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SPRING 2012
Spring has sprung, and so the Iris Blogger emerges from the warm, dry cave in which he spent his winter hibernation, rubs the sleep from his eyes, stretches his arms, and lets out a long, yawning growl. (Note: The “bear” thing isn’t really an analogy… He’s sporting a considerable beard and still hasn’t lost all his “holiday weight”.)
So what’s happened in the world of Iris since last we met? Well… The IB has vague memories of being awoken, mid-hibernation, for festive Iris drinks at the home of Iris’s very own Berwyn Rowlands and Grant Vidgen. Sadly, the passing months have rendered said memories even vaguer still… which suggests a good night was had by all. There was much merriment – not to mention delicious food – at a St. Dwynwen's Day dinner at Oscars of Cardiff, where the blogger caught up with a whole host of Iris Friends old and new.
Post-production continues apace on Iris’s latest film, ‘Little Man’, directed by Iris 2009 winner Eldar Rappaport, and the Iris Blogger can’t wait to see the finished film. It features up-and-coming Welsh actor Darren Evans, who you may have seen in Richard Ayoade’s brilliant ‘Submarine’, and who stars in Marc Evans’ ‘Hunky Dory’. The latter film recently got an enthusiastic 140-character-or-less Twitter review from polymathic National Treasure (and Pink Portraits subject) Stephen Fry!
And that’s another thing. In recent months, the Iris Blogger has become increasingly aware of Iris’s place in the world. Wherever he looks, he sees Iris. While stuffing his face with popcorn (And you wonder why you haven’t lost that “holiday weight” – Ed.) and watching ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows’, he spotted two very familiar faces; identical twin actors Alexandre and Victor Carril, stars of Pascal-Alex Vincent’s ‘Give Me Your Hand’, a gorgeous road movie that received a very warm welcome at Iris 2009.
Looking at Rotten Tomatoes’ Top Films of 2011, what should he see at number 18, with an amazing 96% approval rate, but inaugural Iris winner Dee Rees’s feature-length adaptation of her winning short ‘Pariah’?
With same-sex marriage a hot topic once more in the UK – some, including our Prime Minister, support it; others, mostly the misguided and the insane, do not – the Iris Blogger decided to revisit Funny Or Die’s brilliant short film, ‘Proposition 8: The Musical’. Written by ‘Hairspray’ and ‘South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut’ songsmith Marc Shaiman, and starring such luminaries as Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and Neil Patrick Harris, the film takes a musically comic (and comically musical) look at the fierce debate surrounding California’s anti-same-sex-marriage legislation. But wait… Who’s this we see in the chorus, spotting a sexy yellow crop top and sweatband? Why, if it isn’t the impossibly handsome and talented director of ‘Spork’, and Iris 2011 judge JB Ghuman! If you’d like to see JB and Co. adding some much needed “jazz hands” to the debate on Same-Sex Marriage, you can do so at Funny Or Die, right here.
Anyway… That’s about all for now. The Iris Blogger has some winter fur to shed, and some small, Disneyesque animals to pursue through a forest glade. If you’re a friend of Iris or an Iris alumni – be it the maker of a short film or feature – and you have exciting news to share, let us know and we’ll shout it from the rooftops.
See you soon!
DAY 4 AT IRIS
And the winner is…..Yes yes yes… We’ll get to all that in a moment, but first of all, and with a sore head and bags under his eyes, the Iris Blogger must scan the notes he made yesterday and try to salvage some sense out of them.
Day 4 began with a very much-needed coffee and breakfast at Chapter Arts (let’s just say the night before was a late one), and the session on LGBT families and children on film. The Iris Blogger missed this as he sat in the foyer with his head in his hands saying, “Ow… ow… ow…”, but he’s told it was very entertaining and enlightening.
At midday we were treated to another viewing of last year’s winning short, ‘The Samaritan’, and a Q&A with its director Magnus Mork, who served on this year’s jury. If anything, the film is even better on a second viewing, with beautifully understated performances from its two leads and gorgeous, desaturated cinematography that reminded this blogger of the films of Alejandro González Iñárritu.
