Electric Sheep podcast:

The films of Joseph Strick

To be broadcast 20/11/09 as an episode of I’m ready for my close-up on Resonance 104.4 FM

To coincide with the ‘Directorspective’ of the work of Joseph Strick, currently at The Barbican centre in London, Alex Fitch talks to the Oscar winning director about his career from working as a U.S. Airforce photographer during the Second World War to directing adaptations of challenging texts such as James Joyce’s Ulysses and Portrait of the artist as a young man, Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer and Jean Genet’s The Balcony. A selection of 6 of Strick’s films will be screened on consecutive days at The Barbican from 19/11/09 and there is also an additional daily screening of a new print of Ulysses (1967) until 26/11/09.

For more info about the variety of formats you can download this podcast in / stream, please visit www.archive.org

Links: Info about the Barbican ‘Directorspective’ and additional daily Ulysses screenings
Info about Joseph Strick on the IMDb and wikipedia

For info on the latest issue of Electric Sheep magazine, please click here

In association with

Electric Sheep podcast:

New approaches to Zombie cinema
Originally broadcast 16/10/09 as an episode of I’m ready for my close-up on Resonance 104.4 FM

In a special early Halloween edition, Alex Fitch talks to Jeffrey Coghlan, the producer of the innovative Canadian Horror film Pontypool and Marc Price, director of the excellent British living dead film Colin about their new approaches to the zombie genre on a limited budget.
Pontypool goes on limited release in the UK today, while Colin is released on 23rd October.

For more info about the variety of formats you can download this podcast in / stream, please visit www.archive.org

Links: Pontypool – IMDb page and Official website
Review at Cinematropolis blog
Alex’s mini-review as part of a Frightfest 2009 article at Electric Sheep Magazine
Listen to the radio version at www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice

Colin – IMDb page and Official site
Review in Revenant Magazine
Info about the Colin panels at this month’s MCM Expo
Read a transcript of Alex’s interview with Marc at Electric Sheep Magazine

Related news:

We Are Words + Pictures stall: Saturday 17th October, Girl Germs club night @ The Camden Head (from 8pm)
Join WAW+P creators Julia Scheele and Matthew Sheret as they sell and personalise the cream of the UK’s small press output from a stall with the ‘Girl Germs’ female pop and punk night at 100 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU

also: Hunterian Museum Film Screening – Medical Miniaturisation – Thursday 22 October, 7pm

Join us for our first ever Hunterian Museum film screening of two works on the theme of medical miniaturisation. Anime expert Helen McCarthy will introduce the classic 1963 anime Astroboy: Mighty Microbe Army about the robot boy miniaturised to fight bacteria inside the body, followed by the 1966 movie Fantastic Voyage inspired by one of Osamu Tezuka’s early Manga works ‘The Monster on the 38th Parallel’. The museum and the exhibition ‘Sci-Fi Surgery: Medical Robots’ will be open from 6pm so that you can see the mini-bots that turn fantasy into reality. Screenings supported by the Japan Foundation, the Japan Society and Right Stuf, Inc. FREE, booking essential on 0207 869 6560
(more…)

Electric Sheep podcast:

The Films of Sally Potter

In an hour long talk / Q and A recorded at Cinephila West in Westbourne Grove, London, Sophie Mayer interviews director Sally Potter about her career with additional questions from the audience. Sally talks about getting advice from Martin Scorsese and Michael Powell while raising funding for her second feature, Orlando and conducting a Q & A via skype with Jude Law at the premiere of Rage at the NFT. Recorded and edited by Alex Fitch.

For more info about the variety of formats you can download this podcast in / stream, please visit www.archive.org

Links:
wikipedia and IMDb pages about Rage
Official movie website
Sally Potter’s website
More info about Sophie’s book The films of Sally Potter: A politics of love

For info on the latest issue of Electric Sheep magazine, please click here

In association with:

Electric Sheep podcast:

Dario Argento and Goblin

Dario Argento interview originally broadcast 26/06/09 as an episode of I’m ready for my close-up on www.resonancefm.com

In an interview recorded at the Cine-Excess cult film festival in London, Alex Fitch talks to Italian cult film maker Dario Argento about his career from writing ‘Spaghetti Westerns’ in the 1960s such as Once Upon a time in the West to his most recent film Mother of Tears. Alex and Dario talk about the importance of music in his work, why he doesn’t like being pigeon holed as a horror director and his next project Giallo.

