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The Mystery of Filmonik Solved at Last :: March 2010
Filmonik Awareness Night, MadLab, 44 Edge Street, Monday March 22nd, 6.30 - 8.30.
FILMONIK KABARET 2010 IS COMING IN APRIL! Over a week of flat out, peddle-to-the-metal 24/7 filmmaking, where fortune favours the brave, the quick-witted and the fast-working, where only the strong survive and the crazy obsessives flourish. If you’ve always dreamed of making “that little movie”, if only you had the time / talent / equipment, now is your chance to watch that dream crash and burn, and see something else come stumbling from the ashes.
But BEFORE then, we’re having a special “Filmonik Awareness Night” at MadLab. This is your chance to find out for yourselves who we are and what we are about; to see work from previous screenings, and in particular work produced during previous Kabarets. It is a chance to register an interest and get involved; to show your support for the region’s independent film scene.
The event is free, but we will be taking donations for the beer and any nibbles provided. Any money taken will go towards funding the Kabaret. Remember, this is all about pooling resources: Filmonik does well with nothing, but it will do better with something!
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Filmonik - Valentine's Day Special :: February 2010
Ah, Valentine’s Day! A time of year hated by couples and singles alike. The singles resent there being a special day to underline the fact that nobody likes them; the couples feel like they should do something to celebrate their relationship but don’t really know what. This February, Filmonik offers an alternative to getting drunk on your own, or quarrelling with a loved one. Why not join us for a special screening in celebration of the most romantic of saints? Better yet, why not make a film? This is an ideal opportunity to pick up a camera and make a statement about love, romance, relationships - or bloody gangland massacres!
Filmonik offers a censure-free public platform to all filmmakers, be they Industry Professionals, self-styled Media Guerrillas, or relative novices still finding their creative voice. Films are not pre-selected, but simply booked in, and screened, sight unseen. Anyone is free to submit. Anyone is welcome to attend. This is a place to try out new ideas, and unlikely creative collaborations, to network and discover like-minded talent. This is your chance to have fun with film and not get arrested for it.
If you want to be a part of our next event, let us know. If you have work to screen, we want to hear about it. If you’ve a film you want to make, start making it. If you’ve something to show, all you need to is contact us and book a slot. If you’re simply keen to see what’s happening in the world of low budget independent short film, then come on down. We’re not asking for hearts and flowers. We don’t want chocolates and sentimental cards. We just want your films! Join us for what may turn out to be a specially themed "Romance and Relationships" screening. Or maybe it won’t - the onus is on you the filmmakers!
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Filmonik #46 Review :: December 2009
Never let it be said that we make it easy for ourselves.
It's a freezing cold Sunday night, two weeks before Xmas and we have decided that this is an ideal time to launch Filmonik 2.1. Last screening of the year, and we're in a new venue, on a different Sunday in the month. We're competing with festive parties, seasonal get-togethers, miserable weather, and Sports Personality of the Year and the X-Factor Final on the TV. And to cover costs we've even had to put the price up.
As of 4.30 that afternoon, we had only 4 films confirmed, with a total running time of 25 minutes. So you could say that we were a little... twitchy beforehand.
But as ever, the lure of that open screen proved too strong for the region's filmmakers to resist, and our first screening at the Deaf Institute was something of a corker. There's a bigger screen, banked seating, a mezzanine - and our motor-mouthed mic queen Maria Ruban now has her very own stage to patronise the audience from. With the unflappable Mark Haig as ever on tech, ably assisted by the Deaf Institute sound man, Sean, we had ourselves another damn fine show.
