Screened at 2024's Glasgow Film Festival, before a retrospective opening Gala to its daughter festival Glasgow Short, Bill Douglas - My Best Friend attempts to contextualise the life and work of one of Scotland's neglected cinematic talents. He was a filmmaker's filmmaker, and the influences on and influences of Douglas' work may not be immediately visible but they are there nonetheless, an undercurrent of quality that still has an impact today.
Though he was from Edinburgh, Glasgow Short have an award named after him. He attended film school in London, and while his Trilogy is autobiographical to his childhood his final film Comrades is of England and Australia, following the fates of the Tolpuddle Martyrs.
With a voiceover by Brian Cox, an opening interview with Lynne Ramsay, there's a very clear sense from the participants how much Douglas' work means to Scottish film. The subject, the title, are taken...
Though he was from Edinburgh, Glasgow Short have an award named after him. He attended film school in London, and while his Trilogy is autobiographical to his childhood his final film Comrades is of England and Australia, following the fates of the Tolpuddle Martyrs.
With a voiceover by Brian Cox, an opening interview with Lynne Ramsay, there's a very clear sense from the participants how much Douglas' work means to Scottish film. The subject, the title, are taken...
- 3/23/2024
- by Andrew Robertson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Six 8mm shorts by Bill Douglas were shown at the opening Gala of 2024's Glasgow Short Film Festival. Many had not been seen since the late 1960s when they were made, though clips from some do appear in Bill Douglas: My Best Friend.
By now Bill Douglas indulges in play with this from Bijou Productions, cutout characters making opening credits. Gerard Black's score is full of synthesiser bubbles and stabs, a later dreamlike aerial shot revealed in subsequent Q&a to be a treasure from trespass. A box of items is marked Black Magic because it's recycled from the chocolates, but its role seems perilously close to wizardry if not voodoo.
There are hints, entirely coincidental, of The Conversation, but that mixture of paranoia and surveillance is a heady one. So too the circling and revelation, as uncertainty is drawn to different poles like a malfunctioning compass. The live score at times.
By now Bill Douglas indulges in play with this from Bijou Productions, cutout characters making opening credits. Gerard Black's score is full of synthesiser bubbles and stabs, a later dreamlike aerial shot revealed in subsequent Q&a to be a treasure from trespass. A box of items is marked Black Magic because it's recycled from the chocolates, but its role seems perilously close to wizardry if not voodoo.
There are hints, entirely coincidental, of The Conversation, but that mixture of paranoia and surveillance is a heady one. So too the circling and revelation, as uncertainty is drawn to different poles like a malfunctioning compass. The live score at times.
- 3/23/2024
- by Andrew Robertson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Six 8mm shorts by Bill Douglas were shown at the opening Gala of 2024's Glasgow Short Film Festival. Many had not been seen since the late 1960s when they were made, though clips from some do appear in Bill Douglas: My Best Friend.
Though Bill Douglas would argue that Come Dancing was his first 'proper' film there's so much of his later work in Still Life that the counter might need set back. Based on a story of Peter Jewell's about a visit to the house of a woman that died intestate, this is an abstract, experimental piece, telling story through objects and allusion. There are some moments of motion among its tableaux vivant but a sequence of photographs is a masterclass in montage, not just editorially but in composition. Never did a doily indicate such doom, nor the vain hope of a banner on a Coronation mug convey such gloom.
Though Bill Douglas would argue that Come Dancing was his first 'proper' film there's so much of his later work in Still Life that the counter might need set back. Based on a story of Peter Jewell's about a visit to the house of a woman that died intestate, this is an abstract, experimental piece, telling story through objects and allusion. There are some moments of motion among its tableaux vivant but a sequence of photographs is a masterclass in montage, not just editorially but in composition. Never did a doily indicate such doom, nor the vain hope of a banner on a Coronation mug convey such gloom.
- 3/22/2024
- by Andrew Robertson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Six 8mm shorts by Bill Douglas were shown at the opening Gala of 2024's Glasgow Short Film Festival. Many had not been seen since the late 1960s when they were made, though clips from some do appear in Bill Douglas: My Best Friend.
The opening film of the set, it uses black and white to document the journey of a young woman to catch the last post and colour to show imagined luxury. The pivot for these is in the last shot, her cargo is a Littlewoods Pools Coupon. From those riches come dresses, pearls, fresh fruit, rooftop soirees, but even these fantasies are grounded in locale. Soho's Archer Street looks quite different now, but one can trace a probable course from there past Berwick Street Market to what's likely Poland Street on any number of online tools. The presence of a Durex logo on a lit sign above the.
The opening film of the set, it uses black and white to document the journey of a young woman to catch the last post and colour to show imagined luxury. The pivot for these is in the last shot, her cargo is a Littlewoods Pools Coupon. From those riches come dresses, pearls, fresh fruit, rooftop soirees, but even these fantasies are grounded in locale. Soho's Archer Street looks quite different now, but one can trace a probable course from there past Berwick Street Market to what's likely Poland Street on any number of online tools. The presence of a Durex logo on a lit sign above the.
- 3/21/2024
- by Andrew Robertson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The recent passing of Terence Davies and the tributes that followed — tales of a steel will, impassioned budgetary battles and a host of dream projects that never materialized — give this highly personal tribute to Scottish filmmaker Bill Douglas an extra and very poignant relevance as a similar story, now depressingly familiar to the British film industry, of an uncompromising talent who left us with a tantalizing promise of what might have been. Now largely unknown to the wider world but very dear to the heart of Scotland (despite the fact that he left his homeland at the earliest opportunity), Douglas is the closest thing to a Rosetta Stone in recent British independent and social-realist cinema. From his early home movies through to his last three-hour masterwork Comrades (1986), the director left an indelible imprint that still seems shockingly modern today, leaving traces in everything from Derek Jarman’s early Super-8 works...
- 11/2/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
After successful US screenings at Sundance and SXSW, Fremont has its international premiere at Karlovy Vary.
After world premiering at this year’s Sundance in the Next section, and also screening at SXSW, Babak Jalali’s fourth film Fremont has its international premiere at Karlovy Vary, where it it is vying for a Crystal Globe.
Born in Iran and raised in London, Jalali first came to prominence when his 2005 short film Heydar, An Afghan In Tehran garnered a Bafta nomination. His debut feature Frontier Blues premiered in Locarno’s official competition in 2009 while his sophomore effort Radio Dreams won the...
After world premiering at this year’s Sundance in the Next section, and also screening at SXSW, Babak Jalali’s fourth film Fremont has its international premiere at Karlovy Vary, where it it is vying for a Crystal Globe.
Born in Iran and raised in London, Jalali first came to prominence when his 2005 short film Heydar, An Afghan In Tehran garnered a Bafta nomination. His debut feature Frontier Blues premiered in Locarno’s official competition in 2009 while his sophomore effort Radio Dreams won the...