Also, in a Q & A recorded live on stage at the Supersonic music festival in Birmingham, Alex talks to the Italian prog rock band Goblin – Fabio Pignatelli, Massimo Morante, Agostino Marangolo and Maurizio Guarini – about scoring Argento’s films from Profondo Rosso / Deep Red to Non ho sonno / Sleepless…

For more info about the variety of formats you can download this podcast in / stream, please visit www.archive.org

Links:
IMDb pages on Argento, Once upon a time in the West and Giallo
The ‘Three Mothers’ trilogy: Suspiria, Inferno, Mother of Tears and Luigi Cozzi’s unofficial sequel The Black Cat
Wikipedia pages on Argento and the giallo genre
Watch the trailer for his new film Giallo on youtube
BFI page on the rerelease of Once upon a time in the West
Cine-Excess website
Read a transcript of Alex’s interview with director Dario Argento in Electric Sheep Magazine:

Dario Argento: With Goblin or with Claudio Simonetti, it’s different. For Profundo Rosso (Deep Red), we meet in my house nearly every night and they introduce me to the work of the day and it inspires me to do the next scene. It was very important. For Suspiria we collaborated on the music – it was good to do it before shooting.

Goblin’s official website
Info about Goblin on wikipedia and the IMDb
Visit the festival website at www.capsule.org.uk/supersonic

For info on the latest issue of Electric Sheep magazine, please click here

In association with:

Electric Sheep podcast:

The current state of Gay cinema part 2 (Monika Treut / Paul Morrison)

Monika Treut interview originally broadcast 08/05/09 in an edited version on www.resonancefm.com

In the second of two podcasts looking at the current state of gay cinema, Virginie Sélavy interviews experimental film maker Monika Treut about her work including the new film Ghosted which had its UK premiere at this year’s London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Also, guest interviewer Chris Patmore, from Films and Festivals magazine talks to director Paul Morrison about his film Little Ashes, featuring Twilight star Robert Pattinson as Salvador Dali, which looks at the relationship between Dali and the poet Federico García Lorca, as played by Javier Beltrán (Part 2 of 2)

For more info about the variety of formats you can download this podcast in / stream, please visit www.archive.org

Related news:

Pho and Muc: comics and photos at the Arts Bar, Camberwell

Julian Hanshaw, winner of the 2008 Observer graphic short story competition for his comic strip “Sand Dunes and Sonic Booms”, exhibits images from his forthcoming travelogue / Thai cookery graphic novel “The Art of Pho”, alongside photos by Rob Athill of Saigon’s late night food vendors…

20th-26th July 5.30pm – late
Arts Bar (above Funky Munky),
25 Camberwell Church Street,
London SE5 8TR

Meet the artists at a special squid party night on the 24th…!

also: Kevin O’Neill at the Illustration Cupboard

14 July – 08 August 2009

The Illustration Cupboard is pleased to present the first British exhibition of the world-famous graphic-novel artist Kevin O’Neill.

Monday – Friday 10am to 6pm / Saturday 12pm – 5pm / www.illustrationcupboard.com

and: Alternative Press Festival 2009

Wednesday 29th July – Sunday 2nd August 2009

A festival of events over five days celebrating the small press, self publishing and being creative in the print media.

Anthology Book launch / Wednesday 29th July / 7pm – 9pm

Free / Housmans radical booksellers / 5 Caledonian road / London / N1 9DX / www.housmans.com

Are you zine friendly? / Thursday 30th July / 7pm – late

Free / The Foundry / 86 Great Eastern Street / London / EC2A 3JL / www.foundry.tv

Spoken Word night out! / Friday 31st July / 7pm – Late

Free / The Griffin / 93 Leonard Street / London / EC2A 4RD

Collaborama! / Saturday 1st August / 11am – Late

Free / The Miller / 96 Snowsfields road / London Bridge / SE1 3SS / www.themiller.co.uk

Alternative Press Fair / Sunday 2nd August / 11am- 7pm

Free / St Aloysius Social Club / 20 Phoenix road / London / NW1 1TA

More info about all events at comicsandzines.wordpress.com and www.alternativepress.org.uk

plus: Laydeez do Comics ….

Is a graphic novel reading group or forum with a focus on comic works
based on life narrative, the drama of the domestic and the everyday.

Launching the first meeting in July 2009 the group is being set up by illustrator Nicola Streeten and artist Sarah Lightman. As well as selecting favourite works to base discussion on, artists, academics and fans will be invited to speak. A platform for people to test new works and ideas or works in progress will also be included.

The Sewing Room / The Rag Factory / 16-18 Heneage Street, London E1 5LJ

6.30-8.30pm, Monday 27 July / Guest Speaker: Sarah McIntyre, creator of Vern & Lettuce comic

More info here…

 

Electric Sheep podcast:

The current state of Gay cinema part 1 (Kenneth Anger / LLGFF)

Interview originally broadcast 03/07/09 in an edited version on www.resonancefm.com

Following London Gay Pride weekend, in the first of two podcasts looking at the current state of gay cinema, Alex Fitch looks at this year’s London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and at the short film collection ‘Boys on film 2: In too deep’. Virginie Sélavy interviews infamous gay experimental film maker Kenneth Anger about his work, from the Magick Lantern Cycle of the second half of the last century to his current interest in digital media and manipulation. (Part 1 of 2)

