BLACKLISTING FILM-MAKERS - VS - UK LIBEL ACTION
UNIVERSAL FILM www.ufmag.org
ISSUE 6 OF 2012
The Last Stand with Arnold Schwarzenegger NEXT MONTHS ISSUE
TOP 100 Documentaries
DID THE OSCARS GET SCAMMED?
“SAWNEY” FLESH OF MAN
BBC Child Abuse Scandal
“CELESTE & JESSE FOREVER”
Thomas Vinterberg’s “THE HUNT”
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Issue 6 of 2012
About UFM The Universal Film Magazine is a free magazine that delivers passionate and creative coverage about the global film and festival communities. The publication differs from the competition because it is totally free. It is the mission of the Universal Film Magazine to uphold our uncompromising high standards in professional journalism with compelling stories that are unbiased and fact-based. We are committed to the advancement of the industry by providing the very best in-depth features and coverage that will have a positive impact in the world. We aim to give our readers motivational and inspirational stories that embrace the spirit of independent film and festivals and give them a voice in the media.
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Contents FEATURED STORIES:
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THE LAST STAND
A look at the new movie staring the Govenor , Arnold Schwarznegger THE IMPOSTER
A young Frenchman convinces a grieving family that he is their missing 16-year-old son
The Hunt P.13
CELESTE & JESSE FOREVER 11 Having met at a young age and becoming close
friends, eventually become lovers.
HUNT 13 THE A powerful and disturbing depiction of how
quickly a lie can become the truth
17 A look at film festivals blacklisting filmmakers FILMMAKERS BLACKLISTED -VS- LIBEL
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and a pending UK libel case
UFFO - THE UNIVERSAL FILM & FESTIVAL ORGANIZATION UFFO celebrates 170 film festivals the have adopted “best business practices”
Celeste & Jess Forever P.11
OF HOPE 23 LAND SONO SION steps to the next level in his
filmmaking career with Land of Hope
FESTIVAL DOCTOR 27 FILM A low budget Australian flick achieved screen-
ing at 42 international film festivals
ALBEE IN STAGES 35 EDWARD A documentary film,“The Stages of Edward
Albee”, by James Dowell and John Kolomvakis
PRIZE FESTIVAL (UK) 41 ISIS Cardiff UK, hosts the Iris film festival 2012
with a huge turnout and a cash prize of £25K
BBC CHILD ABUSE SCANDAL 47 BBC at the centre of a child abuse scandal
that involves hundreds of allagations
The Imposter
P.5
100 59 ATHElookTOPatDOCUMENTARIES the top 100 documentaries that
make a return at the box office
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Kahlil Gibran P.27
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
"the last stand" with Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Last Stand” Sheriff Owens is a man who has resigned himself to a life of fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction after leaving his LAPD post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with failure and defeat after his partner was crippled. After a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy, the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the hemisphere is hurtling toward the border at 200 mph in a specially outfitted car with a hostage and a fierce army of gang members. He is headed, it turns out, straight for Summerton Junction, where the whole of U.S. law enforcement will have their last opportunity to make
a stand and intercept him before he slips across the border forever. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately accepts responsibility for the face off. The Cast Arnold Schwarzenegger as Sheriff Ray Owens
Genesis Rodriguez as Agent Ellen Richards Johnny Knoxville as Lewis Dinkum Jaimie Alexander as Sarah Torrance Luis Guzmán as Mike Figuerola
Rodrigo Santoro as Deputy Frank Martinez
Peter Stormare as Burrell
Zach Gilford as Deputy Jerry Bailey
Eduardo Noriega as Gabriel Cortez
Forest Whitaker as Agent John Bannister
Harry Dean Stanton Daniel Henney
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Universal Film
Film Production & Co-Productions
Issue 6 of 2012
Film Productions/Co-Productions Post Production/Special Effects Crew/location scouting
Classic Media Entertainment An award winning production company 33
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Skype: CMEFILMS | e-mail info@cmefilms.co.uk | www.cmefilms.co.uk
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
THE IMPOSTER A film by Bart Layton
A
documentary centered on a young Frenchman who convinces a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-yearold son who went missing for 3 years.
A French confidence man Frédéric Bourdin, who impersonated Nicholas Barclay, a Texas boy who had disappeared at the age of 13 in 1994. Bourdin, who turned out to have a long record of impersonating various different children, real or imaginary, embellished his claim to be Nicholas by alleging that he had been kidnapped for purposes of sexual abuse by U.S. military personnel and transported from Texas to Spain. His impersonation fooled several officials in Spain and the U.S., and he was apparently accepted by many of Nicholas’s family members, even though he was seven years older than Nicholas, spoke English with an accent, and had brown eyes and dark hair rather than Nicholas’s blue eyes and blond hair.
The impersonation was eventually unearthed as a result of the suspicions of a private investigator, Charles (Charlie) Parker, and an FBI agent, Nancy Fisher. Bourdin subsequently made a full confession, and in the movie he elaborates on the various stages in his impersonation. The film raises, but does not resolve, the question of how the family came so readily to accept the impersonation. Parker, Fisher and Bourdin himself suggest, but cannot provide conclusive evidence for, the possibility that some in the family may have known more than they revealed about (or even been directly implicated in) Nicholas’s disappearance, in which case his purported “reappearance” could have proved convenient from their point of view. Because many of the events depicted in the film were not filmed when they happened, the film re-creates some of them with actors. The critically acclaimed British documentary from director Bart Layton, has proven to be a commercial success too after one
by Tyrone D Murphy of the largest grossing opening weekends for a documentary in recent years. The film grossed £252,170 over three days and previews from just 49 screens, to post an impressive screen average of £5,146 across the UK. This rose to a fourday gross, including the bank holiday, of £345,279, a total that easily outstrips the opening weekend figures of the successful documentaries MARLEY, MAN ON WIRE and TOUCHING THE VOID. Elsewhere in the UK, the film proved a particular triumph at Cinema City in Norwich, the Duke of York’s in Brighton and The Little Theatre Cinema in Bath. Picturehouse Cinemas enjoyed the lion’s share of THE IMPOSTER box office with 36%, followed by Cineworld with 22% and Everyman Media Group with 15%. THE IMPOSTER was also the highest-grossing film across Picturehouse Cinemas this past weekend – it played in 15 cinemas, with a £5,288 three-day screen average and a £7,437 four-day screen average.
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Issue 10 - 2013
MOVIE MONEY Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
FILM FINANCE IF you’Re looking for money YOU’VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE www.moviemoneymag.com 7
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Universal Film
Celeste & Jesse Forever
Issue 6 of 2012
The film begins with a montage of Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg); having met at a young age and becoming close friends, then eventually become lovers. The montage ends with Celeste walking away from Jesse during a party, while Jesse looks sad.
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During dinner, while Celeste and Jesse look at the menu and speak with German accents to each other, Beth becomes increasingly annoyed and confronts them about their abnormal relationship. She expresses that it’s not normal for them to spend everyday together like nothing is wrong. It is then revealed that they In present day, Celeste and Jesse still have been separated for 6 months and get along well. Celeste is a successful in the process of divorce. trend analyzer and runs her own media company with her partner, Scott (Eli- Celeste and Jesse tell Beth that it’s betjah Wood). Celeste’s media company ter this way because when they were has just signed Riley (Emma Roberts), together, they fought all the time and a teen pop-star whom Celeste does not Beth and Tucker get caught in the midrespect and openly bashes during a T.V. dle. Angry, Beth storms off, with Tucker interview. following her, having the same feelings. In the car ride home, Celeste and Jesse Jesse on the other hand is an unem- discuss whether they feel it’s weird that ployed artist who seems to be in no they spend so much together, and they hurry to find employment. One night, assure each other it’s not weird because they have dinner with their mutual best they are each other’s best friend. friends, Beth (Ari Graynor) and Tucker (Eric Christian Olsen), who are engaged.
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
One day, Jesse is out with his friend Skillz (Will McCormack) who feels that Jesse should start dating other women. Jesse informs him that he’s hoping for Celeste to “come back around”. It is obvious that Jesse is still in-love with Celeste and is hoping she will change her mind about the divorce. While at work, Scott is questioning Celeste about whether she made the right decision divorcing Jesse and if she’s truly over him, she would also begin dating. One night, Celeste invites Jesse over to help her put together an Ikea dresser. They become frustrated from trying to built the drawer and they instead get drunk on wine and spend the night together. They both wake up and Celeste instantly regrets what happened the night before and this upsets Jesse and he storms out angry because he thought the night together meant Celeste had finally “came back around”. Celeste goes on a business trip and repeatedly tries to get a hold of Jesse. Jesse is then seen on a date with Veronica (Rebecca Dayan), a woman Skillz set him up with 3 months ago, but never called back after the first date. Celeste returns home after two weeks and Jesse comes over to speak to her. Jesse informs her that he is going to have a baby with Veronica, a woman she never knew he went out with 3 months ago, and wants to try to make things work for the sake of the baby. Celeste becomes disturbed by this and asks to be excused while she goes to the bathroom and becomes upset. She expresses her concern to Beth who questions about her having second thoughts with the divorce. Celeste assures Beth that she’s not having second thoughts and says she’s going on a date. Celeste goes on a date with Max (Rich Sommer). During the date, they run into Jesse. This makes Celeste feel awkward and ask Max to leave. Max says he’s not going to leave and meets Jesse, whom he finds is a cool guy. After the date, Celeste ask him when he’d like to go out again, but Max turns her down and tell her that she’s not ready and she should take her time, just like he did when he was going through a divorce. Her second
date is with Rupert (Rafi Gavron), a model/actor who is young and hot. He sings to her during their date and she abruptly leaves, telling him she left a candle lit at home. Celeste is clearly uncomfortable with his singing and age. Her third date is with a photographer whom she is a big fan of. They initially hit it off and go back to the hotel and make-out. During their make-out session, he begins to masturbate while on top of her. This shocks her and she slowly creeps away from under him and leaves, but he continues to masturbate. In the mean time, Jesse is becoming closer to Veronica and even becomes a vegan. Jesse invites Celeste out for lunch at a vegan restaurant to confront her about their divorce papers. He informs Celeste that she needs to sign the papers because Veronica is not a U.S. citizen and they must get married for her to stay. This upsets Celeste and she storms out stating she’s busy because she has a job, unlike some people and says she’ll sign the papers when she has the time. As time passes, Celeste realizes that her decision to divorce Jesse was impulsive and selfish and starts to realize she still loves him and wants to be with him. Celeste ask Jesse to meet her at a bar where she express her interest in trying again and that she’ll try harder and do better. Jesse becomes upset and leaves. Celeste chases him outside and they begin to argue. Celeste calls Jesse a coward and Jesse tells her she’ll be alone forever. The argument ends with Celeste telling Jesse never to call her again and Jesse assuring her that she does not have to worry. Celeste becomes increasingly depressed and begins to drink and smoke weed excessively. In the process, she begins to have a relationship with Paul (Chris Messina), who tries to pick her up after Yoga earlier in the film. She initially turns him down, but begins to warm up to him after she runs into him at a party. During Beth and Tucker’s bridal party, Celeste becomes drunk and passes out on a floaty in the pool, with everyone staring at her. After the bridal party, she gets a call from Riley who ask her to come over. Celeste believes that Riley is
angry over the logo she designed for her that unintentionally resembles a penis with balls going into a butt. This logo sparks controversy with fans. However, Riley reveals that she actually likes the logo because she believes it speaks to her gay fan base. Celeste thinks that Riley could be the next Lady Gaga because of this. Celeste arrives at Riley’s house to find her in tears. Riley reveals that she has had a secret boyfriend, who she discovered has been cheating on her. They begin to bond over the common experience of heartbreak and slowly become friends. Later, Celeste runs into Rupert while walking with Riley and introduces them. At Beth and Tucker’s wedding, Celeste makes a toast. She tells the newlyweds to appreciate each other, to be patient, and to try harder, like she should have. This speech touches Jesse, and he thanks Celeste. They are able to reconcile and become friends again. Later, on a karaoke date, Celeste informs Paul that she cannot continue to date him because of her divorce, which she feels she must go through alone. He tells her to call him when she is ready. We then see Celeste and Jesse finally signing their divorce papers and laughing at each other’s inside joke. Their lawyers look on, confused by their laughter. Celeste wishes Jesse well. She finally asks Jesse if he loves Veronica, to which he responds that he does. Celeste tells him to keep fighting for it. In the final scene, Celeste calls Paul while driving. She gets his voicemail, so she leaves a message stating she’s ready — to beat him at Scrabble.
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Universal Film
‘SAWNEY Flesh of Man’
Issue 6 of 2012
tive, brutal family of cannibalistic serial killers, led by their incestuous father ‘Sawney Bean’ murdered over 1000 people. Their victims were butchered and their bodyparts hung from the roof of caves. His bloodthirsty brood who lived a life of degraded seclusion in underground tunnels, included eight sons, six daughters, eighteen grandsons and fourteen granddaughters, all inbred. The murdering troglodyte clan were finally captured alive and dragged in chains to the gallows of Edinburgh, where they were all horribly executed without trial. Only two of the very young granddaughters Agnes and Morag, who were mentally retarded were allowed to live. They were taken into care for future trial but Agnes eventually escaped from her foster family and fled to the hills. She was never found. Her sister Morag wasn’t so lucky, her identity was discovered by angry locals who hanged her from the nearest tree. It is said that Agnes gave birth to a son and two daughters who were hide-
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ous and unsightly in appearance, so much so that a sack was put over their heads. After 400 years the murders have started again. SAWNEY and his family of KILLER’S are BACK! Trailer at www.sawney.net PLOT SUMMARY for ‘SAWNEY’ Sawney, a religious psycopath (played by David Hayman) drives a devilish Black Cab, stalking the towns and villages abducting unholy souls for his communion of sacrifices. His insane family of acrobatic freaks (Freerunners) Judd and Jake, use their martial art skills to wreak slaughter and havoc among their victims who are then dragged to an old disused pumping station. The Missing Persons list begins to rise! Crime investigative journalist Hamish MacDonald (Samuel Feeney) writes sensational and damming headlines against the police, due to their incompetence in handling the case. Frustrated inspector Bill Munro (Gavin Mitchel) dislikes Hamish in-
tensely but decides to work with him rather than against him. Chief Superintendant Charlie McGuire is however concerned with Munro and his handling of the case, he decides to manipulate the journalist. Hamish decides to investigate the heinous crimes on his own, but with disastrous results. Unknowingly, his fiancée Wendy McIntyre (Elizabeth Brown) is drawn into the mayhem and she becomes a target for the psychopathic KILLERS! Scottish Production Company ‘Philabeg Films Limited’ are producing this modern day horror film based on the family of cannibalistic killers. The 90 minute film is in its final phase of production and will be ready for distribution at the end of 2011. The film is being shot on new RED cameras and the crew are based in Aberdeen with over 28 years experience in Film & Television. The crew have been filming in some incredible locations all over Scotland.