- 7/5/2023
- by Laurence Boyce
- ScreenDaily
Swinguerra - part of the 2023 Glasgow Short Film Festival Photo: Wagner & de Burca
Small but perfectly formed, Glasgow's 2023 Short Film Festival looks to continue many of the features that make it one of Eye For Film's favourite festivals.
This is the festival's 16th edition, and since its 2008 beginnings with The Magic Lantern it has grown in scale, scope, and Scottish programming. With a dedicated award (the Bill Douglas), audience and jury prizes, Gsff has time and again served as both an incubator and indicator of talent.
With at least 152 films, from A90 to Zoon, the range of subjects and styles is vast. I've often remarked that short film is the best film, but Gsff's wildly agnostic approach to terminology means that often the best film is 'short film'. While there's nothing approaching the sprawling Park Lanes (480 minutes) this year, Soda Jerk bring Hello Dankness. Their Terror Nullius was an opening gala previously,...
Small but perfectly formed, Glasgow's 2023 Short Film Festival looks to continue many of the features that make it one of Eye For Film's favourite festivals.
This is the festival's 16th edition, and since its 2008 beginnings with The Magic Lantern it has grown in scale, scope, and Scottish programming. With a dedicated award (the Bill Douglas), audience and jury prizes, Gsff has time and again served as both an incubator and indicator of talent.
With at least 152 films, from A90 to Zoon, the range of subjects and styles is vast. I've often remarked that short film is the best film, but Gsff's wildly agnostic approach to terminology means that often the best film is 'short film'. While there's nothing approaching the sprawling Park Lanes (480 minutes) this year, Soda Jerk bring Hello Dankness. Their Terror Nullius was an opening gala previously,...
- 3/19/2023
- by Andrew Robertson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Inspired by Hitchcock and admired by Truffaut, the great Scottish director has been largely forgotten – but 20 dazzling unseen miniatures could reignite interest in his masterly work
In his lifetime, film-maker Bill Douglas was acclaimed by cinema legends including François Truffaut and Luchino Visconti. After his death in 1991, the novelist Andrew O’Hagan called him “the best Scottish director ever”. Yet these days Douglas’s films are rarely, if ever, seen in cinemas or on television. Douglas produced a small body of work – just four films in nearly 20 years, plus a film-school short called Come Dancing – but what films they are. Through the 1970s, Douglas wrote and directed three black-and-white masterpieces – My Childhood, My Ain Folk and My Way Home, collectively known as the Trilogy – followed by Comrades, released in 1986, which tells the story of early trade unionists the Tolpuddle Martyrs.
In his lifetime, film-maker Bill Douglas was acclaimed by cinema legends including François Truffaut and Luchino Visconti. After his death in 1991, the novelist Andrew O’Hagan called him “the best Scottish director ever”. Yet these days Douglas’s films are rarely, if ever, seen in cinemas or on television. Douglas produced a small body of work – just four films in nearly 20 years, plus a film-school short called Come Dancing – but what films they are. Through the 1970s, Douglas wrote and directed three black-and-white masterpieces – My Childhood, My Ain Folk and My Way Home, collectively known as the Trilogy – followed by Comrades, released in 1986, which tells the story of early trade unionists the Tolpuddle Martyrs.
- 6/16/2021
- by Andy Kimpton-Nye
- The Guardian - Film News
Tilda Swinton has arrived just when we need her most to share a list of 11 favorite movies. The Oscar winner teamed up with the British Film Institute this month to list a selection of films she wants every moviegoer to see. Even better news is that Swinton’s list is accompanied by captions in which the actress shares some personal thoughts on each of her selections. Topping the list is Yasujiro Ozu’s 1932 drama “I Was Born But…,” which Swinton hailed as “a beautiful silent masterpiece about childhood, brotherhood, and learning about how to negotiate fathers and learn the rules of the game.”
The most recent entry on the list is Alain Guiraudie’s 2013 gay romance thriller “Stranger by the Lake,” about a young man who falls in love with a mysterious stranger at a gay cruising beach in France. Swinton said of the movie, “Exquisitely atmospheric summer cruising. Boys...
The most recent entry on the list is Alain Guiraudie’s 2013 gay romance thriller “Stranger by the Lake,” about a young man who falls in love with a mysterious stranger at a gay cruising beach in France. Swinton said of the movie, “Exquisitely atmospheric summer cruising. Boys...
- 3/18/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
In these strange times, one can find some comfort hearing stories from one of cinema’s most adventurous actors. Recipient of this year’s BFI Fellowship, Tilda Swinton recently took part in a fascinating one-hour, career-spanning conversation discussing her formative early days as an actor including deeply collaborative creative relationships with Derek Jarman and Sally Potter, as well as working with Lynne Ramsay, Bong Joon Ho, and her Oscar-winning work in Michael Clayton. (Fun side note: she had never watched the Oscars ceremony before winning.)
First, however, she also shared eleven of her favorite films, in case you need some viewing recommendations during self-isolation:
I Was Born, but… / Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu)Journey to Italy (Roberto Rossellini)La Belle et la Bête (Jean Cocteau)M (Fritz Lang)Medea (Pier Paolo Pasolini)My Childhood / My Ain Folk / My Way Home (Bill Douglas)Stranger by the Lake (Alain Guiraudie)Uncle Boonmee Who...
First, however, she also shared eleven of her favorite films, in case you need some viewing recommendations during self-isolation:
I Was Born, but… / Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu)Journey to Italy (Roberto Rossellini)La Belle et la Bête (Jean Cocteau)M (Fritz Lang)Medea (Pier Paolo Pasolini)My Childhood / My Ain Folk / My Way Home (Bill Douglas)Stranger by the Lake (Alain Guiraudie)Uncle Boonmee Who...
- 3/18/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Guy Maddn's Green Fog sets out to recreate Vertigo
As the last of our Glasgow Film Festival reviews filter in, we're ramping up for its younger, smaller, sibling.
Glasgow Short Film Festival has been stretching the definition of short film for some time, last year screening Kevin Jerome Everson's Park Lanes which comes in at some 480 minutes. What's never compromised on is quality - beyond awarding the Bill Douglas and Scottish Short Film prizes, this year's collection includes anthologies of Brazilian films, Banliueu voices from urban France, the ever-charming parent and baby screening and Family shorts amid much much more.
Eye For Film look forward as ever to bringing you highlights - including opening gala Terror Nullius' which mines Australian cinema fiction and cinema fact to create something whose pitch blends all sorts of things into genre chaos, the (free) drink sponsored awards ceremony, and a new Guy Maddin effort - in Green Fog,...
As the last of our Glasgow Film Festival reviews filter in, we're ramping up for its younger, smaller, sibling.
Glasgow Short Film Festival has been stretching the definition of short film for some time, last year screening Kevin Jerome Everson's Park Lanes which comes in at some 480 minutes. What's never compromised on is quality - beyond awarding the Bill Douglas and Scottish Short Film prizes, this year's collection includes anthologies of Brazilian films, Banliueu voices from urban France, the ever-charming parent and baby screening and Family shorts amid much much more.
