Glasgow Film Festival and other film news

The brilliant Southside Festival will be back in a couple of months but to tide you over until then, here's a little selection of Southside related Film news.

Firstly this week sees the return of the Glasgow Film Festival and they are extending out of the City Centre this year with two films being shown south of the river. The two films in question are:

In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey (pictured above)

The unique, guitar finger-picking sound of John Fahey influenced a range of musicians – from Pete Townshend (who calls him the folk equivalent of William Burroughs or Charles Bukowski) to Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Chris Funk of The Decemberists. This documentary recounts the dynamic life of the eccentric guitarist, who transcended blues traditions, melding them with both world and classical forms. Featuring talking heads along with archive footage of performances and interviews, this film creates a vivid portrait of a true guitar pioneer. (This is a partnered showing with the Southside Festival's ongoing Film club, more news of which next week.)

Following the screening will be a short solo set from folk guitarist Alasdair Roberts. 

The Glad Café / Tuesday 19 February (20.00)

The Black Pirate

Appearing without the benefit of CGI or 3D, swashbuckling silent screen star Douglas Fairbanks Sr created some of the most spectacular stunt sequences in movie history. 

An athletic, devil-me-care spirit, he found one of his best roles in The Black Pirate, a rip-roaring tale of adventure on the high seas. Determined to avenge the death of his father at the hands of scurvy pirates, incognito nobleman Fairbanks secretly joins their numbers. Along the way there is action aplenty with sword fights, death-defying escapes and the chance to rescue a beautiful princess. All in a day’s work for Doug. An early Technicolor gem for thrill-seekers of all ages. 

Pollokshaws Burgh Hall / Sunday 24 February (19.30) 

Southsidebased Hot Tap Media have been in touch with two extra film related bits of news.

One they are having a prop sale from their upcoming movie Not Another Happy Ending directed by Southside John McKay which you can get more info about here and two they are looking for a Community Co-ordinator to work with them and are interested in speaking to Southsiders.

Headhunters @ The Film Club

I've not read any Jo Nesbo but Ann has and she enjoyed them and I've heard good things about this film.

On Tuesday 27 November the Southside Film Festival will be screening Headhunters as part of their new Film Club in partnership with The Glad Cafe.

The film will start at 8pm, doors at 7:30pm. Tickets are £6 (£5 for concessions*) and are available on the night from the Glad Cafe and also online from Tickets Scotland (search by date or for Southside Film, with £1 booking fee).

Headhunters (subtitled) is a 2011 Norwegian-German film based on Jo Nesbø's novel Hodejegerne (The Headhunters).  It was critically acclaimed, described by the Guardian as "a cool, brutal, deeply Scandinavian thriller" and follows in the recent success of others in the 'Scandi crime' genre.

Synopsis: Roger Brown is an accomplished headhunter living a life of luxury well beyond his means, and stealing art to subsidize his expensive lifestyle. When his beautiful gallery owner wife introduces him to a former mercenary in the possession of an extremely valuable painting, he decides to risk it all to get his hands on it, and in doing so discovers something which makes him a hunted man.

New Film Club

The Southside Film Festival has partnered up with the Glad Cafe to start a film club for autumn. They are starting off with a screening of the original 1931 Frankenstein movie in time for Halloween (Tue 30 Oct @ 8pm) then screening a monthly film in the Glad Cafe this November and December along with a special Christmas showing of Harvey.

Here's what they are screening and when:

Frankenstein (dir. James Whale, 1931, CertPG, 71mins) Tue 30 Oct, 8pm

http://t-s.co/sou04

Headhunters (dir. Morten Tyldum, 2011, Cert15, 93mins) Tue 27 Nov, 8pm

http://t-s.co/sou05

Arthur Christmas (dir. Sarah Smith, 2011, CertU, 97mins) Sat 15 Dec, 3pm

http://t-s.co/sou06

Harvey (dir. Henry Koster, 1950, CertPG, 104mins) Tue 18 Dec 8pm

http://t-s.co/sou07

For full film info visit the website's film club page.

Tickets are available in advance online at Tickets Scotland (via the above links) or in person from The Glad Cafe. Tickets available on the door half an hour before advertised screening time. Tickets are all £6 full price or £5 concession with a £1 discount for those dressed as a horror film character at the Frankenstein screening or £5 for all kids at Arthur Christmas screening.

