WEDNESDAY 19^th

THE SCREEN MACHINE:DIRECTORS TELL ALL – The Book Club, 100 Leonard St, Shoreditch, London, EC2A 4RH – 7pm – FREE

Directors Tell All is a saucy evening where film directors reveal their naughtiest on-set moments. Oh wait… no, it seems it’s an event organized by The Screen Machine, a not-for-profit outfit designed to assist people working in film, and those looking to get into it. During their Directors Tell All event a panel of three experienced directors will give advice on; how to break in to the industry, the skills required, the differences between going independent and going commercial, and other topics. The event is free to attend, but you must email them in evidence to reserve your place.

@screenmachlne 

SATAN’S CINEMA: FREE SCREENING OF THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY – Wenlock & Essex, 18-26 Essex Road, Islington, London, N1 8LN – 6pm – FREE

The Wenlock & Essex bar’s Satan’s Cinema returns with a free screening of a film that some people say is Sergio Leone’s masterpiece and the greatest Western film (some people need to check themselves and watch Once Upon A Time In The West). The film screens at 8, but from 6 they’ll be building atmosphere with some the finest spaghetti western music from the master, Ennio Morricone.

@WenlockandEssex

THURSDAY 20^th 

ANIMATION FOCUS #2 – The Film Pool, 43 Mowbray St, Sheffield, S3 8EN – 6:30pm – FREE 

Animation Focus is a gathering of animators who get together to talk about filmmaking. It’s a chance to talk about your project, get some feedback on your ideas and work, and help out others who may need some advice or feedback. They encourage people to bring along some of their work to show and discuss and have an idea of what exactly you want to get out of the night by having a few questions prepared. It’s free to attend, but as there are only 20 spaces available you will need to register, which you can do via the link below.

@film_pool 

STATION 38 PRESENTS: GIMME THE LOOT – The Depot, 38 Upper Clapton Road, Clapton, London, E5 8QB – 7:30pm – £5

Station 38 is the newest film night in North East London (unless one started while I was typing this. It could happen), hosted at the recently refurbished The Depot in Clapton. This month they’re screening the super low budget Gimme The Loot, about a graffiti crew in New York aiming to make themselves known by bombing (as in with graffiti, not Semtex) the New York Mets stadium. Aside from being able to savour the pleasant surroundings of The Depot’s converted tram shed, and their excellent craft beer, and watch this fine film, you also get a free bag of popcorn! Do you still want more? Well they’ve got the producer, Dominic Buchanan, going along to do a Q&A too! If you want an idea of what to expect, check out our review of their opening night.

@thedepotclapton

FRIDAY 21^st

Nope!

SATURDAY 22^nd 

WHIRLYGIG CINEMA TURNS 3 – The Attic, Hackney Picturehouse, 270 Mare St, Hackney, London, E8 1HE – 7:30pm – FREE

Whirlygig celebrates 3 years of putting on film events this Saturday with a free night of music and film at the Hackney Picturehouse. On offer is a collaboration between ‘moving image artist’ Max Hattler and musician My Panda Shall Fly, Nordic Giants providing a live ‘post-rock score’ to a couple of short-films, and a number of short-films made to commemorate Whilrygig’s birthday made by past Whirlygig featured filmmakers.

@whirlygigcinema

SUNDAY 23^rd 

WHITELADIES PICTUREHOUSE FUND RAISER – The Brewery, 291 North St, Southville, Bristol, BS3 1JP – 7:30pm – £6.50 / £5

The Whiteladies Picture House closed down over ten years ago, but with people now seeing the value in a cinema having some character and being able to provide something different to the cookie-cutter multiplex experience, attempts are being made to revive it. Tonight Cineme are hosting an evening of short-films and competitions in an effort to raise money to make the cinema once again a centre for cinema and the community.

@Cineme

MONDAY 24^th 

RE:VAULT FILM DEN – Bar Kick, 127 Shoreditch High Street, Shoreditch, London, E1 6JE – 7:30pm – FREE

Re:Vault delivers an evening of romance and heartbreak tonight (always good on a Monday) at Bar Kick. They’ll be screening a number of short films based around the themes of romance and heartbreak and hosting Q&A’s with the filmmakers (which may just descend into them slagging off past lovers. Fingers crossed). They’re also showing the trailer for Three Days, a film that is currently trying to hustle up a production budget on IndieGoGo.

