As per usual I have been feasting on film
and last month attended the 60th Edinburgh
International Film Festival before rolling into London
for the 6th Bicycle Film Festival.
This year at Edinburgh there was no shortage
of the world’s leading film professionals in attendance,
with Edinburgh welcoming Sigourney Weaver (best known as
Ellen Ripley in Alien), Steven Soderbergh (directing
credentials include Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve, Traffic and Erin
Brockovich), Arthur Penn (right, best known for directing
the legendary Bonnie and Clyde and Little
Big Man), Kevin Smith
(writer/director of Dogma, Clerks and Clerks
II), Charlize
Theron (Oscar winning actress as Eileen Wuornos in Monster),
and 007 himself, Sir Sean Connery. Each of the aforementioned
gave live on stage interviews during which Penn observed
that “This is the best film
festival I’ve ever
been to.” Arthur, my old china, I quite agree…
The award winning films are as
follows:
•
Standard
Life Audience Award – Clerks II
Jay and
Silent Bob have left the monochrome Quick Stop
supermarket for the bright lights of Mooby’s
burger joint…
•
Skillset
New Directors Award – London to Brighton
24 hours
in the life of a young, runaway prostitute escaping
London for the sanctuary of Brighton…
•
The
Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature
Film – Brothers
of the Head
A mockumentary
following a set of conjoined twins in a 1970’s
band, The Bang Bang…
•
Best
Documentary Feature Award – The Great Happiness
Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief
Twenty
young men are groomed to become high-class male
escorts…
•
The
UK Film Council Kodak Award for Best British
Short Film – The Other Man
Sean discovers
his wife has a secret, but can he trust her story?...
•
The
McLaren Award for New British Animation – Rabbit
A student
attempts to woo a girl by buying her a rabbit…
•
Short
Scottish Documentary Award, supported by Bailie
Gifford – The
Really Terrible Orchestra.
6TH BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL
London played host to the sixth Bicycle Film Festival
which is a filmic homage to the seemingly humble bicycle.
All styles of bikes and biking are celebrated including tall bike jousting,
track bikes, BMX, alleycats, critical mass, and bike polo. It was an adrenaline
rush just to observe the thrill of riding through the chaotic streets
of New York in Monster Track VI with extreme urban athletes, to watch
the urban gymnastics of Sao Paulo’s freestyle underground in BMX
Diversion in Brazil, the crazy antics of The Black Label Bicycle Club
in Bike Kill and to be submerged in the lifestyle of an NYC messenger
(or courier as we know them) in Pedal. It has re-awakened my (recently
waning) love for pedal power, and I have since been clocking up the miles
in my attempt to cycle Cuba later on in the year. Ah, films and bikes,
it doesn’t
get much better than that…
Arthur
Penn, the legendary director of Bonnie and Clyde.
A big screen and banner greet visitors to the Edinburgh Film
Festival.
