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Story by: Jack Foley
RAISING Victor Vargas, by award-winning director, Peter Sollett,
will have an exclusive screening at the opening gala for the very
first respectfilm, a week-long season of films celebrating
diversity from around the world, at cinemas across London, from
July 10-17.
Raising Victor Vargas tells the story of young love in New York's
Lower East Side and has received excellent reviews in the States.
The film will be screened at the Curzon Mayfair on Thursday, July
10.
respectFilm is being programmed by Marc Boothe, on behalf of
the Mayor of London, and will be one of the highlights of respect
week, a wide-ranging programme of arts, community and educational
events taking place across the capital in the run up to the Mayor's
respect anti-racist festival at the Dome, Greenwich on July 19.
Mayor, Ken Livingstone, who is organising respect for the third
year with National Assembly Against Racism and TUC South East
region, commented: "respect is about challenging racism,
but it is also about celebrating diversity and reflecting different
life experiences.
"We have films about relationships within and between communities
from across the world, stories about the experience of refugees,
as well as about family relationships and sexuality and I am delighted
that we have been able to secure exclusive screenings of so many
films."
Among several premieres and exclusive screening are Standing
In The Shadows Of Motown, a documentary and live performance film
about the pivotal role played by the Funk Brothers in the musical
legacy that spawned the once ubiquitous 'Motown sound', which
changed the course of music around the world. It will close the
festival at the Ritzy, Brixton, on Thursday, July 17.
There will also be world premiere screenings of Scarred, Tasvih
and A Long Way From Piccadilly, three films made by and for refugees
living in London and funded by the Princess Diana Memorial Fund
and the Prince’s Trust.
Other festival highlights include Rick Famuyiwa's hip-hop tale
Brown Sugar and Rick Elgood and Don Letts' Jamaican feature One
Love, about love across religious and social borders.
There will also be an exclusive preview screening of The Making
Of 1 Giant Leap, the Duncan Bridgeman-Jamie Catto movie record
of their musical tour of 25 countries, including a Q&A with
Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman.
Other special events include Q&As with Sophie Fiennes (director,
Hoover Street Revival); Michael Ocelot (Kirikou – The Sorceress);
Safina Uberoi (My Mother India), whilst One Love will be introduced
by directors Rick Elgood and Don Letts.
Also due to take part in education events are screenwriter Tony
Grisoni at a special screening of Michael Winterbottom's In This
World and broadcaster Henry Bonsu, who will be talking to actor
Chiwetel Ejiofor, from Stephen Frears' Dirty
Pretty Things.
Playwright and critic, Bonnie Greer, will be interviewed by film
critic Peter Curran at a special showing of her favourite film,
The Third Man.
Marc Boothe told IndieLondon: "The respectFilm festival
provide a unique and much needed platform for London's multi-ethnic
communities to celebrate the wealth and diversity of stories from
the around the world on the 'Big Screen. It's a great honour to
be part of something that is so positive and inclusive."
SPECIAL EVENT
'23:59' Digital Short Film Competition - calling all 'guerrilla'
filmmakers! The rules are simple: 24 hours to shoot; 24 hours
to edit. All you need is an idea, a crew and a weekend.
For more information contact info@b3media.co.uk
EDUCATION EVENTS
Produced by Film Education, in association with B3 Media, and
suitable for people with or without knowledge of film (aged 15
years and above), the following three films are to be shown. All
seats cost £1.
In This World - Michael Winterbottom/UK/2002/89mins /cert
15
This highly-acclaimed film follows Jamal and Enayatullah as they
set out to travel overland to London, passing through Iran, Turkey,
Italy and France, in a journey which is so arduous and life threatening
that one is constantly aware of the desperation that lies behind
it. Includes Q&A with screenwriter Tony Grisoni.