@re_Vault 

TUESDAY 25^th

CINEME: THE BOLEXBROTHERS TALK ON NARRATIVE FILMMAKING – The Tobacco Factory Bar, Raleigh Road, Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 1TF – 8pm – £6 / £5 Conc.

Bristol’s Cineme is hosting a talk from award winning filmmaker and producer at Bolexbrothers, Andy Leighton. With 30 years experience, Andy will be hitting you with knowledge on filmmaking topics such as; storylines/structure, finance/interference, embracing spontaneity, commercial lessons, soundtracks, and much more.

@Cineme

In a perfect world, a competent Hollywood studio would be optioning the rights to turn Tom Judd’s engaging tale of a sullen nerd playing god into a Cronenberg-style feature-length head trip. In its current form, Bruce still packs a wealth of ideas and gruesome little details into its brief running time.

A seemingly meagre plot revolves around an open source application that allows users to grow a plethora of items. Kittens, house plants and onion bhajis are all up for grabs, but our guide instead opts to fashion an action hero of his own. He merely copies and pastes a code into a software programme that looks far too user-friendly and – hey presto! – Bruce is born. Yes, that Bruce. White vest and all. His creator has even constructed a perilous obstacle course full of gun-wielding grunts to test his skills. So far, so cute, right?

Well, not exactly. Judd displays a flair for wonderfully bleak images. His animations wriggle and flounder like confronted animals, and his alchemist cuts a fairly menacing figure – think The Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy filtered through Pingu. There’s an awkward theme of control and dictatorship running throughout. His ‘hero’ obsession is signalled by the presence of a Terminator desktop background. He leads Bruce around using an archaic joypad, and remains stoic as he watches blood flow from his creation. Bruce is inventively summoned through the connection of a USB cable into a slab of raw meat, an artifice that provides the short with its most unshakeable image.

The ending, while not exactly unexpected given the desolate tone of all that went before, still yields a cruel and provocative result.

It’s incredible how inherently affecting a group of various foodstuffs can be when combined with fantastic voice-acting and sincere musical accompaniment, yet that’s what’s seemingly occurred with Dave Green’s film, Meltdown. So often, a director tries to make the mundane and inanimate plausible and most importantly, intoxicating. They fail for several reasons, but the most obvious is because their films don’t possess heart and soul, those indescribable duo of words used to depict the warmest and most eloquent of creations. What Green has done here is entirely simple in essence, but highly productive in its output. He’s taken the inhabitants of a fridge, fed them life through David Cross, Ryan Bradley Heine and others, and allowed us to indulge in a world borne of witty writing, smart direction and wonderful creativity.

The story takes place inside the refrigerator, or, at least the vast majority does. We’re introduced in powerful fashion to Orange, a simple fruit, being gradually and horrifically encased in ice, a product deriving from the faulty temperature of the fridge. What happens next is a process of adventure, a trial of determination and teamwork. Together, the food inside the giant ice box have to somehow climb upwards and reach the temperature settings, all the while discouraged by the cynical Celery. When he berates the company, he decides he better do it and makes the arduous journey to their Northern Lights equivalent.

There is bags of humour emanating from this piece. The voice acting is sharp enough that the writing is allowed to flourish, but the pièce de résistance comes to the fore when the old couple who own the fridge start to encroach on the food’s territory, casually making snide remarks to each other, whilst throwing out, or eating our new favourite fruit or dairy product. They act as antagonists to the plot, yet it’s testament to the actors and director that we come to loathe them towards the end when realistically they’re doing exactly what we do everyday. True, our food probably – note, probably – can’t speak, even though it’d be interesting if it did, but nevertheless, it’s full credit to Dave Green that he’s enforced this sense of nobility upon his characters and that we immediately react through emotional connection and attachment.

