17-27 seP 2009
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Welcome
to the 29th Cambridge Film Festival
L
ast year, the Cambridge Film Festival challenged the traditional limits of cinema space, particularly through our Riverside Screenings. This year, we’re planning to build on this success by presenting a series of bold and imaginative screenings throughout Cambridge. We are honoured to host the UK premiere of IDENTITY OF THE SOUL, a unique five-screen cinematic installation combining music and poetry narrated by Vanessa Redgrave, which will be screened in the historic setting of Emmanuel College. In addition, the Festival is delighted to present CARTES POSTALES: WITH LOVE FROM BEIRUT, a selection of artists’ moving image film and video works specially curated for the Festival and featured in a number of our special events (see pages 14 – 15). We will also be showcasing a diverse range of films that reflect the increasingly transnational nature of the film industry as part of our Border Crossings season. A series of UK premieres that exemplify the diversity of Germany’s contemporary cinema proudly define our German Cinema season and, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Berlin Without Boundaries is a selection of features and documentaries that explore the city today. Additional highlights include a tribute to the
late, great cinematographer and director Jack Cardiff, who passed away earlier this year, and a rare chance to sample the weird and wonderful underground films of Mike and George Kuchar. The bedrock of our Festival is, of course, the wide selection of recent features, documentaries and shorts we present to you from the UK and around the world, many of them UK and even world premieres. We are thrilled to present challenging and provocative new titles from first-time filmmakers and we sincerely hope you will join us in our support of fresh talent. As well as preparing this extensive programme for the 29th Cambridge Film Festival, the Cambridge Film Trust works year-round as a registered charity to promote independent cinema in Cambridge and the Eastern region. We are proud to have helped bring back cinema to Sawston and that Sawston Cinema, run entirely by young people, is a new Festival venue this year. We hope you enjoy the Festival and continue to support the Trust as it endeavours to inspire you throughout the year. Tony Jones, Director, Cambridge Film Trust & Cambridge Film Festival
contents Festival Guide.......................................................4-6 Special Events....................................................... 8-15 Stop Press............................................................... 17 Opening Film and Surprise Film.............................. 19 Main Features................................................... 20-37 German Cinema Today....................................... 38-39 Timetable.......................................................... 41-43 Documentaries.................................................... 44-47 Cinema Palestine.............................................. 48-49 Border Crossings................................................ 50-51 Berlin Without Boundaries............................... 52-53 The Spying Game............................................... 54-57 Revivals.................................................................. 59 Jack Cardiff: A Tribute......................................... 60-61 Mike & George Kuchar..................................... 62-64 Mark Boswell: The Art of Nova-Kino......................... 66 Danny Lyon: American Life.................................. 67 ShortFusion......................................................... 68-74 Cambridgeshire Film Consortium Events....... 76-77 Venue Information.................................................... 78 Ticket Prices & Map.............................................. 79 Festival Staff............................................................. 80 Thanks.................................................................... 81 Index....................................................................... 82 Welcome and Contents | 3
your Guide to the cambridge film festival 2009 All you need to get the most out of this year’s Cambridge Film Festival, in four practical steps
1
Select your films and events
What you have in your hands contains full information and listings for all the films and events confirmed at the time of going to print – complete with a handy day-by-day calendar in the centre pages to help you choose by time of day, or day of the week.
2
book your tickets
Tickets go on sale to Arts Picturehouse Members on Monday 31 August and to the general public on Thursday 3 September Advance tickets for all venues are available: ➜ in person at the Arts Picturehouse Box Office ➜ over the phone on 0871 704 2050* (9.30am – 8.30pm) ➜ as well as online at www. cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
For Picturehouse screenings, collect your tickets from the cinema at least 15 minutes prior to the screening from any sales point, or from the ticket collection machine behind the main ticket desk. For other screenings, collect your tickets from the cinema at least one hour prior to the screening. Alternatively, collect tickets at the venue. Special Festival box office hours will be in operation at the Arts Picturehouse between 31 August and 6 September – from 10am until 15 minutes after the last performance.
New films, guests, events and other surprises continue to be added to the Festival, so don’t forget to check the latest arrivals online at www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk This year, the Festival takes place not only at our host venue, the Arts Picturehouse, but also at Sawston Cinema and less conventional locations, such as the historic settings of Emmanuel College and Ely Cathedral, Magdalene and Bridge Streets, Grantchester Meadows and the nocturnal banks of the River Cam. See page 78 for more information on our venues.
new
New this year is our special Festival pass. For only £30 (£25 for Picturehouse Members / Concessions), you can buy five tickets for any screenings at the Arts Picturehouse. You can also buy as many passes as you like, so it’s great value whether you’re a festival regular or just coming to a film or two with a group of friends.
Your Festival pass can be used to purchase tickets for one or multiple screenings but applies during a single transaction only, whether online, over the phone or in person. The offer excludes screenings at special ticket prices (see page 79 for details).
4 | Festival Guide | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
*Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
3
Take your seat
4
Get online and get interactive
Now for the fun part. The Festival takes place at a range of venues across the city, so to ensure things go with a swing check before setting out where your chosen screenings or events are taking place. If attending more than one venue on the same day, do also ensure you leave sufficient transit time between screenings.
At the Festival, we like to put films and their audiences first. There are no adverts or trailers, which means you get straight on with your chosen film without any fuss – so please take your seat in good time for the start of the performance. To avoid disruption and ensure a better audience experience, we will not admit latecomers once the performance has begun.
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk keeps you in the loop with all the latest info, including ➜ up to the minute details about every screening and event ➜ quick and easy online booking ➜ user comments, ratings and reviews ➜ Festival Daily articles and reviews if you missed the printed copy
www.cfflive.org.uk The late night café-bar at the Arts Picturehouse will be open from 10am-12pm (10am-1am Friday and Saturdays) serving a wide range of food and drink. The food is freshly prepared by As You Like It, and you can order from 11am-10pm, so please make sure you leave enough time to eat before a screening.
Drink & Dine
We make every effort to bring you the films we have promised according to the published schedule, but sometimes last minute changes do occur. Please bear with us on these occasions; we will do all we can to ensure your Festival experience is as enjoyable as possible. We ask that you switch off all mobile phones before the performance begins. Cameras or recording equipment are not permitted. All managers reserve the right of admission. Where you see CFF next to a film title, this denotes a recommended certificate by the Cambridge Film Festival. *Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
It doesn’t have to end when the lights go up. Our websites aren’t just places to find the latest information or book tickets – they offer a total multimedia experience of the Festival.
captures the sights and sounds of the Festival, including ➜ daily podcasts ➜ live streaming of guest Q&A sessions ➜ videos ➜ photos We’ll also be regularly uploading a host of content to Cambridge Film Festival accounts on:
Links to all our accounts can be found on our main website. We’d also be thrilled if you could tag your own content with ‘cff2009’ so that we can feature it on our site as well! www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Festival Guide | 5
The People’s Favourite Film Award Half the fun of the Festival is discussing the films afterwards – and we’d like to know what you think. Go online to register your reactions and rate the films you’ve seen.
Previous winners: CONVERSATIONS WITH MY GARDENER (2008) ➜ ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS: THE WAY OF THE TOSSER (2007) ➜ VOLVER (2006) ➜ BROKEN FLOWERS (2005)
Express your feelings on a scale of 1 to 5 – from ‘loathed it’ to ‘loved it’ – and we’ll keep a daily tally of audience responses. Check the results as and when they change online and also look out for updates in the Festival Daily to see which film emerges as the audience’s favourite. It’s not only us and fellow audience members who are interested in your views. Your list of favourites is eagerly studied by film industry professionals – in fact, the makers of last year’s winner, France’s CONVERSATIONS WITH MY GARDENER, were so pleased with the award that they publicly celebrated it in the film’s promotional materials! To have your say, log on to: www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Festival News, Daily Catch the latest word on the Festival with the Festival Daily newspaper. Look out from midday throughout the Festival for news, features and reviews of every film being shown. Missed that talk with the must-see director or actor? Read the exclusive interview in the Daily. Find your copy daily around the Arts Picturehouse and at other venues across Cambridge. Or read online on the Festival website. The Festival Daily is First issue out on Monday 14 September. kindly sponsored by
6 | Festival Guide | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Festival discount at De Luca! For the fourth year running De Luca Cucina & Bar is serving as the Official Festival Restaurant – and, in what is becoming a timehonoured tradition, they are also offering all Festival ticketholders a generous 10% off their total bill. Just a short walk from the Arts Picturehouse up St Andrew’s Street (past Parker’s Piece), De Luca is the place for freshlyprepared, locally-sourced modern Italian food – and they guarantee to serve you in time for you to see your movie. There’ll be a special Festival set menu in addition to their regular menu, and there’s also a beautiful cocktail lounge which is open late – perfect for that post-movie cocktail. We’ll be using the restaurant as our official venue for entertaining Festival guests, too – so who knows who might be on the next table? To receive your discount, simply present a Festival ticket to your waiter or waitress as you are seated. Offer valid 17 – 27 September, and you can claim your discount on as many meals as you have room for! De Luca Cucina & Bar, 83 Regent Street, Cambridge Tel: 01223 356 666 www.delucacucina.co.uk
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
special events See page 79 for ticket prices for all special events
Friday 25 September, 5.00pm | Arts Picturehouse
Machinima: Programming with Light (CFF 15) Machinima is a form of digital filmmaking that uses sets and characters from videogames or specialist tools like Moviestorm to generate computer animations, either in real time using multiple players to drive avatars, or by setting up scenes and action character by character, calling ‘action’ by clicking a mouse button. Following the success of our presentation of the best in Machinima at the 2008 Cambridge Film Festival, this year we bring you new films from a range of directors exploring the capabilities of a
medium which may lack the detail and dynamic range of high-end CGI, but offers enormous opportunities for creative filmmaking.
Sunday 20 September, 4.30pm | Arts Picturehouse
Free event
Science on screen
Science on Screen: Darwin, denial and documentary A panel debate – produced by New Humanist magazine, in association with the Cambridge Film Festival – featuring Sile Lane, director of Public Liaison Sense about Science, a charity that equips people to make sense of science and evidence (and which is behind the recent campaign to Keep Libel Laws out of Science) and medical historian Louise Foxcroft, author of The Making of Addiction and Hot Flushes, Cold Science: The History of Modern Menopause. Science proceeds, often at a an imperceptible pace, by constructing and testing hypotheses and collecting and patiently sifting data, never quite sure where it will end up or which beliefs may be overturned. Film, on the other hand, seems to require drama, revelation, action – a story arc leading to a big finale – in which even the twists are part of the tale.
What are, or should be, the ethics of putting scientific debate on screen when feature films are desperate for audiences and low cost technology has opened up the documentary form to whoever wants to use it, offering those who do not accept the findings of science a way to reach an audience and present a biased and distorted view of key issues? The panel will discuss the issues raised by four films in the Festival – the notorious pro-Intelligent Design film EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED, the AIDS-denial film HOUSE OF NUMBERS, Roger Nygard’s exploration of belief, THE NATURE OF EXISTENCE and the big budget Darwin biopic CREATION – and ask if there is any evidence that film can depict science accurately. ➜ Chair: Caspar Melville, editor of New Humanist magazine.
➜ The Machinima programme will be introduced by Hugh Hancock, guru of the Machinima movement, creator of one of the first Machinima feature films, BLOODSPELL, and co-author with Johnnie Ingram of Machinima for Dummies. The programme will include films by renowned Machinima directors, including Lainy Voom and Phil Rice.
‘Machinima’ are animated films that are made by ‘filming’ inside the 3-D environment of a videogame or special machinima software. The term comes from the combination of ‘machine’ and ‘cinema’ and is pronounced muh-SHEEN-ih-muh or muh-SHIN-ih-muh. 8 | Special Events | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Monday 21 September, 7.00pm | Queen’s Theatre
our hosPitality (U) Directors: John G. Blystone, Buster Keaton. Starring: Buster Keaton, Ralph Bushman. USA 1923. 73 mins.
Saturday 19 September, 5.00pm | Arts Picturehouse
gloBalisation oF indian cineMa: oPPortunities For the west Indian films have always enjoyed a large global audience, but it is only recently that the Indian film industry has begun to engage its Western counterparts and vice versa. Examples of growing transnational collaboration include India-based Reliance Entertainment’s $1 billion plan to co-develop and co-produce films with Hollywood heavy hitters – and, of course, the Oscarwinning success of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. Hosted by the Centre for India & Global Business at the Judge Business School University of Cambridge, in partnership with Blood Orange Media and the Cambridge Film Trust, this event explores how the Indian film industry is going global and the resulting opportunities for the international cinema industry. ➜ A special screening of HAVA ANEY DEY, an Indo-French co-production shot on location in Mumbai, will be followed by a Q&A with director Partho Sen Gupta. By invitation only. For further information, please email: indiaevents@jbs.cam.ac.uk www.india.jbs.cam.ac.uk North Sea Screen Partnership (NSSP) seeks to tap the potential of the creative industries to promote innovation and growth in the NSR and increase the region’s competitiveness in a global context. Screen East is one of 14 delivery partners involved in the NSSP. Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Buster Keaton’s first feature-length comedy is also one of his finest. Young man Willie McKay (Keaton) is heading to Kentucky to claim his inheritance – but his life in the city, well away from his kinfolk, has left him blissfully unaware of a bitter, longstanding feud between the McKays and neighbouring family, the Canfields. On the train south he meets and falls in love with a beautiful woman, only to find himself a guest of her family – the Canfields. Full of Keaton’s trademark slapstick and deadpan humour – plus a little social satire – this silent classic features two legendary Keaton sequences: the fragile railway tracks of the new steam age, and the stunning scene in which he saves his true love as she cascades over the rapids (a stunt which Keaton himself performed). ➜ A rare treat for silent film fans, this special screening features live piano accompaniment from Festival regular Neil Brand, acclaimed writer, performer and composer, described by Radio 4’s Today Programme as the “doyen of silent film accompanists”.
Monday 21 September, 9.00pm | Queen’s Theatre
vaMPyr (PG) Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer. Starring: Julian West, Maurice Schutz, Rena Mandel. France/Germany 1932. 70 mins.
Loosely based on Sheridan Le Fanu’s genre-defining, 1872 vampire novel Carmilla (which preceded Stoker’s Dracula by 25 years), VAMPYR is a highly atmospheric, unsettling tale of fear and obsession from legendary Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. It follows the fortunes of Allan Gray, a young student of the occult, who takes rooms at a village inn, little realising that the region is cursed by vampires. In the dead of night, Gray receives a mysterious nocturnal visitor, who leaves behind a package labelled ‘To be opened after my death’ – and from that moment on, events take ever darker, weirder turns... Shot with a silent film aesthetic despite being within the sound era (and a year after Lugosi starred in Universal’s DRACULA), VAMPYR is an alternative take on the cinematic vampire, creating an intense, nightmarish atmosphere that haunts the mind long after the lights go up. ➜ Accompanied by a new score by Paul Robinson, performed live by HarmonieBand.
special book tickets for both live music events, oUr hosPitalitY and vamPYr offer for £12 adults, £10 Picturehouse members / Concessions
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | special events | 9
Thursday 24 September, 7.30pm | West Road Concert Hall
Baroque in high definition
Concertos used in film soundtracks
The Academy of Ancient Music opens its Wigmore Hall and West Road Concert Hall seasons with a panoply of baroque music featured in films, under the direction of Richard Egarr. CORELLI: Concerto Grosso in G minor Op.6 No.8 ‘Christmas Concerto’ l MARCELLO: Concerto in D minor for oboe l VIVALDI: Concerto in B flat major for violin l JS BACH: Concerto in F minor for harpsichord l LULLY: Sarabande from Les Plaisirs l LULLY: Plus j’observe ces lieux and Passacaille from Armide l JS BACH: Concerto in D minor for 2 violins ➜ Free pre-concert talk with Carlo Cenciarelli at 6.30pm.
Tickets: £14, £20, £27 available from the Cambridge Arts Theatre Box Office on 01223 50 33 33. £5 tickets for students and under 18s available on the door, subject to availability. More details: www.aam.co.uk Friday 25 September, 4.00-5.00pm | Sunday 27 September, 10.45-11.45am | Arts Picturehouse
Cambridge on Camera: Alumni Screenings As part of the University of Cambridge’s Alumni Weekend, the Festival invites you to view archive gems showing students participating in great Cambridge traditions such as May Week, punting and rowing. Spanning decades of material, there are sure to be familiar scenes and maybe even one or two familiar faces! ➜ If you would like to know more about Alumni Weekend, please contact the Cambridge Alumni Relations Office (CARO) on 01223 332 874 or alumni@foundation.cam.ac.uk.
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Wednesday 23 September, 7.30pm | Ely Cathedral
In association with Screen East
BAFTA presents Michael Palin: A Life in Pictures
In conversation with Mark Kermode at the Cambridge Film Festival Four-time BAFTA nominee and two-time BAFTA winner Michael Palin joins The Culture Show’s Mark Kermode on stage at Ely Cathedral for a special, one-night-only BAFTA event celebrating his film career. For this exclusive BAFTA: A Life in Pictures interview, Palin will share anecdotes and unheard stories from his decade in the film industry in the 1980s. The event will be illustrated with film clips from his body of work and preceded by a signing of his forthcoming book, Halfway to Hollywood Diaries 1980 – 1988. Michael Palin established his reputation with MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS and RIPPING
YARNS. His work also includes several famous films with Monty Python, as well as THE MISSIONARY, A PRIVATE FUNCTION, AMERICAN FRIENDS, FIERCE CREATURES and an awardwinning performance in A FISH CALLED WANDA. His television credits include two films for the BBC’s GREAT RAILWAY JOURNEYS, the plays EAST OF IPSWICH, NUMBER 27 and Alan Bleasdale’s GBH. He has written bestselling books to accompany his seven very successful travel series, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, POLE TO POLE, FULL CIRCLE, HEMINGWAY ADVENTURE, SAHARA, HIMALAYA and NEW EUROPE. He is also the author of a number of children’s stories, the play The Weekend and
the novel Hemingway’s Chair. In 2006 the first volume of his acclaimed diaries, 1969-1979: The Python Years, spent many weeks on the bestseller lists. Copies of Palin’s book Halfway to Hollywood Diaries 1980 – 1988 can be purchased in advance from Topping & Company Booksellers of Ely, and there will be an opportunity to buy copies at Ely Cathedral on the evening of the event. The book signing will begin at 6.15pm via the Cathedral’s South West Transept. Please note that this event will be filmed and by purchasing a ticket you agree to your image being used.
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Special Events | 11
A uniQue Five-sCReen CinemAtiC event to mark the beginning of a nationwide tour of independent cinemas, Norwegian director thomas høegh’s stunning multi-screen work receives its UK premiere at the Cambridge Film Festival.
Thursday 17 Sep, 9.00pm | Friday 18 Sep, 5.00 & 6.30pm | Sunday 20 Sep, 5.00 & 6.30pm | Monday 21 Sep, 5.00pm | Tuesday 22 Sep, 5.00 & 6.30pm | Queen’s Theatre, Emmanuel College
identity oF the soul (CFF PG) Director: Thomas Høegh. Narrator: Vanessa Redgrave. UK 2008. 60 mins.
Based on Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s poem Terje Vigen and Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish’s A Soldier Dreams of White Lilies, IDENTITY OF THE SOUL is a unique, fivescreen cinematic installation combining poetry and music in a tale of revenge, reconciliation
and the individual. Symbolic imagery and an original soundtrack that fuses Scandinavian and Arabic musical traditions with contemporary electronic rhythms unite to complement the stirring narrative, read in English by the esteemed actress Vanessa Redgrave. Featuring images taken from around the world, archive footage from the BFI National Archive and new work, and shown on high-definition plasma screens, IDENTITY OF THE SOUL
gives the audience a sense of stepping into landscapes where the poems can come to life. Having already played to audiences in Norway and across the Middle East – most recently in Jordan – this highly-acclaimed visual and auditory event now comes to the impressive surroundings of Emmanuel College. The juxtaposition of this historic setting with state-of-the-art projection and a contemporary
uK Premiere
soundscape helps to create the perfect backdrop for Høegh’s stunning visuals, Ibsen and Darwish’s contemplative words and Redgrave’s sensitive narration. ➜ We are delighted to welcome director Thomas Høegh and producer Martine Rød to the opening night of IDENTITY OF THE SOUL. With special thanks to
“iDENTiTy OF THE SOUl immerses the audience in music, imagery and poetry; all designed to assault and seduce them, on a scale that is intensely emotional, sensitive and thought-provoking.” Qatar Tribune 12 | special events | box office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Thursday 24 September, 8.30pm | Arts Picturehouse
BaFta Presents PeeP show Followed By q&a (CFF 15) Join the writers and main cast of PEEP SHOW at a special BAFTA event at the Cambridge Film Festival. Writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, and lead actors David Mitchell (Mark), Robert Webb (Jez) and Matt King (Super Hans), will appear for one night only at the Arts Picturehouse to talk about the brand new series and bring you a special preview episode from series six. The episode will be screened on Channel 4 the following evening, so this is your chance to see it first. The event will be chaired by Andrew Newman, Head of Entertainment at Channel 4.
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Series five left us hanging… Mark and Sophie are still married, just. She wanted to marry someone, anyone, whilst Mark simply didn’t have the guts to back out. Meanwhile Jeremy and Sophie’s secret love tryst may have a longer lasting upshot than either anticipated. Is the baby Mark’s, or is it Jeremy’s? Who will Sophie end up with? Join us and find out. An Objective Production for Channel 4. This event forms part of BAFTA’s UK-wide learning and events programme which aims to provide public access to the film, TV and video games industries. To find out more visit www.bafta.org
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | special events | 13
© THE DISTRICT
Sunday 20 September, from 8.00pm
silents on the streets (CFF U)
The Festival once again comes to Cambridge’s oldest shopping street, setting up six screens (twice as many as last year) to present a unique and diverse programme of entertainment that’s completely FREE.
Sunday 30 & Monday 31 August, 8.30pm
sunset viewings on grantchester Meadows
A unique, eco-friendly curtain-raiser to the 2009 Cambridge Film Festival in the picturesque surroundings of Grantchester Meadows.
Taking place along Bridge Street and Magdalene Street, these public screenings allow you to discover the moving image in an entirely new way. Stroll from the top of Magdalene Street down to Quayside to view screens on Magdalene College’s immaculate lawns, and on to Bridge Street and the stunning backdrop of St John’s College. Enjoy beautiful cinematography, hilarious silent comedy and archive footage showing how Cambridge has changed over the years. The screenings begin at 8.00pm – but arrive any time until 10.00pm. There’ll be a running programme (approx. 20 mins) so if you miss the beginning, you can simply stay until it comes around again. ➜ Works being screened will include Lamia Joreige’s NIGHTS AND DAYS (2007) – part of CARTES POSTALES: WITH LOVE FROM BEIRUT, a selection of artists’ moving image film and video works specially curated for the Festival.
On Sunday 30 August, using our much-loved inflatable screen, we present the first ever silent disco screening of the hit musical MaMMa Mia! (PG) on the banks of the River Cam. Then, on Monday 31 August we pay cinematic homage to the great outdoors with a preview screening of Big river Man (CERT TBC). The film follows the world’s greatest endurance swimmer, Martin Strel, in his epic quest to swim the length of the Amazon. We are delighted to be joined by the man himself, who may take a dip in the Cam! ➜ The gates to Spring Lane Field (next to The Orchard) will open at 6.00pm, and screenings start at 8.30pm. Local food and drink are available onsite. Please see pages 78-79 for ticket prices.
PeoPle’s cineMa (CFF U)
COMING TO A SHOPFRONT NEAR YOU! Throughout September we’re bringing cinema to the streets of Cambridge with our pioneering People’s Cinema project. We’ll be turning several empty units in our historic city centre into cinema spaces with a difference. From the shopfront, you’ll be able to view a programme of imaginative shorts, gems from the region’s archives and a diverse range of work by international artists and local students – all completely FREE of charge! We’ll also be updating you on the Festival and providing you with a few special treats along the way. ➜ Included are extracts from CARTES POSTALES: WITH LOVE FROM BEIRUT, a selection of artists’ moving image film and video works specially curated for the Festival (see below).
Our core programmes are compiled by pupils at Long Road Sixth Form College and will run on a loop from approx. 5.00 – 9.00pm. People’s Cinema is part of Changing Spaces, a groundbreaking city centre initiative that aims to creatively enhance our high streets.
Don’t On Tuesday 22 September artist, filmmaker and miss contributor to Silents on the Streets Lamia Joreige
(NIGHTS AND DAYS) will be presenting a special workshop at Emmanuel College as part of our programme entitled CARTES POSTALES: WITH LOVE FROM BEIRUT. Please check our website for the latest details. 14 | special events | box office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
RiveRsiDe sCReeninGs the quintessentially Cambridge experience – cinema on a punt!
Imagine yourself sitting in a punt as it glides through the atmospheric, nocturnal stillness of the Cam, a glass of bubbly in hand, cinema screens on the riverbank flickering into life as you approach. Welcome to the Cambridge Film Festival’s Riverside Screenings – a much-praised addition to the 2008 Festival programme, back this year to offer a quintessentially Cambridge cinema experience.
