Feb 28, 2011 | No Comments | ByBen Monks
Rosamund Pike
The Oscars in numbers make grim reading for women in film: 248 films eligible for best picture, 5,755 Oscar voters, 500 feet of red carpet – and 0 women nominated for best director. But that’s not to say there isn’t hope. Speaking at the programme launch for BEV 2011, Rosamund Pike issued a call to arms to be “gloriously, attractively, sexily ambitious” in combating the film industry’s imbalance of opportunities for male and female filmmakers. Read on to watch her speech in full… Read the full story
Feb 28, 2011 | 3 Comments | ByBen Monks
Susanne Bier's In A Better World
Among the many Oscar triumphs last night was Susanne Bier’s masterful In A Better World – a beautiful, breathtaking exploration of two families struggling to contend with grief and conflict in an increasingly violent world, which scooped the gong for Best Foreign Language Film. We’re thrilled to be hosting the London Premiere at this year’s Festival, at BFI Southbank on March 13th, followed by two further screenings at the Electric and Rio cinemas. Read the full story
Feb 25, 2011 | 1 Comment | ByBen Monks
Kelly Reichardt's 'Meek's Cutoff'
Thinking about the films in this year’s programme, some outstanding images keep flickering through my mind: The naked woman wearing a Kafia in a cool NY hangar, welcoming her Iraqi relatives who have just fled the troubled region (The Imperialists Are Still Alive!); Hidelgaard von Bingen consumed by her visions, leading her fellow nuns into the second Millennia with ideas and determination that could easily be dubbed radical feminism, only they took place nearly 1,000 years before the term was coined (Vision); mothers standing next to their sons as they read their last statements before leaving on suicide missions (Women of Hamas); a boy running through Kibera slum in Nairobi in an attempt to save his father from evil spirits (Soul Boy); three pilgrims isolated and lost on the Portland-Oregon trail (Meek’s Cutoff); and oh, the one I really struggle to get out of my head – Daddy’s Girl engaged in a culinary extravaganza where Daddy is the main course (Horror Shorts)… Read the full story
Feb 14, 2011 | No Comments | ByBen Monks
Jessica Albarn's The Boy in the Oak
Writer, illustrator and filmmaker Jessica Albarn is one of the UK’s hottest talents. She’s just updated her illustrated book The Boy in the Oak into an animated film, complete with a voiceover by Jude Law and music from Damon Albarn. Birds Eye View spoke to Jessica about The Boy in the Oak and the move from illustrating to animating. Read the full story
