I saw Michael Almereyda's experimental documentary Paradise towards the end of my visit to the Viennale Film Festival in November last year. I went along to the screening knowing very little about the film, except that it was constructed from several years of Almereyda's own camcorder home movies collected now and then, and without design, on his various travels in America and other countries. Around 40 minutes in, and during a process of looking for connections and patterns in the material, and examining my own patterns of thought, I realised that Paradise was by some way the most affecting film not only of that festival, but of all the films I saw in 2009. Its effect was certainly mysterious, and I'm not certain I can describe yet quite why it worked so well for me. I do know that I'm very pleased and excited that the film is playing in Bradford for its UK premiere, and that I'll get a chance to have a second bite of the cherry...
You may be aware that John Hurt, recipient of the 16th Bradford International Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award, was the victim of the infamous chestburster scene in Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979).
What you may not know is that after the release of the film, a rumour emerged that the cast had no idea what would happen in the scene; only that Hurt’s character (Kane) would die.
During the John Hurt Screentalk last Saturday, the man himself revealed that the myth is only partly true! The cast were aware of the chestburster puppet, but not the fake blood and viscera which would accompany it – one stream of blood unwittingly flew straight toward cast member Veronica Cartwright, whose hysterical reaction was captured on camera.
Alien won the 1979 Academy Award for visual effects, and earned itself a place in Empire magazine’s countdown of the greatest 18-rated moments of all time.
Re-live the moment in glorious 70mm when Alien is screened on Saturday at 2pm as part of the Widescreen Weekend.
If you’re trying to decide which screenings to attend over the next few days, here is a quick run down of some of the special events still to come which are sure to captivate and delight their audience.
On Saturday at 8.30pm, we welcome BIFF patron and writer/director Alex Cox to the National Media Museum for a Q&A session after the UK premiere of Repo Chick – another anarchic adventure from the iconoclast who brought us Repo Man – in which society heiress Pixie De LaChasse (Jaclyn Jonet) is disinherited by her family and stripped of her $77 million fortune. Ordered to get a job, Pixie becomes a repo chick for repossession agent Arizona Gray, before joining a band of environmental terrorists with one aim in mind: to criminalise golf!
Also on Saturday at 1.15pm, we will be screening Blue Sky (1991), the final film from Shipley-born director and local hero Tony Richardson. It stars Tommy Lee Jones, Powers Boothe and Jessica Lange (who won an Oscar for her flamboyant performance in this role). Jones is Hank Marshall, a radiation expert whose work problems become embroiled with those created by his sexy wife, Carly (Lange). The screening includes an extended introduction and talk by local film expert Keith Withall.
Greenberg is the new film from director Noah Baumbach who brought us The Squid and the Whale (2005), and is the writing talent behind some of Wes Anderson’s finest films. Ben Stiller plays New Yorker Roger Greenberg, who moves to Los Angeles to figure out his life and housesit for his brother, Philip. An eccentric connection with the family’s PA, Florence, keeps him from doing nothing, and soon they begin to see their zoned lives in a more connected way. Baumbach’s latest comedy drama will be showing at 6pm on Sunday.
Finally, one of the special events we are proud to present at this year’s festival is a unique screening of The Phantom of the Opera (1925). The film will be accompanied on the Wurlitzer cinema organ by international concert organist Donald MacKenzie, who specialises in the accompaniment of silent films and has over 20 feature films at his fingertips including Carmen and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He has appeared on BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4, the World Service, and played for Her Majesty the Queen at several Royal Film Performances. Don’t miss this timeless classic and live performance on Sunday at 7pm.
Neil Young is a film programmer and is instrumental in putting together the Uncharted States strand of the Film Festival each year. He talks about his selection of movies for the 2010 festival.
This is the fourth year that I've put together a selection of the best independent American productions under the Uncharted States of America banner. And that means genuinely independent (off-radar, underground, low-budget stuff, not studio-funded "indie" movies.
Once again I'm dazzled by the sheer variety and quality of stuff that's being made over there, very far from Hollywood (in terms of distance and also originality).
Several of this year's selections have never been shown before outside the USA, including Peter Thompson's unclassifiable essay-movie about Dutch art and history, Lowlands (Wed 24 in Pictureville, Thu 25 in Cubby Broccoli) and Kris Swanberg's very warmly-reviewed Costa Rica-set drama It Was Great, But I Was Ready To Come Home(Sat 27 in Otley).
