Monthly Archives: July 2012

MostlyFilm goes to Edinburgh

Film Festivals

Gareth Negus, Matthew Turner and EK McAlpine report from the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2012

Gareth Negus

There was a much more positive vibe in Edinburgh this June. After the critical bashing the 2011 Film Festival received, the organisers at least had the sense to sort out one of their most fundamental errors. They appointed a new Artistic Director, Chris Fujiwara, and gave him the time and  the authority to put his own stamp in the programme.

You could see the difference immediately.

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London Indian Film Festival 2012

Asian Cinema, Film Festivals

Indy Datta reviews of some of the highlights of the festival’s third year

Opening Night Film – Gangs of Wasseypur Part 1 (Anurag Kashyap, 2012)

Anurg Kashyap’s That Girl in Yellow Boots was by some way the most accomplished film I saw at last year’s festival, and after Gangs of Wasseypur played in the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes earlier this year, I was hopeful that it would show up at this year’s LIFF.  Frustratingly, what we got was just the first half of the 5-hour film, and with no news as yet of British distribution, I have no idea when, if ever, I’ll see the second half. This isn’t one of those complaints about small portions of terrible food; Gangs of Wasseypur is bold and ballsy film making that delivers and delivers and delivers.

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London 2012 – the Olympic Shorts

Short Films, Sport

by Philip Concannon

The Swimmer

The occasion of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games taking place in London is not just a sporting event, but also a cultural one. The London 2012 Festival will run throughout the summer and will encompass all of the arts in a series of special performances and exhibitions around the capital, with a collection of new short films by British directors being one of the most intriguing offerings. This London 2012 portmanteau film consists of four new works from Mike Leigh, Asif Kapadia, Lynne Ramsay and Max & Dania (Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini). The brief given to these directors allowed them complete freedom to produce a film that reflected London and the games as they saw it. As with any portmanteau film, London 2012 is a mixed bag, but the finished product certainly is an interesting blend of styles.

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