Last week the official festival jury and the visual of the 42nd edition were announced as part of the British focus. Today Film Fest Gent releases its first 15 titles. Besides the best films from its own soil as well as international features, the programme also includes the closing event and anniversary of the 15th World Soundtrack Awards.
The official competition includes the French-Belgian co-production ‘Les Cowboys’ by Thomas Bidegain, also known as Jacques Audiard's screenwriter and ‘Our Little Sister’ by Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda. There are also two debuting features competing for Best Film and Best Music: British-New-Zealand ‘Slow West’ by John Maclean starring Michael Fassbender amongst others and Cannes sensation & Grand Prix winner ‘Son of Saul’ by László Nemes. ‘The Lobster’, the first international production by Yorgos Lanthimos, features a dazzling cast including Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly and Léa Seydoux.
Besides the opening film ‘The Ardennes’ by Robin Pront, the section Galas & Specials consists of films that will be screened at the festival before being released in Belgian theatres. ‘Carol’ by Todd Haynes, an adaptation of ‘Price of Salt’, one of the most personal novels by Patricia Highsmith, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. 'The Assassin’ by Hou Hsiao-hsien proves once again why he remains the greatest director of Taiwan’s New Wave Cinema.
The section Global Cinema, which covers contemporary authors films, presents one of the most cinephile events at the last Cannes film festival: ‘Arabian Nights’, the monumental triptych by Portuguese director Miguel Gomes (‘Tabu’). Furthermore, there will a few intriguing portraits of artists and musicians such as ‘Mr Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown’ by doc guru Alex Gibney and actor Ethan Hawke delivers a touching homage to pianist and friend Seymour Bernstein in ‘Seymour: an Introduction’. For the 50th anniversary of one of the most well-known film books 'Hitchcock/Truffaut', Kent Jones asked A-list directors Martin Scorsese, David Fincher and Wes Anderson among others how they were influenced by the director of ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Psycho’.
This year the festival’s focus is on UK Cinema, which will cover a wide variety of recent British films. ‘45 Years’ by Andrew Haigh (‘Weekend’) features Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as a retired couple undergoing a crisis when celebreating their 45th wedding anniversary. The amusing ‘A Royal Night Out’ by Jullian Jarrold is an imaginary piece of history about a night on the town with a young Queen Elisabeth II.
The film music concerts also remain a highlight of Film Fest Gent. The British focus will also be showcased at the Great British Film Music Concert on 22 October and for the past 15 years the festival has always closed with the annual World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony & Concert. This year, central guests are Alan Silvestri, Patrick Doyle and Discovery 2014 Daniel Pemberton, who will all be attending the event on 24 October. The best scores of Silvestri were performed by Brussels Philharmonic and the Flemish Radio Choir, conducted by Dirk Brossé and recorded at the Flagey Studios by Galaxy Studios. The CD will be released later this October.
Film Fest Gent and Vooruit will join forces once again! During the festival there will be two unique audiovisual shows from artists like Nozinja and Jeruzalem in My Heart. The legendary composer Terry Riley will perform live music to a film of his choice, together with his son Gyan. With his ensemble Black Flower, Nathan Daems provided the score for ‘Love, Theft and Other Entanglements’, the latest film of Palestinian director Muayad Alayan. There will also be various art installations in Vooruit and the literary event ‘Uitgelezen’ will be tailored to a film-based theme.
The entire program will be announced on 24 September. The 42nd edition of Film Fest Gent takes place from 13 October until 24 October at Kinepolis Gent, Studio Skoop, Sphinx, Vooruit, KASKcinema, Bijloke and ’t Kuipke. Info and tickets at www.filmfestival.be.
The listed films are divided throughout the various festival sections:
In competition:
- LES COWBOYS by Thomas Bidegam – Fr/Belgium
- THE LOBSTER by Yorgos Lanthimos – Griekenland/UK
- OUR LITTLE SISTER by Hirokazu Koreeda – Japan
- SLOW WEST by John Maclean – UK/New Zealand
- SON OF SAUL by László Nemes – Hungary
Galas & Specials
- THE ARDENNES by Robin Pront - Belgium
- THE ASSASSIN by Hou Hsiao-Hsien – Taiwan
- CAROL by Todd Haynes – UK/USA
Global Cinema
- ARABIAN NIGHTS I, II and III by Miguel Gomes – Port/Fr
- LOVE, THEFT AND OTHER ENTANGLEMENTS by Muayad Alayan – Palestine
UK Cinema
- 45 YEARS by Andrew Haigh – UK
- A ROYAL NIGHT OUT by Julian Jarrold – UK
Sound and Vision
- MR. DYNAMITE: THE RISE OF JAMES BROWN by Alex Gibney – USA
- SEYMOUR: AN INTRODUCTION by Ethan Hawke – USA
Artists on Film
- HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT by Kent Jones – USA
The Swedish electronic musician Tobias Lilja has released music since 2003 on labels like n5MD and Nonresponse, and done remixes for artists like Hecq and Prefuse 73. ’Medicine Sings Triptych’ is a combination of three EP’s released in the beginning of 2015. The album will be available on August 31.
A few years ago, Tobias moved his studio out of his apartment and into a bigger soundproof space. This enabled him not only to be louder and experiment more with his voice, but also to incorporate a lot more hardware studio gear and acoustic percussion instruments in the recording process. The result of this studio work is the Medicine Sings Triptych.
While the foundations are still firmly rooted in electronic music, Tobias has also explored vintage reverb technologies, such as spring reverbs and tape delays, giving the songs a more organic and tactile sound. The majority of the synth phrases and filter sweeps have been jammed out live in the studio on hardware synthesizers. This approach, in combination with the use of acoustic percussion elements, has given the whole work a very direct and immediate feeling.