Eye For Film look forward as ever to bringing you highlights - including opening gala Terror Nullius' which mines Australian cinema fiction and cinema fact to create something whose pitch blends all sorts of things into genre chaos, the (free) drink sponsored awards ceremony, and a new Guy Maddin effort - in Green Fog,...
- 3/11/2019
- by Andrew Robertson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Any list of the greatest foreign directors currently working today has to include Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. The directors first rose to prominence in the mid 1990s with efforts like “The Promise” and “Rosetta,” and they’ve continued to excel in the 21st century with titles such as “The Kid With A Bike” and “Two Days One Night,” which earned Marion Cotillard a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
Read MoreThe Dardenne Brothers’ Next Film Will Be a Terrorism Drama
The directors will be back in U.S. theaters with the release of “The Unknown Girl” on September 8, which is a long time coming considering the film first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. While you continue to wait for their new movie, the brothers have provided their definitive list of 79 movies from the 20th century that you must see. La Cinetek published the list in full and is hosting many...
Read MoreThe Dardenne Brothers’ Next Film Will Be a Terrorism Drama
The directors will be back in U.S. theaters with the release of “The Unknown Girl” on September 8, which is a long time coming considering the film first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. While you continue to wait for their new movie, the brothers have provided their definitive list of 79 movies from the 20th century that you must see. La Cinetek published the list in full and is hosting many...
- 8/7/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The best-known films of director Lenny Abrahamson, Frank and the quadruple Oscar-nominee Room, follow sad, and in some cases, broken souls as they search and fight for even the tiniest glimpse of happiness. Frank follows a band with an intentionally unpronounceable name, whose lead singer (Michael Fassbender) always wears a fake plastic head, concealing his scarred face from the world. In Room, a mother (Brie Larson) and her young son (Jacob Tremblay) survive a tragic fate, held prisoner in a single room for years on end.
The two films share an acute sensitivity to the lives of characters who struggle to make the best of the often brutal fates with which they’ve been burdened. Abrahamson listed the following ten films as his favorite in 2012’s Sight and Sound poll, a brilliant mixture of stories which as he laments in his quote, could have contained far more than a mere ten selections.
The two films share an acute sensitivity to the lives of characters who struggle to make the best of the often brutal fates with which they’ve been burdened. Abrahamson listed the following ten films as his favorite in 2012’s Sight and Sound poll, a brilliant mixture of stories which as he laments in his quote, could have contained far more than a mere ten selections.
- 2/3/2016
- by Tony Hinds
- The Film Stage
Two strong British programmes are running at top Mexican film festivals this month.
Mexico City documentary festival Docs Df (Oct 15-24) hosts the second leg of the Docunexion programme that British Council is running in partnership with Imcine, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Docs Df and Ambulante.
This training and mentorship initiative for emerging documentary makers from the UK and Mexico is delivered as part of the 2015 UK-Mexico year of exchange.
Jerry Rothwell, André Singer and Jo Lapping from the UK will give further dedicated development support to participants alongside three Mexican mentors. The programme culminates in a pitching session in front of international decision makers.
Claire Aguilar, programming director at Sheffield Doc/Fest, and Britdoc Foundation’s Luke Moody will attend as jury members alongside Julien Temple who will deliver a masterclass to accompany screenings of his films The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, Oil City Confidential and The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson.
The programme...
Mexico City documentary festival Docs Df (Oct 15-24) hosts the second leg of the Docunexion programme that British Council is running in partnership with Imcine, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Docs Df and Ambulante.
This training and mentorship initiative for emerging documentary makers from the UK and Mexico is delivered as part of the 2015 UK-Mexico year of exchange.
Jerry Rothwell, André Singer and Jo Lapping from the UK will give further dedicated development support to participants alongside three Mexican mentors. The programme culminates in a pitching session in front of international decision makers.
Claire Aguilar, programming director at Sheffield Doc/Fest, and Britdoc Foundation’s Luke Moody will attend as jury members alongside Julien Temple who will deliver a masterclass to accompany screenings of his films The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, Oil City Confidential and The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson.
The programme...
- 10/19/2015
- ScreenDaily
A survivor of the Lampedusa tragedy speaks in Morgan Knibbe's Shipwreck
The Glasgow Short Film Festival drew to a close today with its awards ceremony. Duncan Cowles received the Scottish Award for Directed By Tweedie, whilst special mention went to Cailleach. Morgan Knibbe won the Bill Douglas Award for best International Short Film for Shipwreck, about a survivor of the sinking that saw hundreds of Eritreans drown off the coast of Lampedusa.
The Channel 4 Innovation in Storytelling award went to Monkey Love Experiments directors Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson, whilst the International Audience Award was won by Don Hertzfeld's World Of Tomorrow, though Don himself (best know for providing voices in The Simpsons) was incommunicado and does not yet know of his success. The Scottish Audience award was won by Zam Salim for Dropping Off Michael and accepted by writer and producer James Price, who was extremely excited about their success.
The Glasgow Short Film Festival drew to a close today with its awards ceremony. Duncan Cowles received the Scottish Award for Directed By Tweedie, whilst special mention went to Cailleach. Morgan Knibbe won the Bill Douglas Award for best International Short Film for Shipwreck, about a survivor of the sinking that saw hundreds of Eritreans drown off the coast of Lampedusa.
The Channel 4 Innovation in Storytelling award went to Monkey Love Experiments directors Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson, whilst the International Audience Award was won by Don Hertzfeld's World Of Tomorrow, though Don himself (best know for providing voices in The Simpsons) was incommunicado and does not yet know of his success. The Scottish Audience award was won by Zam Salim for Dropping Off Michael and accepted by writer and producer James Price, who was extremely excited about their success.
- 3/15/2015
- by Jennie Kermode and Andrew Robertson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Dr. Jane Roscoe has been recently appointed as the new Director of The London Film School. She will take over from current Director Ben Gibson in August.
Jane Roscoe comes to The London Film School with over 20 years experience as an academic and broadcaster in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. At the Australian Film, Television & Radio School, she launched the Centre for Screen Studies & Research, and led a number of large-scale industry-focussed research projects. She has been Network Programmer at Australia's Sbs Television, and was responsible for launching Sbs Two. More recently, as the UK-based Head of International Content at Sbs, she acquired world feature films in a wide variety of languages, and brokered an impressive slate of international co-productions. She is a regular industry and academic commentator, and has published extensively on screen audiences, documentary and mock documentary.
Mike Leigh, Chair of Governors, said, “Jane is passionate about film education and innovation, and we are delighted that she is to join us to lead Lfs into our exciting new phase."
Jane Roscoe said, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead Lfs as it approaches its 60th anniversary. The move to the Barbican will further enhance the School's ability to educate for creativity, and stay connected to a fast changing film industry. It's going to be an exciting and challenging journey .”
The London Film School combines its status as a major international conservatoire with its role as one of the two leading British graduate film schools supported by Creative Skillset and the BFI.
