Editor

In just four short weeks East End Film Festival will be launching its biggest and most colourful programme of premieres, panels, parties, 3D cinema, live music, free outdoor screenings and unique special events, across eight days and eleven East London venues.

• OPENING NIGHT: Thursday 23rd April sees the World Premiere of an exclusive cut of the East End gangster documentary THE END. First time filmmakers and sisters Nicola and Teena Collins turn the camera onto their father Les Falco and his underworld friends for a series of unapologetic interviews that expose the harsh and violent world of East End gangsters. After the film and Q&A will be a proper East End knees-up with exclusive guest appearances by all of the featured guys.

• CLOSING NIGHT: Exactly one week later, on Thursday 30 April, experience some Eurovision action with the World Premiere of Jamie Jay Johnson's debut documentary feature SOUNDS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT about the teenage Eurovision Song Contest complete with a euro-teen party with live acts.

• FIRST TIME FEATURES: The Festival is also fast becoming THE place for feature debuts, with international and UK first features vying for our First Feature jury prizes.

• EAST MEETS EAST (EASTERN EUROPEAN CINEMA): Following the success of the 2008 Festival when the Festival focussed heavily on new explosions in Eastern European talent with UK premieres of Estonian Oscar nominee THE CLASS and Czech coming-of-age drama DOLLS, it returns with a strong slew of East Europe titles including many first features, UK premieres and director Q&As. From Eastern Europe there is the harrowing ELEVATOR from Romania described as "the event of the year in Romanian cinema" and all shot for 200 euros with two actors trapped in a lift; director Stephan Komandarev and producer Stefan Kitanov visit for the UK premiere of THE WORLD IS BIG AND SALVATION LURKS AROUND THE CORNER from Bulgaria, and Director Jovan Arsenic for HOMECOMING from Serbia; plus further first features from Hungary with hard-man drama ZIFT, another UK premiere, and EVERYBODY DIES BUT ME, a harrowing coming of age story of teenage life ina Moscow suburb by the 24 year old Valeriya Gai Germanica from Russia.

• UK CINEMA: From the UK comes the UK premiere of the East End set CITY RATS starring Danny Dyer playing against type as an alcoholic alongside an all-star London cast who'll be in attendance for the star-studded premiere; plus the debut feature from The Desperate Optimists with HELEN alongside a retrospective screening of their award winning shorts.

• IAIN SINCLAIR: Everyone’s favourite Hackney based writer and cultural commentator Iain Sinclair drops by the East End Film Film Festival on a number of occasions across Festival dates. For 2 days at the Rio Cinema Dalston he'll be presenting his recent bestselling book Hackney That Rose Red Empire on screen with one day of relevant short films and discussion with guest panellists and a second day of Hackney related features by Orson Welles and Joseph Losey chosen by Iain - he explains his reasons for these choices on the East End Film Festival website. Elsewhere, Iain will also be joined by animator Dave McKean, local artist Charlie Catling and musician John Harle to present an evening of archive film at the Rich Mix with footage shot by Sinclair in late sixties early seventies Hackney. Finally, Iain will be on hand at THE LONDON PERAMBULATOR alongside author Will Self at the Whitechapel Gallery to discuss the psychogeography of East London's Edgelands.

• The Cinephilia Mid-Length Film Jam is a 12 hour event that shows what happens to all those films, made consistently throughout the history of cinema, which run to a length of 30–65 minutes, outside the usual parameters of comfortable screening as ‘short’ or ‘feature-length’ films? This unique and innovative event will showcase just some of the many excellent contemporary films that fall within this supposedly ‘problem length’, and interrogate the question of duration from the perspective of filmmakers and viewers, festival selectors and cinema programmers.

• LIVE MUSIC: Parties and live music abound across the 8 days! Including….

Mark Stewart will host a live gig at the Rhythm Factory featuring The Bug, who for over 10 years has lead the way with his groundbreaking mix of dubstep, industrial beats and hip hop, plus On-U Sound pioneer DJ Adrian Sherwood, and experimental electronica artiste Russell Haswell and special, all following the World Premiere of Toni Schifer’s documentary about Stewart, the musical pioneer and godfather of the Bristol Sound, following his career from the post-punk of late 70’s Bristol in The Pop Group, through to the dark avant garde dub sounds of the 80’s underground with his band The Maffia (made up of members of New York’s hip hop pioneers The Sugarhill Gang).

The Memory Band perform a folk set following a screening of VASHTI BUNYAN FROM HERE TO BEFORE, about ‘The Godmother of Freak Folk’ who’s obscurity ended with the rediscovery in 2000 of her lost classic 1970 album “Just Another Diamond Day” and her subsequent reintroduction into a previously unknown mainstream.

The 1922 silent German expressionist film NOSFERATU will be complemented by live music from acclaimed soundscape artists Minima, comprising of drums, bass, guitar and cello, providing a totally unique live experience. Minima’s music is an audacious 21st-Century interpretation of the images of silent and avant-garde film.

There are live sets by two of London’s newest and most exciting bands, Kasms and Bretton, as part of a marriage of sound and image in a selection of creative music videos and short films with exclusive music soundtracks.

