I was very pleased to be asked to review the latest short film by Jaschar Marktanner Vielleicht besser so (Perhaps Better That Way). If you’ve seen Jaschar’s work or if you read my earlier thoughts on his clever sci-fi piece Turing Test, you’ll know this is a filmmaker who thrives on intimate ideas and big … Continue reading
Judy Matheson is one of the most memorable performers from the golden age of British horror – and much more besides. Her appearances in classic Hammer films and other horrors made a lasting impression on many of us, but that was just a small part of her career impressive career on stage and screen. So, … Continue reading
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, I’m sure many of us spent some of our unexpected free time writing. I took the opportunty to dabble in creating some flash fiction stories – tiny snippets of fiction – just for my own amusement. As I played around with them, they took on some commonalities – set in … Continue reading
Maxine Gordon was a familiar face on British TV for many years. For me, she will always be Anne Marie in the dark children’s drama Midnight Is a Place, and she kindly spoke to me about that programme for a chapter I’m contributing to a book*. But our ‘interview’ (conducted via email and voice note) … Continue reading
The remarkable story of the USA’s first saint, Francesca Cabrini, is told in a new feature film, being previewed in the UK this week (8 March 2024) for International Women’s Day and Mothering Sunday. This powerful epic movie comes from Alejandro Monteverde, award-winning director of 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮, following Francesca Cabrini, an Italian immigrant who … Continue reading
A series of short screenplays, known as The Annalium Project (featured in this blog earlier this year), has been finding success in international competitions. The project’s creator (my pal) Robert Lancey had been hoping to have started filming the first film ‘Sssss’ by now, but the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has kept that on hold until … Continue reading
When artist Mari reveals to her PhD student boyfriend that she can hear his thoughts, he decides he must think in images to maintain balance. As he opens himself up to imagination and memory, his world loses its characteristic rationale. That’s the intriguing premise of the forthcoming short film by Thomas Riordan, Visions of Beulah. Continue reading
An intriguing series of short, dialogue-free screenplays, has now gone online. Annalium is the work of Cardiff-based writer (and my pal) Robert Lancey, who has created a website to showcase the screenplays and their potential to be realised on screen. Each opens with a flight over a forest, and then a descent through the treetops … Continue reading
There was a time when the opening titles of a film were just that – titles at the start of a film: What the film is called, maybe who is in it, maybe who made it, and some legal notice about copyright. They did a job, but they weren’t much fun. It wasn’t long, though, … Continue reading
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