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400 years ago in the highO ver lands of Scotland, lived a primi-
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THE SESSIONS
Starring John Hawkes, William H. Macy and Helen Hunt, the film is based on the true story of California–based journalist and poet, Mark O’Brien. Portrayed by the exceptionally gifted John Hawkes – who gives a career-defining performance, O’Brien’s story is the immensely poignant and surprisingly funny tale of a man, paralyzed by polio who - at age 38 – is determined to finally lose his virginity. Directed by Ben Lewin, THE SESSIONS will open in the UK and Ireland on January 18th 2013, distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Beyond The Grave
P
ORTO ALEGRE, Brazil - The Brazilian feature film BEYOND THE GRAVE (aka PORTO DOS MORTOS aka MÁS ALLÁ DE LA TUMBA), produced by Lockheart Filmes, is now available on the VOD platform in USA, Latin America and also Caribbean. A mixture of arthouse horror, existential road movie and spaghetti western, the movie can be watched instantly on Netflix in more than 40 countries. Winner of two international awards and selected for the Chicago Latino Film Festival and Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano (Cuba), among others, BEYOND THE GRAVE gained a cult status following among underground film festivals and Internet critics around the globe. Shot in HD on locations in the city of Porto Alegre, the production budget is estimated in US$ 150K. BEYOND THE GRAVE is the feature directorial debut of 33 years old filmmaker Davi de Oliveira Pinheiro, who also writes and produces. The film follows the post-apocalyptic journey of the Officer (Rafael Tombini) who hunts a mystical serial killer known as the Dark Rider (Adriano Basegio). Across wastelands populated by reanimated corpses, he will put his remaining sanity to the test against a nemesis that could have brought the end of the world.
“Monsters”
by Tyrone D Murphy
“Monsters, Inc.,” one of Disney•Pixar’s most beloved and visually imaginative feature films ever, returns to the big screen to delight a whole new generation of audiences and fans alike, this time in stunning 3D. The now-classic Academy Award®-winning animated comedy adventure “Monsters, Inc.” is set in Monstropolis, a thriving company town where monsters of all shapes and sizes reside. Lovable Sulley (voiced by John Goodman) and his wisecracking best friend Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal) are the top scare team at Monsters, Inc., the largest scream-processing factory. The main power source in the monster world is the collected screams of human children—and at Monsters, Inc. “Monsters, Inc.,” originally released on November 2, 2001, was the highest grossing animated film at the global box office in 2001. After 15 previous Academy Award® nominations, Randy Newman finally won his first Oscar® for the “Monsters, Inc.” original song “If I Didn’t Have You.” “Monsters, Inc.” and director Pete Docter were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in the first year that category was established. The film was also Oscar nominated for Best Original Score and Best Sound Editing. Director Pete Docter went on to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature for “Up” in 2009 and has also been nominated for Best Original Screenplay three times: “Up” (2009), “WALL•E” (2008) and “Toy Story” (1995). Co-Director Lee Unkrich made his solo directorial debut with “Toy Story 3,” for which he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2011. Producer Darla K. Anderson also produced “A Bug’s Life,” “Cars” and “Toy Story 3,” for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture in 2010. On June 21, 2013, Disney•Pixar will unlock the door to a prequel, “Monsters University,” that tells the story of how Mike and Sulley met in college, overcame their differences and became the best of friends.
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by Susan Johnson
m Fil 2 al 01 rs 6 of 2 ivesue Un Is
NEW MEDIA FILM FESTIVAL
Saroj Khan This September, the newlyformed Institute of Bollywood Dance and Film (IBDF) is opening its doors to welcome Bollywood’s legendary choreographer SAROJ KHAN to teach dance workshops to anyone with the desire to learn from one of the greatest artistic figures in the history of Indian cinema.
Our “world wind travel blurb’ World Wind Tour. Who knew that being Founder/Director of a film festival would bring you on a journey around the world. The founder/director, Susan Johnston of New Media Film Festival (4th Annual) recently spoke in Romania, Colorado, Toronto for TorontoEco.com as part of TIFF and is flying to LA to speak at Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo with a follow up in October for Digital Hollywood. Topics include New Media, Social Media and Incremental Monetization in the Digital Space. Honoring stories worth telling and bringing the best in New Media globally are part of the mission. What has been exciting is the collaboration with all ages and all cultures in finding ways to bring these great stories to the screen and distribution. Susan had a blast as a UFFO member to moderate the distribution panel at last years Red Rock Film Festival in Utah. If any UFFO members would like to do a media trade (yes, we can
all help each other) please email info@newmediafilmfestival.com We have about 100k on our newsletter list, 2MM via social media including groups and 2k on pinterest, are ranking high on empire avenue. We are also in full gear on our Call for Entries, use discount code twitter10 at www.NewMediaFilmFestival.com and save $10 in any of our 17 categories for screening, competition ($45k in awards) and distribution opportunities. www.NewMediaFilmFestival.com The Best in New Media…honoring stories worth telling “Festival worth the entry fee” – Movie Maker Magazine “The New Media Film Festival makes the cutting edge accessible”.-Huffington Post, Xaque Gruber “Sundance for the Crowd.”-Culture Rehab
SCRIPT International Short Film will be held on 08-09 Feb 2013 at Fidelity Theater, IMA Hall, Kochi, Kerala, India. Festival seeks socially relevant films of 30 min duration and in a separate category 2 min films. See www.scriptfilmfest.in for details. Entries close 15 Nov 2012.
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Saroj Khan is a pioneer in Bollywood, widely known for her innovative and classical technique- based choreography. Saroj Khan’s visionary mind helped the Bollywood superstar Madhuri Dixit, along with several other starlets, achieve significant career successes and a meteoric rise to fame. Her teachings of grace, strength, precision, subtlety and expressiveness have graced some of the most iconic songs in Bollywood. Her projects include choreography in feature films Lagaan, Don, Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal, Agneepath, Agent Vinod, Veer-Zara, Devdas, Bride and Prejudice, Tezaab, Khalnayak, and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, among several other blockbuster films. The Institute of Bollywood Dance and Film is a new and unique training arena for performers looking for potential careers in the Indian film industry. “We’re looking to bridge the gap between passionate amateur performers and working professionals,” says IBDF founder Rujuta Vaidya, “while providing extraordinary training and networking opportunities to individuals who are interested in moving towards a career in the performing arts, especially in Bollywood.”
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New Media Festival founder Susan Johnston
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
Thomas Vinterberg's
The Hunt
by Kevin Murphy
“ The Hunt” to open at UK cinemas on 30 November 2012
T
HE HUNT is a powerful and disturbing depiction of how quickly a lie can become the truth when gossip, doubt and malice are allowed to flourish.
Bruus Christensen) at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it screened to critical acclaim In Competition. Mads Mikkelsen first came to public attention in Nicolas Winding Refn’s debut Pusher in 1996.
Throughout his career he has worked both in his naFollowing a tough divorce, 40-year-old Lucas is tive Denmark, most notably in Susanne Bier’s Osstarting to pull his life back together again. “powerful car-nominated After the Wedding and this year He has a new girlfriend, a new job, and is in and in A Royal Affair, and internationally, where his the process of re-establishing his relationship disturbing credits including Bond Villain Le Chiffre in Casino with his teenage son Marcus. However one depiction ” Royale, Clash of the Titans and The Three Muspassing remark threatens Lucas’s newfound keteers. In 2012 he was awarded the prestigious stability. One of the children he looks after at European Film Award for Achievement in World the nursery where he works, a little girl with a Cinema. vivid imagination, tells a random lie which is impossible to ignore. Her allegation spreads like a virus, THE HUNT is produced by Sisse Graum Jørgensen and quickly acquiring the veneer of truth the more it is told. Morten Kaufmann for Zentropa Entertainments29 in coAs shock turns to mistrust and then malice, it doesn’t production with Film I Väst and Zentropa International take long before this small community is in a collective Sweden with support from The Danish Film Institute, DR, state of hysteria, igniting a witch-hunt that threatens to Eurimages, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Svenska Film Instidestroy an innocent man’s life. tutet, SVT and the MEDIA Programme of the European Union. Directed by Thomas Vinterberg - co-founder of the Dogme movement and director of the award-winning international hit Festen - THE HUNT won the Best Actor prize (Mads Mikkelsen), as well as the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (Thomas Vinterberg) and the Vulcain Prize for Technical Artist (to Director of Photography Charlotte
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Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
TAKEN 2
gets a surprise visit from his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), and his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen). The happy reunion turns sour when Lenore is taken by people working for Murad Hoxha (Rade ŠerbedŞija), the employer of the The stars have reunited for the sequel men working in the Paris building where to the 2008 thriller; in which a retired Kim’s friend, Amanda, was found dead CIA agent travels across Europe to find and the father of Marko Hoxha, whom his daughter who has been kidnapped Bryan killed in the previous film. With on in Paris to be sold into prostitution. Lenore held hostage and Kim on the run, Mills must utilize all his lethal skills A year after the events in Paris, on a trip to rescue them and eliminate any who to Istanbul, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) are seeking revenge against him.
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Taken 2 is a 2012 action thriller film directed by Olivier Megaton and starring Liam Neeson. The sequel to the 2008 film Taken, it is scheduled to be released on October 5, 2012.
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
Creativity, Art, Cinema, Music and Soccer?
by Kevin Murphy
"Get A Job" Comedy Gets Special Maui Preview
W
AILUKU-- “Get A Job” the all Maui movie will be presented this weekend at the historic Iao Theater in the downtown business district of Wailuku. The special showcases are part of the ‘First Friday’ celebration held in the business district with presentations at 5, 7, and 9, on September 7th. On Saturday September 8th showings will be 1, 3, 5 and 7.
Written, produced and cast with an entirely local feel, the comedy is about the adventures of a bumbling man-child trying to find a job. The labor of love took four years for writer/director Brian Kohne to complete. Kohne, who went from playing youth soccer on Maui to playing varsity soccer at San Jose State, gets high praises for the multi-layered film. The discipline of college sports and the weaving patterns of a complicated soccer offense mimic a positive creative process. Kohne says he is tweaking the movie for its final cut. He said, “The journey has had a lot of sports correlations. Just like the college soccer season, we are all in it for the long haul, not just one game. Perseverance has been the watchword.” Currently, the production team is making tweaks to the film while preparing the full length feature for its theatrical release.
Kohne added, “In film school they don’t teach about how to market and merchandise a cinema production. It is the fourth stage of a long process.” The beginning part of the movie has another noted Hawaiian sportsman, exercise trainer Robert Kotter, stealing a comedic scene. He gets a giant laugh as the rude stand-up paddle-boarder. This funny indie movie features many of Maui’s best musical ambassadors. Included are Willie K, Eric Gilliom, Henry Kapono, Amy Hanaiali’i and Jake Shimabukuro. Carolyn Omine and Kathy Collins hit the mark with their poorly planned romantic scheming. The movie has a wide range of appeal. Well known entertainers, Augie-T and Mick Fleetwood add to the funny mayhem. Cameo appearances by rockers Pat Simmons and Willie Nelson are an added bonus. The award winning sound track from the Barefoot Natives is a genuine listening windfall as are the climatic surf scenes. Each patron will be issued a special collectors ticket and the box office will be open a half-hour before show times. For more ‘Get A Job’ information: http://www. GetAJobMovie.com
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Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
Universal Film
Issue 6 of 2012
BLACKLISTED FILM FESTIVALS THAT BLACKLIST FILMMAKERS Recently we covered the darker side of Social networking and how some people are all too prepared to write untrue and malicious comments about others. This was the case when a group of festival organizers on a Facebook group set about blacklisting filmmakers with absolutely no evidence what so ever other that a casual comment .
U
niversal Film Magazine recently wrote a series of articles the covered a series of incidents that led to filmmakers being blacklisted and libellous comments posted on Film Festival Organizers on Facebook. These incidents were whole heartily supported by the moderators of the forum who were themselves film festival organizers.
annoyed that he had ruffled her feathers in some way. Her comments posted to the group appear to have indeed blacklisted Gillis, and may have damaged the careers of everyone who was involved with Gillis’ film, including the cast, crew, financiers and distributors. Tyrone Murphy said, “As a filmmaker I wouldn’t touch these festivals”
The frustrated filmmaker wrote to the Edmonton Film Festival a number of times, and was completely ignored. We (UFM) have seen the correspondence between Gillis and the Edmonton Film Festival, and although it clearly demonstrates Gillis was annoyed, the correspondence contains no threat of violence whatsoever.
The hostility came to a head when a number of the group’s members, including the moderators and Jeff Ross, were blacklisting filmmakers or supporting others who did so. Despite UFFO objections, they would not listen to reason, and Jon Gann banned UFFO from the FFO Facebook forum for merely trying to bring some sanity and reason to the situation. The complete lack of regard for filmmakers’ careers and legal procedure shown by Kerrie Long and other festival organizers is reprehensible. An entire cast and crew of a film can be affected, and the potential losses to financiers and distributors can be catastrophic. After UFFO was excluded from the FFO group, the moderator, Jon Gann created another thread which contained a racist/anti-Jewish video posted by Charles Judson, a programmer of the Atlanta Film Festival. The thread also included a torrent of abusive comments about UFFO and its objections to the blacklisting of filmmakers.
Prior to this incident, there was strong opposition and hostility in the FFO group towards UFFO and its remit of best The forum is led by Jon Gann, the festival director of DC Shorts business practices for film festivals. Over a period of almost Film Festival and this group appeared to believe that they were a year, members of the FFO Facebook forum sought to a law onto themselves with little or no opposition. Big Fish harass UFFO at every turn. Amy Ettinger, one of the in a minute pond bur their actions clearly have damforum’s members and director of the Scottsdale Inaged reputations. However because of the actions of “As a filmternational Film Festival, remarked in a thread about UFFO, the Universal Film and Festival Organization maker I UFFO: “Hope it goes down in flames with no takers.” who are closely monitoring the forum the group are wouldn’t A comment by Matthew M. Foster, director of the now aware that what they say about others can have touch these Dragon*Con Film Festival, read, “And I second Amy. implication against their own Film Festivals festivals” The faster this dies (UFFO) the better. No good can come of it and so much trouble.” The hostility and harThis was all to apartment to Mr Jeff Ross, the owner, assment did not stop there. UFFO also has also had to founder and director of the SF Indie Fest and Hole in the contend with an individual who has a track record all over the head film festival. UFM exposed Mr Ross as one of the main internet for scamming artists, and is now in charge of three instigators blacklisting the filmmakers and showed contempt film festivals. He made threats against a festival director and for filmmakers UFFO CEO, Tyrone D. Murphy, for discussing him in a thread. The moderators allowed this; but when UFFO responded, Jon This was the first instance of its kind since the systematic HolGann closed the thread. lywood blacklist of filmmakers in 1947, when a number of Hollywood actors, directors, musicians, screenwriters and other A friend of Jon Gann, Mgr. Jeff Ross, director of the SF Indiefentertainment professionals were blacklisted from employest, seemed to delight in the harassment of UFFO. Within a ment because of their political beliefs or associations. discussion on the forum, Tyrone D. Murphy asked Ross why he is not transparent with filmmakers regarding the fact that The blacklisting of filmmakers began with a post on the group’s his festivals are non-jury festivals; Ross arrogantly replied, “If Facebook page by Kerrie Long, director of the Edmonton Film they don’t like it they can vote with their feet”. Although this Festival in Canada, alleging that her festival had received statement was contemptuous it was nothing compared with threats of violence from Canadian filmmaker Barry Gillis, who Ross’ other conduct. On one occasion, Ross stated to anothwas upset that his film was rejected by the festival a month er festival director on the FFO forum that he possessed the before the official film selection process began. home address of the UFFO Founder and CEO, Tyrone D. Murphy, and suggested that he was sending something nefarious The festival had informed him that his film, “The Killing Games,” to Murphy’s home address by mail. was “too violent” for the Edmonton Film Festival.
