commonwealth film festival

[pinkegokane]

28th April - 7th May 2006, Commonwealth Film Festival, Manchester

The 5th Commonwealth Film Festival is so very nearly here, ready to pounce on an expectant Manchester with the best in contemporary cinema and a guaranteed 10 days of enjoyment and inspiration for everyone.

YES! There really is something for everyone in this year's packed programme.

With over a 100 hours of quality international film and industry events across the city, the festival is the ultimate film enthusiast's dream.

in particular i thought some people might be interested in the collision event, which is described as "a celebration of music meeting film meeting art. A wide range of events, including multimedia performances, music promos and documentaries, rescores and experimental films. Look out for Soft, an electro-acoustic audio-visual feast by Manchester-based new-media artist Maria Stukoff and composer Olly Farshi."

(also "Feel the twisted chill at 'Saturday Night Bad Blood: Parts I and II’, a special collection of films for those who love horror and macabre stories. Not for the faint-hearted!")

here's the link to the music one:

www.commonwealthfilm.com/strand2006.asp?strand=70921

anyone interested?

[pinkegokane]

more info about each event:

The Punks Are Alright

Cornerhouse / 29 April / 18:00 / cert: 15

A virtually visceral one-two punch of punk music and social commentary that jets us from Canada to Brazil to Borneo. The Punks Are Alright profiles three punk bands from three parts of the world; Forgotten Rebels from Canada, Blind Pigs from Brazil and Superman is Dead from Kuta in Bali. Connected through their music we get an insightful social commentary about young people's views about the world around them.

Playing with:

As Angry As Me

The rise of punk rock duo Selfish Cunt from their early days through to recognition in the mainstream press and recording in New York and a concert at London's Brixton Academy.

Live rescore: IN the nursery - electric edwardians: the films of mitchell and kenyon

greenroom / 29 April / 20:00 /cert: 15

Sheffield based duo In the Nursery perform their specifically commissioned rescore of the magnificently restored Electric Edwardians: The Films of Mitchell & Kenyon live, adding a mesmerising tone of wistfulness to these breathtaking artefacts.

total animation

AMC Great Northern / 30 April / 16:15 / cert: 12

A collection of excellent short film animations, from 2D to 3D, CG and back to stop-animation. The programme includes 2005 BBC New Animator winner Tea Total, festival favourite At the Quinte Hotel and an amusing day without a television in Remote Paradise.


Halloween Film Festival presents: rockumentary britannia

greenroom / 30 April / 19:30 / cert: 18

London based Halloween Short Film Festival presents a slection of short music documentaries screened over the last two Festivals, including films about the Libertines and Pete Doherty's infamous Teesdale Road E2 house parties; hip hop collective UNKLE; indie superstars Kasabian filming a music video in Eastern Europe; the New Cross indie explosion and Hackney's burgeoning grime scene including the Roll Deep Crew.

Alongside all this will be a tasty array of top notch UK music videos, visuals, DJ and compere. Plus live set from Chorley heartbreakers, Former Bullies.


high tides: music videos

Cornerhouse / 02 May / 20:00 / cert: 12

A feast of the latest music promos. Innovative and original artistic impressions in abundance, including the Australian The People's Republic of Animation. We move from tranquil and gentle instrumental pieces via electro outfit Ladytron to upbeat tracks from Coldcut and Charlotte Heatherley visualised by an inventive mix of live footage and animation.

Dead time

Cornerhouse / 04 May / 20:00 / cert: 18

Combining documentary, narrative and experimental elements into a fascinating whole, Toronto based artist and filmmaker Steve Sanguedolce beautifully hand preocessed and painted feature film investigate the lives of three young people who grapple with drugs, sexual abuse, prostitution and crime.


lightstruck

Cornerhouse / 05 May / 18:00 / cert: 15

A programme comprised of 12 experimental pieces that concern themselves with the material and historical processes of filmmaking.

Through a variety of formal techniques, including hand-processing, manipulation, toning, direct animation, optical printing and re-contextualizing found footage, the films reference and reinvent the inherent photochemical and mechanical nature of the medium.

The conscious use of film's physical properties also furthers a shared investigation of, and commentary on, the styles and conceits of classic cinema. The inversion of existing narratives and construction of new ones from found and archival source materials collude with the often, autobiographical qualities of personal filmmaking, to rewrite cinematic history.

Curated by Antimatter, Canada, and presented in association with Purescreen.

Rash

Cornerhouse / 07 May / 16:00

A revolutionary look at street art and the artists behind the alternative, arnarchistic mode of expresson that is graffiti, stencilling, tagging and paste-ups in Melbourne, the world mecca of street art.

Closing Event: Soft

greenroom / 07 May / 20:30

New Media artist Maria Stukoff and composer Olly Farshi will collaborate in this one-off performance, celebrating ComFEST's closing night.

Farshi's field-recorded soundscapes and electro-acoustic melodies will sweep audience members into Stukoff's video feed, providing a retrospective visual commentary to the festival's preceedings.

come on guys! i'd've thought one or two of you at least would be interested!

[Natalie]

I am VERY interested, Gadsby.

[Tom]

i might be interested too. im not really a film kind of person, but i think i could like quite a bit of that.

[pinkegokane]

i'm not either, but i really like music and film together, so this looks awesome.