Cheltenham International Film Festival to benefit from Cheltenham Borough Council Lottery
Cheltenham Borough Council has launched a brand, new Lottery to help local charities to raise money for good causes in Cheltenham and the Cheltenham International Film Festival will one of the causes to benefit. Tickets for the lottery cost £1 per week. Each ticket has…
Steven Berkoff
John Morrish Earlier this year, an actor/writer took to the stage in an off-West End theatre for a demanding one-man show. It tackled an incendiary topic, and portrayed a character who – while still innocent pending trial – is no-one’s idea of lovable. The character was Harvey…
Sorry To Bother You
John Morrish Sorry To Bother You, one of the surprise hits of 2018, is a strange film by any standards, but then it had a very odd genesis. The film is a powerful, funny, unorthodox satire by Raymond Riley, born 1971, better known as the…
Polish Cinema
John Morrish Cinema in Poland started early. Two Poles, a chemist called Piotr Lebiedziński and an inventor, Kazimierz Prószyńsk, created a simple movie camera, the pleograph, in 1893. This was at least a year before the Lumière Brothers’ famous screenings in Paris. In the first…
Scandinavian Drama at Cheltenham International Festival of Film.
By John Morrish Snow and ice. Deep conversations about God and his absence. Blithe sunlit romance and bitter divorce. Disputes about farm animals. The clichés about Scandinavian film come thick and fast, but the region has always had so much more to offer. In over…
Women in Film
In the last few years, the role of women in the film industry has become a burning issue. And not before time. The statistics are dismaying. Although women have always been represented on screen, they have often played uninteresting and demeaning roles. When it comes…
Nicky Price, BBC Radio Gloucestershire Presenter, Talks Film
I had listened to Nicky’s afternoon programme and thought it a good idea to talk to her about film. In part, because she defines our festival audience; someone who is enthusiastic about film. But, I discovered that this was not always the case – even better….
It’s Time to Take Period Dramas Seriously
Period dramas are iconic. No other genre quite compares. That moment when Elizabeth Bennett calls out Mr Darcy for being an arrogant bigot. Genius. Yes Lizzy, you go girl. Despite their awesomeness, the genre is often followed by a (frankly bemusing) sexist double standard. After…
Vue is Kicking up an a-ROMA
Two weeks after Roma’s success at the BAFTAs, winning four huge categories including Best Film, one of the giants of cinema in Europe – Vue International – has spoken out against the Academy’s decision to accept the film for consideration. Tim Richards, the chief executive…
Top Five Perfect Casting Choices
The films that audiences tend to remember all centre around specific moments or characters, proving that the actor who plays them can make or break a film. So for this list, I have chosen my personal top five actors who I think were THE perfect…
