Hanna Flint
The Raindance Report
A melting pot of indie movies, from over 45 countries, all under one roof (well nearly) Raindance has closed for another year.
The festival enjoyed record-breaking attendance figures and with over 22% of the films shown now in discussion for distribution you could definitely say 2012 has been a success.
But after a week and a half of independent cinema what, I hear you ask, were the highlights for me?
Good Night, Missy
This Slovenia/Croatian feature tells the heart-breaking story of love and loss from the point of view of Hana, an interior designer who has left her career so that her architect husband can continue his while she looks after their daughter.
But her idyllic life soon comes apart as she discovers her husband’s affair and Polona Juh’s excellent performance tragically conveys Hana’s increasing suffering on the road to happiness.
Writer and Director Metod Pevec brilliantly switches between reality and animation, presenting each world as beautiful in their aesthetic as they are in their message.
Link: http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/index.php?id=594,9066,0,0,1,0
http://www.emotionfilm.si/filmi/lahko-noc-gospodicna/
Trailer:
Bar 25 – Days out of Time
One of the few films I saw outside of Regents Street’s Apollo cinema, Bar 25 was screened in a quirky performance in East London called the Village Underground. And it’s no coincidence why this German documentary was screened there as the film’s subject focused on Berlin’s most famous underground bar and it’s fight to survive the heavy hand of the City’s bureaucrats.
Sadly the bar – known for its all-night raves and raucous costume parties – was closed two years ago so this is a historical film that presents the communal ethos of the people that built it, that lived it and eventually were forced to say goodbye to the riverside watering hole.
If you never got a chance to party at the iconic Bar 25 this is the next best thing – well until the next all-night Berlin party comes along.
Links: http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/index.php?id=593,8918,0,0,1,0
http://bar25-derfilm.de/
Trailer:
Portrait of a Zombie
A brilliant take on the zombie genre, this mockumentary horror follows the Murphy family who attempt to keep their zombified eldest son from the wrath of their hostile neighbours, allow an American film director and his motley crew to film their story.
Director Bing Bailey takes gore to a whole new level in Portrait of a Zombie and although there are some weaknesses in the script altogether it has humour and heart, whilst showing another side to Irish cinema that isn’t all about fields and religion.
Stay tuned for my full interview with writer Laura Morand Bailey and cast members Rory Mullen, Geraldine McAlinden and Steven Collens
Links: http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/index.php?id=595,9053,0,0,1,0
http://www.portraitofazombie.com/
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