It went a little like this:
First up, Filmonik Newcomer Kate Mellor, with a stunning, mixed-media experimental animation, PAYBACK TIME, first of two specially-edited sections from a longer piece, I WILL SETTLE IN MY STOMACH, I WILL SETTLE IN MY MOUTH. Then Mat Johns bombarded our delicate sensibilities with a re-cut of his recent Kabaret Klassic KISS, a sensitive romantic movie for psychos. Next up, Ben Edmundson, with the just-completed STRANGEWAYS, featuring a breathless chase through the streets of Manchester, superpowers of some kind and a naked lady. Finally, in the first section, another Filmonik Newbie, Giles Gough, who may not receive much of a welcome in the valleys after the scabrous "Welsh" comedy LLANDANIELFARCE.
Break for drinks, then more from Mat Johns, in the form of a heartfelt musical Birthday tribute to Filmonik lighting Maestro Tim Limon. Aw! How sweet. We'd a forfeit Film (and Xmas wishes) from Steve Homocult and partner in crime Mike, with DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY - featuring scary machete-wielding potty-mouthed hoodies - and what could be more festive than that? Next up, a truly bizarre moment of synchronicity, as Maria's boasting about her new dress, bought on a recent trip to Paris, was followed by a film from an authentic bone fide Frenchman, Jeremy Richard, whose stunning stop-motion animation DOLEUR managed to tell a heart-rending tale of alienation and suicidal despair using LEGO! Maria thought he was putting the accent on at first! Finally in section two, Kate Mellor returned, with a second, very different excerpt from her work in progress, the esoteric, unnervingly voyeuristic CHOKE.
Not a dry eye in the house, as Epic McDave Abbott screened what may well be his last ever Filmonik film, before he relocates to Hamburg in the New Year. Having spent much of the year providing music for others, he bid farewell with a music-based film of his own, GERIEZT, our second film of the evening exploring the geography of the city. McDave has been a Filmonik stalwart since the March Kabaret, and he and his hat fixation will be sorely missed. He will however be back, he promises, with his hat, for the next Kabaret. Next up, MYSTERIES, a silent line animation from Jason Vaughan who sadly had to leave before the screening. It was, he says, inspired by his dreams. Which appear to be considerably weirder and more interesting than most peoples’ by the looks of it. Then we’d WASTED STORY, a revealing glimpse into what director Jenny Hughes described as a long held fantasy - to dance through Manchester city centre to Elmer Bernstein’s score for West Side Story. Apparently it‘s Maria‘s fantasy as well, which explains a lot. A second Kaberet film revisited next, and our second film from Ben Edmundson, a director’s cut of the gritty, but punningly titled RUSKY BUSINESS. That looked like being that, but Col Warhurst suddenly produced a trailer for the forthcoming lavatory-based short BOG STANDARD, which he is promising for the next screening in February. There’s reason enough right there to write the date in your diaries:
FILMONIK #47: SUNDAY FEBRUARY 14 th 2009, the Deaf Institute.
What do you mean "that's Valentine's Day"???
We're not asking for hearts and flowers people. We don't want chocolates and sentimental cards. We just want your films! Join us for what may turn out to be a specially themed "Romance and Relationships" screening. Or maybe it won't - the onus is on you the filmmakers!
For now, though, have a happy Festive Season, and we'll see you in the New Year!he Filmonik Team
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Filmonik #45 Review :: October 2009
After a nail-biting week during which we were wondering if we’d have enough new work to show, we actually found ourselves faced with a Filmonik First - more films than we knew what to do with, thanks to our loyal crew of filmmaking fiends. So before we give you the run-down we’d like to apologise to Rich Howe, who went to all the trouble of shooting a forfeit film, only to have it not find a slot, and to the Greek couple who brought a film down on spec, just in case we could find a slot. We hope you’ll be back, folks.
For now, though, this is what did find its way on to Odder’s twin screens.
First up, two films from Tuce Zingenkenet, made for Kabarets in Hamburg and Berlin, and very different in tone. The first, CLOSER, a contemplative mood piece, with a blink and you’ll miss it cameo from Filmonik’s resident Jesus lookalike muso McDave Abbott, the second JACKPOT a violent chase movie with an unhinged lead turn from our own Rick Hollingworth.
