It's My Shout 2017

Last night, the Watchers attended the premiere of It's My Shout 2017, a showcase of nine short films which were written and directed by new talent from Wales. This took place at the Wales Millennium Centre in the heart of Cardiff Bay. 

Some of you may be asking, what's It’s My Shout? Well it's a training scheme- supported by BBC Wales, Welsh-language broadcaster S4C, and the Welsh Government (amongst others)- which provides training for young people interested in gaining experience in all aspects of film-making both in front of- and behind- the camera. 

From writing and directing, to lighting, make-up, costume, sound, film scoring or acting, the initiative covers all aspects of film-making. Successful applicants are mentored by industry professionals who provide advice and guidance over a period of pre-production and the three days of the actual shoot. The films are then edited and, after the premiere, are then broadcast on BBC Wales and S4C. 

It's a fantastic scheme which encourages and nurtures new talent and Watcher Rhys was selected as one of the directors for this year's films. It was a fantastic opportunity to go and support him and see the fruits of his and so many others' labours. 

There were nine films commissioned this year, seven English-language and two Welsh-language. This year's films are:

Closure
Written by Rob Bryant and directed by Craig Fisher

When Seb's best friend Harry kills himself, Seb and his other friends are distraught. To help with the grieving process- and to help them get some closure- the school provides them with a special grieving robot which looks just like Harry. A very tender and poignant story which could easily have been longer. There's a lovely performance by Harrison Smith as the robot Harry, and the make-up for the robot is particularly stunning.  

Packaged
Written by Peter Rogers and directed by Lemarl Freckleton

Jack's got a very important packaged to deliver. He absolutely can't be late. The clock is ticking... It starts out as one thing and ends somewhere completely different, and I'm not entirely sure the transition is that successful. That said, it's fun- and there's a truly spectacular moustache on display! Phillip Jones, who played the hapless Jack, won the Best Actor award. 

Ffeithiau Amgen [Alternative Facts]
Written by Cai Evans and directed by Rhys ap Trefor

Sibling rivalry goes to a whole new level when high-achiever Siwan and her less-than-achieving sister Gwawr go head-to-head for the position of club president. Shannon Williams and Kelly Pitts are impressive as the warring siblings, and there's a lot of humour to be had as the mud starts to be slung, although the ending did feel a little rushed. 

Rory Romantic
Written by Eleonora Mignoli and directed by Rhys Jones

Fitness guru Rory is visited by one of his fans, Tanvi. But have they met before? There are two stunning performances by Shaz Lancaster as Rory and Ellen Jane Thomas as Tanvi (who deservedly won the Best Supporting Actress award) in one of the most stylish and stylised films in the showcase. The make-up and prosthetic work is also superb. 

Two Player Games
Written by Lexx Oliver and directed by Sion Thomas

Purdy and Joleen are enjoying their first date at a games arcade but come across a machine that can show you the future. But will it be a happy ending for the two girls? This is another one, like Closure, which could have been longer. In fact, you could imagine a situation like this in a Black Mirror story. The visual style was really strong and there's a lovely little hint of something darker towards the end. This short won the People's Choice Award, voted on by the audience. 

Lawr A Lan [Down And Up]
Written by Anna Symmonds and directed by Shelley Rees

Three people take the lift every day. But what happens when, one night, the lift gets stuck between floors? A lot of the film is played without dialogue which works well in creating the mood and scene. The ending of the film can be very much open to interpretation- which I know isn't everyone's cup of tea- but I quite enjoyed it.

Dear Mr Ali
Written by Scott Chambers and directed by Jamie McKee

An unlikely friendship forms between Gareth and his tutor Mr Ali, when Gareth is put in detention and has to help Mr Ali clean the kitchens. This is another one where the ending felt quite rushed, which was a shame, as what had gone before it was nicely observed and well-acted throughout. Matthew Lee Heath, who plays the bully Iwan, won Best Supporting Actor for his performance. 

HOME
Written by Lewis Reeves and directed by Sion Ifan 

Lewis is homeless, living on the streets of Cardiff. A reckless decision made all the difference. Now he must survive in his new circumstances. But will his past affect his future? Some good camera-work on show here, and there's a real gritty, miserable feel to the film which is really successful in evoking the mood of the script; there was clearly a lot of night shoots for this film. Personally it wasn't really to my taste- I think I just didn't 'get it'- but it won Best Film and Sion Ifan won Best Director.  

