Entertainment: Joe Fuller

Cinecity presents Adventures in
World Cinema

Cinecity is an exciting few weeks for film fans of all stripes. It’s a brilliant opportunity to relax at events with like-minded culture buffs and see strange, bewildering, moving films, often with live music or a Q&A to further enrich the experience. I spent a fun evening at the Basement three years ago dedicated to the work of JG Ballard for example, which featured some engrossing film shorts he’d made that I would probably never have seen otherwise. Sitting on cushions on the floor listening to live tape loops made for the type of memorable evening that one can only get from arts festivals like Cinecity.

There’s a broad variety of films on offer including many first features, such as Son of Saul, winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes. Described a “horror movie of extraordinary focus and courage” in a five star review from the Guardian, the harrowing film from Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes sees poet Geza Rohrig playing a morally torn ‘Sonderkommando’ in Auschwitz-Birkenau who is forced to exterminate his own people.
(Duke of York’s, Fri 20 Nov, 6 :30pm)

Thankfully it’s not all harrowing though, one film that caught my eye is Sex and Broadcasting, a documentary about New Jersey’s WFMU (a world-renowned independent community radio station). Fans such as Matt Groening pay homage to the station while long-serving station manager Ken Freedman discusses what it’s like keeping eccentric radio types wrangled. (Sallis Benney Theatre, Wed 18 Nov, 7:30pm)

There’s also a free screening of Nothing Can Turn Into A Void on Wednesday (Sallis Benney Theatre, 6pm) which delves into British artist Vicki Bennett’s approach of re-editing found footage ahead of her live Citation City AV concert, made from over 300 features filmed or set in London (Sallis Benney Theatre, Sat 21 Nov, 7.15pm).

There’s not enough spare words in this column to fully explain the premise of the bizzare The Forbidden Room, but it involves co-director Guy Maddin’s interactive seances project. Maddin channeled the spirits of lost silent films through improvised live ‘happenings’ in Paris and Montreal. Experimenting with super-imposition and colour-timing (see picture) on over 4,000 hours of raw video have resulted in a delirious, deranged film that has an impressive 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. (Duke of York’s, Sun 22 Nov, 6:30pm)

A quick mention should go to Absurd Utopias: New Futures From China (Lighthouse, Thurs 19 Nov, 7pm) which is a special screening for Chinese animation and video artists. Check out the bright artwork online to get a taste of the fascinating animation styles, and there will also be a Q&A with curator Beth Troakes.

I’ve picked out a few events that stood out to me but the fantastic, diverse programme is worth exploring further at www.cine-city.co.uk for some thrilling new cinema and great nights out.