Meltdown is a fascinating film in many ways for it describes the actions of love, death, despair and teamwork within the confines of a big old white food storage tub. To even attempt to make the viewer sympathetic to the plight of everyday, inhuman objects you need to possess some considerable skill as a filmmaker and that’s something, based on the intelligence of this film, that Dave Green and his troop of fruits, condiments and half-opened milk cartons possess in abundance.

The greatest thing about Kingdom Rush: Frontiers is its simplicity. With every mechanic laid out so smoothly and for it to play as easily as it does makes it hard to not just have a good time. For that to be true of a tower defence game, a genre that’s become somewhat tired, is quite remarkable. And while Frontiers doesn’t do anything wildly different from its predecessor, it makes a few welcome additions and tweaks to the already well-built Kingdom Rush foundation.

Nothing in Frontiers really pushes the envelope as far the tower defence genre is concerned, but even so it’s hard not to be impressed by it. There’s a simple science to how everything works, and it all works incredibly well. Placing one of the varieties of towers, how to upgrade those towers, each tower’s pros and cons, and how the hero character works are all easy concepts to grasp very quickly, and are fun to use in the process. It can be troublesome selecting specific units when playing on the iPhone, but in general it’s very responsive and accurate.

Frontiers is only a small deviation away from the original Kingdom Rush, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Much of what you’ll see, especially in menus, will look very familiar. It’s predecessor was an excellent game, and while the sequel is largely the same, the small tweaks and additions made are noticeable, and welcome. Heroes now have a persistent level and skill tree, rather than restarting their progression at the beginning of each new level. The array of towers is considerably larger than in the original Kingdom Rush, and the creativity therein is outstanding. Some towers, such as the artillery, can even eventually be upgraded to the point that they become a player controlled unit, rather than a stationary structure.

Frontiers is just as beautiful as you might remember the original Kingdom Rush looking, and more so in some instances. The HD nature of Frontiers on the iPad is assuredly the greatest way to view it, but it’s far more than serviceable on iPhone. One aspect where Frontiers lacks slightly is in the audio department. The tunes on offer here are, honestly, forgettable and without impact. It can make for some rather dull moments when waiting between waves of enemies with nothing of note to hear.

It’s hard not to recommend Kingdom Rush: Frontiers. Its ease of use, elegant simplicity, and sheer mechanical expertise are all without question. While there could have been more done to change up the experience from the original, it’s a forgivable gripe when a game works as well and is as fun as this.

Running Wild Films (a company dedicated to pioneering an indigenous film movement in Arizona) started as a micro-budget film company in 2010 from the creation of renowned African-American playwright Gus Edwards and filmmaker Travis Mills with the aim to build a cinema movement that stays local. Utilising local actors, crew, music, businesses, and more, they have produced more than thirty short films and three feature-length projects since their genesis.

They are in the process of accomplishing their biggest project, to produce 52 short films in 52 weeks. Successfully raising a moderate budget of twelve thousand dollars on Kickstarter in late 2012, the team is well under way with this ambitious undertaking. All of the films are based on public domain short stories by authors such as James Joyce, Edgar Allan Poe and Kate Chopin. They have been adapted and set to take place in modern day Arizona.

The films are set for release in January of 2014 with the hope that this project will encourage filmmakers in Arizona and elsewhere to reach new heights and develop filmmaking in their communities.

“The Art With Impact Program was a very educational and interesting experience.  I did not know what to expect in terms of how many people were going to show up or how they would react to the material.  It was great to see both students and faculty/staff, including on-campus counsellors, at the event and interact with each other.  I think the event was a rewarding experience to everyone who attended, both those affected closely by mental illness and those who do not know much about the topic.”

WEDNESDAY 12^th 

SCREEN SOCIAL: RADAR MUSIC VIDEO – The Book Club, 100 Leonard St, Shoreditch, London, EC2A 4QP – 7pm – £4 / £3 online

Like film? Like Music? Of course you do, which means you’ll like Screen Social too. The music vs film night is turning its spotlight on Radar Music Video, the online commissioning network that matches musicians with directors, as a raft of music videos that have come out of the network since its inception will be on show. Also, everyone’s favourite independent film magazine (that’s us) will be there too, so say hello if you see us, and more importantly, buy a magazine (only 196 days until Christmas).