Peggy
Written by Scott Chambers and directed by Cath Jones

Stacey is starting a new job, as a PA to an experienced actress called Peggy. It's her first day. What could possibly go wrong? Like Packaged, Peggy also starts somewhere and ends up somewhere quite different but the transition is much more successful here. Sharon Morgan is great as the spiky Peggy whilst Chloe Cooper is lovely as the naive newcomer Stacey (winning the Best Actress award for her performance). 

Following on from the awards ceremony, there was a brilliant speech by screenwriter Russell T. Davies (Doctor Who, Queer As Folk, The Second Coming) who was accepting the Inspiration Award. Essentially it was this: shout. Make your voices heard. 

It was a lovely evening, celebrating the hard work and dedication of the teams behind the films. All the films are definitely worth a watch. The English-language films will be broadcast on BBC Two Wales whilst the Welsh-language films will be shown on S4C in October. The English-language films will then be available via BBC iPlayer. More information can be found at the BBC It's My Shout website.

The broadcast schedule for the English-language films is as follows:

Dear Mr Ali: Monday 11th September 2017, 23:15

Two Player Games: Tuesday 12th September 2017, 23:15

HOME: Wednesday 13th September 2017, 23:15

Closure: Thursday 14th September 2017, 23:15

Rory Romantic: Friday 15th September 2017, 23:05

Packaged: Monday 18th September 2017, 23:15

Peggy: Tuesday 19th September 2017, 23:10


Congratulations to all the nominees and the winners! You should all be justifiably proud of your amazing achievements. 

If you're interested in finding out more about the scheme, check out the It's My Shout website.

The Watchers' Pre-Bondathon Special

With less than a week to go before the Bondathon, we thought we'd showcase some of the stuff we've done in the run-up to the event and give you a taster of what to expect over this coming weekend.

We have to say a huge thank you to Videomajic.tv for their support.

Enjoy!

This Week On The Bond Blog: 21/10/2012

This week on The Watchers Charity Bondathon 2012 Blog...

Countdown: The Watchers' Top 10 Worst Bond Henchmen

The Watchers Charity Bondathon 2012 Weekend Schedule

A video of our favourite James Bond quotes

Only 4 days to go! 

Please consider sponsoring us, either through JustGiving or via text - see below for details of text donation.

This Week On The Bond Blog: 14/10/2012

This week on The Watchers Charity Bondathon 2012 Blog...

Rhys' review of Bond documentary Everything Or Nothing

The Watchers' Top 10 Worst Bond Villains

Tez pays tribute to the late, great Desmond Llewelyn (Q)

From The Files Of Q Branch: The Gadgets Of James Bond

Just 11 days to go!

LGBT Movies

The Iris Prize Festival starts today in Cardiff. Now in its sixth year, the festival is a celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) film, with feature film screenings, panel sessions and it also awards the Iris Prize- a package valued at £25,000- to the best short film, allowing the winner to make their next film. I attended events for the first two Iris Prize Festivals and can heartily say they are a very worthwhile event to attend. 

To coincide with this festival, I thought I would share some of my favourite LGBT films. The first issue really is to define what an LGBT film is. One could do worse than this following definition from Wikipedia: 'films that deal with or feature significant LGBT characters or issues, and may have same-sex romance or relationships as an important plot device.'

One could argue that film is film and that is that, and that there isn't a need to ghettoise a film by labelling it 'a gay film'. Film is a universal medium that encompasses all life and lifestyles, telling stories that resonate and touch us all, whether black or white, gay or straight, young or old. Cinema is a great leveller; it brings people together to share an experience. It would be great if society to get to a point where every faction of it is so integrated and the bigotry and hatred of what's different is a distant memory and maybe then everyone can see 'a gay film' as just 'a film'. But until that happens, festivals like The Iris Prize Festival and the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival are important to showcase and celebrate the LGBT experience.