Next up Mark Ashmore unleashed THIS IS NOT A RIOT! - an expose of the police’s increasingly heavy-handed treatment of political demonstrators, shot guerrilla-style at the G20 Climate Camp, and probably legally show-able nowhere else than Filmonik in the current political climate!
Finally laconic Filmonik veteran Mark Harris turned in an unnerving experimental micro-short dealing with animal cruelty and the sexualisation of violence. We think. As ever, Mark likes the work to speak for itself.
A short break, and then we had a star guest, albeit an unassuming one. Matt Greenhalgh, writer of Anton Corbejn’s Joy Division movie Control and the forthcoming Sam Taylor-Wood movie Nature Boy about John Lennon, wanted to test a rough cut of his directorial debut ACID BURN, starring Agyness Deyn. But he didn’t want to make a fuss about it. Just wanted some honest feedback. He found himself with a forfeit due to the lack of a logo, and has promised he will make it - and screen it along with the final cut of the film at a later date! We’re looking forward to it.
Steve of the mysterious Homocult was next up, with a forfeit film. We asked him to follow the lyrical ode to Hulme he screened at Filmonik #44 with a similar hymn to Didsbury, and Steve gamely obliged. Judging from the full-on, confrontational imagery he associates with the place, however, we suspect Didsbury is somewhere he doesn’t like very much! Finally in this section a film from a Filmonik Newbie, John Buckley, who just turned up on the night with his documentary WHAT MAKES LUKE TIC? This is what we like to see - new blood. Hope to see you again, John.
During the break, Col Warhurst texted us from across the road to tell us he was still editing a music video and would rush it across as soon as it was finished. Talk about cutting it fine. Made for a little tension in the final section. First up however, Kate Lyons, who runs Odder’s film night Mini Cine screened her latest film, which featured a monkey smoking and eating chips. In Blackpool. Next up Liam Shanagher gave us the evening’s longest film, GORDON BENNETT, a witty Alan Bennett-style Talking Head piece about a camp, prissy, mother-dominated middle aged man’s attempts to find companionship. And somewhere during all of this Col rushed in with his music video, which gave us a suitable conclusion to the evening’s cinematic activities.
So that’s it for another month. Next up, the KABARET at Salford (see below), then we’ll have some Big News about December. Watch This Space!
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Filmonik Kabaret at Salford Film Festival! :: October 2009
Thursday 12th – Sunday 15th November (Venue TBA).
To energise the local filmmaking community and to kick off this year’s Salford Film Festival in grand style, Filmonik will be presenting a 4-day pre-festival filmmaking extravaganza out and about on the streets of Salford.
Not so much an “Open Mic”, as an “Open Screen”, Filmonik offers a censure-free public platform to all filmmakers, be they Industry Professionals, self-styled Media Guerrillas, or relative novices still finding their creative voice.
The Kabaret is Filmonik’s boot camp. Filmmakers and creatives from around the world will be descending on Salford with cameras, equipment and bright ideas to create new work that must be completed and screened during the Kabaret week. If you’ve always dreamed of making “that little movie”, if only you had the time / talent / equipment, now is your chance to watch that dream crash and burn, and see something else come stumbling from the ashes. We’ll provide the workspace and screening venue. All you need to do is write, shoot, edit, and screen your film. In only FOUR DAYS! You’ll never have another opportunity like it. Flat out, peddle-to-the-metal 24/7 filmmaking, where fortune favours the brave, the quick-witted and the fast-working, where only the strong survive and the crazy obsessives flourish. This is the chance to get really involved, to eat, drink, and breathe cinema. The only thing you won’t get to do is sleep. There’ll be access to equipment and talent, a little basic training for novices, opportunities galore for creative collaboration. We’ll even have a few spare script ideas available for people who don’t like to set off without a road map. All we require is your commitment…
Please note, participation in the Kabaret will cost £10. This will cover access to film lab, equipment, tech support, screening, and basic food provisions.
