Film INDEX PROFILE
Name Julia Bacha Born Rio de Janeiro, 1980.
Background Bacha studied Middle Eastern history and politics at Columbia University. She worked as co-writer and editor on the 2004 multi award-winning documentary about Al Jazeera, Control Room, and was co- director of Israeli/Palestinian peacenik documentary Encounter Point (2006). ‘I have been making documentary films since 2003,’ she says. ‘My work concentrates on Palestinians and Israelis working together for peace and conciliation.’
What is she up to now? Bacha’s latest film, Budrus, is a documentary about the locals and activists involved in non-violent protest in the titular village. A place of only 1500 people not far from Ramallah, the village became a site of activity when the Israeli government decided to build a huge barrier through the West Bank. It would have run through Budrus. ‘I became aware of the situation in Budrus when working on Encounter Point. We kept in touch with the people actively involved, and so interview access was very easy.’
What is Just Vision? It’s the non-profit company, funded through tax-deductible donations, that made Budrus possible. It was made with the help of 200 of those donations. If you visit www.justvision.org, you can help to fund future productions with a donation of your own.’
What’s next for Bacha? ‘We are researching other projects; we want to take the sort of work we’ve been doing into other areas. The result is likely to be a series of short films.’ Interesting Fact Brazilian Bacha almost ended up doing a master’s degree at Tehran University, but the Iranian government wasn’t issuing visas to international students at the time. (Tony McKibbin) ■ Budrus is showing as part of the Take One Action Film Festival. GFT, Glasgow, Thu 23 Sep; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 24 Sep. A Skype Q&A with Bacha will follow both screenings. See Festival Focus, page 61.
62 THE LIST 23 Sep–7 Oct 2010
1980s and early 1990s. General release. F (18) ●●●●● (Johannes Roberts, UK, 2010) David Schofield, Eliza Bennett, Juliet Aubrey. 78min. Competent British horror thriller in which a group of teachers defend themselves from a gang of murderous school kids when their school comes under siege. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh.
✽✽ From Here to Eternity (PG) ●●●●● (Fred Zinnemann, US, 1953) Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra. 118min. See Also Released, page 59. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Frozen (15) ●●●●● (Adam Green, US, 2010) Emma Bell, Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers. 93min. See review, page 57. Cameo, Edinburgh. Gainsbourg (15) ●●●●● (Joann Sfar, France/USA, 2010) Eric Elmosnino, Lucy Gordon, Laetitia Casta. 135min. This depiction of Serge Gainsbourg’s life is a humorous, sad and bizarre identity crisis, more enjoyable in its abstract moments than when loitering in traditional biopic territory. While Sfar excels at eccentricity, the movie occasionally falters, particularly in its portrayal of Gainsbourg’s less hedonistic times. Nonetheless, a great introduction to the French singer. Dominion, Edinburgh. Gandhi (PG) ●●●●● (Richard Attenborough, UK, 1982) Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, Trevor Howard, John Mills. 188min. Oscar-laden biopic of the great Indian leader and man of peace. Part of Take One Action! festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Garden (12) ●●●●● (Scott Hamilton Kennedy, US, 2008) 80min. Documentary about a community garden in South Central LA which is cared for and run by immigrants from Latin America and is proving an important focal point, until bulldozers threaten to destroy the idyll. This Scottish premiere screening is introduced with live music from the Lani Singers of West Papua. Part of Take One Action! festival. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Girl who Played with Fire (15) ●●●●● (Daniel Alfredson, Sweden, 2009) Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Sofia Ledarp. 