Southside Film Festival 2012

The Southside Film Festival takes place next weekend at venues throughout the Southside including The Shed, The Bungo, The Pearce Institute, Govanhill Baths, The Chalet, Film City and Kinning Park Complex.
On Thursday night there are two  pre-festival events taking place. The Bungo are hosting a film quiz night at 8pm, hosted by the wonderful Barry Young and Noelle Carroll from Youngs Interesting Books, it's sure to be an entertaining evening. Over on Westmoreland Street, the Southside Studios will be opening an exhibition of selected artists films (7pm - 9pm)
The Festival opens with the film Neds on Friday night at the Shed (8pm - 10pm). The Bungo plays host to Underwire a film festival for shorts by women. There will be a  special screening of their 2011 award winning films and then the second half will showcase work by local female filmmakers. (9pm - 11pm)

There are a whole host of great events and films taking place on Saturday including Kids movie club, a surprise screening at Pollokshaws library at 1pm. The boat shed in Queens Park will be screening Shipyard Parks and Greek Thomson, films will be shown at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm. Over at the Pearce Institute in Govan they'll be screening the Class Struggle: Film from the Clyde, which records the dramatic events of the UCS work-in of 1971-2 inside the shipyards. It was one of the most exciting and powerful struggles against unemployment in Britain. (3pm - 5pm)

The Shed will be screening Green Screen Double Bill: Troubled Stories from Derry and Belfast - Bernadette: Notes from a Political Journey 3PM - 4.30pm and then A Million Bricks at 5pm.

Later in the evening there will be a full evening of Shelock Holmes. Part one will screen Reichenbach Falls with an introduction and Question and Answer session with writer James Mavor and actor Alec Newman. Followed by two Sherlock Silents, The Mystery of Leaping Fish and Sherlock Jr 7pm - 10pm. Alternatively There are Short Films taking place from 7.30 till 9.30 at the artist run studio, workshop and gallery The Chalet and then from 9.30 Govanhill Baths screens a selection of short films about swimming including  Jean Virgis' 1931 Swimming Champion.

On Sunday there will be a number of workshops and talks taking place at Tusk throughout the day. An illustrated talk by Gary Painter on the development of Scottish Cinema Architecture, with a special look at the Southside cinemas. (2pm - 3pm) A drop in Screenplay workshop 2-4pm and We Are Northern Lights Workshop 3.30pm - 5.30pm.

The Shed will screen Silver Tongues, written and directed by Simon Arthur, who grew up in Pollokshields. 4pm -5.30pm. Also screening at the Shed is the 1984 classic Comfort and Joy. Allan 'Dicky' Bird a radio DJ is heartbroken when his girlfriend leaves him and his life takes a bizarre twist - he witnesses an attack on an ice cream van which leads him into the struggle between two Italian families over the ice cream market in Glasgow. 4pm
At 6pm, the Southside Filmmakers Award Screening will take place, followed by  Fast Romance, a film about seven very different people who go looking for love and end up getting more than they bargained for. Shot in the Southside and written and directed by Southside Carter Ferguson.

Buster Keaton's The General, accompanied by David Gray on the mighty Wurlitzer Cinema Organ, will close the festival. This is one you do not want to miss. Buster Keaton at his best. 8pm - Pollokshaws Burgh Hall -£6
We've given an overview of what's on over the weekend, so do check the programme  and the SSFF Website for the full line up, times and ticket information.

www.southsidefestival.net

The Phantom of the Opera

Southside Film Festival have teamed up with Glasgow Film Festival to present The Phantom of the Opera, the 1925 Lon Chaney silent classic, with live Wurlitzer Organ accompaniment by David Gray in the beautifully atmospheric surroundings of Pollokshaws Burgh Hall on Sunday evening at 7.30pm.

"We are all getting very excited about the screening, even the Phantom, who you will see from this photo on our blog, is even getting some practice in on the might Wurtlizer in preparation: http://southsidefilmfest.blogspot.com/ Expect to see him haunt the hall on Sunday evening! "

They have also teamed up with Nom Nom Popcorn to sell fresh popcorn.

Tickets will be available on the door but at the minute are selling fast so if you want to be sure of a ticket you can still get one from the Glasgow Film Festival box office or online here:

http://www.glasgowfilm.org/festival/whats_on/3643_the_phantom_of_the_opera

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari - 16th October

The Southside Film Festival are back in the beautiful surroundings of Pollokshaws Burgh Hall for another silent film screening with musical accompaniment from the magnificent Wurltizer Cinema Organ, for a screening of the film where horror began-The Cabinet of Dr Caligari/Das Kabinet des Dr Caligari (1920, 71 mins, U) on Sunday 16th October at 8pm. Licensed bar and ice cream available. These are always very popular so book your tickets soon.

