Casino Royale

Completely forgot about the new James Bond until I saw this. I opted out of the Bond franchise around the same time I grew out of watching terrestrial TV on bank holidays. This might just draw me back into active service...

Sequins, Soca and Sweat...

No, I didn't make it down to Carnival this year. And it's only yesterday that I found out I had a press pass waiting for me to take pictures. Foo. Next year, maybe?

While I'm waiting for the opportunity to come round again, I might check "Sequins, Soca and Sweat" out for a bit of Bacchanal flavour... From the site:

"Sequins, Soca and Sweat is the debut documentary by award winning filmmaker, Stephen Rudder. His interest in Carnival was first sparked in 2003. Whilst at the Notting Hill Carnival he saw a young boy with a horn in one hand and the other around the shoulder of his grandmother as they danced together in costume. He was intrigued at how this spectacular art form had the power to bring together generations in this way.

"When Carole Morrison, the film’s Executive Producer, was looking to commission a documentary about the ‘Mas’ in Notting Hill, Stephen’s initial seed of interest had the chance to grow.

"What he found when he looked behind the mask of the masquerade, was a small group of artists, designers, innovators and pioneers who somehow managed to nourish their communities and inspire the younger generations, whilst also forming the backbone of the largest street festival in Europe. Sequins, Soca and Sweat is their story."

It'll be screening at the BFM Festival on the 13th of September, 6.30pm...

(Oh, and by the way, the poster looks hot. You can't really see it in all it's glory here, or even on the site, but the design's real tasty... Love to get my hands on a full sized version... ;)

BFM Film Festival

The Black FIlm Makers Festival runs from the 8th – 15th September 2006 at the ICA, Pall Mall. A programme for the festival can be found here.

Film round-up - mid-August

A few other films that look as if they might be worth the price of a cinema ticket...

13 Tzameti
Fast Food Nation
Who Killed The Electric Car. Forgive me: I know docu-features have been fashionable for a while now - I'm only just getting into them...
A Scanner Darkly - for the sheer geekiness of it...
10th and Wolf
The Science of Sleep
Babel
The Departed
Running With Scissors
Little Miss Sunshine
Children of Men
The Prestige
Heart of the Game

...

Half Nelson

Okay, I haven't seen it yet, but Half Nelson looks like the kind of film I'd get excited about. It's about a young inner-city junior high school teacher whose ideals wither and die in the face of reality, and an unexpected friendship that grows with one of his students. I'm not going to say much more than that - just go check the site and view the trailer.

Half Nelson was preceded by a short film - 'Gowanus, Brooklyn', which was used as a way to workshop a key scene from the full-length screenplay and raise interest in the feature.

Blacktronica @ the NFT - Friday 18th August 2006

If you don't know Blacktronica, check www.blacktronica.com

Tonight: Full crew alongside Dj Supreme on the tables and his excellent film 'Turntable Trixsters' in the cinema. Film kicks off at 8.30 music spins from 10pm.