THE OFFICIALDAILY GUIDE

FRIDAY 18 FEBRUARY

WHAT’S INSIDE?

GFF BOX OFFICEOrder tickets from the box office atwww.glasgowfilmfestival.org.uk

or call0141 332 6535

or visitGlasgow Film Theatre12 Rose Street, Glasgow, G3 6RB

info@glasgowfilmfestival.org.uk

2 » PICKS OF THE DAYHighlights of day two at GFF 2011

2 » FEATURE: MIRANDA PENNELL

Films by the former dancer are the subject of this year’s GSFF retrospective

3 » REVIEWSPoticheSubmarineCave of Forgotten Dreams

4 » WHAT’S NEW ONLINEThe latest news, comments and pictures from the festival

4 » COMPETITIONSWin tickets to see Zeina Durra’s The Imperialists are Still Alive! by answering one simple question courtesy of the lovely people over atQuotables

Produced by The Skinny magazine in association with the Glasgow Film Festival

Editors Jamie Dunn Becky BartlettDesigner Mark Tolson

SPONSORS

WATCH AT YOUR PERILWILLIAM CASTLE, the undisputed king of the gimmick movie, can still shock an audience. By BECKY BARTLETT

William Castle’s name is synonymous with gimmicks. He transformed his low-budget genre films into events in which audience participation was not only encour-aged but expected – sometimes whether the audience realised it or not. His methods helped to elevate his films above the numerous other genre pictures doing the indepen-dent movie theatre rounds in the 1950s and 60s, and he gained both popularity and notoriety as a result. Cinemagoers flocked to his films, eager to see what they, as well as the characters onscreen, would be subjected to.

Several of his unconventional schemes have become the stuff of legend. Castle cemented his status as gimmick king in 1958, when he offered the audiences of macabre a certificate for a life insurance policy worth $1000, to be cashed in should they die of fright. In several of his films nurses would be stationed out-side the movie theatre, ready to as-sist anyone with a weak disposition. He preyed on audiences’ squeamish

nature as frequently as he could. In 1961 he released Homicidal, includ-ing a 45-second “Fright Break” prior to the film’s climax, during which overly-nervous people could leave and get a refund, though they were heckled and ridiculed in the process.

Audiences could influence the outcome of Castle’s films too. He allowed viewers to vote for their desired ending to Mr Sardonicus, although reportedly the alternative, peaceful ending was never shown. He understood that viewers loved the spectacle he offered; whether it was providing them with glasses that could conceal or reveal the on-screen spooks as desired in Thirteen Ghosts, or having a glowing skel-eton floating over the seats during House on Haunted Hill. Many of his gimmicks relied upon independent cinemas’ willingness to participate, particularly during screenings of The Tingler. Viewers are reminded it’s only a movie, but sometimes, it’s much, much more.

2 THE CINESKINNY FRIDAY 18 FEBRUARY WWW.THESKINNY.CO.UK

CELLULOID CHOREOGRAPHY

As artists across disciplines become more excited by the possibilities of fusing appar-ently separate media, the traditional division between performance and representation has become blurred. While choreographers frequently use projections, film has responded to theatre by adapting approaches and techniques to question the very nature of the medium. Spanish born dancer, choreographer and visual artist La Ribot’s recent move into cinematography, seen at last years’s National Review of Live Art, sug-gested that the camera itself could dance: even Scottish Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet featured documentary footage.

Miranda Pennell, having trained as a contemporary dancer and visual artist, has moved away from the simple idea of representing tradi-tional dance on stage, preferring to film mundane activity as if it were dance. By taking social behaviour as a basis for many of her short films, she has recontextualised army drills, musicians playing only for themselves, and fighting in the pub; by simultaneously alienating the actions and engaging the viewer, her

films ask questions not only about the definition of dance, but about the connection between documen-tary and fictional film-making.

For her latest piece, Why Colonel Bunny was Killed, receiving its Scot-tish premiere at the GFF, Pennell has slowed the usual cinematic pace to a series of stills. Set in the Afghan borders, a location filled with politi-cal resonance, it juxtaposes music and reclaimed images from the turn of the century. The focus of the film perhaps has a stronger narrative in-tention than many of her works, but it retains the haunting, almost ab-stract quality that is her hallmark: by encouraging the viewer’s attention to detail, she avoids the usual hectic flood of images that characterises most mainstream cinema.

In her studies of a military drill and a pub brawl (which is choreo-graphed to reflect the conventions of cinema or stage fighting rather than a closing time ruckus), the attention to detail makes the familiar oddly alien: the drill is recast as an obscure ritual, incomprehensible to the viewer. Her studies of danc-ers - such as You Made Me Love You - are less interested in capturing

any performance than using the movement of the camera to create the impression of dance.