At the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, films by Lfs graduates are represented in all the official sections – in Competition, Mr Turner, written and directed by Mike Leigh; In Un Certain Regard, Xenia, directed by Panos H. Koutras and The Salt of the Earth, co-directed by Lfs graduate Juliano Ribeiro Salgado with Wim Wenders; in Shorts Competition, Lfs graduation film Leidi, directed by Simón Mesa Soto, one of only nine films chosen from 3,450 short films to compete for the Short Film Palme d’Or. Newton I. Aduaka is one of fifteen directors selected for the tenth edition of the Cinefondation Atelier co-production showcase, with his latest feature Oil on Water. Lfs graduate Aygul Bakanova, who was a participant on the Cannes Residence programme, is screening in Directors’ Fortnight, with the Nordic Film Factory short film Void, co-directed with Milad Alami.
In December, Lfs announced its first major funding from Creative Skillset towards the development of its plans to transfer its operations from Covent Garden to a new site within the Barbican Centre in the City of London. The move is planned for 2016, when the school will also celebrate its 60th birthday.
The London Film School
Founded in 1956, Lfs is one of the world's longest established graduate filmmaking schools. It is constituted as an international conservatoire with 70% of its Ma Filmmaking students coming from outside the UK. The School offers a core 2-year Ma Filmmaking , a 1-year Ma Screenwriting , a 1-year Ma International Film Business and a PhD Film by Practice with the University of Exeter, plus around 50 Continuous Professional Development courses each year as Lfs Workshops .
Lfs has been selected by Creative Skillset, the UK government agency for audio-visual training, as one of three ‘Film Academies’, accredited as a centre of excellence.
Lfs graduates are established in film and television production in more than eighty countries and include Mike Leigh, Michael Mann, Duncan Jones, Tak Fujimoto, Roger Pratt, Ueli Steiger, Iain Smith, Horace Ove, Ho Yim, Danny Huston, Franc Roddam, Brad Anderson, Ann Hui, Marius Holst and Bill Douglas.
In 2013, Lfs films had 232 festival entries across 179 events, winning 43 prizes, nominations or special mentions. The tally breaks Lfs records for global visibility and graduate success. The list covers Toronto, Venice, Tribeca, San Sebastian, Clermont Ferrand, The London Film Festival, San Francisco, the BAFTAs and the Student Academy Awards.
More info at www.lfs.org.uk
.
Jane Roscoe comes to The London Film School with over 20 years experience as an academic and broadcaster in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. At the Australian Film, Television & Radio School, she launched the Centre for Screen Studies & Research, and led a number of large-scale industry-focussed research projects. She has been Network Programmer at Australia's Sbs Television, and was responsible for launching Sbs Two. More recently, as the UK-based Head of International Content at Sbs, she acquired world feature films in a wide variety of languages, and brokered an impressive slate of international co-productions. She is a regular industry and academic commentator, and has published extensively on screen audiences, documentary and mock documentary.
Mike Leigh, Chair of Governors, said, “Jane is passionate about film education and innovation, and we are delighted that she is to join us to lead Lfs into our exciting new phase."
Jane Roscoe said, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead Lfs as it approaches its 60th anniversary. The move to the Barbican will further enhance the School's ability to educate for creativity, and stay connected to a fast changing film industry. It's going to be an exciting and challenging journey .”
The London Film School combines its status as a major international conservatoire with its role as one of the two leading British graduate film schools supported by Creative Skillset and the BFI.
At the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, films by Lfs graduates are represented in all the official sections – in Competition, Mr Turner, written and directed by Mike Leigh; In Un Certain Regard, Xenia, directed by Panos H. Koutras and The Salt of the Earth, co-directed by Lfs graduate Juliano Ribeiro Salgado with Wim Wenders; in Shorts Competition, Lfs graduation film Leidi, directed by Simón Mesa Soto, one of only nine films chosen from 3,450 short films to compete for the Short Film Palme d’Or. Newton I. Aduaka is one of fifteen directors selected for the tenth edition of the Cinefondation Atelier co-production showcase, with his latest feature Oil on Water. Lfs graduate Aygul Bakanova, who was a participant on the Cannes Residence programme, is screening in Directors’ Fortnight, with the Nordic Film Factory short film Void, co-directed with Milad Alami.
In December, Lfs announced its first major funding from Creative Skillset towards the development of its plans to transfer its operations from Covent Garden to a new site within the Barbican Centre in the City of London. The move is planned for 2016, when the school will also celebrate its 60th birthday.
The London Film School
Founded in 1956, Lfs is one of the world's longest established graduate filmmaking schools. It is constituted as an international conservatoire with 70% of its Ma Filmmaking students coming from outside the UK. The School offers a core 2-year Ma Filmmaking , a 1-year Ma Screenwriting , a 1-year Ma International Film Business and a PhD Film by Practice with the University of Exeter, plus around 50 Continuous Professional Development courses each year as Lfs Workshops .
Lfs has been selected by Creative Skillset, the UK government agency for audio-visual training, as one of three ‘Film Academies’, accredited as a centre of excellence.
Lfs graduates are established in film and television production in more than eighty countries and include Mike Leigh, Michael Mann, Duncan Jones, Tak Fujimoto, Roger Pratt, Ueli Steiger, Iain Smith, Horace Ove, Ho Yim, Danny Huston, Franc Roddam, Brad Anderson, Ann Hui, Marius Holst and Bill Douglas.
In 2013, Lfs films had 232 festival entries across 179 events, winning 43 prizes, nominations or special mentions. The tally breaks Lfs records for global visibility and graduate success. The list covers Toronto, Venice, Tribeca, San Sebastian, Clermont Ferrand, The London Film Festival, San Francisco, the BAFTAs and the Student Academy Awards.
More info at www.lfs.org.uk
.
- 5/3/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Tenth anniversary of festival hits landmark for first time; Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin receives its Scottish premiere as the closing film.
Closing with the Scottish premiere of Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin, Glasgow Film Festival has confirmed that its tenth edition saw it hit 40,000 admissions.
With final box office figures unavailable at the time of writing, the festival (which ran Feb 20-March 2) has hit the 40,000 mark for the first time with a programme of 369 screenings, panel discussions, live performances and pop-up cinema events.
Speaking at the closing gala, festival co-directors Allan Hunter and Allison Gardner thanked the festival’s sponsors - Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, Event Scotland, Creative Scotland and the BFI. Gardner added: “We’ve had a truly wonderful time with the festival: great films, fabulous guests and the warmest audiences. Thank you very much for the support and a huge thanks to the massive team that’s worked so hard across a huge...
Closing with the Scottish premiere of Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin, Glasgow Film Festival has confirmed that its tenth edition saw it hit 40,000 admissions.
With final box office figures unavailable at the time of writing, the festival (which ran Feb 20-March 2) has hit the 40,000 mark for the first time with a programme of 369 screenings, panel discussions, live performances and pop-up cinema events.