Day 4’s brunch was served up at Stefano’s, and all that can be said about that is WOW. The food just didn’t stop coming, and the meatballs in marinara sauce were to die for. I’m actually feeling quite wistful and nostalgic just thinking about them…
Following the brunch, the Iris Blogger was tasked with herding some of the jury back to Chapter Arts for their final deliberations – a brisk walk during which the number of those following him seemed to increase every ten yards. The only thing missing was some dance moves and a bald guy. (Iris In-Joke Alert!)
Unfortunately, it’s become something of a tradition for the Iris Blogger to miss one or more films on Day 4, through a combination of film fatigue and logistics, and this year was no exception. ‘So Hard To Forget’ proved ‘So Hard To See’, but the Iris Blogger was able to catch the stunning ‘My Last Round’, from Chilean director Julio Jorquera Arriagada. Centred on the relationship between middle-aged boxer Octavio and his partner Hugo, to say the film “packed a punch” would be a pun too far, and would justify the Iris Blogger being pelted with rotten eggs. However, as a boxing fan, the IB can say the fight scenes in ‘My Last Round’ are more kinetic and convincing than anything in David O. Russell’s ‘The Fighter’, and it’s refreshing to see an LGBT film tackle the sport without giving it a homoerotic spin. The ending (let’s just say it ain’t a happy one) left many of the audience devastated. A great
film.
Sadly, ‘Harvest’ – which came highly recommended by all who’ve seen it – was the second film to suffer from Day 4’s scheduling conflicts. The two hours when it was screening were the Iris Blogger’s only chance to go home, shower, and get changed ready for the awards show.
“Ah, *finally*…” I hear you say. “The awards show!”
Well, yes, but first we saw UK film ‘The Adored’, a tight and claustrophobic thriller about the relationship between an obsessive compulsive photographer and a tormented model. The lead performance by Laura Martin-Simpson was a joy, brilliantly navigating the tightrope between subtle ticks and mannerisms, and full-on Baby-Jane-Hudson-meets-Annie-Wilkes insanity. Thoroughly enjoyable!
Which brings us to the awards show!
(“Thank f**k for that!” I hear you say.)
Yes, as usual our host for the evening was the debonair (and ever-so-slightly tipsy) Hywel James, but this year Iris was able to hand out two new awards, for best actor and best actress, as sponsored by the London Women’s Clinic.
The Best Actor award went (and quite rightly, IMHO) to Murray Bartlett for his role in ‘August’, while Best Actress was nabbed by Allison Lane for her side-splitting turn in ‘Going Down In La-la-Land’. Best Feature, as voted for by the Friends of Iris, was ‘August’, directed by Iris Year 3 winner Eldar Rapaport, while Best UK Short went to Andrew Steggall for ‘The Red Bike’.
If there’d been an award for Best Line Of The Night, it would have gone to juror Sally Griffiths, who said that the jury’s most controversial point of debate had been, “Was it the toe, or the whole foot?” (Iris In-Joke Alert Pt. 2!)
Which brings us to the moment you’ve all been waiting for… The Iris Prize itself! And the winner was…
(Drum roll…)
Daniel Ribeiro’s ‘I Don’t Want To Go Back Alone’!
A very popular choice all round. In fact, this was one year when the Iris Blogger agreed with all the awards given, even if he couldn’t have predicted any of them! He’s putting this down to the incredibly high standard of both shorts and features this year, which left it impossible to guess runaway winners in any of the categories!
After the show we were treated to a set by rising stars Bright Light Bright Light and what seemed to be an endless ocean of wine. The night moved on from the upstairs bar in Cineworld to the bars and clubs of Cardiff, where the Iriseers (yep… still using it) partied on into the wee hours. The Iris Blogger’s memories of all this are a little hazy, but based on the fact that his head feels like a frozen pineapple, he thinks he had a great time.
However, what he can say with absolute certainty is that this year’s has been the best Iris ever. Yes, the off-screen dramas have sometimes matched anything we saw in the films, and the Iris Blogger hopes a certain someone gets well soon, but we’ve seen some amazing films, had a lot of laughs, and made some great new friends. If it’s anywhere near as good as this year’s, Iris 2012 can’t come soon enough!
MAHLER MAKES ANYTHING TASTEFUL
When the Iris Blogger last saw some of our guests on Thursday night, they were heading in the direction of Wow, the one place guaranteed to keep pouring the drinks until 3am.