The British film Victim (1961)- starring Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Sims and Dennis Price- is the first film to use the word 'homosexual' but there have been representations of gay and lesbian people prior to this, even if they haven't always been positive: for instance, it is hinted that the killers in Rope (1948) are a homosexual couple, while there are definite hints that the obsessive Mrs Danvers' feelings for her late mistress in Rebecca (1940) are more than just those of a faithful servant. However, as the years have passed and things have improved, so have the representations. For more information about the history of LGBT cinema, I'd advise the superlative documentary The Celluloid Closet (1995).

This list is by no means exhaustive; there are plenty of other movies with LGBT characters and themes that I like and enjoy, but if I wrote about them all, we'd be here til Bonfire Night. 

Love! Valor! Compassion! (1997) is a film adaptation of Terrence McNally's play of the same name which sees a group of eight gay men spend three successive weekends together. They bicker, bond, fall in love and face some uncomfortable truths. All but one of the original Broadway cast return for the adaptation, with Jason Alexander replacing Nathan Lane as the Broadway-loving HIV-positive Buzz. Whilst all performances are universally brilliant, special mention must go to John Glover who plays dual roles as twin brothers James and John.

Beautiful Thing (1996) tells the story of two young lads- Ste (Scott Neal) and Jamie (Glen Berry)- who find love on a council estate in London. There's able support from Linda Henry as Jamie's fearless mum Sandra and Tameka Empson as their Mama Cass-loving friend Leah. The finale- where the two boys dance together to 'Dream A Little Dream Of Me'- will lift even the hardest of hearts.

Dismissed in some quarters as just 'that film about the gay cowboys', Brokeback Mountain (2005) is a moving, beautiful and thoughtful film about the relationship between two men that spans decades. A quartet of amazing performances by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as the star-crossed lovers, and Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway as their respective wives, with strong direction by Ang Lee and a haunting score by Gustavo Santaolalla make this a brilliant film. It is an absolute travesty that it didn't win Best Picture at the 2006 Oscars.

The Birdcage (1996), an American remake of La Cage Aux Folles (1978), is probably the only film I've ever seen Robin Williams upstaged in. The hysterically funny Nathan Lane steals the show as Albert, the neurotic boyfriend of Williams' Armand who has to conceal the truth of his domestic arrangements when his son's fiancee Barbara brings her ultra-conservative parents to dinner. Performances are excellent all round, especially from Hank Azaria as Armand and Albert's houseboy and Dianne Wiest and Gene Hackman as Barbara's parents. 

The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (1994) is a technicolour extravaganza which sees three drag queens crossing the Australian desert in a beat-up old camper van. The fact that the drag queens are played by those paragons of manliness Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce adds another dimension to Stephan Elliott's fantastic debut film, full of eminently quotable dialogue and a tender heart behind the cattiness. Kudos too to Stamp who, as transsexual Bernadette, remains entirely in female attire throughout. 

It would be remiss not to mention The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). This gloriously camp confection about a strait-laced all-American couple (Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick) who get their eyes opened and horizons expanded at the secluded castle of Dr. Frank N Furter (the incredible Tim Curry), a hedonistic cross-dressing alien, is the subject of deep adulation and is a firm cult favourite. Famous for the Time Warp and the message 'don't dream it, be it', it's a whole lot of fun (even with the slightly downbeat ending).

Imagine Me & You (2005) is a bright and breezy British rom-com which features a young bride called Rachel (Piper Perabo) who falls in love with Luce, a female florist (Lena Headey)... on her wedding day. Moments of laugh-out-loud comedy sit alongside moments of great emotion- none more so that when Rachel's husband (Matthew Goode) decides to step away so that Rachel and Luce can be together.

Bound (1996) is a clever and stylish noir-ish thriller by the Wachowskis which sees Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly as lovers Corky and Violet who conspire to steal millions from the Mob and pin the blame on Violet's boyfriend Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). A sensual, gritty and powerful movie.

John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus (2006) gained some column inches on its premiere for its use of unsimulated sex. But this is far from a pornographer's wet dream; it's also a sensitive, moving and screamingly funny film which follows a dominatrix, a gay couple and a frustrated therapist as they negotiate matters of the heart and body.