Then on Sunday 30 October at 8pm in The Shed, they are screening cult horror classic Night of the Living Dead (1968, 96 mins, 15) which will be preceded by Southside's first ever zombie walk in Shawlands. There will be prizes for the best zombie so do go along dressed up!

Tickets are available for only £5 in advance or £6 on the door and you can buy tickets online at Ticket Scotland for both screenings or from Barry's Interesting Book Shop on Skirving St, Shawlands

RBS Film First - Pollok Park

Last night we went along to one of the new Film First events that RBS are putting on for their customers. We weren't really sure what to expect but the idea of watching a movie outdoors in Pollok Park sounded like great fun and we both really fancied seeing Super 8.

Got to say the guys that organised the whole thing last night did a brilliant job. It was superbly organised with a ton of staff to guide and advise you when you arrived and big bold signage and pop up tents making the whole thing feel like a mini festival. We were greeted at the gate and then led through a series of wee tents where we were given two tubs of popcorn (one sweet, one salty), two bottles of water, free blue ponchos and these funny little cardboard seats which I initially thought would be rubbish but turned out to be really comfy. The staff found us a good central pitch and then sorted out our seats and made sure we were comfy. There was then a little film quiz and a wine merchant wandering around and handing out free samples of their products.

It was just really professionally put together, with a lot of care of the small details, like the multitude of top of the line toilets, the well laid out site, the fact the surrounding trees had been back lit in green

Super 8 was a really good wee film and I can totally see why people are making comparisons with the Goonies and other classics of the early 80's. I'll not say too much more about it as its quite fun to discover without really knowing where the film is going.

We had a really great night and would love for it to become a more regular event or for there to be a mini outdoor festival next summer. The band Stand in Queens Park would make for an excellant additional venue when its finished being upgraded though I suppose the remoteness of Pollok Park made the security a little easier.

If you can get yourself an RBS friend, then get them to buy you a ticket and go along for the second night, 26 August. You have to buy tickets online before hand and the gates open at 6:30pm for those eager for a good spot. The film doesn't start til 9pm though so you prob don't want to get there too early. (A suggestion for the organisers would be a selection of short films playing while people arrive and getted pitched.)

For those who are going our advice is, wear lots of warm clothing, it gets pretty chilly, bring a couple of blankets, one to sit on and one to wrap yourself up in. Don't bring any chairs or umbrellas as you won't be allowed to use them but possibly do bring a little hat/cap with a peak on it so that if it does rain you can still watch without the water getting in your eyes. There were lots of people with picnics and bottles of wine but our top reccomendation would be a large flask of hot chocolate.

Anyway, its highly reccomended and we are looking for to their next event already.

For more info then go here.



Seawards the Great Ships

One of the many films being shown as part of the Southside Film Festival  is the 1960's film 'SEAWARDS THE GREAT SHIPS' directed by Hilary Harris. This Oscar-winning documentary of shipbuilding on the Clyde, has wonderful scenes of the mould lofts and drawing offices of the shipyards along with footage dipicting the process of how these amazing ships were constructed, launched and fitted out before they left the Clyde.  

Seawards the Great Ships is being shown at  the Model Ship Shed in Queens Park - Saturday 14 May, 14:00-16:00 (donations only)

For more information http://www.southsidefilmfestival.net/

Southside Film Festival 13-15 May

We've waited along time for an event like this. On the weekend of the 13th of May the Southside will be hosting it's first ever Southside Film Festival.
Events will be taking place all over the Southside in venues such as: Pollokshaws Burgh Hall, The Shed, Southside Studios, The Chalet, The boating shed beside Queens Park Pond and many more. There is a diverse and inclusive programme of films being shown including feature films, animation, shorts, documentaries and music videos.
 Several screenings and workshops are free, (but donations are most welcome as this is an unfunded festival), and all other screenings are only £5. Tickets are available at the venue on the day, unless stated otherwise.
Click here to download the Festival Programme

Cookie - Il Divo

Cookie's film club continues on Sunday 9th January with some antipasti, pasta, red wine and a showing of Il Divo at 7:30pm.

Il Divo is a documentary about "The story of Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, who has been elected to Parliament seven times since is was established in 1946." 

and not a documentary about

"Il Divo ("divine male performer" in Italian) a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by music manager, executive, and reality TV star Simon Cowell."

Book ahead to be sure of a table
Cookie Scotland
72 Nithsdale Road
Glasgow
G41 2AN
0141 423 1411

Film Night 27 October 2010

On the last Wednesday of every month, a community film night is held in St Brides School, in Craigie street, Govanhill. This month 'Dirty Oil and De-centralised  Energy & Convenient Solution' is being shown. 

