Celebrating Cinema

“Hope is political. If you have hope then you have confidence you can change things”

After 60 years of filmmaking, British filmmaker and icon Ken Loach offers what may well be his most urgent message yet, calling for solidarity and the power that hope can instil in his latest film The Old Oak (2023).

Speaking with our host Elliot, Ken reveals how he never runs out of stories to tell when it comes to championing the everyday people. He says, these are the very stories and people that can pave the way for change.

At 87 years old, we hear the films of the 1960s Ken still returns to and how he still carries the spirit of filmmaking during these revolutionary times with him today.

If there was ever a time to be reminded of hope and solidarity it is now. 

Movies have always been a way to understand the world around us, and so, confronted with the brutal horrors of both Hamas’s attacks on October 7th and Israel’s disproportionate slaughtering of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians, we question if cinema can try to make sense of such atrocities.

For this episode of Celebrating Cinema, we focus on Gillo Pontecorvo’s seminal classic The Battle of Algiers, a brutally candid exposé of the French colonial mindset, which recounts a similar bloody struggle for the liberation of the Algerian people in the 1950s. Ultimately, this film both humanises and complicates the reality of violence between the oppressor and the oppressed.

As we discuss public oppression, organised resistance, how violence begets violence, as well as the media’s power in ‘selling’ a colonial occupation and the consequences for the civilian people caught in the middle of all this. But most importantly we focus on how a film like The Battle Of Algiers can offer hope for freedom in these tragic times.

Show Notes & Films Mentioned

For this edition of Future Frames, you can hear from our rising filmmakers who we’ll be screening at Volk’s Hotel Sunday Shorts on 10th Dec. You can buy tickets here.

Bram Ruiter is a filmmaker of a different kind. He has a unique ability to extract the poetry of the mundane, experimenting as much as he can within the realms of the moving-image. Not tied to traditional narrative structures, Bram’s obsessed with the inner-mechanics of filmmaking, taking film elements apart and seeing how they work - often breaking the ‘rules’ to do so.

But strangely it’s the mechanics of big blockbusters he finds beauty in, citing Steven Spielberg and Tony Scott as heavy inspirations. But how does this influence a non-narrative filmmaker who’s much more experimental with their films? Bram shares how he’s led by the practical process of filmmaking in creating his films.

From the use of digital, analogue, phones & video games to the scratching and experiments with film emulsions - Bram takes us down a rabbit-hole of a whole other realm of filmmaking.

You can watch his tender film Here & Elsewhere at Volks Sunday Shorts or visit his website to discover more.

For this edition of Future Frames, you can hear from our rising filmmakers who we’ll be screening at Volk’s Hotel Sunday Shorts on 10th Dec. You can buy tickets here.

Rafik Opti is a filmmaker fascinated by playing with reality & the beauty they can find with their camera out on the streets. Candidly chatting with friend & host Kiriko, Rafik shares how the influences of joyous films like Step Up and She’s The Man as well as music videos like Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation gave them the freedom to be their self. With a desire to extend the legacy of TV series Pose and seminal film Paris Is Burning, and create more images of queer liberation and independence, Rafik focuses on the intersections of Black bodies in public spaces, shedding light on the collective experiences of Black trans and queer individuals, celebrating their universal journey.

Watch Black Joy Chapter One, at Volks Hotel on 10 Dec. A captivating short film, serving as the prequel to the acclaimed "Black Joy (Blaka Koloku)." Follow filmmaker Rafik as they venture into the heart of Amsterdam for the first time, unveiling the beauty in life's simplest moments.

You can also watch Rafik’s Black Joy here.

Passages (2023) by Ira Sachs sets the tone for the cold change in seasons  - a people’s favourite that has got us all up in our feels.

In conversation with Sophie, writer-director Ira Sachs candidly shares how his personal experiences of living in Paris & the mesmerising Franz Rogowski helped shape such a poignant film. From obsessively watching 3 films a day to falling in love with the works of Japanese icon Yasujirō Ozu - Ira reveals the ecstasy & risk in filmmaking. 

If you missed the chance to watch it in cinema, it's available still on https://mubi.com/en/lab111.

On 20th Dec join us for our screening & live show of Princess Mononoke - buy tickets here

"What's the first rule of Fight Club?" -- "We do not talk about Mank."

Refusing to be called an auteur, David Fincher has certainly crafted his own style to become the master of the psychological thriller. But what exactly makes a Fincher classic? From his deftly choreographed camera movements, to his relentless number of takes and a fixation of grim colour schemes - we dive deep into world of the American director.

Much like his protagonists, Fincher is an obsessive perfectionist driven by the search for the truth. As if they're carrying the burden of the world, can we view his characters as martyrs? Despite the overwhelming pessimism in Fincher's films, we ask ourselves why do we still find a sense of hope in his filmography?

On 20th Dec join us for our screening & live show of Princess Mononoke - buy tickets ⁠here⁠

Book tickets for ⁠Fincher Favourites @ LAB111

⁠Show Notes & Films Mentioned

Widely regarded as one of the most influential directors of our time, Martin Scorsese has made some of the most exciting cinema classics of the past 50 years.

Moving through Scorsese's filmography, we reflect on how his own existential inquiries on faith, redemption, obsession and cinema itself lie at the heart of his kinetic films. Why does he return time and time again to the same narrative of the self-absorbed, Jesus-complex man come from?

A true lover film film, championing cinema’s rich history, and a tireless supporter of film preservation, we also discuss how his the boy who once wanted to become a priest, is now a missionary of the gospel of cinema.

Book tickets for Scorsese Selected @ LAB111

Show Notes & Films Mentioned

A rare cultural moment in cinema, the release and aftermath of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie certainly had us all talking. Sharing our experiences of watching the candy-colored ‘battle of the sexes’, we question why Barbie was set different standards compared to Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and where big studio movies can go from here. Did we place too much expectation on what might feel like a frivolous show-stopper of pink-drenched fun? Whether it’s the end of something old or the start of something new, Barbenheimer has no doubt made its mark. Take a listen as we try to make sense of it all.

Shownotes & more

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Set against the rise of Russia's authoritarian regime, filmmaker Marusya Syroechkovskaya paints an homage to both a silenced generation and her lover and best friend Kimi. How to Save a Dead Friend (2022), is a whirlwind of emotions capturing a unique intimacy of an anxious youth, a relationship tellingly universal that brings hope still in death. Speaking with Hugo, Marusya reveals the toils and vulnerabilities of crafting a story from a catalogue of documented memories.

With the latest installment of the Mission Impossible franchise in cinemas now, we pose the question if Tom Cruise, the enigmatic star of classics like Top Gun (1986), Magnolia (1999), Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and so many others, is singlehandedly trying to save a dying breed of visceral (action) cinema.

Is Cruise the last of the genuine movie stars? How do his on and offscreen antics relate to his persona? Does he fit into a long-standing tradition of mavericks like Buster Keaton and other risk-it-all icons of the silver screen? And is he, as he recently claims, really doing it 'for us', the audience?

In this episode, we dive deep into his illustrious body of work as well as his infamous image to see what really lies behind the mask of the Cruise.

Show Notes & Films Mentioned