East End Film Festival
Today the East End Film Festival opens, with an eclectic and cosmopolitan mix of films and events that reflect the patchwork nature of the East End.
It’s a chance to see a lot of self-funded and low budget films you won’t catch anywhere else, as well as films from Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, India, the US, and Austria.
A few projects really caught my eye. There’s some great experimental work. Andrew Kotting’s In memory of a Deadad is one of the strangest films; the director takes a cardboard cut-out of his Dad to places they both knew, and examines the figure of his father. What Dad meant to him. His father’s entire generation and the world they knew. It’s an intriguing vision.
If you’re after comedy, Tantric Tourists looks interesting. It’s described as ‘a spiritual Spinal Tap’ following a self-proclaimed New Age guru across India with her students. It’ll be followed by a party which, if the film is anything to go by, should be darn good fun.
If it’s cutting edge social documentary you want, there’s All White Barking on the 22nd, following the fortunes of various families in the east London borough. Dave won’t even speak to the Nigerian neighbours – while his daughters both have relationships with the very people he hates. Another couple have never spoken to the Nigerians next door. Director Mark Isaacs questions their prejudices and brings a wry humour to the fore in what could easily be a rather dour film. Another film, The Children of the Ghetto, looks at the Jewish history of the East End.
And for lighter relief there’s a film called Sandra about a celebrated East End pub landlady.
It’s not just films, either. Many of the films have a pre or post performance talk, often with the director. And there’s a chance to hear Michael Nyman, one of today’s most celebrated film composers, talk about his film music.
For East End culture aficionados there’s also a chance to say a proper goodbye to one of the area’s best known and best loved venues, The Spitz, which was forced to close in 2007 to make way for a soulless property development. A great night at the Spitz was shot over the last two days of the club’s existence and features some great acts.
The festival opens tonight and runs till Thursday, 24th April. Don’t miss it!
Photo – still from ‘Deadad’ provided by the East End Film Festival
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