UFFO was a member of this forum at the time, and strongly objected to blacklisting activity. UFFO believes it is fundamentally wrong to blacklist anyone. Astonishingly, film festivals blacklisted Gillis’ film despite a complete lack of evidence to suggest that the allegation made by Kerrie Long was true. In the case of Gillis, it would appear that Kerrie Long’s actions were deliberate attempts to convince the other festival organizers on the forum to blacklist Gillis, perhaps because she was
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Sometime later, Jon Gann issued a public statement and posted it the FFO and the UFFO forums on Facebook. This statement (printed opposite) was defamatory and untrue of UFFO and of Tyrone D. Murphy. Murphy was being branded a troublemaker for defending filmmakers who had no voice on the forum to defend themselves against the allegations that had been made. However, despite John Gann’s very dramatic statement, it later transpired that the “credible violent threat” that was, according to Gann, “a behaviour so horrific, unprofessional, and frightening” simply never happened. Gann’s statement concluded with an invitation to members of the forum to “investigate the situation before jumping to conclusions.” However, Gann removed the entire thread containing the damning comments, so there was actually no way for anyone to know the facts or to investigate the situation. (The entire thread is printed on the next page.) A libel action is being considered against the moderators of the FFO group. Three of the moderators have resigned, and one has apologized. Two other film festival directors have also apologized for their part. It must be said that the apologies came only after a threat of legal action was made against the group. Another moderator of the FFO group, Ms. Anna Feder, who is (or was at the time) director of the Boston Underground Film Festival, is completely belligerent and unapologetic. She attempted to distance herself from her festival because of the potential backlash from filmmakers over her participation and support in the blacklisting of filmmakers. UFM has since uncovered irrefutable evidence that Ms. Feder has been salting funds away in Swiss bank accounts in an attempt to circumvent any award for damages and costs to UFFO or Murphy by the UK courts. Although the other moderators have had ample opportunity to remedy the situation, they remain supportive of Kerrie Long and her comments that blacklisted the filmmakers. Jon Gann has since appointed Kerri Long a moderator of the forum, and clearly supports her and her comments. Legal action may now be the only recourse for UFFO. However, the UK libel laws are abused on a regular basis by rich corporations and individuals. (Tyrone D. Murphy has been an advocate for change in the current law for a number of years.) Nonetheless, in response to a defamatory statement, UFFO would be justified in taking a libel action against the moderators of the group. English law allows actions for libel to be brought through the Court for any published statements that are alleged to defame a named or identifiable individual in a manner which causes a reasonable person to think worse of him. Once it is shown that a statement was published, and that it has a defamatory meaning, that statement is presumed to be false unless the defendant is able to raise a defence to this defamatory act. In a nutshell, this amounts to a presumption of the innocence of the plaintiff in the face of an accusation levelled by the defendant. In a libel action, the FFO group moderators would have to prove the alleged defamatory statement was true. In addition, the 2006 UK case of KeithSmith v Williams confirmed that discussions on the Internet are public enough for libel to take place.
Jon Gann’s Public Statement This is my first, and will be, my only public response to a situation which transpired earlier this week. Tyrone Murphy was removed from the Film Festival Organizers private Facebook group after he was asked to stop commenting on a spedfic thread of conversation. He was warned that his actions would result in his removal from the group, yet he continued the thread. The thread concerned banning a filmmaker after making a credible violent threat against a festival programmer -a behavior so horrific, unprofessional, and frightening -that it is understandable (and I believe, justified) to ban ANYONE from an event. Film festivals are not a right, but a public forum that is curated, organized and produced by an organization or individual fur the benefit of an audience. NO ONE should be subjected to such outright hate -filmmaker or organizer alike. Mr. Murphy’s action was not isolated, as he had a history of provoking others in the group before, and was asked before to stop. Over the past few months, many members had become inactive -- it was only after the removal of Mr. Murphy that I knew his previous actions were the reason fur their silence. The private Film Festival Organizers group was established as a safe place fur festival programmers and organizers to exchange information, tales, and film recommendations. It has been incredibly helpful fur festivals large and small to be able to have a free and open - and respectful - exchange, without fear of harassment. In the past few days, the group has received numerous requests fur additions to the group, and we are approving the requests of those whose employment as a festival director or programmer is verified. I have not recommended any new members fur a matter of months - and I have never “poached· the list of UFFO or any other organization fur new members - nor would I ever . I believe that any comments to the contrary to be libelous. It is my hope that anyone who reads this note investigate the situation before jumping to condusions- since as is the case with all tales, there are two sides to the story. Thank you fur your time. Please do not comment, as there is no reason to do so.s!
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Murphy said, “I have an aversion to the UK libel laws; however, Jon Gann’s statement was defamatory of me, and this leaves me with a moral dilemma: do I now use the same laws to bring justice to bear on the moderator of the Film Festival Organizers Group on Facebook?”
This is the thread on the Film Festival Organizers Group on Facebook Kerrie long - Edmonton International Film Festival
I apologize for repeating the thread about filmmaker feedback (It’s WAY down the line on this page) . We gave verbal feedback to a ‘filmmaker’ yesterday •Who lives in our city -- as a courtesy . .. BEFORE our offcial notification date in August. Let’s just say his actions since then make me very, very afraid. Please ... if ANY of you receive a feature length, horror film from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada message me and I’ll tell you whether it’s the same guy or not. He’s crazy! Like • Comment Unfollow Post •Wednesday at 9:34pm near Edmonton, Alberta Mitch Davies Co Director The Fantasia Film Festival That doesn’t sound good at all. Just tried to message you, but it doesn’t look like your account allows non-friends to contact you through it. Could you message me details? Wednesday at 11:04pm • Like Helen Stephenson, Executive Director, Prescott Film Festival Sorry you had to go through that. .. • Wednesday at 11: 49pm • Like Matt Marxteny (Programmer) The Red Rock Film Festival So sad that a few filmmakers cannot handle criticism - no coincidence that a lot of these filmmakers do not get into Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, SXSW and cannot understand why .On a lighter note, a few years ago a filmmaker did not make it into our festival. We thought the filmmaker would have a sense of humor and invited their cheesy film to screen at our ‘bad cinema night•. They entertained the idea. To our surprise, they submitted their new film later on and the new film got in! What a trooper -a true filmmaker. Filmmakers make note: it’s not about winning or being the official selection; it’s all about contacts and getting recognized. What was the age of this filmmaker? I know several school teachers from the ‘90s and more recently who can’t stand that they can never tell their students the truth about how their students are doing. Yesterday at 10:23am• Like
Kerrie long - Edmonton International Film Festival
Thank-you ALL for your support and words of encouragement. I’m grateful to have this private space to share. The saga continues ... today he EMAILED the Chair of Board to ‘Declare WAR on EIFF’. His exact words. We’re discussing now with our lawyer to determine if that’s enough to alert the police. In truth, I am very afraid right now ... I remember watching his movie, thinking ‘What kind of person thinks up these horrible acts of torture?’. Will keep you posted. Yesterday at 5:01pm • Like
Tyrone D Murphy Universal Film & Festival Organization
What you are now doing is fundamentally and profoundly wrong. You are hijacking this filmmaker’s career Perhaps you may have had a bad experience with a filmmaker or perhaps you may be in the wrong. We do not know this without seeing the evidence or all the facts (we only have your word). In saying that you are in the business of taking submissions from filmmakers and sometimes festivals do get one that could be considered “flakey”’ We cannot say this for certain in this case as we do not know the whole story. Relating the content of the filmmakers film to emphasize your own predicament and stating that you are afraid of a horror filmmaker because they make horror films is simply nonsensical when there is no evidence at all to support this. You web site has a section explicitly geared at horror
filmmakers and has the following to entice submissions. “EDGE OF NIGHT. This series is lovingly tailored to the more ‘adventurous’ festival-goer. Bizarre, scary, or just plain shocking” In addition, despite stating he is at war with the EIFF or on some sort of vendetta, the posts you have made here have dearly been made in an attempt to blacklist the filmmaker. This is completely out of line and unacceptable. You have a duty to protect all the filmmaker’s reputations and private and personal details who submit films to your festival. Perhaps you should confer with the volunteer Board of Directors for the EIFF before you make any further comments. If you have a genuine complaint against a filmmaker then why not what the rest of the world does do, report this to the authorities. I would strongly suggest that this groups administrator should really not allow this type of retaliation against a filmmaker when we have no idea of what has transpired and we are not in possession of the facts 59 minutes ago • Like
Jeff Ross - SF Indie Fest
How odd that I find myself disagreeing with you Tyrone, respectfully. I think a filmmaker who is abusive and threatening to one fest based on a rejection could quite possibly react the same way with another festival. All she is doing is warning people about an abusive individual. Some people have thin skin and dont appredate that kind of thing. You run a film festival, right? So you’ve said? Maybe you dont mind abuse from makers but I can see that some fest organizers may want to avoid such situations. (I on the other hand tend to get into it with them, as you can probably imagine ... . ) 51 minutes ago • Like
Tyrone D Murphy Universal Film & Festival Organization
Ah, Jeff my ond friend! Interesting as you are always the one to disagree (as always) This is a serious issue. We have not seen what this filmmaker has said, not one word! We also know that are some festival directors who have attacked the filmmaking community to fend off criticism of a shoddy and/or scam operation. What I am saying is you have a duty to protect a filmmaker’s reputation as a festival and not blacklist them in such a way, it’s just not right!. In any event such an attack is as bad if not worse than the alleged offender. So who is worse here? the filmmaker who is annoyed and retaliating or the festival director who is annoyed and retaliating ? What I am saying is you have a duty to protect a filmmaker’s reputation as a festival and not blacklist them in such a way, it’s just not right!. In any event such an attack is as bad if not worse than the alleged offender. So who is worse here? the filmmaker who is annoyed and retaliating And yes1 (you do make me smile) I really could see that you would be over excited and eager to get into it and be argumentative with a disgruntle filmmaker. We all cope in our own way.
Jeff Ross - SF Indie Fest
I’m gonna hold my tongue and see if any of ourcolleagues care to comment before debating further . 35 minutes ago • Unlike • iJ 1
Tyrone D Murphy Universal Film & Festival Organization
Okay Jeff1 I understand you are hesitant. Good call! Another important point to factor into this issue that must be considered is the Law. If this filmmaker is in litigation with the EIFF and this does seem very likely then it is paramount that the subjudice rule in Canada that restricts comments on an on-going case
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Charles Judson - Alanta Film Festival If a festival organizer uses the words afraid and has to go so far as contacting other festivals, I would take that seriously. When we ran the 20 10 48 Hour Film Project one of the filmmakers who didn’t win any awards emailed all of our judges. He sent a very long, nasty and accusary e mail, the judges were all cool with it and shook it off Right now we have to manage one of our volunteers who in 2008 started exhibiting odd behivour and ion a film shoot in 2009 got into a fist fight and he stormed off another local film shoot in anger never to return. He hasn’t got into any psychical altercations since then, but his constant threats to sue us and shut us down and actions in general keep us on the alert. Every time we have someone new on staff and he contacts them it’s a major hassle. He still taunts me personally as least once a month and often a weekly basis. He sent me yet another cryptic tweet just this week (I had to unfriend him on FB) 9 m1nutes ago • Like
Tyrone D Murphy Universal Film & Festival Organization
I would agree if there was any evidence at all, but there is no threat here in this case, just a blacklisting exorcize insofar as I can see. We somehow have gone on to former volunteer you have had problems with. A question, why not apply the law to stop this former volunteer? Also , you are aware of some festival directors have been making threats to film-makers also? 2 minutes ago • Like Charles Judson - Alanta Film Festival How do you know there’s been no threat? about a minute ago • Like Kerrie long - Edmonton International Film Festival Oh my. I didn’t mean to cause a stir. Your points are all duly noted. I really believed this to be a SAFE place to share. Lesson learned. about a minute ago • Like Tyrone D Murphy Universal Film & Festival Organization How do you know there has? (re Charles) a few seconds ago • Like Charles Judson - Alanta Film Festival So a film festival opinion should live in fear instead and just let the threats escalate? This could all blow over, which it does 99.99% of the time. But if someone genuinely feels afraid for their safety, they should act on that. Again, Someone’s life is not worth a filmmaker’s career. And a filmmaker should never make statements that can cause any on to believe they may be in harm’s way, even if the threat turns out to be empty. It’s not only dumb career wise, but potentially a good way to go to jail a few seconds ago • like Jeff Ross - SF Indie Fest Kerri I support you and hope that you do feel this is a safe space for us to talk about our work. we just have to put up with this interloper who looks for things to get hot and bothered about
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. his mission is to protect all filmmakers from evil film festivals. hes like the NRA, always on the look out for a slippery slope. there was a time, on the WAB film festival directors board, that fest organizers could discuss INTERNAL issues amongst themselves without a self appointed defender of makers having to turn the attack on those who just want to talk about their day. Tyrone, seriously, this is not a court of law, this is a water cooler. chill out. 19 minutes ago • Like Tyrone D Murphy Universal Film & Festival Organization Jeff, I can always rely on you to say something like that. I am not a self-appointed defender of anything. Interloper is an odd word, it would seem you are getting hot under the collar again Jeff, please refrain from personal attacks and childish remarks. This is also my working day and I do have an opinion. 15 minutes ago • Like Jeff Ross - SF Indie Fest do you not even care what kerrie said “’ really believed this to be a SAFE place to share. Lesson learned. • id rather you not stifle discussion here. stay your opinion and move on please. i would hate it if people felt they couldn’t talk about our work here because of you. 12 minutes ago • like Quinten Bendigo Iraq International Film Festival Listen here buddy! (Mr Murphy) I support Kerrie long and the comments made by Jeff Ross. We are in business to make money and not to be pandering to filmmakers complaints about how we operate, most of the complainers are just whiners and sore losers, we get them all the time. Also, I have looked at this UFFO and I for one do not intent on supporting best business practices, also I will say what I dame well please here and anywhere else so you can take you high and mighty morals and remember that old saying (where the sun don’t shine) . I will not be allowing this “Whack job filmmakers” film to go through selection at our festival, any filmmaker who is dedaring war on a festival should be blacklisted by the festival community and I will be telling all my contacts about this nut case. Also,(this is the interesting bit) are the same Tyrone D Murphy who was an officer in the French Foreign Legion and worked as a counter surveillance operative for Hughes Aircraft, a company owned by the CIA. (I am also a former investigator Mr Murphy and I have looked at your background) 18 hours ago • Like Matt Marxteny (Programmer) The Red Rock Film Festival Wow, a lot of comments here. I think none of us understand what the abusive nature was in this case. We had a questionable filmmaker once that boasted about their “violent acts” and simply called the police, and left it like that. We just figured Hollywood would love them like they do domestic abusers, paedophiles, drug addicts and all the others ... 13 hours ago • Like Quinten Bendigo Iraq International Film Festival Mat you are a crazy kid! 13 hours a o Like Tyrone D Murphy Universal Film & Festival Organization We are not talking about someone’s life, this is an extreme view. All of a sudden now this filmmaker is a potential murderer. This all reminds me of the movie “’ 12 angry men”, how quickly we all judge someone and how we take someone word for everything simply because they say so. Should you not know all the facts before you join in on this little blacklisting operation? Both you and I do not know the full story here, if someone has a problem go to the Police. We all love films, that’s what we all have in common and yes they are a few nut jobs but from all walks of life. As a former fraud investigator and surveillance
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that may affect the outcome is strictly adhered to. Kerrie Long’s comments have really attacked this filmmaker’s credibility as not just only a filmmaker but his mental state1 Kerry even said “he’s crazy”. So we must all be really scared of this crazy horror filmmaker because she says so. Come on Jeff! she is dearly attempting to blacklist him among other film festivals. How would you feel of someone was attempting to blacklist your festival among the filmmaking community because you had an issue with them. So when you look at it from both points of view1 then you know it is wrong! Why just recently I was asked not to comment on wrong doing on this group when I was accosted by an individual with a dubious track record. As Jon Gann said at the time1 this is not the place!
