September 2005
 Firecracker Showcase
Everyman Cinema Club
Raindance Film Festival
Firecracker Showcase 2005 - September 8th - 18th, 2005
London's East Asian Film Festival
Curzon Soho, Curzon Mayfair, Genesis (Whitechapel) & The Gate (Notting Hill)
www.firecracker-showcase.com
Screening 40 knockout films - many of them UK Premieres - across four London venues over 11 days, Firecracker Showcase 2005 will present an eclectic range of films from one of the most dynamic filmmaking regions in the world, taking in movies from Mainland China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, The Philippines, Malaysia and Hong Kong. From thrillers to biting satire, love stories to low-budget indies, glossy historical epics to films with a darker edge, we will show some of the best recent films from East Asia alongside undiscovered treasures from the recent and more distant past. Hollywood beware.
In addition to these cracking films, we are also proud to present two mini-sidebars:
Firecracker Nite Movies at The Gate in Notting Hill featuring the ultimate selection of out-there East Asian night movies, screening during both weekends of the Firecracker Showcase, from chilly J-horror spook-out, to SARS-infected zombie mayhem in Bangkok, psychos on the motorway in Korea, and cult superhero lunacy from the Philippines..
Firecracker Classics - The History Man: Special Focus on Im Kwon-taek (screening at the Curzons and the Genesis Whitechapel). Inspired both by his Honorary Golden Bear at this year's Berlin Film Festival, and our own appreciation of his achievements in the pages of Firecracker Magazine, we are delighted to join with KOFIC, the Korean Film Council, to present a special focus on director Im Kwon-taek, a man with an astonishing 99 films to his name, whose superb movies fascinate for many reasons, not least of which is their rich and emotional sense of Korean history. The History Man presents three of this extraordinary director's very best.
For the full 40 film line-up, showing times and more, see
www.firecracker-media.com/moxie/events/showcase2005.shtml
EVERYMAN CINEMA CLUB - 087 00 66 4777 - 17 - 18 September
5 Holly Bush Vale, Hampstead Village, London NW3 6TX
Diagonally opposite Hampstead Tube (Northern Line)
Venue enquiries and hire info: 020 7435 1600
Award-winning Short Film Collection Premieres at the Everyman Cinema Club
Hampstead's Everyman Cinema Club will be showcasing a new series of UK and European acclaimed short films entitled 'Shortseasons - Autumn 05', including the UK premiere of the nominee for Cannes ' Palme d'Or 2005 and this year's BAFTA winner.
Taking place on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September at 4.30pm, this is the first time this collection of shorts will be screened in the UK , to include the following:
The Banker
BAFTA Winner 05 for Best Short Film (12 mins)
This British short is a tale of unrequited love about a quirky scientist who works in a sperm bank.
Before Dawn
Official Selection at Cannes Film Festival 05 - UK PREMIERE (13 mins)
Nominated for this year's prestigious Palme d'Or, this beautifully shot film is described by Hotdog magazine as "Should have scooped the top Cannes prize. stunning in its inventiveness and genuinely moving in the emotions it evokes. 'Before Dawn' is a striking testament to the power of the moving image."
The Well
Grand Prix Winner at Avignon Film Festival 02 (19 mins)
French drama set at the outbreak of World War I centres around a no-mans-land water well and the touching friendship of two rival medics.
Moving On
Official Selection at Edinburgh and other short festivals 05, Official Selection at 13th Kodak/BAFTA Showcase (8 mins)
An existential road movie that explores the painful process of letting go of the past.
'Shortseasons - Autumn 05' is screening on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September at 4.30pm. Tickets £6 each - to book. Please call the Everyman's Box Office on 0870 066 4777 or reserve seats online at www.everymancinema.com
RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL - 28 September to 9 October
Europe's largest independent film festival Raindance, now in its 13 th year, will run from September 28 - October 9 at cinemas throughout central London .
Specialising in first time directors and showcasing over 200 shorts from the best and brightest of new talent, the Raindance Film Festival 2005 returns to London cinemas this September promising to screen some of the most inspiring and challenging films from around the world.
Highlights of Raindance 2004 saw a collection of groundbreaking independent films on show for the first time, from End of the Century, the highly praised documentary on the seminal punk band The Ramones, to One For The Road, a documentary focusing on ex-Squeeze frontman Glenn Tilbrook. Other stand-out moments included Monty Python collaborator Terry Jones hosting The Mackendrick Lecture and director in residence Shane Meadows sharing his knowledge and trade secrets in an entertaining masterclass. The festival opened and closed with two real corkers - Shane Meadows' Dead Man's Shoes and Korean cinema-master Park Chan-wook 's Oldboy, respectively.
Hard to follow, but film enthusiasts will be far from disappointed with this year's programme if the initial line-up, announced today, is a measure of what is in store.