Where “Delirium Portraits” had an almost pop-flavored lightness to some of the songs, this triptych presents the listener with a new weight and resonance. The sounds are more organic, and also more challenging. Repetitive and slow progressions connect firmly with a minimalist tradition, but rather than reaching for the abstract and etheric, these soundscapes are grounded in an industrial, and at times almost ethnic, sound. The musical landscape is reminiscent of ancient shamanic rituals, but with a definite industrial flare. The repetitive and hypnotic rhythms carry the songs and merge with exquisitely chosen and elaborate sounds that demand the listener’s attention.
Repetitive and slow progressions connect firmly with a minimalist tradition, but rather than reaching for the abstract and etheric, these soundscapes are grounded in an industrial, and at times almost ethnic, sound. The musical landscape is reminiscent of ancient shamanic rituals, but with a definite industrial flare.
Vocally there’s also more experimentation than on previous releases. The work with various effects on the voice is familiar, but here the vocal compass has been extended further and now spans from whispers to screams. The voice is used as part of the instrumentation, often through several layers and pitches, and at times the vocals are more like chants than actual singing. Sometimes tugging at your soul and hinting at your deepest fears, but also soothing you with softness and warmth.
Lyrically Tobias has taken a step away from the storytelling approach on Delirium Portraits, and ventured towards a more elusively poetic approach that mirrors the the depth of the soundscapes. The words merge with the sound and the lyrics merge with your own internal images. The storytelling has given way to the journey and an invitation to explore the inner landscapes. Already in the very first song, we are told to leave it all to medicine, and this is medicine for the soul.
THE TEAM are back for the twelfth and final series of the much-loved, smash hit BBC drama New Tricks. Following its final outing, currently on BBC One on Tuesday evenings, series 12 comes to DVD alongside a bumper box set, New Tricks The Complete Collection courtesy of RLJ Entertainment’s Acorn Label.
Investigating the Met’s cold cases under the watchful eye of their boss DCI Sasha Miller (Tamzin Outhwaite - EastEnders), Larry Lamb (EastEnders) joins The Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad as old school ex-copper Ted Case, alongside returning cast members Nicholas Lyndhurst (Only Fools and Horses), Denis Lawson (Star Wars) and Dennis Waterman (Minder) for a dramatic final ten episodes, packed full of the mystery, drama and trademark humour the fans know and love.
The team must put head over heart as one of their own is implemented in a case that spans three decades and shakes the police force to its core, while the very existence of UCOS also comes under threat.
Gerry (Waterman) becomes embroiled in a scandal that forces him to confront some skeletons in his closet, while Danny (Lyndhurst) and Fiona (Tracy-Ann Oberman – Eastenders) take their relationship up a notch, Steve (Lawson) worries about his bank balance and everyone must pull together when Sasha is dealt a devastating blow.
From bodies in the basement to skeletons in the swimming pool, lottery syndicates gone fatally wrong to making sense of The Madhouse, the UCOS team must pull together more than ever to uncover the city’s long buried secrets and bring justice to the streets of London.
The hugely popular and long running franchise, which has generated more than £5 million in DVD sales, bows out with these two home entertainment releases on 12 October 2015, New Tricks Series 12 and New Tricks The Complete Collection, a stunning thirty-six disc set.
Next release on Daft Records in collaboration with Noise Democracy Records -Brasil
ANVIL FX - PROVA DE BIOLOGIA D1058CD
10 tracks , Releasedate 30 September 2015
Mix of caustic noise, dancing rhythms, minimalist lyrics, Dadaist attitude, inflamed vocals, nonsense themes and analogic synths… Inspirations absorbed from New Wave / Minimal Synth / Post Punk from various countries such as Brazil (Agentss, As Mercenárias, Divergência Socialista), Germany (D.A.F. Palais Schaumburg, Der Plan), USA (Suicide,Xex, Crash Course in Science) , Spain (Esplendor Geométrico, Vocoder, Todotodo), and France (Kas Product, Taxi Girl, Deux) and from the European Industrial scene of the 80’s and 90’s like Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, E. Neubauten, Dive, Tools You Can Trust and many others. Anvil Fx of today includes vocals from multi-instrumentalist and singer Biba Graeff (ex-Jupiter Apple, Space Rave, Plato Dvorak, among others), accompanied by the factory of insanity, Paulo Beto, producer of electronic music since 1989, enthusiast of musical production made with modern and classic analogic synthesizers. After his experiences in various musical styles, Paulo has returned to his electronic industrial roots. He previously was the founding member of the band Silverblood with a album released in 1995.
New York Tourists are an alternative band described as Queens of The Stone Age meets Foals.
Their debut EP received rave reviews from some of the UK's most respected music media outlets and their song 'Chew Me Up, Spit Me Out' was selected as one of BBC Introducing's top 10 tracks of 2013. Hugely coveted support slots followed, with the band bagging appearances alongside the likes of The Subways, The View, The Sunshine Underground and Buzzcocks, together with a headline slot on the Alternative Stage at Blackburn Festival.
2014 saw New York Tourists' release their next record, an EP called 'Dead Man's Leather' via London based label Kittiwake Records. Again, noteable support slots followed with the band playing alongside We Are Scientists, The Cribs and Shed 7.
Earlier this year the band began recording their debut album which was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign. In June New York Tourists played their biggest gig to date at Hogton Tower, Preston, in front of 12,000 people as the main support to legendary rock band Status Quo.