Speaking at the closing gala, festival co-directors Allan Hunter and Allison Gardner thanked the festival’s sponsors - Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, Event Scotland, Creative Scotland and the BFI. Gardner added: “We’ve had a truly wonderful time with the festival: great films, fabulous guests and the warmest audiences. Thank you very much for the support and a huge thanks to the massive team that’s worked so hard across a huge...
- 3/3/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
(Yak) Butter Lamp
Impulsively created Chinese documentary The Questioning won the Bill Douglas Award in the Glasgow Short Film Festival awards ceremony tonight, with a special mention going to Robin McKay's How To Abandon Ship. The International Audience Award winner was (Yak) Butter Lamp and the Euroshort prize went to Matus Vizar's Pandas.
Hu Wei was unable to attend as he is currently working on his next film in Beijing. He did send a message re-played at the awards ceremony, describing himself as "very, very excited and happy" to have won an award he described as "a great honour". He dedicated it to "the people working for freedom in China", describing it as "a very important award for [himself] and [his] friends".
Robin McKay was in attendance, describing herself as "humbled by the calibre of the work" being screened at the Festival. The international jury were effusive in their praise describing that.
Impulsively created Chinese documentary The Questioning won the Bill Douglas Award in the Glasgow Short Film Festival awards ceremony tonight, with a special mention going to Robin McKay's How To Abandon Ship. The International Audience Award winner was (Yak) Butter Lamp and the Euroshort prize went to Matus Vizar's Pandas.
Hu Wei was unable to attend as he is currently working on his next film in Beijing. He did send a message re-played at the awards ceremony, describing himself as "very, very excited and happy" to have won an award he described as "a great honour". He dedicated it to "the people working for freedom in China", describing it as "a very important award for [himself] and [his] friends".
Robin McKay was in attendance, describing herself as "humbled by the calibre of the work" being screened at the Festival. The international jury were effusive in their praise describing that.
- 2/16/2014
- by Jennie Kermode and Andrew Robertson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Scottish author James Hogg's 1824 novel The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, a kind of religious satire/polemic crossed with a doppelganger tale and a forerunner of the plot twists of both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Fight Club, ends with a curse against anyone tampering with its text.
In 1988, celebrated Scots filmmaker Bill Douglas prepared a screenplay adaptation, but died before he could get it made. I was present when the producer suggested it as a suitable project for Lindsay Anderson to take over, but Anderson himself died not long afterwards. A fresh script has recently been created by crime writer Ian Rankin and James Mavor, but has yet to go before the cameras. Those involved are advised to beware falling objects, shadowy assassins, sudden illnesses.
But in 1985, Polish director Wojciech Has created his own version, Osobisty pamietnik grzesznika przez niego samego spisany, known more...
In 1988, celebrated Scots filmmaker Bill Douglas prepared a screenplay adaptation, but died before he could get it made. I was present when the producer suggested it as a suitable project for Lindsay Anderson to take over, but Anderson himself died not long afterwards. A fresh script has recently been created by crime writer Ian Rankin and James Mavor, but has yet to go before the cameras. Those involved are advised to beware falling objects, shadowy assassins, sudden illnesses.
But in 1985, Polish director Wojciech Has created his own version, Osobisty pamietnik grzesznika przez niego samego spisany, known more...
- 11/13/2013
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
★★☆☆☆ Every now and then you suspect that a film gains cult status simply because it's seldom been seen. Take for instance Saxon Logan's Sleepwalker (1984). So few people have sampled this bizarre horror-thriller since its initial release that it was doubted as to whether it even existed at all. But exist it does, and the film - starring Joanna David, Nickolas Grace, Heather Page and Bill Douglas and released by the BFI as part of their Flipside series - is a thoroughly odd concoction. A storm-lashed evening sees a visit by Angela (David) and her husband Richard (Grace) to their friends Marion (Page) and Alex (Douglas).
The seemingly happy couple have just inherited a lonely and dilapidated country house. As the night wares on, however, and tensions between the four individuals reach boiling point, the party meets a shattering and unexpectedly bloody conclusion. Unfortunately, for all the initial intrigue, Sleepwalker...
The seemingly happy couple have just inherited a lonely and dilapidated country house. As the night wares on, however, and tensions between the four individuals reach boiling point, the party meets a shattering and unexpectedly bloody conclusion. Unfortunately, for all the initial intrigue, Sleepwalker...
- 9/24/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Noah Baumbach's boho New York comedy is saved from shapelessness by leading lady Greta Gerwig, not his decision to shoot in black and white
Frances Ha was a something of a problem for me. On the one hand I've never much liked the work of writer-director Noah Baumbach, finding it awash in NY-boho insularity and parochialism. For all its nouvelle vague flourishes, its Raoul Coutard-ish black-and-white cinematography, and its quintessentially French directorial obsession with its leading lady, Frances Ha is bedevilled by a vignette-based shapelessness that it never quite overcomes and a self-absorption it can't shake. On the other hand, it stars – indeed, almost fetishises – Baumbach's partner and co-writer Greta Gerwig, whom I've liked since I first saw her in Hannah Takes The Stairs, absent-mindedly looping a luminous green thread around her nipple. It is her charm, beauty, daffiness and combination of smarts and unself-awareness that give the movie what energy it has.
Frances Ha was a something of a problem for me. On the one hand I've never much liked the work of writer-director Noah Baumbach, finding it awash in NY-boho insularity and parochialism. For all its nouvelle vague flourishes, its Raoul Coutard-ish black-and-white cinematography, and its quintessentially French directorial obsession with its leading lady, Frances Ha is bedevilled by a vignette-based shapelessness that it never quite overcomes and a self-absorption it can't shake. On the other hand, it stars – indeed, almost fetishises – Baumbach's partner and co-writer Greta Gerwig, whom I've liked since I first saw her in Hannah Takes The Stairs, absent-mindedly looping a luminous green thread around her nipple. It is her charm, beauty, daffiness and combination of smarts and unself-awareness that give the movie what energy it has.
- 7/22/2013
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
Ainslie Henderson's I Am Tom Moody won the Scottish audience award at the Glasgow Short Film Festival tonight, with the Scottish Jury Award going to Pouters, which impressed the judges with its "subtle and original approach" and strong cinematic style. Karama Has No Walls received a special mention for its powerful and human storytelling, and the International Audience Award went to Fear Of Flying.
The Bill Douglas Award from the International Jury went to Enraged Pigs, which was described as a mesmerising journey and a challenge to what film is and can do. Its excited producers attended via Skype from Brazil. The jury made special mention of Oh Willy and gave high paise for the overall quality of the shorts.
Our reviewer takes notes.
The four-day festival, held in Glasgow's Centre for Contemporary Arts, has seen filmmakers mingle with fans in and around screenings, workshops and parties. An accident on the first.
The Bill Douglas Award from the International Jury went to Enraged Pigs, which was described as a mesmerising journey and a challenge to what film is and can do. Its excited producers attended via Skype from Brazil. The jury made special mention of Oh Willy and gave high paise for the overall quality of the shorts.
Our reviewer takes notes.