Reports on what happened in said bar were a little sketchy as sunlight crept over the city, but included one of our jury waking up in a Top Gun t-shirt that wasn’t his own (after a hair-raising experience with a blown tyre and the father of the person he left Wow with) and another pulling some – quite frankly acrobatic – dance moves with a well-respected British journalist. (For the latter, there is photographic evidence.)
Some of Thursday night’s events shall never, ever be spoken of again, and others – once the dust has settled – will become the stuff of folklore and legend.
But on with the festival.
The day began with the Producer’s Forum, which the Iris Blogger sadly missed this year as he was outside in the bar, goofing about in front of the camera with Iris TV head honcho (and this year, juror) Andrew Gurney. Much of the pair’s poor-man’s-Pete-and-Dud shenanigans are likely to end up on the cutting room floor, but it was all good fun.
After a strong first programme, and mixed second and third programmes yesterday (everyone remembers “THAT film”… let’s just leave it at that) Programme 4 was an absolute belter. There wasn’t a single dubious or misguided film in the bunch – they were all cracking. Forced at metaphorical gunpoint to pick two favourites, the Iris Blogger would have to say Elissa Osborne and Jeff McCutcheon’s ‘Change’, set against the backdrop of the 2008 US presidential election and the vote on Prop 8, and Yoav Brill’s ‘Ishihara’. The former was a stunning, gritty slice of life drama with a documentary feel and breath-taking performances, while the latter was a delightful animation about – amongst other things – colour blindness, based upon the Ishihara test. Two more different films you’re unlikely to see this year, but both were amazing.
A special mention should, perhaps, go to ‘Fourplay San Francisco’, if only because it showed just how much you can get away with if you stick some Mahler on your soundtrack. How a film with that subject matter and content managed to feel tasteful and quite touching still baffles the Iris Blogger.
Day 3’s Iris brunch, for film-makers and Friends of Iris, was served at Bellini’s, a firm favourite last year, and yes… they had the tiramisu again. The Iris Blogger was a happy – not to mention increasingly fat – bunny.
As if the jury’s job hadn’t been made hard enough by the dazzling Programme 4, along came Programme 5, starting with Brazilian film ‘Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho’ (I Don’t Want To Go Back Alone). Seriously… this is another one to look out for come Saturday night. If there was a single audience member who didn’t find this film touching, sweet and funny, the Iris Blogger has yet to meet them. Again, if forced to pick just one more film from a really strong line-up of five, the IB would say ‘Junk’, Joe Morris’s hard-hitting drama about the ups and downs (well, mostly the downs) of a homeless gay couple in their teens. It had the feel and the impact of Ken Loach’s ‘Sweet Sixteen’, and could be a contender for Best UK Short, at the very least.
As the sun set over Cardiff (and boy… the view from the upstairs bar at Cineworld never gets boring when it’s sunny), the team from Peccadillo Pictures treated us to drinks and nibbles to celebrate the launch of their new compilation DVD, ‘Boys On Film: Bad Romance’.
Then it was time for the 6th and final programme of shorts. This was a diverse little group of films, but the strongest were possibly Jason Knade’s ‘Cyclicity’ and Jon Stanford’s ‘Lost Tracks’. Initially the Iris Blogger thought the first of these, in which two strangers discuss an imaginary relationship while on a ferris wheel, was going to get a little twee, but there was a nicely dry humour that steered it well away from the mawkish.
‘Lost Tracks’ gave us a story about bored and disaffected youths in England’s rural hinterlands, with a great performance from its lead actress, and a good supporting turn by John “Boycee” Challis. (Apologies to those who’ve never seen ‘Only Fools & Horses’, and therefore have no idea who or what a “Boycee” is.)
And breaking his own self-imposed rules, the Iris Blogger should also mention Eric Gernand’s ‘Nice Shirt’, if only because it cheered us all up after a lot of high emotions and weighty drama.
By now, night had fallen and it was off to the Park Inn for new Iris sponsor The London Women’s Clinic’s drinks reception. The LWC are sponsoring awards for Best Actor and Best Actress in this year’s feature films, and were more than generous when it came to wine and canapés, too.
