Our regular Q&A screenings sell out quickly, so get booking when you see one advertised in our weekly newsletter (sign up in the box in the left hand sidebar). The Lexi is the perfect, intimate venue for Q&As; our guests love the place – and we know they also appreciate that Lexi cinema guests are film fans who know their stuff, and ask intelligent, original and entertaining questions. Apart from our own regular on-site Q&As, we regularly broadcast live-by-satellite Q&As and introductions, pre- or post-film.
Wed 1 Feb, 18:30 + live Q&A with Doug Fishbone and cast
What’s a white Jewish New Yorker doing appearing as a Ghanaian in an all Ghanaian film? When you understand that he is Doug Fishbone, London-based artist who is known for his satirical investigations into culture and the media, it begins to make sense. Just! Set in the town of Elmina – the first West African port to be settled and explored by Europeans, this is a tale of greed and corruption with lies and infidelity at every turn, wherein the town chief trys to persuade the townsfolk to sell their land to a Chinese oil company so he can make a killing and retire to Europe.
Fishbone himself provides more of an explanation as how – and why – he is to be found not only appearing in an African film, but why this film has also been showing at the Tate.
“The initial idea for Elmina was to insert myself into a low-budget Ghanaian film as the lead, without ever clarifying my racial identity, and see what that triggered – to see whether my absorption into an African film could be taken at face value, as it were. For that to work properly, I felt that I needed a film that would be received by a domestic Ghanaian audience according to the conventions and expectations that people might have there, and that would, of course, also challenge those conventions.
“The novelty of the project offers another odd and tantalising possibility – that by positioning myself as a celebrity in that framework, I may in fact become one! There have been some art world forays into Nollywood but I hope to be able to bring together these two very different cultural economies that rarely intersect.”
Further testimony to the double intentions of the artist is that Elmina has been short-listed for the Samsung Art+ Prize, a prize dedicated to new media art. Fishbone will be with us for this special screening, and will be accompanied by some of the cast of the film for what will surely be a lively and intriguing discussion afterwards.
Tue 17 Jan, 20:45 + Q&A; also Mon 16 Jan, 11:00 and Wed 18 Jan, 18:30
Q&A guests: director Carol Morley + actor Zawe Ashton
Nobody noticed when Joyce Vincent died in her bedsit above a shopping mall in North London in 2003; her body wasn’t discovered for three years. Who was she? And how could this happen to someone in our day and age? Award-winning director Carol Morley set out to find out. She placed adverts in newspapers, online, and on the side of a London taxi, and what she discovered is extraordinary. A range of people that once knew Joyce help to piece together a portrait of the woman who became so forgotten. Dreams of a Life is also a portrait of London, and how we are all different things to different people. It is about how little we may ever know each other but, nevertheless, how much we can love. We are very pleased that Carol Morley will be joining us afterwards for a Q&A, and a chance to learn more about the background to this film.
Dreams of a Life has been warmly received! For just a sample of the treat in store, check out below:
“A very, very special movie… Film of the week” – Danny Leigh, Film 2011
“This is a sad and intriguing story, told with imagination and care.” – London Film Festival Sandra Hebron
“Hauntingly unforgettable” – Screen
“An Authentically Moving Portrait of a forgotten life” – IndieWIRE
“Nothing at the London film festival has lingered in my mind like this” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“Riveting to watch and revealing to ponder long after it ends” – Philip French, The Observer
“Haunting, compassionate and inventive” ***** – Time Out
“A bold, complex approach to documentary filmmaking” ***** – Little White Lies
“Carol Morley has given Joyce Vincent, in a bizarre, compelling, even loving way, a second life. ” – The Financial Times
“Dreams of a Life leaves its mark simply by making us wonder what really happened and why” **** – Derek Malcolm, The Evening Standard
“A potent, achingly sad film” **** – The Times
“A compelling, compassionate mix, Dreams speaks volumes about the mysteries of other people’s lives” **** – Total Film
“Fascinating and haunting… will stay with you for weeks, months, maybe more”**** – Anna Smith, Virgin Media
“This barely conceivable story of neglect and loneliness is given heartbreaking new life by Morley” **** – Empire Magazine
Mon 6 Feb, 20:30, a Tipping Point Film Fund presentation, followed by a panel discussion
Over the past 20 years we have seen a growing realization that the current model for society and culture is unsustainable. We have been living beyond our means…
Future of Hope is a documentary which follows individuals striving to change the world of consumerism, credit and debt that the Icelandic economy was built upon. Focusing on sustainable developments in farming, commerce, innovation, and energy, we are taken on a journey of struggle, determination and most importantly… hope. From the midnight sun to dark winters lit only by the snow, from geysers to volcanoes, this movie truly explores the magnificent country of Iceland. Future of Hope explains the country’s past, explores its present, and predicts a progressive future for a new and sustainable Iceland.
