Birmingham's celebration of film & TV returns after a time in hiatus as the Birmingham Screen Festival in March, and promises a string of hot movies from such names as Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese.
The Festival, which hits screens in the UK's second city from 4th to 11th March 2004, opens with the UK premiere of Woody Allen's new film, Anything Else starring Christina Ricci and Jason Biggs, and closes with the UK premiere of Michael Winterbottom's Code 46 with Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton.
An impressive lineup of new movies showcases work from some of the world¹s leading auteurs. These include: Martin Scorsese (The Blues - I Feel Like Going Home); Clint Eastwood (The Blues - Redm White and Blue); Robert Altman (The Company); Marco Tullio Giordana¹s Cannes winner, The Best of Youth; Jean-Paul Rappeneau (Bon Voyage, starring Isabelle Adjani and Virginie Ledoyen); Mike Hodges (I¹ll Sleep When I¹m Dead, reuniting him with leading man Clive Owen); Ping He (Warriors of Heaven and Earth with music by Bombay Dreams composer AR Rahman); Vicente Aranda (Carmen); Mike Newell (Mona Lisa Smile); Richard Loncraine (My House in Umbria starring Maggie Smith who won an Emmy for her performance); Michael Polish (Northfork); Rick Elgood and Don Letts (One Love); Andrei Zvyagintsev's Golden Lion winner The Return; Wayne Kramer (The Cooler starring William H Macy and Alec Baldwin); Guy Maddin (The Saddest Music in the World); James Cox (Wonderland with Val Kilmer and Lisa Kudrow); Francis Veber (Tais-toi starring Gerard Depardieu and Jean Reno); Thomas McCarthy (The Station Agent); Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (21 Grams), and Takeshi Kitano (Zatoichi).
Documentaries and features based on real-life stories include: John Furse's Blindflight starring Ian Hart and Linus Roache as Brian Keenan and John McCarthy; Andrew Jarecki's controversial Capturing the Friedmans; Cecil B. DeMille: An American Epic (Part 1) by Kevin Brownlow and Patrick Stanbury with contributions from Martin Scorsese, Charlton Heston, Elmer Bernstein and Steven Spielberg; Finisterre (a journey through London as seen through the eyes of pop combo Saint Etienne); The Fog of War (Errol Morris); Remembrance (Marcela Arteaga), an hypnotic journey through Mexico¹s recent past; The Story of the Weeping Camel (Luigi Falorni and Byambasuren Davaa) a multi-award winner set in amongst the nomads of the Mongolia¹s Gobi Desert, and Complete Unknown: The Life and Times of Bob Dylan (Griffin Ondaatje & Craig Proctor).
Special Guests include: director Michael Winterbottom, producer Andrew Eaton, actress Samantha Morton and screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce (Code 46); director Mike Hodges (I¹ll Sleep When I¹m Dead); first time Midlands director Chris Cooke (One for the Road); acclaimed Indian composer AR Rahman (Warriors of Heaven and Earth); director Mike Newell (Mona Lisa Smile); screenwriter Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones: Age of Reason, Boudica, Daniel Deronda, Tipping the Velvet, Pride and Prejudice), who is in town to take part in The Script Factory Masterclass; leading man Ian Hart and director John Furse (Blindflight); Monty Python editor/assistant director Julian Doyle (Brazil, Life of Brian, Time Bandits), and co-directors Don Letts (Was Not Was) and Rick Elgood will attend the Festival to talk about their new film One Love.
Local film-makers whose work will be shown during Birmingham Screen Festival include four short films from the 'First Cut' Carlton Television initiative run in partnership with Screen West Midlands. These are: People to Contact When You're Dead in the Midlands directed by Matt Cope; Park Life produced and directed by Denise Salmon; Chains, Whips n' Rubber Tips, set in Wolverhampton, and directed and presented by Jacqueline D. Smith, and Emigre directed and produced by Robyn Woolston.
Other local film-makers in town include Nottingham's Chris Cooke who will present his debut feature, One for the Road, which was shot entirely in his home town, and Andrew Davies, the acclaimed scriptwriter (Bridget Jones: Age of Reason,Tipping the Velvet, Pride and Prejudice), who is based in Kenilworth, Warwicks.
From Analogue to Digital: Cinema in the Digital Age is the focus of the first annual conference organised by the Association of Independent Film Exhibitors, which takes place during the Festival (4/5th March).
The emergence of new digital technologies is set to transform the cinema industry. Digital film projection has been likened to the transition from black and white to colour, or the arrival of the 'Talkies'. It will irrevocably change forever the way in which we all consume film images. This two day practical hands-on event will present the leading exponents of digital exhibition including Arts Alliance whose Picturehouse circuit currently has six cinemas with high definition approved digital projection.
Other participants include: Rickard Gramfors from Folkets Haus in Stockholm, Sweden, Fiona Deans from Arts Alliance, Amanda Nevill, Director of the BFI, Bertrand Moullier Director General from FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) in Paris.
Birmingham Screen Festival 4th to 11th March 2004 For full programme details, see www.film-tv-festival.org.uk Information Hotline: 0121 643 0631 (10am - 8pm daily) Box Office: 0121 440 3838 (mac) and 0870 907 0723 (UGC).