And so to Day 3’s final film, the late night screening of ‘Vampires: Brighter In Darkness’. This gritty, hard-hitting documentary about life in the northern town of Chester was…
Oh, who am I kidding? It was a film about vampires. It had a scene in which two sexy vampires made out in a shower. End of.
By the time the Q&A with director Jason Davitt and star Rhys Howells was over it was appropriately well past midnight, and along with a small army of Iriseers (I’m going to keep saying it until it sticks) this virtually undead blogger dragged his increasingly cadaverous self over to Pulse, where he drank and danced and drank some more until it was way past his bedtime. When he left the club, certain members of the jury and the Iris team were still dancing and still drinking.
What happened next? Watch this space…
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
11:30am, and the Iriseers (as in, the festival’s called Iris, and we’ll SEE lots of films… no?) were gathering in the top floor bar at Cineworld for Day 2’s meet, greet and Tweet.
After Day 1’s almost Biblical deluge, it was a relief to see azure skies over Cardiff, and smiles on faces. It seems our regulars and visitors alike have paced themselves, and were in their beds at sensible hours last night.
The lovely Oli uploaded the latest blog, and on re-reading it the Iris blogger realised just how much of a lecher he can sound at times. There really should be a word for ogling cute guys via the medium of blog. Blogling? (Stop thinking out loud – Ed.)
Anyway… At 12:30 we were hurled into the heart of the Iris Prize Festival with Programme 1 of the shorts, and the jawdroppingly funny and unexpected ‘Skallaman’ (dir. Maria Bock.) The Iris Blogger is grateful he chose not to read this year’s programme in advance and never mastered Norwegian. If he had, he’d have already known the title translates as “Bald Guy”, and that the film promised a big show-tune. As it is, the transition – from glacial Scandinavian drama to large-scale Fosse-esque dance number – was both unexpected and thrilling.
Another one to look out for, come Saturday night, was Mitsuyo Miyazaki’s heartbreaking ‘Tsuyako’, a tale of thwarted love in post-war Japan. Seriously… If the Iris Blogger had been watching this at home on DVD, he’d have had to do that “pretend-to-read-a-newspaper-so-nobody-can-see-you-crying” thing his Dad did at the end of ‘Shawshank Redemption’. This film was beautifully made, with excellent performances, and told a compelling story, and if that’s not a “triple threat” in a short film competition, I don’t know what is.
After a slap-up brunch at Flaming Dragon (we’ll ignore the possible connotations the word “Flaming” has for the Iris Blogger), we leapt into Programme 2 with aplomb.
Some great films here too, but if the Iris Blogger had to pick two favourites, they’d be ‘Hold On Tight’ (dir. Anna Rodgers), a gorgeously made documentary about public displays of affection; and ‘James Dean’ (dir. Lucy Asten Elliott). The latter, a short and sweet comic drama about a teenager’s burgeoning gender identity (and much more fun that I just made it sound) had great timing, great performances, and an ending that was both unexpected and welcome.
If there was a break between Programmes 2 and 3, the IB can’t remember it, but one thing is sure. Programme 3 will henceforth be known as “Programme 3: Sexy Time!” Either that, or “Programme 3: The Films You Wouldn’t Want Your Nan To See”. Whether it was the explicit and hilarious ‘Fuckbuddies’ (from Buzz Magazine cover star Juanma Carrillo) or previous Iris shortlister Hong Khaou’s claustrophobic and nerve-shredding ‘Spring’, there was plenty here to raise both eyebrows and heartbeats. The IB’s personal favourites were probably Tamer Ruggli’s ‘Cappuccino’, with its adorable and winning central performance by Benjamin Décosterd, and ‘Play Name’ (dir. Dave Snyder). The former is a handsome coming-of-age story (no pun intended), while the latter explores the emotional fallout from an American tourist’s trip to Thailand. Both are lovely.