The four-day festival, held in Glasgow's Centre for Contemporary Arts, has seen filmmakers mingle with fans in and around screenings, workshops and parties. An accident on the first.
- 2/10/2013
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Sundance Film Festival kicks off out in Park City today, bringing some of the year’s most anticipated independent films to the big screen. Following shortly after will be the Berlinale next month, and SXSW in March, which has just debuted a very promising initial line-up. And now the first big film festival on our shores, the Glasgow Film Festival, has announced its line-up, and it is absolutely exceptional.
Opening the events on Valentine’s Day next month will be Régis Roinsard’s Populaire, starring Romain Duris, Déborah François, and Bérénice Bejo, getting its UK premiere.
And closing the festival will be Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, the great writer-director’s contemporary adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play. Similarly seeing its UK premiere, the film stars an ensemble that will please all Whedon fans, led by Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof, with fine support from Fran Kranz, Clark Gregg,...
Opening the events on Valentine’s Day next month will be Régis Roinsard’s Populaire, starring Romain Duris, Déborah François, and Bérénice Bejo, getting its UK premiere.
And closing the festival will be Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, the great writer-director’s contemporary adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play. Similarly seeing its UK premiere, the film stars an ensemble that will please all Whedon fans, led by Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof, with fine support from Fran Kranz, Clark Gregg,...
- 1/17/2013
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Still from Vanishing Point
Abhijit Mazumdar’s Vanishing Point has been selected for International Competition section of Glasgow Short Film Festival 2013. The 13 selected shorts will contend for the Bill Douglas Award for International Short Film.
“Two characters are walking on screen. One in slow motion and the other in fast motion. Can they ever walk in synch? Perhaps they can…at the vanishing point. Where parallels converge and the impossible happens. This film tries to explore the absurdities of human connects and disconnects. Within and without,” reads the description of the film on its Facebook page.
The 40-minute short film was recently screened in the Non Feature section of the Indian Panorama at International Film Festival of India (Iffi) 2012.
The 6th Glasgow Short Film Festival will run from 7th to 10th February, 2013. It is held under the umbrella Glasgow Film Festival which also organizes Youth Film Festival and Frightfest.
Abhijit Mazumdar’s Vanishing Point has been selected for International Competition section of Glasgow Short Film Festival 2013. The 13 selected shorts will contend for the Bill Douglas Award for International Short Film.
“Two characters are walking on screen. One in slow motion and the other in fast motion. Can they ever walk in synch? Perhaps they can…at the vanishing point. Where parallels converge and the impossible happens. This film tries to explore the absurdities of human connects and disconnects. Within and without,” reads the description of the film on its Facebook page.
The 40-minute short film was recently screened in the Non Feature section of the Indian Panorama at International Film Festival of India (Iffi) 2012.
The 6th Glasgow Short Film Festival will run from 7th to 10th February, 2013. It is held under the umbrella Glasgow Film Festival which also organizes Youth Film Festival and Frightfest.
- 12/22/2012
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
★★★★☆ With queer cinema experiencing something of a renaissance in recent years, the 2012 release of Encounters: Four ground-breaking classics of gay cinema - made up of short films by Lloyd Reckord, Andy Milligan, Bill Douglas and Peter De Rome - feels somewhat essential. Curated by the British Film Institute, this new collection showcases the very best of classic queer cinema, all the while shedding light on the overwhelming progress the film industry has made in regards to making films that deal with or feature important gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender characters or issues.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 3/26/2012
- by CineVue
- CineVue
Tumult takes international audience award.
The Glasgow Short Film Festival announced its annual awards tonight at a ceremony in the Centre for Contemporary Arts (Cca). Viking adventure Tumult took the international audience award whilst the Bill Douglas award - chosen by the jury to recognise the Best International Short Film - went to Fini, a personal story about an elderly man who doesn't let his mental decline stop him having fun.
The...
The Glasgow Short Film Festival announced its annual awards tonight at a ceremony in the Centre for Contemporary Arts (Cca). Viking adventure Tumult took the international audience award whilst the Bill Douglas award - chosen by the jury to recognise the Best International Short Film - went to Fini, a personal story about an elderly man who doesn't let his mental decline stop him having fun.
The...
- 2/12/2012
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
"After a period in which versions of Austen hogged our screens, the Brontës have fought back," writes Boyd Tonkin in a piece for the Independent that begins, by the way, with a brief but rousing history of Charlotte's detestation of Jane Austen. "Released today, Andrea Arnold's savagely uncompromising Wuthering Heights joins a line of adaptations of Emily's only surviving novel that began in 1920 (a lost work by Av Bramble) and went on to include renderings from directors as varied as William Wyler — with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon still the ranking Heathcliff and Cathy Earnshaw to many fans — and Yoshishige Yoshida, Luis Buñuel and Jacques Rivette. Earlier this year, Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre, with Mia Wasikowska as the uncowed governess and Michael Fassbender the sulphurous Mr Rochester, offered a rather smoother ride through another much-adapted book, albeit one that shares with Arnold — and the Brontës — a rapt attention...
- 11/13/2011
- MUBI
Some of the finest directors have produced masterful triptychs. But do we really need a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean?
It currently seems the only three that interests Hollywood relates to dimensionality. The reverence once extended to the film trilogy is fast diminishing, and although third instalments are due for Transformers, Ong-Bak, Paranormal Activity, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Men in Black, Madagascar, Batman and Iron Man, only the first two have been announced as series finales.
Indeed, with Scre4m, Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides and Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World soon to be followed by fourth entries in the Austin Powers, Mission: Impossible, Underworld and Bourne franchises, the trilogy could soon go the way of the 2D movie, as the synergy-obsessed suits controlling the multi-media conglomerates now owning the major studios adhere to the maxim that familiarity breeds both content and profit.
It currently seems the only three that interests Hollywood relates to dimensionality. The reverence once extended to the film trilogy is fast diminishing, and although third instalments are due for Transformers, Ong-Bak, Paranormal Activity, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Men in Black, Madagascar, Batman and Iron Man, only the first two have been announced as series finales.
Indeed, with Scre4m, Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides and Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World soon to be followed by fourth entries in the Austin Powers, Mission: Impossible, Underworld and Bourne franchises, the trilogy could soon go the way of the 2D movie, as the synergy-obsessed suits controlling the multi-media conglomerates now owning the major studios adhere to the maxim that familiarity breeds both content and profit.
- 4/25/2011
- by David Parkinson
- The Guardian - Film News
The BFI's assumption of the UK Film Council's responsibilities continues a decades-long saga of chopping and changing in the British film industry
This morning's announcement by Ed Vaizey confirms the rumours that have been circulating from pretty much the moment that the UK Film Council was abolished: the British Film Institute will be picking up the reins of lottery-fund distribution to the film industry. What's remarkable is that, after over two decades of chopping and changing, we are back where we were in the late 1980s: the BFI is the only game in town.
It's especially extraordinary given the kind of rhetoric that accompanied the establishment of the UK Film Council in 2000. When John Woodward was appointed the UK Film Council's chief executive in 2000, an interview he gave to the Guardian was perceived to be a not-especially-coded attack on the kind of – largely experimental – film the BFI's production...