Although preoccupied with formal experimentation, drawing on both dance and film theory, Pennell’s work is far from a dry analysis of surface or technique. Fisticuff is a comic glance at the gap between violence on screen and real life, twisting the pub into a cosmic arena for battle; Magnetic North challeng-es the tension within gender stereo-types; and Colonel Bunny, simply by virtue of it location, forces serious consideration of how colonialism still shapes British engagement with the rest of the world.

In a recent interview with Gail Tolley, Pennell commented that the association of her film with dance was perhaps a consequence of her training than any real connec-tion within the work - after all, she notes, there is no actual dancing in the films. Nevertheless, it is her aesthetic, fueled by modern analysis of performance and the experimen-tal ethos of contemporary visual art, that lends her direction the swing and style of a choreographer.

FAUST/ALEX SMOKE18.30 @ GFT2 Glasgow DJ Alex Smoke provides a newly imagined score for F. W. Murnau’s classic film.

SUBMARINE 20.30 @ GFT1The début feature from Richard Ayo-ade (The IT Crowd) is a refreshing adaptation of Joe Dunthorne’s novel of the same name.

GSFF OPENING PARTY 22.30 @ CCAWith a visual show by Glasgow col-lective LuckyMe and musical perfor-mances by American Men, The Blessings, Eclair Fifi and a special secret guest.

FILMCAMP 11.00 @ CCA A free ticketed series of workshops for budding film makers, in associa-tion with GSFF.

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TODAY’S

PICKSThe Glasgow Film Festival proudly hosts a selection of works by contemporary dancer-turned-filmmaker MIRANDA PENNELL. By GARETH K. VILE

FRIDAY 18 FEBRUARY THE CINESKINNY 3 WWW.THESKINNY.CO.UK

REVIEWSSUBMARINEDirector: Richard AyoadeStarring: Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige & Noah Taylor

Richard Ayoade, of Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place and The IT Crowd fame, has constructed a quirky, witty and heartfelt debut with Submarine. Based on the novel by Joe Dunthorne, the writer/director has expertly captured the awkward, alienating experience of teenage life for those who don’t quite fit in. Wide-eyed odd-ball Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) must juggle the responsibili-ties of keeping his parents’ marriage intact and maintaining his relation-ship with the equally precocious Jordana (Yasmin Paige) through a combination of deception, light arson, seduction and house break-

ing. Obstacles include not being very good at most of these things, and lascivious, mullet-sporting mystic Paddy Considine. Immediately calling to mind Wes Anderson and a more involving, less smug Noah Ba-umbach, Submarine manages to be genuinely hilarious whilst preserving a sinister tone riddled with existential angst more attributable to Bergman. Full of memorable lines and eccentric charm, Ayoade’s film is cine-literate and beautifully constructed. With a mesmeric central performance from Roberts, it stands out as one of the must-see films of the festival.

[Chris Fyvie]

POTICHEDirector: François OzonStarring: Cathrine Deneuve

Pot ic he i s a pe r fume sc e nt -e d dood le , as f l u f f y and p re t -t y as c and y f los s , bu t w i th as l i t t l e subs tanc e . S e t i n 197 7, De ne u ve p lays the bou rge o i s ‘ t rophy w i fe ’ of a d racon ian fac to r y t ycoon who ge ts the c hanc e to e mbrac e wome n’s l i be rat ion whe n he r hus band i s hos p i ta l i se d , l e av ing he r to r un the fam i l y bus ine s s . Gé ra rd De pard ie u s hows up as a l e f t - w ing po l i t i c i an and pos s ib l e l ove i n te re s t bu t the on l y th i ng he b r i ngs to p roc e e d ings i s h i s own p lane t - s i ze d i ne r t i a . Can th i s s acc ar i ne fa rc e re a l l y be the wor k of the man who b rought us Cr im ina l Love r s and Sw im -m ing Poo l? I n O zon’s l as t De ne u ve co l l aborat ion , the wonde r fu l l y daf t whodun i t -mus ic a l 8 Wome n, h i s l e ad ing l ad y e n joye d a fumb le on some s hag c a r pe t i ng w i th Fanny A rdant . I n Pot ic he , De nu ve’s sex l i fe i s re s t r i c t -e d to sof t focus f l as h - bac ks w i th a younge r ac to r. Fo r f i ve de c ade s De ne u ve’s c a re e r has be e n a coquet t i s h danc e w i th the c ame ra , bu t O zon se e ms to se e he r as a d re s s - up do l l . Pe r haps that ’s one taboo F ranc e’s e nfant te r r ib l e i s not p re pare d to b re ak : pe ns ione r nook ie .