The day was capped off with the screening of Casper Andreas’s ‘Going Down In La-la Land’. Casper’s possibly the hardest working man in US queer cinema (or maybe queer cinema full stop), and this is the fourth film he’s shown at Iris, following ‘Between Love And Goodbye’, ‘Big Gay Musical’, and last year’s ‘Violet Tendencies’. What’s been a joy, for those of us lucky enough to catch all of the above, has been watching him develop as a film-maker, each movie more polished and more confident than the last, and ‘La-la Land’ is easily the best film he’s made to date. And as if writing, directing and producing the film wasn’t enough, Casper also turns in a stunning supporting role as the main character’s Svengali-like lover. Talk about multi-tasking…
After a quick Q&A with our friend Philip Wyn Jones, it was off to The Kings, formerly ‘4-Play’ (I know… we name ’em subtly here in Cardiff), and the post-movie drinks reception. There was laughter, and drinking, and more laughter, and more drinking, and one of the Iris team learned (thanks to this blogger) that he once slept with a Hollywood star who has since jumped straight back into the closet. (This information is worth exactly 1 glass of Pinot Grigio, for those of you who are interested…)
Many of our guests moved on to Wow!, the only place to go when it’s 1am and you aren’t done pickling your liver. The Iris Blogger took a more sensible approach, however, and headed for home.
“There’ll be some sore heads in the morning,” he Tweeted, as he walked.
“Sore heads,” replied Iris team member Hannah James, “and sore…”
The suggestive dot-dot-dot hinting at who-knows-what. The Iris Blogger looks forward to finding out…
And so begins Day 3.
TO BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING
The Iris Blogger began his day with one too many coffees and an interview with some TV people (yes, people who make TV!) at Chapter Arts, in the hour or so before the festival began with JB Ghuman’s delightful and strange (not to mention delightfully strange) ‘Spork’. The film has already been gobbling up plaudits and awards at other festivals, so it was practically a foregone conclusion that it would go down a storm here in Cardiff. Suffice to say, it didn’t disappoint. Funny – I mean seriously funny - poignant, and heart-warming in equal measure. If you liked ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ and ‘Addams Family Values’ (hey… you guys know who you are – we recognise our own kind) you’ll love it.
The breathing space between the first film and second was filled with a brisk walk into town, accompanied by Spork’s producer - and long-time Iris cohort - Christopher Racster, and its director, the impossibly handsome JB Ghuman. (Seriously… those eyes? Just stop it.)
After giving the Spork boys a brief history of Cardiff Castle (“It’s basically made of Lego…”), and embarking on a fruitless quest for Arthurian knickknacks, the Iris blogger and his LA pals headed to Barkers Coffee Shop with Friend of Iris Marc Rees, where they enjoyed a brief moment of calm over coffee and Welsh cakes, before heading back to Chapter.
There, it was time for the second film of the night – Iris winner Till Kleinert’s Boys Village. Before the film we were given the brilliant news that Iris has a new patron, in the form of Lord Glendonbrook, who’s agreed to fund the film being made by last year’s winner Magnus Mork. (Cue: Fireworks) There was also sage advice for this year’s jury from Year 1 jury chair Frances Hendron, whose top tip was this: “Don’t snooze.”
The Iris Blogger was lucky enough to see a cast and crew screening of ‘Boys Village’ some months ago, but after a few minor touch-ups and rendered on proper film, it’s looking lovelier and more terrifying than ever. (Honestly… That big dark doorway is the scariest inanimate object to appear in a film in some time…) Luckily there was plenty of wine on hand to steady the Iris Blogger’s jangled nerves.
To cap off a great day, the third and final film, Eldar Rapaport’s ‘August’, was just wonderful. Brilliantly observed, note perfect performances, beautifully filmed, and with an awesome (IMHO) soundtrack. It was gripping from start to finish, without resorting to cheap gimmicks or melodrama, thanks largely to the central triumvirate of actors – a) Because they’re all gorgeous and b) Because they’re infuriatingly talented. If the Iris Blogger has one minor criticism of the film, it’s that it makes smoking look cool, and he gave up smoking seven months ago. Seeing sexy people smoking cigarettes in a cool way isn’t helping, Eldar.
After the Q&A with lead actor Murray Bartlett (who appears to have been given a quite frankly unfair share of sexy and charming on life’s production line), there was time for a few drinks, a quick mingle, and a gossip before the Iris Blogger had to call it a night and cadge a lift home with our good friend Hannah James. Now he sits hunched over his laptop, mindful of the hour (it’s 12:30am), and itching to know…
Will JB Ghuman ever find his Arthurian treasures?
Will any of our jury snooze?
And does even Cher really believe in life after love?
To find out all this and more, stay tuned for the next thrilling instalment of the Iris Blog!
