Film: Jessica Kellgren-Hayes

The week in features

For those of you who read last week’s column, I did indeed greatly enjoy The Hundred Foot Journey. Granted, it was occasionally slightly excessive on the romanticism – even the ugly characters were winningly so, and the beautiful love interest had teeth just crooked enough to be charming … plus, why on Earth do French houses in this film have plaster crumbling from the walls? Regardless, the enthralling visual allure aside (and it IS
an awfully pretty film), Lasse Hallstrom’s latest film isn’t just aesthetic emptiness, as at its core runs a moving allegory telling how food can bind disparate communities together.

“It’s another ‘unlikely alliance’ film…”

In this week’s PostFeature we will be looking at Pride, an exceedingly British comedy/drama that I am terribly excited for – but with a cast including Bill Nighy, Dominic West AND Imelda Staunton, how could one not be?! The film is based on a true story regarding a group of LGBT activists who raised money to help families in a small Welsh town, during the lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984. It’s another ‘unlikely alliance’ film, but looks rather fun and comes with a side helping of history and politics. Plus, of course, Bill Nighy, who I find to be a draw in any film!

You shall have to tune in to this week’s PostFeature to find out what I actually think, however…

After last week’s full-length feature film, All Heart From Tim Pieraccini, on this week’s FilmFest we are showing a programme of shorts. First up – and rather tying in to PostFeature’s main film – is Straight Out, directed by Andy Nicholls, a film that certainly inverts a classic tale and turns stereotypes upside down! Main character Elliot has grown up in Brighton with two fathers, yet as he starts to find himself and discovers his sexuality he uncovers the truth that – shock, horror – he is straight! Now it’s just a matter of ‘coming out’ to his fathers.

We also have some very interesting and highly creative short films from RAYE Media, which you’ll absolutely be kicking yourself should you miss. Tune in to FilmFest on 8 this Sunday at 9pm or catch it on repeat throughout the week.

If you have a short or long film you would like included in FilmFest on 8, then get in touch with me at Jessica@thelatest.tv

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