@ScreenSocial 

SHEFFIELD DOC/FEST – Sheffield, venues, times and prices vary. See website for details.

Doc/Fest celebrates its 20^th birthday with this years installment, and it does so as probably the best regarded documentary festival in the UK (not that it’s a competition). Running from the 12^th until the 16^th of June the festival packs a lot in to a short space of time. Described as “a Film Festival, Industry Session programme and Market place”, it offers pitching opportunities, discussion panels, filmmaking masterclasses as well as screenings of some of the best new documentaries. And parties. Always parties.

@sheffdocfest

THURSDAY 13^th 

KINO LONDON – Electrowerkz, 7 Torrens St, Angel, London, EC1V 1NQ – 7:30pm – £4 / £3 w/flyer

Kino London packed up its short-film bindle and took leave from its old residence at the Horse Hospital to set up at Electrowerkz in Angel (behind the station). While they may be moving to pastures new (and bigger), the same successful Kino film night formula is unchanged. They’re still ‘open-mic’, meaning the organisers don’t watch any of the films before they’re screened, and all the directors will be there to introduce and talk about their work. They also still have their monthly film challenge, giving you the chance to team up with other Kino goers to knock out a short-film in time for next month’s event.

@kinolondon  

FRIDAY 14^th

EDINBURGH SHORT-FILM FESTIVAL – Edinburgh. Locations, times and prices vary. See website for details.

We featured them last week and now the Edinburgh Short Film Festival returns this Friday for round 2. The screenings are on from today until Sunday and they offer a programme that runs the gamut of short-film themes and styles.

@EdinburghShorts

SATURDAY 15^th

EXPLODING CINEMA AT DOC/FEST – Queens Social Club, 4 Queens Road, Sheffield, S2 4DG – 5pm – £2

I know we’ve already featured the Sheffield Doc/Fest once this week, but I feel the inimitable Exploding Cinema, which has a special event at the festival, deserves special mention. As you would expect they have eschewed doing anything as simple as showing some straight forward documentary shorts, and instead are having an entire programme of films shot on mobile phones. How’s that going to go? Who knows. But it’s sure to be different.

@ExplodingCinema 

SUNDAY 16^th

Nope!

MONDAY 17^th

Nope!

TUESDAY 18^th

BECTU FREELANCERS FAIR 2013 – IET London, 2 Savoy Place, London, WC2R 0BL – 10am – £10

Putting the ‘fair’ into BECTU Freelancers Fair 2013, this day of seminars and workshops aims to give freelancers working in film and broadcasting the knowledge they need to make the most of their skills and experience, make a decent living and not get turned over by unscrupulous production companies. They cover a wide range of topics including how to market yourself, advice on pitching, and protecting your work. Potentially a lot of valuable information for just £10.

@bectu 

As I once again join Conway for our second trip down the ghostly Kentucky backcountry roads in Kentucky Route Zero: Act II, I’m immediately reminded what KRZ has to offer, and what I’m likely in store for. It took only a few seconds for that special feeling to reintroduce itself, and it stuck with me for the entire duration, just as it did on my first journey. Act II is brief, but certainly not lacking in atmosphere, or those campfire-like ghost story moments that cemented the initial act as something different and worth seeing through.

Very little has been changed between Acts I and II, fundamentally. The point-and-click adventure style play is back in full force, if a bit less present than before. Act II seems decidedly shorter than the first, and as such there are fewer interactions to encounter. The paranormal nature of those interactions, however, is amplified considerably. I recall leaving Act I feeling as though I’d been interacting with a lighthearted ghost story, and I leave Act II certain I experienced something of an entirely different world. Where the first act touched lightly on those themes, the second goes all out, and doesn’t mask it behind as much vague language.

The story doesn’t quite pick up right where we left off, with protagonists Conway, and his faithful hound. We find ourselves inexplicably at the Bureau of Reclaimed Spaces, and where we go from there only serves to deepen the mystery and intrigue surrounding the fabled Route 0.