Curzon Mayfair, Friday, July 11, at 10.30am
Dirty Pretty Things - Stephen Frears/UK /2002/97mins/cert
15
An urban thriller in which an African night porter enlists the
help of a prostitute, a chambermaid and a mortuary technician
to solve a bizarre murder. Set in a world of asylum seekers that
lies behind the familiar urban metropolis, it is a tale of two
cities, both set in London. Includes Q&A with Chiwetel Ejiofor
(TBC) and Broadcaster Henry Bonsu.
Curzon Mayfair, Monday, July 14, 10.30am
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Thursday, July 10 - Raising Victor Vargas (Opening night
gala) - Peter Sollett/US/ 88mins/cert 15
Victor Vargas (Victor Rasuk), is a self-styled lower east-side
teenage Casanova who, despite his adolescent hubris, has a lot
to learn about love. Caught between regaining his grandmother’s
trust and helping his kid brother and sister negotiate the oft-baffling
ways of the world, Victor discovers that there’s a difference
between acting like a man and becoming one.
Plus Scarred World Premiere
UK/2003/12mins/cert 15
Curzon Mayfair - 6.30pm, £8.50
Friday, July 11 - The Clay Bird (Matir Mona)
Tareque - Masud/Bangladesh/2002/ 100mins/English subtitles/cert
15
Cannes award-winning story tells of family life during the upheavals
of East Pakistan in the 1960s. Check Box Office for details: 020
7780 2000
Genesis at 3pm 6pm 9pm £5.50/£4.50/£3.65
My Mother India - Safina Uberoi/Australia/2001/52mins/no
certificate
Delightful portrait of the director’s family introduces us
to a kitsch academic father, an Australian mother and their Indian
neighbours. What begins as a humorous documentary unfolds into
a complex commentary on the social, political and religious events
of the anti-Sikh riots in 1984, which tore this family apart.
Includes Q&A with director Safina Uberoi
ICA Friday 11 & Friday, July 18 at 7pm £6.50/£5.50
Saturday, July 12 - Serious About Shorts: Diaspora Shorts
Showcase
Produced by B3 media
A short film showcase featuring the best in short films from the
UK’s Black and Asian filmmakers. Shot on film and digitally
the showcase will provide a unique opportunity to discover tomorrow’s
hot talent today.
Curzon Mayfair, Saturday, July 12, 11am £3
Cowboy Be-Bop: the Movie
Shinichiro Watanabe/Japan/2003/115mins/English subtitles/Cert
12A
In the days leading up to Halloween 2071 the bounty hunting crew
of the spaceship BeBop are bored and broke. This Bladerunner-esque
post-modern anime epic delights with its goony touches and unexpected
delicacy.
ICA Saturday, July 12, 2pm & 10.30pm £6.50/£5.50
Hoover Street Revival
Sophie Fiennes/US/2002/100mins/Cert U
This unique and innovative film takes as its subject life, death
and the Word of God as experienced around Greater Bethany Community
Church, in the notorious South Central, LA.
Includes Q&A with director, Sophie Fiennes.
The Other Cinema, Saturday, July 12, 6.30pm £7/£4
Sunday, July 13 - 'My Favourite Film': The Third Man
Carol Reed/US/1949/105mins/cert U
Playwright and critic, Bonnie Greer, introduces a special showing
of her favourite film. Interviewed by Peter Curran from BBC LDN
The Big Picture 94.9FM.
Curzon Mayfair Sunday, July 13, 1pm £6
Double Bill
Hammam - The Turkish Bath
Ferzan Ozpetek/Italy-Turkey-Spain/1997/98mins/English subtitles/Cert
15
Rome interior designer Francesco leaves his fading marriage behind
when he travels to Istanbul to assess the inheritance left by
his aunt, an old-fashioned Turkish bath (or 'hammam')
+ Ignorant Fairies
Ferzan Ozpetek/Italy/2001/105mins/English subtitles/Cert 15
Stefano Accorsi, Margherita Buy.
Contrasting lifestyles and unveiling desires, the third film from
Turkish-born director Ozpetek is his first based fully in Italy.