“it’s dark, it’s atmospheric, it’s ever so slightly spooky. Go. Even if it’s a bit chilly. it was unforgettable.” 2008 Festivalgoer
Thursday 10 September, 7.30pm
heartland (CFF PG) Embark from Grantchester at dusk on a chauffeured punt to watch our selection of specially curated films, each evening based around a different theme. We provide champagne, warm blankets and the promise of a memorable and magical event. ➜ Check in at the Red Lion pub in Grantchester from 7.30pm where you can enjoy a drink or pre-punt supper. Once checked in, you’ll be escorted to the punts which will be departing at 15 minute intervals between 8.00pm and 9.00pm (you can choose your allocated time on booking).
tickets: adults: £25, Picturehouse members / Concessions: £20 includes chauffeured punt from grantchester meadows to dead man’s Corner and complimentary champagne For only an extra £5 you can purchase a return punt trip: details on the Festival website
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Nurture your inner romantic with a series of shorts and excerpts focusing on love. In keeping with the dramatic setting, the programme explores the theme of romance and its melodramatic qualities.
Monday 14 September, 7.30pm
Saturday 12 September, 7.30pm
Past tiMe (CFF PG)
uP to the south (CFF PG)
Take a trip back into the region’s past with an archive programme featuring East Anglia in days gone by. Poignant, nostalgic, captivating – with a few comedic touches along the way.
At once challenging and touching, personal and political, Jayce Salloum and Walid Ra’ad’s UP TO THE SOUTH (TALEEN A JUNUUB) provides a lyrical insight into the minds, hearts, and lived reality of the people of southern Lebanon – and tests the border between art and documentary. ➜ This screening is part of CARTES POSTALES: FROM BEIRUT WITH LOVE, a selection of artists’ moving image film and video works specially curated for the Festival.
Thursday 24 September, 7.30pm
darKlight (CFF 15) A programme of creepy clips to chill the blood and make you wonder whether that owl you heard really was an owl. Do you dare?
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | special events | 15
STOP PRESS – JUST CONFIRMED! Late night
K S! ROC
Director: Jonathan Caouette. UK 2009. 82 mins.
In an out-of-season holiday camp on the coast of England, cult music festival All Tomorrow’s Parties serves up a heady combination of alternative music, crazy golf and chalet-living. This post-punk DIY bricolage uses material generated by the fans and musicians themselves to capture the uncompromising spirit of a parallel music universe.
THE JUNGLE RADIO (Cff 15)
Director: Susanne Jaeger. Germany 2009. 90 mins.
Documentary about a fearless woman who runs a citizens’ radio station in the Nicaraguan jungle, with a unique mission: the fight against the all-prevalent domestic violence. She has been threatened, but refuses to be intimidated: “If they have to shoot me down in front of the microphone, everyone will hear.”
Monday 21 September, 11.15pm
TONY (Cff 18)
Director: Gerard Johnson. Starring: Peter Ferdinando, Ian Groombridge, Kerryann White. UK 2009. 72 mins.
Tony (Ferdinando) lives in a run-down part of London, jobless, friendless just wanting to fit in. His only company comes in the form of ultra-violent 1980s action movies he watches repeatedly day after day on VHS. Tony does have one hobby, however: luring people home and brutally murdering them… Print source: Revolver Entertainment
Sunday 20 September, 2.45pm
BARAKA (PG)
Late night
S! DOC
Director: Ron Fricke. USA 1993. 96 mins.
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (PG)
Director: Terence Young. Starring: Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Lotte Lenya. UK 1963. 115 mins. English, Russian, Turkish and Romanian with English subtitles.
BARAKA is a ‘documentary’ in the tradition of Godfrey Reggio’s KOYAANISQATSI: a film without words shot in 70mm that attempts to transcend the boundaries of language, nationality and religion to relate “the only myth worth thinking”, the story of the earth and human interaction.
The second and, according to many, best of all the Bond films sees Sean Conney’s incarnation of Bond travelling to Turkey to assist in the defection of a Soviet agent. Complicating matters is the looming threat of spectre as they seek to assassinate the troublesome hero and avenge the death of Dr No.
Print source: Magidson Films
Print source: Park Circus
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Director: Froukje Tan. Netherlands 2008. 83 mins.
Tuesday 22 September, 3.45pm
Print source: Warp Films
Wednesday 23 September, 11.00pm | Sunday 27 September, 10.30am
LEFT (LINKS) (CFF PG)
Dexter leads an ordered life in which everything is perfectly compartmentalised. Until, that is, a woman who looks exactly like his girlfriend appears, and things start to become very strange indeed... A quirky tragicomedy about the little peculiarities of life, this directorial debut also features a charming cast playing multiple roles.
Tuesday 22 September, 11.30pm | Wednesday 23 September, 11.30pm
ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES (CFF 15)
Monday 21 September, 6.30pm
Saturday 26 September, 1.00pm | Sunday 27 September, 4.00pm
LOSING BALANCE (Cff 15)
Director: Felix Fuchssteiner. Germany 2009. 105 mins.
The story of a girl growing up in a family that is slowly falling apart. After a nightmare weekend in a lakeside cabin, 14-year-old Jessika realises that her only chance is to disengage herself from her family and her over-protective father. Special screening: On Tuesday 22 September at 6.30pm, Sawston Cinema will be screening PROJECTING THE PAST, the first film to be made by the Sawston Cinema Club, plus some archive treats! Followed by LITTLE WHITE LIES at 8.30pm (see page 32 for details).
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Stop Press | 17
Sunday 27 September, 3.30pm
For your eyes only... surPrise FilM (CERT TBC) Director: Unnamed. Starring: Undisclosed. Country: Not Telling.
Every year we present a surprise movie – a film which has absolutely no advance warning of title, director, stars or genre – just a time and a place. Every year, it sells out. Are Festival audiences mad? Considering we lavish so much energy on providing full information for our screenings, it may seem odd to actively keep something secret – but we know from past experience that you love a mystery! What will it be this year? Only the Festival Director knows for certain, and neither truth drugs nor hypnotic flashing lights have persuaded him to divulge the information. Even the projectionists are kept in the dark (a novelty for them, I’m sure).
oPeninG niGht FeAtuRe
Print source: Sssh! You know who you are... ➜ Past Surprise Films have included Herzog’s RESCUE DAWN, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, the first UK screening of A COCK AND BULL STORY and, last year, BURN AFTER READING. So with no hype and no reviews to distract you, simply sit back in your seat, let the lights dim and watch as the truth is finally revealed!
Thursday 17 September, 8.00pm
the arMy oF criMe (15)
(L’ARMÉE DU CRIME)
uK Premiere
Director: Robert Guédiguian. Starring: Virginie Ledoyen, Simon Abkarian, Robinson Stévenin, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Ariane Ascaride. France 2009. 139 mins. French with English subtitles.
Paris, 1941. The poet Missak Manouchian leads a group of youngsters and émigrés in a clandestine battle against the Nazi occupation: 22 men and 1 woman fighting for an ideal and for freedom. News of their daring attacks, including the assassination of an SS General, eventually reaches Berlin. Under the orders of the Gestapo, French police and collaborators hound Manouchian and his Résistants until, to escape torture, one of their associates denounces the whole group. After a show trial,
the 23 heroes are brought to face a firing squad... Screened in the Official Selection at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, THE ARMY OF CRIME features an ensemble cast of renowned actors including Ariane Ascaride and Jean-Pierre Darroussin (both Guédiguian veterans), and Virginie Ledoyen. One of France’s leading contemporary filmmakers, Robert Guédiguian depicts a historic moment with great poignancy and relevance for audiences even today. ➜ We are delighted to welcome director Robert Guédiguian for a Q&A following the screening. Print source: Optimum Releasing
“a hymn to life and to resistance, a very contemporary call to struggle for human rights, for resistance…” Jean-Luc Douin, Le Monde
special offer: Join us for our opening night gala in the arts Picturehouse bar. For only £10 (£8 Picturehouse members / Concessions), you can enjoy a complimentary glass of bubbly and nibbles before the screening. You may also have the Price includes entry to screening. Gala begins at 7.00pm chance to meet a filmmaker or two!
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | opening night Feature | 19
main features
ADORATION (Cff 15) Director: Atom Egoyan. Starring: Scott Speedman, Rachel Blanchard, Kenneth Welsh, Devon Bostick, Arsinée Kanjian. Canada 2008. 100 mins.
ADORATION is celebrated director Atom Egoyan’s twelth feature film. Sabine (Arsinée Kanjian), a high school French teacher, gives her class a translation exercise based on a real news story about a terrorist who plants a bomb in his pregnant girlfriend’s luggage. The assignment has a profound effect on orphan Simon (Devon Bostick), who re-imagines the news item as his own family’s story. After reading his story to the class, he takes it to the Internet and it has an unimaginable and lifechanging impact. Inspired by a real-life news story from 1986, ADORATION is woven with the common threads that appear in much of Egoyan’s work and speaks to our connections – with each other, with our family history, with technology and with the modern world. Print source: New Wave Pictures
Saturday 19 September, 11.30pm
1234 (Cff 15)
Sunday 20 September, 9.00pm
Late night
K S! ROC
Director: Giles Borg. Starring: Ian Bonar, Lyndsey Marshal, Kieran Bew. UK 2008. 85 mins.
“A profound and provocative exploration of cultural inheritance, communications technology and the roots and morality of terrorism.” The New York Times
Bespectacled cardigan-wearer Stevie endures a job he despises and finds himself unable to get a girlfriend – but at least he has music. With his friend Neil, he’s been kicking about in bands for a while, but it is not until the pair team up with Billy – a more experienced hand with drive and ambition – and Billy’s cute pal Emily, that there’s a real possibility they might be on to something good. Now armed with a demo, Stevie beats a welltrodden path to record company doors, but finds he also has to manage the tensions developing within the band, while keeping his own aspirations in check. Borg brings his own experiences in music to this authentic tale of a struggling band in London; think THIS IS SPINAL TAP, but several rungs further down the ladder. Print source: Carson Films
20 | Main Features | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Thursday 17 September, 6.15pm | Friday 18 September, 10.45am
THE AGENT (Cff 15) Director: Lesley Manning. Starring: William Beck, Stephen Kennedy, Maureen Lipman. UK 2008. 80 mins.
The story of a frustrated writer and his agent, THE AGENT is a smart two-hander adapted from a hit source play. Skilled but selfdoubting writer Stephen (Stephen Kennedy) hasn’t heard from his agent Alexander (William Beck) in the four months since sending in the final draft of his new novel, Black. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Stephen goes to Alexander’s office to demand a response. What gives Alex the right to decide what people should read? And why do so many worthless books make money? Flustered, Alexander brushes the questions away, but a dramatic ultimatum soon develops. A blackly comic drama, THE AGENT takes you behind the scenes of the publishing world to witness the wheeling and dealing required to create the next bestseller. ➜ We are delighted to welcome playwright and producer Martin Wagner to the screening. Print source: Pinter & Martin Ltd
“Anyone with any sort of artistic ambitions whatsoever will love THE AGENT.” Telegraph Online
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Thursday 17 September, 5.30pm
Birdwatchers (CFF 15) (LA TERRA DEGLI UOMINI ROSSI)
Director: Marco Bechis. Starring: Claudio Santamaria, Alicelia Batista Cabreira, Chiara Caselli. Italy/Brazil 2008. 108 mins. Portuguese, Guaraní and English with English subtitles.
uK Premiere Wednesday 23 September, 6.00pm | Thursday 24 September, 3.30pm
a Bad day to go Fishing (CFF 15) (MAL DIA PARA PESCAR)
Director: Alvaro Brechner. Starring: Gary Piquer, Jouko Ahola, Antonella Costa. Spain/Uruguay 2009. 100 mins. Spanish and English with English subtitles.
A BAD DAY TO GO FISHING tells the story of Orsini (Piquer), an impresario who arrives in a small town with his protégé, a one-time German wrestling champion named Jacob van Oppen (Ahola). Orsini’s scheme is to use van Oppen’s status to lure locals into duels with him, promising a large cash sum to anybody that can pin him in three minutes. In reality, the matches are fixed to protect van Oppen’s reputation – and Orsini’s income. The pair’s plan is threatened, however, when an opponent is too drunk to wrestle and a local woman (Costa) offers up her muscular husband as a replacement to face off against van Oppen, who is nursing sore muscles, a nasty cough and an even nastier alcohol habit. With plenty of deadpan satire, this is a fine example of a Uruguayan cinema rarely seen outside its own country.
The fazendeiros lead a wealthy and leisurely existence. They own huge fields with transgenic plantations and spend their nights with tourists who come birdwatching. Meanwhile, at the borders of their lands, the uneasiness of the indigenous GuaraníKaiowà Indians is growing. Enclosed in reserves, with no other opportunity other than working as semi-slaves in sugar beet plantations, the suicide rate among their young people is rising. But soon, a rebellion begins. Led by Indian Nadio and a shaman, a group of Guaraní-Kaiowà starts camping outside the farm to claim their land back. The two opposing worlds face each other, engaged in a war of ideology and identity – but, as tensions rise, curiosity begins to inspire a deep bond between the young shaman apprentice Osvaldo and a fazendeiro’s daughter. Print source: Artificial Eye
Tuesday 22 September, 8.30pm
Boogie woogie (CFF 15) Director: Duncan Ward. Starring: Danny Huston, Stellan Skarsgård, Gillian Anderson, Alan Cumming, Joanna Lumley. UK 2009. 90 mins.
The sale of one of Piet Mondrian’s final Boogie Woogie paintings unleashes the false smiles and unsheathes the knives in this savage satire on the art world, featuring an all-star ensemble cast. Aged collector Rhinegold (Christopher Lee) owns the work in question and he doesn’t want to sell. But his dwindling fortunes open the door to the cutthroat competition between rival dealers Art Spindle (Huston) and Bob Maccelstone (Skarsgård). Comparison with THE PLAYER are inevitable as BOOGIE WOOGIE gleefully excoriates the contemporary art scene from struggling artists to gallery directors and all others unwittingly sucked up in their wake. As Rhinegold paraphrases, these are people who “know the price of everything and the value of nothing”. Print source: Vertigo Films Grand Arcade are proud sponsors of the BOOGIE WOOGIE screening and delighted once again to be associated with one of our favourite actresses, the voice of Grand Arcade, Joanna Lumley.
Print source: Bavaria Film International
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | main Features | 21
Tuesday 22 September, 9.00pm | Queen’s Theatre
BRINKMANN’S WRATH (CFF PG)
(BRINKMANN’S ZORN)
Director: Harald Bergmann. Starring: Eckhard Rhode, Alexandra Finder, Baki Davrak. Germany 2006. 105 mins. German with English subtitles.
Wednesday 23 September, 3.00pm
BORN IN 68 (NÉS EN 68) (CFF 15) Directors: Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau. Starring: Laetitia Casta, Yannick Renier, Yann Trégouët, Christine Citti. France 2008. 170 mins. French with English subtitles.
An epic drama of life and sexual politics in France. Friends and lovers caught up in the excitement of May ‘68 at the Sorbonne eventually leave Paris for a communal life in the country. The collective seems at first like a fairytale of left-wing hippiedom, but principles are gradually betrayed as its members drift away to bourgeois careers. Laetitia Casta gives a great performance as the central figure, Catherine; loved by both Hervé and Yves and eventually left by everyone, she remains a gentle but determined matriarch. Print source: Peccadillo Pictures
“It offers a lesson in the hopes and dreams of the generation of ‘68 and how we live now.” BFI
Harald Bergmann’s film charts the final days in the life of German poet and novelist Rolf Dieter Brinkmann who died in an accident in London in April 1975, aged 35. 18 months before his death, whilst distancing himself from the literary scene, Brinkmann obtained a Uher Reporter tape recorder and recorded his thoughts, his friends, his environment, and the sounds of the city of Cologne, as well as generating large quantities of Super 8 film and thousands of Instamatic snapshots, which he collaged with texts and printed material. BRINKMANN’S WRATH uses original material, contemporary actors and modern cinema technology to bring the unfinished work to life, and transcend the boundaries of both historical fiction and documentary film-making. Print source: Harald Bergmann Filmproduktion
Showing with: SPEAK (CFF PG) Director: John Latham. UK 1969. 11 mins.
A stunning example of animated abstraction, in the tradition of Len Lye’s films of the 1930s. Print source: LUX
Friday 18 September, 6.30pm | Monday 21 September, 11.00am
THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO (Cff 15) Director: Phil Hawkins. Starring: Duncan Stuart, Jessica Blake, Aidan Magrath, Dan Morgan. Netherlands 2008. 101 mins.
Director Phil Hawkins teams with children’s author Stephen Potts to adapt Philip Pullman’s novel detailing an adolescent romance gone horribly awry. Chris (Duncan Stuart) and Jenny (Jessica Blake) are teenage lovers from the gritty side of modern Oxford. Chris is a naive young lad, suspended between school and college, and Jenny is a free spirit fleeing a traumatised childhood. They are caught in the crossfire as a gangster gunman comes looking for Chris’ boss to avenge past events – and heady romance gives way to growing suspense. THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO introduces a fresh young cast, a soundtrack of unsigned bands from Oxford’s vibrant music scene and a score by veteran composer Ludovico Einaudi to tell a heartbreaking story of star-crossed lovers reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. ➜ We hope to welcome director Phil Hawkins and actress Jessica Blake for a Q&A following the first screening. Print source: Courtesy of Phil Hawkins
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Main Features | 23
Friday 18 September, 5.30pm | Monday 21 September, 1.30pm
CAN GO THROUGH SKIN (CFF 18)
(KAN DOOR HUID HEEN)
Director: Esther Rots. Starring: Rifka Lodeizen, Wim Opbrouck, Chris Borowski. Netherlands 2008. 94 mins. Dutch with English subtitles.
Esther Rot’s outstanding film from the Netherlands tells of the claustrophobia and trauma experienced by a young woman (a brilliant performance by Rifka Lodeizen) after she is attacked in her Amsterdam flat. She leaves her urban lifestyle behind and buys an abandoned house in the Zeeland countryside – but rather than being haunted by this uncanny building, she literally haunts the house herself, hiding in its corners and disappearing in cupboards, while getting further and further drawn into violent fantasies. Sunday 20 September, 6.00pm | Monday 21 September, 3.30pm
THE CALLING (Cff pg) Director: Jan Dunn. Starring: Brenda Blethyn, Emma Beecham, Susannah York. UK 2009. 105 mins.
Frustrated by her relationship with a depressed boyfriend – and driven to explore her lifelong battle with her own religious beliefs – Joanna (Beecham) takes the unfashionable step of entering into a convent, greatly upsetting her mother in the process. Her new, cloistered life proves surprisingly active however, with the eccentric nuns abuzz with secret rivalries and tensions, including wise, progressive Sister Ignatius (Blethyn), the allegedly screwed-up Prioress (York), and a whole host of other Sisters, each one of them uniquely entertaining. Joanna may have removed herself from the busy business of the wider world, but her choices don’t get any simpler behind the convent walls. Nor do the pressures of the outside world consent to stay where she has left them...
➜ We are delighted to welcome director Esther Rots and composer Dan Geesin for a Q&A following the screening. Print source: Films Boutique
Showing with: FLOOD (CFF PG) Director: Dan Geesin. Netherlands 2005. 11 mins.
“We’re going to the country...” sings a voice as the kids head off into the Netherlands landscape. A musical tale of tents and water by Dan Geesin, composer of CAN GO THROUGH SKIN. Print source: One Day Film
➜ We are delighted to welcome director Jan Dunn and actress Susannah York for a Q&A following the first screening.
Thursday 17 September, 6.30pm | Tuesday 22 September, 11.00pm
COURTING CONDI (Cff 15)
UK Premiere
Director: Sebastian Doggart. USA 2008. 107 mins.
Can one man with a dream woo the most powerful woman in the world? COURTING CONDI will answer this very question whilst exploring the life of one of the most inspiring and controversial figures in American politics, Condoleezza Rice. Love-struck everyman Devin Ratray has spent years writing love songs for his unusual crush, but it wasn’t until he asked his friend Sebastian Doggart to help him film music videos for these songs that this movie was born. Doggart decided to help Devin by introducing him to people who could potentially secure him a meeting with the US Secretary of State, learning as much as he can about her in the process in an effort to win her heart. Using a combination of interviews, archive footage, animated stills and music, COURTING CONDI is the first ever musical docu-tragi-comedy! Print source: Courtesy of Evan Greenhill
Print source: Medb Films
24 | Main Features | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Sunday 27 September, 6.00pm
CRYING WITH LAUGHTER (Cff 18) Director: Justin Molotnikov. Starring: Stephen McCole, Malcolm Shields, Andrew Neil, Jo Hartley. UK 2009. 93 mins.
Science
Saturday 19 September, 8.30pm
CREATION (Cff pg)
on screen
Preview
Director: Jon Amiel. Starring: Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Jones, Jeremy Northam, Benedict Cumberbatch, Martha West. UK 2009. 101 mins.
Joey Frisk is a stand-up comic whose life has just stopped being funny. In the most important week of his career, with an American talent scout flying in to Edinburgh to check out his act, his life begins to unravel. Already struggling with an addiction to cocaine, he’s barely able to cope with his family responsibilities. When his landlord promises to evict him for not paying his rent, Joey retaliates that night during his act, threatening to kill the man in front of a captive audience. Things spiral out of control when Joey wakes up the next day and is arrested for Grievous Bodily Harm. To make matters worse, Joey has no memory of what happened. Looking for help, he turns to Frank Archer, a former friend who is keen to get reacquainted. But as Joey finds out, friendship is the last thing on Frank’s mind. Print source: Synchronicity Films / Wellington Films
World Premiere Friday 25 September, 8.30pm | Saturday 26 September, 1.15pm
Cuckoo (Cff 15) Director: Richard Bracewell. Starring: Laura Fraser, Richard E. Grant, Antonia Bernath. UK 2009. 80 mins.
CREATION is the true story of the life of Charles Darwin and the single most explosive idea in history. Told in a collage of scenes from the past and present, laced with stories of exotic animals and the dark dreams of a troubled mind, CREATION is part ghost story, part psychological thriller, part love story. Paul Bettany (MASTER AND COMMANDER, A BEAUTIFUL MIND) stars as a young Charles Darwin writing On the Origin of Species. His theory would turn the world upside down and challenge the love of his deeply religious wife, played by real life partner and Oscarwinner Jennifer Connelly. Coming in the year of the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth – as well as the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species – the film celebrates ideas that remain controversial to this day.
where the web works CUCKOO is a thriller about sound. The film follows the story of Polly (Fraser), a medical researcher desperate to get out of her dead-end life. She is feeling trapped in her own flat due to pressures from work, her jealous sister (Bernath) and obsessed boss (Grant). Being neglected by her singer songwriter boyfriend certainly doesn’t help matters either. After being tugged in all directions by her nearest and dearest, Polly feels like she is beginning to go stir crazy while all alone in her flat. Before she knows it, sounds begin to torment her. Voices in the darkness. Whispers of deceit. She knows she’s not cuckoo, but why won’t the noises go away? This psychological thriller will have its audience asking just as many questions as the excellent cast of characters while the narrative heads inexorably towards its dramatic climax.
➜ We are delighted to welcome director Jon Amiel for a Q&A following the screening.
➜ We are delighted to welcome director Richard Bracewell and producer Tony Bracewell to the screenings.
Print source: Film Distribution
Print source: Cuckoo Films
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Main Features | 25
Friday 18 September, 8.30pm | Saturday 19 September, 3.45pm
DESIRE (Cff 18)
UK Premiere
Director: Gareth Jones. Starring: Oscar Pearce, Tella Kpomahou, Daisy Smith. English and French with English subtitles. UK 2009. 91 mins.
Thursday 24 September, 11.15pm
THE DESCENT: part 2 (18)
Late night
K S! SHOC
Director: Jon Harris. Starring: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Gavan O’Herlihy. UK 2009. 94 mins.
In true QUANTUM OF SOLACE style, this sequel to Neil Marshall’s tense and claustrophobic subterranean horror THE DESCENT (2005) picks up the moment the previous film left off. Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) – sole survivor of an all-female caving expedition whose members fell victim to a race of vicious, cannibalistic creatures lurking in a remote Appalachian cave system – staggers out into daylight, traumatised and bloodied. But the local sheriff is dissatisfied with her crazed explanation of her companions’ disappearance, and organises a rescue party, which he forces Sarah to join. Before long, rock falls drive the rescuers deeper underground, and Sarah’s worst nightmare – the one from which she prayed she had awoken – begins to play out all over again... Executive produced by Marshall, THE DESCENT: part 2 marks the directorial debut of Jon Harris, editor on a range of highly acclaimed projects, including SNATCH, EDEN LAKE and its predecessor, THE DESCENT. Print source: Warner Bros. Pictures UK / Pathé Productions Ltd
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Alone in his attic, agoraphobic screenwriter Ralph wrestles with his demons, emasculated by the success of his soap-star wife Phoebe, unable to complete the screenplay that will rescue his reputation and his family. With a deadline looming, he invites student au pair Néné from Paris to look after the children. But is she carer, muse, lover or thief? As Ralph succumbs to his desire, Néné embarks on a passionate relationship with both husband and wife that leads all three into areas of emotional and creative transgression. Who is using whom? Who is really writing the script called Desire? Where will it end? This steamy psychodrama delivers breathtaking performances from rising stars Oscar Pearce and Tella Kpomahou, proving director Gareth Jones to be a mature master of the art of nuance. ➜ We are delighted to welcome director Gareth Jones and producer Fiona Howe for a Q&A following the screening. Print source: Scenario Films
Thursday 24 September, 6.00pm | Saturday 26 September, 10.45am
EASIER WITH PRACTICE (Cff 18) Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez. Starring: Brian Geraghty, Kel O’Neill, Kathryn Aselton. USA 2009. 101 mins.