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specialist I lived with threats many times, I know what it’s like to receive a real threat and also know what veil threat is. But what I have seen here today is disgusting, so quick to judge. You are behaving like a jury in a kangaroo court, this guy is guilty, no consideration for his or her career, his or her own circumstances, no real thought or consideration if there may be something else going on here. Why not reserve judgement and not blacklist this filmmaker 8 minutes ago • like Tyrone D Murphy Universal Film & Festival Organization I would like to ask the admin to ask this person to refrain from this kind of hostility and abuse From Jeff Ross - SF Indie Fest today : you showed your true colors with that last exchange, mate. have you noticed that no one in that group every takes your side in anything? four people told me they just block you so they dont have to read your posts, but i wont, because i want to be able to continue to expose your bullshit whenever neccessary. youve done a good job of proving to all the folks on that list that you do not have their interests at heart and are just a troll. every one now knows which side your on, so good job there, nicely done. we know exactly what to expct from tyrone murphy in any given conversation. if you want to actually have an impact on the opinions of the people you are your org are tying to influence, you might want to count to 10 before letting fly another 200 word antagonistic post. Like • Comment Unfollow Post • 24 minutes ago Quinten Bendigo Iraq International Film Festival Well done Jef 21 minutes ago • Like Tyrone D Murphy Universal Film & Festival Organization please stop making comments that are hostile and meaningless 20 minutes ago • Like Jeff Ross - SF Indie Fest tyrone, please stop making comments that are hostile and meaningless 20 minutes ago • Like Quinten Bendigo Iraq International Film Festival gettig to much for you Mr UFFO man? 19 minutes ago • Like Jon Gann Moderator and DC Shorts Film Festival And this is NOW CLOSED. I am done moderating. Tyrone - this is a safe space for fest organizers to talk and discuss openly with one another and not judge. If you cannot follow this simple rule, you will be removed. Jeff- stop fanning the fire, please. 9 minutes ago • Like • .6 1 Tyrone D Murphy Universal Film & Festival Organization I would agree with that Jon , which is why I commented on Kerrie’s post which was judging film-makers and others jumping on the bandwagon and basically blacklisting a filmmaker. I am saying that judging in such a way is wrong also but now I cannot comment on this, I am not judging but question someone else judging. As Jeff is a moderator here he is really out to cause trouble 4 m1nutes ago • Like Quinten Bendigo Iraq International Film Festival Kick him off! 3 minutes ago • Like END
UFFO “best business practices” for film festivals Maureen O’Hara
“Every once in a while there is something that stands out and compels us to notice it; I think that is what struck me most about UFFO when it was first brought to my attention. I am so tremendously honoured and proud to be the President of such an international organisation that promotes ethics in an industry I love so much”.
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ince the launch of UFFO on the 1st July 2011 and the organization’s best business practices for film festivals it has been adopted by over 170 international film festivals and has gathered strong support from organizations all over the world With stories being published on almost a daily basis about fraudlent film festivals something had to be done to protect filmmakers from fraud and to assure that honest festival organizers’ hard-earned reputations were protected. At this stage it was just an ideal. Sometime later I attended an international Film Festival in the UK. I discovered that the festival organizer and his
Tyrone D Murphy is the founder and CEO of UFFO, he was responsible for creating and implementing “best business practices”. Through his hard work it has been adopted by over 170 international film festivals around the World. He is an award winning film producer and director, a festival director and now dedicated his time to benefit the filmmaking and film festival communities through UFFO. Tyrone Power JR, is the Chairman of the UFFO committee USA. He is an acclaimed actor in his own right and follows in the footsteps of his famous father Tyrone Power Senior. “The promotion of ethics and standards is a noble and worthwhile goal in any walk of life. To be able to help do so in an industry I love and admire is truly a gift and an honour. I am proud to be a part of the UFFO organization which fosters and promotes the dedicated, passionate work of filmmakers and film festivals around the world.” Tyrone Power.
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What was very apparent was that there needed to be something in place to stop this from happening. There was no code of practice anywhere in the world that was fair to both filmmakers and film festival organizers. We wrote a very basic set of best business practices and published it on the social networking sites LinkedIn and Facebook to judge the reaction. The response from both communities was phenomenal. We were inundated with e-mail from all corners of the globe, telling us horror stories, and why the code of practice is needed. The whole idea behind a code of practice was to improve the relationship between industry professionals and acknowledg the importance of enhanced cooperation between filmmakers and film festivals. It led to a heated debate over many months by festival directors and filmmakers. Both communities had very strong opinions about what should and should not be included. On the one hand the majority of festival directors run legitimate operations, provide a great service and want to play fair; on the other hand the filmmaking community had a gut full of the fraudulent activity that was taking their hard-earned dollars. The few bad apples in the barrel were blighting the entire film industry. The UFFO best business practices has ten simple guiding principles. The successful implementation of this code was largely dependent on its acceptance by the film festival and filmmaking community as a whole. It is completely voluntary and has helped define the obligations and responsibilities that film festival organizers have towards the filmmaking community It has a pragmatic approach to implementation that is based on rational and transparent working methods. It promotes good business practices and assists in the development of relationships between film festival organisers and the filmmaking community. The Universal Film and Festival Organization was later formed to monitor the database of accredited film festivals. Membership to UFFO is completely free and is open to all creative individuals, filmmakers and film festivals. It is completely voluntary and easy to implement, in addition it’s also a blueprint for filmmakers in deciding which film festivals to do business with.
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Best Business Practice for Film Festivals No 1: Film Festival organizers should operate a transparent selection process and publish details of the selection process and the names of the Jury/selection committee (publication can be after a festival concludes) No 2: Film festivals organizers should provide full contact details for the festival offices including address and telephone numbers and the names of the festival directors and or committee No 3: A Film Festival should publish its legal status as a company, charity or non-profit (this only applies to a registered entity) No 4: Film festival organizers should not share filmmakers’ financial data with any third parties No 5: Film Festivals should publish a year by year history of festival winners and films officially selected No 6: Film festival organizers, committee and or jury should not show or demonstrate any favouritism to any film submitted to the festival or attempt to influence other members of the jury or selection committee No 7: Film Festivals should declare the number of films sought and/or invited by the festival organizers to participate in the festival prior to and before the general call for submissions is sent out No 8: Film Festivals should provide the names of the selection committee and/or jury members who viewed the submitted film screeners to the festival (this could be after the festival has concluded) No 9: Film festival organizers should view at least 5 minutes of all submitted films No 10: All Festival organizers should declare any conflict of interest that may arise from any film submitted to or invited to participate in the festival
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partner, a film director, had a film in competition in their own festival. (Nothing illegal about that; a number of festival organizers regularly promote their own and even their friends’ films.) The screening programme was set up with their own film taking prime position in the whole lineup. In addition the film was nominated in 7 of the 10 categories. Although the film was slated by many of the UK critics it managed to win an award in every category. Almost 400 other filmmakers who submitted their films to this festival paid $50 for the privilege of their film being chucked in the trash.
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
Land of hope A
fter a sequence of stunning productions, SONO SION steps to the next level in his filmmaking career by portraying a story of families who struggle to live with dignity. Gifted with a rare talent broaching such “taboo” subjects as sex and violence through films that are written based on actual incidents, including but not limited to Love Exposure, Cold Fish, and Guilty of Romance, Sion Sono has been overtaking international film festivals every time he introduces his productions to the world.
After presenting Cold Fish for the Orizzonti section of the 67th Venice International Film Festival and Guilty of Romance for the directors fortnight of the 64th Cannes Film Festival, Sono, with his last movie Himizu, successfully brought the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor and Actress to its main cast Shota Sometani and Fumi Nikaido at the 68th Venice International Film Festival. Now, as a theme for his latest movie, Sono has chosen to address the biggest taboo facing Japan today̶—“genpatsu” (nuclear power station).
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Yasuhiko Ono is a dairy farmer and lives his peaceful and satisfying life with his wife Chieko, his son Yoichi, and Yoichiʼ’s wife Izumi. Their lives are uprooted when a massive 8.3 magnitude earthquake hits off the east coast of the prefecture, followed by a horrible accident at a nearby nuclear power plant. The area within a 20-‐‑‒kilometer radius of the plant was shut down as a danger zone, which ironically divided the Ono family whose house sits just outside the zone from their next door neighbor, the Suzuki Family, who is now forced to abandon their house across the street from the Onoʼ’s and evacuate to a shelter. Yasuhiko, however, vividly remembers what once happened several years back to his country. He declares his disbelief in the government and decides to stay home while sending Yoichi and Izumi to a shelter. After moving to another town, Izumi finds out she is pregnant. Being in the agony of not knowing how to best protect her baby, Izumiʼ’s fears against radiation continues to mount. “This is an invisible war. We see no bullets or missiles, but they are flying out there all over the place!” Meanwhile, the Suzuki Familyʼ’s young son Mitsuru and his girlfriend Yoko keep searching for Yokoʼ’s missing family on foot as they walk step by step through debris that has totally covered and filled an oceanfront town. The nuclear plant soon lost control, causing the worst case scenario to become a reality. Yasuhikoʼ’s house is now included in the danger zone, and the evacuation is about to be enforced in a few days. For them and others who have lost their homes and are forced to live in
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the fear of radiation, will there really be a hopeful future waiting after this endless despair and anxiety? A new masterpiece of advocacy entertainment keenly cuts out scenes from todayʼs society while questioning how we human beings should be Immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, film director Sion Sono shot his last movie Himizu, in which he expressed his affirmation of hope for the post‐‑‒3/11 era of Japan. As more than a year has passed since the nationʼ’s worst tragedy in the history, Sono, in his new film, attempts to reveal the hardships that the nation has had to confront following the disaster. Based on the facts he has directly seen and learned from his repeated research trips to disaster sites, Sono successfully reproduces the feelings and emotions of victims, who are suddenly thrown into an unparalleled human crisis. His or gnal story is fictional yet provides a detailed recording of the reality Japan has recently faced. In sharing similarity to works by preceding Japanese master filmmakers such as Shohei Imamura and Nagisa Oshima, this film vividly captures real peopleʼ’s lives as well as human dignity through a keen and sharp observation of society. In this film, Sono again questions and seeks the true meaning of human existence by using a current social issue as the base of the story, which is a universally-‐‑‒approved filmmaking method that is often favored by Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, and other globally-‐‑‒known directors. This film makes a new masterpiece of advocacy entertainment for its attempt in bringing to light the inside of the human spirit that was covered but not fully reported by the media during the aftermath of the disaster. Powerful performances by seasoned actors who support todayʼ’s Japanese film industry; Intense and strong storytelling and overflowing poetic sentiment in the SONO SIONʼ’s world Casted as the storyʼ’s main character Yasuhiko is Isao
Natsuyagi, a seasoned actor known for his performances in supporting roles of many Japanese films since the 1960ʼs. Naoko Otani, who plays Yasuhikoʼ’s wife Chieko, has been highly acclaimed for her performances in various movies including “Zigeunerweisen” (1980). Jun Murakami, one of the leading actors in the Japanese independent film industry, plays the role of Yasuhiko and Chiekoʼ’s son Yoichi; and Megumi Kagurazaka, a regular cast member in Sonoʼ’s past films, plays the role of Yoichiʼ’s wife Izumi. Other cast members include: Denden (father of the Suzuki family), Mariko Tsusui (mother of the Suzuki family), Yutaka Shimizu (Mitsuru, son of Suzuki family), and Hikari Kajiwara (Mitsuruʼ’s girlfriend), as well as Daikichi Sugawara, Takashi Yamanaka, Kenzou Kawarasaki (neighbors of the Ono family). Also appearing in cameo roles are Yusuke Iseya, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Gitan Otsuru, and Tetsushi Tanaka who each have friendships with Sono. The film was completed as a Japan-‐‑‒UK-‐‑‒Taiwan coproduction with financial support from film production companies in UK and Taiwan, both of which have great admiration for and trust in Sonoʼ’s talent. The film does not contain the graphic expressions of sex and violence, which have been common elements in Sonoʼ’s previous films. Instead, backed with the exquisite music of Adagio from Mahlerʼ’s Symphony No. 10, the tranquil and beautiful images on the screensimply tell the earnest attitudes of families towards their new lives resulting from the tragic disaster. With Sonoʼ’s strong and intense storytelling technique and a poetic sentiment that overflows throughout the story, the lives of three couples are portrayed as they experience “despair,” “coexistence” and “hope.” In this film, Sion Sono takes a step to the next level in his filmmaking careerthrough his unseen side as a social filmmaker, which brings a definitive and unparalleled impact to many viewers.
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Suddenly caught in an unprecedented and disastrous situation, three couples experience “despair,” “coexistence,” and “hope” as they struggle to survive. The story begins in 20XX, several years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, in a fictitious prefecture Nagashima-‐‑‒ ken.
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Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
A PRISONER OF THE BALLOON INDUSTRY
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ear K.,Here is a letter I have begun many times, and have never sent. —Let me just plunge into it then—into the middle of thought.
destination—you may not even be sure where you are going, or how far—there is something about this that is peculiarly American, poignant as grief, awesome as tragedy.
How does it fare with you? Are you writing? How does your poetry and fiction progress? Oh, how I would like to read it… I have thought of you many times.
You stand, about to depart, perhaps you pause a moment to wonder: “What’s this mean: this life—this journey?” And you cannot at that moment help being assailed by a catalogue of names and voices, places and evenings, memories and faces which have their own claims to make on you and which you must shrug off. There were other mornings, too, like this one and yet how unlike. How little you noticed them, the way the cool air felt against your face, the cryptic messages of birds now sharply calling “Farewell!” and “Don’t go!” and—perhaps most peculiar as a truck grumbles by and a few people begin to move about on the street—the stability of it all.
What do you do now, how do you spend your time? In the things I do every day, I seem to be staving off some knowledge, or the recognition of some knowledge… My Unconscious has not yet caught up with me, though there have been inklings…Last night, for example, I dreamed you were explaining to me why things did not work out between us and…it all made sense in the dream… When my Unconscious does catch up with me, my rational sense of experience, order, why…there will be a real field day for my mind, my ego…But as yet I have no bad dreams. The obligation to create, to render in fictions the truth, order and beauty, happiness etcetera, of which I have been permitted only fleeting glimpses in my own life and which I seem to fail so miserably to attain in any enduring sense—This duty to tell and to show what I have seen, to convey the dramas that eternally play themselves out in the mythical and religious dimensions of my heart and soul, becomes more and more imposing, demanding, like an angry, vengeful child…It is a child, however, who will soon have his way, as I will next semester be doing more Advanced Creative Writing, an occasion for me to refine some stories and plays. I am very much alone now, in this fall of brittle hopes and transparent dreams: alone with words and voices and weathers… Face it: there is something about getting up on a particular morning and going out into the crisp air, clean and shrill, all that you own on your back or inside a travel-bag in your hand, with the sole purpose of traveling to some particular
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At one time you thought you would stay forever. This was enough, you’d said, this was all you could ever want. But something happened. The light, the gaiety went out of it or something went dry. And you awoke one morning to find there was nothing left. There is no explaining it, there is nothing to make it right, it just happens. You have to live with it. There are, after all, you tell yourself, other places you can go. There will be sun, rain and laughter there. You will have friends and, perhaps, loves. There will be excitements and dramas and gaudy scenes: you will hear screaming and weeping again. More than likely you will know fear again, and you will know what it is for other people to confess their fears to you. You’ll get drunk. There will be work for you to do. You will try to settle…and live. —But once, didn’t you think you could live here? A funny sense of dejà vu accosts you, disturbs you now as you walk along. Have you walked this way, perhaps down this very street, before? When? Perhaps it was
by Dennis Weiser some early morning…But you were not leaving then…Not leaving for good. There is a ticket in your pocket, but it is not a ticket to New York. A list of places occurs to you, flashes sarcastically across your mind, all the exciting places you might go—San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta—but you are not going to any of those places. You are not even going to Kansas City. You do not smile but smirk as you remove the ticket surprisingly from your pocket. It is not even whole, but merely the stub of a ticket to a movie you saw several days ago. You cannot remember what the movie was. There will be a swirl of hills and turns and curves and cornfields—there will be more than one stop—day will follow night— and then there will be nothing. No letters and no pleasant voices: all the voices will be cracked and guttural. Only the sound of an electric motor being turned off and on; a cool upward draft; an occasional shaft of light. Face it: it is all behind you now. You are going to western Kansas and the nearest town is Lowry. You are going to the helium mines, a prisoner of the balloon industry. ___________________________________ Former weekly columnist for The Kansas City Business Journal and book reviewer for National Public Radio affiliate KCURFM, Dennis Weiser is the author of a dozen works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, including the novel satire of the CIA in Honduras in 1983, Crash Dummies. An excerpt from Crash Dummies (“Tzytzyan Ysalane”) won first prize for prose fiction at the Chicago Printers Row Book Fair and was published in Things That Go Bump in the Night (Outrider Press 2004). He recently completed a collection of stories, Beautiful Lies and is currently writing his third novel, Soul Snatchers of Java. Print copies and generous previews of all of his books are available at CRASH DUMMIES BOOKS. Digital versions for most ereader devices are available at MY SMASHWORDS.