In & Out (1997) is a frothy fun comedy based on a true story- when Tom Hanks inadvertently outed one of his former teachers when accepting his Oscar for Philadelphia. Here, Kevin Kline is the happily engaged teacher whose life collapses when a former student (Matt Dillon) outs him. Ambitious news-reporter Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck) goes to the town to discover the truth. There's no prizes for guessing where this story leads, but warm and sympathetic performances from Kline, Selleck and Joan Cusack as Howard's confused fiancee.

The Opposite Of Sex (1998) is a wickedly black comedy starring Christina Ricci as trailer-trash Dede Truitt who causes havoc in her gay half-brother's life by seducing his boyfriend and ending up pregnant. There are sterling performances throughout by Ricci, Martin Donovan as Dede's half-brother Bill and Lisa Kudrow as a bitter friend of Bill's, a million miles from her hippy-dippy Phoebe schtick.

Sean Penn picked up his second Best Actor Oscar for his nuanced and powerful performance in Milk (2008) as titular gay activist and politician Harvey Milk who campaigned for gay rights in California in the 1970s. A lesson in recent history and essential viewing for anyone who wants to see where the gay rights movement was and where it is now.

The murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998 shocked the world and saw the phrase 'hate crime' come to the fore. The Laramie Project (2002) originally started life as a play by the Tectonic Theater Project based on interviews with the townsfolk of Laramie, Wyoming. A powerful, sometimes uncomfortable, film with an amazing ensemble cast among them Laura Linney, Peter Fonda, Clea DuVall, Steve Buscemi and Amy Madigan.

Boys Don't Cry (1999) is a hardhitting drama starring Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny and Peter Sarsgaard. Based on the life and death of Teena Brandon, a transgendered girl who lived as a male and was murdered when the truth came to light, it's rarely an easy film to watch but the performances are superb throughout (especially Swank, who won a Best Actress Oscar for her role)

Transamerica (2005) sees a bravura performance by Felicity Huffman as Bree, a pre-operative male-to-female transsexual about to have the final operation to make her biologically female. Out of the blue, Bree gets a call. When Bree was Stanley, she fathered a son- a son who need help. Masquerading as a social worker, Bree goes to New York to pick up her son Toby (Kevin Zegers), determined not to tell him the truth. But the subsequent road trip throws up a few interesting home truths...

Finally, Touch Of Pink (2004), a culture-clash, coming-out comedy-drama starring Jimi Mistry and Kristen Holden-Ried as the lovers whose relationship is tested when Mistry's devoutly Muslim mother comes to visit and who doesn't know her son is gay. It also features a stunning supporting role by Kyle MacLachlan... as the spirit of Cary Grant who acts as Mistry's confidante and advisor.

Are there any you think are worth a mention? Let me know in the comments below.

Tez

Introducing The Watchers Charity Bondathon 2012!

Introducing  The Watchers Charity Bondathon 2012 & our new sister blog: www.thewatcherscharitybondathon2012.blogspot.co.uk/

What is a Bondathon?

A Bondathon is a test of endurance for movie buffs, to watch all the official James Bond movies.

Official James Bond movies are those produced by EON Productions (so Never Say Never Again does not count). There is a new official Bond movie out in October which brings the total number to twenty-three.

The challenge is to watch all twenty-three movies over a three-day period, starting with Dr .No at midnight on Friday October 26 and culminating with a cinema screening of Skyfall on the evening of Sunday October 28.

You may think that two guys sitting on a sofa watching movies for three days straight isn’t much of a challenge. We agree. So, for each of the twenty-three movies, we will be writing a retrospective blog piece and recording a podcast which will be available online. If you consider that this equates to approximately forty-six hours of movie-watching alone, the scale of the challenge should be more apparent.

So why are we doing it?

Aside from the opportunity to see one of the world’s greatest movie franchises in its entirety, we are also raising money for Cancer Research Wales. Both of our fathers are currently undergoing treatment for various types of cancer and we both wanted to help raise vital funds for research and treatment.

More information about the Bondathon will be added over the coming weeks so please keep checking the blog, follow us on Twitter @WatchersFilmSho and please consider sponsoring us at www.justgiving.com/thewatcherscharitybondathon2012

Many thanks

The Watchers