Brian Geraghty plays Davy, a writer trying to draw attention to his new, unpublished book. The answer, he decides, is a promotional tour, and with his brother (O’Neill) in tow he embarks on the long journey. Life on the road, however, soon starts to lose its lustre – until, that is, Davy receives a chance phone call in his motel room. A lengthy and heated conversation develops with the random female caller, who he learns is named Nicole (Aselton) and soon Davy finds himself in a long-distance relationship with a complete stranger. Naturally, it isn’t long before he decides he wants to meet the mysterious Nicole… Based on a true story, this is an intriguing and gripping study of sex, love and loneliness. Print source: Forty Second Productions
“An unexpectedly stirring first feature… something that really reaches out and touches you.” Hollywood Reporter
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Main Features | 27
Saturday 26 September, 4.00pm | Sunday 27 September, 1.30pm
FOR MY FATHER (Cff 15)
UK Premiere
(SOF SHAVUA B’TEL AVIV)
Director: Dror Zahavi. Starring: Shredi Jabarin, Hilli Yalon, Shlomo Wishinski. Germany/Israel 2008. Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles.
Sunday 20 September, 6.00pm | Monday 21 September, 1.15pm
THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE (15)
(LE PREMIER JOUR DU RESTE DE TA VIE)
Director: Rémi Bezançon. Starring: Jacques Gamblin, Zabou Breitman, Deborah Francois. France 2008. 114 mins. French with English subtitles.
Rémi Bezançon’s second feature film centres around the chaotic but close Duval family, and how five key days change the lives not only of each individual member, but the family unit as a whole. Bereavement, sibling rivalry, infidelity, loss of virginity and giving up smoking are all focal points in this kaleidoscopic chronicle of a dysfunctional family that is, nonetheless, full of energy. Each of the five important dates – spanning twelve years from 1988 to the climactic 2000 – sees one of the five members of the family take the lead, providing a unique look at the group from a different vantage point, and director Bezançon uses masterful camera techniques and special effects to amplify the personalities of each family member. A funny, insightful and moving portrait of family life.
Terek (Jabarin), a young Palestinian and would-be suicide bomber, is on a deadly mission into Israel for the sake of his father. But when a mechanical fault causes his bomb to fail, and the repair of his explosive vest is delayed by the need to send for spare parts, Terek finds himself stranded in Tel Aviv for a weekend, forced to live among people he has been raised to regard as enemies. Much to his surprise, he begins to connect with the people around him, and starts to fall for a girl from an Orthodox family named Keren (Yalon). As their relationship blossoms, it seems that love can conquer all – but both the police and those who sent Terek on his mission are closing in on him...
Monday 21 September, 8.30pm | Tuesday 22 September, 11.15pm
the GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (Cff 15)
Late night
K S! SHOC
Print source: Spring Hill Entertainment
(MÄN SOM HATAR KVINNOR)
“Quite simply the most powerful and moving film I can remember seeing in years.” The Huffington Post
Director: Niels Arden Oplev. Starring: Naomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Sven-Bertil Taube, Peter Andersson. Sweden/Denmark/Germany 2009. 152 mins. Swedish with English subtitles.
➜ We are delighted to welcome director Rémi Bezançon for a Q&A following the first screening.
Based on the first book of Swedish writer Stieg Larsson’s bestselling Millennium trilogy, and set in contemporary Sweden, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO stars the popular Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist hired by a wealthy businessman to investigate the disappearance of his niece 40 years earlier. Blomkvist – with the help of the tattooed, ruthless computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Naomi Rapace) – links the disappearance to a number of grotesque murders and begins to unravel a dark and appalling family history. The Millennium novels are probably the biggest international phenomenon to emerge from Sweden since ABBA, and director Niels Arden Oplev finds some elegant visual shortcuts for Larsson’s exposition-heavy prose in this accessible thriller. Print source: Momentum Pictures
Print source: Metrodome Distribution
28 | Main Features | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Saturday 19 September, 11.15pm
HIERRO (Cff 18)
Late night
K S! SHOC
Director: Gabe Ibáñez. Starring: Elena Anaya, Beatriz Segura, Andrés Herrera, Mar Sodupe. Spain 2009. 91 mins. Spanish with English subtitles.
Monday 21 September, 9.00pm | Tuesday 22 September, 1.15pm | Thursday 24 September, 11.30pm
HARDLY BEAR TO LOOK AT YOU (Cff pg) Director: Huck Melnick. Starring: Jeremy Herman, Anna Neil, Huck Melnick. UK 2009. 118 mins.
Love isn’t blind, it’s just extremely shortsighted. In this tale of unrequited love, Daniel (Herman), a gourmet chef turned screenwriter, does his best to win the heart of Stella, a street performer and his muse. But Stella seems coyly determined to remain an object of desire, teasing Daniel – and the audience. Eschewing mainstream film techniques in favour of handheld cameras and ambient sound, HARDLY BEAR TO LOOK AT YOU is a smart, subtle drama that takes a quietly contemplative look at relationships, evoked with a sense of immediacy and realism. Whilst reflecting on the activity of filmmaking and the act of looking, the film also questions our ability to see another individual for who and what they really are. ➜ We are delighted to welcome director Huck Melnick for a Q&A following the first screening. Print source: AndBut Films
Named for the Spanish island to which María (Elena Anaya) and her five-year-old son Diego are traveling by ferry when the latter disappears, HIERRO bears comparison to Lars von Trier’s ANTICHRIST for its reality-blurring study of a mother’s consuming grief and eventual madness. Six months after Diego’s vanishing, Maria returns to El Hierro and sees – or thinks she sees – her son playing on the beach. As she travels along the terrible path that will lead to her son, Maria will ultimately make that most unbearable discovery of all: that some mysteries are better left unrevealed. This visually stunning Spanish thriller boasts the writer of KING OF THE HILL, the producers of PAN’S LABYRINTH and THE ORPHANAGE and Guillermo del Toro himself in the credits. Print source: Optimum Releasing
Saturday 26 September, 8.45pm
HUMPDAY (Cff 15) Director: Lynn Shelton. Starring: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore. USA 2009. 94 mins.
Ben (Duplass) and Andrew (Leonard) share a friendship that dates back to college. Wishing to save Ben from what he perceives as a monotonous married life, Andrew invites him to a party attended by some very open-minded people. As it turns out, the guests at this particular party all plan to enter a local amateur porn festival – something for which Andrew has major ambitions. But how to stand out from the crowd? After some brainstorming and a great deal of alcohol, the pair decide the best way for them to stand out is to film themselves having sex – with each other. The next day, backing out of the plan proves alarmingly difficult. Reassuring themselves that it’s neither gay nor porn, but art, the pair decide nothing will get in their way – except perhaps Ben’s wife Anna (Delmore), their heterosexuality, and certain practical issues. Print source: Vertigo Films
“A beautifully filmed and poignant movie.” The Huffington Post Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Main Features | 29
Saturday 19 September, 6.15pm
KATALIN VARGA (15) Director: Peter Strickland. Starring: Hilda Peter, Tibor Palffy, Norbert Tanko. Romania/UK/Hungary 2009. 82 mins. Romanian and Hungarian with English subtitles.
Saturday 26 September, 11.15pm
JOHNNY MAD DOG (Cff 18)
Late night
K S! SHOC
Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire. Starring: Christophe Minie, Daisy Victoria Vandy. France/Belgium/Liberia 2008. 98 mins.
15-year-old Johnny Mad Dog (Christopher Minie) heads a platoon of soldiers who are younger than he is, fighting a war in an unnamed African country. Charged with taking over a city in an attempt to unseat the government, Johnny leads this band of killers on a murderous rampage toward their destination, leaving mayhem in their wake. Meanwhile, the studious Laokolé (Daisy Victoria Vandy), lives with her young brother and disabled father and dreams of a better life – until Johnny’s hurricane of destruction comes her way. Filmed in Liberia with unknown performers, a number of whom lived through the horrors of conflicts similar to those depicted here, JOHNNY MAD DOG is a visually dazzling modern war film that acknowledges the hellish plight of children involved in warfare. Print source: Momentum Pictures
Peter Strickland’s Transylvania-set drama is a remarkable achievement: a road movie, a revenge narrative and a compassionate study of the drawn-out effects of trauma all tied together in a neat package. Hilda Peter plays the titular rural woman, whose life is irrevocably altered when she reveals a violent secret from her past. Kicked out by her husband (Tanko), Katalin sets out to confront her demons – an odyssey which draws her into danger, uncertainty and possible redemption. Meanwhile, a secondary story of two brothers seeking revenge on Katalin weaves in and out of the narrative to set up a gripping finale. This powerful and elegant debut by the British directorial discovery of the year features breathtaking imagery with striking use of colour, and a superbly atmospheric musical score. Print source: Artificial Eye
Friday 18 September, 9.00pm
KIN (CFF 15)
UK Premiere
Director: Brian Welsh. Starring: Dominic Kinniard, Nicola Marsland, Jean Boht. UK 2008. 80 mins.
Frank’s life in London is uncomplicated. A game of pool, a pint and spending time with his care worker Sally are the extent of his wants. But Frank’s life takes a dramatic turn when a phone call from his estranged sister forces him back home to face a life he had long forgotten. Dealing with issues of family responsibility that are familiar to all of us, KIN is a film about family, care, and the distance that can grow between those who should be closest. A painfully touching experience, this is also a remarkable directorial debut from Brian Welsh, whose subtlety clearly singles him out as one to watch. KIN shares common ground with Alan Clarke, early Ken Loach and David Leland’s WISH YOU WERE HERE, but with a low-budget approach (the film was shot for £12.5k) that is as impressive as it is unique – and an inspiration for fellow filmmakers. ➜ We hope to welcome director Brian Welsh for a Q&A following the screening. Print source: National Film and Television School
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Main Features | 31
Friday 18 September, 6.45pm | Saturday 19 September, 10.45am | Tuesday 22 September, 8.30pm (Sawston Cinema)
LITTLE WHITE LIES (Cff pg)
UK Premiere
Director: Marcus H. Rosenmüller. Starring: Markus Krojer, Zoé Mannhardt, Dominik Nowak. Germany 2009. 100 mins. German with English subtitles.
Saturday 26 September, 11.30pm
LE DONK AND SCOR-ZAY-ZEE (15)
Late night
K S! ROC
Director: Shane Meadows. Starring: Paddy Considine, Scor-zay-zee, Olivia Colman. UK 2009. 72 mins.
Set in 1930s Germany and based on the novel of the same name by Anna Maria Joki, LITTLE WHITE LIES is a humorous and subtly portentous parable about friendship, truth and the destructive power of lies. Life seems good for 13-year-old Alexander. He is in the A class at school, he has his best friend Maulwurf and a potential girlfriend in Lotte. But when Alexander accidentally spills ink on a book he borrowed from a friend in the B class, ruining it, he is suddenly faced with a moral dilemma. Thinking it is the easy way out, he destroys the evidence and denies everything – only for accusations to start flying. Before long, the crime is being used as the basis of a hate campaign against the B class, and it seems that everyone must choose a side.
UK Premiere Friday 25 September, 9.15pm
LOOKING FOR PALLADIN (Cff pg) Director: Andrzej Krakowski. Starring: Ben Gazzara, David Moscow, Talia Shire, Vincent Pastore. USA 2008. 115 mins.
The celebrated pairing of director Shane Meadows and actor Paddy Considine returns in this hilarious faux-rockumentary. Considine plays Donk, a rock ‘n’ roll roadie who has lived, loved and learned. Donk used to think he had it all, but 15 years later he’s lost his classy, pregnant girlfriend (Colman) to another man and is trying to turn his life around. Opportunity comes knocking in the form of up-and-coming Nottingham rap prodigy Scor-zayzee (playing himself). With Meadows’ fly-on-the-wall crew in tow, Le Donk sets up for an Arctic Monkeys gig and also sets out to make Scor-zay-zee a star – by securing him a support slot. An unpredictable, irrepressible paean to spontaneous filmmaking – and to a burgeoning UK rap talent – this is improvisational British comedy at its finest.
Few actors can boast having appeared in films by Otto Preminger, John Cassavetes, the Coen brothers and Spike Lee. Ben Gazzara can, and he stars here as two-time Oscar winner Jack Palladin, a retired actor now living in Guatemala. This gentle film sees arrogant Hollywood talent agent, Josh Ross (David Moscow) sent, somewhat reluctantly, to lure Palladin out of retirement. The young agent’s contempt for the ‘old’ star mirrors his comedic distaste for the local community, whose help he desperately needs in order to find him. The search is further complicated – emotionally, at least – by the fact that the retired actor was once married to Josh’s late mother, and what Josh hopes will be a quick and lucrative deal turns into a soul-searching journey as the two men confront the past they had forsaken.
Print source: Verve Pictures
Print source: Looking for Palladin LLC
Print source: Die Film GmbH
32 | Main Features | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Monday 21 September, 5.30pm
MARY AND MAX (CFF 15) Director: Adam Elliot. Voices: Toni Collette, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Eric Bana. Australia 2009. 92 mins.
By citing links with 25 CHARING CROSS ROAD and ABOUT SCHMIDT animator Adam Elliot acknowledges the adult audience with his feature debut MARY AND MAX. Narrated by Barry Humphries this claymation epic charts the 20 year pen-pal relationship between the eight-year-old Mary Dinkle (Collette), who lives in Melbourne, and Max Horovitz (Hoffman), a 44-year-old Jewish man with Asperger’s Syndrome living in New York. Conceived and painstakingly hand animated by Elliot and his team, the grown-up themes of loneliness and love are far removed from Wallace and Gromit, but MARY AND MAX shares the visual energy of Aardman Animations. Elliot’s previous short Harvie Krumpet won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film in 2003.
Friday 25 September, 6.00pm
MACHAN (CFF 12A) Director: Uberto Pasolini. Starring: Dharmapriya Dias, Gihan De Chickera, Dharshan Dharmaraj. Sri Lanka/Italy/Germany 2008. 109 mins. Sinhala, German and English with English subtitles.
THE FULL MONTY producer, Uberto Pasolini, directs this funny and touching (true) story about a group of socially deprived and pressured slum dwellers who find an invitation to a handball tournament in Bavaria. The one-way-ticket to the West could be the answer to their prayers and solution to all their problems, and its chance discovery seems to them like a present from the Gods. Despite not knowing what ‘handball’ is, they submit an application to the tournament – and before long a mismatched collection of friends, colleagues, creditors and policemen join together to form the unlikely Sri Lanka National Handball Team. MACHAN has won multiple awards in festivals around the world, being praised both for the thought-provoking issues it explores and the humour that persists even in the darkest hours as these ‘sportsmen’ undertake their journey.
Print source: Icon Entertainment International
“Another bold example of adult storytelling through animation.” Screen International
Saturday 26 September, 6.30pm
MORRIS: A LIFE WITH BELLS ON (12A) Director: Lucy Akhurst. Starring: Charles Thomas Oldham, Derek Jacobi, Naomie Harris. UK 2009. 100 mins.
Morris dancing may be an oft-mocked pastime, but it is no laughing matter if we’re to believe the characters in this charming British mockumentary. Derecq Twist (Oldham) is the leader of the Millsham Morris group, considered one of the top Morris teams in the country and now the subject of a documentary. However, problems arise when Derecq’s innovative avant-garde style draws the ire of Quentin Neely (Jacobi), Chief Executive of the Morris Circle. Millsham are duly expelled, preventing them from completing the routine they have been rehearsing for months. At this point, the producer and film crew break the cardinal rule of documentary, intervening in order to fly Derecq to Los Angeles to meet his transatlantic counterparts. Together, he and the team develop ‘New Morris’ in the hopes of fulfilling his life’s ambition, but how will Derecq adapt to life stateside?
Contains mild moderate language.
Contains two uses of strong language and moderate sex references.
➜ We are delighted to welcome director Uberto Pasolini for a Q&A following the screening.
Print source: Twist Films
Print source: Yume Pictures Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Main Features | 33
Friday 18 September, 11.10pm
Late night
PONTYPOOL (Cff 15)
K S! SHOC
Director: Bruce McDonald. Starring: Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, Georgina Reilly. Canada 2008. 96 mins. English and French with English subtitles.
Saturday 19 September, 8.45pm
NAVIDAD (Cff 15)
UK Premiere
Director: Sebastián Lelio. Starring: Manuela Martelli, Alicia Rodríguez, Diego Ruiz. Chile/France 2009. 99 mins. Spanish with English subtitles.
Selected for the prestigious Directors’ Fortnight at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, NAVIDAD offers an intimate portrait of three teenagers, each with diverse family problems. It is Christmas Eve in Santiago de Chile and Aurora takes her boyfriend, Alejandro, to her late father’s dilapidated house in the country in search of his old record collection. Tensions soon mount between the young couple and Alejandro decides to leave Aurora – but on his way out he finds an intruder, a vulnerable girl named Alicia, who has run away from home. The three gradually discover a closeness that will soothe their alienation and loneliness, even if only for one night. Elegantly shot in HD, the film explores the thoughts and desires of a new generation of Chileans born after the dictatorship, who come to realise that the only revolution possible is the revolution inside. ➜ We are delighted to host an online Q&A with director Sebastián Lelio live from Chile.
Anyone familiar with GREMLINS or Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast will know that every disaster needs a deejay. Cue down-on-his-luck shock jock Grant Mazzy (McHattie), banished to the small Canadian town of Pontypool. Whilst doing his radio show, disturbing reports of bloody riots filter in from callers – and soon the zombie-like hordes are laying siege to his studio. Director Bruce McDonald (HIGHWAY 61) toys with the horror genre, fashioning something fresh in the process. Based on screenwriter Tony Burgess’ novel Pontypool Changes Everything, this is horror with a great, big, verbose difference – not least in character actor Stephen McHattie’s motormouth performance. Print source: Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment
“Think of this witty, economically gory little tour de force as 28 Days Later written by linguist Noam Chomsky.” Entertainment Weekly
Tuesday 22 September, 6.00pm
SÉRAPHINE (CFF PG) Director: Martin Provost. Starring: Yolande Moreau, Ulrich Tukur, Anne Bennent. France/Belgium 2008. 125 mins. French and German with English subtitles.
Set in Senlis, France in 1914 – and winner of seven French César Awards, including Best Actress and Best Film – SÉRAPHINE tells the remarkable true story of the mysterious painter of the same name. Art patron Wilhelm Uhde (Tukur) discovers Séraphine Louis (Moreau) while she is working as a cleaning lady in an apartment he has rented. Despite being the laughing stock of the town – and contrary to her cruel landlady’s opinions – Séraphine is secretly a wonderfully gifted artist. Uhde’s discovery of the maid’s hidden talent leads to the pair striking up a long-lasting friendship as he attempts to inspire confidence in the painter, encouraging her to exhibit her work in Paris. The film explores their friendship, the struggles brought on by the Depression, and Séraphine’s unique lifestyle habits – as well as her declining psychological state. Print source: Metrodome Distribution
Print source: MC Films
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Main Features | 35
Tuesday 22 September, 8.30pm
THIRST (BAKJWI) (18)
UK Premiere
Director: Chan-wook Park. Starring: Kang-ho Song, Ok-vin Kim, Haesook Kim. South Korea 2009. 133 mins. Korean with English subtitles.
Sunday 20 September, 8.45pm
THE SOLOIST (12A)
UK Premiere
Director: Joe Wright. Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Jamie Foxx. UK/USA/France 2009. 117 mins.
Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx star in an extraordinary true story of how a chance meeting can change a life. From the director of the Oscar-nominated ATONEMENT, Joe Wright, THE SOLOIST tells the poignant tale of disenchanted Los Angeles newspaper reporter Steve Lopez (Downey) who discovers brilliant street musician Nathaniel Ayres (Foxx) and the unique friendship that transforms them both. Lopez approaches Ayres as a story idea but as he begins to unearth the mystery of how Ayres, once a dynamic prodigy, wound up living on the streets he embarks on a quixotic mission to get Ayres back to the world of music. As he fights to save Ayres’ life, Lopez realises that it is Ayres – with his unsinkable passion – who is profoundly changing him.
THIRST is a vampire film with a twist. A devout, good-natured priest (Song), loved by the local community, volunteers to take part in a medical experiment seeking to cure a terrible disease. The experiment fails, and, after seemingly coming back from the dead and being heralded as a hero, the priest begins to suffer a craving for human blood. As changes in his mind and body lead him into a lustful affair with the wife of one of his oldest friends – tired of the monotony of her life – the priest descends further and further into acts of depravity, completing his transformation from an agent of good to a being of evil, as he clings desperately to his final shreds of humanity. THIRST presents a new take on the archetypal story, with plenty of dark humour. Print source: Metrodome Distribution
“In its best moments, Thirst offers something of the poetic force of cinema’s timeless masterpieces.” Screen International
Contains one use of strong language, moderate threat and drug use. Print source: Universal Pictures Ltd
“A deeply empathetic exploration of mental illness and a winning showcase for the talents of its two stars.” Time Magazine 36 | Main Features | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Sunday 20 September, 7.15pm | Tuesday 22 September, 1.00pm
TREELESS MOUNTAIN (CFF 15)
UK Premiere
Director: So Yong Kim. Starring: Hee Yeon Kim, Song Hee Kim. Korea/USA 2008. 89 mins. Korean with English subtitles.
Jin, a feisty six-year-old, lives with her mother and chubby little sister, Bin, in a cramped apartment in Seoul City, South Korea. When their mother decides to go looking for their estranged father, Jin and Bin are forced to stay with their alcoholic aunt in a small town for the summer. The girls are given a piggy bank with a promise from their mother that she will return when it is full – but what at first seems like an annoying sojourn becomes a dire situation for the girls when their aunt loses her house. After their mother fails to return, Jin and her sister are forced to move to a farm owned by their grandparents, and it is through this journey of abandonments that Jin comes to learn the importance of family bonds. Inspired by her grandmother’s determination and hard work, she begins to understand that taking care of her sister may be a way of filling the missing link in her heart. Print source: Soda Pictures
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Wednesday 23 September, 6.45pm
TULPAN (Cff pg) Director: Sergei Dvortsevoy. Starring: Tolepbergen Baisakalov, Ondas Besikbasov, Samal Esljamova. Germany/Kazakhstan/Poland/ Russia/Switzerland 2008. 100 mins. Kazakh and Russian with English subtitles.
Friday 25 September, 11.20pm
Late night
TRIANGLE (15)
Director: Christopher Smith. Starring: Rachel Carpani, Michael Dorman, Melissa George. UK 2009. 99 mins.
K S! SHOC
From the director of CREEP and SEVERANCE comes this British horror film set in the Bermuda Triangle. When a young set of friends embarks on a yachting trip one of them in particular, Jess (Carpani), gets the awful feeling that all is not quite right. Her fears are realised when a violent storm hits and the group appear doomed until rescue miraculously comes in the form of a passing ocean liner. However Jess’ feelings of dread are not calmed when the crew find the vessel to be mysteriously abandoned. Strangest of all is the overwhelming sense of déjàvu Jess feels as she walks the oddly familiar corridors. Quickly it becomes apparent that the group are not alone, and a sinister stranger begins to hunt them down one by one... Print source: Icon Film Distribution
Winner of the Prix Un Certain Regard at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, acclaimed Kazakh documentarian Sergey Dvortsevoy’s first narrative feature is a gorgeous marrying of tender comedy, ethnographic drama and wildlife extravaganza. Following his Russian naval service, young dreamer Asa returns to his sister’s nomadic brood on the desolate Hunger Steppe to begin a career as a shepherd. But before he can tend a flock of his own, Asa must win the hand of the only eligible bachelorette for miles: his mysterious neighbour, Tulpan. Accompanied by his sidekick Boni, Asa will stop at nothing to prove he is a worthy husband and herder. TULPAN’s gentle humour and stunning photography transport audiences to the harshly beautiful, barren landscape of the windy Kazakh plains and the rapidly vanishing way of life the locals lead. Print source: New Wave Pictures
Thursday 17 September, 8.45pm
WHITE LIGHTNIN’ (Cff 18) Director: Dominic Murphy. Starring: Edward Hogg, Stephanie Astalos-Jones, Kirk Bovill. UK 2009. 84 mins.
