Raindance Film Festival October 17 - 26 (UK)

The 9th Raindance Film Festival, running October 17 - 26, presents an eclectic fusion of bold, fresh, original, and dynamic independent shorts, features and documentaries. This year's London Premieres at the festival include Ghost World (directed by Terry Zwigoff and starring Steve Buscemi and Thora Birch) and Trouble Every Day directed by Claire Denis, the controversial French film featuring sex and cannibalism.

Raindance, Britain's only film festival dedicated entirely to independent films, is based at the Metro Cinema, Piccadily, but its tentacles spread further than ever in order to introduce new audiences to independent film. This year sees the launch of Raindance East, a new Asian sidebar. Based at the Genesis Cinema, Mile End Road in East London, Raindance showcases features from Asia's most creative directors, (including a special preview of Santosh Sivan's Asoka) and explores work by British-Asian directors through their shorts.

Raindance 2001 will also feature Bjork's three new video films from the exceptional new album, Vespertine. Renowned for boundary pushing award winning videos, these shorts are by turns, beautiful, shocking and, some may find, controversial ­ "Hidden Place" by Inez and Vinoodh/M&M Paris, "Pagan Poetry" by Nick Knight and "Cocoon" by Eiko Ishioka. Each piece has a first time director behind it and represent the most intimate portraits of Bjork yet. They will be shown on October 24th, followed by a screening of one of the Festival's film highlights from Japan: Visitor Q.

Raindance Kids at the Clapham Picture House is London's only film festival for young people and premieres the best work made for and by 7-16 year olds. In addition to the best new films, workshops enable young people to make their own short film, documentary or animation under the guidance of film professionals.

Highlights of this year's festival range from The Alexander Mackendrick Lecture featuring Shekhar Kapur in conversation with Derek Malcolm, to an exploration of the work of the filmmaker in residence, Mike Figgis. Introducing a number of new strands including FAST Digital Cinema which premiers bold and provocative features from around the world while engaging in debate about the future of digital storytelling and cinematic styles. Old favourites like the Documentary and Shorts strands still give exposure to some of the most challenging work produced this year. The programme of 220 shorts is a hotbed of new directorial talent that is not to be missed.

The Official Selection brings together outstanding features and shorts (nominated by the Raindance jury), that are eligible to win awards in five categories: Best Official Selection Feature & Short, Best UK Feature & Short, and the Digital Cinema Award.

North American Independent Films Buried The Bros Camera Obscura Dirt The Doe Boy The Fluffer Ghost World Hey, Happy Hochelaga Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter Orphan Passing Stones To End All Wars Greenwich Mean Time Films 100 Days Alone Blood Junkies The Bunker Christie Malry's Own Double Entry Club le Monde Gabriel & Me New Years Day The Search for John Gissing

Cinesphere Films A Ma Soeur! The Book that Wrote Itself The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky Die Bad Egoists Gaudi Afternoon Trouble Every Day Digital Hardcore Nine Hours Ahead Films Departure Gips Harmful Insect Hush! A Living Hell Tokyo Trash Baby Documentaries Films The Boot Factory Born to Lose A Cuban Legend Einsturzende Neubauten Screaming Jay Hawkins The Strange World of Coffin Joe Digital Cinema Films Filmclub Sonnenschein Dark Eyes Motion Visitor Q When in London Balkan Cabaret Films Blue, White and Red Natasha No Man's Land Sky Hook Thunderbirds Raindance East Films Asako in Ruby Shoes Asoka I Love Beijing Il Mare Jakarta A Quiet Desperation What Time is it There?

Alexander Mackendrick Memorial Films Bandit Queen The Lady Killers

Total Film Top 3 Films Easy Rider The Evil Dead Reservoir Dogs

Raindance 2000

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