For more info about the variety of formats you can download this podcast in / stream, please visit www.archive.org

Links: Read a transcript of Virginie’s interview with Kenneth Anger at www.electricsheepmagazine.com
Anger’s Wikipedia and IMDb pages
Article about Anger’s recent films at www.artforum.com
Buy Boys on film 2 from peccadillopictures.com
Info about London Pride film screenings

For info on the latest issue of Electric Sheep magazine, please click here

Related news:

The London Japanese Art Festival
is on the weekend of the 11th / 12th of July at Richmond Adult Community College and includes:
Manga and Anime Art Exhibition, craft and sales tables from Manga shops, toys and dolls and all sorts of Japanese art and culture related goods.
Talks by Helen McCarthy and Paul Gravett
Martial Arts
Kimono dressing (kitsuke) and kimono fashion show
Cosplay Masquerade and presentations
Manga drawing workshops
J-Pop Party
Set photo shoots and roving photographers
Origami and other paper art
Calligraphy
Koto music
Japanese Dancing
Taiko Drumming
Japanese food and drink, including Pocky, obento and sake, as well as the open cafe area
Three Yatai – Takoyaki, Okonomi-yaki, Yakisoba, Donbri

UK PREMIERE : OCEAN WAVES

The Japanese Art Festival is proud to announce that the event will be hosting the premiere of the Studio Ghibli anime Ocean Waves. Studio Ghibli is better known as the Oscar-winning animation studio who brought us Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle.

Never before released in the UK, Ocean Waves centres around the life of Taku, an average high school student. But soon his quiet life will be turned upside down with the arrival of Rikako: a beautiful exchange student from Tokyo. By the end of term Taku will have learnt a valuable lesson in love and friendship.

The Ocean Waves screening is courtesy of Optimum Releasing.

More info at www.japaneseartfestival.com

also:

Kevin O’Neill at the Illustration Cupboard

14 July – 08 August 2009

The first British exhibition of his original artwork from.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Marshall Law
Nemesis the Warlock
Judge Dredd

The Illustration Cupboardis pleased to present the first British exhibition of the world-famous graphic-novel artist Kevin O’Neill.

As one of the most respected and highly regarded names in this field Kevin O’Neill’s illustrative work has led him to rub shoulders with distinguished writers, directors and film stars. Most widely known for his collaborations with writer Pat Mills on Marshal Law (see over) and Nemesis the Warlock in 2000AD Kevin has also worked with Alan Moore on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which was recently turned into a blockbuster Hollywood film starring Sean Connery.

An exciting and sometimes controversial artist this unique event offers fans and collectors an opportunity to view thirty pieces of Kevin’s original drawings and paintings never seen before, and provides visitors to London during the summer season a chance to visit a truly special event.

All artwork is available for purchase, and signed books will also be for sale.
The exhibition will continue on our first floor gallery throughout the remainder of August.
Artwork can be viewed and purchased off our website from 8th July.
Prices range from £500 – £7500

Monday – Friday 10am to 6pm
Saturday 12pm – 5pm

More info at www.illustrationcupboard.com

Electric Sheep podcast: Figures in a landscape

Interviews originally broadcast 01/05/09 in an edited version on www.resonancefm.com

Alex Fitch talks to the directors of two new films which take the starting point of a character walking through a landscape and twist it into unexpected directions. Alex talks to Bent Hamer, the director of the gentle new Norwegian comedy O’Horten which depicts the tale of a recently retired train driver who gets embroiled in a series of misadventures of the kind Victor Meldrew would be proud of from losing his shoes in a locker room and ending up with red stilettos to ending up in a car driven by a blind man. Alex also talks to Christine Molloy, one half of the film making duo Desperate Optimists, about their new film Helen, which concerns a young woman who takes part in a police reconstruction of a girl going missing and starts to take over her life from dating her boyfriend to getting maths advice from her parents.
Helen is released in selected UK cinemas on May 1st /
O’Horten is released in selected UK cinemas on May 8th

For more info about the variety of formats you can download this podcast in / stream, please visit www.archive.org

Links: Desperate Optimists‘ official website for info on Helen
Artificial Eye’s official website for info about O’Horten
Listen to Alex’s interview with Joe Lawlor, the other half of Desperate Optimists about their series of short films – Civic Life

For info on the latest issue of Electric Sheep magazine, please click here
Electric Sheep Events:

Alex Fitch and Electric sheep magazine editor Virginie Selavy will be interviewing Marc Caro co-director of The City of Lost Children about his work on stage after a screening of the film at the Apollo Piccadilly on Lower Regent Street at 9pm tonight, 01/05/09

and tomorrow, 02/05/09, at the same location at 4.15 Alex is chairing a panel with Marc Caro, Richard Jobson, director of A woman in winter, Cory McAbee (The American Astronaut) and Gerald McMorrow (Franklyn) called The problem of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film-making and you can find more details about both at www.sci-fi-london.com

In association with: