FILM SCOTTISH
I Shallow Crave: Scottish feature Shallow Grave, shot in Glasgow at the end of last year, has scooped two top awards at the Dinard British Film Festival in France —— Best Film and Best Actor (wonjointly by its three leads, Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor). The film also won
its director, Danny Boyle. the Best Director Award at Spain's San Sebastion Festival. Before its UK release on 13 January. Shallow Grave will screen as the centrepiece film at next month’s London Film Festival.
I Castlemilk Video Workshop: Now that it has moved and re-Opened for business, the Castlemiik Video Workshop is ready to give a helping hand to groups or individuals across Glasgow who are interested in video- making. The facilities include S-VHS and VHS edit suites. computer graphics. 2-D computer animation and a range of S-VHS and VHS production equipment. For further details, contact Paul Cameron, c/o The Arts Office. 17 Castlemilk Arcade. Glasgow G45 9AA (041 631 2267/634 2603).
:— Tales to tell
Sharing Stories, the UK’s largest film and television co-production conference, returns to Edinburgh between 11 -13 November. flow in its third year, the event offers producers l from both industries the opportunity to examine case studies, assess the most . recent developments and discuss the highs and lows of each other’s work.
This year’s event hopes to reinforce a ‘Celtic connection’ between Canadian 1 and European producers, while i extending its focus to France, ' Germany, Central Europe and the l Nordic countries. Speakers already I confirmed include Barrie Ellis Jones of I Eurimages, the Eli’s support fund for co-production, and Stuart Cosgrove, who has recently taken over as head of Channel 4’s Independent Film and Video Unit.
‘The event has certainly gained
l
stature over the years,’ says co- ordinator Pauline Muirhead, ‘and is
, now the only event of its size in
Europe dedicated to co-production. People are certainly aware of it and are beginning to use it as a place to get future projects off the ground. It also gives Scottish producers a leg-up
in their own backyard with a ; wonderful opportunity to meet with
colleagues from all over Europe. Scotland has always had a healthy attitude to co-production and has a tradition of looking outwards for
l partners, rather than just south to
londonfi Further details about the programme
1 and registration are available from
Sharing Stories, Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh E113 932 (031 229 8453). (AM)
V IN PRINT
THE ACTOR’S DIRECTOR
Richard Attenborough's film career spans more than 50 years, from his acting debut in In Which We Serve (1942) to his forthcoming turn as Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street. For the past 25 of those years, he has kept himself busy behind the camera
as a director who is as comfortable
with the huge scale of Chandi as the intimacy of Shadowlands.
It should come as no surprise that this maestro of screen biography — Chandi, Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill, Steve Biko - is himself the subject of a new biography. And given that Attenborough is a strong supporter of cinema in the regions, it is also no surprise that this book has been written by a Scottish critic (Andy Dougan of Glasgow’s Evening Times) and published by a Scottish company (Mainstream.
The book has a dual approach to each of Attenborough’s films as director - transcripted interviews with the man himself give the production history a sense of personality (as do the numerous on-set photographs spread through this well illustrated volume), while nougan takes time to broaden out each subject with quotations from the filmmaker’s closest colleagues. It never sets out to be a critical analysis, but is instead a glowing tribute to one of the industry’s most committed and genuine figures. (AM)
The Actor’s Director: Richard Attenborough Behind The Camera by Andy Dougan is published by Mainstream at £17.50.
mm- AKI KUOAWA
NJ) ‘ __ '3‘: i ,
Hidden Fortress
From the intense inner landscape of a man dying of cancer to the wide, tempestuous plains of the Siberian taiga, Japanese director Akira Kurosawa is master at depicting different versions of heroism. Dersu Uzala (U) is a gentle human epic set at the turn of the century, following the developing friendship of a Russian Tsarist officer and an ageing hunter. The wisdom of opposing generations - age and experience is set against
urban civilisation - plays out on a massive natural canvas, with scenic beauty and action set-pieces in perfect balance.