Among special guests we can expect to see will be Oscar nominated actress and political activist Vanessa Redgrave in the company of her director son Carlo Nero at Raindance to present their film The Fever, with a special screening and Q&A to follow.
In keeping with the spirit of Raindance, the 2005 film line-up is expectedly eclectic. Rock music and bands have consistently played an integral part of the festival and this year is no exception beginning with Babyshambles front man Pete Doherty, a man who is no stranger to controversy. Two years pre his very public wild ways and love affair with Kate Moss hit the headlines, Pete and his former band The Libertines would jam in Pete's very own flat, charging fans £10 entry to watch. Now we get to watch as well, with an exclusive 15-minute piece of raw footage shot by Anne McCloy. McCloy's short, but fascinating piece documents the events of one fateful night when a gig is busted by the police. Nothing new in that, but here we get a fascinating close-up look at the troubled man of the moment held to account.
Then we come to Billy Childish. You may be asking yourself, 'who he?'; but those already ahead of us lesser-knowing mortals include Kurt Cobain, one his earliest championers, and a recent Top of the Pops appearance saw Jack White with Childish's name scrawled on his arm. But, just who is Billy Childish? Said to be one of the most prolific painters, poets and songwriters of his generation, the in-depth documentary entitled Billy Childish is Dead showing at Raindance explores the extraordinary life and career of this cult figure. Childish not only screens his film but also delivers a live acoustic set but also subjects himself to a Q&A session, which is bound to swell the numbers of those already converted.
Putting punk into it's proper historical context is the aim of Grammy award winning director Don Letts with Punk: Attitude, documentary written and directed by the renowned DJ and member of Big Audio Dynamite himself. Armed with a Super 8 during the heyday of punk, Letts has taken his footage and assembled it into this documentary ably telling the story of how a few guitar chords changed the world. With contributions from inspirational punk figures including Tommy Ramone, Siouixsie Sioux, and the Sex Pistols' Glen Matlock as well as an insightful commentary from film director Jim Jarmusch and a stellar soundtrack, this film gives a fresh perspective on the elements of the Punk Rock sub-culture that defined an era. Don Letts will introduce Punk: Attitude and will be on hand for a Q&A.
More on the subject of punk: Danny Vinick's TV Party takes a look into New York City in the late 1970s at a time when Glenn O'Brien's TV Party was a hip punk rock cable show that portrayed the city's then-burgeoning punk and new wave music scenes. Show guests and regulars included The Clash's Mick Jones, Talking Head's David Byrne and Debbie Harry. Experimental and improvised, TV Party was an unadulterated mass of fun and irreverence and this documentary conveys the frenzied energy and spontaneity that hooked so many viewers.
To the winner of this year's Sundance Director's Award - director Jeff Feuerzeig's The Devil and Daniel Johnston , his look into the roller-coaster life of the manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter whose illness gives him delusions of the devil that haunts his life. A compelling portrait of madness, creativity and love, this is one of a kind and not to be missed.
Films featured for selection at Raindance 2005 bring us actor Steve Buscemi's directorial debut Lonesome Jim, Saul Metzsein's black comedy Guy X, and Ellie Parker starring Naomi Watts. On top of this, the festival brings us a dozen Japanese premieres and the stylish horror fantasy Night Watch of which director Quentin Tarantino stated that if there is only one film you see this year, let this be it. A smash-hit in its native Russia , this film is from director/writer Timur Bekmambetov and is the first instalment of a trilogy based on the best-selling sci-fi novels of Sergei Lukyanenko. Terrifying and action packed, you'll love it.
Much-acclaimed Chinese film Dumplings will close the 13 th Raindance Film Festival. This delicious dark fantasy from director Fruit Chan tells the story of Qing, a rich ex-starlet who in desperation to retain her youthful looks visits Mei, a former gynaecologist and abortionist whose mysterious 'dumplings' are said to fulfil a woman's need to remain beautiful and young.
The opening night film of the festival will be announced shortly.
Jury members at Raindance 2005 are spread across the industry with actors Natalie Press, Kate Ashfield, Toby Kebbell and Marc Warren judging features, shorts and documentaries with the help of musician Tommy Ramone and actor/director Richard Jobson, plus from inside the industry producers Peter Carlton and Mia Bays , casting director Carol Crane, Image Entertainment's Wendy Rutland, official sponsor Tiscali's Rob Andrews and Total Film editor Matt Mueller.
RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL PATRONS: Terry Gilliam, Ken Loach, Nick Broomfield, Alan Parker, Henrik Danstrup, Mike Figgis, Dave McKean, Martin Myers, Jonathan Pryce, Mark Shivas.
Raindance also hosts the annual British independent Film Awards, now in its eighth year. This year's awards will be held November 30 at Hammersmith Palais.
www.raindance.co.uk/festival/
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