Watch this space for more info.
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Filmonik #44 Review :: August 2009
Well, we must admit, we were a little worried for a while. As of Friday, we had maybe 4 films confirmed, and a couple of possible who had postponed screening until next time around. But of course we reckoned without our loyal filmmakers, and the lure of an open mic.
So it was, that once again, by Sunday, we found ourselves with a packed programme of films, from old friends and Filmonik Newbies alike. As ever, motor-mouth Maria Ruban rocked the mic as our hostess with the mostest, the unsinkable Mark Haig was our tech maestro, and the rest of the Filmonik posse sat around drinking and biting their nails, wondering what was coming up next.
The show went something like this:
First up, we had a filmonik forfeit from Meshach Brencher, who made his debut at the last screening, and this month returned to unleash Simon Cowell the Gangster - a harrowing concept if ever there was one. This was followed by a Filmonik debut for Paul Blackburn, with “Speedhead”, a slice of comic urban realist performance poetry set to a dub beat exploring the thrills, spills, and of certain illicit mood enhancers.
Next up, Paul McDonahue explored Salford Superheroics and a legacy of abuse in “Kid Dangerous”, which seemed a little familiar - pretty certain this wasn’t the film’s premiere, but we’ll let you off, because you remembered to include the Filmonik Logo at the end.
After a break for serious drinking, Tim Limon gave a demonstration of what happens when he’s entrusted to shoot a wedding video for friends, in “Perfect Day”. He also earned himself a forfeit for omitting the logo - next time around, we want a video to accompany a Limahl song.
Next, McDave “Do You Want Music For That?” Abbott turned his hand away from composing to filmmaking, with his debut piece “Clark Without The E” which illustrated the kind of stress an incessantly chattering co-worker can cause to even the most mild-mannered of men.
Another Filmonik debut, next, for Angel Delgado, from Spain, who offered a Paul Verhoeven style take on the old “Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup!” joke. Don’t say that too loud, or they’ll all want one. Never get tired of that .
Next up, “The Pass”: something of a departure for Filmonik’s resident graphics maestro and web designer Gareth Crook. A wry live action horror movie, with shades of “The Wicker Man”. Anyone who has ever driven along the road featured in the film will be all too ready to believe what happens.
More drinks, and then the return of another old friend, Mark Harris, who screened two experimental films made with his bearded sidekick Steve - the abstract and pyrotechnic “The Garden”, and "Hulme", an exploration of the old Hulme, before the developers showed up to gentrify everything and remove all the character along with the decaying concrete. Steve particularly asked to be given a forfeit, and so he was - we want a follow-up film about Didsbury. Be interesting to see what he comes up with for that.
Next up a break in the proceedings, as a mysterious horse-headed figure stormed the stage to object to his / its depiction in “The Pass”, and to offer as evidence some footage of the filmmakers at work. The equine agitator clearly had a point - for shame, Gareth, exploiting good natured rural weirdos like that!
To close, our second European film of the night - a classic from the last Kabaret, Marie Loos’ enigmatic “The Stranger”, in a brand-new cut.
In the end, the worry was for nothing, but it’s all part of the fun. This was another white-knuckle evening of unpredictable cinematic treats at the region’s only true “open mic” for filmmakers.
We’ll be back on October 4th, same time, same place. You’ve got two months, filmmakers. This is not the time to rest on your laurels. Get filming. The screen awaits you.