Tipping Point’s post-film discussion will explore the various themes in the film, including ways to turn the financial crisis into opportunities and how to extend equitable opportunities on a global scale.
The panel will comprise:
Sharar Ali London Green Party, Policy Coordinator 2004-09 and lead author of the Greens’ 2008 GLA manifesto. He has a PhD in Philosophy from UCL, in which he looked at lying and deception, with specific reference to public life. He entered Green politics after working as a researcher in the European Parliament on the risks of GM food. He has lived in Brent for ten years, campaigning for sustainable solutions, such as transistion towns.
Rajesh Makwana – executive director of Share The World’s Resources, (STWR), a London-based NGO campaigning for essential resources – such as land, energy, water and the atmosphere – to be shared internationally and sustainably in order to secure basic human needs.
Advance preview, followed by a Q&A with director Alma Har’el, chaired by Film 2012′s own Danny Leigh
Bombay Beach was the unanimous winner of the 2011 Tribeca Documentary Film Feature Award for its “…beauty, lyricism, empathy and invention.”
Film maker Alma Har’el joined the misbegotten community which lives in Bombay Beach, a long-forgotten town on the edge of a lake in the southern Californian desert. Once a resort for glamorous ’50s Hollywood stars, it’s now home to a marginalised group for whom the American Dream has no reality. Over the course of a year, Alma Har’el captured the lives of three residents, their relatives, and friends with her unique camera-eye and an all-embracing passion. Featuring specially choreographed dance numbers and a memorable sound track (think Dylan and Nick Drake), this is a doc knockout!
Terry Gilliam says of it: ”A beautiful, quirky and ultimately very moving film about the American Dream as it teeters on the edge of a desert sea.”
Street Kids United is a documentary feature from award-winning director Tim Pritchard. The film charts the journey of homeless children living on the streets of Durban, South Africa, as they form a team to compete in the Street Child World Cup. Behind the one big story are a lot of compelling small stories well told by this dedicated team, those behind the camera and those running the charity helping to change these children’s lives. Up-lifting and empowering; if you are looking for a genuine feel-good film, start here!
This clip is an edited interview about Street Kids United , filmed this year at the Berlin Film Festival where the film premièred to a standing ovation:
Sun 27 Nov, 14:45 (screening of The Mighty Uke doc, separate event at 17:00)
Family friendly – film is certificate (PG) and the workshop is suitable from age 8 on up. Aspiring von Trapp families welcome!
Born in Hawaii in the 1880′s, the ukulele was so easy to play that by the 20′s, it was the most popular instrument in the American home. But then the rise of the rock and roll guitar pushed the uke into nerdy obscurity. UNTIL NOW! In the Internet age, the instrument is making a comeback, and a new generation is rediscovering a unique musical voice.
Have a yen to play? Strumming already? The workshop is an (approx) 2 hour session on ukulele technique, catering for all levels. Come along and find out what all the buzz is about! And then stay for the following event at 17:00 which includes the documentary, The Mighty Uke, along with a live performance from uke Maestro, James Hill, known as “the Wayne Gretzky of the ukulele”!
Rita Tushingham ‘in conversation’ with us before the screening.
Adapted from the Royal Court Play ‘Outside Of Heaven’ by Martin Sadofski and directed by Julian Kerridge, this is a strongly atmospheric, independent British film. It boasts a talented young cast, supported by the splendid Rita Tushingham (A Taste of Honey, The Knack). Among the charismatic ensemble are: Jack McMullen and Reece Noi (both inWaterloo Road) and Georgia Henshaw (Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging, and Skins IV). Rita Tushingham plus one of the young members of the cast will be “in conversation” with us before the feature.
Seamonsters tells the story of two shiftless young friends, Sam (Jack McMullen) and Kieran (Reece Noi), who are whiling away their time during the off-season in Worthing. The pair are stuck in a kind of limbo: too old to be kids any more, vaguely aware that it’s time to act grown-up. When they meet Lori (Leila Mimmack), a melancholy, mysterious girl, Sam is drawn to her even though she doesn’t offer him any encouragement.
When Sam is called out of town to attend a funeral, Lori and Kieran end up spending the day together doing stupid things, getting drunk, and collapsing by sea, despite the fact that they despise each other. By the time Sam returns, everything has changed.
