London Short Film: Year of the Rat Chinese New Year Parade

Here's a short video shot along the Strand during Sunday's Chinese New Year parade:

London Bloggers Meetup: The Movie

Earlier this week, I attended the London Bloggers Meetup, aptly organized by Andy Bargery. The event was a lot of fun, especially with the kind folks from Qype buying the first couple of rounds of drinks. Those same quirky Qypers posted London Bloggers Meetup: The movie, which along with some shaky footage of everybody's friendly faces lists many of the bloggers in attendence along with links to their blogs. Cool.


London Bloggers Meetup, January 2008 from Qype UK on Vimeo.

Horniman Museum Video

Here's a pretty cool lil video of and about one of my favourite museums, South London's Horniman Museum. Enjoy.

Tate Modern, How Deep is Salcedo's Shibboleth?

It's amazing how even the (seemingly) simplest of things can elicit a sense of wonder. Such is the case with Doris Salcedo's Shibboleth (ie the big crack in the floor at Tate Modern). As can be viewed in this post's accompanying video, folks can't get enough of this "subterranean chasm that stretches the length" of Tate Modern's Turbine Hall.



Visit Tate Modern's website for more about Salcedo's Shibboleth.

Joy Ride: Art Show Inspired by the Bicycle

JOY RIDE
an art show inspired by the bicycle
Curated by Brendt Barbur in association with Laura Fletcher
17-21 October
Maverik Showroom
68-72 Redchurch Street
Opening 17 October 6pm - 12 am
Gallery Open During Festival


Featuring works by the following artists:

Swoon Phil Frost Michel Gondry Steve MacDonald DAZE Peter Sutherland Julia Chiang Ryuta Nakajima Lauren Silberman Kareem Black Benedict Radcliffe D*Face Nik Ramage Paul Calver Ray Lewis Selim Korycki Roxy Erickson Najla Mohamed Lamin Mike Andreae Fast Eddie Williams Cheryl Dunn Takuya Sakamoto Madsaki Ko Masuda Erin Nicole Brown Taliah Lempert Amy Bolger Tod Seelie Daniel Leeb Goods Conrad Carlson Erik Foss Yohei Hanazawa Jason Chaste

Click here for more info.

Swedish Erotica at the ICA

Swedish Erotica Film Retrospective
4 October 2007 - 7 October 2007
Institute of Contemporary Arts













Click here for more details.

Zombie Walk in London: World Record Attempt

This would have to happen while I'm out of town. Oh well:

Zombie Walk World Record Attempt!
Monday 27th August
Odeon
Leicester Square
London

Click here for more info.


Photography courtesy of jkprime's Flickr photostream.

Madonna at Exmouth Market or Don't leave home without your camera!

Note to self: Always always always take your camera with you, dummy!

A lesson that's been impressed upon me many times (especially over the past year) but that I still can't seem to heed, is this: if I leave my camera at home, I'm sure to happen upon a very photogenic moment. Case in point: Friday around midday, I needed to go out to run some errands. Before leaving, I took a good long look at my camera bag, wondering if I should sling it across my shoulder for my brief outing. 'Nah,' I thought, 'I'm not going to be out that long or going anywhere interesting.'

So, I walked up to nearby Exmouth Market where I happened upon a huge crowd gathered around some vans, camera and lighting equipment, people walking around with clipboards, and ... Madonna, who was working on an upcoming film. Just a few minutes from my flat, I made a U-turn, heading back for my camera. Less than 10 minutes later, I returned to a much more mundane scene: no crowd, no vans, no clipboards, no Madonna. Oh well. Click here for some photos by some Flickr folks with a little more luck than I had.

Anyway, I took being out with the camera as an opportunity to take some shots of a couple of Banksy pieces, one of which has been getting an awful lot of publicity (like this, this and this) as being a new piece. However, I can verify that it's been there at least a year when I first noticed it. The other (the rat) seems to have fallen victim to a zealous but ineffective art collector.

Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007

Dinner Party on the Jubilee Line

I'm not sure how hygienic fine dining on the Tube is, but I love the irony and the fact that people are taking candy from strangers!

Sci Fi Geek out at the Apollo!

Sci-Fi-London
Apollo West End
2 - 6 May 2007

The 6th Annual International Festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film

www.sci-fi-london.com

Spooky silence at the Barbican

Here are some screenings coming up in the Barbican's Silent Film and Live Music series:

The Phantom of the Opera (U), accompanied by a recording of Carl Davis’ epic score
Part of Lon Chaney: Man of a Thousand Faces, introduced by Kevin Brownlow
1 Apr 07
16:00
Cinema 1
info

The Unknown (PG) + live accompaniment by DJ Nacho Martin
Part of Lon Chaney: Man of a Thousand Faces
15 Apr 07
15:00
Cinema 1
info

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (U) + live piano accompaniment by Stephen Horne
Part of Lon Chaney: Man of a Thousand Faces
22 Apr 07
16:00
Cinema 1
info

Haxan: Witchcraft through the Ages (15) + new score by Geoff Smith on the hammered dulcimer
A legendary and infamous film
6 May 07
15:00
Cinema 1
info

Rude Boy - The Clash

Rude Boy is not a great film. However, it does have some brilliant footage of several live performances by The Clash. According to IMDB ...

Rude Boy is a semi-documentary, part character study, part 'rockumentary', featuring a British punk band, The Clash. The script includes the story of a fictional fan juxtposed with actual public events of the day, including political demonstrations and Clash concerts. Filmed over a period of years, the written dialog takes on the appearance of improvisation.

The other brilliant aspect of this film is its footage of late 1970s London (as bleak as it seems to have been). I found this DVD is good to have playing while doing other things around my flat, stopping when a particular scene catches my attention or when the band comes back on to play.

Kon-Tiki screening with live music by Tron Jensen

Tron Jensen Live + Kon-Tiki
Thursday
March 29, 2007
8:00PM
ICA
The Mall
London SW1


Dedicated to the memory of Norwegian scientist and explorer Thor Heyerhahl (featured in the Oscar winning 1951 doc screened at this event), Tron Jensen's new LP 'Ocean' is a triumph of both influence and reference for the fisherman singer songwriter. Blending blues, folk and rock, Jensen’s passionate, raspy voice plays homage to the great man. In 1947 Thor crossed the Pacific Ocean on a balsa wood raft, named the Kon-Tiki in 101 days to prove his theory that the Polynesians undertook the same feat over 1000 years before.

Click here for more information.

Important celebration of women filmmakers

Birds Eye View Film Festival
entertaining, fresh and exciting - Metro
an important celebration of women filmmakers - The Independent
9 March 2007 - 14 March 2007
Institute of Contemporary Arts
Click here for visitor information

Six days festival showcasing the best women filmmakers from around the world with tons of events:

VJ In a Day!
ActionAid Shorts + directors' Q&A
Away From Her
Directing Masterclass with Laurie Collyer
Prinzessin + Q&A
Molly's Way + Q&A
The Birthday
Bird's Eye View International Shorts Programme 2
Pitch! The Ultimate Guide
Electric Ladyland: the Top Women in Music Vids
Stellar Network presents Networking In A Digital Age
The Survival Guide to Screenwriting
London Film Academy Masterclass: An Introduction to Steadicam
We're Normally Different
Goodbye, Life
Stephanie Daley + Q&A
Shut Up and Sing: Dixie Chicks
Penumbra + Q&A
The Genocide in Me + Q&A
East of Havana + Q&A
Six Yards to Democracy + Q&A
SherryBaby + intro
Fine Art to Film panel + The Music of Regret
Don't Tell + Q&A
Bird's Eye View UK Shorts Programme + Q&A
Bird's Eye View UK Documentaries
Shooting People Films Distribution Pub Quiz
She-Js!
I Am + Q&A
House of Smoke + Q&A
Ecoute Le Temps
ActionAid Filmaker Focus: Tsitsi Dangarembga with Q&A
Bird's Eye View International Shorts Programme 1
Invisible + Flow
In Between Days
Hilary Brougher: Screenwriting Masterclass

Visit www.birds-eye-view.co.uk for details.

