Feb 8, 2010 | No Comments | ByRachel Millward
Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism, a new book by Natasha Walter
Natasha Walter is a friend and valued supporter of Birds Eye View. She was on our jury with Miranda Sawyer and Bonnie Greer in 2006, and came along to co-present Birds Eye Review which closed the festival in debate that year. We also had the pleasure of her company in 2007 at the Women’s Arts International Festival (sadly only a once-off due to funding cuts) in Kendal, Cumbria as she joined us for a panel discussion and we spent the weekend watching great gigs and walking in the hills.
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Feb 8, 2010 | 1 Comment | ByRachel Millward
Rachel+bump - now two months bigger...
Well, this is the funniest of festival years for me. Just as Birds Eye View gears up to what looks to be an outrageously brilliant festival – a true celebration of the scope of women’s creative vision, I gear up to a very different moment of creativity – giving birth for the first time. There’s something rather poetic (and nuts) about the timing for me. Should I go those two “permissable” weeks over the official due date, our baby girl could be coming into the world on opening night. Which means that the festival – my first baby, of sorts, is now safely in the hands of BEV’s most excellent team, allowing me to focus on this momentous and unknown journey ahead. Obviously, should baby decide to come this week, or next, I may shuffle down to share in the joys of closing night delight, but maybe our new little world will be too fresh and fragile – we shall see…
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Jan 24, 2010 | 1 Comment | ByRachel Millward
With apologies for having been a bit secretive about it, we launched the Birds Eye View Film Festival 2010 on Tuesday, at the Century Club on Shaftesbury Avenue, London. This was one of those exclusive shin-digs, with press, VIPs, sponsors, partners and all good schmoozable folk joining us as we announced the festival programme with a celebratory tipple.
New Chair Elizabeth Karlsen, Fiona Shaw and Rachel
Fiona Shaw - surely one of the greatest actors working in London today – we find her quite mind-blowing! – gave the opening address, while I introduced our new chair – the amazing producer Elizabeth Karlsen – and revealed the delights of the festival to come.
Fiona Shaw’s speech was typically eloquent – ranging from aboriginal Australian women’s culture to new interractive narrative forms in film. Her final message was clear and passionate: “Just as poetry comes from the silence, so films come from the darkness. Women need to illuminate more of that darkness, for the benefit of both genders…” amen to that! Read the full story
Nov 24, 2009 | No Comments | ByRachel Millward
Cast Offs dir. by Miranda Bowen and Amanda Boyle
Cast Offs is a new Channel 4 comedy drama that hits our screens next week. Framed as a documentary, it sees six disabled characters sent to a remote island to discover whether they can survive un-assisted. Satirical, poignant and unashamedly honest, the show has already gained a mountain of press attention; described by The Times as a ‘brilliant observed comedy drama, and a breakthrough in television’s depiction of disabled people’.
The two directors behind the show are Miranda Bowen and Amanda Boyle, both of whom have been closely watched by BEV over the last few years – we screened Amanda’s short films Hotel Infinity in 2005 and Pop Art in 2009. Happily, Victoria Wright, one of the stars of the show, leapt at the chance when we suggested she grill her two directors – read on for their behind-the-scenes story. Read the full story
Nov 5, 2009 | 1 Comment | ByRachel Millward
Bright Star, starring Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw
Jane Campion, the only woman to have won a Palme D’or, and one of only three to have been nominated for an Oscar in directing, has delighted us all by creating another filmmic masterpiece out in cinemas this Friday: Bright Star. It’s the most exquisit film – poetry and astounding beauty in every moment. Huge fans that we are, we went along to hear her speak at the London Film Festival, and here we share some of her pearls of wisdom with you…
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Nov 4, 2009 | 5 Comments | ByRachel Millward
1 Day, dir. Penny Woolcock. Out this weekend, everywhere except Birmingham.
Acclaimed British filmmaker Penny Woolcock (Mischief Night, Exodus, Death of Kinghoffer) has done it again and created another daring and innovative film, this time a hip hop and grime musical, set amidst gangs of Birmingham. Premiered to critical acclaim at the London Film Festival last month, all was set for a successful national cinema release this weekend. But just this Monday we learned that the West Midlands Police advised local cinemas against screening it, and, despite their very dubious grounds for doing so, Birmingham cinemas have pulled the film. But should the police really be interfering in the films we watch? What’s going on? We spoke to Penny Woolcock to get the full story, and hear more about the making of the film. Read on… Read the full story
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