[ Jam ie Dunn]

3D is widely seen as the cinematic tool of the future, so trust Werner Herzog to take it into the past. Cave of Forgotten Dreams 3D is the mercurial German’s f irst f i lm in three dimensions, and while the effect is a l it t le wobbly in spots, it pays glorious divi -dends when he ventures into the depths of the Chauvet Cave, bringing 30,000 year-old

cave paintings to vivid l ife. The director’s customary voiceover imbues the images with depth and meaning too, with Herzog suggesting that this cave was “where the modern human soul was awakened”, and he has assembled a typically eccentric group of participants to guide him along the dark and narrow path. There’s a scientist who used to perform in the circus, a

perfumer who explores the cave by smell ing the rocks, and by the time the nuclear crocodiles have shown up you’l l have long realised that nobody but Werner Herzog could have made Cave of Forgotten Dreams. May he long continue to explore such unchartered terr itory and tell extraordinary stories in his own inimitable fashion.

[Phil ip Concannon]

CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS 3DDirector: Werner HerzogStarring: Werner Herzog

QUIZ TIME

WHAT’S NEW ONLINE?MILLAR TIMEMark Millar, the comic book writer behind The Ultimates and Kick-Ass, talks to The Skinny about bringing superheroes to the festival crowd, his Weegie superhero movie and an onanistic Peter Parker.

http://bit.ly/millartime

TORSTEN LAUSCHMANNJournalist Mitch Miller takes a look at Torsten

Lauschmann’s one-off site specific experimental magic lantern show.

http://bit.ly/TorstenL

@SkinnyFilm

Follow us on Twitter for all the latest from the festival. Send us your thoughts and reviews on anything you have seen or are looking forward to @SkinnyFilm or by using #GFF11. The best tweets of the day will be featured

in the ‘What Did You Think?’ column below.http://on.fb.me/dVW4QB

SCOTLAND DIRECTS BBC Scotland is on the hunt for talent ‘behind the camera’ with the launch of a project aimed at finding new drama direc-tors. Scotland Directs will launch at CCA on Saturday 19th February (14.30).

http://bit.ly/Scotdirects

PIC OF THE DAY

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Download your FREE Glasgow Guide iPhone appNOW INCLUDING WHAT’S ON LISTINGS

Follow seeglasgow

GIVEAWAY:

Zeina Durra’s Sundance hit The Imperialists are Still Alive! is a fresh and funny look at the bohemian but troubled lives of wealthy Man-hattan emigres. To win two tickets to see it at GFF (Feb 19, 20.30 - Cineworld, Renfrew Street), simply answer the question following our quotable clue:

“A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end... but not necessarily in that order.” — Jean-Luc Godard

Durra’s film’s title is a quote from Jean-Luc Godard’s La Chinoise, but what filmmaking movement is Godard famously a member of?

a) German Expressionism b) French New Wave c) Italian Neorealism.

Email answers to: jamie@theskinny.co.uk before 10.00pm on Sat 19 Feb

GFF co-directors Allison Gard-ner and Allan Hunter do some final preperations before the festival’s opening gala

Here’s the GFF daily

quotable:

“in my dreams you walk drip-ping from a sea-journey on the highway across America in tears to the door of my cottage in the Western night”

– Allen Ginsberg, “Howl”http://qtbl.es/gff2

Howl is showing Friday 18–Saturday 19 at GFF.

Visit Quotables to see many more GFF quotes as the festival goes on: http://qtbl.es/glasgowfilm

@EDFILMFESTGood morning. Big shout out 2 our friends in the West @Glasgowfilmfest who kick off 2day, AWESOME PROGRAMME, shud B ace Fest! Good luck guys

@GLASGOWFILMFESTPacked all my finest clothes and have kissed goodbye to my children and husband. Let the fes-tivities at #gff begin!

WHAT DIDYOU THINK?

We ask 6 people coming out of a screening of New Exciting Film if they like it or not

@M_MACLENNANWondering what to see at @glasgowfilmfest? Some tips from me, ‘The STV trailer park: Glasgow Film Festival special’, http://stv.tv/a/228785/

@MARCGCAIRNSAnyone fancy ‘Howl’ this Saturday the @glasgow-filmfest? James Franco... how can you say no? http://tinyurl.com/5rc3o98

@PAULCGALLAGHERManaged to grab 90 minutes and watch Richard Ayoade’s Submarine, which I recommend checking out at @glasgowfilmfest this weekend.

@PAULEGREENWOODWoo-hoo. Glasgow Film Festival starts today. The world’s greatest film festi-val is here. Who’s going to The Deer Hunter at 13.00?