Leeds Film Festival!

Currently looking at the festival programmes, and will be updating with links and blogs of the particular ones I find interesting and hope to see!


 http://www.cherrykino.blogspot.com/

Double Tide. Directed by Sharon Lockheart

Utterly hypnotic and spell-binding, Sharon Lockhart’s minimalist exploration of landscape and labour as a female clamdigger works the low tides of dawn and dusk. Shot in only two takes with a static camera, we are lulled into meditation by the calm repetition of her (arduous) task in the mudflats, surrounded by the rolling mist and rosy orange hues of sunrise and sunset. Perhaps it’s also political comment: ‘There is something so primal about clamming – the act of reaching into the earth, the dependence on the rhythms of nature. All this struck me as indicative of a pre-industrial time and type of labour, so different from the industrial rhythms of a workplace.’ – S. Lockhart


Read more: http://www.leedsfilm.com/film/double-tide/#ixzz122ehwBYQ

Rituals. Directed by various.

The idea of journeys, rituals, trips is present in a lot of wondermental cinema. This selection of work from contemporary artist filmmakers delights in explicity tripping – from a gorgeous Super 8 ritual shot in the Lithuanian countryside, to a man’s search through a tropical forest for the god Apoekoe, a ritualistic camera dance with flowers, a (literally!) gutsy ritual of a taxidermist, a visionary journey through a metaphorical tunnel, a trip inside the body of film, and many more. Featuring well known and lesser known artists alongside each other, this screening will largely be on 16mm film, with an open atmosphere and a bar. With work from Garbštienė, Doing, Lowder, Gent, Cogan, Fleisch, Brundert, and others.

Read more: http://www.leedsfilm.com/uncategorized/rituals/#ixzz122kQI25b




 All That I Love. Directed by Jacek Borcuch

Set in Poland in the early ‘80s, this is a beautiful film about love, rebellion and coming of age. Janek, 18, is the lead singer in a punk band and Basia is the girl he falls for. But when her socialist father is arrested by the police, she wants nothing more to do with Janek, whose father is part of the oppressive regime that imprisoned him. Struggling with his own growing rebellious spirit and the duties of being a son, Janek makes a decision with huge implications for the people he loves. But his father sees a spark in Janek that also lies deep within himself…
Read more: http://www.leedsfilm.com/film/all-that-i-love/#ixzz12GqGwLJk

Animal Kingdom. Directed by David Michôd

The best thriller of the year with echoes of Scorsese’s early crime dramas, comes from first-time Australian writer/director David Michod. Set in the Melbourne underworld, 17 year old Joshua moves in with his estranged family after his mother’s death from a heroin overdose. His doting grandmother and her three criminal sons, ‘the Cody boys’ are on the run from renegade detectives and Joshua is about to get caught up in a cold-blooded revenge plot that turns the family upside down. Suspenseful, moving and enriched with a real psychological depth, Michod is a filmmaker to watch.

Read more: http://www.leedsfilm.com/film/animal-kingdom/#ixzz12Gqr4peS

Bad Family. Directed by Aleksi Salmenperä

This Finnish treasure from the acclaimed director of Man’s Job (a favourite at LIFF 2008) is sure to delight as a fantastically dark and tragicomic tale with stunning performances throughout. Mikael is a respected judge, yet his dominating and aloof character alienates him from his wife and children. When the utterly mesmerising Tilda (his estranged daughter from his first marriage) turns up and bonds perhaps a little too closely with the brother she has only just found out exists, Mikael finds it increasingly difficult to keep his icy control against his children’s blazing independence. Deliciously unique and bold, and not to be missed!

Read more: http://www.leedsfilm.com/film/bad-family/#ixzz12H3dHt5q