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FROM THE AUTHOR OF "CRASH DUMMIES"
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
EL MONSTRO DEL MAR! success at film festivals with the good doctor
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Rebekah Louisa Smith
El Monstro Del Mar
In 2011, after Monstro had done over 20 festivals, the unexpected happened; an Australian distribution company called Monster Pictures who Stuart had formed an allegiance with was interested in distributing it in Australia and New Zealand on DVD. The deal soon closed and Monstro was then available for purchase. All of these festival screenings had equated into An independently made feature film with a strong narrative yet a 20 screen theatrical run with more incoming. Shortly after no stars is a difficult beast. It may be a gem of a film but it this Monster Pictures UK acquired it and then after viewwill be hard to sell, as in today’s economic climate it is ing it at the Pollygrind Film Festival in Las Vegas the film predominantly stars who sell for a high price. “42 film was picked up by Breaking Glass Entertainment in the festivals - 22 USA. This is where The Film Festival Doctor comes in use, awards - 3 as the above types of films tend to have a strong What the moral of this story shows (so to speak) is that distribution life on the film festival circuit. It is difficult to get a festivals are important platforms to host independent theatrical release for a low budget independent film, deals” films on, as successful film festival exposure results in a especially without a star’s presence to entice viewers theatrical screening and can open doors to many opporto part with their money. Film festival programmers are tunities including of course as Monstro has demonstrated, dismore concerned with the strength of the film, including the tribution. We are now hoping to achieve a repeat performance quality of the narrative, productive levels and script, as opwith Stuart’s next film which is currently in post-production posed to who is in it. called Chocolate, Strawberry Vanilla and also to break Monstro into the European distribution market in order to achieve The film festival doctor offers a specialist service which is world festival and sales domination. focused exclusively on film festival PR. The aim of the company is to help producers achieve successful international film Film Festival Doctor - rebekah@thefilmfestivaldoctor.co.uk festival exposure with their film. Previous clients of mine include Martin Kemp’s Stalker, Elfie Hopkins, Mother’s Milk and ofcourse Stuart Simpson’s El Monstro Del Mar! he festival film that could...how a low budget Australian monster flick achieved world domination by screening at 42 international film festivals, won 22 awards and acquired 3 distribution deals.
The film tells the story of 3 young girls who were told by their grandfather to never go into the sea. After they disturb the monster living in the water they unlock a dark secret which unleashes the scary gigantic monster across a small suburban Australian town. When I first saw this film I knew that it was a perfect festival film. The narrative was quirky & different as it was a very careful and delicate Tarantino-esque homage to Faster Pussycat Kill Kill and the 1970’s grindhouse movies . El Monstro’s first festival screening was the Atlanta Horror Film Festival then between 2010-2012 more festival invitations kept rolling in, including the Chicago International Film Festival, Lund Fantastik Film Festival & the Austin Film Festival. A total of 22 awards were won including best film, actress and SFX. All of these festivals were celebrating its aesthetic beauty, creative storytelling and honouring Stuart’s vision with awards to achieve recognition.
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Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
Kahlil Gibran's Li f e Sto ry to be P o rt raye d i n F e at u re F i lm
Producer William Nix and the Creative Projects Group. The Option grants the exclusive feature film rights to tell the life story of famed Lebanese author and artist, Kahlil Gibran with the authorization and authority of the Committee. Kahlil Gibran is best known for his iconic series of prose poems, embodied in The Prophet, but he was also a prolific painter and author of many other works, including extensive correspondence that illuminates his artistic and romantic self. He lived in the early twentieth century in Lebanon, Boston, Paris and New York. His work emphasized “unity in diversity,” through internationalism and respect for various cultures and religions, as well as his own spiritual vision. One of Gibran’s most recognizable statements,
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on service, was echoed by JFK in his 1961 Presidential Inaugural Address. When emphasizing human rights and freedom around the world, recalling the earlier words of Gibran, JFK said “ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.” Gibran’s words and works remain timely beacons for the world today, as this film will explore. The Committee will be actively involved in a dialogue and collaboration with Mr. Nix about the biographical feature. When announcing this Agreement, Dr. Chidiac stated that “we are extremely pleased that with the involvement of Mr. Nix we can finally bring the full story of the short but notable life of the famous Lebanese author and artist, Gibran Khalil Gibran” He further stated that “our Committee will continue to work closely with Mr. Nix, with whom we have enjoyed a productive relationship on other matters, to support and tell the story of the life and work of Kahlil Gibran around the world.
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r. Tarek Chidiac, President of the Gibran National Committee of Lebanon, announced the signing of an exclusive Option Agreement with Los Angeles.
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
Consequence Images from London Premier Screening of “Consequence”, a Movie by Si Wall Photography by Nathan Joseph.
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Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
Director Si Wall confesses to being a story teller with an active imagination, although some of his on-screen antics border on insane. If you think this is harsh, then read on. Making a low-budget indiefilm in this climate, without a well-known actor could be considered foolish, but then to make it tougher from the outset by deciding to use only one actor, shoot it in 12 days, do just about all of it on location quantifies my earlier statement. This guy is certifiable. His third film pulls no punches either, “Consequence” follows the life of one young girl who gets to live a day in her mundane life without having to consider any of “those pesky paybacks” for her actions and takes us on a journey that is as funny as it is dark, as honest as it is surreal and with an ending that leaves you asking the questions.
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Jodie Webster is played by the talented newcomer Katie Richmond, as yet discovered only by Si Wall, but with performances as honest and as real as this, it’s only a matter of time before she catches the attention of big Hollywood studios. Si commented that “the crew all seemed pretty nervous at the beginning, I mean carrying a film on your own for 90 minutes isn’t easy, but one by one they all made comments about how natural she was. They were all won over pretty quickly and I think I got it right”. To put CONSEQUENCE in a category is tricky. It’s not over-stylized, complicated or trying to be clever. It’s an honest film, with honest performances and a great story that takes you, the viewer, on a ride full of emotion, from laughter to disbelief and then…… well, you’ll have to watch it and see. INTERVIEWS ON THE NEXT PAGE
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CONSEQUENCE is the third film from MASIVE Films.
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
Interview with director of “Consequence” Si Wall.
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So before people buy a ticket, what can they expect Si?
Well, a good bit of real-life drama, some humour, as with all situations in our daily lives, a couple of twists and a ending, I do like an ending!
How did the idea come about?
S RE T
I don’t always sleep too well and one night, I got up at 3am and flicked through the TV, and found a Richard Linklater film about two people meeting up after 7 years. Throughout the film, all they did was talk about their one night together and what had AC happened, it was strangely addictive and as a film, it really shouldn’t work, but it did. I D A wanted to take ‘Consequence’ one step further, and have one actor only, going about her LE life and inviting the audience in. It made it harder to work the story, but if it was easy then we AND wouldn’t enjoy it as much would we? How did you choose the actor for such a demanding role?
DIRE
I auditioned for an earlier project, ‘Speed Date’ and took the last audition of a long day and lit up the room. She impressed me on that shoot and put some actors to shame to be honest. She is a fearless performer and we needed that for Jodie, so she was my only choice when it was just in note form, before it became a script.
Are you happy with the final result? I think anyone who creates something from scratch, would always like to make changes, I now I do, but we’re all dictated to by budgets, or lack of them as well as time, so you create what you create and keep quiet about the changes you wish you’d made. As long as the audience enjoy, then I’ll always have a smile on my face. Who do you look up to as fellow filmmakers? There’s three! Lars Von Trier, for having the courage to do things his way and not worry about the Consequences, sorry, no pun intended. Peter Jackson, for having the sight and belief that he could take on one of the worlds most read books and deliver what everyone wanted. He has such vision that it frightens me and I can’t wait for The Hobbit. These were the first books I read as a young lad, so mean a lot to me. Finally, I’d have to say Tim Burton, as my filmmaking hero. He not only creates films, but creates worlds with the most amazing characters in them and I’d personally watch the shopping channel if he was directing a show on there. What else do you have planned? Currently a really exciting slate of projects. I have a great film called ‘Resistance’ which has currently notched up over 20 international awards as a script alone and it’s about a 15 year old girl growing up and surviving WWII. I have an animation project called ‘Pulling Strings’, A Brothers Grim adaptation I am currently developing and a really brutal British Gangster film, but with a twist! I’m also discussing two other book adaptations. If you couldn’t be a director, what would you do? It’s my dream job, so if would have to be something to do with telling stories, a writer, an illustrator, but I’d rather not have to make that decision just now. Do you have a wish list of actors you’d like to work with? It’s actually not a very long list. Johnny Depp, simply the best character actor on the planet. Jack Nicholson, because I think it would be awesome to be in his company and Tom Hardy, as his intensity intrigues me! Add Dustin Hoffman and I’d be a happy camper, just because he’s Dustin Hoffman. Bit of a risk having just one actor wasn’t it? No, not when you trust them and hopefully, they trust you too. I like actors who are prepared to take a risk and get it wrong, then try again. I’m not into playing it safe!
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Interview with Katie Richmond, lead Actress of “Consequence” Katie can you tell us about your character Jodie, I viewed Jodie as a rubix cube. She had so many sides to her be it in reality or inside her own head so it became a mission to play all these different sides of her truthfully yet never deviating form the core of her character. Which can become very demanding of your time and energy both on and off set but something that comes with the territory of such an intricate young lady. So, what have you been able to relate to most with the character of Jodie? Being in such an unpredictable industry, an actor has to acknowledge that they will only ever have a certain amount of control over something. Jodie’s journey explores her unease with such an unstable existence and that manifests itself in her quest to regain some control, fighting for equilibrium and struggling to make things fit. This was something I felt familiar with, wanting to tighten my hands around something that can never be ordered. What made you want to be in this film? Upon reading the script I instantly had so many thoughts and ideas running around my head. I could see myself engaging in her predicament and wanting to portray & tell her story. I loved the concept, that an audience is only allowed in on her side of the story and you as the audience are forced to see things from Jodie’s perspective. It was also a chance to work with Si Wall again. A director I have a huge amount of admiration & respect for. And if he wanted to see where I took Jodie, I knew I was in very safe hands. What have you enjoyed most about the shoot with the Cast and Crew? I think with it being such a small crew, there was no longer a divide between cast and crew like there so often is on many set & projects. Which is only natural. But with this project we were all working as one. When something went wrong technically we all mucked in to sort the problem, when something wasn’t sitting right with the dialogue, the crew felt they could offer a solution and so it goes on. It was a fluid working environment where it felt as though we were working as a unit. It was quite special. I understand that a a lot of filming was done in rural Kent in the UK. What do you think about the ‘Garden of England’ as its known to us Brits ? Isn’t it just so pretty? The locations we used often reminded me of good old-fashioned England. Really lovely people who smiled in the street and offered you a brew if you so wished. I know you did this shoot pretty much in two weeks. How did you keep your energy up when it was 3am in the morning? Quite simply, I had a job to do & this is what I know and love so getting up at 3am was no chore. I was raring to go with whatever I had prepped for the scene ahead and to be given the all clear to play – I was in my element. There seemed to be a great vibe on the shoot. What would you say the funniest moment whilst you were filming Consequence? Chucking something so hard out of shot to someone who I expected to catch it, who then toppled backward taking down the stage curtain with him has to be pretty up there. Knowing “cut” had not yet been called and maintaining a straight face while the crew fell apart was a test in itself but my god were the onslaught of belly laughs worth the wait. Was this the catalyst for you to want to work with Si Wall? I have a great respect for Si and his method in directing and I feel he has an undoubted trust in me, so it made for a perfect relationship whereby we were freely exploring without the hindrance of sussing someone out first or looking for a balance. It was a no brainer working alongside Si again – he’s such a creative energy you tend to sunbathe in the glow(!) Consequence itself is a film which is certainly going to catapult you into the limelight and be a fantastic platform for you to go on to do further roles. What roles would you like to explore more of? Jodie Webster is a southern soul and everything that comes with her is London born. But as a native northerner I’d love to take a role set in my little corner of the world. ‘This is England’s gritty reality and phenomenal cast for example is something I’d very much like to be a part of. Who would you say your role model is in the acting world? Do you have an inspirational person you would like to follow in the footsteps of?
