2009 CORNWALL FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED

The programme for the 2009 Cornwall Film Festival has been announced by festival director Donna Anton. Scheduled for 13-15 November, the eighth annual festival will be held in four venues around Falmouth, including the newly refurbished Phoenix Cinema and the UCF Woodlane campus.

Board Shorts, the UK’s only short surf film event, will take place the week before, on Saturday, 7 November, on the UCF Tremough campus. Screen Actions, the young persons film festival for 8- to 18-year-olds across Cornwall, will take over the National Maritime Museum all day on Friday the 13^th with a ‘spooky’ theme. Bookings for Screen Actions are made through schools and participating organisations.

“Whether it’s feature films based on award-winning books, Cornish archival or Cornish-language films, shorts by Cornish filmmakers, dance films, documentaries, talks, workshops, or just plain networking,” said Donna, “this year it can truly be said we have something for everyone.”

Some highlights:

Premieres galore

This year’s line-up of commercial feature films includes two UK premieres, three South West premieres, and one Cornwall premiere.

Disgrace, award-winning film adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s Booker prize-winning novel, starring John Malkovich. UK premiere.
Marcello, Marcello, Italian romantic comedy based on the book Marcello’s Date, written by Portscatho resident Mark David Hatwood, who will introduce and provide Q&A. UK premiere.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, crime thriller based on the first of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy set in contemporary Sweden. South West premiere.
Glorious 39, Stephen Poliakoff’s World War II suspense yarn starring Romola Garai, Bill Nighy, Julie Christie, David Tennant. South West premiere.
Beyond the Call, documentary that follows three self-financed humanitarians who deliver goods and money to the developing world. South West premiere.
The Men Who Stare at Goats, based on Jon Ronson’s bestselling true tale about New Age beliefs in the US military. Ronson will introduce and provide Q&A. Cornwall premiere.

Also to be screened: Fish Tank, Andrea Arnold’s brilliant new drama about a troubled teenage girl in Essex, and the surrealist-horror classic Eraserhead (1977), digitally remastered in 2000 by director David Lynch.

Culture and heritage

“Reel Cornwall,” rare, long-hidden footage of Cornish life in the first half of the 20^th century. Beginning in 1904, this collection includes promotional clips from Holmans and the Great Western Railway. Presented by BFI archive production curator – and Camborne native – Jan Faull.
The world premiere of the Cornish-language film Skath, directed and produced by Paul Farmer, the winner of last year’s £5,000 Govyn Kernewek filmmaking commission. Skath, which means ‘gig’ in Cornish, documents the ambitions of Pol Hodge as he progresses from unfit novice to serious competitor in the World Pilot Gig Championships in Scilly.
Another Country, the festival’s second international short film competition, has been touring Cornwall through the autumn. The final Another Country screening and vote will take place at the festival; a cash prize of £1,000 will go to the winning filmmaker.
A special screening of award-winning films from the 2009 Budapest International Short Film Festival (BuSho) will be introduced by the director of BuSho, an invited guest of the Cornwall Film Festival.
Delegations from rural regions of Poland and Finland will be received by Cornish artist ‘practitioners’ during the festival, as part of the European Region of Culture (EROC) campaign to celebrate rural culture and improve the profile and investment of cultural sectors like Cornwall. The delegates will take part in a private screening of short films themed around ‘What It Means to Be Cornish.’

Local filmmakers

Short films submitted by filmmakers across Cornwall will be showcased in various categories, including the first-ever juried competitions for both mature and student films. A Cornish documentary, Diary of a Disgraced Soldier, follows the post-military life of an Iraq war veteran and his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. Bad Company, a Cornish feature-length film, spins a classic tale of obsession and twisted love.

The Cornwall Film Festival is collaborating for the first time with The Works on a two-day Dance for the Camera workshop. Two screenings of dance films, including a collection shot by local filmmakers, will be open to the public.

Talks and workshops

Professional development events, to inspire and inform students, film enthusiasts and experienced filmmakers, will include:

· ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats and Other True Tales of Everyday Craziness,’ presented by writer and documentary filmmaker Jon Ronson, who will be signing copies of his books after his talk.

· ‘What Audiences Want,’ an insight into how filmgoers make their choices. Alex Stolz, senior executive, Distribution & Exhibition, UK Film Council

· ‘The Art of Sound,’ a talk designed to ensure you will never hear films in quite the same way again. Shelley O’Brien, film studies lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University.

· ‘Everything You Wanted to Know about Film Noir – But Were Too Scared to Ask,’ a look at one of the most popular film genres. Ralph Willett, former senior fellow in American film studies at University of Hull.

· ‘Costume Design for Film,’ an informative, hands-on look at costumes, their design and construction, and the industry that produces them. Pam Verran, professional costume designer for theatre, film and performance.

· ‘Stunt Fighting for the Camera,’ a first-time offering on the specialist techniques of stunt choreography. David Greeves, professional performer, stunt fighter and rigger.

· A drop-in, hands-on technical workshop with Cornwall-based film crew Dogbite.

Special events

Ahead of the December climate-change summit in Copenhagen, the festival offers a special screening of the climate-change blockbuster The Age of Stupid, followed by a panel discussion. Panelists will include representatives from the Eden Project, Low Carbon Cornwall, Transition Falmouth, Plan-It Earth, and Age of Stupid cast member and West Cornwall wind-farm developer Piers Guy. Counterpoint will be offered by local filmmaker Andrew Edmonds with his short, A Convenient Deception.

In addition to parties on both Friday and Saturday nights, the final evening offers the always-popular Big Pitcher, a chaotic opportunity for filmmakers to pitch their ideas for £100 awards, hosted by o-region. The Big Pitcher will be followed by the awards ceremony, this year hosted by performance poet Murray Lachlan Young.

Tribute will also be paid on Sunday afternoon, 15 November, to two members of the Cornwall Film Festival family who died earlier this year, filmmaker and past director Laura Hardman and executive producer Simon Channing Williams. The event will include a screening of silent classic The Battleship Potemkin (1925), accompanied by Truro pianist Benjamin Comeau, a student at Dartington College of Arts. Proceeds from this event will be donated to a scholarship fund for Laura’s two young sons.