The List: 11 Mar 1994 (20/88)

FILM SCOTTISH

BACARDI BLACK

I SEC Grants: The Scottish Film Council's grants to exhibition clients — the network of seven Scottish regional film theatres — has increased in most cases by one per cent for 1994/95. The exceptions are Stirling‘s MacRobert Arts Centre (£1 1.000) and lnvemess‘s Eden Court Theatre (£15,000). where grants have increased 150 per cent. pending the appointment of dedicated film officers at both venues. Glasgow Film Theatre will receive £105.383 and Edinburgh Filrnhouse £91,800.

I MacRobert Film Magic: Stirling's MacRobert Arts Centre begins a fortnight celebrating the magical world ofcinerna on Sun 13 March. with a screening of Fellini’s [fight Am! A Hal/Z Two other titles by the late Italian

master — .‘Intun‘onl and Juliet ()f'l'he Spirits will also be shown. The

majority of films on offer capture some

aspect of the imaginative. fantasy worlds that cinema has created over the decades and around the world. from the fairy-tale romance of Sleepless In Seattle. to the magic realism of Like Water For C hoeolate and the sheer wonder of Les [in/tuits Du Paradis. More details in Listings and Index.

I Scottish Animation: Tying in with the Animation Plus exhibition at Glasgow‘s Collins Gallery. the GFT's Scottish Animation programme (Tue 15) showcases the best work by graduates and students at Scottish colleges. with an additional trio of independent shorts. While the recent European Animation Programme consisted of films by better known animators. this selection concentrates on local talents at early stages oftheir careers.

From Duncan ofJordanstone College come The Lift. A Home ()fS/ones. All Smiles. Puzzled and I Love ’1 his Plllt‘é’. Keep Doneing; Edinburgh College of Art offers Paper Planes. Strange Fruit and 'l'riptyt'h For An Audience; Glasgow School of Art is represented by The (Ii/(led Man; and three titles come from the First Reels scheme -— Ship Of Fools. Chemu'uls And llluminants and Cherries.

_ Spotoheck

A short drama shooting later this month in IIiddrie will mark the first project by On The Spot Productions, a new group of young innovative Edinburgh-based filmmakers, some of whose members are culled from the Scottish Film School and Edinburgh College of Art. A Wee Secret - written, 1 produced and directed by Xanthoula O’Connor - tells of Agnes, a women who escapes into a sweetly romanticised fantasy world in order to escape the day-to-day drudgery of life with husband and kids in a high-rise on the outskirts of the capital city. Appropriately enough for a debut film that challenges traditional gender roles and stereotypes, A Wee Secret boasts a strong female majority in its 1 crew, while (In The Spot Productions 1 will actively promote women’s

involvement on the technical side of

the industry.

In the long term, the group hopes to become an umbrella organisation to help other like-minded filmmakers build a body of shorts through private

i sponsorship. At the time of going to

press, support from a maior sponsor was being finalised for A Wee Secret, but other sponsorship - financial or in kind - is required to ensure On The Spot Productions’ long-term future. Given that this may be the final year of the First Reels scheme, it is vital that Scotland’s broadcast industry and the community at large support the country’s young talents at the outset of their careers. Further details about A Wee Secret or On The Spot Productions are available on 031 667 6651. (AM)

Castofthousands

Forget forthcoming releases from 1 Robert Altman. Quentin Tarantino or Ken Loach: the world's most eagerly awaited cinematic experience will

be . . .gft — The Movie. This short. directed by Mike Russell and produced by Erina Rayner (both members ofthe GFT Board of Directors), will spearhead a major fund-raising campaign as well as celebrate the history of cinema by bringing together archive material and footage of celebrity visits. The completed film, which is supported by Fairline Productions. Glasgow Film and Video Workshop and Scottish Television, will be shown in 1996 as part of the 100th

Anniversary of Cinema in Scotland. (

Announcement of the film coincides with a grant of £99232 from the

European Regional Development Fund

for physical upgrading and restoration ofthe GFT's exterior. In order to extend the cinema's cultural and educational activities. a special fund of £100,000 will also be raised in units of £100 donated by individual patrons. companies and celebrities. All those giving their support will be given a credit oftheir choice in gfi — The Movie, although BAFTA Scotland have

I already snapped up the dubious

accolade of ‘Luvvy llandlers‘. Further details from Liana Marietta on 041 332 6535. (AM)

THE PROFESSIONAL:

GOLGO 13

With the exception of Akira, few cinema-goers outside of the hard-core following of ‘anime’ titles (film, video and television offshoots of Manga comic books) have enjoyed the thrills and bloody spills that the Japanese

animation industry has to offer. For some time now, however, Mange Video have been tirelesst trailblazing In the UK, bringing features and shorts series to a hungry market.

This month sees the release of possibly their strongest title to date - The Professional: Colgo 13, a much more stylish accomplislunent which ties the framing and split-screen techniques of the graphic novel with the narrative drive and pacing of an action-packed feature film. Crammed full of as much sex and violence as any flesh ’n’ bone 18 certificate, it follows a cold-as-granite assassin anti-hero as he finds himself up against the CIA, the FBI and a genetically altered super-killer working for the Pentagon. The sexist attitude that comes with the genre makes this definitely one for the boys, but some of the individual frames are pure art in themselves. (AM)

The Professional: Colgo 13 (18, Mange £12.99) has a rare cinema screening on Thurs 31 March at the Edinburgh Filmhouse. The 7pm performance is followed by a debate on the anime film and comic style, chaired by film critic Brigid Cherry.

RENTAL

I Sleepless In Seattle (PG) The perfect date movie on the big screen; a must for the snuggle-up- and-cuddle on the home sofa. Tom Hanks is a widowed father. who's trying to get over the death of his wife when he‘s heard by Meg Ryan on a late-night radio chat show. Despite the miles that lie between them. she ' determines that romance will win the day. Director Nora Ephron brings an

old-fashioned appeal to this heart-warmer which bounces along to its softly

seductive score.

(Columbia Tristar)

I Dennis (PG) Culkin- clone mayhem for minors as the American version

of the troublesome kid

causes havoc for elderly next-door-neighbours Walther Matthau and Joan Plowright. Diverting chuckles for the youngsters. but maybe it's this brand ofchild's play that's more likely to put miscnevious ideas into their heads. (Warners)

I Other rental faces this fortnight include IVU)'IIL".S' World ‘babe‘ Tia Carrere as former racing driver C. Thomas Howell‘s love interest amidst the double- crossing and deceit of Treacherous ( 18. Medusa); George Segal in psycho husband mode in Deep Down (18. 20:20 Vision); and the great James Earl Jones taking a bit of a breather as he tries

to discover whose E testimony is true in

Confessions: Two Faces

Of Evil (15. Odyssey).

RETAIL

I Theorem (15) Pier Paolo Pasolini‘s bourgeousie satire may have been charged with obscenity on its release. but 30 years on. it's hard to see why this tale of the angelic Terence Stamp devilishly seducing every ‘ member of a wealthy family should have caused ‘ the furore it did. Infused with a self-conscious 60s artiness. it all seems quite . vacuous now. Even more surprising. perhaps. is that the director was given a suspended sentence for his blasphemous segment in RoCoPaG (PC). which i takes its name from the ' four filmmakers involved: l Rossellini. Godard. I

The List: 11 Mar 1994 (Issue 222)