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No hesitation - Julie Walters. She is the epitome of versatile and if I could be half as thorough in the characters I play as this fantastic actress I’d still smile a shy smile of success
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
UK JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow
Michael Etherton MD of UK Jewish Film Festival
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Judy Ironside Founder and Executive Director
by Tyrone D Murphy
Stephen Margolis, Chair of UK Jewish Film
How do you find the films to screen at the UK Jewish Film Festihe 2012 UK Jewish Film Festival opens in style on val and what do you most enjoy about the process? November 1st at the BFI London and Cineworld Didsbury Manchester with the UK premiere of the We have hundreds of films submitted to us throughout the French romantic comedy Paris-Manhattan, written year and I see many more potential titles at film festivals and directed by Sophie Lellouche. Informed by the around the world. One of the most exciting things about the eternal wisdom of Woody Allen and featuring a cameo by the process is seeing what’s new in the film world, uncovering auteur himself, Paris-Manhattan is about a young woman new stories, unexpected and original ideas and, with it, – named Alice after Allen’s 1990 film – whose choices privilege and responsibility of curating an attracin life and love are shaped by the philosophies of her “The UK Jew- the tive and well-balanced programme. This year’s profavourite filmmaker. ish Film Festi- gramme includes films from many different countries Debut filmmaker Sophie Lellouche, who is based in val November which offer a fascinating insight into Jewish lives, his1st-18th “ tory, and culture around the world. Paris, will introduce the film in London and will take part in a Q&A session afterwards. “I’m very honoured to Do you work with other Jewish festivals? participate in the UK Jewish Film Festival and cannot wait to meet the audience,” says Sophie. I’ve been acting as consultant and co-curator for a number of festivals since 2005 when I assisted and mentored the staff This year’s UK Jewish Film Festival will show more than 70 feaand volunteers of the first Zagreb Jewish Festival. I’m so ture films, documentaries, short films, and TV specials from all pleased and proud to be able to pass on my knowledge and over the world at venues across London. In a first for the fesexperience to international festival organisers; recently we’ve tival, simultaneous screenings will take place in Manchester, worked with Jewish Festivals in San Francisco, Las Vegas, GeLeeds, Liverpool, and Glasgow. Since its foundation in 1997 neva, Budapest, Odessa, Lisbon, and Berlin. In fact we regularly by Executive Director Judy Ironside, the UK Jewish Film Festicollaborate with around 20 Jewish Festivals worldwide. val has provided an unrivalled showcase for works on Jewish themes by filmmakers from all over the world Interview - Michael Etherton, MD of UK Jewish Film Festival Interview - JUDY IRONSIDE, Founder and Executive Director Where is the UK Jewish Film Festival taking place this year? You founded the Festival in 1997 – what inspired you? London, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, and Glasgow. We’ve been planning an expansion of the Festival to cities outside I’ve always been involved in the creative arts and, as a member London for a while and are really delighted that it’s come to of the British Association of Drama Therapists, I worked with fruition for 2012. This year’s programme is really comprehenyoung people with special needs with an emphasis on sharsive and features drama, documentaries, short films, TV shows; ing individual life stories. As a result I had the idea of creatin fact it’s a programme designed to appeal to a broad range of ing a festival where the power of film and the value of stories film fans around the country. combine to promote understanding and respect. I founded the Brighton Jewish Film Festival in 1997 showing films with JewWhat can we expect from this year’s UK Jewish Film Festival? ish themes, establishing Holocaust education screenings and discussions and meeting filmmakers from around the world. In A fantastic range of contemporary world cinema with more 2004 I decided to take the festival national with the establishthan 70 film premieres and previews from 20 countries. This ment of the UK Jewish Film Festival. includes award winning drama like the exclusive preview of
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Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
‘Lore’ by much feted Australian director Cate Shortland; landmark films about iconic figures like ‘Gainsbourg on Gainsbourg: An Intimate Portrait’ and ‘Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir’; cutting edge political documentaries like ‘One Day After Peace’ and ‘Poisoned’ and real life dramas such as ‘The Portrait of Wally’ and ‘Life In Stills’. There will also be lots of opportunities to engage in post-screening discussions, to meet filmmakers and to share thoughts and ideas. It’s the perfect festival experience! Do you feel that Jewish cinema is garnering a more mainstream audience?
Interview - Stephen Margolis, Chair of UK Jewish Film How will you develop the Festival in your new role as Chair of UK Jewish Film? We want to broaden the demographic and focus on emerging talent and provide opportunities to help the producers, directors, writers, cast and crew of tomorrow. For instance our Emerging Filmmakers Day (November 11th) will run workshops, talks, training and mentoring sessions with the likes of Tim Bevan and Michael Kuhn and will provide budding filmmakers a chance to screen their work. I think it’s vital to encourage fledgling filmmakers by giving them access to information and expertise and we’re delighted that luminaries from the British film industry are stepping up to take part. Tell us about the fund raising for the Festival? There are financial pressures on any film festival in any part of the world. We need to find a commercial base to what we are doing in order to help support our artistic aims. UK Jewish Film is blessed by having some very supportive benefactors who help us with a fund for short films – the Pears Foundation Short Film Fund – and to finance emerging talent so we need to develop those relationships and expand our base of supporters. I’m very excited about being appointed as chairman and I feel it’s a fantastic way to give something back to a fantastically exciting industry which has been my life for so many years.
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For screenings at all other venues, tickets can only be purchased directly from the venue: Tricycle, Barbican www.tricycle.co.uk Cine Lumiere www.institut-francais.org.uk Everyman Hampstead www.everymancinema.com Genesis www.genesiscinema.co.uk Lexi www.thelexicinema.co.uk Phoenix - www.phoenixcinema.co.uk Cornerhouse Manchester www.cornerhouse.org Cineworld Didsbury www.cineworld.co.uk/cinemas/18 Seven Arts Centre Leeds www.sevenleeds.co.uk Woolton Picture House Liverpool wooltonpicturehouse.com Glasgow Film Theatre www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow www.cca-glasgow.com/home
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Absolutely. These are universal stories, issues and ideas. The films that include Jewish themes that we bring are an important part of that mainstream of world cinema. The high profile and success of so many of the films that we bring highlights that they are being recognized and appreciated by a very diverse audience.
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
Video Festival of Dallas premier Edward Albee in Stages
E. Albee Portrait Albee Portrait Session “The Dark Side of the Mind”
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he documentary film,“The Stages of Edward Albee”, by James Dowell and John Kolomvakis, offers an intimate, accessible, ninety-seven minute glimpse into the life of an American literary giant. Intriguing for fans and non-fans of the theatre, alike, it’s an engaging, lucid homage to the work and persona of a defining voice for 20th century American drama. The film paints a portrait, literally and figuratively, that illuminates playwright Edward Albee’s creative process and dramatizes his formidable impact on artists, colleagues and audiences.
windows and doorways. Albee’s associates clearly wanted to share their experiences of the remarkable playwright; Dowell and Kolomyakis’ congenial demeanor and natural interview style set everyone at ease, allowing for the free flow of heartfelt expression.
Viewing the film, one loses all sense of the camera, as if privileged to sit in on the conversations. Nationally recognized stage and film actors perform excerpts from Albee’s works, demonstrating examples of the “stages” of creation referred to in the title. Interviews feature playwrights John Guare, Tony Kushner and Terrence McNally, as well as respected actors Rosemary Harris, Bill Pullman, Bill Irwin, Judith Ivey, Kathleen Turner and Marian Seldes. Pullmann, Irwin, Turner annd Seldes perform readings from “The Zoo Story” (1958), “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” (1962) and “Three Tall Women” (1990 -1991).
“a film not to be missed”
Mention Edward Albee to a room full of theatre buffs, and the conversation may explode with intense emotion. Love him or despise him as a playwright, Albee’s work assaulted American theatre, a tsunami of imagery, themes, unforgettable characters and sweeping transformation. Almost twenty years ago, Dowell and Kolomyakis embarked on the creation of “A New York Triptych” of documentary films examining 20th and 21st century cultural experience, through introspective revelation of aspects of three iconic artists’ lives. They knew they wanted to include the Kennedy Center, Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright Edward Albee, but they weren’t sure how to proceed, or if he would consent to project inclusion.
Riding on the New York subway one day, the men spied Albee sitting directly across from them. With trepidation, they approached. “We planned to try to get in touch with you, but since we saw you here, we thought we’d ask….” They dined with him and a mutual friend, composer and diarist Ned Rorem, who broached the subject of making a film. Numerous interviews were scheduled. Over a seven year period, Dowell and Kolomyakis met with Albee at his rural home in Montauk, where he talked casually at length about his life and career and beliefs while Mr. Dowell painted his portrait. Notable playwrights, colleagues, actors, journalists and personal associates of Albee volunteered their time and energy to share, with enormous candor and passion, their perspectives on his life and artistry. What results on film is a panoramic view of lives greatly impacted by Albee and his work, revealed with remarkable openness, sincerity, humor and respect. The scenes filmed at Albee’s home reflect a life of unexpected tranquility. A microphone mixes in the sweetness of birdsong wafting through open
“The Stages of Edward Albee” has its World Premiere Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 1:45pm as part of the 25th Annual Video Festival of Dallas at the Dallas Museum of Art’s Horchow Auditorium. The website www.videofest.org, describes the Dallas Video Festival as “one of the oldest nonprofit film festivals in the US…and focuses on independent, experimental, and short films, as well as alternative documentaries, animation, and more”. Many filmmakers attend the screenings and offer commentary afterwards. Dowell and Kolomyakis will attend the September 29 screening. The Video Festival of Dallas run on September 26 – 30, every year. Please visit: www.videofest.org “The Stages of Edward Albee” represents the final third of the nineteen year film project odyssey A New York Triptych. The project also examines the lives and work of poet, novelist and collage artist Charles Henri Ford in ”Sleep in a Nest of Flames” and Pulitzer prize-winning composer and diarist Ned Rorem in “Ned Rorem: Word & Music”. As run in abbreviated form on TheaterJones.com
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This is the end of everything. Inside an old workshop at an unknown location, Duncan and Gunda have laboured to build a special weapon that can wipe humanity from the face of the planet. In “The Dark Side of the Mind”, two young talented actors embody the never ending struggle between good and bad sides of the human mind. Duncan’s sentiments represent how mankind thinks in its darkest moments while the weapon represents his ultimate annihilative solution; all within this 3 minute film, the latest work of the young and pro-
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lific Italian director Giacomo Mantovani (Adamant, Political Asylum, 2011). This successful symbolic and intimate work has had 2 thousand likes in less than 5 days at the Virgin Media Short, one of the main short movie competitions in England awarding young talent all over the world and working with the BFI. “I make movies to open minds, not to entertain”. This is the worthy and challenging aim of Giacomo Mantovani. Let’s wait for more from this award-winning director who has already proven to have both talent and a great amount of technical skill.
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“Mankind is the problem and need to be destroyed”.
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
After the shooting with busboy Juan Rom
Cash prize for Journalist student
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niversity College Falmouth MA International Journalism student Emma Fry has landed £10,000 for her first professional documentary. Emma is the first student to have won the award and was the youngest among more than 100 applications from film makers pitching for the cash at this year’s prestigious Sheffield Doc/Fest. Emma filmed in Cambodia as part of her MA project at University College Falmouth and will now go back in November to use the £10,000 she was awarded to produce a full film.
The theme for this year’s entries was ‘Women mean business’ and Emma’s documentary will feature the work of female land mine clearers in Cambodia. Most of the land mines remain from the times of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Devices still buried in the fields have caused more than 40,000 Cambodians to suffer amputations as a result of mine injuries since 1979. Emma’s work documents the women who risk their lives every day undertaking land mine clearing as a profession. Women in developing countries are often led to believe they should have
little to do with commerce. Commenting on this Emma said: “It was nice to see these women play such an important role in their community and I was very surprised at how they showed no fear for the task at hand. “One of the women had a major in accounting, but seeing villagers injured by the mines she wanted to focus on helping these people instead.” For some time it was uncertain if Emma was even going to make it to the pitch, with dates of the festival colliding with her first planned trip to Cambodia.
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“I had to rebook the trip and I lost a lot of money on the flights, but I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss”, she said. The Sheffield Doc/Fest sees representatives of the British documentary industry come together under one roof. It attracts leading documentary makers and executives in British television. Speaking about her pitch and being the least experienced film maker standing up in front of the crowd, Emma added: “I was terrified, especially as it was my first public pitch – but the training and skills I have picked up on the Falmouth MA gave me the confidence to win.” Programme Leader of Journalism at University College Falmouth, George Matheson, said: “The MA courses provide students with a wide range of skills preparing them for the real working life of journalism with around 80 per cent of our MA students ending up with jobs in the industry after they’ve graduated.
The documentary will be shown on the Community Channel in the first instance but following the initial screening Emma will be helped in finding other outlets to showcase the film. A taster of Emma’s work so far is available on her blog: http://missemmafry.wordpress.com/ The award is funded by CBA World View which is supported by the government’s Action Aid
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oney agazine M Movie www.moviemoneymag.com www.ufmag.org
Leveson Inquiry dragging feet on £100,000 for Tailban Documentary Investigation or Not? Is paying the Taliban £100,000 during a time of hostilities an Act of treason?
Last issue we covered a story about an “unprecedented access” documentary on the Taliban that was made possible by paying the Taliban £100,000 in cash. This incident began with a series of negotiations – meetings about how the filming could be achieved. The media organization’s team approached a number of politicians and contacts who had direct links to the Taliban in Kabul. An agreement was put in place: upon receipt of £100,000 in cash, the media organization’s team would be given unprecedented access to the Taliban. We are led to believe that it was an assistant producer from the media organization who smuggled the £100,000 in cash through UK customs in hand luggage to Afghanistan. The deal was apparently sanctioned by the head of the media organization. We have no doubt as to the reliability of this information. Although this information was forwarded to the Levinson Inquiry and the US authorities no action has yet been taken against the Media Organization not has any contact been made with UFM. Perhaps the Medis Corporation is above the Law!
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“This is a fantastic award worth a lot of money and it shows that Emma is already able to compete with some of the best in the industry. I’m confident she’ll use the money to produce some great journalism.”
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
PRIVATE PEACEFUL B
ased on the bestselling book of the same name, PRIVATE PEACEFUL is a story beloved by many and written by celebrated author, Michael Morpurgo OBE, author of the smash hit novel WAR HORSE. PRIVATE PEACEFUL is the classic rites of passage story of two brothers and the exuberance and pain of their teenage love for the same girl, the pressures of their feudal family life, the horrors and folly of war and the ultimate price of courage and cowardice. PRIVATE PEACEFUL is set in the fields of Devon and the WW1 battlefields of Flanders, giving us a heart-breaking glimpse of the way we once lived – and still die. PRIVATE PEACEFUL is directed by established director Pat O’Connor whose body of work includes Cal, Circle of Friends and Inventing the Abbotts. With starring roles from exciting young talent, Jack O’Connell (Skins, Harry Brown), George MacKay (The Boys are Back, Defiance) and Alexandra Roach (The Iron Lady, Anna Karenina), PRIVATE PEACEFUL also features a host of British talent including Richard Griffiths (Harry Potter, Hugo, Pirates of the Caribbean), Maxine Peake (Shameless, See No Evil, Criminal Justice), Frances de la Tour (Rising Damp, Harry Potter, Hugo) and John Lynch (Sliding Doors, Cal). PRIVATE PEACEFUL WILL BE RELEASED IN CINEMAS ACROSS THE UK ON 12 OCTOBER 2012
Queen Ratling Jenny Maynard & all members of the Grand Order of Lady Ratlings welcome you to their events Annual Ball 21 October 2012 For details of GOLR events visit www.golr.co.uk or email the Secretary susannahkl111@aol.com
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Plenty of space for your descriptions in this place
Common Gender
Screening for Golden Globes in Beverly Hills
by PJ Pawlak Common Gender, Bangladesh’s entry for Best Foreign Film screened Saturday night in Beverly Hills at the historic and nostalgic Charles Adikoff Screening Room for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Directed by Noman Robin, Common Gender is based on a true story about the ostracization of Transgender people in Bangladesh. Shunned at birth, given up by parents these brave souls live together in squalor conditions surviving on handouts. So extreme is their group’s disfranchise, that they are not even allowed to be buried at the end of their time. The film follows such a group of Transgender individuals and how they cope with loss of family through hope, love and song and optimism. Common Gender had a long and successful theatrical release in Bangladesh which is one of the prerequisites for submission to the prestigious Golden Globes. The characters stay with you as you travel with them in their journey for recognition in their community. Costumes are colorful and dances numbers are spectacular.
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The after party was a delight with food provided by the Bangladesh community. Drinks flowed and conversations abounded concerning this very controversial subject. The highlight of the evening was a Bangladesh dance provided by one of the stars of the film Cindy Rolling in traditional Bangladesh costume.
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Iris Prize FestivaL
Issue 6 of 2012
HOMEGROWN GAY AND LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL
by Berwyn Rowlands
winner to make a new short film. It continues to be the largest LGBT film prize in the world and there lies the secret to her success. Iris is offering something unique – support, guidance and funding which will always be attractive to film makers from all over the world. The main film festival element of Iris has grown organically around the prize. We have seen a sustainable growth in our audience which from day one continues to be diverse - 30% identify as straight. This is very unusual for an LGBT film festival; it is normally about 2%, if that.
S
There are hundreds of film festivals if not thousands taking place all over the world. Many play an important role in making films available to an audience deprived of diversity at a time when it feels that our cinema screens are taken over by a small number of mainstream films. However in this post digital age I think you could argue that the audience is probably better served than at any other time, and today you can access films in many different ways: DVD’s, blu rays, on-line, TV, etc.