The atmosphere established at the outset of Act I makes a triumphant return, and is even denser than before. Rarely does any piece of media contain such an all-encompassing, consistent feel, and KRZ does so with aplomb. The gorgeous art style continues to shine, and there’s even some new, fancier camera work in Act II that further accentuates its already phenomenal presentation.

One of KRZ’s strongest aspects, among many, continues to be its sound design. Rarely do I question whether the wind I’m hearing is coming from a nearby window or the game I’m playing, but this was one such instance. The music is once again top-notch, with another pitch-perfect folk song accompanying an especially ethereal segment.

Kentucky Route Zero: Act I was a strong proof of concept that, by its end, had me convinced of its potential. Act II more than delivers on that promised potential. I know I’ve said this of nearly every aspect of the game so far, but it continues to apply. KRZ is consistent in its greatness, and is, surprise, still more than worth your time.

Kino London, one of London’s most established Short Film events, is to move this week to a new regular venue, the Electrowerkz in Angel. For you Kino veterans out there, news of the new venue is that it’s a bit bigger, and other than that, the tried and tested formula of Kino will remain untouched. So basically it’s Kino as usual with a bit more legroom.

If you’ve never been to Kino London, Gorilla can’t recommend it enough. Kino is an open mic Short Film screening, but whilst anything goes, they didn’t say no rules! In true open mic style, Kino refuses to pre-screen any of the films, simply asking for a name, film title and duration to reserve a screening slot. The rules are simple, the filmmaker must present his or her film in person, no films longer than 6 minutes, films on DVD only and it must include the Kino logo plus the screening number (just for their screening) added to the end.

Those caught breaking or bending the rules, receive the creative punishment of the Kino challenge. For which the audience submit short titles or premises and from which a single idea is eventually distilled by the excellent method of the audience shouting en-mass. All rule breakers, plus any enthusiastic volunteers, their are often many, are put into crews and must return next month to screen their challenge film.

Kino really makes the effort to be an open platform. It’s a great place for filmmakers of all abilities to show what they’ve been working on, from silly ideas filmed on-the-fly in a bedroom, to very accomplished student and professional works. There’s a great little crowd of regular attendees and someone in the audience is always willing to lend a laptop to a hapless filmmaker who’s brought the wrong DVD.

All the talk of rules and challenges, could make Kino sound like some sort of awful “fat camp” for filmmakers – far from it. Kino is a relaxed, fun and welcoming event, a great place to show a first attempt at filmmaking, or for an old hand to rediscover those base pleasures of the artform. Even better, it’s not just filmmakers that attend; there are plenty of ordinary people too- hoorah! Out for a laugh, a few drinks and an unexpected evening of film.

Kino London’s 51st screening is this Thursday 13th of June at the Electrowerkz in Angel. Doors open 7:30pm. Free popcorn!   

Sargent-Disc (An admin company that specialises in the entertainment industry. Not a Dancehall DJ or shit action hero, sadly) and BAFTA are hosting a ‘Filmmakers’ Market’ to help emerging filmmakers. What on earth is a Filmmakers’ market? I hear you cry in terror, well…

The Filmmakers’ Market has been run by BAFTA for the last four years in partnership with Rushes Soho Shorts Festival. This year’s Sargent-Disc BAFTA Filmmakers’ Market is supported by 19 of the UK’s major film organisations. Highlights of the day include: advice on budgeting from The Production Guild; a directing masterclass with Directors UK; a crowdfunding ‘how to’ with Shooting People; a seminar on film tax credit and EIS funding with Harbottle & Lewis; and a British Council-led session on navigating the international festival circuit.

The day will culminate in a ‘New Talent Summit’ where a panel of industry practitioners from Film4, National Film and Television School, Film London, Creative England and the BFI Film Fund will debate the current career development landscape for new filmmakers, and will examine where it is heading in the future.

A well rounded, one-stop-shop for filmmakers, especially thoes working on low to no budget films where a small group of people often find themselves handling every stage of produciton from concept to distribution.

The event takes place on 13th July at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London. Tickets cost £6 per session.