Fellini's best at the Barbican

Fellini's World
7 January 2007 - 4 February 2007 at the Barbican Centre

A selection of Federico Fellini’s best and most popular films, capturing his beguiling world of Italian provincial life.

Click here for more information from the Barbican's website.

Arm + leg = movie ticket in London?

London 'costliest' for film-goers
Cinema-goers in London pay up to three times more for movie tickets than film-buffs in other European capital cities, new research has revealed.
BBC News
Last Updated: Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 21:31 GMT 22:31 UK

The survey, carried out by London Assembly's Liberal Democrats, found an adult ticket at Leicester Square can cost £12.45 more than in Europe.

Click here to read the complete article.

Clerkenwell Film and Video Festival: all about London

In its fourth year, the Clerkenwell Film and Video Festival will present "an event inspired exclusively by our amazing capital - London."

Friday 20 October 2006

Venue:
Crypt on the Green
St James Church
Clerkenwell Green
London EC1

Patrons:
Film Director Ken Russell
Actor David Thewlis
Video Artist Keith Piper

Click here for more details.

Max Brooks to host Barbican zombie fest

Max Brooks' Festival of the (Living) Dead!
14-18 November 2006 at the Barbican Centre

"A gore-tastic film season of flesh tearing, gut-wrenching zombie horrors," hand picked by author of the Zombie Survival Guide Max Brooks and featuring Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Dead Meat, Wild Zero, and Versus. Yes!

Click here for more details.

Free Wicker Man with every purchase

Before (or perhaps instead of) catching the Nick Cage remake of the classic film, The Wicker Man, why not just purchase a copy of today's Guardian newspaper (Wednesday 6 September), which comes with a free DVD of the original?



Besides, I very seriously doubt the new film will have anything as saucy (or goofy) as Brit Ekland shakin' her thang in throes of Pagan lust.


Yep, I got mine! And, nope, I don't normally read the Guardian, but I must admit I found the following article about The Wicker Man remake to be hilarious.

Early reviews torch The Wicker Man
Staff and agencies
Guardian Unlimited
Friday September 1, 2006

Neil LaBute's remake of The Wicker Man opened in the US today to a small but fierce bonfire of bad reviews. Expect its flames to be fanned in the days ahead.

Click here to read the complete review.

Soy Cuba (for a few more days anyway)

One-part overwrought Soviet propaganda - one part cinematic eye candy, Soy Cuba is playing at London's ICA through 1 June 2006. This Russian made film from 1964 is a series of four vignettes set in Batista ruled, pre-revolution Cuba and portrays that period from the revolutionaries’ point of view.

I caught Soy Cuba last night and was as captivated as the first time I saw the film in the mid-nineties. Honestly, it’s a bit long (and ICA’s theatre seats aren’t the most comfy) at 141 minutes … and can feel even longer as the story attempts to beat viewers over the head with revolutionary dogma. Characters are caricatures: noble peasants and revolutionaries as good guys and slimy, lecherous Americans and bloodthirsty pro-Batista pigs as baddies. Still, the story is compelling and I gather even hardened McCarthyists would have been slightly swayed for a moment or two during a viewing. However, much of that swaying would be due the masterful cinematography, not the scriptwriting. Where Soy Cuba scores is with its long, mobile shots soaring above crowds of marching people, dashing across buildings, dipping into swimming pools – practically, going any and everywhere to tell one of the most effective (and stunning) visual stories in film history.

Click here for more information.