14 May 10 | Events
Friday, 14th May: EPIC Short Films presents… Georgian Film Night
English PEN, Index on Censorship are proud to present EPIC SHORT FILMS at the Free Word Centre, these events explore censorship and freedom of expression in independent filmmaking.
To launch the series, we are holding a Georgian Film Night, screening for the first time in UK, five short films made by professional and citizen journalists, telling intimate and personal stories about daily life, conflict and dreams in Georgia.
The films are produced by Eyewitness Studios, part of a new media initiative the Go Group Media, set up by Margharita Akhvlediani who aims to get real life stories into Georgian TV programming that is otherwise unrepresentative, swamped by propaganda and imported viewing.
Margarita Akhvlediani, director of Go Group will lead a Q&A session after the films.
For the second part of the evening Tabuni, a London based ensemble singing Georgian folk songs and chants, lead by Tamta Turmanidze, will perform a short programme of songs, accompanied by wine and kachapuri (traditional Georgian cheese bread).
Entrance is FREE though there will be a charge for wine and kachapuri.
For more information on this event and other future EPIC Short Film nights, please visit the official website.
To book your place at the forthcoming Georgian Film Night, please email [email protected] or call 020 7324 2570
08 Apr 10 | Events
Friday 16 April 2010, 6.30pm at the Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, EC1R 3GA.
David Bond lives in the UK, one of the most intrusive surveillance states in the world. He decides to find out how much private companies and the government know about him by attempting to disappear – a decision that changes his life forever. Leaving his pregnant wife and young child behind he tries to vanish and finds himself tracked across the database state by two ruthless private investigators. This is a chilling journey that forces him to contemplate the meaning of privacy – and its loss.
This is one of a few exclusive preview screenings before a nationwide cinema release on the 29th April. Jo Glanville, the editor of Index on Censorship, will introduce the film and will lead a Q&A afterwards with the Director and the private investigators who hunted him.
“Delivered with one hand on your pulse and the other hand smacking you in the face, Erasing David is a timely clarion call to those of us interested in guarding our civil liberties in an increasingly invasive digital age. An intelligent and subtle reminder that YOU are in charge.” – Sheffield Doc/Fest UK “A brilliant new documentary.” – Henry Porter, The Guardian
“A rousing and fascinating call to arms to protect our privacy.”- The Independent, UK
Please email: [email protected] or call 020 7324 2570 to book your FREE place.
The latest Index on Censorship magazine, “Brave New Words”, opens the debate over whether technology is the saviour of free speech. With Rebecca MacKinnon interviewing Google, Wen Yunchao on how China wields control online and Gus Hosein on why governments should respect privacy.
For more information about the nationwide cinema release, please visit: http://erasingdavid.com/
07 Apr 10 | Events
APRIL 29 2010 – 2PM
MAKING POLITICAL FILMS ABOUT THE NORTH: THEN AND NOW
The troubles in the North of Ireland have long been the subject of film-makers. The film-making landscape has changed over the years, as has the political landscape. Both self censorship and political censorship have been key factors in defining which films get made and which don’t. The panel will discuss selected issues relating to censorship — what forms of censorship influence the work being made? is there any difference to the types of films being made 30 years ago and now?
The panel will include:
Mark Cousins director of The First Movie, screening at the Belfast Film Festival, has a first class degree in Film and Media Studies and Fine Art from the University of Stirling. He has since lectured on film history, been published internationally and made documentary films on arts and political themes. A former Director of the Edinburgh Film Festival, he now presents Scene-by-Scene on BBC television, conducting career interviews with actors and directors including Martin Scorcese, Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Shohei Imamura, Jack Lemmon, Sean Connery, Tom Hanks, Dennis Hopper, Kirk Douglas, Rod Steiger, Jeanne Moreau, Lauren Bacall, the Coen Brothers, Bernardo Bertolucci, David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Donald Sutherland, Ewan McGregor and Jayne Russell. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.
James Flynn commenced his career in the Irish film industry with John Boorman’s Merlin Films International as Head of Development having previously worked for the Investment Bank of Ireland. After working as Business Manager of the fledgling Irish Film Board, he, along with Juanita Wilson, established Metropolitan Film Productions Limited with the intention of making strong, independent and resonant films for the international market. In-house projects developed and produced by Metropolitan Films include H3 and Nora.
He established Octagon Films in 2002. Octagon developed and produced Inside I’m Dancing, written by Jeffrey Caine (Goldeneye, The Constant Gardener) and directed by Damien O’Donnell (East Is East, Heartlands). Produced in conjunction with Working Title/Universal, it won the Audience Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and was released in the UK and Ireland by Momentum Pictures in autumn ‘04. It was screened as Rory O’Shea Was Here at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and subsequently released in the U.S. by Focus. He is currently jointly producing Neil Jordan’s Ondine, starring Colin Farrell, in West Cork this summer and this will be released internationally during the Summer and/or Autumn of 2009.
For more information please visit their website http://www.belfastfilmfestival.org
30 Mar 10 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
The Malaysian Home Ministry website has just published new censorship guidelines for films this week. Restrictions around profanity and displays of intimacy between adults have been relaxed, if they are “appropriate” to the context of the film. However the Board still remains firm on nudity, sex and negative depictions of Muslims, unless the filmmaker is wishing to “depict a person’s transformation from being evil to good”.