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Filmonik on the BBC BIG SCREEN! :: July 2009
Who says there’s nothing on the telly during the Summer? This week, Filmonik takes over The Big Screen in Manchester’s Exchange Square, with a selection of our more family friendly films - this is, after all, a public space, and violence and cuss-words would be frowned upon. What did the BBC deem suitable for screening? Why not come along and take a look! Screening Times as follows:
Saturday July 25th
10am - 11am, 5.50pm - 6.50pm, 9.50pm - 10.50pm
Sunday July 26th
9am - 10am, 11am - 12pm, 7pm - 8pm, 9pm - 10pm
Monday July 27th
9am - 10am, 11am - 12pm, 1.45pm - 2.45pm, 4pm - 5pm, 10.35pm - 11.35pm
Tuesday July 28th
9am - 10am, 11am - 12pm, 2.30pm - 3.30pm, 5pm - 6pm, 9pm - 10pm, 10.35pm - 11.35pm
Wednesday July 29th
9am - 10am, 11am - 12pm, 2.30pm - 3.30pm, 4pm - 5pm, 10.45pm - 11.45pm
Thursday July 30th
9am - 10am, 11am - 12pm, 9pm - 10pm, 10.35pm - 11.35pm
Friday July 31st
9am - 10am, 11am - 12pm, 10.35pm - 11.35pm
We want that square to be filled with film fans all day every day!
Hope to see you there!
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Future Artists Launch :: July 2009
SATURDAY 11TH JULY 2009
URBIS | MANCHESTER | UNITED KINGDOM
7:30 PM - 1:00 AM TICKETS £5
What is Future Artists?
Inspired by Power to the Pixel and The Work Book Project, Future Artists seeks to place Salford and Manchester at the forefront of the Digital Age; bringing together film-makers, actors, writers, crew, artists, new media and film lovers to network, share resources, and explore new ways to make, market, and distribute independent film. The launch is on Saturday July 11th.
There’ll be filmmakers looking for actors, producers looking for scripts, screenings of acclaimed shorts and cult “fan films” and panel discussions on making the leap from short to feature, and getting the finished film out into the world. There’ll be networking opportunities galore.
Somewhere in the middle of all this frenzied activity, Filmonik’s own Steve Balshaw, Salford Film Festival Programme Manager by day, will be offering a few tips as to what makes a successful short film, and showing a few hopefully inspiring examples.
If you’re a filmmaker, writer, actor, or other creative, or if you are simply interested in the future of film, this is an event you should probably check out.
Full details and tickets available from: www.futureartists.co.uk.
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Film Festivals Calling for Submissions! :: June 2009
One of the occasional gripes Filmonik gets is that while film students are welcome to screen work made in their own time, they are not generally permitted to screen course work at our open mic nights. But that being said, we do want to encourage all of our filmmakers, students or not, to get their work screened as widely as possible. So we think you ought to know about these calls for submissions from local film festivals:
exposures; new talent in moving image festival, 17 – 19 November 2009 - call for entries!
It's that time of year again. exposures, the UK’s leading student film and moving image festival, now in its 16th year, is encouraging all young film makers to get their entries in swiftly; exposures must have received all entries on DVD format by 5pm on Friday 31st July 2009 and they must not exceed 30 minutes in length.
Providing all entries have been made by students between August 2008 and July 2009, the work can be of ANY genre, theme or type; this really is the perfect arena in which to showcase raw, fresh talent. With exposures’ relaxed brief, no entry fee and sterling reputation; this festival could open the door to some precious, future opportunities.
Full film submission details and application forms can be downloaded from www.exposuresfestival.co.uk.
And for those of you who aren’t students (as well as those who are!):
SALFORD FILM FESTIVAL 2009 - CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS!
We are now actively seeking short films and features for the Sixth Salford Film Festival, scheduled for the third week of November 2009, final dates to be confirmed. The Festival prides itself on having a local accent but a truly international perspective: We are particularly keen to receive work with a strong Salford connection (and failing that a Greater Manchester or North West focus), but we welcome submissions from all over the world. The Festival accepts shorts and features in any style or genre, fiction and non-fiction, and operates a totally open, all-year-round submission policy. Anyone is free to submit a film at any time. There is no submission fee. Deadline for submissions for inclusion in the 2009 festival, however, is 31st August.
Full submission details and forms may be downloaded from www.salfordfilmfestival.org.uk.
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