaker explains: “This is a very personal film. On a research trip and by chance, I came upon this book, which led me to seven years of filming. We visited and accompanied the people who described their suffering and shame in the book. Today, the book – along with thousands of other pieces of evidence of war crimes – is locked in the vault at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The fate of the women and their children begotten by force is a tragedy the world turns a blind eye on.

“It’s estimated that, alone in the Central African region in recent years, more than 100,000 women have been violated during armed conflict. After the Rwandan genocide, approximately 20,000 children were brought to life with this background. The film was originally dedicated to the difficult attempts of women to regain a foothold after experiencing violence. However, the renewed outbreak of war in the Central African Republic abruptly rewrote the script”

5. Barrage (Laura Schroeder):

We haven’t seen this one either, but we can’t wait to witness Isabelle Huppert play the mother of her real-life daughter. Barrage is a Luxembourgian film selected for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. It’s not often that the small country draws attention at the event.

It goes like this: “Catherine (Lolita Chammah), a young mother struggling with substance abuse, is determined to rekindle her relationship with her estranged daughter, Alba, who has been in the care of Catherine’s strict and at times overbearing mother, Elisabeth (Isabelle Huppert), since she was two years old. Elisabeth is wary of allowing Catherine back into their lives but reluctantly allows Catherine to spend an afternoon with Alba. She has her own doubts about her unruly mother as their personalities clash.”