If The Seven Samurai is the basis for The Magnificent Seven, then Ridden Fortress (PC) also has a comfortable two-way relationship with the western. A comedy adventure tale about a dispassionate 16th century warrior guiding a princess through enemy terrain with the help of two idiotic Sidekicks, it is also said to be a precursor for Star Wars. Unfortunately the tedious clowning outweighs the battles.
Pick of the trio is Ikiru (PC), a perfectly observed morality tale centring on a rubber-stamping bureaucrat whose life is transformed when he learns he has terminal cancer. Kurosawa’s stabs at stifling officialdom retain their relevance, while his moving portrait of a man belatedly discovering life and pushing aside self-pity for the good of others is full of human warmth. (AM)
Dersu Usala, Hidden Fortress and Ikiru, Connoisseur Video, £15.99 each.
I The Secret Adventures Of Tom Thumb (12) A surreal fairytale of innocence lost in a cruel world. Bristol-based bolexbrothers studio's hour-long feature is one of the most imaginative pieces of filmmaking to come out of these isles for ages. Tiny Tom is separated from his parents and hounded through a post-industrial nightmare where any abnormality is persecuted and the most simple objects hold danger. A darker side to UK animation. the antithesis of Aardman‘s bright and breezy approach. (Manga £11.99)
I Cenninal (15) As rich ; and satisfying as the 19th i century novel by Zola that inspired it, Claude Berri‘s film brings history to life with contemporary social relevance. Poverty stricken mining life is perfectly detailed. the initial stirrings of trade unionism portrayed with passionate honesty and the breadth of the narrative given ample time to develop. The cast are also on fine form. contributing to an atmosphere in which you can almost taste the coal dust. (Guild £15.99. also available on rental)
I Sonatine (18) The third feature by ‘Beat' Takeshi Kitano is a brooding existentialist gangster movie. where tense periods of inaction crackle as we anticipate the bouts of deadly violence that will inevitably follow.
Sent to Okinawa on a
suspicious errand to sort
out problems between
rival gangs, Murakawa : sees his men being ; knocked off one by one, 3 and so he hits back with little regard for any life, including his own. Less l impressive is the film‘s predecessor. Boiling Point 1 (18). in which Takeshi has a small role as a sadistic
! yakuza giving a helping
hand to a similarly stone- 1 faced young anti-hero, caught up in gangster problems of his own. Nevertheless. both show a masterful control of non- PC blood-letting. (ICA Projects £13.99 each)
I Martin (18) This funny. gory and intelligent depiction of vampirism as adolescent. psycho-sexual obsession is one of George Romero's best films. Sent to stay with an oppressively religious relative, young Martin truly believes he’s the reincarnation of an ages- old vampire. but his acts have more to do with mixed-up hormones than the supernatural. Also
available is Romero's cynically apocalyptic shocker. The Crazies ( 18), which brings a germ warfare twist to the director's zombie fixation. (Redemption £12.99 each) I Totally Bill Hicks (18) The words ‘comic genius' shouldn’t be thrown around lightly. but if any stand-up deserved the accolade. it was the late Bill Hicks. Never afraid to air hard-hitting views on politics, religion and hypocrisy. Hicks was a rare American talent indeed. The first half of this release contains tributes from colleagues and family, but it's the clips of the comedian in performance that proves their praise is not empty. Also on the tape is his masterly 1992 London show. Revelations. (Channel 4 £12.99)
I Coming Out (15) Just before the Wall comes down, young East Berlin teacher Philipp is constructing screens of his own as he hides his gay relationships from his girlfriends and. for the greater part. from himself. Using real locations. director Heiner Carow rescues his film from being merely an infidelity tale with a gay dilemma attached. Far more fun is the snappy soap opera world of Brief (18). (Dangerous To Know £14.99 each)
I Enjoy card con highlights and other macabre tricks with The Most Unpleasant World Of Penn & Teller (15. Channel 4 £12.99); shiver at the classic silent morality tale The Phantom Carriage (PG. Redemption £12.99); and discover a different kind of period drama with Stephen Poliakoff’s forward-looking Century (15. Electric £15.99).
20 The List 7—20 October 1994