Growing up, Jesco White (Edward Hogg) found himself shuffling between reform schools, work camps, and his home in West Virginia until his father, a famous mountain dancer, taught him how to tap. After his father’s murder, Jesco begins to dance to control his wicked ways and takes his show on the road, where he meets Cilla (Carrie Fisher), the love of his life. As Jesco is forced to face his past, we bear witness to the dual powers of revenge and redemption, and the lengths to which he will go to have both. WHITE LIGHTNIN’ is a phantasmagoric tumble into the dark corners of artistic genius, addiction, and insanity. Based on the life of a fabled mountain dancer, director Dominic Murphy’s film creates a cleverly stylised portrait that is nothing short of sensational. ➜ We hope to welcome director Dominic Murphy for a Q&A following the screening. Print source: Momentum Pictures
“A demented slice of genius.” The Guardian
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Main Features | 37
german cinema today The German film industry has seen a significant resurgence in the last decade, and it is reflected in these new features from German filmmakers, ranging in subject from the terrors of the Red Army Faction (RAF) to the everyday joy and pain of loving relationships. Whether delving into the nation’s literary heritage for a new take on a classic text, exorcising the ghosts of the recent past or tentatively exploring the possibilities for a multicultural future, these films – all premiering at the Festival – demonstrate the extraordinary diversity of contemporary German cinema.
Sunday 20 September, 1.00pm | Tuesday 22 September, 10.45am
BUDDENBROOKS: THE DECLINE UK Premiere OF A FAMILY (Cff pg) Director: Heinrich Breloer. Starring: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Iris Berben, Jessica Schwarz. Germany 2008. 151 mins. German with English subtitles.
In this adaptation of Thomas Mann’s famous novel, director Heinrich Breloer focuses on the fourth generation of the Buddenbrook family – a once-powerful lineage tragically hindered by personal and public failures. Set in the port city of Lübeck during the mid-19th century, BUDDENBROOKS follows the family’s trials as Tony and Thomas reach the age of marriage. Seemingly impeded by fate every step of the way, they struggle as economic hardship and personal defeats weigh down on familial relations. This period drama succeeds in conveying the trauma of living in a crumbling dynasty at the end of an era, with award-winning production and costume design. Exceptional acting elevates BUDDENBROOKS beyond the usual period drama clichés and highlights the gripping personalities that breathed life into Mann’s work. Print source: Bavaria Film International
Wednesday 23 September, 9.00pm
EVERYONE ELSE (Cff 15)
UK Premiere
(ALLE ANDEREN)
Director: Maren Ade. Starring: Birgit Minichmayr, Lars Eidinger, Hans-Jochen Wagner. Germany 2009. 119 mins. German and Italian with English subtitles.
On the surface, Chris and Gitti are lost in perfect amorous bliss during a getaway in their Sardinian holiday home. But there are unspoken tensions. Full of verve, the idiosyncratic Gitti is fearless in expressing her love for Chris, while he is more reserved in his outlook on life. When they meet another couple, clearly happier and more successful than they are, Chris decides to take a more decisive role. Gitti tries to conform to his new ideal, and with a second chance to discover themselves – and each other – the young couple suddenly seem to have the opportunity to be as happy as everyone else... Award-winning director Maren Ade portrays the couple and their contradictory longings with subtle humour and poignancy, showing the lengths lovers will go to to save their relationship. Print source: Bavaria Film International
“An insightful essay about the way lovers feed on each other’s flaws.” Screen International
38 | German Cinema Today | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Sunday 27 September, 6.30pm
UK Premiere
MOGADISHU WELCOME (cff 18) Director: Roland Suso Richter. Starring: Nadia Uhl, Saïd Taghmaoui, Thomas Kretschmann. Germany 2008. 90 mins. German and Arabic with English subtitles.
Saturday 26 September, 6.15pm
LONG SHADOWS (CFF 15)
UK Premiere
(SCHATTENWELT)
Director: Connie Walther. Starring: Ulrich Noethen, Franziska Petri, Uwe Kockisch. Germany 2008. 92 mins. German with English subtitles.
After 22 years in prison, one-time terrorist Widmer has been released. Once a leading member of the second generation of the RAF, Widmer led a kidnapping that backfired badly, leaving bank director von Seichfeld and one of his employees dead. Set up with a place in an anonymous apartment complex in Freiburg by his lawyer Ellen, Widmer has some matters he would like to take care of – but first he wants to make contact with his now grown-up son, Samy. Soon a strangely compelling love-hate relationship develops with his neighbour – a young woman called Valerie who is also a client of Ellen. Set in contemporary Germany, LONG SHADOWS tells of the aftermath that still haunts victims and collaborators of the RAF today, with suitably bleached, shadowy cinematography and a gripping script. Print source: Sola Media
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Filmed at the same time as THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX – in which she acted as a vicious second generation RAF terrorist – Nadia Uhl shines here as the brave stewardess Gabriele Dillmann, who contributed to the rescue of her passengers following the hijacking of Lufthansa flight 188 in October 1977. The hijacking by a Palestinian terrorist group sympathetic to the RAF cause shook the world and changed German policy towards terror attacks. Portrayed for the first time in German film, this is the story of the victims and survivors of the hijacking, and of the peak of the so-called ‘German Autumn’ in 1977, a time marked by kidnappings, bombings and murder throughout the country. Although originally made for television, MOGADISHU WELCOME surpasses itself with gripping storytelling. If you liked THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX, this is an eye-opening companion piece. Print source: Teamworx
Friday 25 September, 6.30pm
TANGERINE (CFF 18)
UK Premiere
Director: Irene von Alberti. Starring: Sabrina Ouazani, Nora von Waldstätten, Alexander Scheer. Germany/Morrocco, 2008. 95 mins. Morrocan, German and English with English subtitles.
Tangiers, Morocco. Amira (Sabrina Ouazani) finds herself on the street after a row with her family because she wants to be a dancer rather than getting married or work as a housekeeper. Pia and Tom, a young couple of musicians from Germany, meet Amira in a club, and Pia is fascinated watching Amira dance. The three become friends, but Amira sets her sights on Tom. Pia thinks that a love triangle might liven up her troubled relationship with Tom – but Amira sees it as her big chance for success. ➜ We are delighted to welcome director Irene von Alberti for a Q&A following the screening. Print source: Filmgalerie 451
“The luxury to experiment with love, and the necessity to use it as an economic trading tool is illuminated through a very personal story that mirrors the global power struggle.” Der Tagesspiegel
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | German Cinema Today | 39
timetable Remember: there are no adverts or trailers before Festival screenings. All tickets must be collected at least 15 mins prior to the screening if at the Arts Picturehouse and at least an hour before for all other venues.
SUNDAY 30 AUGUST
page no
➜ Grantchester Meadows
8.30 MAMMA MIA!
14
MONDAY 31 AUGUST ➜ Grantchester Meadows
8.30 BIG RIVER MAN
14
THURSDAY 10 SEPTEMBER
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5.30 BIRDWATCHERS 21 6.15 THE AGENT 20 6.30 COURTING CONDI 24 8.00 THE ARMY OF CRIME 19 8.45 WHITE LIGHTNIN’ 37 9.00 MENTAL 46 11.00 ShortFusion: SHORT INTERNATIONAL DOCS 71 11.30 HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM 45 Queen’s Theatre, Emmanuel College
➜ Riverside
7.30 HEARTLAND
15
SATURDAY 12 SEPTEMBER ➜ Riverside
7.30 UP TO THE SOUTH
15
9.00 IDENTITY OF THE SOUL
12
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10.45 THE AGENT 20 11.00 Spying Game: TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY: PART ONE 56 1.00 FILM TBC 1.30 MENTAL 46 2.00 HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM 45 3.30 Spying Game: THE SECRET AGENT 54 4.00 CFC Masterclass: THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MUSIC 76 4.15 LAST DAYS OF SHISHMAREF 46 5.30 CAN GO THROUGH SKIN 24 6.30 the BUTTERFLY TATTOO 23 6.45 LITTLE WHITE LIES 32 8.30 DESIRE 27 8.45 EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED 44 9.00 KIN 31 11.00 ShortFusion: TRIDENTFEST 73 11.10 PONTYPOOL 35 11.20 MISHIMA 59 Queen’s Theatre, Emmanuel College
5.00 IDENTITY OF THE SOUL 6.30 IDENTITY OF THE SOUL 8.30 Palestine: ART FOR THE STRUGGLE
12 12
SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER
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10.30 Spying Game: TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY: PART 2 10.45 LITTLE WHITE LIES 11.00 CFC: I MADE THIS! 12.00 Spying Game: NEXT OF KIN & THE MAN BETWEEN 1.15 Jack Cardiff: THE RED SHOES 1.30 ShortFusion: BEST OF BRITISH 3.30 THE NATURE OF EXISTENCE 3.30 Palestine: CINEMA NOW 3.45 DESIRE 6.00 THE SHOCK DOCTRINE 6.15 KATALIN VARGA 8.30 CREATION 8.30 CODENAME MELVILLE 8.45 NAVIDAD 11.00 ShortFusion: NIGHTTIME FABLES 11.15 HIERRO 11.30 1234
56 32 76 55 61 69 46 49 27 47 31 25 44 5 70 29 20
48
New: New this year is our special Festival pass. For only £30 (£25 for Picturehouse Members / Concessions), you can buy five tickets for any screenings at the Arts Picturehouse. You can also buy as many passes as you like, so it’s great value whether you’re a festival regular or just coming to a film or two with a group of friends.
monday 14 SEPTEMBER ➜ Riverside
7.30 PAST TIME
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
THURSDAY 17 SEPTEMBER
FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER
15
Your Festival pass can be used to purchase tickets for one or multiple screenings but applies during a single transaction only, whether online, over the phone or in person. The offer excludes screenings at special ticket prices (see page 79 for details).
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Timetable | 41
Sunday 20 SEPTEMBER
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10.30 EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED 10.45 Spying Game: THE BOURNE SUPREMACY 11.00 FILM TBC 1.00 German Cinema: BUDDENBROOKS 1.15 Jack Cardiff: BLACK NARCISSUS 1.30 CFC Masterclass: FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN 2.45 Spying Game: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE 3.00 HOUSE OF NUMBERS 3.45 Spying Game: THE 39 STEPS 4.30 SCIENCE ON SCREEN 5.00 THE BEACHES OF AGNÉS 6.00 THE CALLING 6.00 THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE 7.15 TREELESS MOUNTAIN 8.45 THE SOLOIST 8.50 THE GODFATHER 9.00 ADORATION
44 57
38 61 76 17 45 54 8 44 24 28 36 36 59 20
➜ Queen’s Theatre, Emmanuel College
5.00 IDENTITY OF THE SOUL 6.30 IDENTITY OF THE SOUL 8.30 Spying Game: THE DEADLY AFFAIR
12 12 55
➜ Magdalene & Bridge Streets
8.00 SILENTS ON THE STREETS
14
monday 21 SEPTEMBER
page no
10.30 THE SHOCK DOCTRINE 10.45 Spying Game: TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY: PART 3 11.00 THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO 12.00 CFC Masterclass: FILM CRITIC 1.15 THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE 1.30 CAN GO THROUGH SKIN 2.00 FILM TBC 3.30 THE CALLING 3.45 Jack Cardiff: A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH 4.00 NOLLYWOOD BABYLON 5.30 MARY AND MAX 6.00 Berlin: BERLIN PLAYGROUND & SHORTS 6.30 LEFT 8.30 THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO 8.30 Spying Game: AN ENGLISHMAN ABROAD & A QUESTION OF ATTRIBUTION 9.00 HARDLY BEAR TO LOOK AT YOU 11.15 TONY 11.30 THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM 11.30 ShortFusion: LOVE DOES GROW ON TREES
47 56 23 76 28 24 24 61 46 33 53 17 28 56 29 17 59 70
➜ Queen’s Theatre, Emmanuel College
5.00 IDENTITY OF THE SOUL 7.00 OUR HOSPITALITY 9.00 VAMPYR
42 | Timetable | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
12 9 9
tuesday 22 SEPTEMBER
page no
10.00 Spying Game: TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY: PART 4 56 10.30 Spying Game: GOLDENEYE 57 10.45 German Cinema: BUDDENBROOKS 38 12.00 A HISTORY OF ISRAELI CINEMA 45 1.00 TREELESS MOUNTAIN 36 1.15 HARDLY BEAR TO LOOK AT YOU 29 3.15 Jack Cardiff: THE RED SHOES 61 3.45 THE JUNGLE RADIO 17 4.00 Spying Game: DEFENCE OF THE REALM 57 6.00 SÉRAPHINE 35 6.15 Border Crossings: WE THE EMIGRANTS & LONG DISTANCE 51 6.30 Jack Cardiff: PAINTER WITH LIGHT 61, 77 8.30 BOOGIE WOOGIE 21 8.30 THIRST 36 8.45 ‘SNO ANGEL LIKE YOU 47 11.00 COURTING CONDI 24 11.15 THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO 28 11.30 ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES 17 ➜ Old Library, Emmanuel College
5.00 WITH LOVE FROM BEIRUT WORKSHOP
12
➜ Queen’s Theatre, Emmanuel College
5.00 IDENTITY OF THE SOUL 6.30 IDENTITY OF THE SOUL 9.00 BRINKMANN’S WRATH
12 12 23
wednesday 23 SEPTEMBER 10.45 Spying Game: THE IPCRESS FILE 11.00 THE GODFATHER 11.00 Spying Game: TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY: PART 5 1.00 CFC: LUNCHTIME ARCHIVE SHOW 1.30 FILM TBC 2.30 Spying Game: TRAITOR & BLADE ON THE FEATHER 3.00 BORN IN 68 4.00 NOLLYWOOD BABYLON 6.00 A BAD DAY TO GO FISHING 6.30 CITIZEN KANE 6.45 TULPAN 8.30 PORGY & ME 9.00 German Cinema: EVERYONE ELSE 9.00 Border Crossings: NOMAD’S LAND & THE STORM BIRD 11.00 BARAKA 11.30 ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES 11.30 ShortFusion: TRIDENTFEST
page no
55 59 56 77
56 46 21 59 37 47 38 50 17 17 73
➜ Ely Cathedral
7.30 Michael Palin: A Life in Pictures
11
➜ Sawston Cinema
6.00 PROJECTING THE PAST 8.30 LITTLE WHITE LIES
17 32
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
thursday 24 SEPTEMBER
page no
10.45 Spying Game: TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY: PART 6 56 11.00 CFC: WORKSHOPS FOR FILMMAKERS & PROFESSIONALS 77 1.00 Spying Game: THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD 55 1.15 PORGY & ME 47 1.30 Berlin: BERLIN PLAYGROUND & SHORTS 53 3.30 A BAD DAY TO GO FISHING 21 4.00 ShortFusion: SCREEN EAST 73 4.00 Border Crossings: GHOSTED 50 6.00 EASIER WITH PRACTICE 27 6.00 BALLADA 44 6.30 Kuchar Bros: IT CAME FROM KUCHAR 64 8.00 Spying Game: THE THIRD MAN 54 8.30 PEEP SHOW 13 9.00 Kuchar Bros: PROGRAMME 1 62 11.15 THE DESCENT: PART 2 27 11.15 ShortFusion: GLOBAL ROADS 68 11.30 HARDLY BEAR TO LOOK AT YOU 29 ➜ Riverside
7.30 DARKLIGHT
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
15
friday 25 SEPTEMBER
page no
10.30 SECOND CHANCE 10.45 Spying Game: TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY: PART 7 11.00 FILM TBC 1.00 FILM TBC 1.30 ShortFusion: CAMBRIDGE SUPER 8 2.00 FRAG 3.00 CODENAME MELVILLE 3.30 Berlin: IN BERLIN 4.00 CAMBRIDGE ON CAMERA 5.00 MACHINIMA 5.30 A HISTORY OF ISRAELI CINEMA 6.00 MACHAN 6.30 German Cinema: TANGERINE 8.30 CUCKOO 9.00 Kuchar Bros: PROGRAMME 2 9.15 LOOKING FOR PALLADIN 11.00 ShortFusion: NIGHTTIME FABLES 11.20 TRIANGLE 11.30 Kuchar Bros: PROGRAMME 3
56
74 45 44 52 11 8 45 33 39 25 63
70 37
saturday 26 SEPTEMBER
page no
10.30 FILM TBC 10.45 EASIER WITH PRACTICE 11.00 FILM TBC 1.00 German Cinema: LOSING BALANCE 1.15 CUCKOO 1.30 ShortFusion: ANIMATED SHORTS 3.45 Border Crossings: THE OTHER IRENE 4.00 FOR MY FATHER 4.00 DANNY LYON PROGRAMME 6.15 German Cinema: LONG SHADOWS 6.30 MORRIS: A LIFE WITH BELLS ON 6.30 MARK BOSWELL PROGRAMME 8.30 THE RAINCOATS: FAIRYTALES 8.45 HUMPDAY 9.00 Border Crossings: WELCOME 11.00 FILM TBC 11.15 JOHNNY MAD DOG 11.30 LE DONK & SCOR-ZAY-ZEE
27
17 25 72 51 28 67 39 33 66 47 29
sunday 27 SEPTEMBER
page no
10.30 BARAKA 10.45 CAMBRIDGE ON CAMERA 11.00 ShortFusion: LOVE DOES GROW ON TREES 1.00 FILM TBC 1.15 SECOND CHANCE 1.30 FOR MY FATHER 3.30 SUPRISE FILM 3.45 Berlin: MATERIAL 4.00 LOSING BALANCE 6.00 CRYING WITH LAUGHTER 6.30 German Cinema: MOGADISHU WELCOME 6.45 FILM TBC 8.45 FILM TBC 9.00 CLOSING NIGHT FILM (TBC) 9.00 SECOND CHANCE
17 11 70
28 19 52 17 25 39
51 31 32
64
Stop Press: Look out for details of screenings on Friday 25 & Saturday 26 September at our latest new venue, Cambridge Drama Centre, Covent Garden, just off Mill Road. Sign up to our newsletter and be the first to find out more: www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Second Chance: Missed a film first time round? Look out for our second chance screenings! Updates available on the Festival website (www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk), at the Arts Picturehouse and in the Festival Daily newspaper.
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Timetable | 43
Friday 18 September, 8.45pm | Sunday 20 September, 10.30am
documentaries
Director: Nathan Frankowski. USA 2008. 97 mins.
THE BEACHES OF AGNÈS (LES PLAGES D’AGNÈS) (CFF 12A) Director: Agnès Varda. France 2008. 110 mins. French with English subtitles.
Thursday 24 September, 6.00pm
BALLADA (CFF PG) Director: Andreas Maus. Germany/Russia 2009. 93 mins. Russian with English subtitles.
Forty years after the Lada came into production on the banks of the river Volga, the ‘lunchbox on wheels’ is still common on Russian roads, loved or at least tolerated by drivers like Murad, a homesick Caucasian driver living in Moscow, and Michail, the lonesome old man who lives with his dog in Taiga. Elsewhere police officers Oleg and Vladimir spend their working lives in the provinces and dream of finally catching a terrorist in their Lada patrol car. All tell their stories, taking us on a journey into contemporary Russia – it’s a real road movie, if only Michail’s damn motor will start...
Varda’s cinematic self-portrait is a modest masterpiece. For her, turning inwards leads to the coastal locations that marked her life, from the Belgian beaches of childhood holidays to the Isle of Noirmoutier where she would stay with her late husband – fellow filmmaker, Jacques Demy. A colourful collage of clips and reconstructions, illuminating well-loved films such as CLEO FROM 5 TO 7 and THE GLEANERS AND I. Contains one mild sex scene. Print source: Artificial Eye
Print source: Hanfgarn & Ufer Film & TV Produktion
UK Premiere Saturday 19 September, 8.30pm | Friday 25 September, 3.00pm
CODENAME MELVILLE (CFF PG)
(SOUS LE NOM DE MELVILLE)
Director: Olivier Bohler. France 2008. 76 mins. French, Japanese and Cantonese with English subtitles.
Jean-Pierre Melville became famous in 1946 for adapting to the screen Le Silence de la Mer, a wartime novel dealing with the French resistance. What is less well-known is that Melville himself spent eight years of his life as a soldier in the French army and the Free French Forces. Combining interviews with filmmakers, actors, friends and relatives of Jean-Pierre Melville with rare archival footage and film extracts, CODENAME MELVILLE shows how the director’s works were influenced by his war experiences, and how these affected his whole approach to cinema – its themes and its aesthetics. Print source: Nocturnes Productions
44 | Documentaries | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
on screen
EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED (CFF 15)
Sunday 20 September, 5.00pm
International Premiere
Science
Lawyer, actor and writer Ben Stein is the protagonist in this documentary which contends that scientists, teachers and journalists who advocate the teaching or even the consideration of Intelligent Design as an alternative to Darwinism are unfairly criticised and ostracised from the scientific establishment. The controversy over the film in the US has been extreme, with The New York Times describing it as “a conspiracytheory rant masquerading as investigative inquiry” and the American Association for the Advancement of Science calling it dishonest and divisive propaganda. An important and significant example of partisan documentary making, whatever your views on the issue. Print source: ID Communications
UK Premiere
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Tuesday 22 September, 12.00pm | Friday 25 September, 5.30pm
Thursday 17 September, 11.30pm | Friday 18 September, 2.00pm
A History of Israeli UK Premiere Cinema (CFF PG)
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM (CFF U)
Director: Rapael Nadjari. France/Israel 2009. Part 1: 103 mins, Part 2: 105 mins. Hebrew with English subtitles.
Friday 25 September, 2.00pm
FRAG (CFF PG) Director: Mike Pasley. USA 2008. 88 mins.
Professional video gamers exist. FRAG lifts the lid on the people that play games for a living and the surprisingly difficult lives they lead. Whilst competitive gaming may have begun with 1980s coin-operated arcade machines it is now serious business with million-dollar tournaments commonplace the world over. This documentary follows the lives of several aspiring pros as they dedicate hour after hour to achieving their ultimate dream and the respect of their peers. Whilst gaming may seem juvenile to some, the decisions these youngsters have to make – often with little support from their parents – can be shockingly life-altering. Print source: ID Communications
Perhaps wisely, considering the fractious nature of his homeland, Raphael Nadjari takes pains to stress that his is but one ‘history’. This documentary offers no single voice nor narration. Instead, a living record of often contrary participants bring alive the film excerpts to present a dynamic vision of their national cinema. Broken into two sections, Part 1 covers the pioneer period 1932-1978, including the breakthrough New Sensibility and Bourekas cinema of the 1960s. Part 2 continues the story, featuring such powerful works as BEYOND THE WALLS. Both parts will be screened together with a 10-minute interval. Print source: Films Distribution
Late night
S! DOC
Director: Nicole Torre. USA 2009. 85 mins.
UK Premiere Sunday 20 September, 3.00pm
HOUSE OF NUMBERS (CFF 15) Director: Brent Leung. Canada/USA/UK 2009. 88 mins.
In his controversial documentary on the AIDS epidemic Canadian born director Leung portrays a research establishment in disarray and challenges what he terms the ‘conventional wisdom’ regarding HIV/AIDS, using interviews with key figures including Luc Montagnier, who shared a Nobel prize for the discover of HIV, US researcher Robert Gallo, biologist Peter Duesberg, who believes that AIDS is caused by drug abuse, and journalist Neville Hodgkinson. Since, however, several of the scientists interviewed have signed a statement that Leung was ‘deceptive in his interactions’, and a post-screening debate that challenged the film’s findings in Boston was disrupted by supporters in the audience.
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM is a documentary about America’s ferocious appetite for oil and the companies that provide it, straight from the heart of the energy capital of the world, Houston. Featuring insights from some of the biggest names in the oil industry and exploring our dependency on oil over time, the film also reveals that many of the biggest supposed perpetrators of the oil crisis are in fact trying to present renewable, alternative strategies – but governments aren’t listening. This is an environmentalist documentary that promises to challenge all our pre-conceived notions about the oil industry. Print source: Native Range Productions
Print source: Knowledge Matters, LLC
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Documentaries | 45
UK Premiere
Friday 18 September, 4.15pm
THE LAST DAYS OF SHISHMAREF (CFF PG) Director: Jan Louter. Netherlands 2008. English and Inuit with English subtitles. 93 mins.
Thursday 17 September, 9.00pm | Friday 18 September, 1.30pm
Monday 21 September, 4.00pm | Wednesday 23 September, 4.00pm
MENTAL (SEISHIN) (CFF 15)
Nollywood Babylon (CFF 15)
Director: Kazuhiro Soda. Japan 2008. 135 mins. Japanese with English subtitles.
Directors: Ben Addelman, Samir Mallal. Canada/Nigeria 2008. 74 mins.
A feature-length documentary that observes the complex world of an outpatient mental health clinic in Japan, interwoven with patients, doctors, staff, volunteers, and homehelpers, in cinéma verité style. The film breaks a major taboo against discussing mental illness prevalent in Japanese society, and captures the candid lives of people coping with suicidal tendencies, poverty, a sense of shame, apprehension, and fear of society.