Its not often acknowledged that British Reggae helped to bring Jamaican Reggae to the world’s attention. In the 1970s and ’80s, second generation West Indian immigrants found themselves caught between two cultures, and one of the results was a new variety of feel-good music – more melodic than trad reggae, often with strong R&B female leads and harmonies, played on signature sound systems to ‘scrubbing’ couples on the dance floor. This genre of music came to be known as Lover’s Rock, and it has gone on to influence mainstream musicians like Culture Club and Sade. Although it didn’t infiltrate the pop charts it did influence the hits of the day, and it was a lifeline for young black people living with racism and discrimination at the time of the Brixton Riots and Newham Massacre.
Director Menelik Shabazz (Blood Ah Go Run, Burning an Illusion) recreates an era, and a sound, with great affection in this documentary. Using original footage, actors, comedians, interviews and lots of performance he shows why Lover’s Rock has such enduring appeal. The film has been selling out all over London, with audiences who just can’t help but hum along. Shabazz, who has been an influential figure in the world of Black film, will join us for a Q&A.
The legendary British artist and champion of misfits, Andrew Logan, takes us on a kaleidoscopic trip through the glamorous, outrageous world of his costume pageant, The Alternative Miss World. As its creator and Master of Ceremonies, Logan traces the 40 year history of the show using fantastic archive footage; talking heads from the art, fashion, music and theater worlds; and fantastical animation from director Jes Benstock (think style of Monty Python, here). Logan describes the event as his most important artwork; a fabulous living sculpture that spans four decades of arts and culture. We say even that is under-selling it! The British Guide to Showing Off is a surprisingly sincere and very humorous documentary that puts one man’s uncompromising passion centre stage.
On Thurs Nov 24, 18:30, live Q&A with Andrew Logan and director Jes Benstock – book for this event
Also showing on 22 November
The legendary British artist and champion of misfits, Andrew Logan, takes us on a kaleidoscopic trip through the glamorous, outrageous world of his costume pageant, The Alternative Miss World. As its creator and Master of Ceremonies Logan traces the 40 year history of the show using fantastic archive footage; talking heads from the art, fashion, music and theater worlds; and fantastical animation from director Jes Benstock (think style of Monty Python, here). Logan describes the event as his most important artwork; a fabulous living sculpture that spans four decades of arts and culture. We say even that is under-selling it! The British Guide to Showing Off is a surprisingly sincere and very humorous documentary that puts one man’s uncompromising passion centre stage.
Please note the change to the advertised event: due to Christopher Hitchens’ frail health, Stephen Fry will now be talking with friends Richard Dawkins, Martin Amis and Christopher Buckley about topics close to their friend’s heart.
“If Hitchens didn’t exist, we wouldn’t be able to invent him.” Ian McEwan
For over 40 year Christopher Hitchens has written and spoken with passionate commitment on matters that others fear to broach. His life has been one of defiance, wit and humility. Now his life is threatened by cancer but his devotion to the truth and his extraordinary courage are undiminished. In a change to the advertised event, due to Hitchen’s being ill with pneumonia, friends Richard Dawkins, Martin Amis and Christopher Buckley will be in conversation with Stephen Fry on topics close to Hitchens’ heart. Fry and Dawkins will be at the Festival Hall while Amis and Buckley will be via satellite links. Don’t miss this chance to hear several of the great public intellectuals of our age discussing politics, literature and, as Hitchens puts it, “the things that make life worth defending.”
17:00 Sun 27 Nov, following the separate 14:45 Workshop event
Family friendly – film is certificate (PG) and the workshop is suitable from age 8 on up!
Born in Hawaii in the 1880′s, the ukulele was so easy to play that by the 20′s, it was the most popular instrument in the American home. But then the rise of the rock and roll guitar pushed the uke into nerdy obscurity. UNTIL NOW! In the Internet age the instrument is making a comeback, and a new generation is rediscovering a unique musical voice. The Might Uke travels the world to find out why so many people from so many nations, cultures, ages and musical tastes are turning to the ukulele to express themselves, explore the past, and connect with each other. From the redwoods of California through the gritty streets of New York, from sophisticated London to Tokyo’s high-rise canyons, ukers tell the story of the people’s instrument: The Mighty Uke.
The documentary will be followed by a Q&A with the director, and there will be a 45 minute performance from maestro James Hill – called “the Wayne Gretzky of the ukulele” – which includes the opportunity for an audience to strum-along.
We feel safe in promising that the proceedings will bring a grin to your face!
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