des1967

Former teacher and formerly Curriculum Support for Media, Aberdeen City. Freelance CPD provider. Secretary of AMES (Scottish media teachers) and editor of The Media Education Journal www.mediaedscotland.org.uk

Posts

The Global Film Book Blog

Spike Lee Joint 3: Four Little Girls (US 1997) November 7, 2018
I’ve been prompted by shootings of African-Americans in far too many incidents over the last few years to dig out some notes I used in 2003. The crime investigated in Four Little Girls, the Spike Lee documentary, is also alluded to in Selma, the 2014 film about Martin Luther King. I thought that Spike Lee had … Continue reading Spike Lee Joint 3: Four Little […]
The Girl Who Kicked in the Hornet’s Nest (Luftslottet som sprängdes, Sweden/Denmark/Germany 2009) October 4, 2018
(I discovered this in a pile of unpublished posts. I’m posting it now as a tribute to Mikael Nykvist who died ridiculously young (of lung cancer) at 56 in June 2017. I also note that a second ‘follow up’ title in the Millennium series by David Lagercrantz has been published in the UK and that Sony … Continue reading The Girl Who Kicked in the Hornet’s Nest ( […]
Purple Butterfly (Zi hudie, China-France 2003) September 25, 2018
MUBI has recently included several films by the Chinese auteur Lou Ye as part of its rolling monthly programme. They titled their mini-season of Lou’s films ‘Freedom and Defiance: The Cinema of Lou Ye’. Lou Ye (born 1965) made his first features in China in 1994 and 1995, but it was not until 2000 that … Continue reading Purple Butterfly (Zi hudie, China-Fr […]
Under the Tree (Undir trénu, Iceland-Poland-Denmark 2017) August 21, 2018
At first, I was under the misapprehension that Under the Tree was a follow-up to Rams (2015), the Icelandic film that became a surprise arthouse hit in the UK in 2016. I was wrong. Under the Tree is a different writing and directing team. Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson wrote and directed the film with Huldar Breiðfjörð as … Continue reading Under the Tree (Undi […]
The Bridges of Sarajevo (France-Bosnia-Herzogovina-Germany-Italy-Switz-Portugal-Bulgaria 2014) July 25, 2018
This compendium/portmanteau film features the work of 13 European directors who were asked to represent aspects of Sarajevo’s turbulent history. The film was completed for the centenary of the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which triggered the First World War. Since then the city, which had been in Austrian-Hungarian control since 1978 after […]
The Nile Hilton Incident (Sweden-Denmark-Germany 2017) May 15, 2018
The Nile Hilton Incident is an intriguing film, not only in its presentation of an exciting crime thriller in a precise location, but also as a film production which invokes a specific kind of response. In its own way it’s the perfect case study for ideas about global film. This film is a product of … Continue reading The Nile Hilton Incident (Sweden-Denmar […]

Media Student’s Book Blog

Balancing left and right
The Labour leadership election appears to have got the UK press and broadcasting media in a real tizz. One of the most aggravating aspects of the reporting is the constant appendage of ‘left-wing’ to any reference to Jeremy Corbyn. He is … Continue reading →
Defining the other
The 10th anniversary of the ‘7/7 bombings’ in 2005 in London saw a range of remembrance events across the UK. These resulted in a great deal of media coverage. One BBC radio reporter referred to the four young bombers and … Continue reading →
Getting the balance right
The local elections in England last week produced two examples of quandaries for broadcasters. The big story for the BBC and other commentators was the rise of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), led by a curiously charismatic Nigel Farage. UKIP are … Continue reading →
Welsh TV noir: Hinterland (UK 2013)
Hinterland is a good example of the global/local. Like some other modern states the UK has statutory requirements and cultural policies that protect the other languages in the Home Nations and this means support for both Welsh and Gaelic broadcasters … Continue reading →

Cineuropa

The Torino Short Film Market hosts Sydney Sibilia and the General Assembly of Italian Shorts - Torino 2018 – Industry/Shorts
The third edition of the biggest industry event in Italy for the short format will unspool from 22-25 November, during the Torino Film Festival
Window decree in Italy: cinemas get priority - Legislation - Italy
Italy waves goodbye to day-and-date releases, while national audiovisual productions have up to 105 days to be submitted to receive legally-recognised benefits
Belfort shines the spotlight on the fringes of the world - Festivals – France
The 33rd Entrevues Festival, an event dedicated to young, independent and innovative film, will unspool from 17-25 November
Review: Land of Hope - Films – Finland
Finnish director Markku Pölönen turns back the clock once again with a period drama set between 1945 and 1952 that seems to creak with age but is given a beating heart thanks to Oona Airola
Review: Lada Kamenski - Zagreb 2018
Croatian filmmakers Sara Hribar and Marko Šantić have crafted an engaging movie that comments on the industry and women's position within it, but falls short of its own ambition
European and North American film bodies launch JETS Co-Production Initiative - Industry – Europe/North America
The groundbreaking initiative aims to connect early-career filmmakers from Europe and North America with producers, sales agents and industry decision-makers
Review: The Portuguese Woman - Mar del Plata 2018
Portuguese director Rita Azevedo Gomes has taken on another literary challenge, and the result is a rich, varied and sophisticated feature
Interview: Anna Odell • Director of X&Y - “I have decided that art is more important than fear” - Stockholm 2018
We sat down with Swedish director Anna Odell to talk about how she explores gender identity in a limitless world between fiction and reality in X&Y

	keith1942 on LIFF#5: The White Reindeer (Va…
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	keith1942 on LIFF#5: The White Reindeer (Va…
	John Hall on LIFF#9: In den Gangen (In the…
	keith1942 on LIFF#5: The White Reindeer (Va…
	Roy Stafford on LIFF#5: The White Reindeer (Va…
	Nick on LIFF#5: The White Reindeer (Va…
	keith1942 on LFF 2018 #5: Happy as Lazzaro…

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