This morning's announcement by Ed Vaizey confirms the rumours that have been circulating from pretty much the moment that the UK Film Council was abolished: the British Film Institute will be picking up the reins of lottery-fund distribution to the film industry. What's remarkable is that, after over two decades of chopping and changing, we are back where we were in the late 1980s: the BFI is the only game in town.
It's especially extraordinary given the kind of rhetoric that accompanied the establishment of the UK Film Council in 2000. When John Woodward was appointed the UK Film Council's chief executive in 2000, an interview he gave to the Guardian was perceived to be a not-especially-coded attack on the kind of – largely experimental – film the BFI's production...
- 11/29/2010
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
The strike by women at the Dagenham Ford factory in 1968 that led to the Equal Pay Act is given the Calendar Girls treatment
Andrzej Wajda's superb Man of Iron (1981) was shot in the Gdansk shipyards at the very heart of Solidarity's activities, gave Lech Walesa a brief role as himself, and became part of the political process it commented on. It was a rare case of a feature film based on a major episode in the history of organised labour made close to the actual events. More typically, Mario Monicelli's The Organizer (1963) was a bracing reconstruction of a strike in late 19th-century Turin. Bo Widerberg's Adalen 31 (1969) lyrically recreated the violent strike in northern Sweden that ushered in 40 years of Social Democratic government.
There was an even greater gap in the case of Comrades (1986), Bill Douglas's epic account of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, the Dorset labourers transported...
Andrzej Wajda's superb Man of Iron (1981) was shot in the Gdansk shipyards at the very heart of Solidarity's activities, gave Lech Walesa a brief role as himself, and became part of the political process it commented on. It was a rare case of a feature film based on a major episode in the history of organised labour made close to the actual events. More typically, Mario Monicelli's The Organizer (1963) was a bracing reconstruction of a strike in late 19th-century Turin. Bo Widerberg's Adalen 31 (1969) lyrically recreated the violent strike in northern Sweden that ushered in 40 years of Social Democratic government.
There was an even greater gap in the case of Comrades (1986), Bill Douglas's epic account of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, the Dorset labourers transported...
- 10/2/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Philip French speaks to Ridley Scott, Ken Russell, Gurinder Chadha, Shane Meadows and Stephen Frears about their debut pictures and detects the styles of the then-fledgling auteurs
Do artists discover a personal style and develop their themes gradually or are these to be found in embryonic form in their earliest works? There's no easy answer to this dual question. Take, for example, Ken Russell's Amelia and the Angel (1957), Ridley Scott's Boy and Bicycle (1965), Stephen Frears's The Burning (1967), Gurinder Chadha's I'm British But… (1989) and Shane Meadows's Where's the Money, Ronnie? (1995). All were made on shoestring budgets and each lasts less than half an hour.
First, presented with the directors' names and the credits concealed, would you be able to match up film and film-maker? I think most moviegoers could, which suggests there is something in these first movies that we would now recognise as characteristic. Second,...
Do artists discover a personal style and develop their themes gradually or are these to be found in embryonic form in their earliest works? There's no easy answer to this dual question. Take, for example, Ken Russell's Amelia and the Angel (1957), Ridley Scott's Boy and Bicycle (1965), Stephen Frears's The Burning (1967), Gurinder Chadha's I'm British But… (1989) and Shane Meadows's Where's the Money, Ronnie? (1995). All were made on shoestring budgets and each lasts less than half an hour.
First, presented with the directors' names and the credits concealed, would you be able to match up film and film-maker? I think most moviegoers could, which suggests there is something in these first movies that we would now recognise as characteristic. Second,...
- 9/25/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
It might be derided as 'poverty porn', but social realism provides British film-makers with a poetic – and relatively cheap – way to make truly great cinema
The sight of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach soaking up the plaudits at Cannes should have been omen enough. Then, with impeccable timing, came this week's sun-kissed announcement of the long-pending first round of government cuts, Tory chancellor George Osborne ushering in the new age of penury. For the observer of British cinema, these twin signs could mean only one thing: an imminent new wave of social realism, a gold rush of movies about dole claims, manky flats, smack habits and black eyes. I can see you wincing from here.
But personally, should such a thing arise, I'll welcome it. For one thing, in contrast to, say, the CGI-laden blockbuster, social realism has always been something British cinema is actually good at. Invariably cheap to...
The sight of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach soaking up the plaudits at Cannes should have been omen enough. Then, with impeccable timing, came this week's sun-kissed announcement of the long-pending first round of government cuts, Tory chancellor George Osborne ushering in the new age of penury. For the observer of British cinema, these twin signs could mean only one thing: an imminent new wave of social realism, a gold rush of movies about dole claims, manky flats, smack habits and black eyes. I can see you wincing from here.
But personally, should such a thing arise, I'll welcome it. For one thing, in contrast to, say, the CGI-laden blockbuster, social realism has always been something British cinema is actually good at. Invariably cheap to...
- 5/28/2010
- by Danny Leigh
- The Guardian - Film News
I really hope there are no major changes of management at the British Film Institute. Like, ever. It's not because I have a long-standing respect for that oft-august body (although I do, I really do). And it's not that I spend a sufficient amount of time in Britain to take advantage of the many services the body offers over there (although I would, if I were spending any particular stretch of time in that place). It's pretty much because I'm thoroughly nuts about the Institute's DVD arm as it's currently constituted, and would love for it to continue doing as it does for as long as I'm around to be thoroughly nuts about it.
It's true that some of the miraculous feats of said arm are due to be reproduced, to some extent, here in the States; the Criterion Collection is coming out with Blu-ray discs of Antonioni's Red Desert and Visconti's The Leopard,...
It's true that some of the miraculous feats of said arm are due to be reproduced, to some extent, here in the States; the Criterion Collection is coming out with Blu-ray discs of Antonioni's Red Desert and Visconti's The Leopard,...
- 5/25/2010
- MUBI
More familiar with life on the fringes of British cinema, director Sally Potter finds herself the subject of a BFI retrospective. But she has no interest in looking back
In the late 1980s, Sally Potter was scratching around for funding to make Orlando, the Virginia Woolf adaptation widely considered her finest film, as well as a formative moment in the career of its star, Tilda Swinton. Potter's friend, the visionary director Michael Powell, had secured her a 10-minute meeting with Martin Scorsese, in which she hoped to convince him to extend a helping hand to a fellow maverick.
"Tilda and I went with our producer to meet Scorsese in New York," says the 60-year-old Potter, seated at a table in her east London office. "We walked into his place and nearly fainted with admiration. He then proceeded to spend the entire 10 minutes talking about how incredibly difficult life was for...
In the late 1980s, Sally Potter was scratching around for funding to make Orlando, the Virginia Woolf adaptation widely considered her finest film, as well as a formative moment in the career of its star, Tilda Swinton. Potter's friend, the visionary director Michael Powell, had secured her a 10-minute meeting with Martin Scorsese, in which she hoped to convince him to extend a helping hand to a fellow maverick.