An affluent thirtysomething doctor (Buy) is distraught after the
death of her husband and shocked to discover that he had long-term
male lover.
Rio Cinema, Sunday, July 13, 2pm £7/£5.50
Kirikou – The Sorceress
Michael Ocelot/ France/1998/74mins/Cert U
The tiny Kirikou is born into an African village upon which a
sorceress called Karaba has cast a terrible spell. His adventure-filled
voyage leads him to the forbidden mountain, where the wise man
of the mountain, who knows of Karaba and her secrets awaits him.
Kirikou's stunning visuals are accented by a traditional music
soundtrack by African music giant Youssou N'Dour of Senegal.
plus face painters and live African drumming and Q&A with
Michael Ocelot.
Ritzy Cinema, Sunday, July 13, 4.30pm £5
Brown SUugar - exclusive preview
Rick Famuyiwa/US/2002/109mins/cert 12A
Starring: Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, Mos Def, Queen Latifah. Dre
and Sidney attribute their friendship and their careers to a single
moment - the day they discovered hip-hop. Now some 15 years later,
as they lay down the tracks toward their futures, hip-hop isn't
the only thing that keeps them coming back to that moment.
Ritzy Brixton, Sunday, July 13, 7pm £7/£4
Monday, July 14 - Breath Control: History Of The Human Beat
Box
Joey Garfield/ 2002/ US/ 74mins/cert 15
Forget samplers, drum machines and devices: this is the real deal.
Going back as far as the DJ and breakdancing in Hip Hop culture
is the art of making music using just the human voice. The first
documentary on this skill, using new interviews with those involved,
including Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie (The Diabolical) and The Fat
Boys. + Diaspora Shorts
The Other Cinema, Monday, July 14, 7pm £4
Tuesday, July 15 - One Love London Premiere
Rick Elgood & Don Letts/Jamaica/2003/tbc mins/cert tbc
Starring Ky-Mani Marley, Cherine Anderson and Vas Blackwood. A
contemporary Jamaican 'Romeo and Juliet', One Love tells the tale
of young Rasta reggae musician Kassa and Serena, the gospel singing
daughter of a Pentecostal preacher who are brought together through
their mutual love of music. Introduced by the directors.
Curzon Mayfair, Tuesday, July 15, 6.30pm £8.50
Mon-Rak Transistor (A Transistor Love Story)
Pen-ek Ratanaruang/Thailand/2001/120mins/English subtitles/Cert
15
From the producers of Tears of the Black Tiger comes the perfect
summer movie, a potent blend of Elvis Presley-style musical, love
story and poisonous social satire in Hysteric Glamour T-shirts.
ICA ALL WEEK, 8.45pm £6.50/£5.50
Wednesday, July 16 - The Making Of 1 Giant Leap - exclusive
preview
Duncan Bridgeman, Jamie Catto/UK/2002/155min/cert PG
In 2001, Jamie Catto, film-maker and founding member of Faithless
and artist/producer Duncan Bridgeman, joined forces to create
the project, 1 Giant Leap. They embarked upon a journey of 25
countries including Senegal, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, India,
Australia, the United States and United Kingdom, equipped solely
with a digital camera and a laptop. This is the story of that
journey.
+ Diaspora Shorts and masterclass Q&A with Jamie Catto and
Duncan Bridgeman
The Other Cinema, Wednesday July 16, 6.30pm £7/£4
Thursday, July 17 - Standing In The Shadows Of Motown Closing
Night Gala
Paul Justman /US/2002/116mins/cert PG
Their music is famous around the world, though their names are
not. Known as the Funk Brothers, they put the soul into the hits
of such legendary performers as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin
Gaye and Stevie Wonder. Standing In The Shadows of Motown tells
their story, combining exclusive interviews, archival footage
and thrilling new performances, the Funk Brothers backing up Chaka
Khan, Ben Harper, Me’shell Ndegeocello, Bootsy Collins.
Ritzy Brixton, Thursday, July 17, 9pm £7/£4
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