This in-depth look at the Nigerian video film industry – now officially the world’s second largest, churning out 2,500 films a year – will change your perceptions of filmmaking forever. Made at breakneck speed, and on shoestring budgets, Nollywood films have become so popular in Nigeria, and throughout Africa and the diaspora, that their annual profits exceed $250 million. Directors Addelman and Mallal put themselves behind the scenes and get to the bottom of Nollywood’s origins and popularity, telling a fascinating tale of the economic, political, and spiritual landscape of Nigeria in the process.
Print source: Films Boutique
“A fascinating insight into a Japanese mental-health clinic.” The Japan Times
International Premiere Saturday 19 September, 3.30pm
THE NATURE OF EXISTENCE (CFF PG)
Science on screen
Director: Roger Nygard. USA 2009. 94 mins.
Roger Nygard, who established a reputation as a quirky documentary maker in 1997 with TREKKIES, takes on a rather broader topic in his latest work, asking spiritual leaders, artists, scholars and scientists about their beliefs and philosophy of life. The cast of characters is broad and occasionally bizarre, ranging from physicist Leonard Susskind, through Richard Dawkins to film director Irvin Kirshner, ending up with Rob Adonis, founder of Ultimate Christian Wrestling, and Druid King Arthur Pendragon. Fortunately Nygard manages to stay in the background effectively enough to make this a thoroughly worthwhile study of the nature of belief.
Shishmaref is the one and only settlement on Sarichef, an island just south of the Arctic circle in Alaska, home to a small community of Inupiaq. Whilst they have traditionally lived a sustainable life, the population is declining, and coastal erosion and rising sea levels due to global warming threaten the very existence of their home. Experts predict Shishmaref will be gone in less than a decade. The Inupiaq now face the monumental decision of whether to move to the mainland, abandoning their traditions and ancestors. Print source: Miroir Film
“Every frame is a poignant portrait.” AFI
Print source: Blink, Inc.
UK Premiere 46 | Documentaries | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
➜ The first screening will be introduced by Dr Lindiwe Dovey from the School of Oriental and African Studies. Print source: National Film Board of Canada
➜ Look out for the 8th Cambridge African Film Festival, 29 October – 8 November 2009: www.cambridgeafricanfilmfestival.co.uk
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Wedneday 23 September, 8.30pm | Thursday 24 September, 1.15pm
PORGY & ME (CFF U) Director: Susanna Boehm. Germany 2009. 86 mins.
Saturday 26 September, 8.30pm
Tuesday 22 September, 8.45pm
THE RAINCOATS: FAIRYTALES (CFF 15)
’SNO ANGEL LIKE YOU (CFF PG)
Director: Gina Birch. UK 2009. 50 mins.
Director: Maria Mochnacz. UK 2009. 50 mins.
Ana da Silva and Gina Birch met at Hornsey School of Art and became enamoured of Patti Smith and The Slits. They formed The Raincoats in 1977, performed in Warsaw only weeks after picking up their instruments, and soon were releasing records on the legendary Rough Trade label. This documentary in progress follows punk legends The Raincoats from 1977 until 1981, with footage from those early shows, Super 8 films from art school, and interviews with Ana, Gina, Vicky, Shirley, Ingrid Weiss, Green, Geoff Travis, Viv Albertine, Andy Gill, No Bra, Peaches, Neal Brown, Vivien Goldman and many others.
One of the music world’s best kept secrets, Tucson, Arizona-based musician Howe Gelb has remained the creative force behind the ever-changing configurations of Giant Sand, giving birth along the way to an extended musical family tree that fostered the likes of The Band of Blacky Ranchette, The Friends of Dean Martinez, OP8, and Calexico. His most recent album ’Sno Angel Like You brilliantly fuses rock and gospel. Maria Mochnacz’s documentary captures him on his recent tour with the Voices of Praise gospel choir.
➜ We are delighted to welcome director Gina Birch for a Q&A following the screening.
The African American singers of the New York Harlem Theatre have been touring with Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess, the world’s first black opera, for decades, all over the world. Life on tour is challenging for the singers, as exhausting travel has forced them to give up a normal family life. But these are the sacrifices necessary in the still predominantly white world of opera. Three generations of AfricanAmerican life experience are united by one dream: to overcome the feelings of prejudice and exclusion that have shaped their lives for centuries and to shape their future with their own hands.
Print source: Courtesy of Gina Birch
Festival Premiere Saturday 19 September, 6.00pm | Monday 21 September, 10.30am
THE SHOCK DOCTRINE (CFF 15) Directors: Mat Whitecross, Michael Winterbottom. Voices: Naomi Klein. UK 2009. 90 mins.
Based on the best selling book of the same name by Naomi Klein (who provides narration), THE SHOCK DOCTRINE uses a combination of archive footage and animation to investigate the author’s notion of “disaster capitalism”. Starting in 1951 with the development of shock therapy – which Klein uses as a metaphor for the larger shocks that affect society – the film explores the proposition that neo-liberal capitalism feeds on natural disasters, war and terror to establish its dominance. Richard Nixon, the CIA, Augusto Pinochet, Milton Friedman and Boris Yeltsin are just a few of the subjects find themselves on Klein’s operating table. ➜ We hope to welcome co-director Mat Whitecross for a Q&A following the first screening.
Print source: Boomtown Media
Print source: Revolution Films
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
World Premiere
➜ We are delighted to welcome Howe Gelb to introduce, discuss and perform live after the screening. Print source: Courtesy of Maria Mochnacz
➜ Look out for our international line-up of short documentaries – see page 71 for details!
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Documentaries | 47
CinemA PALestine to complement the UK premiere of thomas høegh’s ideNtitY oF the soUl and its celebration of the poetry of mahmoud darwish (see page 12), Cinema Palestine is a brief exploration of the recent history of Palestinian film. From the revolutionary energy of the first wave of political cinema through to the questioning of representation by contemporary artists, Cinema Palestine offers a rare opportunity to see this ground-breaking work.
Friday 18 September, 8.30pm | Queen’s Theatre, Emmanuel College
Introduced by artist-filmaker Sarah Wood
art For the struggle/struggle For the art (CFF 15) 57 mins Taking its title from Mustafa Abu Ali’s statement – “We used to say ‘Art for the Struggle’, now it’s ‘Struggle for the Art’” – made as he was smuggled into Jerusalem (into which Israel bars his entry) for a clandestine screening, this programme offers an invaluable opportunity to watch some of the best political documentary filmmaking which arose from the Palestinian struggle post-1967. Many of the films of the period disappeared when the Palestinian Film Archive was lost in the siege of Beirut in 1982. In an age dominated by image, these films stand as vital testimony to what was seen, what was made, and what survived.
Far FroM the hoMeland
Director: Kais Al-Zubaidi. Syria 1969. 10 mins.
“We used to say ‘art for the Struggle’, now it’s ‘Struggle for the art’” Mustafa Abu Ali, filmmaker
Focusing on life in the Sbeineh refugee camp near Damascus, FAR FROM THE HOMELAND gently parallels the daily life of the camp’s children with a discussion of their hopes and dreams. Print source: Courtesy of Kais Al-Zubaidi
48 | Cinema Palestine | box office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
they do not eXist
Director: Mustafa Abu Ali. Palestine 1974. 25 mins.
Shooting under extraordinary conditions, the director – who worked with Godard on ICI ET AILLEURS and founded the PLO’s film division – covers conditions in Lebanon’s refugee camps, the effect of Israeli bombardments, and the lives of guerrillas in training camps. THEY DO NOT EXIST is a stylistically unique work that demonstrates the intersection between the political and the aesthetic. Print source: Bissan Film
children nevertheless
Director: Khadijeh Habashneh. Palestine 1984. 22 mins.
This film is about the orphan children of Tall El Zaatar refugee camp, re-housed after the loss of their parents. Filmed in 1979, the year designated by UNESCO as the International Year of the Child, the film compares the actual situation of Palestinian children with the International Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Print source: Bissan Film
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Saturday 19 September, 3.30pm | Arts Picturehouse
Introduced by artist-filmaker Sarah Wood
cineMa now (CFF 15) 62 mins The history of Palestinian cinema is characterised by its losses. Contemporary filmmakers often use the medium as a political tool and as such the value of homegrown imagery becomes important in countering dominant visual narratives. Filmmakers here re-interrogate the archival image, playfully overturn Orientalism and poignantly expose the conditions in which much contemporary Palestinian art is made.
asseMBlage
Palestine, a PeoPle’s record (an eXtract)
Print source: Courtesy of Judy Price
Director: Kais Al-Zubaidi. Germany/Syria 1984. 10 mins.
Images of Palestine prior to the state of Israel are hard to find. Filmmaker Al-Zubaidi brings together films he sourced in the Berlin archive to create a visual history of the Palestinian people, in this extract, up to 1967. Print source: Courtesy of Kais Al-Zubaidi
Planet oF the araBs
Director: Jackie Salloum. USA 2004. 10 mins.
A trailer-esque montage spectacle of Hollywood’s relentless vilification and dehumanisation of Arabs and Muslims, inspired by the book Reel Bad Arabs by Dr Jack Shaheen. Print source: Courtesy of Jackie Salloum
reel
Director: Judy Price. UK 2008. 7 mins.
As part of her exploration of Imperial War Museum archival material documenting the British Mandate in Palestine from 1917-1948, and Palestine before the state of Israel was established, Price selects the disrupted residues of film – the lead-ins and endings of film stock. The scuffing and scratching from handling film material, black cue dots, overexposing at the end of the reel, numbering or logging marks evoke all that is not seen in the documentation of history. Print source: Courtesy of Judy Price
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Director: Judy Price. UK 2008. 6 mins.
Archive footage from the British Mandate period in Palestine shows the raising of a British observation balloon, overlaid with a montage of sounds from religious orders. At times the sounds seem to imitate or respond to each other, confusing identities, whilst also transforming the balloon from war machine to a prophetic apparatus of the sublime.
collaPse
Directors: Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Basel Abbas. Palestine/UK 2009. 10 mins.
A sound and video collaboration, using an assemblage of audio and film archive material, COLLAPSE brings together imaginary and actual moments of resistance and loss, and highlights the disruptions that shape shared histories of struggle, in Palestine and elsewhere. Print source: Courtesy of Ruanne Abou-Rahme & Basel Abbas
araBs a-go-go Director: Jackie Salloum. USA 2003. 2 mins.
A two-minute music video comprising found material from Arab dramas, musicals and romantic comedies, featuring “footage of Arabs as you’ve never seen them before – unless you’re an Arab”. Print source: Courtesy of Jackie Salloum
liKe twenty iMPossiBles
Director: Annemarie Jacir. Palestine 2003. 17 mins.
When a Palestinian film crew decides to avert a closed checkpoint by taking a remote side road, the passengers are slowly taken apart by the mundane brutality of military occupation. Both a visual poem and a narrative, LIKE TWENTY IMPOSSIBLES wryly questions artistic responsibility and the politics of filmmaking, while speaking to the fragmentation of a people. Print source: Mec Film
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | Cinema Palestine | 49
Tuesday 24 September, 4.00pm
ghosted (CFF 15) Director: Monika Treut. Starring: Inga Busch, Huan-Ru Ke, Ting-Ting Hu. Germany/Taiwan 2009. 89 mins. English, German and Mandarin with English subtitles.
BoRDeR CRossinGs this season of recent transnational and travelling cinema celebrates the power of the moving image to take the viewer on a journey across boundaries. migration and travel are a fundamental part of our contemporary world, something reflected in an increasingly global film industry where international co-productions are thriving. While these films often reveal the frustrations and difficulties of migration and exile, they also explore the complexity of identities that traverse national limits, showing how border crossings open up fertile new possibilities and cross-cultural encounters.
Wednesday 23 September, 9.00pm
noMad’s land (CFF PG)
Double Bill uK Premiere
Director: Gaël Métroz. Switzerland 2008. 90 mins. French with English subtitles.
The young director takes to the road alone, camera in hand, following the footsteps of the famous Swiss travel writer Nicolas Bouvier. Discovering that the East is no longer the carefree land of Bouvier’s writing – Iran in crisis, Pakistan shaken by tribal violence, the Taliban, civil war in Sri Lanka – he leaves the well-travelled routes and instead joins the nomads. A stunning journey through the landscapes of Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, India and Sri Lanka, this film explores the poetry and dangers of travel, sometimes in alarmingly extreme conditions.
Combining the Taiwanese traditional ghost tale with a contemporary German perspective, GHOSTED depicts a haunting love story between a German artist, Sophie, and a young Taiwanese woman, Ai-Ling. When Ai-Ling dies in mysterious circumstances, Sophie is devastated. As her memories unfold through flashbacks and her own video footage, the film reveals the cultural differences that both enhanced and troubled their relationship. Travelling to Taipei, Sophie meets Mei-Li, a journalist whose appearance in Sophie’s life seems increasingly uncanny. Through a ghostly doubling, Mei-Li’s seductive presence forces Sophie to confront the truth about her lost love. A visually beautiful, subtle and moving film, GHOSTED explores the boundaries of life and death, memory and image, as well as portraying an intercultural encounter that takes us on a journey between two very different countries. ➜ We are delighted to host an online Q&A with director Monika Treut following the screening. Print source: Courtesy of Monika Treut
Print source: Films Distribution
the storM Bird (CFF PG) (MORGHE TUFÂN)
Director: Tariq Marzbaan. Germany 2007. 37 mins. Persian and German with English subtitles.
Zâher Howeida, an iconic musician in Afghanistan, has been in exile with his family in Germany since the 1990s. He tells of the difficulties exile has brought him, reciting a Persian poem in which a storm bird tries to flap its wings in a time of lethargy. Print source: Courtesy of Tariq Marzbaan
50 | Border Crossings | box office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Saturday 26 September, 3.45pm
the other irene (CFF 15)
(CEALALTA IRINA)
Director: Andrei Gruzsniczki. Starring: Andi Vasluianu, Doru Ana, Simona Popescu. Romania 2008. 90 mins. Romanian with English subtitles.
Tuesday 22 September, 6.15pm
Double Bill
we the eMigrants (CFF PG)
(LA TRAVERSÉE)
Director: Elizabeth Leuvrey. France/Algeria 2006. 55 mins. French and Arabic with English subtitles.
This compelling documentary focuses on one particular border crossing, that between France and Algeria. The film is woven from conversations on the ferry between Marseille and Algiers – a space that is neither one place nor the other, allowing explorations of complex identities formed through a fraught colonial history and more than a hundred years of North African immigration to France. ➜ We are delighted to host an online Q&A with director Elizabeth Leuvrey following the screening. Print source: Alice Films
long distance (CFF PG)
uK Premiere
Director: Moritz Siebert. UK 2009. 28 mins. English and Amharic with English subtitles.
Ethopian runner Abiyot, formerly a promising member of his national team, tries to make a new life for himself in the USA. As he pounds the pavements of New York, this documentary shows a precarious existence in which Abiyot is always on the move.
Sharing themes as it does with some of the finest European thrillers – such as the nerve-wrecking THE VANISHING (George Sluizer, 1988) – it’s hard to believe THE OTHER IRENE is, in fact, based on a true story. Reluctantly, security guard Aurel (Vasluianu) lets his wife Irene go on a working trip to Cairo. Having had a breath of fresh air, she returns transformed and soon sets out again – but this time she does not come back. Now Aurel’s true ordeal begins as he sets out on his own journey: a search for his wife amidst dubious bureaucrats, criminal embassies and hateful in-laws. THE OTHER IRENE reveals a political and bureaucratic landscape that is truly eerie. The clean cinematography, especially apparent in the mall where Aurel works, beautifully emphasises the main character’s solitude and actor Andi Vasluianu performs the brooding desperation inside this antihero with incredible delicacy. ➜ We are delighted to welcome director Andrei Gruzsniczki for a Q&A thanks to the generous support of the Ratiu Family Foundation. Print source: Libra Film
Saturday 26 September, 9.00pm
welcoMe (CFF 15)
uK Premiere
Director: Philippe Lioret. Starring: Vincent Lindon, Firat Ayverdi, Audrey Dana. France 2009. 110 mins. English, French and Kurdish with English subtitles.
Bilal (Ayverdi), a young 17-year-old Kurdish boy, has travelled from the Middle East through Europe to join his newly emigrated girlfriend in England. However, his journey comes to an abrupt end when he is stopped by the authorities on the French side of the Channel. Having decided to swim across the freezing cold waters, Bilal goes to a local swimming pool to train. There he meets Simon (Lindon), a swimming instructor in the midst of a divorce. To impress his wife (Dana) and win back her heart, Simon decides to risk everything by taking Bilal under his wing, and a friendship develops that transcends age and cultural differences. A wonderfully affirming tale of adversity, redemption, and striving for goals that seem just out of reach, WELCOME is also a passionate response to the current French controversy about the treatment of illegal immigrants stranded in Calais. ➜ We are delighted to welcome Philippe Lioret for a Q&A following the screening. Print Source: CinéFile
Print source: National Film and Television School
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | Border Crossings | 51
Sunday 27 September, 3.45pm
Material (CFF 15)
uK Premiere
Director: Thomas Heise. Germany 2009. 164 mins. German with English subtitles.
BeRLin Without BounDARies this year we celebrate 20 years since the berlin Wall came down in 1989, ending the division between east and West. to mark the occasion we’ve selected some of the best recent films about berlin, none of which have been shown before in the UK. they offer a vision of a vibrant, creative city, full of unexpected juxtapositions.
Friday 25 September, 3.30pm
in Berlin (CFF PG)
uK Premiere
Directors: Michael Ballhaus, Ciro Cappellari. Germany 2009. 115 mins. German with English subtitles.
What makes up the material of history? The documentary filmmaker Heise explores this question in a compelling collage of filmed images of Berlin, spanning a 20-year period from the late 1980s to the present. Drawing on his own archive of footage and outtakes, Heise brings together striking scenes that were never shown but yet lingered in his memory. In this way he constructs a personal, cinematic vision of East Germany’s transition into a unified country after 44 years of postwar division between East and West. From the mass demonstrations at the Alexanderplatz in November 1989 to the demolition of the Palast der Republik (the former seat of the East German parliament), the film bears witness to the past while avoiding simplistic historical narratives. Instead, it focuses on traces, fragments and notes, creating a space where stories and memories reverberate, all to a haunting Charles Ives soundtrack. Print source: Deckert Distribution
A heartfelt tribute to a fascinating city, this cinematic essay is woven from a series of encounters with the people of Berlin. From a Turkish kiosk vendor to the Foreign Affairs Minister for Germany, via fashion designers and film students, these quirky individuals allow us to glimpse their lives and reveal different facets of the city. As the cinematographer for Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s films in the 1970s, Balhaus knows a thing or two about capturing colour, light and texture on film, and IN BERLIN has an understated beauty that plays with the visual contrasts of the urban landscape. Every scene pulses with movement, from footsteps to transport, suggesting a city in continual flux. A city symphony for the present day, this is an ideal cinematic trip for lovers of Berlin as well as those with the urge to discover it. ➜ We are delighted to welcome Andrew Webber, author of Berlin in the Twentieth Century: A Cultural Topography (CUP 2008), to introduce the screening. Print source: Bavaria Film International
52 | Berlin without Boundaries | box office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
uK Premiere
Monday 21 September, 6.00pm | Thursday 24 September, 1.30pm
Berlin Playground (CFF 15)
(HANS IM GLÜCK)
Director: Claudia Lehmann. Germany 2009. 60 mins. German with English subtitles.
Hans – a troubled musician awaiting judgement on a drink driving offence – is turning 40, having lived 20 years in the GDR regime of old East Berlin and 20 years in reunified Berlin. As he leads us through his old haunts, we glimpse the changing shape of the city and discover Hans’s world. Too much of a free spirit for the GDR regime and too anti-materialist for the decadence of capitalist Berlin (as well as resentful that the money never flowed his way), Hans has never really fitted in. A playful and touching documentary portrait of a creative man caught up in the divided history of the city. Print source: Courtesy of Marc Minneker and Claudia Lehmann.
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
triple Bill
the Berlin wall (CFF 15) Director: Paul Cotter. Germany 2009. 15 mins. German with English subtitles.
A poetic-realist film touching on themes of misunderstanding and xenophobia. A 75 year-old man one day silently begins to rebuild the Berlin wall, attracting the help of many volunteers – but no one knows his true motives. Print source: Kaminski Stiehm
the last wash (CFF 15) Director: Ville Jankeri. Germany 2008. 15 mins. German and Polish with English subtitles.
A black comedy about an unusual suicide attempt. After 30 years of washing Berliners’ dirty clothes, a Polish laundry worker loads her last wash... Print source: Courtesy of Ville Jankeri
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | Berlin without Boundaries | 53
the sPyinG GAme:
BRitish CinemA AnD the seCRet stAte
Sunday 20 September, 3.45pm
Thursday 24 September, 8.00pm
the 39 stePs (U)
the third Man (PG)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock. Starring: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll. UK 1935. 86 mins.
Director: Carol Reed. Starring: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles. UK 1949. 104 mins.
Faced with a murdered woman in his flat, Robert Donat flees by train to Scotland, is chased through the moors, enjoys a handcuffed rendezvous with the beautiful Madeleine Carroll, and has a final encounter with ‘The Memory Man’. The film that established Hitchcock’s success and brought him to Hollyood’s attention, its story of an innocent man on the run, pursued by police and criminals, has influenced many but never been bettered.
Orson Welles thrives and captivates as black marketeer Harry Lime in the sewers and alleys of postwar Vienna. This wonderful collaboration between Graham Greene and director Carol Reed works as a superb thriller, and with its extraordinary sense of place ensnares us in crime and deceit: as Harry Lime tells Holly Martins, “In Switerzland they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock.” There’s no ‘spy’ as such, but it set the tone for spy thrillers.
Print source: Park Circus
on the 20th anniversary of the end of the Cold War and the centenary of the founding of mi5, the Festival explores the adventure, intrigue, deceit and disillusionment of the british spy thriller: the great action chases, from hitchcock’s the 39 steps to Paul greengrass’ the bourne supremacy; the heroes and antiheroes of harry Palmer, george smiley and bond; the acts of betrayal by the Cambridge spies; and the tawdry lives and dull bureaucracy evoked in many of the best films. they have captivated some of our greatest directors, writers and actors, helping us to explore aspects of britain and the british.
Print source: Optimum Releasing
Friday 18 September, 3.30pm
the secret agent (CFF U) Director: Alfred Hitchcock. Starring: John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll. UK 1936. 86 mins.
An early film role for John Gielgud, playing the British soldier sent to kill an enemy spy and grappling with the moral dilemmas he faces. Peter Lorre is his over-enthusiastic assistant, Madeleine Carroll his new wife, and Switzerland the location for messages hidden in chocolate bars and exhilarating chases. Adapted from Somerset Maugham’s Ashenden spy stories, it looks forward to later adventures: “You can call me R,” says Ashenden’s boss as he explains his mission, the precursor to James Bond’s alphabetical minders. Print source: BFI National Archive
“…timelessly enjoyable. a true classic.” Channel 4 Film (on 39 STEPS)
54 | the spying Game
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Saturday 19 September, 12.00pm
Double Bill
the neXt oF Kin (CFF PG) Director: Thorold Dickinson. Starring: Jack Hawkins, Mervyn Johns, John Chandos. UK 1942. 102 mins.
“Careless talk costs lives” is the theme of this wartime drama, in which Nazi agent Mervyn Johns discovers the details of a planned commando raid through such innocent acts as a mother talking about her son, a soldier giving details to his girlfriend, and an officer leaving behind his briefcase. A film that Churchill initially tried to ban, fearing its impact on domestic morale, but in the process providing superb publicity.
“Espionage is treated with intelligence and a disarming lack of sentimentality or moralizing ...What finally impresses, however, is the sheer seediness of so much of the film” Geoff Andrew, Time Out
the iPcress File (PG) Director: Sidney J. Furie. Starring: Michael Caine, Nigel Green, Guy Doleman. UK 1965. 109 mins.
Michael Caine is Harry Palmer, the working-class spy living in a London bed sit, with tastes in ground coffee and imported food. Adapted from Len Deighton’s best-selling novel – and produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R Broccoli as an alternative to their Bond pictures – it’s an evocative 1960s package of gritty London locations, colour supplement lifestyles (Deighton was cookery correspondent for The Observer), and insolence in the face of absurd bureaucracy.
Print source: Imperial War Museum
Print source: Park Circus
the Man Between (CFF U)
Sunday 20 September, 8.30pm | Queen’s Theatre
Director: Carol Reed. Starring: James Mason, Claire Bloom, Hildegard Knef. UK 1953. 100 mins.
the deadly aFFair (CFF 12A)
Carol Reed’s powerful depiction of a divided and rubble-strewn, post-war Berlin, with James Mason as the disreputable yet urbane lawyer smuggling people between east and west, and falling in love with the innocent English girl Claire Bloom.
Director: Sidney Lumet. Starring: James Mason, Simone Signoret, Maximilian Schell. UK 1966. 115 mins.
Print source: Optimum Releasing
“in reed’s postwar cities, war had changed the survivors, had made them different: they were tired, ravaged opportunists who no longer felt or thought like you and me.” Pauline Kael
Wednesday 23 September, 10.45am
Thursday 24 September, 1.00pm
the sPy who caMe in FroM the cold (CFF PG) Director: Martin Ritt. Starring: Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner. UK 1965. 112 mins.
Martin Ritt’s superb adaptation of John Le Carré’s novel turned away from the gimmicks, chases and lavish locations of the Bond films (which began in 1962) to focus on the personal rivalry, disappointment and despair of more down-at-heel spies. Richard Burton is the shabby British agent, washed up in a London desk job and sent back to East Germany to search for ‘the mole’ in the British secret service. Claire Bloom is the Communist librarian he befriends. Print source: Paramount Pictures
When a foreign office diplomat supposedly commits suicide, intelligence officer James Mason doubts the cause of death. Based on John Le Carré’s first novel A Call for the Dead, this adaptation stands out for its photography of London (by Freddie Young), intelligent script (by film critic Paul Dehn, who also adapted The Spy Who Came in From the Cold), and strong performances: not only Mason, but Simone Signoret as the diplomat’s wife, Harry Andrews as a retired police inspector, and Roy Kinnear as a criminal pub landlord. Contains moderate sex references and violence. Print source: Filmbank / Sony Pictures Releasing
“it is not at all romantic about spying and catching spies...and has one of the best and best-directed casts you could wish for.” Dilys Powell, Sunday Times
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | the spying Game | 55
Wednesday 23 September, 2.30pm
Friday 18 Sep, 11.00am | Saturday 19 Sep, 10.30am | Monday 21 Sep, 10.45am | Tuesday 22 Sep, 10.00am | Wednesday 23 Sep, 11.00am | Thursday 24 Sep, 10.45am | Friday 25 Sep, 10.45am
tinKer, tailor, soldier, sPy (CFF PG) Director: John Irvin. Starring: Alec Guinness, Michael Jayston, Bernard Hepton, Ian Richardson, Hywel Bennett, Terence Rigby, Ian Bannen, Beryl Reid. UK 1979. 350 mins (7 parts).
Alec Guinness was the perfect embodiment of retired spymaster George Smiley, in this remarkable BBC adaptation of John Le Carré. Loosely based on the scandal surrounding Kim Philby, it evoked a world of fading Oxbridge ideals and heroism, set in the seedy offices, hotel rooms, terraces and parks of 1970s London. Alexander Knox, Ian Richardson and Beryl Reid are among those delivering great performances as relics of a bygone era. Print source: BFI National Archive
special offer: see all seven parts for £12! (£4 per episode if bought separately)
56 | the spying Game | box office: 0871 704 2050
Double Bill
Double Bill
Monday 21 September, 8.30pm
traitor (CFF PG)
an englishMan aBroad (CFF 12A)
Director: Alan Bridges. Starring: John Le Mesurier, Jack Hedley, Vincent Ball. UK 1971. 61 mins.
Director: John Schlesinger. Starring: Alan Bates, Coral Browne. UK 1983. 60 mins.
A former double agent is questioned by journalists in his decrepit Moscow flat, exploring the factors that could lead a man to betray a country he still claims to love. The central character in Dennis Potter’s early, rarely seen TV play combines aspects of the lives of Kim Philby, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, but Potter’s script and John Le Mesurier’s superb performance (he won a BAFTA as best actor) make for a powerful drama.
Isolated in his Moscow flat, Guy Burgess invites a visiting actress from London for lunch and reminiscences of England. Alan Bennett based his play on a meeting in Moscow between Burgess and actress Coral Brown (who plays herself in the film), and sensitively explores themes of Englishness and exile. Alan Bates is superb as the Englishman out of place.
Print source: BFI National Archive
Print source: BFI National Archive
Blade on the Feather (CFF 15)
a question oF attriBution (CFF PG)
Director: Richard Loncraine. Starring: Donald Pleasence, Tom Conti, Denholm Elliott, Kika Markham. UK 1980. 82 mins.
Director: John Schlesinger. Starring: James Fox, David Calder, Geoffrey Palmer, Prunella Scales. UK 1992. 70 mins.
Another Potter original. Graduate student Tom Conti arrives at the estate of retired Cambridge professor Donald Pleasance, and asks over dinner if he knew the Cambridge Spies... Strong performances from Conti, Pleasance, and Denholm Elliot.
A companion piece to AN ENGLISHMAN ABROAD, Alan Bennett’s drama explores Anthony Blunt with equal perception and ingenuity: art historian, director of the Courtauld Institute, and keeper of the Queen’s pictures prior to being exposed as a spy. James Fox gives a sympathetic portrait, while Prunella Scales’ Queen is as captivating as Helen Mirren.
Print source: BFI National Archive
Contains moderate language.
Print source: BFI National Archive
“Potter has a reputation for being brilliantly unorthodox and provocative. BlaDE ON THE FEaTHEr neatly illustrates why... the proportions of a John le Carré thriller as arranged by Harold Pinter.” The New York Times
Tuesday 22 September, 4.00pm
Tuesday 22 September, 10.30am
deFence oF the realM (PG)
goldeneye (15)
Director: David Drury. Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, Denholm Elliott. UK 1985. 96 mins.
Director: Martin Campbell. Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco. UK/USA 1995. 130 mins.
A thriller that stands out for its superb sense of time and place (a 1980s London, in particular Fleet Street, on the brink of radical change, and the arrival of the US nuclear bases in the Fens), with an impressive debut from Gabriel Byrne and a particularly effective performance from Denholm Elliot as a veteran political correspondent. A precursor to the BBC’s recent STATE OF PLAY.
The film that relaunched James Bond as a modern action hero. The stunts dominate, but Pierce Brosnan conjures up some old-fashioned matinee idol presence, and Judi Dench’s female controller M points out the absurdity of it all: “I think you’re a sexist, misogynous dinosaur.” Print source: Park Circus
Print source: Park Circus
“Defence of the realm reminded me sometimes of all THE PrESiDENT’S MEN, but this is a bleaker, more pessimistic movie ... it gets there with intelligence and a sharp, bitter edge.” Roger Ebert
“The very definition of escapist fare.” Variety
Sunday 20 September, 10.45am
the Bourne suPreMacy (12A) Director: Paul Greengrass. Starring: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox. USA/Germany 2004. 108 mins.
Superb Hollywood debut by British director Paul Greengrass and perhaps the best of the Bourne films; a series of action chases across Europe that rivals anything in modern cinema for adrenalin and ingenuity, yet also brings back memories of some earlier espionage movies. Could Jason Bourne be Richard Hannay? t it: keep your eyes peeled for clues mission, should you choose to accep From the Festival with love. Your and information as to the whereabouts of our secret spy screening, org.uk lead: www.cambridgefilmfestival. in collaboration with Zoonami. First
Contains scenes of violence and intense action. Print source: Universal Pictures
box office: 0871 704 2050 | the spying Game | 57
revivals
Wednesday 23 September, 6.30pm
CITIZEN KANE (U)
New Print
Director: Orson Welles. Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Everett Sloane, Agnes Moorehead. USA 1941. 120 mins.
From the opening sequence Orson Welles’ first film – the most famous debut in all cinema – is replete with stylistic tropes and flourishes which evoke the German cinema of the ‘20s and ‘30s. Long recognised as the ancestor of the modern sound film, the fragmented biography of an American newspaper magnate is as sophisticated in the aural as the visual dimension, marking the most striking technical and stylistic advances since Fritz Lang’s M. We present this landmark film in a new print of the restored version. Print source: BFI
Sunday 20 September, 8.50pm | Wednesday 23 September, 11.00am
Friday 18 September, 11.20pm
THE GODFATHER (15)
Director’s Cut MISHIMA: a life in four chapters (15)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola. Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan. USA 1972. 175 mins.
Director: Paul Schrader. Starring: Ken Ogata, Masayuki Shionoya, Hiroshi Mikami. USA 1985. 121 mins. Japanese and English with English subtitles.
By almost any criterion, the most important American film of the 1970s, transforming a doorstop of pulp-fiction into an epic account of the ineradicable penetration of American life and institutions by organised crime. A subversive saga of family values, THE GODFATHER is grounded in a sure sense of period and dramatises a particular historical moment: when a younger Mafia generation followed political, economic and cultural trends and transferred their focus of operations to the West Coast. Superbly crafted, with Brando in the role which marked one of the greatest of comebacks, and a star-making performance from Pacino – here presented in a frame-byframe digitally restored, remastered version.
A newly restored, director’s cut of Paul Schrader’s ambitious, radically stylised film about Japanese writer Yukio Mishima: poet, playwright, novelist, militarist, aesthete, homosexual, whose passion to merge life with art led to symbolic insurrection and ritualistic suicide in 1970. Intercut with an account of Mishima’s last day on earth – shot in docudrama style, with a driving, romantic score by Philip Glass – Schrader presents black and white scenes from the author’s life and self-contained, studio dramatisations of four contrasting stories from the author’s works, encapsulating his characteristic themes of purity, beauty, mortality and annihilation.
Print source: Park Circus
Digital Restoration
Digital Restoration Monday 21 September, 11.30pm
Late night S! K THE PIT AND SHOC THE PENDULUM (cff 15) Director: Roger Corman. Starring: Vincent Price, Barbara Steel, John Kerr. USA 1961. 80 mins.
Shot in just 15 days by the master of bargainbasement horror, Roger Corman – and scripted by science fiction author Richard Matheson – this was also the second of his films to be inspired by the works of Poe. Replete with sexual motifs and almost a checklist of Freud’s observations on ‘the Uncanny’, the narrative has Vincent Price as a tortured 16th century Spanish nobleman obsessed by the fear that his wife was entombed alive in his castle’s torture chamber – a repetition of somewhat troubled family history. Barbara Steele, playing his wife, embodies all the vagaries and contradictions of Poe’s quintessential female to perfection.
Print Source: Courtesy of Paul Schrader
Print source: Park Circus
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Revivals | 59
JACK CARDIFF: A TRIBUTE
Celebrated cinematographer and director Jack Cardiff, who died earlier this year aged 94, is perhaps best known for his beautiful and pioneering work in Technicolor. During a career that spanned almost nine decades (the son of music hall entertainers, he started as a child actor in silent films) Cardiff was awarded two Oscars, a BAFTA Special Award and an OBE. Almost universally considered one of the greatest cinematographers of all time, Cardiff was also known as ‘the man who makes women look beautiful’. He was Marilyn Monroe’s favoured cinematographer, as well as having worked with Katherine Hepburn, Ava Gardner, and Audrey Hepburn. In tribute to Jack Cardiff’s outstanding contribution to filmmaking, we will be screening three of his films and hosting a special tribute evening.
Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) 60 | Jack Cardiff: A Tribute | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Saturday 19 September, 1.15pm | Tuesday 22 September, 3.15pm
Sunday 20 September, 1.15pm
THE RED SHOES (cff U)
BLACK NARCISSUS (U)
Digital Restoration
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger. Starring: Moira Shearer, Marius Goring, Anton Walbrook, Jean Short. UK 1948. 133 mins.
Loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale about a pair of enchanted crimson ballet slippers, THE RED SHOES follows the beautiful Vicky Page (Moira Shearer), a young socialite who loves ballet, the rising composer Julian Craster (Marius Goring) whom she loves, and her dictatorial director, Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook). A meditation on the mutually exclusive demands of unstoppable artistic drive and obsessive romantic love – here presented in the first UK digital screening of the recently restored classic – THE RED SHOES is regularly cited as one of the most beautiful films of all time. ➜ Introduced by Trish Sheil from the Cambridgeshire Film Consortium. Print source: Park Circus
Monday 21 September, 3.45pm
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (U) Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger. Starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Richard Attenborough, Kathleen Byron, Robert Coote. UK 1946. 104 mins.
Emerging from a commission for a propaganda feature to help ease tensions in Anglo-American wartime relations, this tale tells of a young airman (David Niven) who miraculously survives a leap from his blazing bomber without a parachute after falling in love with the voice of an American radio operator (Kim Hunter). When officials in the ‘other world’ realise their mistake, they despatch an angel to collect him, and he must argue for his life before a celestial court. A flamboyant tale of the power of love versus the ‘powers that be’, A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH is Powell and Pressburger’s most romantic and magical film. ➜ Introduced by Trish Sheil from the Cambridgeshire Film Consortium.
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger. Starring: Deborah Kerr, Flora Robson, Jean Simmons, David Farrar. UK 1947. 100 mins.
A taut melodrama of unusually fierce passions and barely contained erotic tension, BLACK NARCISSUS, for which Cardiff won his first Oscar for ‘Best Cinematography’, tells the tale of a group of Anglo-Catholic nuns who open a school and hospital in a remote Himalayan community. As they face a series of obstacles from the villagers and a hostile environment, tensions begin to grow. In its depiction of young women torn between duty and passion, BLACK NARCISSUS shares common elements with THE RED SHOES. ➜ Introduced by Trish Sheil from the Cambridgeshire Film Consortium. Print source: BFI
“Simplicity…that’s the secret of good lighting and good cinematography. Always keep it simple.” Jack Cardiff Tuesday 22 September, 6.30pm
Special Event
JACK CARDIFF: PAINTER WITH LIGHT
An evening with film critic and historian Ian Christie
This special Festival tribute reveals the influences behind Cardiff’s stunning, Oscar-winning cinematography (for by Powell and Pressburger’s BLACK NARCISSUS) and, with clips from some of his greatest films, explores the work that made his name synonymous with Technicolor photography. ➜ The evening is presented by Ian Christie, Anniversary Professor of Film and Media History at Birkbeck University of London, co-founder of the international review Film Studies and author of several books on cinema, including Arrows of Desire: The Fillms of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
Print source: BFI
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Jack Cardiff: A Tribute | 61
miKe AnD GeoRGe KuChAR: Lust FoR eCstAsy
“it glows wit h the embers of desire! it sm okes with the revelation of men and wom en longing for ro bust temptat ions that will mak e them sizzle into maturity wit h a furnace-bl ast of unrestrained animalism. a film for young an d old to enjo y.” George Kuchar on PUSSY ON A HO T TIN ROOF
Thursday 24 September, 9.00pm
long before Youtube, there were the outrageous, no-budget movies of underground filmmaking twins mike and george Kuchar. in the early 1960s, alongside andy Warhol, the Kuchar brothers shaped the New York underground film scene. Known as the ‘8mm mozarts’, their films were noticeably different from other underground films of the time – wildly funny, but also human and vulnerable. despite having high profile fans, the Kuchars remain largely unknown – they were only ambitious to make movies, not to be famous.
ng… “Big…rousi le war saga The incredib ! le ab ed jungle Memor in a Jap-infest ys rner bo n ow r of ou ear lloyd Tho al Gardens. H ic ng li an st ot hi B w e t th ou in me song. you’ll co THE NUDE D AN D KE NA sing the title E on TH ds.” George Kuchar from both en the Cambridge Film Festival offers the opportunity to sample a cornucopia of rare, classic films by the brothers – some never before seen in the UK – along with Jennifer Kroot’s revealing, sympathetic portrait of mike and george, it Came From KUChar.
MiKe & george Kuchar PrograMMe 1 (CFF 15) 82 mins
the naKed and the nude
Director: George Kuchar. USA 1957. 36 mins.
The oldest surviving Kuchar mini-epic, this patriotic WWII period piece (made by high schoolers) chronicles the desires and destinies of carnal appetites on the front line.
Pussy on a hot tin rooF
Directors: George Kuchar, Mike Kuchar. USA 1961. 14 mins.
The salacious short that caused the Kuchars’ banishment from meetings of the New York Eight Millimeter Motion Picture Club.
the conFessions oF BaBette Director: George Kuchar. USA 1963. 15 mins.
An early masterpiece by Mike Kuchar in which Babette tells all, leaving no turgid stone unturned.
hold Me while i’M naKed
Director: George Kuchar. USA 1966. 17 mins.
A camp classic, in which the sudden, unplanned departure of lead actress Donna Kernes due to excessive shower scenes swiftly became the subject of the film. Print source: Anthology Film Archive, New York / LUX
62 | mike and George Kuchar | box office: 0871 704 2050
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Friday 25 September, 9.00pm
MiKe & george Kuchar PrograMMe 2 (CFF 15) 82 mins MidsuMMer’s nightMare
Director: Mike Kuchar. USA 2008. 13 mins.
A surreal exploration of a character with a creepy doll and a character in a cow mask exploring a redwood forest.
a widow’s weB
Director: Mike Kuchar. USA 1997. 14 mins.
Over-the-top melodrama about a mother and daughter confused about men and money. Fabulously schlocky dialogue, with an ending that is totally outrageous and perverse.
a Fatal desire
Director: George Kuchar. USA 2004. 37 mins.
A favourite from George’s class video productions. An aspiring singer goes to Florida with her aunt and mother – both played by plastic skeletons, with dialogue dubbed in a kung fu style. They encounter trailer trash, glamorous nightclubs and meteorology.
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
teMPle oF torMent
Director: George Kuchar. USA 2006. 18 mins.
Another summer travel video. George confronts his Catholic upbringing and sexual shame by talking back to Mother Angelica – Catholic TV host and nun – intercut with other New York outings and dinner parties. Print source: Courtesy of Mike and George Kuchar
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | mike and George Kuchar | 63
Friday 25 September, 11.30pm
MiKe & george Kuchar PrograMMe 3 (CFF 18) 82 mins a reason to live
Director: George Kuchar. USA 1976. 30 mins.
This film is about depression, although it’s not that depressing. Shot in San Francisco and Central Oklahoma with a cast of one man and four women, it features crushing emotions against a massive meteorological background that brings inspiration and terror to the characters involved.
Thursday 24 September, 6.30pm
it caMe FroM Kuchar (CFF 15) Director: Jennifer M. Kroot. USA 2009. 86 mins.
IT CAME FROM KUCHAR is a hilarious and touching story of artistic obsession, compulsion and inspiration. Growing up in the Bronx in the 1950s, George and Mike became so obsessed with Hollywood melodramas they began making their own with their aunt’s 8mm camera, using friends and family as actors. Early Kuchar titles featured in this film include I WAS A TEENAGE RUMPOT and BORN OF THE WIND. Exerting a major influence on the New York underground scene of the 1960s, they have gone on to inspire generations of filmmakers, including John Waters, Buck Henry, Atom Egoyan, Guy Maddin and Wayne Wang (all interviewed in this film). Affectionately directed by one of George’s former students, Jennifer M. Kroot, IT CAME FROM KUCHAR introduces the amazing oeuvre of the Kuchars, interweaving the brothers’ lives, their admirers, a history of underground film and a ‘greatest hits’ of Kuchar clips into a mesmerizing stream-of-consciousness tale. ➜ We are delighted to host an online Q&A with the Kuchar bros and director Jennifer M. Kroot live from San Francisco. Print source: Tigerlilly Pictures
64 | mike and George Kuchar
“Sexual repr ession/sham e, binge eating, fecal mishaps and 1970s, SF melodram a. it’s got a co uple of hilarious scen es and is odd and almost sexy. it’s classic ‘7 0s Kuchar.” Jennifer M. Kro ot on A REAS ON TO LIVE
lust For ecstasy: a draMa oF oBsessions in the language oF sensationalisM Director: George Kuchar. Starring: Donna Kerness, Bob Cowan, Mike Kuchar, Cynthia Mailman. USA 1963. 52 mins.
“LUST FOR ECSTASY is my most ambitious attempt since my last film…. I wrote many of the pungent scenes on the D train, and when I arrived on the set I ripped them up and let my emotional whims make chopped meat out of the performances and the story… Yes, LUST FOR ECSTASY is my subconscious, my own naked lusts that sweep across the screen in 8mm and colour with full-fidelity sound.” George Kuchar Print source: Anthology Film Archive, New York
“The Kuch ar twins ha ve become livi ng legends in the world o f experime ntal film” Roger Eb ert, Ch icago Sun Tim
es
tigation n inves ino is a re of “Nova-K litical structu po ture” e fu th d to in t, an presen t, s a p the
mARK BosWeLL: the ARt oF novA-Kino mark boswell studied film and film theory at various institutions in switzerland, France, germany, and the Usa from 1986-1992 and is the author of the Nova-Kino manifesto. boswell founded Nova-Kino in 1994 in miami beach, Florida in order to align avant-garde cinema conceptually, as well as technically, with the emerging digital revolution. the first Nova-Kino result was a five minute super 8 film entitled KUltKiNo that premiered in 1996 at the aNti-Film Festival.
Saturday 26 September, 6.30pm
MarK Boswell PrograMMe (CFF 15) 55 mins ussa: secret Manual oF the soviet PolitBurger
➜ We are delighted to welcome director Mark Boswell for a Q&A following the screening.
Director: Mark Boswell. USA 2004. 9 mins.
A disillusioned intelligence officer (Frank Sinatra) from a 1960s classic American conspiracy film wakes up in the year 2004 to find himself on the edge of an upcoming apocalypse.
Director: Mark Boswell. USA 2001. 7 mins.
A crypto-documentary about the history of the hamburger as a Soviet conspiracy.
agent orange
Director: Mark Boswell. USA 2002. 5 mins.
“Nova-Kino is… a techno logically advanced m edium that in corporates digital, cellu loid, analog, and pseudo-redu ndant motio n picture technologies that ensomm e, actualize the free market mantra of ‘the democra tization of te chnology.’”
the end oF coPenhagen
AGENT ORANGE is the toxic consequence of the digital conversion of avant-garde cinema, not only addressing the problems of the canon, but the current political crisis brought to a head by 9/11.
deeP Blue
Director: Mark Boswell. USA 2003. 8 mins.
A diplomat of the ‘dark fibre’ conspiracy is sent to space to play the IBM computer ‘Deep Blue’ in a chess match.
m, and americanis apitalism, C nues of of ve e al qu ition d criti ssible” to the trad o’s firebran t not impo ceptance in bu ac – “Nova-Kin its lT e U C ak Fi m iF ill D w n a tio pi to uc Techno n, and prod distributio exhibition, Quotes taken from The Nova-Kino Manifesto
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JFK
“Nova-Kino is... the simul taneous raco of the past an nteur d prophet of the present”
Director: Mark Boswell. USA 2005. 5 mins.
A reel-to-reel tape recorder projected onto screen – plus live performative interaction with filmmaker and audience.
the st. PetersBurg ParadoX Director: Mark Boswell. USA 2007. 8 mins.
A gambling theory invented by a Swiss mathematician is the crux of this found-footage experiment that appropriates images from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, ONE PLUS ONE, and Scorsese’s CASINO.
unKnown unKnown(s)
Director: Mark Boswell. USA 2009. 13 mins.
A Dialogue between film history and art theory, utilising classic scenes from iconic 60s cinema, re-contextualised through the usage of subtitles that parallel and/or contradict the original intent. Print source: Courtesy of Mark Boswell
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
DANNY LYON: AMERICAN LIFE Danny Lyon is a self-taught, American photographer and filmmaker and also an accomplished writer, primarily of accompanying text for his photographs. At a time when picture magazines were still the holy grail for young photographers, Lyon began his career as the first staff photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. His first book, the classic Bikeriders – made after spending more than two years as a member of the Outlaws motorcycle gang – was not just a pioneering example of New Journalism but, as he later described it, an attempt “to destroy Life magazine” and what he saw as its anodyne vision of American life.
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
TWO FATHERS
Saturday 26 September, 4.00pm
DANNY LYON programme (CFF 15) 93 mins Alongside his photographic work Danny Lyon has produced an impressive cinematographic oeuvre, best described as ‘essay films’ – closer to his photo book work than to regular documentaries. Here we have the pleasure of showing three of his most recent films, which visit two of his regular subjects, his family and outsiders.
BORN TO FILM
Director: Danny Lyon. USA 1982. 33 mins.
BORN TO FILM is an intimately autobiographical work – film as family and social history, but about “human continuity, the power of instinct to survive, the grace that love and play bring to it, the wonder of being alive”.
Director: Danny Lyon. USA 2005. 30 mins.
In this sequel, Raphael, the child star of BORN TO FILM is now 27 years old and returns to his father, Danny Lyon’s farm to plant corn and “experience fatherhood”, intercut with the photographic world of his grandfather Ernst, Germany of the 1920s.
MURDERERS
Director: Danny Lyon. USA 2006. 30 mins.
MURDERERS tells the story of five murderers in three American states, one of whom explains, after beating someone with a baseball bat, “I didn’t kill him… he died on his own”. It includes a devastating interview with Michael Guzman, who appeared as a teenager in Lyon’s film WILLIE. Print source: Bleak Beauty Films
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | Danny Lyon | 67
small is beautiful. With a mix of short features, animation, documentary and experimental films from around the globe, shortFusion presents a selection of mini-masterpieces by some of the world’s hottest new filmmaking talents. 68 | shortFusion | box office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Thursday 24 September, 11.15pm
GLOBAL ROADS (CFF 12A)
102 mins
the last decade has seen a change in the nature of war and conflict. a new generation of filmmakers are showing an increasing awareness of the fear of terrorism. this highly political programme illustrates the way young people view our conflicted 21st century world with Contains moderate violence. poignancy and beauty.
twist oF Fate
on the road to tel aviv
A short film that points to the irony of being a human target in the world of who-knows-when-they-might-strike terror acts.