 Narrated by Canadian actress and environmentalist Neve Campbell, this beautifully photographed and much anticipated feature documentary from Academy Award Nominated director Leslie Iwerks goes deep behind-the-scenes into the strip-mined world of Northern Alberta, Canada. Here, vast and toxic oil sands supply the U.S. with the majority of its oil. Told through the eyes of scientists, "big oil" officials, politicians, doctors, environmentalists, and aboriginal citizens directly effected by "the largest industrial project on the planet today", the filmmakers journey to both sides of the border to uncover the emotional and irreversible toll this "black gold rush" is taking on our planet. The film is produced by Alberta born and Emmy Award winning producer Philip Alberstat, and co-produced by Canadians, Mark Cranwell and Randy Bradshaw.

The film starts at 7pm  at St Brides Primary School, Craigie Street, off Allison St, Govanhill/Strathbungo.

'Beyond the Tipping Point' - 29th September 2010

On the last Wednesday of every month, a community film night is held in St Brides School, in Craigie street, Govanhill. This month 'Beyond the Tipping Point' is being shown.

Beyond the Tipping Point? is a film about climate change and the ways we respond to it. Through the voices of 25 people from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities, the film addresses a fundamental challenge for our time: how the future is imagined, and how this imagination shapes our actions in the present.

This is not another film about the science or the ‘facts’ of global warming. It is an exploration of a deeper set of questions. How do we make sense of the idea that we may have a limited time frame for effective action? Is there ever a point after which all action comes too late? Does apocalyptic imagination lead to hope, or despair?

The film starts at 7pm  at St Brides Primary School, Craigie Street, off Allison St, Govanhill/Strathbungo.

Community Film Night - 30th June

On the last Wednesday of every month, a community film night is held in St Brides School, in Craigie street,Govanhill. This month 'The Yes Men Fix the World' is being shown, a screwball true story that follows a couple of gonzo political activists as they infiltrate the world of big business and pull off outrageous pranks that point out how corporate greed is destroying the planet.The film starts at 7pm  at St Brides Primary School, Craigie Street, off Allison St, Govanhill/Strathbungo.

Link to Trailer

Mini Film Festival at Pollokshaws Burgh Hall

As part of this years Southside Festival, Pollokshaws Burgh Hall  and the Scottish Cinema Organ Trust will be hosting a mini film festival, during the month of May. The festival opens on the 2nd of May with the silent movie Hunch back of Notre Dame, accompanied by the SCOT Wurlitzer cinema organ.  Last years silent film, The General, was a sell out and it was a really unique experience watching the film along with the cinema organ, it's a very different sound to the church organ. Tickets are £5 and the film starts at 2.45pm

Also showing as part of the festival is a series of David Lean films.
9 May - Brief encounter, the 1945 film about a woman who meets a man in a railway station and is tempted to cheat on her husband
23 May - Great Expectations, the oscar winning film about a humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor. 
6 June - Doctor ZhiVago, the 1965 film about the life of a Russian doctor/poet who, although married, falls for a political activist's wife and experiences hardships during the Bolshevik Revolution.

Tickets for the David Lean Films are £4 or a trilogy ticket is £10. Tickets can be booked by calling Pollokshaws Burgh Hall 0141 632 5811

Southside Film Nights

I've heard it so often recently - I wish there was a small cinema or regular film nights in the Southside. With the G1 groups plans to renovate the old white elephant building stalling, where are we Southsiders suppose to go to watch a good film?

I personally really enjoyed the Tramway's involvement in the film festival, being able to watch a film in the Southside was great and the Pollokshaws Burgh Halls silent films, to organ music, are also rather unique events.

So I am really pleased to see that the Tramway are showing another couple of films next week. On Wednesday 7 April, Peter Brook introduces his 1979 film Meetings with Remarkable Men. which explores the early life of G.I. Gurdjieff who discovered new levels of understanding in his travels though Central Asia.

Thursday night brings Peter Brook’s faithful adaptation of William Golding’s classic novel Lord of the Flies follows the fate of a group of schoolboys stranded on an island after a plane crash. Brook creates an intense realism through which we witness the battle between civility and savagery, ultimately leading to a bitter and bloody climax. Both films start at 7.30 pm £4/£3 

There is also a community film night being established in Govanhill,  the second film, Urban Roots film & Farm for the Future, is being held  tomorrow night at St Brides Primary [7-9pm]. This event is being organised by local residents. If you would like to organise, or otherwise help with a film night, then go along and share your ideas.