129min. With Lisbeth Salander (Rapace) accused of murder, Blomkvist (Nyqvist) works to find out who is really guilty. Kept apart for most of the film, the duo’s chemistry isn’t given a chance to shine; yet the film is nonetheless engrossing, even if its major revelation is no real surprise. Selected release. Going the Distance (15) ●●●●● (Nanette Burstein, US, 2010) Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Charlie Day. 102min. Journalism student (Barrymore) and A&R man (Long) embark on a six-week romance that leaves them convinced they are meant to be together. Tragedy strikes when Erin returns to her studies, leaving them long-distance. A dispiriting movie experience from two perfectly competent romcom stalwarts. General release. Good Fortune (E) (Landon Van Soest, USA, 2009) 73min. An examination of the real impact of international aid and global relief projects on some communities in Africa, featuring the stories of Jackson, whose farm is being flooded by an American investor who believes he can alleviate poverty by creating a multi-million dollar rice plantation, and Silva, whose home and business are being demolished as part of a slum-clearing project. A discussion examining the issues follows the screening. Part of Take One Action! Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Hans Richter: Early Works (E) (Hans Richter, Various) 90min. A selection of Surrealist and Dadaist works from the visionary artist and filmmaker, with live musical accompaniment from the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. Part of Screening Surrealism season. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Hole 3D (12A) ●●●●● (Joe Dante, US, 2009) Teri Polo, Haley Bennett, Ali Cobrin. 91min. Three children find a mildly terrifying trapdoor in their basement and decide to investigate, which seems silly in hindsight. A quasi return to form from
director Dante with a horror film aimed at thrill-seeking children, but packed with cinematic in-jokes which may go over their heads. General release. Hunger (12) (Karin Steinberger, Germany, 2009) 90min. Food production today is at a record high, yet the number of people suffering from starvation continues to increase. In one region of Kenya, half the children that are born die of undernourishment. The film focuses on five people who have never had enough to eat, giving them the chance to tell their stories of how globalisation is destroying their chance of a decent meal. The film is followed by an audience discussion on global food shortages. Part of Take One Action! festival. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. I Am Love (15) ●●●●● (Luca Guadagnino, Italy, 2009) Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini. 120min. An announcement made at the birthday celebration of an ageing Italian industrialist triggers a series of events that will impact the family’s lives forever in this film of rare formal grace. Part of BBC Four World Cinema Awards. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. I’m Still Here (15) ●●●●● (Casey Affleck, US, 2010) Joaquin Phoenix, Antony Langdon, Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs. 107min. See review, page 59. Cameo, Edinburgh. The Illusionist (12A) ●●●●● (Sylvain Chomet, UK/France, 2010) Voices: Jean- Claude Donda, Eilidh Rankin. 83min. Animation based on unfilmed script by Jacques Tati. Cameo, Edinburgh. Inception (12A) ●●●●● (Christopher Nolan, US, 2010) Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Ellen Page. 147min. DiCaprio stars as Don Cobb, a thief who is the master of the art of extraction, stealing secrets from the minds of the unconscious. The business is risky and has resulted the loss of everything he once held dear. Now he is being offered a chance of redemption, but at a cost, and up against a dangerous enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. Selected release. Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Screening (E) (Various, Iran) 120min. Three documentaries from contemporary Iran: Eve & Adam and The Birthday by Negin Kianfar, and The Lost by Bijan Sheidaei. The screening is followed by a Q&A session. CCA, Glasgow. Kick-Ass (15) ●●●●● (Matthew Vaughn, US/UK, 2010) Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz. 117min. Big screen adaptation of Mark Millar’s massively popular comic in which a bunch of misfit teens don superhero costumes and get stuck into some stylised vigilante action. Successfully celebrating a teen boys’ idea of ‘cool’, Vaughn has a feeling for characters and story arcs that his Lock, Stock . . . collaborator Guy Ritchie has long since forgotten. Sloans, Glasgow The Kid (15) ●●●●● (Nick Moran, UK, 2010) Rupert Friend, Augustus Prew, Natasha McElhone. 111min. This adaptation of Kevin Lewis’ triumph-against-tragedy memoir doesn’t quite hit the mark, with several elements seemingly out of place, most importantly the protagonist himself (Friend). A story of an abusive childhood and a family from hell loses its gravitas as primary villain, Lewis’ mother, is hard to take seriously. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Land without Bread (E) ●●●●● (Luis Buñuel, Spain, 1933) Abel Jacquin, Alexandre O’Neill. 