"Tilda and I went with our producer to meet Scorsese in New York," says the 60-year-old Potter, seated at a table in her east London office. "We walked into his place and nearly fainted with admiration. He then proceeded to spend the entire 10 minutes talking about how incredibly difficult life was for...
- 12/4/2009
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
The driver who crashed Miley Cyrus's tour bus suffered a cardiac arrest moments before the accident, new reports claim. The vehicle was flipped while travelling to a gig in Greensboro, Nc last week, killing operator Bill Douglas and injuring nine others. According to Access Hollywood, who claims to have obtained a leaked emergency phone call, Douglas may have been experiencing heart problems (more)...
- 11/23/2009
- by By Oli Simpson
- Digital Spy
Miley Cyrus will still continue her Wonder World traveling show despite the tour bus crash which killed its driver Bill Douglas. A representative for the Disney songstress confirms that matter to Gossip Cop, telling that her next concert, which will be held on November 22 in Greensboro, North Carolina, will go ahead as scheduled.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Bill 'Uncle Bill' Douglas," Miley released a statement soon after learning about the accident. "Members of our tour are like members of our family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in the midst of this tragedy. He will truly be missed."
The Wonder World Tour was kicked off in mid September to support Miley Cyrus' first mini album "The Time of Our Lives [Walmart Ep]". Along with Metro Station in which her brother Trace Cyrus serves as a guitarist/vocalist, she will continue to stay on the road until this December.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Bill 'Uncle Bill' Douglas," Miley released a statement soon after learning about the accident. "Members of our tour are like members of our family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in the midst of this tragedy. He will truly be missed."
The Wonder World Tour was kicked off in mid September to support Miley Cyrus' first mini album "The Time of Our Lives [Walmart Ep]". Along with Metro Station in which her brother Trace Cyrus serves as a guitarist/vocalist, she will continue to stay on the road until this December.
- 11/21/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Miley Cyrus has lost a member of her tour entourage in an early morning accident in Virginia when one of her tour buses crashed and killed the bus driver. Soon thereafter, the teen songstress and her family released a statement offering heartfelt support and prayers for the deceased driver Bill Douglas.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Bill 'Uncle Bill' Douglas," the statement posted on her official site on Friday afternoon, November 20, read. It continued further, "Members of our tour are like members of our family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in the midst of this tragedy. He will truly be missed."
Earlier, reports were coming out that on Friday morning, a tour bus carrying Miley's concert production crew was involved in a deadly crash in Virginia. It was reported that the bus overturned around 8:15 A.M. on Interstate 85 in Dinwiddie, about 40 miles south of Richmond.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Bill 'Uncle Bill' Douglas," the statement posted on her official site on Friday afternoon, November 20, read. It continued further, "Members of our tour are like members of our family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in the midst of this tragedy. He will truly be missed."
Earlier, reports were coming out that on Friday morning, a tour bus carrying Miley's concert production crew was involved in a deadly crash in Virginia. It was reported that the bus overturned around 8:15 A.M. on Interstate 85 in Dinwiddie, about 40 miles south of Richmond.
- 11/21/2009
- by celebrity-mania.com
- Celebrity Mania
Miley Cyrus and her family are quick to respond to breaking news regarding the accident happened to one of her four tour buses that killed its driver Bill Douglas. In a statement posted on the actress-singer's website, they share their heartfelt support and prayers for the family of the so-called "Uncle Bill".
Bill, whose real name is William G. Douglas, 53, of Austin, Texas, died at the scene when the bus he was driving ran off the left side of Interstate 85 in Virginia, struck an embankment and overturned. The accident occurred at around 8:15 A.M. Friday, November 20 in Dinwiddie County, about 40 miles south of Richmond. Speed and weather weren't considered factors.
The bus, according to reports, was making its way from Long Island, N.Y., where Miley performed two-show stint Wednesday and Thursday, to Greensboro, N.C., where the Disney star is scheduled to perform on Sunday, November 22. It was...
Bill, whose real name is William G. Douglas, 53, of Austin, Texas, died at the scene when the bus he was driving ran off the left side of Interstate 85 in Virginia, struck an embankment and overturned. The accident occurred at around 8:15 A.M. Friday, November 20 in Dinwiddie County, about 40 miles south of Richmond. Speed and weather weren't considered factors.
The bus, according to reports, was making its way from Long Island, N.Y., where Miley performed two-show stint Wednesday and Thursday, to Greensboro, N.C., where the Disney star is scheduled to perform on Sunday, November 22. It was...
- 11/21/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
The Cyrus family have released a statement about the accident involving one of Miley Cyrus's tour buses. According to The AP, the bus crashed and flipped at about 8.15am in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. The star was not on board the vehicle at the time of the collision, but driver Bill Douglas was killed. In a message on her website, the Cyrus family said: "We are deeply (more)...
- 11/20/2009
- by By Catriona Wightman
- Digital Spy
Shortly after the family was notified, MIley Cyrus and her family shared their heartfelt support and prayers for deceased bus driver Bill Douglas. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of Bill 'Uncle Bill' Douglas," read a statement posted on the singer's Web site. "Members of our tour are like members of our family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in the midst of this tragedy. He will truly be missed." Related: One Dead in Miley Cyrus Tour Bus Crash Douglas, 53, an Austin, Texas, native, was driving one of four buses traveling to Greensboro, N.C., where...
- 11/20/2009
- by Michelle Tan
- PEOPLE.com
Bill Douglas, 53, killed in crash while driving one of Cyrus' buses Friday morning.
By Gil Kaufman
Miley Cyrus
Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty Images
Miley Cyrus issued a statement on Friday afternoon (November 20) about the death of Bill Douglas, the driver who died in an early morning accident in Virginia while driving one of Cyrus' tour buses.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Bill 'Uncle Bill' Douglas," reads the statement issued on behalf of the Cyrus family. "Members of our tour are like members of our family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in the midst of this tragedy. He will truly be missed."
According to a statement released by the Virginia State Police, officials are investigating the crash that occurred on Interstate 85 in Dinwiddle County, Virginia, on Friday morning that took the life of Douglas, 53, who was behind the wheel of one of the four tour buses in Cyrus' entourage.
By Gil Kaufman
Miley Cyrus
Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty Images
Miley Cyrus issued a statement on Friday afternoon (November 20) about the death of Bill Douglas, the driver who died in an early morning accident in Virginia while driving one of Cyrus' tour buses.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Bill 'Uncle Bill' Douglas," reads the statement issued on behalf of the Cyrus family. "Members of our tour are like members of our family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in the midst of this tragedy. He will truly be missed."
According to a statement released by the Virginia State Police, officials are investigating the crash that occurred on Interstate 85 in Dinwiddle County, Virginia, on Friday morning that took the life of Douglas, 53, who was behind the wheel of one of the four tour buses in Cyrus' entourage.
- 11/20/2009
- MTV Music News
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