The 18th Raindance Film Festival soldiered on last week through the UK economic downturn still looking pretty healthy. No off-site Raindance cafe this year, but passholders had free access to the members only Phoenix Artist Club and the very civilised surroundings of the Apollo continued for another year to give the festival its well-deserved kudos rather than lesser salubrious alternatives.
VIVA's VIDEO of the festival Q&A's:
Huge (in 3 parts)
The folks from All I Ever Wanted: The Airborne Toxic Event Live from Walt Disney Concert Hall gigged at the opening night party and the film (shot on 8 DSLR's and one digi master cam) proved great fun in classical maestro Gustavo Dudamel spirit. If only there was an Anna Bulbrook with her viola and tambourine on every street corner the world would be so much nicer a place to live and love. The DVD is available through their website.
Legacy the following evening with Idris Elba as a black ops soldier impressed with strong visuals and performances though not always engaging to the end.
Ben Miller's Brit comedy Huge (UK distribution through Luc Roeg's company Independent) could so easily have slipped into TV sitcom turned wannabe cinema but never did and proved that Noel Clarke and Johnny Harris can act more than just mean and menacing.
Ian Vernon's 'youths hot footing on the Northern moors having stumbled on loadsa drug money' Rebels without a Clue also impressed through it's sure direction and performances. So too was the theatrical version of a BBC 3-parter aired earlier in the year Five Daughters based on the 2006 Ipswich prostitute serial murders with '5-star' performances from all the actresses.
Too Much Pussy: Feminist Sluts in the Queer X Show was Emilie Jouvet's very sensitive, totally non-exploitative doco these 7 female performers trouping round Europe. Though often sexually explicit all the gals emerged with enormous dignity and courage as they voiced both their guilty pleasures and feminist concerns.
Vampires was a definite hit working on so many levels - a 'social realist' vampiric Belgian colonialist fangy jabby comedy.
Armless proved a flawed but interesting debut (based on a stage play).
I Believe in Angels was a conventional but quite touching love story of a Croatian postman - beautifully acted and photographed.
The festival opened with fun, English frivoulous animation Jackboots on Whitehall (released by Vertigo in the UK)
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