You don’t need to look far to see that Nottingham is a city of film. From Shane Meadows, Jeanie Finlay, Steven Sheil and Wellington Films creating successful features, to Broadway being one of the best cinemas in the country, we can boast more cinematic talent than pretty much any city outside of London. With the emergence of the Microfilm Festival, the continuing popularity of Mayhem Film Festival and, as described in The Guardian, the “leftfield outfits like Kino Klubb, Strange Things Are Happening and Kneel Before Zod” holding innovative events across Nottingham, we are a city steeped in an active appreciation of all things cinema.
Last year, Nottingham held more events for Scalarama than any other outside of the capital, and it’s hardly surprising that this is the case again in 2015. Out of the 500 or so events being held this September, Notts is host to almost forty, including three that us at LeftLion, in conjunction with These City Lights Media, are putting on ourselves (you’re welcome).
The thirty-day event takes the form of film screenings chosen by individuals or organisations across the UK, with the aim of hosting events in a range of unique venues like Cobden Chambers the new Secret Cinema at The Lacehouse, as well as the more traditional but equally great settings of Broadway, Screen 22 and The Savoy. The aim is to make September the unofficial month for cinema, and open up audiences to films they wouldn’t otherwise get the opportunity to see on the big screen or, in some cases, at all. We spoke to some of the main organisers about what to expect...
Kino Klubb
“We will be screening Alejandro Jodorowsky’s latest masterpiece The Dance Of Reality at Screen 22. Our first official screening was Jodorowsky’s Santa Sangre back in 2012 at Screen 22, so it’s nice to go back to our roots and get to the core of why we wanted to be a film club in the first place – to bring extraordinary cinema to Nottingham. As with all Jodorowsky films, there’s stuff in The Dance Of Reality which you’ve never seen before, some real jaw-dropping moments. Water sports and genital mutilation: need we say more?”
Impact Magazine
“We’ll be staging The Dangerous Ambition double bill, which will consist of Death Becomes Her and Election at Screen 22. With Impact being a student magazine, full of ambitious contributors and editors, it seems perversely appropriate – and very Scala – to show the dangerous side of ambition.”
Dan Keeling – Porlock Press
“On Sunday 20 September I'll be showing a film called Bad Boy Bubby at the Savoy cinema. If you've seen it before then you'll know how special it is. If you haven't yet seen it then I don't want to say too much about the plot, but it essentially charts a bizarre sort of coming of age tale for the main character as he experiences the world truly for the first time. There is a massive amount of love out there for this film. If you are even a little bit curious about Bad Boy Bubby then I would say it's a must-see.”
Strange Things Are Happening
“After doing three shows last year, we upped it to four, possibly five, this time round. Our big one this year is The Killing of America, paired with a live gig by The Madeline Rust. We also have two nights, possibly more, in Broadway’s Lounge. One is video nasty-themed, the other called Sleazemania. We have a pretty vibrant mix, with both films and venues.”
Beth Bird – Nottingham and Derby Society of Architects
“We came up with the idea of a summer outdoor screening at Cobden Chambers, which seemed like the perfect venue for our debut film screening. We will be showing two short films and a feature film: LACE, Get Luder and Metropolis. The size and cultural density of Nottingham suits a film festival of this scale. The Creative Quarter is home to so many different industries, which come together in the melting pot that is Hockley, providing the perfect social hub for the Scalarama community to thrive.”
Dan Layton – Bees Make Honey
“This year we’re holding an outdoor screening of Park Chan-wook’s 2003 classic Oldboy in the courtyard of Cobden Chambers on Pelham Street. It’s something of a far cry from our screening of Amelie at last year’s Scalarama, but then again, what is life without a bit of variety? For a relatively small city, Nottingham has always had a really vibrant creative community – be it in film, music, visual arts, what have you – and there’s a lot of cross-pollination of ideas and resources.”
Kneel Before Zod
“We have two screenings. One of them will be Lisztomania to close the Scalarama festivities, however we will also be screening a mystery LaserDisc (i.e. we haven't decided on it just yet) thanks to our friends at The Monster Company in Nottingham. We originally wanted to screen Sleepaway Camp, which is classic Zod-fodder, but were unable to get our act together in time. We have a real penchant for the type of films that lived in a big box in the video rental corner of your local garage. You couldn’t reach the shelf, but the cover was so tantalising. We feel the LaserDisc night will continue that spirit if the weirdness of Lisztomania doesn't do so, for whatever reason. I think we’ve somehow managed to capture a perfect storm of cinematic enthusiasm in Nottingham. There are lots of film groups, all doing slightly different but complimentary things, and we all support each other. That’s probably the secret to it – being open, enthusiastic, and supportive. I think that’s quite a rare thing for a city, especially in the creative arts. It’s a wonderful accident, and long may it last.”
David Lilley – Short Stack
“I’m hosting a Short Stack short film night special, as well as helping arrange a number of screenings at Rough Trade. They will be showing a film every Wednesday including The Decline of Western Civilization (Parts 1, 2 and 3) as well as other screenings from our film club pals. Short Stack are having a Fan Film special on Sunday 6 September featuring the awesome Predator: Dark Ages.”
Mayhem Film Festival
“This year we're planning on screening two classic biker movies, Stone and Psychomania. Essentially it's a double bill of bikes, leathers, mad stunts and ludicrous horror to raise money for the National Association for Bikers with a Disability. We love the idea of double bills: value for money, but also of resurrecting cult cinema and finding new audiences who might have missed these films the first time around. There are a lot of film fans in the city, as well as venues to support that love, from Broadway and Screen 22 to outdoor events, which makes it as much about celebrating cinema as celebrating the city as a venue for film.”
Scalarama runs throughout September at various venues in Nottingham. Check the LeftLion website weekly for full listing details.
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