From the start the stakeholders, notably the UK Film Council (now the BFI), wanted the festival to be a celebration of excellence in story telling through film. This approach implies that anybody who loves cinema would have a legitimate interest in who would win the Iris Prize. So although we are first and foremost a gay and lesbian film festival our focus is equally split between the traditional issues of representation and a celebration of excellence and standards in film making. Careful marketing and programming coupled with entertaining guests and lots of socialising are the basic ingredients for any festival. With careful planning, hard work and an element of luck, success should follow, and the Iris journey to date is no different.
So why would you go about creating yet another film festival in Wales? And why would you make it a gay and lesbian festival. (Wales is generally not recognised as a global gay and lesbian player) “£25,000
for the
In this our sixth year, to keep things fresh, exciting and relevant we’ve tried going up a gear or two – this has become our motto for 2012 and I’ve asked this question when looking at the big stuff as well as the smaller details.
The answer to the second point is relatively winner ” straight forward (no pun intended). Wales post devolution is a confident place where the “yes we can” mentality is prevalent. So if you have a One of the biggest developments is our extra good idea there is a sense that anything can happen day, making Iris a five day festival. We’ve used the and adding Cardiff to that list of globally recognised gay day to introduce a new style Iris Awards hosted by Amy friendly capitals is both fun and scary but ultimately an Lamé, who visits Wales for the first time fresh from a achievable goal. I can see it now: Sydney, San Francisco, successful stint at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The and Cardiff (OK the first two are not capital cities but awards will include a champagne reception, lunch and you get my drift). entertainment; all the key elements people expect when you’re presenting such a prestigious prize. But why another film festival? I addressed this issue at the start by offering the Iris Prize and making this the Iris is a growing global family which is proud to call Carfocus. The Iris Prize is still a whopping £25,000 for the diff and Wales home.
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Jack Ryan F
ilming has begun on Jack Ryan with an all-star cast. The film is directed by Kenneth Branagh. The story follows CIA agent Ryan as he uncovers a financial terrorist plot that takes him to Moscow, London and New York. Written by David Koepp the movie stars, Chris Pine and Ben Affleck with Keira Knightley as his fiancé Cathy Muller, Kevin Costner as Ryan’s CIA handler Harper and Peter Andersson as security agent Dmitri Lemkov. Jack Ryan’s character previous screen appearances were The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and The Sum of All Fears. The movies is set for release at the end next year.
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Looking for a good Christian film? Check out the CFDb today!
CFDb is a Non-Denominational, Christian Film Data base
16mm • VHS • DVD • Blu-ray • VOD • Online Only
Contact us today (719) 687-4394
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Info@christianfilmdatabase.com • www.christianfilmdatabase.com
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
BBC ROCKED
BY CHILD ABUSE ALLAGATIONS
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The BBC alleged child abuse scandal that has hit the headlines recently has now become a threat to the existence of the BBC itself. Allegations of child about now incorporate two inquiries at the BBC and a Police investigation that involves hundreds of complaints against celebrities and a series of arrests are now imminent. The scandal bears an uncanny similarity to another recent exposé of child abuse in the UK. The discovery that the UK Media Haunt: the Groucho Club, had one of the the largest child abuse networks in UK history operating on the clubs online members only forum was simply covered up. Despite the network operating with complete impunity for almost a year on the members’ forum, where children as young as 7 years old were sold for sex, no
The Director-General of the BBC, George Entwistle, said that he would like to apologise on behalf of the BBC. However, he ruled out an internal inquiry into the damning child abuse claims despite a multitude of victims coming forward stating they were abused on BBC property. The BBC faced mounting pressure to investigate the damning claims.
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We now come full circle, and over a year and a half later, one of the UK’s most well-known and respected institutions is also under attack over child abuse allegations and another alleged cover-up. This time it’s the UK’s own BBC that has been rocked by allegations that children were abused at the BBC’s own studios in London by a host of celebrities. The recent avalanche of allegations followed claims by a woman who alleges that she witnessed the BBC celebrity presenter, Sir Jimmy Savile, and a convicted paedophile pop star, Gary Glitter, sexually abusing underage girls in in the dressing rooms at the BBC studios.
Entwistle added that the BBC would conduct its own inquiry “when the police have finished everything they have to do, and when they give me an assurance that there is no danger of us in any way compromising or contaminating an investigation.” He went on to say that any investigation would need to be done in “two phases,” and that the
The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, called for the allegations of sexu-
Police now investigating hundreds of complaints
action was taken. The Groucho Club discovery was also promptly followed by a Police cover-up and the destruction of evidence. UK politicians who queried the Police’s failure to fully investigate the paedophile network were presented with a false report.
allegations that have been made, and they are criminal allegations, and the first thing I want to say is that the women involved here have gone through something awful, something I deeply regret they should have to go through, and I would like to apologise on behalf of the organisation to each and every one of them for what they’ve had to endure here.”
Karin Ward made the claims in documentary on ITV, a major public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Ms’ Ward claims that she was abused by another television presenter when she was 14 years old, and saw Glitter having sex with an underage girl in Sir Jimmy Savile’s dressing room.
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al abuse to be thoroughly investigated. The PM said that the women’s claims of sexual abuse as teenagers at the BBC were “truly shocking.” He said that the allegations should be looked into by the BBC – and, if necessary, by the police. At this stage the BBC then did a complete U-turn: George Entwistle said the BBC Corporation would conduct an inquiry into alleged abuse of teenage girls after all, but only after a police investigation had concluded. Just hours after Mr. Cameron called for a full internal investigation, former BBC chief, Mark Thompson, who stood down last month, made the astonishing claim that he knew nothing about the alleged abuse of teenage girls and had not even heard “rumours” at any time during his eight years as DirectorGeneral of the BBC.
Mr Entwistle told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “These are awful
BBC would “take a look properly” after the police inquiry. “So, it’s critically important that we start by putting the BBC at the disposal of the police in this regard. Any BBC probe,” he added, “would examine the broad question of what was going on and whether anybody around Jimmy Savile knew what was going on.” After BBC presenter Jimmy Savile died on October 29 last year, the BBC’s Newsnight programme spent six weeks investigating allegations that he abused pupils when he was at the height of his fame in the 1970s. BBC journalists spoke to ten women who claimed they had been abused or had knowledge of abuse at the Duncroft School in Surrey, UK, which was shut down in 1980. But the investigation was never aired after Peter Rippon, the editor of Newsnight, decided to
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A British Politician, Mr. Rob Wilson, MP for Reading East, has written to the chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, urging him to ensure the BBC is totally transparent regarding all of the allegations being made. Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Mr Wilson said, “There’s a lot more to this than criminality – this is about a culture that apparently existed within, particularly the BBC light entertainment department and who knows where else.” Wilson added, “It was, according to those who were part of it, an environment where young girls could be molested and possibly worse, and female presenters groped. Now, this was allegedly tolerated, known about, and allowed to continue, and it’s alleged that a blind eye was turned to this. It’s becoming, with every passing day, more and more obvious that Sir Jimmy The Infa-
mous Groucho Club
Savile was rotten, but he apparently was not alone in this, and that the
culture in at least part of the BBC was utterly corrupted.”
anything they think might help, I would urge them to come forward.”
Asked if he would call for ITV to hold an inquiry as well, Wilson said, “I hope that any broadcaster that has these sorts of allegations moves very swiftly to deal with them.” About 40 people have now come forward. The police are also planning to investigate claims that Savile and an accomplice ran a sex ring at the BBC.
Although the BBC tried hard to evade the issue and put off calls for an investigation into the scandal, it would now seem that there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for the abused victims, as the Prime Minister has taken an interest. However, it remains to be seen if the BBC investigation will be open and transparent, or if it will follow in the footsteps of the Groucho Club and the wall of silence surrounding that reprehensible affair.
Wilson continued, “The BBC is designed in such a way that news and current affairs programmes are protected from the interests and influence of the rest of the organisation.”
He added, “With the benefit of hindsight I think we could all wish that Newsnight had been able to go as far as ITV went.” A BBC spokesman said, “Both the BBC Trust and the Director-General have stated that the police are the proper authority to look into these serious allegations. The BBC’s internal investigations unit is helping them in every way possible.” Mr Entwistle met with police, and subsequently wrote to his staff: “I wanted to write to you at the end of what has been a difficult week for the BBC, following
”
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Groucho Club forum had children as young as 7 available for sex
allegations from a number of women that Jimmy Savile sexually abused them when they were young teenagers during the 1960s and 70s. “Like everyone who works here, I was appalled by the things I saw in the ITV documentary. I am determined that the corporation will do absolutely everything it can to help find out what happened. I want to make it clear that full cooperation with the police on this matter is vital. If any staff member, past or present, knows
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To date, the management of the Groucho Club have refused to comment on the child pornography network, or issue a public statement outlining their position. Those responsible for destroying the evidence and covering it up have never been arrested or charged. Perhaps the time may now be right for an inquiry into the Groucho Club child abuse network on their own member’s forum which had 42,000 members. An inquiry would identify those who were complicit in the conspiracy to cover it up. It’s astonishing that not one of the 42,000 members on the forum reported the child abuse ring to the Police. However, given the political clout and connections of the chairman of the Groucho Club and conservative strategist, Mr, John Henry James Lewis OBE, it would seem highly unlikely. It was revealed recently at the Levenson Inquiry it was the same John H. J. Lewis who paid for Jeremy Hunt – the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport at the time – to fly to New York for a series of meetings to discuss the BSKYB deal with the Murdoch family. The user names and dates of birth of many of the forum users are to be published in the next edition of this Magazine. Information on the Groucho Club courtesy of the “Groucho Gate Affair” a book due out in early 2013
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the broadcast in December, shortly before the BBC broadcasted three separate tributes to the alleged paedophile, Sir Jimmy Savile, during the weeks surrounding Christmas, 2011.
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
AI on film advert_03_Portrait 27/04/2012 17:10 Pa
THE DOC TOP 100
BY martin Belderson
Recently, after twenty years of making documentaries for TV, I decided to make a feature length documentary movie. Coming from the sheltered world of TV, learning how films are financed has been a steep, scary learning curve for me.
real life stories of struggle and Courage from around the world
this is omar, a teenage refugee from somalia.
a life on hold
is a new film about omar’s life in a refugee Camp in tunisia. watCh at amnesty.org/refugees
Children of the Jaguar
an indigenous Community in the amazon Jungle take on the Combined might of the government and an oil Company in order to save their way of life and the rainforest they live in.
watCh at bit.ly/Jaguar-trailer
Find out more: avproduction@amnesty.org
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Now I’m not here to bore you with my trials and tribulations of the last year but one thing in particular fascinated me. It was the near constant variation on a theme I’d hear again and again from other documentarians, sales agents, distributors, production accountants, venture capital types, good friends, bad friends, people I struck up conversations with on public transport. Well, maybe not the latter, but you get my point. They all said, ”You’re crazy, there’s no box office in documentaries, never has been. Why would anyone invest in one?” It would often be qualified with, “Unless you’re Michael Moore, of course.” Sometimes Morgan Spurlock got a mention
It is plain that my definition of the word ‘documentary’ is not the IMDb’s. Sure, it is no surprise to anyone that ‘Fahrenheit 911’ is in there at Number One, but if they think ‘Jackass’ is a documentary, we are never going to agree. So I stripped out all of what I called performance films, mainly live concerts. As I have not seen all of the Top 100, it is a subjective opinion. How skimpy does the backstage coverage of a live gig need to be before it is crossed off the list? Justin Bieber survived the cull; Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus did not.
from the cognoscenti, but that’s it. They all thought that Don Quixote tilting at windmills was an act of sanity compared to what I’m attempting. It is true that only the most cynical person would make a documentary purely for the money. If they did, it would almost certainly be a terrible film. It is also true that a lot of documentary features get funded, produced and distributed every year, usually because they are publicising an issue of social justice and their backers accept that they will not make money. That’s great; those stories need to be told, but the weird thing is how, especially for a filmmaker coming from TV where documentaries cover a very wide
never has done, and was not worth the investment. I decided to break the remaining list down by decade of production, by sub-genre (social issue, music, natural history etc.) and by return on investment. A mere fifty-six seemed like too small a sample to do all this analysis, so I dug further down into the IMDb rankings until I had a Top 100 that matched my criteria.
spectrum, in the film world social issues are seen as the principle purpose of documentary. All those comments triggered my investigative instincts. Could it be true that only rarely do documentaries make a profit? Should professionals like me surrender the field to people with trust funds or activist groups willing to finance their projects? I decided to have a look at the Internet Movie Database (pro.imdb.com). One of the things you can do on their site is rank films by box office income. I did that and up came the top one hundred grossing documentaries of all time. Here, it got interesting. Take at look at the Top 10.
It is always a good idea to compare your information against another source, so I crosschecked the IMDb list against Box Office Mojo’s (boxofficemojo.com). IMDb bought BOMO a few years ago but, luckily for me, BOMO’s definition of documentary matches mine much more closely. Only one IMAX film (‘Born to Be Wild’) and one performance film (Martin Scorcese’s ‘Shine A Light’) snuck in their Top 100.
I looked again. And the big beast that is IMAX stared back at me. With their unique format, distribution, pricing and screening system, it seemed unfair to include them in a list of general box office. Wincing because there are so many IMAX films that I love; they too were struck from the list. That left just fifty-six true documentaries standing, with Michael Moore at the top and Werner Herzog’s ‘Grizzly Man’ in at the bottom.
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Now, remember that conventional wisdom says this genre, with a few exceptions, does not deliver at the box office,
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In terms of chart position, the two lists only agree about one film, ‘Fahrenheit 911’. The reason has to be that IMDb rank films by US box office and BOMO by the much larger worldwide box office. The US market is incredibly important to documentaries but averages 56.7% of those films in the Top 100’s where both US and worldwide box office are recorded. I discovered another strange quirk. Six of BOMO’s films are not even ranked by IMDb and eighteen of my adjusted IMDb Top 100 get no mention in BOMO. Enough was enough. I combined the two lists using largest reported worldwide income alone and drew up my own Top 100. Here’s the top 10:
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A vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock have to take a lot of the credit for the huge chunk of box office swallowed up by the current affairs sub-genre, but its success is not because of their films alone. There are fourteen movies in there, the same number as in the music sub-genre. I expected sport documentaries to do well, but this category is the big underachiever, possibly because US sports films do not travel well and soccer films have limited
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appeal in the US. There are plenty of them but they tend be low-ranking. The overachieving categories are natural history and mysteries. The former is no real surprise. Wildlife films have a global reach and easily overcome language barriers. The latter reflects the 1970s’ enthusiasm for Eric von Daniken, Noah’s Ark, and the mysteries of Ancient Egypt. I am sure some of you are dying to know what’s in the fake genre. It is ‘Catfish’ from 2010, which many think is a beautifully constructed romance disguised as a documentary. When I saw it I liked this film, but from almost the first minute was questioning how it could have been filmed without staging the whole story. Yet there is no advantage whatsoever in pretending it is a documentary. Should I have dumped it early on along with ‘Jackass I, II and III’? Maybe, but it is a lovely little film and the jury is still out on its authenticity. For the
time being it stays put. Natural history aside, most of these films could be made for less $2 million including delivering multi-format prints to distributors etc. Spend the same money on a low budget indie-drama and would you get box office like this? It would be interesting to find out. Maybe that’s for another article, but, as I’m talking about income again, let’s have a look at return on investment (ROI) which is a film’s box office income divided by how much it cost to make. Here the figures are problematic. Both IMDb and BOMO report budget totals, but only for about a third of the films. Also, there is no straightforward way of checking the figures are accurate. And there are way too many suspiciously round figures. With that in mind, here they are.