A dramatic story (with comedic elements) that shows how, under the tense reality of war and terror, enemies can sometimes find themselves in the same boat (or on the same bus).
Director: Naren Multani. India. 6 mins.
gaZa-london
Director: Dima Hamdan. UK. 15 mins.
The agonising wait of a Palestinian student in London, desperate to hear from his mother who is stuck in Gaza during the Israeli operation of January 2009.
why saBreen? (lesh saBreen?)
Director: Muayad Alayan. Palestine. 20 mins.
Set in a Palestinian neighbourhood in Jerusalem, WHY SABREEN? tells the story of two young lovers as they navigate dreams and dead-ends in their socially conservative and Israelicontrolled community.
Director: Khen Shalem. Israel. 15 mins.
letter hoMe
Director: Ken Pak. Canada. 10 mins.
In times of trouble, home is only a letter away.
Princes oF Mars
(i PrinciPi di Marte)
Director: Giuseppe Borzone. Italy. 18 mins.
In 1969, a boy and a girl kill a policeman. They are forced to confront the consequences of violence and, ultimately, the revenge of the police.
MeMory Places
Director: Piotr Cieplak. UK. 18 mins.
Made up of photographic stills depicting the Rwandan genocide in 1994, this film explores the memorials of fire and the ways in which they function in the Rwandan landscape, as well as the ways outsiders experience them.
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Saturday 19 September, 1.30pm
BEST OF BRITISH (CFF 15)
108 mins
a chance to delve into the imagination of some of the most talented British directors. a mature selection of grit and realism from filmmakers not afraid to raise challenging questions.
Boy
washdays
A sensitive look at the struggle of a lonely man’s fight against unwanted sexual desires.
A birthday. A rabbit. A secret admirer. Can Pippa have a Happy Birthday?
Kyle is 11 and has a problem; he’s a bed wetter. His mum thinks making him wash his own sheets will cure him, but it only makes him late for school. When she writes a note stating the unvarnished truth, he bunks off and goes in search of his own solution.
quietus
tender
Director: George Taylor. UK. 14 mins.
Director: Deborah Haywood. UK. 23 mins.
Two women. One crime. Nineteen cats. The only witnesses to Mrs Rogers’ hideous death are her pets and they aren’t talking.
When Liam wins some money on a scratch card, Alisha is suddenly interested, and for a while life outside home is good for Liam. But when he uses the money to try and solve his mum’s problems, things get worse for everybody.
Director: Joe Morris. UK. 15 mins.
hiP hiP hooray
Director: Lynsey Miller. UK. 8 mins.
girlliKeMe
Director: Rowland Jobson. UK. 13 mins.
Lucy is young, Lucy is damaged, Lucy is pretty and Lucy likes to play. Texting, she arranges to meet a boy, Tony, ‘age 16’.
Finding hoMe
Director: Stefano Margaritelli. UK. 11 mins.
Darren and Tom aspire to leave predictable lives in search of their estranged mother. However, such dreams of leaving are only possible if they can raise the required cash. As Darren learns of his brother’s success and the conditions the money brings with it, he is left with only one choice.
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Director: Simon Neal. UK. 11 mins.
all day BreaKFast
Director: Julian Kerridge. UK. 13 mins.
Daryl is 19 and going nowhere fast. His mother antagonises him; his ‘not-quite girlfriend’ Juliet has big dreams, and then there’s the boat. The huge ferry that has beached on the shore near his home. That massive hulk of metal that haunts him and taunts him to leave.
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | shortFusion | 69
Saturday 19 September, 11.00pm | Friday 25 September, 11.00pm
NIGHTTIME FABLES (CFF 18)
123 mins
themes of escaping the norm are explored with violent relish. Philosophical fights, an escaped animal at the zoo, and a suicidal pupil show what happens when the boundaries of the social order are violated. not for the faint-hearted.
necroMance
huManity (de’Mut)
A nursery rhyme for the twisted. A schoolboy finds a more interesting but fatal use for his homework.
A film about our desires and wishes. And about the purpose of love.
transgress
Director: Roberto Rôa. Brazil. 15 mins.
Director: Kerri Davenport-Burton. USA. 5 mins. Monday 21 September, 11.30pm | Sunday 27 September, 11.00am
LOVE DOES GROW ON TREES (CFF 15)
81 mins
a refreshing programme of shorts exploring the weird and wonderful world of love and the unexpected places you find it. a floating girl, the land of the dead, the secrets of dreams and a stash of porn all reveal that love can grow on trees.
sePteMBer
Director: Esther May Campbell. UK. 21 mins.
In an in-between world of flyovers, grass verges and dead ends, where the motorway hum serves as a constant reminder of the speed of other lives, Marvin is not going anywhere. Into this forgotten corner of English countryside and motorway services arrives an extraordinary adolescent, changing his world forever.
casual
Director: Aitor Echeverría. Spain. 9 mins.
As the district wakes up, the music of everyday actions shows how the lives of the inhabitants coincide.
Funeral Blues
Director: Stephan George. UK. 11 mins.
Nicholas has the unusual habit of attending funerals of people he doesn’t know. When he meets Marlene, a woman with the same habit, an incredible and tragic journey starts…
love & roadKill
Director: John David Allen. USA. 14 mins.
A scenic ride through the country takes an unexpected turn, resulting in a rare moment of reflection on life and death for an urban executive woman.
love does grow on trees Director: Bevan Walsh. UK. 10 mins.
A coming of age comedy about a teenage boy whose life is thrown into chaos when he discovers porn magazines, girls and the embarrassment that goes with both.
all My dreaMs on vhs
Director: Timothy X Atack. UK. 14 mins.
James never misses his dreams – he records them straight to VHS using Dreamspoon wireless technology. But when a work colleague, Erica, stops by one evening, she finds something surprising amongst his collection. If you hoard your dreams, someone is going to want to watch them.
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Director: Leanne Welham. UK. 13 mins.
Driving home one night in London, a woman accidentally hits a man who shouldn’t be there.
interPretation
Director: Lin Oeding. USA. 8 mins.
A romantic couple’s brief encounter with several philosophical thugs unfolds in an unusual way.
satisFaction
Director: Aasaf Ainapore. UK/USA. 8 mins.
An offence has been caused. Offence has been taken. In downtown LA, two men journey to a meeting.
Director: Binh Le. Germany. 11 mins.
Zoo
Upon arriving at the zoo, the animal dealer realises that things are escaping out of his control – and his comprehension.
JuMP
Director: Louisa Fielden. UK. 4 mins.
Standing on top of sagging school roof, an obese headmaster attempts to talk down his latest suicidal pupil.
air
Director: Luke Davies. USA. 19 mins.
The journey of a young man traversing a deserted road intersects with that of a young boy searching for a ride to town, ultimately unlocking a mystery seemingly playing out in a timeless space.
claMP and grind
Director: Prasanna Puwanarajah. UK. 5 mins.
A black comedy about an ordinary man with superhero aspirations, who takes to the streets in a cape to rid the world of wheel clamps.
disciPline (disZiPlin)
Director: Jacob Hendriks. Germany. 3 mins.
You can’t fight the discipline…
charlie thistle
Director: Bragi Schut Jr. USA. 15 mins.
Thursday 17 September, 11.00pm
Charlie Thistle dreams of a better world, a world in colour, a world in which trees grow indoors and sidewalks are made of grass.
SHORT INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARIES (12A)
the Jesus sPoon
Director: Craig Fox. Australia. 7 mins.
A short comedy about two boys, a dog turd and a decorative spoon that may, or may not, have magical culinary powers!
silent treatMent
Director: Jonathan Rothell. USA. 7 mins.
A comedy short about life without sound.
dhelia and george
Director: Shelly Love. UK. 3 mins.
A love story based on the mating ritual of birds and humans.
119 mins
this eclectic selection of short documentaries presents a refreshing outlook on the political and social aspects of Contains references to sexual violence. life (and death) on earth, both past and present.
grandMother’s FootstePs
Director: Charlotte Wassermann. UK. 17 mins.
Filmmaker Charlotte Wassermann joins her Austrian Jewish grandmother Edith on a bittersweet final journey to Vienna, a city Edith fled as a child. They draw back the curtains on distant memories of Edith’s long forgotten childhood under Nazi occupation.
catching sundance
Director: George Wharmby. UK. 10 mins.
A personal look into small-town eccentricity. George Wharmby is on a journey to find a man he has known his whole life: the self-professed Dark Peak Cowboy, The Sundance Kid.
nisa
Director: Benet Roman. Spain. 10 mins.
In this documentary short, various Moroccan women – ranging from an illiterate rural woman to a film director – give first-person accounts of their present situation, all sharing their hopes, lives, and problems.
a stiFF uPPer liP
Directors: Mike Maroney, Casper Hoskins. UK. 30 mins.
This short documentary follows Mr Dave Hill’s progress from fresh-faced Essex boy to his full handlebar moustache wearing moment of glory representing his country at the Olympics of facial hair: The 2007 World Beard and Moustache Championships.
doco BanKsy
Director: Dominic Wade. UK. 5 mins.
Filmmaker Dominic Wade tries to get to the bottom of the myths behind graffiti artist Banksy, by interviewing people who have been affected by his work.
out oF sPace
Director: Anna Cady. UK. 3 mins.
OUT OF SPACE presents the dichotomy of Louisa’s desire to return to her chair and her body’s struggle to remain free in the water.
the Jung Files
(die archives von c.g Jung) Director: Gemma Ventura. Spain. 16 mins.
A woman tells the incredible story of her parents to a journalist who is investigating the tragic consequences of Carl Gustav Jung’s regressive hypnosis practices.
Born without a Beat
Director: Oliver Riley-Smith. UK. 12 mins.
This revealing and intimate documentary follows the journey of Lenny, a deaf party animal, as she searches for the perfect beat. Travelling to Holland, we are taken to a groundbreaking, multi-sensory music event designed for the hard of hearing, the deaf rave.
Burning Man
Director: Nicholas MacNider. USA. 16mins.
A travelogue set in the Burning Man Festival in the USA, filled with colour, sunlight and excitement.
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | shortFusion | 71
Saturday 26 September, 1.30pm
ANIMATED SHORTS (U)
stay in My MeMory
circles
Inspired by a song about loss of a loved one, the film deals with loneliness and the need to make a fresh start. A remarkable debut by Grace Lee, who is just 14.
Structured around an insomniac’s journey through the deserted Jerusalem night, this film is an abstract exploration of the love-hate relationship between man, community and urban technology.
Director: Grace Lee. UK. 4 mins. 96 mins
some eye-opening animation from around the globe. this programme promises to tantalise the senses, showcasing films from first-time animators as well as established artists who have inspired and influenced a new generation.
the girl with liquid eyes Directors: Adam Smith, Charlotte BoulayGoldsmith. UK. 5 mins.
THE GIRL WITH THE LIQUID EYES is a rhyming tale about love and loss.
aniMated aMerican
Directors: James Baker, Joe Haidar. USA. 15 mins.
A toon-hating executive has a hare-raising experience when he meets an out of work toon rabbit.
unravel
Director: Caroline Huf. Australia. 7 mins.
An experimental stop-motion animation of emotional unravelling which reveals itself through the movement of found objects. They transform into strange forms that seem to be trying to tell us something – even in reveries, it seems, realities rise to the surface of our consciousness to be confronted.
in search oF the colours Will Kim. USA. 9 mins.
In this animated documentary film, Will Kim uses various hand-drawn and painterly animation techniques to tell a story of his own experiences from this home for people with developmental disabilities.
8:15
the wolFMan
Director: Tim Hope. UK. 6 mins.
In the middle of woods inhabited by wolves, an astrologer imagines what it would be like to be a werewolf, running and howling through the woods in a schizophrenic blur instead of sitting in his home watching videos. Then the moon calls to him.
Please say soMething
Director: David O’Reilly. Ireland/Germany. 10 mins.
In a world ravaged by war, two boys find pieces of rubbish which they use to create worlds of imagination.
A computer animation that depicts a mouse and a cat in a marriage that seems troubled and takes place in various times, past and future.
unPredictaBle Behaviour
BlueBird
In six short minutes, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson unravel the mystery of Jack the Ripper for good, delivering an ending that is haunting, unnerving, and well, unpredictable.
A man says there is a bluebird in his heart. He tries to conceal it and not to let anybody see it. He only lets it out at night sometimes, when everybody is asleep. Then he puts it back in his heart.
Director: Jardine Sage. UK. 6 mins.
Directors: Pasha Shapiro, Ernst Weber. Germany/USA. 6 mins.
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Director: Monika Umba. UK. 2 mins.
Director: Jonathan Shohet. Israel. 7 mins.
sMile
Director: Ian Clark. UK. 7 mins.
In a Victorian studio, a first-time model poses for a callous photographer. Their privacy is soon to be interrupted by the most unlikely voyeurs.
PushKin
Director: Trevor Hardy. UK. 5 mins.
Poor Mrs Dombilard. Her cat Pushkin has gone missing. Where is her little darling? Will she ever see him again?
shut eye hotel
Director: Bill Plympton. USA. 7 mins.
A film noir murder mystery that takes place in a sleazy hotel. As cops investigate the gruesome murders they become the victims of this evil force. What JAWS did to swimming, SHUT EYE HOTEL will do for sleeping.
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
Thursday 24 September, 4.00pm
SCREEN EAST DIGITAL SHORTS (CFF 15)
50 mins
digital shorts is a uK-wide scheme to find and develop new and upcoming filmmaking talent and enable them to make innovative short films using digital technology. screen east is delighted to present the films from the 2008 scheme. Friday 18 September, 11.00pm | Wednesday 23 September, 11.30pm
tenner
honour Me
Homer’s violent attack on a shopkeeper has serious consequences, but will an electronic tag stop him from taking the ultimate revenge?
Abused by her family, forced into marriage, pregnant at 13 then hunted down for violating her family’s honour. HONOUR ME is the shocking true story of Sameem Ali’s struggle to break free from her past.
Director: David O’Neill. UK. 12 mins.
shadows and dust
Director: Jon Dunleavy. UK. 5 mins.
When a greedy young girl follows the tooth fairy into the forest in search of riches, a dark and twisted journey ensues.
JeroMe’s weaKness
Director: Matthew McGuchan. UK. 11 mins.
A grief-stricken scientist has detected the spirit of his dead son, attached to the boy’s mother. In his lab, he hopes to transfer this vital essence into a new body...
Director: Alex Tweddle. UK. 15 mins.
JacoB
Director: Keith Wilson-Singer. UK. 7 mins.
Young Jacob’s fantasy world of superheroes is shattered when his overbearing, obsessive compulsive, mother burns his precious comics and toys. Justice must be served, and so he sets out for vengeance the only way he knows how... by becoming a superhero!
➜ Following the screening, Digital Shorts Executive Producer Sam Burton will lead a Q&A with one of the filmmakers and talk about the 2009/10 scheme.
TRIDENTFEST (CFF 18)
68 mins
Project trident presents a late night selection of short films showcasing resourceful no-budget filmmaking at its most imaginative. subjects range from shocking horror to touching drama to even more shocking horror... Blood, guts, love, hate, birth and several deaths.
Mr silverFace
Director: Carl Peck. UK. 4 mins.
A polite and well mannered household crumbles in the (silver) face of utter terror.
head oF dePartMent
Director: Christian Lapidge. UK. 3 mins
A brilliant scientist lives to regret cheating his wife’s death.
legion oF Plotters
Director: Thom Martin. UK. 10 mins.
A mild-mannered shop worker begins to unravel a terrible plot against his wellbeing.
noPe
KerPlunK
A short documentary following a day in the life of Christopher, a projectionist with an unusual and misunderstood hobby.
A no-budget homage to Jason Statham’s CRANK.
away
George is a reliable but unpopular accountant whose dull life is changed forever when he makes an unwise meal-time decision.
Director: Allan Melia. UK. 13 mins.
Director: Ryd Cook. UK. 6 mins.
Low-key drama of a young boy who flees the family home.
Director: Andrzej Sosnowski. UK. 11 mins.
internal aFFairs
Directors: Andrzej Sosnowski, Simon Panrucker. UK. 10 mins.
stare Bear
casual Friday
A stern piece of garden furniture finally meets his match.
The second horrific instalment of the Mr Silverface franchise sees our ‘hero’ destroying the mind of a meek office worker.
Director: Simon Panrucker. UK. 3 mins.
➜ We are delighted to welcome the filmmakers to introduce the screenings.
Director: Carl Peck. UK. 8 mins.
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | shortFusion | 73
the Penalty BoX
Friday 25 September, 1.30pm
Directors: Arthur Franck, Oskar Forsten. Finland. 9 mins.
THE BEST OF THE CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL SUPER 8 FILM FESTIVAL 2009 (CFF 15)
code grey
the pick of the crop from around the world, freshly plucked from the 2008 cambridge super 8 Film Festival – which this year featured 98 short films and more than 60 world, international, european and uK premieres.
A bomb disposal expert has a major problem when facing the ‘cut the red wire’ scenario – what do you do when you’ve been shot in gritty monochrome and can’t tell which wire’s which?
rainy day
die schneider KranKheit
i reMeMBer venice, caliFornia
Director: Javier Chillón. Spain. 10 mins.
Director: Will O’Loughlen. USA. 2 mins.
Documentary about a rainy day in the city of Santiago de Compostela, where rain is art.
The fifties: a Soviet space shuttle crashes in West Germany. The only passenger, a chimpanzee cosmonaut, spreads a deadly virus all over the country...
A mini-documentary / experimental short film-poem about a day in Venice, California – shot in a single afternoon in March 2007 and narrated and edited in September 2008.
Moving on
gone Fishin’?
Director: Erin Celeste Weisgerber. Canada. 4 mins.
Director: Geoff Wolfenden. UK. 3 mins.
“In 2008 I decided to move across the country from Edmonton to Montreal...” Combining hand- and lab-processed film shot in Edmonton shortly before leaving, with footage shot in Montreal, this film is a record of that transition.
A short comedy which turns an everyday activity, enjoyed by millions, upside down – with sinister consequences!
84 mins
Director: Andrés Victorero Rey. Spain. 3 mins.
BricK lane MeMory
Director: Jason Edwards. UK. 2 mins.
A documentary showing a part of London now lost or changed forever – the area around Brick Lane where anything and everything could be sold on Sundays.
us (nous)
Director: Oliver Hems. France. 12 mins.
A police officer searches a man’s apartment and enters the life of someone who has been forgotten by everyone.
74 | shortFusion | box office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Director: Rob Wickings. UK. 4 mins.
golden Beach
Director: Miklos Csoka. Hungary. 4 mins.
The idylls of home movies don’t show reality all the time. We are the creators of our memories.
The penalty box has become a chair of confession where senior hockey players spill their guts about first loves, divorce and finding a new love.
dead Joe
Director: John Aldridge. UK. 5 mins.
A horribly deformed private detective in search of stolen drugs and money goes on a drink and drugs binge – then inadvertently shoots lots of innocent people while hallucinating winged skulls.
don’t tell My Mother
Director: Sarah Moon Howe. Belgium. 26 mins.
“I have been doing striptease since I was 22 years old. I wanted to explore my femininity through the gaze of others. I wanted to burn my wings, feel fear, and at the end of each night, come out of it alive.” This film is an eyewitness account, a slice of life.
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
CAmBRiDGeshiRe FiLm ConsoRtium eDuCAtion events
www.cambridgeshirefilmconsortium.org
Bookings: 01223 579 127 / gertrud.h@picturehouses.co.uk (unless otherwise stated) Saturday 19 September | 11.00am – 1.00pm
i Made this
Free family event
Watch films on the big screen produced by young people. They will include one-minute films, WAR OF MEMORIES, THE MACHINE, THE FREAKSHOW MURDER, WE ARE DETECTIVES, plus delightful animations, documentaries and film dramas.
Masterclasses For young critics and students Friday 18 September | 4.00pm
things you should Know aBout Music iF you want to MaKe a FilM Drawing on his experience of 20 years of working with TV and film, Latin American composer Dr Julio d’Escriván will discuss issues of dramatic impact of music, image-music synchrony, sound design, interaction between production-sound and music, and the language the musician expects to hear when being briefed by a director. Sunday 20 September | 1.30pm
FroM scriPt to screen: Meet the screenwriter
caMBridgeshire FilM consortiuM: young critics at the caMBridge FilM Festival
Rick Harvey will talk about his experience of writing for EON, the company behind the James Bond films, and he will give a masterclass on the nuts and bolts of screenwriting.
Are you passionate about writing about film? Do you enjoy watching movies and reading reviews? If you are a young person in full time education, why not write for the Cambridge Film Festival? Your review could be published in the Festival Daily newspaper and on the Festival website. You might even win a prize as BEST YOUNG CRITIC! Categories: Primary (up to age 11): 50-150 words l Secondary (12-15 years): 200 words l 16-18 years and Undergraduates: 250 words Prizes sponsored by
Submit your review to daily@cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk Supported by Film Studies at Anglia Ruskin University
76 | Cambridgeshire Film Consortium
➜ Look out for James Bond in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and GOLDENEYE
(see pages 17 and 57 respectively)
Monday 21 September | 12.00pm
FilM critic: eMPire Saturday 12 September | 10.00am – 5.00pm
aniMation worKshoP For Beginners Ages: 8-12 years (max. 10 places) ➜ Venue: Anglia Ruskin University Tutor: Animator Monika Umba ➜ Cost: £30
Films to be screened in the I MADE THIS programme.
Join us for a Q&A with Ian Nathan, Executive Editor of Empire, the monthly bestselling British film magazine reviewing both mainstream and arthouse films. Previously editor of Empire for many years, he also writes as film critic for The Times and has worked in television. Supported by Film Studies at Anglia Ruskin University
Thursday 24 September | 11.00am – 1.00pm
Wednesday 23 September | 1.00 – 2.30pm
worKshoPs For FilMMaKers and ProFessionals
lunchtiMe archive show
From the BFI, East Anglian Film Archive and Pôle Image Haute-Normandie
a good day out: cross-channel MeMories oF leisure on FilM
Raising funding for youth film projects
ProFessional FilMMaKers – get involved with First light Work with young people as a professional filmmaker, widen networks of professional contacts and contribute to your community with rewarding paid work on projects throughout the UK.
JacK cardiFF: a triBute
want to MaKe a FilM But don’t Know how to start or where to get the Money? First light will show you how!
Sunday 20 September | 1.15pm
New organisations, schools, youth organisations and others can access First Light and Mediabox funding. Get advice on how to apply for one of First Light’s funding streams and discuss the processes and pitfalls in rewarding youth film production projects. ➜ Both events will run concurrently, followed by a networking
opportunity to meet partner organisations and professional filmmakers.
➜ Introduced by Trish Sheil from the Cambridgeshire Film Consortium.
BlacK narcissus (U) Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger. Starring: Deborah Kerr, Flora Robson, Jean Simmons, David Farrar. UK 1947. 100 mins.
Monday 21 September | 3.45pm
a Matter oF liFe and death (U) Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger. Starring: David Niven, Roger Livesey, Kim Hunter, Richard Attenborough, Kathleen Byron, Robert Coote. UK 1946. 104 mins.
➜ Introduced by Jane Jarvis, Screen East Digital Heritage Project Manager, and Simon McCallum, BFI
If the British have family memories of cricket on the village green or holidays by the sea, the French too remember days at the beach under white cliffs or a picnic in the country. As we compare and contrast our social history of the last century, see how we spent our time at leisure, both here and across the channel, in this screening of Linsday Anderson’s O DREAMLAND (1956), John Taylor’s HOLIDAY (1957) and amateur archive films from the East Anglian Film Archive and Rouen’s Pôle Image Haute-Normandie. Special reduction of £1.00 off each ticket for senior citizens.
Bookings: Arts Picturehouse 0871 704 2050
Tuesday 22 September | 3.15pm
the red shoes (U) Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger. Starring: Moira Shearer, Marius Goring, Anton Walbrook, Jean Short. UK 1948. 133 mins. ➜ See page 61 for full details of these films.
Tuesday 22 September | 6.30pm
JacK cardiFF: Painter with light an evening with FilM critic and historian ian christie The Young Film Fund is the UK Film Council’s Lottery funded filmmaking initiative those aged 5 to 19. Guidelines and information on how to apply: www.firstlightonline.co.uk Mediabox, a Department for Children, Schools and Families is a fund to help young disadvantaged people, aged 13 to 19, find a positive voice in the media. Grants of up to £40,000 available now: www.media-box.co.uk Second Light is a talent development scheme which through productionbased training, will give 30 talented young people aged 18 to 23, from BME backgrounds, supported opportunities to move into the film industry.
This special Festival tribute to the late Jack Cardiff reveals the influences behind his stunning, Oscar-winning cinematography (for Powell and Pressburger’s BLACK NARCISSUS) and, with clips from some of his greatest films, explores the work that made Jack’s name synonymous with Technicolor photography. ➜ The evening is presented by Ian Christie, Anniversary Professor of Film and Media History at Birkbeck University of London, co-founder of the international review Film Studies and author of several books on cinema, including Arrows of Desire: The Films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
Bookings: Arts Picturehouse 0871 704 2050
A Cambridgeshire Film Consortium screening in association with Cambridge City Council and BFI Mediatheque. Presented as part of the DIGITAL HERITAGE crossChannel partnership of Screen East and Rouen’s Pôle Image Haute-Normandie.