Both of these films are part of a trend whereby American film-makers venture beyond their shores in search of inspiration - another is Jennifer Oreck's dazzling documentary on Japan's fascination with all things entomological, Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo(Sun 28 in Cineworld), which must be a strong contender for BIFF 2010's most irresistable title.
As in previous years, however, most of the Uncharted selections display a strong engagement with contemporary American economics, politics and geography - perhaps most notably exemplified by Lucy Raven's China Town (showing in a double-bill with Lowlands), a visually remarkable movie made up of dozens of still images that show how copper is mined, processed and eventually exported.
But whereas Uncharted States is essentially a guide to the most exciting newer film-makers in the world's richest and most powerful nation, we also like to have the occasional look back at previous groundbreakers. In collaboration with Watchmaker Films - who also brought us Eagle Pennell's The Whole Shootin' Match a couple of years back - we are really over the moon to present the long-unavailable debut from the great Tobe Hooper.
Hooper is best known for his seminal horror films including Poltergeist, Salem's Lot and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, so I think audiences will get a major surprise if they check out Eggshells (Fri 26 in Cubby), a "time and spaced film fantasy" from the 1969 that's a pure artefact of the hippie era.
Yesterday I attended the World Premiere of Red Poet, a documentary exploring the life and career of Jack Hirschman, a ‘Communist Poet in America’. More than this he is a man who displays passion, a love of poetry, art and language, and an unfaltering desire to right the wrongs of corporate America and speak out against political injustice.
We were joined by producer Fran Furey (father of the director Matthew Furey) who introduced the film and stayed afterwards for a Q&A. He pleased the local contingent by mentioning that Aggie Falk, Swedish poet and wife of Jack Hirschman, lived in Hebden Bridge before moving to San Francisco, which drew a few cheers from the audience and is a fortuitous association considering Hebden Bridge Picture House is one of the satellite venues for Bradford International Film Festival this year.
I must admit that I’d not heard of Jack Hirschman before watching this documentary, and I regret not having had the opportunity to delight in his stream of consciousness until now. Indeed, I went home last night and ordered some of his works - I only wish that Jack himself would be there to deliver the words, an experience which compels a fellow poet and friend to remark that he is not performing, but proclaiming the poem.
We heard about a story that the 19-year-old Hirschman sent to Ernest Hemingway, one of his early idols. Hemingway replied, "I can't help you, kid. You write better than I did when I was 19. But the hell of it is, you write like me. That is no sin. But you won't get anywhere with it." Hirschman sold the letter to the local paper and bought a station wagon with the proceeds. When Hemingway killed himself shortly after in 1961, the "Letter to a Young Writer" was published by the New York Times.
All of Hirschman’s friends and peers interviewed in the film speak warmly of his passion, enthusiasm and talent. One recounts how Hirschman wants to immediately read his poetry upon completion, which not only reveals that he is in love with it, but its as if he is a child wanting to show something beautiful that he’s made.
There was a period during the 1970s when Hirschman wrote a poem every day in the Russian language – no mean feat, but a mere drop in the ocean when you consider that he has translated books from over nine languages!
This expertise has earned Hirschman a following in pockets all over Europe, despite remaining somewhat underground in his native USA. A possible explanation for this is his overt communist political ideology, of which he states: “I wasn’t born a Communist; I was made one by the things I saw, the things that I studied, the things that I naturally felt.”
Hirschman’s political involvement is well documented in the film, from his role in the anti-homelessness movement of the 1980s, to his being fired from a lectureship at UCLA for alleged “activities against the state” when he spoke out against the war in Vietnam. It seems to me that Furey wants his audience to focus not on the Communist label which Hirschman proudly wears despite it keeping him from mainstream success, but on the successes of his social conscience and incredible talent, which must not go unnoticed.
After the film, we were due to have the Q&A session with Fran although this turned into an informal chat in the bar area – which was perhaps more in keeping with the spirit of the film. And if you missed the inspirational Red Poet, don’t worry; it's showing again on Sunday 28 March at 3pm with another Q&A taking place after the screening. We hope to see you there.
As a postscript, Film Programmer Tom Vincent told me that Jack Hirschman was initially very keen to attend the Film Festival for the premiere of the documentary. However he was called away at the last minute after receiving an invitation to visit Iraq by the Minister of Culture. A rather unorthodox gig for a man with Hirschman’s history, but nevertheless a fitting gesture for a translator and poet so fascinated by myriad cultures around the world, both past and present.
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We’re in Bradford in the UK, and we’ve got seven fantastic floors of exhibitions and interactive galleries dedicated to photography, film, TV and new media. The blog is written by staff and takes you behind the scenes at the Museum.
