All posts tagged: Film

Melanie Gilligan: The Common Sense

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‘Technologies change us – our attitudes, our behavior, and our bodies’, Melanie Gilligan observes with downright honesty. How new media and technology takes our daily lives into a stranglehold – with all its good and bad implications – has always been something that fascinated me. Are we still in control or are we turning into a meaningless, remote-controlled mass? Who are we or pretending to be behind an invisible mask? What does self-fulfilment and social interaction mean in our day and age? The versatile mixed-media Canadian artist, who works with video, performance, text, installation and music, incessantly asks said questions as part of her creative projects. Similar to previous works ‘Crisis in the credit system’ (2008) and ‘Popular Unrest’ (2010), Gilligan’s futuristic multi-episode drama series ‘The Common Sense’ delves into the effects of political and economical struggle on the individual and the collective as well as people’s ultra-dependence on technology. The experimental narrative of Phase 1 introduces us to a future technology called The Patch, a sort of prosthesis which makes it possible to directly experience the physical sensations and feelings …

Illustrated film goodness: Delve Weekly

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One of my favourite mags and absolute movie-go-to source undisputedly is Little White Lies. Well-informed writing, fabulous reviews, sleek design and each issue accompanied by a beautifully illustrated cover for the next exciting, upcoming film release. If only they’d release an issue more often than just every two months. Maybe I’m just being greedy here, but in the meantime, a cool newsletter service luckily dropped in my lap that comes in with a fresh idea to celebrate film week-by-week. Probably still flying a bit under the radar of many, Delve Weekly is the brainchild of London-based creative agency Human After All (who co-founded Little White Lies, btw) and recommends one new film that’s most worth watching at the cinema, bite-sized to our inboxes every Friday. And aside from a well-rounded review by the likes of Peter Bradshaw or Karen Krizanovich and a bunch of intriguing links that compliment the weekly feature, delve also offers a pretty tasty treat for design lovers like me: Alternative poster designs. Once the panel of critics decides on a feature they deem unmissable, the studio bucks up and tracks down just the …

Short Film Gem: Mind The Gap

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There’s these days when I dearly miss London & all the things I left behind. One of them is taking the Tube every day of the week. The noise, the strange anonymity, the familiar faces, the colourfulness and yeah, even the musty smell, unbearable heat and brutal density. Loss is also a fitting term for Luke Flanagan‘s lovely short film that was shown at London Short Film Festival earlier this year & captures Tube melancholy from a moving and saddening angle. ‘Mind the Gap’ tells the story of Oswald Lawrence, stage actor and announcer of the iconic three words and his widow who would visit the tube years after his death to listen to his voice. Heartbreaking & beautiful. Superb work!

Short Film Gem: CODA

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It’s been film festival time in Edinburgh these past days so I guess treating myself to a heap of screenings made me a bit more aware of all these cinematic gems out there, waiting to be discovered. Lucky me, otherwise this beauty might’ve never popped up on my radar as I avidly browsed my Vimeo feed yesterday: CODA is an exceptional short by animation studio And Maps and Plans & director Allan Holly that has been taking home an impressive cluster of 20 international awards, including prizes at SXSW, Edinburgh Short Film Festival or Anca Festival and was among the 10 selected animated shorts at the Oscars 2015. The 9-minute piece tells the story of a lost soul who stumbles drunkenly through Dublin city. In a park, death finds him and shows him many things. It’s a beautiful film full of simple, hand-drawn imagery, a heart-wrenching plot & a moving view on the appreciation of life and the fear of death. Watch below! For more info on CODA, check these links here: andmapsandplans.com @andmapsandplans qlqn.ie …

Hidden Door Festival @ Market Street Vaults, Edinburgh

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Now that the dust has settled, it’s about time for a wee photographic look back on to the magnificent Hidden Door Festival, which has taken the city by storm. Illuminating the long-forgotten Market Street Vaults with a 9-day showcase of Scotland’s breakthrough talents in music, theatre, art and film, it simply became a vivid and colourful analogue to Edinburgh’s often criticized, rather neglecting relationship with innovative contemporary arts outside of the Fringe circuit. And instead of just taking the visitor by the hand, the concept of Hidden Door dared the public to explore a place beyond the ordinary and uncover the shadowy secrets of each and every vault – as well as to embrace the extravaganza happening outside of the confined spaces. Even with the vaults soon to be transformed into retail spaces of some sorts (what a shame!), there’s gonna be another Hidden Door bound to be found by us, wherever that may be. Stay curious. Check out more snaps from the Hidden Door Festival on flickr.

‘Project Fifty’ by Little White Lies

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As we all know far too well, people’s tastes tend to differ quite a lot and films are certainly no exception here. Before even seeing a flick in its entirety, we’re inevitably biased by trailers, posters, reviews and most of all by our personal likes and dislikes of certain actors, directors, genres or themes. Still, there are definitely a few movies that almost everyone refers to as outstanding, timeless classics. Whether it’s Casablanca, The Godfather, Forrest Gump or Oldboy, you’ll find pretty much everything that shattered, revolutionised or redefined the world of cinema in IMDb’s infamous Top 250 films of all time. Well, but how on earth does, let’s say Charlie Chaplin’s remarkable City Lights from 1931 (#37) get beaten by 21st century sci-fi blockbuster Inception (#15), you might think? Fair question. Maybe because it oddly feels like comparing apples and oranges. ‘So why don’t we just cherish the most outstanding film of each year instead of compiling a general highscore list?’ was probably the initial thought behind Little White Lies’ exciting ‘Project Fifty’. Genius! In celebration …