Cambridgeshire Film Consortium | 77
Emmanuel College
venues
Box Office: 0871 704 2050 (via Picturehouse box office)
www.emma.cam.ac.uk St Andrew’s Street, Cambridge, CB2 3AP
The Arts Picturehouse Box Office: 0871 704 2050 www.picturehouses.co.uk 38-39 St Andrew’s Street, Cambridge, CB2 3AR
Book tickets in advance for ALL venues through the Arts Picturehouse. The Arts Picturehouse screens a year-round programme of the best in new and classic cinema over three screens (including one THX-certificated for best quality sound). All screens are licensed, so you can take your drink from the café-bar in with you. You do not have to be a member to view films at the Arts Picturehouse, but if you are you’ll receive discounts on tickets, free preview screenings and priority booking for the Festival.
Ely Cathedral Box Office: 0871 704 2050 (via Picturehouse box office)
www.elycathedral.org Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4DL
Ely Cathedral was recently voted one of the ‘top ten must-see buildings in the UK’ by Dorling Kindersley in The Times, and was winner of the Best Film Location at the Screen East awards for ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE (2007). Ely is a 25 minute drive from Cambridge via the A10. Alternatively, it is a 15 minute rail journey from Cambridge to Ely stations.
All Festival venues have full disabled access. Please see individual venue websites for details.
78 | Venues | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Founded in the 16th century, Emmanuel College is a new venue for this year’s Festival – ideally located just opposite the Arts Picturehouse. Its historic surroundings will play host to a number of special screenings and events. The Queen’s Building, designed by Sir Michael and Patty Hopkins and voted ‘Building of the Year’ when it first opened, houses an impressive tiered auditorium. The Festival will also be using the Old Library. Originally the College Chapel, this beautiful building is lined with portraits of College dignitaries and features a fine late medieval wood carving in the ante room.
Sawston Cinema Box Office: 0871 704 2050 (via Picturehouse box office)
www.sawstoncinema.org.uk Youth Community Centre, New Road, Sawston, CB22 3BP
Spicer’s Theatre was the home of cinema in Sawston from 1932 until falling attendance led to its closure in the ‘60s. Since then, it has been a Youth and Community Centre managed by the neighbouring secondary school, Sawston Village College – but thanks to support from the Cambridge Film Trust, the UK Film Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, films are once again being screened, with young people from the school running projection and all front-of-house operations. Sawston Cinema boasts state-ofthe-art projection and sound equipment and is believed to be the only cinema in the country run by young people. Parking is available on the Sawston Village College site.
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
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The Cambridge Film Festival is operated by the Cambridge Film Trust (registered charity no. 1120059). We therefore regret that for Festival screenings Picturehouse Members cannot redeem their free tickets and Picturehouse gift vouchers cannot be used. There will also be no Student Beans, Big Scream!, Orange Wednesdays, Kids’ Club or Silver Screen offers for the duration of the Festival. We are, however, delighted to offer Picturehouse Members a discounted ticket price for our screenings. Advance web/phone booking fee £1.50 per transaction.
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Admission is FREE for Science on Screen and our Silents on the Streets Screenings on 20 September.
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caMBridge on caMera: aluMni screenings (25 & 27 seP) ➜ arts Picturehouse All tickets......................... £5.40
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Michael Palin: a liFe in Pictures (23 seP) ➜ ely cathedral Adults..........................................................................................£15.00 Picturehouse & BAFTA Members / Concessions*.......................................................................£12.50
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*Concessionary tickets are available for people in full time studies, claimants and senior citizens (valid ID required).
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tinKer, tailor, soldier, sPy (18 – 25 seP) ➜ arts Picturehouse £12 for all seven parts or £4 for each part bought separately
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Includes chauffeured punt ride and complimentary champagne
identity oF the soul (17, 18, 20, 21 & 22 seP) ➜ queen’s theatre, eMManuel college Adults............................................................................................. £6.00 Picturehouse Members / Concessions* .... £5.00
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our hosPitality / vaMPyr (21 seP) ➜ queen’s theatre, eMManuel college If you book both live music events, tickets cost £12 (£10 Picturehouse Members / Concessions*)
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oPening night FilM: the arMy oF criMe (17 seP) ➜ arts Picturehouse £10 (£8 Members / Concessions*) for entry to opening night film plus a complimentary glass of champagne and nibbles in the bar beforehand
riverside screenings (10, 12, 14 & 24 seP) ➜ grantchester Meadows Adults..........................................................................................£25.00 Picturehouse Members / Concessions*......£20.00
Emmanuel College
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Adults.................................. £3.50 Concessions*............... £2.50
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sunset viewings (30 & 31 aug) ➜ grantchester Meadows Adults..........................................................................................£15.00 Picturehouse Members / Concessions*......£12.50 Family (2 Adults, 2 Children under 15 .........£25.00
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Prices as above unless otherwise stated
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Adults.................................. £7.60 Members ......................... £5.60 Concessions*............... £5.70
Outdoor Screenings
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Adults.................................. £6.60 Members ......................... £4.60 Concessions*............... £5.70
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Only shows after 5.00pm have allocated seating
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brand new this year is our Festival Pass enabling you to buy multiple tickets at a discounted rate (see page 4 for details)
arts Picturehouse
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Located on bustling Regent Street, a short walk from the Arts Picturehouse, De Luca offers modern Italian food in a great setting. Pasta, risotto, meat and fish dishes are served from the dramatic open plan kitchen. De Luca are pleased to offer Film Festival ticketholders a special set menu, or 10% off their à la carte meal. All you need to do is show your cinema ticket on arrival. Or, try our cocktail bar after the film.
83 Regent Street, Cambridge CB2 1AW Tel: 01223 356 666 www.delucacucina.co.uk
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | ticket Prices and map | 79
FestivAL stAFF Tony Jones Festival Director Paula Beegan General Manager Verena Von Stackelberg International Programme Coordinator Nick Joicey, James Mackay, Brooke McGowan, Isabelle McNeill, Sarah Wood Programmers Clare Leczycki ShortFusion Programmer & Submissions Coordinator David Jakes Programme Adviser Toby Venables Brochure Editor Georgia King Brochure Designer Lou Beegan Proofreader Bill Thompson Online Producer Trish Sheil Education Officer, Cambridgeshire Film Consortium Anne-Laure Cano, Rydian Cook, Gertrud Hill, Chris O’Rourke Education Team Iris Ordonez UK & International Print Transport Clare Wilford Press & PR Manager
Tom Catchesides Festival Photographer Emily Boldy Screenings Coordinator Chloe Chennells-Milton Events Coordinator Jonny Davey Volunteer Coordinator Simon White Head Driver Alex Phillips, Claire Rastogi, Aisleigh Sawyer, Manuela Tise, Matt Waters Festival Interns Roger Smith Technical Manager Rydian Cook, Joe Delaney, Joe Harris, Thom Martin, Simon White Outdoor Screening Team David Perilli Festival Daily Editor Laura J. Smith, Christopher Peck Festival Daily Sub-Editors FOR THE CAMBRIDGE FILM TRUST Nick Joicey, Tony Jones, Isabelle McNeill, Jean Khalfa, Bill Thompson Board Members Adam Bryan Development Director The Cambridge Film Festival is operated by the Cambridge Film Trust, registered charity number 1120059.
AT THE ARTS PICTUREHOUSE Keith Gehlert General Manager Clare Leczycki Programme Assistant / Duty Manager Martin Read Bar Manager / Duty Manager Matt Roberts Operations / Duty Manager Emma Woolerton Copy Editor / Duty Manager Jon Barrenechea, Johnny Munro Guest Managers Joe Delaney (Chief), Clare Mackenzie,Roger Smith, Dermot Nolan, Christian Lapidge, Rydian Cook, Andrew Dillon, Colin Verot Projectionists Alexandra Oliver Marketing Coordinator Carl Peck, John Davis, Holly Pearson, Jeff Knowles, Becky Harding, Jack Toye, Elliot Cutting, Thom Martin, Simon Panrucker, Ruth Forgacs, Devorah Hall, Jonathan Davey, Jennifer Hinchliffe, Emily Hammond, Melissa Castrillon, Greg Hilson, Sara Cathie, Denise Green, Rickie Harper, Ned Wilson Eames, Chloe Chennells-Milton, Stephen Davidson, Leyre Mouriz, Allan Melia, Peter Phillips, Max Hagelburg, Caitlin Maling, Alex Woodhead Front of House Staff Alex Ramsey Head of Cleaning Staff
80 | Festival staff | box office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Picturehouse Membership £27 Single, £17 Concessions, £47 Joint (2 people at the same address) Call 0871 704 2050 or visit www.picturehouses.co.uk
Includes: 3 free tickets per person l £2.00 discount on full price tickets l brochure mailouts l 10% off alcoholic beverages in the bar Plus: no booking fees and discounts at all other Picturehouse cinemas.
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
thAnKs Alice Films: Laurent Bécue-Renard; Nicole Renard | Anglia Ruskin University: Tony Harrild; Caroline Hyde; Sarah Jones; Paul Marris | Artificial Eye: Richard Napper; Ben Luxford | Arts Alliance: Tessa Pemberton; Annie Mosebach | Arts Alliance Media: Thomas Høegh; Gemma Richardson; Kate Pidgeon | As You Like It: Julie Faveur | BAFTA: Alex Cook;Lesley Jones; Tricia Tuttle | Bavaria Film International: Gisela Wiltschek | BBC Archive: Tony Ageh | BBC Cambridgeshire: Emma Borley; Mandy Morton | BBC Film Network: Claire Cook | Berlinale Forum: Hanna Keller; Tobias Hering | BFI: Margaret Deriaz; Simon McCallum; Isabelle Piqueras; Marcus Prince; George Watson; Christine Whitehouse; Andrew Yondell | Blood Orange Media: Simone Ahuja | Café Jello: David Mitchell | Cambridge City Council: Frances Alderton; Deborah Allison; Georgia Artus; Neil Jones; Jas Lally; Elaine Midgley; | Cambridge Farmers’ Market Outlet: Kelley Green | Cambridge Fire & Rescue: Alan Pilsworth | Cambridge International Super 8 Film Festival: Thierry Bonnaud; Simon Mullen | Cambridge Newspapers: Paul Kirkley | Cambridge Saab: James Howarth | Cambridge University Alumni Relations Office: Cassie Llewellyn-Smith | Cambridge University Press: Linda Bree; Emma Moat | Cambridgeshire Community Foundation | Cambridgeshire County Council: Steve Capes | Cambridgeshire Education ICT: Mazzie Bartimus; Sally Elding; Gareth Jones; Tim Dalnes | Catherine Jones: Vanessa Burkitt | Centre for India & Global Business, Judge Business School: Navi Radjou Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
| Chocolat Chocolat: Robin Chappell | Channel 4: Andrew Newman | Churchill College: Dr Andrew Webber | CinéFile: Allison Gardner; Richard Mowe | Cinéphilia: Yoram Allon | City Screen: Marc Allenby; Clare Binns; David Brighouse; Lyn Goleby; Vince Jervis; Alastair Oatey; Rachel Sawyer; Gabriel Swartland; Mark Wealthy | Corpus Christi College: Dr Emma Wilson | DCM: David Prosser | De Luca Cucina & Bar: Paul de Luca | Deckert Distribution: Ina Rossow | Department of Slavonic Studies, University of Cambridge: Dr Matilda Mroz | East Anglian Film Archive: Jane Alvey; Katherine Mager; Richard Taylor | ELERDS | Ely Cathedral: The Dean, Dr Michael Chandler; Sallyann Ford | Emmanuel College: Sarah Banbery; Dr Mike Gross; Dr Nick White; Lord & Lady Wilson of Dinton | Films Boutique: Charlotte Renaut | Films Distribution: Martin Caraux | First Light: Yau Yau | Gorgameesh Productions: Tariq Marzbaan | Grafton Centre: Michael Wiseman | Grand Arcade: Lidia de Luca | Hauser-Raspe Foundation: Hermann Hauser; Pamela Raspe | Heart FM: James Keen | Hora Mágica: Sebastián Lelio | Icon Entertainment International: Isabelle Lherondel | Icon Films: Zak Brilliant; Steve Oliver | Imperial War Museum: Toby Haggith | Institut Français: Marie Bonnel | Kaminski Stiehm: Miriam Klein | Kaleidescope Films: Martin Myers | Libra Film: Anca Dragoi | London Institute of Education: Andrew Burn | Long Road Sixth Form College: Pete Fraser; Barney Oram; Tom Woodcock | Love Cambridge: Helen Hames; Emma Thornton | Magdalene College: Peter Daybell; Mike Flanagan; Allègre Hadida | Magidson Films | MC Films: Tatiana Emden | Metrodome: Sara Frain; Christelle Randall | Midas: David Noble | Mills & Reeve: Christopher Townsend | Moonshine: Mark Watch | Momentum Pictures:
Hamish Moseley | New Humanist: Caspar Melville | New Wave Pictures: Robert Beeson; Pamela Engel | National Film and TV School | Norwegian Embassy: Anne Ulset | Parkside Federation: Andrew Hutchinson | Parkside Police Station: Trevor George | Park Circus: Sara Carlsson; Nick Varley | Piggott Black Bear: Nikki Beeson; Simon Singleton | Protagonist Films: Ben Roberts | QED Productions: Paul Wigfield | Objective Productions: Phil Clarke; Sharon Trickett | Optimum Releasing: Suzanne Noble; Danny Perkins; John Trafford-Owen | Ratiu Foundation: Ramona Mitrica; Nicolae Ratiu | Revolver Films: Carly Morrell; Dave Shear | Revolution Films: Andrew Eaton; June Goh; Michael Winterbottom | Red Lion: Julie Manning | Sawston Village College: June Cannie; Lesley Morgan | Screen East: Martin Ayres; Sam Burton; Alastair Haines; Jane Jervis; Claire Treadwell; | Scudamore’s Punting Company: Rod Ingersent | Short Fuze: Johnnie Ingram; Matt Kelland | SOAS: Dr Lindiwe Dovey | Soda Pictures: Eve Gabereau; Ed Fletcher | South Cambridgeshire County Council: Myles Bebbington; Juli Stallabrass | St John Ambulance: Phil Beattie | Studio 24: Simon Jones; Sharon Van Belle; Jonathan Woods | Sygma Safety & Events: Brian Cleary; Ken Rankin | Teamworx | Topping & Company: Robert Topping | Trinity College: Joel Cabrita; Erica Segre; Emma Widdis | Trinity Hall: David Todd | Trumpington Farm Company: Andrew Crossley | TTP: Gerald Avison; Peter Taylor; Jean Thompson | University of Cambridge 800th Anniversary Team: Geoff Morris; Jenny Zinovieff | Visit Films: Aida LiPera | Universal Pictures: Andy Leyshan; Jody Pope | Vertigo Films: Rupert Preston; Michael Waites | Verve Pictures: Colin Burch; Elliott Binns | Wallflower Press: Lucy Hurst | Warner Bros: Bob Cockburn;
Neil Marshall | Warp Films: Mark Herbert | Watershed: Mark Cosgrove; Madeline Probst; Anna Searle | Wilkins Kennedy: Alison Nayler; Samantha Stott | Wordfest: Cathy Moore | Wysing Arts Centre: Annie Bacon | Yume Pictures: Christ Oosterom; Patrizia Raeli | Zoonami: Berbank Green; Martin Hollis | Lucy Akhurst; Helen Bartlett; Lou Beegan; Olivier Bohler; Gina Birch; Mark Boswell; Neil Brand; Eddie Bridgeman; Ian Christie; Alastair Clark; Melanie Coombs; Paul Cotter; Julio D’Escriván; Jan Dunn; Edie Eligator; Danny Lyon; Cosima Finkbeiner; Dan Geesin; Sarah Gibson; Stefanie Grube; Andrei Gruzsniczki; Pascal Haddad; Pete Harmer; Rick Harvey; Phil Hawkins; Fiona Howe; Becky Innes; Ville Jankeri; Gareth Jones; Hannah Kilduff; Jennifer Kroot; Elizabeth Leuvrey; Claudia Lehmann; Kahloon Loke; Dan McCulloch; Huck Melnick; Marc Minneker; Roger Nygard;Linda Pariser; Uberto Pasolini; Amy Rich; Paul Robinson; Rachel Robey; Esther Rots; Robert Sansom; Moritz Siebert; Dean Shannon; Melanie Tebb; Monika Treut; Monika Umba; Irene von Alberti; Martin Wagner; Brian Welsh and everyone else who has contributed to the Festival. Brochure designed by georgia King design ltd www.georgiakingdesign.com
Brochure printed by Piggott Black Bear (Cambridge) Ltd www.piggottblackbear.co.uk
Festival photography by
www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk | box office: 0871 704 2050 | thanks | 81
index 1234................................................................ 20 39 STEPS, THE (SPYING GAME).......................... 54 ADORATION....................................................... 20 AGENT, THE ...................................................... 20 ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES (STOP PRESS)......... 17 ANIMATED SHORTS (SHORTFUSION)................... 72 ANIMATION WORKSHOP FOR BEGINNERS (CFC).. 76 ARMY OF CRIME, THE........................................ 19 ART FOR THE STRUGGLE (CINEMA PALESTINE)... 48 BAD DAY TO GO FISHING, A . ............................. 21 BALLADA.......................................................... 44 BARAKA (STOP PRESS)...................................... 17 BAROQUE IN HIGH DEFINITION............................ 11 BEACHES OF AGNES, THE ................................. 44 BERLIN PLAYGROUND (BERLIN).......................... 53 BERLIN WALL, THE (BERLIN)............................... 53 BEST OF BRITISH (SHORTFUSION)....................... 69 BIRDWATCHERS................................................ 21 BLACK NARCISSUS (JACK CARDIFF)................... 61 BLADE ON THE FEATHER (SPYING GAME)............ 56 BOOGIE WOOGIE................................................ 21 BORN IN 68....................................................... 23 BOURNE SUPREMACY, THE (SPYING GAME)......... 57 BRINKMANN’S WRATH....................................... 23 BUDDENBROOKS (GERMAN CINEMA).................. 38 BUTTERFLY TATTOO, THE .................................. 23 CALLING, THE . ................................................. 24 CAMBRIDGE ON CAMERA.................................. 11 CAMBRIDGE SUPER 8 (SHORTFUSION)................ 74 CAN GO THROUGH SKIN..................................... 24 CINEMA NOW (CINEMA PALESTINE).................... 49 CITIZEN KANE (REVIVALS)................................... 59 CODENAME MELVILLE........................................ 44 COURTING CONDI.............................................. 24 CREATION......................................................... 25
CRYING WITH LAUGHTER................................... 25 CUCKOO........................................................... 25 DANNY LYON: AMERICAN LIFE............................ 67 DARKLIGHT (RIVERSIDE)..................................... 15 DEADLY AFFAIR, THE (SPYING GAME).................. 55 DEFENCE OF THE REALM (SPYING GAME)........... 57 DESCENT: PART 2, THE...................................... 27 DESIRE.............................................................. 27 EASIER WITH PRACTICE..................................... 27 ENGLISHMAN ABROAD, AN (SPYING GAME)......... 56 EVERYONE ELSE (GERMAN CINEMA)................... 38 EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED............. 44 FILM CRITIC: EMPIRE (CFC)................................ 76 FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, THE ...... 28 FISH TANK (STOP PRESS)................................... 17 FOR MY FATHER................................................ 28 FRAG................................................................ 45 FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (STOP PRESS/SPYING GAME).......................... 17 FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN (CFC)........................ 76 GHOSTED (BORDER CROSSINGS)........................ 50 GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE................ 28 GLOBAL ROADS (SHORTFUSION)........................ 68 GLOBALISATION OF INDIAN CINEMA..................... 9 GODFATHER, THE (REVIVALS).............................. 59 GOLDENEYE (SPYING GAME).............................. 57 GOOD DAY OUT, A (CFC)..................................... 77 HARDLY BEAR TO LOOK AT YOU.......................... 29 HEARTLAND (RIVERSIDE).................................... 15 HIERRO............................................................. 29 HISTORY OF ISRAELI CINEMA, A......................... 45 HOUSE OF NUMBERS......................................... 45 HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM....................... 45 HUMPDAY......................................................... 29 I MADE THIS (CFC)............................................. 76 IDENTITY OF THE SOUL...................................... 12 IN BERLIN (BERLIN)............................................ 52 IPCRESS FILE, THE (SPYING GAME)..................... 55 IT CAME FROM KUCHAR (KUCHAR BROS)........... 64 JOHNNY MAD DOG............................................ 31 JUNGLE RADIO, THE (STOP PRESS)..................... 17
82 | Index | Box Office: 0871 704 2050 | www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
KATALIN VARGA................................................. 31 KIN .................................................................. 31 LAST DAYS OF SHISHMAREF, THE....................... 46 LAST WASH, THE (BERLIN).................................. 53 LE DONK & SCOR-ZAY-ZEE................................. 32 left (STOP PRESS)........................................... 17 LITTLE WHITE LIES............................................. 32 LONG DISTANCE (BORDER CROSSINGS).............. 51 LONG SHADOWS (GERMAN CINEMA).................. 39 LOOKING FOR PALLADIN.................................... 32 LOSING BALANCE (STOP PRESS/GERMAN CINEMA)..................... 17 LOVE DOES GROW ON TREES (SHORTFUSION).... 70 LUNCHTIME ARCHIVE SHOW (CFC)..................... 77 MACHAN........................................................... 33 MACHINIMA......................................................... 8 MAN BETWEEN, THE (SPYING GAME).................. 55 MARY AND MAX................................................ 33 MARK BOSWELL: THE ART OF NOVA-KINO.......... 66 MATERIAL (BERLIN)............................................ 52 MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, A (JACK CARDIFF) . 61 MENTAL ........................................................... 46 MICHAEL PALIN: A LIFE IN PICTURES.................. 11 MIKE & GEORGE KUCHAR 1 (KUCHAR BROS)....... 62 MIKE & GEORGE KUCHAR 2 (KUCHAR BROS)....... 63 MIKE & GEORGE KUCHAR 3 (KUCHAR BROS)....... 64 MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS (REVIVALS).59 MOGADISHU WELCOME (GERMAN CINEMA)........ 39 MORRIS: A LIFE WITH BELLS ON......................... 33 NATURE OF EXISTENCE, THE.............................. 46 NAVIDAD........................................................... 35 NEXT OF KIN, THE (SPYING GAME)...................... 55 NIGHTTIME FABLES (SHORTFUSION)..............70-71 NOLLYWOOD BABYLON...................................... 46 NOMAD’S LAND (BORDER CROSSINGS).............. 50 OTHER IRENE, THE (BORDER CROSSINGS)........... 51 OUR HOSPITALITY................................................ 9 PAINTER WITH LIGHT (JACK CARDIFF/CFC)... 61, 77 PAST TIME (RIVERSIDE SCREENINGS).................. 15 PEEP SHOW...................................................... 13 PEOPLE’S CINEMA............................................. 14
PIT AND THE PENDULUM, THE (REVIVALS)........... 59 PONTYPOOL...................................................... 35 PORGY & ME..................................................... 47 PROJECTING THE PAST (STOP PRESS)................ 17 QUESTION OF ATTRIBUTION, A (SPYING GAME).... 56 RAINCOATS: FAIRYTALES, THE............................ 47 RED SHOES, THE (JACK CARDIFF)....................... 61 SCIENCE ON SCREEN........................................... 8 SCREEN EAST (SHORTFUSION)........................... 73 SECRET AGENT, THE (SPYING GAME).................. 54 SÉRAPHINE....................................................... 35 SHOCK DOCTRINE, THE...................................... 47 SHORT INTERNATIONAL DOCS (SHORTFUSION)... 71 SILENTS ON THE STREETS ................................ 14 ‘SNO ANGEL LIKE YOU....................................... 47 SOLOIST, THE.................................................... 36 SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, THE (SPYING GAME).............................................. 55 STORM BIRD, THE (BORDER CROSSINGS)........... 50 SUNSET VIEWINGS............................................. 14 SURPRISE FILM ................................................ 19 TANGERINE (GERMAN CINEMA).......................... 39 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MUSIC (CFC).76 THIRD MAN, THE (SPYING GAME)........................ 54 THIRST.............................................................. 36 TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY (SPYING GAME)... 56 TONY (STOP PRESS).......................................... 17 TRAITOR (SPYING GAME)................................... 56 TREELESS MOUNTAIN........................................ 36 TRIANGLE.......................................................... 37 TRIDENTFEST (SHORTFUSION)............................ 73 TULPAN............................................................. 37 UP TO THE SOUTH (RIVERSIDE)........................... 15 VAMPYR.............................................................. 9 WE THE EMIGRANTS (BORDER CROSSINGS)........ 51 WELCOME (BORDER CROSSINGS)...................... 51 WHITE LIGHTNIN’............................................... 37 WORKSHOPS FOR FILMMAKERS AND PROFESSIONALS (CFC)................................... 77
Calls cost 10p per minute from a landline
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