30min. Rare screening of Buñuel’s documentary portrait of the remote and undeveloped region of Las Hurdes, showing how the local peasants survive without the most basic utilities. Part of Screening Surrealism season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Laughter in the Dark: Humour in Artists’ Films Since the 1970sFilm course looking at the use of humour and laughter in films made by artists, led by Erica Eyres, a Canadian video artist based in Glasgow. The course comprises four illustrated seminars and discussions. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Leopard (PG) ●●●●● (Luchino Visconti, Italy, 1963) Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon. 187min. Characteristically lavish Visconti adaptation of Giuseppe De Lampedusa’s classic novel of the Italian Risorgimento has a splendid Lancaster as the prince of Salina reflecting mournfully on the rise of the bourgeoisie when his nephew Delon marries merchant’s daughter Cardinale. It’s undeniably overlong and rather slow-moving but Visconti’s handling of the epic final ball sequence is a further demonstration of his mastery of composition for the wide screen and his later conception of film-as-opera. Glasgow Film Theatre. Let the Right One In (15) ●●●●● (Thomas Alfredson, Sweden, 2008) Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragna. 114min. Adapted from his debut novel by Swedish horror writer John Ajvide Lindqvist, this chilling coming of age story breathes new life into a tired vampire genre. Part of BBC Four World Cinema Awards. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. MAP Magazine Screening (E) (Various, Various) 90min. Special screening of artists’ films introduced by the editors of MAP, in celebration of the magazine’s redesign. Glasgow Film Theatre. Made in Dagenham (15) ●●●●● (Nigel Cole, UK, 2010) Sally Hawkins, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund Pike. 112min. See review, page 57. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Man who Envied Women (tbc) (Yvonne Rainer, US, 1985) Jackie Raynal, Anne Friedberg, Larry Loonin. 125min. Feminist/deconstructionist, experimental work about a misogynist intellectual. Tramway, Glasgow. Mandy (PG) ●●●●● (Alexander Mackendrick, UK, 1952) Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins, Terence Morgan. 93min. A rare screening of Mackendrick’s least typical film from his Ealing days, centring on the emotional traumas undergone by a deaf-and- dumb girl and her parents. Genuinely moving rather than sentimental, it provides surprising insight into all the characters. Glasgow Film Theatre. Matchbox Cineclub Screenings (E) (Various, Various, 2007-2009) 70min. The Matchbox Cineclub offers a new platform for the littlest films, including shorts by local filmmakers and international distributors such as Future Shorts. This month sees a programme of nine films from young filmmakers around the world, covering everything from a cat and mouse love story to the violent rampage that is Romain Gavras’ music video for the Justice song, ‘Stress’. CCA, Glasgow. Metropolis (PG) ●●●●● (Fritz Lang, Germany, 1926) Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Frolich. 124min. One of the greatest films of all time, here in its longer-length, black and white version, free from Giorgio Moroder’s tacked-on rock soundtrack. The cityscapes remain unsurpassed, although the allegory against totalitarianism is a bit naive. Cameo, Edinburgh. MURDER and murder (tbc) (Yvonne Rainer, US, 1996) Joanna Merlin, Kathleen Chalfant, Catherine Kellner. 113min. A love story about two middle-aged women: one a life-long lesbian, and another having her first homosexual relationship. Tramway, Glasgow. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (15) ●●●●● (Werner Herzog, USA/Germany, 2009) Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe, Chloë Sevigny. 91min. David Lynch and Werner Herzog band together to tell the tale of an actor who commits the crime he is to perform in a Greek tragedy. Pairing two of the best cinematic talents promises so much, but delivers both the best and worst aspects of their collective oeuvres. Glasgow Film Theatre. Nero’s Guests (15) (Deepa Bhatia, India, 2009) 56min. Documentary film created by award-winning reporter P Sainath investigating the suicide of more than 200,000 Indian farmers in just one decade over debts and poverty issues. The screening is followed by a talk by the man himself, who was the recipient of the Amnesty International Journalism Prize as well as the Ramon Magsaysay award. Take One Action! Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Nurture Room (12A) (Matt Pinder,