FILM list.co.uk/film
TAKE ONE ACTION / DOCUMENT Celebrating political cinema across Scotland
S cotland’s leading political film festival arrives just as engagement with politics is at an all-time high. Take One Action begins the day after the independence referendum, and while the programme doesn’t explicitly deal with the Yes/No vote, its underlying theme of non-violent activism echoes Scotland’s own great experiment with democracy. The fest kicks off with Everyday Rebellion (pictured), a documentary charting peaceful protest movements across the globe, from clowns to pogoing. It’s a theme carried on by Ash & Money, in which Estonia’s Theatre No99 founded their own political party to highlight the country’s issues with corruption; by #chicagoGirl, a documentary exploring the role of social media activism in the Syrian revolution; and by Bidder 70, which tells the story of activist Tim DeChristopher, who disrupted an oil and gas lease auction by successfully bidding on $1.7m worth of land with money he didn’t have. Other films in the festival tackle equality, ecology and the
Middle East among other topics.
It’s not the only politically minded programme on the horizon though. Human rights film fest Document picks up the baton almost immediately after Take One Action wraps, exploring themes of women’s and youth issues across one weekend at the CCA. Highlights include award-winning opening film God Loves Uganda, about the African nation's LGBT rights struggle, and closer American Vagabond, a documentary on homosexuality and homelessness in San Francisco. In between, local feminist organisations TYCI and Glasgow Women's Library are involved in a strand that features screenings of Kismet and Man for a Day, while Roma rights doc Judgement in Hungary stays true to the festival’s roots. (Niki Boyle)
Take One Action Film Festival, various venues, Edinburgh and Glasgow, Fri 19 Sep–Sat 4 Oct, takeoneaction.org.uk. Document, CCA, Glasgow, Thu 9–Sun 12 Oct, documentfilmfestival.org.
HITLIST THE BEST FILM RELEASES & EVENTS
✽The Riot Club A thinly-veiled satire of the Bullingdon Club from playwright Laura Wade and director Lone Scherfig. See review, page 60. General release from Fri 19 Sep.
✽20,000 Days on Earth Nick Cave
stars in this partly fictional documentary about the artistic process in general and his own work in particular. See review, page 59. Limited release from Fri 19 Sep.
✽Take One Action Film Festival See preview, left. Various venues, Edinburgh
and Glasgow, Fri 19 Sep–Sat 4 Oct.
✽What We Did on Our Holiday Highlands-set family comedy refreshingly devoid of mawkishness. Billy Connolly, David Tennant and Rosamund Pike star. See review, page 58. General release from Fri 26 Sep.
✽Life After Beth Dane DeHaan and Aubrey Plaza star in this dark and hilarious
zom-rom-com. See review, page 59 and profile, page 61. General release from Fri 3 Oct.
✽’71 Troubles-set thriller from Black Watch
scribe Gregory Burke, with rising star Jack O’Connell. See review, page 60. General release from Fri 10 Oct.
✽Bear-barella Drag superstar Peaches Christ hosts a special screening of camp
space opera Barbarella, including the dubious- sounding Orgasmatron Challenge. See preview, page 62. Glasgow Film Theatre, Fri 10 Oct.
✽All Night Horror Madness The nocturnal movie marathon returns for
another five-film festival of fear. See preview, page 61. Cameo Cinema, Edinburgh, Sat 11 Oct; Grosvenor Cinema, Glasgow, Sat 18 Oct.
18 Sep–16 Oct 2014 THE LIST 57