Afro Samurai: Resurrection is the full-length sequel to the hit anime series, which uniquely blends ancient eastern legends with futuristic tech and blaxploitation stylings to create one of the coolest, most original and bloodiest animated films ever made. Voiced by Samuel L Jackson, Lucy Liu and Mark Hamill and soundtrack by the RZA of the Wu-Tan Clan , this UK premiere will be followed by a night of music and mayhem with a full line up of live j-rock bands including the renowned Anglo-Japanese duo Levelload, DJs, VJs and Graffiti artists the Cable Street collective taking the revelries into the early hours.

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL – THERE’S SO MUCH MORE FROM 3D CINEMA TO INTERNATIONAL FEATURES, FROM ARCHIVE FILM EVENTS TO PANELS & DISCUSSIONS.
FULL INFO AT www.eastendfilmfestival.com




+ CHECK THESE COUPLE OF THINGS…. BEAT HAPPENING SESSIONS + CURZON MIDNIGHT MOVIES


The Beat Happening Sessions presents SELFISH C**T LIVE SET AND INTERVIEW
+ ROMANCE
Friday 27th March, The Enterprise, 2 Haverstock Hill, Camden, London
Doors: 7.30pm
Tickets: £8adv

Hot on the heels of the Beat Happening Bash, which in 2009 saw the likes of Micachu & the Shapes, Chrome Hoof, Screaming Tea Party, Art Brut, Capitol K, Goldielocks and Bearsuit performing or spinning tracks at their monthly events at the Camden Monarch, comes the Beat Happening Sessions. Following the event’s successful launch, which saw Pete and the Pirates take to the stage for an acoustic set and live interview, comes the latest instalment in the shape of glam-punk anarchists Selfish C**t
The concept is simple: the band performs a live set, and then the writers of Beat Happening magazine interview the band on stage. Following the interview is a live audience q & a. What makes your favourite band tick? What inspires their lyrics? What do they prefer, jam or marmalade? Ask them yourself at the Beat Happening Sessions. The added twist is that the interview will then be published in the subsequent issue of Beat Happening magazine, one of London’s most reputable new music magazines, which in the past year has seen its pages adorned by the likes of Nick Cave, Mars Volta, Battles, Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols.

Led by the flamboyant and always provocative Martin Tomlinson, Selfish C**t have been courting controversy and amassing a cult status as being one of the most explosively confrontational acts to have emerged in the UK in recent years. From being listed by The Guardian as one of the forty most important bands in the country, to hitting headlines for publicly brawling with Pete Doherty, to being banned by a number of venues around the capital, the band have a wealth of stories to tell. With a new record on the horizon and some major tour dates lined up, to hear their side of story, up close and in the flesh, is a unique occasion.
Support comes from London’s much-hyped gloom-merchants, Romance. Having recently been featured on the front cover of not just PIX magazine but the NME, the band are being hailed as one of the spearheads of a new goth movement involving the likes of White Lies and Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump. This could be an all-too-rare opportunity to see them in a small venue before they go stellar.

Tickets are £8 and available from www.beathappening.co.uk

The Beat Happening Sessions presents BILLY CHLDISH & THE MBE LIVE SET AND INTERVIEW
+ THE RUBBISHMEN + THE SHE SET DJS
Monday 13th April, The Horse Hospital, Chalk Farm Rd Camden, London NW1 8AH
Doors: 7.30pm
Tickets: £8adv

The night’s headliners are Billy Childish & The Musicians of the British Empire. Billy Childish is one of those rare things: a legend worthy of the title. Having published over forty anthologies of poetry, and founded the stuckist art movement, he has proven to be an inspiration to many luminaries of art and music; Kurt Cobain, Beck and even Kylie Minogue have cited him as an influence, and Jack White famously scrawled Billy’s name on his arms when performing with the White Stripes on Top of the Pops. With a countless number of releases, with various different bands (including Thee Headcoats, Thee Milkshakes and The Buff Medways), he has firmly established himself as one of the most important British artists of recent times. His latest band, the MBE, typifies his usual DIY garage rock approach. The band will be performing, following a live on-stage interview, and audience Q & A with Billy and the band.
Support comes from ‘Victorian punk revivalists’ The Rubbishmen. With a decidedly lo-fi ethic, heavy emphasis on tweed, and ramshackle songs about nights on the gin in the members clubs of Soho, you can expect laughs and musical incompetence galore. Rounding off the bill are East London’s favourite DJs, The She Set, who will be spinning an array of obscure garage rock, doo-wop and 60’s R n’ B numbers throughout the night.

NB. To partake in the audience Q & A, you MUST first email your question, to info@beathappening.co.uk .You must mark the subject as BILLY CHILDISH Q&A, and also give your name and ticket booking reference in the email.

Tickets are £8 and available from www.beathappening.co.uk
EAST END FILM FESTIVAL programme announced on line at www.eastendfilmfestival.com


Curzon Midnight Movies & London Lesbian And Gay Film Festival Present TRIBUTE TO SQUEEZE BOX
Curzon Soho
99 Shaftesbury Avenue
London W1D 5DY
Box Office 0871 7033988
www.curzoncinemas.com

Friday 27 March
From 9.30pm, films at 11.30pm
Tickets: £8.00 advance / £12.00 on door

Each month, Under the Influence and Curzon Cinemas present an eclectic mix of late night cult films with live music in the bar from 9.30pm and films from 11.30pm.