Not Made For This World reminds me of something the Smashing Pumpkins‘ D’Arcy might have sung. An addictive little piece, the single bodes well for the album.
Album launch on the 18th March at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden
Tickets (including a free copy of the album) are available here.
Alice Gun – Not Made For This World (Single Edit) by ambiguousrecords
(260310215625)il_gigante_3.jpg "Giant.")
I began reading Strasberg’s At The Actor’s Studio tonight, and on the first page, there’s a reference to James Dean‘s death (which happened during the year long editing of Giant), so I thought I should watch it.
Much is said of Dean’s (final) performance, but for me, the real star is the story. Filmed in 1956, Giant stands out as an anomaly for film at the time. A majority of the films I’ve seen about racism and segregation focus on the African-American experience, so this plot about the plight of Mexican communities in Texas, integration and class was deeply moving and enlightening.
It’s easy to see why Giant gained so many critical plaudits. Not only that, but 55 years on, and in the light of films like District 9 and Monsters, Giant is still relevant.
On February 16th, Self Made will make its international premiere in New York City. It will open the Museum of Modern Art’s Documentary Fortnight. I think that’s a thrilling occurrence. I wish I had the funds to get out there, but at the same time, I’m in class throughout February – and I’ve committed to it. Anyway, NYC is cold at this time of year.
I hope it’s received in the spirit of its creation. I’m sure it will be – I can’t imagine a better place for it to be shown.
Gillian and Sam will be there.
Today, it was announced that Self Made will feature at the ICA as part of 2011′s Bird’s Eye View Film Festival in London (March 11th). The festival looks great – I’m hoping to get along to a few films myself. As you can see from the short video, the 2010 festival had nothing to do with Cap’n Birdseye. Where is he, anyway?
No less exciting is the Irish premiere of Self Made over at the Dublin International Film Festival (February 26th). The only accompanying video I can find about this festival involves whisky, a UFO and a robot made of chairs. I don’t see the connection, but then – it is an ad.
Both screenings feature Q&A sessions with both Gillian and Sam.
A growing highlight on the UK’s cultural and film calendar which has received major national recognition in 2010, Birmingham’s Flatpack Festival returns in March 2011 with another roller-coaster ride across the frontiers of film.
Self Made will be screened as part of the festival on Sunday 27th at 6pm. Venue tbc. Full lineup announced mid February.
Flatpack Festival
23 – 27 March 2011
www.flatpackfestival.org
Some years ago, I was Administrator at the Peter Bedford Housing Association up in Highbury. The Association exists to assist people who have faced long term exclusion from society through homelessness, mental health problems, learning difficulties, or multiple needs.
According to Peter Bedford’s 2007 Annual Report, David Ainley, a tenant, won the Model Employee award as a result of the high regard in which he is held by staff and participants alike in the post of permanent Administration Worker.
When I was Administrator, David would come into the office to work. A highly intelligent individual, I always looked forward to David’s presence – and our ensuing chats that, as I recall, were based around music, literature, films, and what food Djamel (the cook) was making in the canteen that day. We had a lot of laughs.
Today, I was informed that David passed away in his flat last week. I’m truly saddened by this, and can think of no other tribute to him than to post this as a reminder of what a kind person he was.
RIP David Ainley.
Kids. Kids in rival gangs beating and stabbing each other.
Sometimes, dysfunctional children from homes that breed disillusionment, force them to drift into gangs. Or something. NEDS, directed by Peter Mullan, is an interesting look at a slice of violent, Glaswegian working-class life in the 1970s. My interest in seeing it was charged by the cast who were made up of non-actors.
Central to the plot is the studious John McGill who, once rejected by a middle-class school friend and his prig of a Mum, turns to violence. OK, it’s a little more complex than that – but that’s pretty much the crux of the matter. And so, John – our anti-hero – chooses a menacing form of social inclusion over education.
Though I enjoyed the film, I found it a little too long, overwrought and predictable in places. Coincidentally, after watching the Terence Davies Trilogy last night, I saw some aspiring parallels in content and construction. If I was to have a major criticism, it would be the music. There were poignant moments made unnecessarily melodramatic as an orchestra suddenly pull out a minor chord to aurally portray what the audience already knows is going on. I know it’s standard fair in film, but with the amount of attention already paid to period detail, and those Terence Davies nods, this sound design proved distracting and distinctly patronising.
Regardless, quite why there were only six people at the screening when The King’s Speech was continuing to pack them in, was baffling to say the least. NEDS deserves a bigger audience than the one I was part of. Maybe it’s the thick Glaswegian accent that puts people off (not that that hindered Trainspotting). Maybe it’s the fact that there’s no ‘A-list’ lead, or maybe it’s the content (but none of that affected the success of This Is England). Whatever the reason, I’ll be watching it again.
DEATH AND TRANSFIGURATION THE_TERENCE_DAVIES_TRILOGY_Title_0
Uploaded by BFIfilms. – Watch feature films and entire TV shows.
This is the final part of Davies’ trilogy as shot over several years.
I watched the whole thing tonight, and sobbed all the way through. Stark, beautiful, honest.
Bloody hell. I didn’t think Aronofsky could pull it off again. It wasn’t just the dizzying camera work and thrilling story that kept me captivated; the performances from Cassel and Portman were filled with truth and energy. Loved it. Best film I’ve seen this year, though the ending threw me off balance. Off to see NEDS tomorrow. I look forward to seeing how that goes.
One month without alcohol and how do I feel? Well, most noticeably, I sleep uninterrupted, and I frequently rise between six and seven a.m. without the use of an alarm. I’ve written an awful lot (not here, obviously), and I have a newfound energy that’s been lacking for years. My senses feel refreshed. I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but my sense of smell more effectively ties into memory at the moment. With this new energy comes an alertness and a happiness that I used to experience only intermittently. I’m not saying everyone should stop drinking, (I’d hate for this to be some kind of puritanical lecture). Put simply, not drinking has simply demonstrated how much I was drinking.
I’ve come through Christmas, New Year and my birthday without touching a drop. There have been times when I’ve longed for half a Guinness, but those times passed quickly. Perhaps the craving for a tiny hit of the black stuff indicates spending too much time alone in pubs last year. The first pub I went to in 2011, I was alone, but I bought a Diet Coke and won £8 on a fruit machine after an outlay of 50p. I only had that one drink all night. I’ve not spent anywhere near as much money as I would have normally done. I’ve eaten a bit more chocolate, though.
So, do I miss booze? I don’t think so, and – right now – I don’t feel the need to go back to it. It’s nice being sober. I don’t rant on Twitter in the middle of the night, I don’t get hangovers, I’m not broke, I’ve not had any seizures, I’ve not struggled to get home on the last tube or nightbus, and I’ve not thrown up from excess drinking.
Righteous.