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dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga.
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
You can see for yourself the crazy spread of budget totals. ‘Super Size Me’ at $65K surely only reflects above the line costs. Preparing the deliverables alone would have cost at least $100K. At the other end of the scale, ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ comes in at what looks to me like a wildly over-priced $20million. I do believe the total for ‘Winged Migration’. It is a remarkable film and a technical triumph, but also an eye-wateringly expensive film to make. What can we make of all this? Not a great deal when it comes to ROI, although what is interesting is the spread of chart positions. If nothing else, it hints that size of profit does not necessarily equal size of box office. What then are we left with? I take many things from this research. It shows a broad
range of sub-genres attracted, and continues to attract, large audiences. At the top there is no dilution effect. Decade-by-decade, the number of successful documentaries is expanding and box office takings have kept pace. Also, big budgets are not a guarantee of success, either in audience or return on investment. Some words of warning. If you try to raise finance for your documentary using this article as evidence you will probably not impress any sales agents or sales companies you show it to. They openly admit they do not understand the genre and will only take your project on if you already have a finished film. There may be exceptions to this but I haven’t met one. I can understand their position. They too have to make subjective decisions but ones that affect their livelihoods. Why take a risk?
Another way of looking at it was put to me by a film financier when I discussed this research with him. “Say I have $20 million a year to invest, what am I going to do?” he said, “Invest in twenty $1 million documentaries over which I will not be able to keep control, or one indie [drama] costing the entire amount into which I can put all my energy to make sure it delivers a return? The answer is obvious.” So, no short cut to full finance, but at least you now know that documentaries do deliver at the box office; that you don’t have to be a Michael Moore or a Morgan Spurlock to do so; and that if you get the right story, there is a mass audience out there for it.
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Issue 6 of 2012
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
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Issue 6 of 2012
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
ron gilbert
column
Actor, producer and journalist Ron Gilbert ..
Silver Case shines in exposing Hollywood filmmaking
A
fter finally seeing this film on the big screen, at the LA Film & TV Festival at the magnificent Chaplin theater in front of an enthusiastic audience and I was blown away by the production values. This film is a great example for any filmmaker who wants the crash into the Hollywood film scene using their own vision and not governed by corporate film studio executives.
Director Christian Filippella and his producing partners Claire Falconer, Salvatore Zannini, Brian Keith Gamble, Corrado Musso and others put their metal to the petal driving this film into the most prestigious festivals with a film that is a low budget comedy. After screening at Rome International Film Festival, Fantafestival and Salento International Film Festival they won the distribution award at the Tolentino International. Film Festival and the film will be dubbed and released theatrically at the end of the year. So after screening at 30 film festivals and winning 11 festival awards which is not an easy feat they are still on the festival circuit.
I met Christian, who is also an AFI fellow, about 2 years ago, at a Cinema Italian Style function, when he was planning his filming schedule and he asked me to join the cast and I was happy to accommodate him. He was inspired by Italian Noir films from the 50’s 60s and 70s and had met Salvatore Zannino, who was a very important link in finding costumes and props that would represent this sort of bizarre extravagant world he had in mind. They felt that tailor looking suits for the leads Caesar (Chris Facey) and Barabba (Brian Keith Gamble) was essential and costumer Sarah Le Feber was amazing in helping to fine tune the looks for the director. He had modeled for Gianni Versace, Ingrami, Joseph Abboud, Marithe & Francios Girbaud, and is a model buddy of Channing Tatum, so it was a natural progression going from the fashion world to being a producer in the movie world. With very limited resources they managed to find wonderful locations that give to the film a strong feeling of reality even in situations which are quite far from being realistic. In fact, the film
is a grotesque satire about Hollywood, an adventurous dark comedy with hints of action and almost comic strip’s characters. Barabba and Caesar, the main characters, are two farcical thugs, arousing sympathy and they are everyday heroes, which make it is easy to identify with them. They talk simple, they don’t think too much and they fight hard to obtain their goals. They always wear the same clothes throughout the film, sweat, get dirty and drive an old cop car. It is impossible not to like them. Consequently it is easy to read their violence in the film as a form of survival so we all easily identify with them in our own daily life. Their reaction to the system is what ideally each of us would like to do but don’t because our educational makeup. So this film was more like a life experience for the director under the circumstances under which the film was shot. Due to budget reasons he had to cover many different positions from producing to production design, from editing to cinematography. To facilitate his
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work a few camera buddies helped him during some of the most intense filming days. Even with necessary compromises he stayed faithful to the vision we had before filming. In fact the film is a grotesque satire about Hollywood and the behavior which we have been subconsciously inducted into. This inspired the film and a look at the absurd world of Hollywood and its apparently illogical producing system. I think the answer is in Barabba’s surprising wisdom in his insanely long monologue in the camera car sequence “You know what the real problem is? It isn’t about the individual anymore. When you boil it down, we’re all just sheep. It’s the corporations taking over the world. And we just let them... I mean, it’s ridiculous that in order to get something you need to get something else and that thing you want or you need to get is tied to the other one you needed to get in the first place..So there’s no way you’re going to get that first thing without getting the second one and that’s because it’s simply impossible to get that thing without having gotten the other one first, which is the way it is”. Silver Case was made to break the rules without necessarily following all the logical criteria of movie production. Shot on digital and creating what the French New Wave and the Italian Neorealism did with filming and editing many years ago. Barabba, (Brian Keith Gamble) interprets this character magnificently by totally becoming an obstinate surprisingly smart criminal as stubborn as a mule. His marriage to his partner in crime .Caesar (Chris Facey) through the film is fantastic. He won out over 1000 actors who auditioned and observes the world around him with the eyes of a kid and seems to live in his own world when he suddenly has these genial intuitions. In casting other characters, Salvatore suggested Oscar nominee, Eric Roberts and he fitted him in a fashion sense in J. Lindberg suits, Rosetti & Moreschi shoes, and Emilio Pucci ties from Mantero showroom. So along with 2 Oscar nominees ,Seymour Cassel and Eric Roberts and the rest of the cast is also fantastic using diversity in casting with Asian, Latino, Italian and African American actors, Art Hsu, Alejandro Cardenas, Shalim Ortiz, Vincent De Paul, Claire Falconer, Fernanda Romero, Kelvin Han Yee, Brad Light, Ron Gilbert and Stanley B. Herman. The psychological and social valency of Silver Case is what makes this film so interesting to watch. Under the surface of apparently innocuous dialogue and a very simple motivating factor for the story, which is the missed delivery of the briefcase, there is a complicated world of significances. The subtlety of the movie and its characters is what makes this film a strong film. The worldwide recognition for a film shot in only 3 weeks using just a Canon 5D mark II and with a very limited budget is absolutely incredible.
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The next festival in September is the Long Island International Film Festival and Vegas Cine Festival on Friday, Oct. 5, 2012.
Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
ARIES
tarus
GEMINI
Three years of Karmic tests and self mastery in relationships with partners, agents, attorneys, and competitors ends this month and you graduate challenges that won’t return for nearly 3 decades. You now enter a new arena of mastery, tests, leadership, and Karma through sex, intimacy, reproduction, divorce, loans, debt, inheritance, settlements, investments, bankruptcy, alimony, child support, taxes, insurance, commissions, royalties, or partner’s money. This is where you want to get serious now. A new beginning opens up with romantic or business partners, representatives or opponents on the 15th and the 2 weeks that follow. Income peaks in achievements or endings by the 29th.
Saturn wraps up his 3 year test through work, health and pets and your relationship dynamics there. This month he begins the next phase which will take you into new levels of mastery, tests, leadership, and Karma through romantic or business partners, agents, attorneys, specialists, competitors, advocates, or opponents. These connections will require a serious approach, limits, responsibility, and commitment or endings. You get a fresh start at work, with co-workers, employees, services you offer, health, or pets on the 15th onward. Something about who you are, your body, image, or identity hits a high note by the 30th.
Relationship tests and Karmic encounters that have played out over true love, children and creative projects the last 3 years ends this month as Saturn leaves Libra. You now begin a new phase of tests, mastery, leadership, and Karma that will play out at work, with co-workers, employees, services, health, or pets. These areas will need serious approaches, limits, responsibility, and commitment or endings. New possibilities in love, with kids or creative projects open on the 15th and the 2 weeks that follow. A film, music or art project, hospital or addictive matter, clandestine affair, spiritual interest, research project, or investigation peaks by the 29th
LIBRA
SCORPIO
You have hosted Saturn for the last 3 years and are now graduating from the toughest personal and physical testing period of a 29 year cycle. You should feel like you are more grown up and self-reliant than you were when this began. You won’t have such a challenge for another 29 years. Now you enter a new test period that will involve mastery, Karma, leadership, ambitions, responsibility, and commitment or endings tied to income so get serious about the money you earn. You get a new beginning on a personal or physical level on the 15th and 2 weeks that follow so go for that new look, body, identity, or desire. Sex, divorce or big financial matters peak by the 29th
Saturn has been cleaning out your Karmic closet for the past 3 years helping you grow up and deal with anything hidden, addictive, or subconscious and to take responsibility for film, music, art, spiritual interests, psychic or magical interests, clandestine affairs, self-sabotage, hospitals, prisons or addictions, research, or investigations as you mastered new levels through these topics. He now starts a cycle through your sign which is the beginning of a whole new 29 year cycle of your life, baby steps are important as will be getting serious, stepping up, taking on more leadership for yourself, and structuring your life. New artistic, spiritual or romantic opportunities open from the 15th and 2 weeks that follow. A relationship peaks by the 29th.
SAGITTARIUS You have had serious and Karmic dynamics at play with friends, groups, the internet, astrology, charities, and aspirations over the last 3 years as Saturn has tested relationships here and asked you to deal with limits, loss or maturity between all of this. Now he lightens up here and moves into your Karmic closet where he starts a new cycle where you will master another level of responsibility through time behind closed doors, in retreat, with secrets, clandestine affairs, strategies, hidden enemies, hospitals, prisons, addictions, film, music, the arts, spiritual interests, psychic abilities, and development. This is where you will get serious, set limits, take charge, commit or end things. New social opportunities, internet or astrology interests, charitable works, and group affiliations open on the 15th and 2 weeks that follow. Work, health or pet matters peak by the 29th.
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zoemoonastrology@gmail.com or call 818-613-6067
CANCER
LEO
VIRGO
Three years have now gone by with tests, Karmic moments, and mastery over your home environment, moves, real estate deals, mom, family, roommates, and security needs. That testing now eases not to return for nearly 3 decades. Saturn now takes the next level of mastery, Karma and leadership into the area of true love, children and creative projects. These areas will now be serious and require responsibility, ambition, structure, commitment or endings. New opportunities at home, with moves, real estate, family, mom, or roommates open up on the 15th and the 2 weeks that follow. A peak moment comes by the 29th with a friend, group, social event, the internet, astrology, charities, or aspirations in celebration or endings.
Saturn has been testing your ability to grow up in the way you think, speak, write, deal with agreements, get involved locally, through short trips, with siblings, neighbors, vehicles, and electronics these past 3 years. This month a whole new set of tests, Karma and self-mastery begin that will play out at home, through moves, real estate deals, family, mom, roommates, and security needs or foundations. These are the areas of serious approach, ambition, mastery, and responsibility where you will commit or end things. New writing, agreements, sibling or neighbor opportunities, vehicles, electronics, short trips, local activities, speaking roles, and ideas open up from the 15th and 2 weeks that follow. Career and authority matters peak by the 29th
Saturn has been testing your ambitions and leadership abilities to earn money these last 3 years and putting your relationships with partners, competitors and representatives to the test as well as you mastered a new level here. This month Saturn takes his lessons, tests, mastery, ambition, and Karma into your communications, writing, agreements, local activities, short trips, sibling or neighbor interactions, vehicles, electronics, and ideas arena. You will be learning a new level here and getting serious about responsibilities, commitment and endings. New income opportunities open in the 2 weeks that follow the 15th. A legal, media, publishing, marketing, educational, or travel matter peaks by the 29th
facebook.com/zoemoonastrology Career and bosses, authority figures and ambitions have been where you have been tested by Saturn the last 3 years as he asked you to step up and learn another level of mastery here in relationship to partners, agents, attorneys, competitors, or other significant people. Saturn now exits this area and lifts that weight. He moves into your social arena where your next round of tests, Karma and responsibility will play out with friends, groups, the internet, astrology, charities, and aspirations. This is where you want to get serious, ambitious, commit to things or end them. New career or boss opportunities open on the 15th and 2 weeks that follow. A love, child or creative interest peaks by the 29th
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AQUARIUS Saturn has tested you and brought Karmic commitments or endings through legal, ceremonial, travel, foreign, media, marketing, publishing, or educational means these last 3 years, urging you to grow up here and reach another level. Now he exits this arena and moves into your Midheaven where you will now take on another level of leadership, test and deal with Karma playing out through career, bosses, authority figures, dad, reputation, fame, or ambitions. This is where you should get serious and know you will be making commitments or ending things. New legal, ceremonial, travel, media, marketing, publishing, or educational opportunities open from the 15th and 2 weeks that follow. A peak at home, with moves, real estate, family, mom, or roommates, hits by the 29th.
PISCES The loans, debt, inheritance, bankruptcy, settlement, insurance, taxes, commissions, royalties, alimony, child support, divorce, or sexual matters that have tested you and brought Karma to bear over the past 3 years end this month as you have mastered a new level of maturity here. Saturn now moves into the realm of law, media, publishing, marketing, publicity, education, travel, import/export, and foreign interest where you will meet new tests, Karma, and self-mastery. Your ambitions, leadership, and serious approach here along with commitments or endings, will see you through. New sexual attractions, divorce or financial opportunities open from the 15th and 2 weeks that follow. An agreement, writing project, sibling or neighbor issue, or decision peaks by the 29th.
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Universal Film Issue 6 of 2012
Mad Frankie Fraser A new docudrama on Britain’s most prolific killer, Mad Frankie Fraser. He is reputed to have killed 40 people, been certified insane 3 times and spent 42 years in prison. Available for Festivals! www.madfrankiefraser.com
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Fingal Film Festival
by Kevin Murphy
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR 2013
Followingahugelysuccessful2012,FingalFilmFestivalOrganisersare back at their desks preparing for next year’s spectacular event 2013.
S
eptember 1st is the official date for submitting films for consideration for the 2013 Festival, which is due to take place at May of 2013.
As the submission date is launched, the Organisers are planning a bigger event than last year, with a combination of workshops, equipment presentations. They also plan to host a Classical film section, Q&A Screenings and have a special section in the festival timetable for youth filmmakers to showcase their work, also we will be launching a short film Heritage and Culture section from Fingal. Managing Director Liz Kenny says; this year we expect to attract filmmakers in the thousands to the event as the Fingal Film Festival has now found its feet and understands what works best for us, after a wonderful year of learning from our 2012 Festival, which was a huge success. The 2013 festival schedule is guaranteed to wet the appetite of both established and aspiring filmmakers alike.
This year we are calling upon Filmmakers from all over the world to submit their latest work. We encourage new filmmakers to submit material, but this year are also looking for submissions from the more established filmmakers as well to showcase their work at the 2013 Fingal Film Festival says Creative Director Dave Byrne. We are looking for Art House Features and Shorts, Feature Films, Documentary Features, Short Films, Short Docs, Animations and anything else original and quirky emerging filmmakers are working on that may wet the appetite of our selection panel. Application forms can be found at www.fingalfilmfest. com Also be sure to check out 2012 “Behind the Scenes documentary FFF 2012” now showing on our website.
Normski Anderson
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Natasha Goulden www.ufmag.org
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