Blog 08
David Llewellyn is back bloging his way through the festival!
And all good things must end...
And so, like all good things, Iris 2008 has come to an end. Your humble narrator finds himself wide awake at 9:30am, despite promising himself that he'd stay in bed, no matter what, until gone 11, "because he could".
After the last blog I dashed back into town in the middle of a torrential downpour. Having enjoyed two days of relatively nice weather, I suppose it was only fair and right that our guests should experience a little bit of the "real Cardiff" before they left!
Anyway... You don't want to hear me blather on about the weather and about what time I got up this morning. You want to know who won, providing you don't already know that... which, er... you probably do... But anyway...
The winner of the best British short, as announced by The Lovely Dee Rees (which will, from now on, be her official title) was James, Conor Clements' great film featuring a genuinely inspired performance from its young lead.
The Friends Of Iris, the almost Free Masonry-like guild of festival supporters, voted Dream Boy as their favourite feature-length film shown during the festival. This award was announced by current Mr Gay UK, Dino Gamecho (pictured left), a man so good looking you don't know whether you want to snog him to within an inch of his life or punch him out of futile petty jealousy.
And lastly... (Drum roll)... The winner of the Iris Prize for best short film, as announced by the utterly brilliant (and absolute giant of a man) Russell T. Davies (pictured above) was... Cowboy!
This was a fantastic choice by the jury. It was hard this year to guess what the winner might be, the general level of competition was that good, but Cowboys was certainly, I would say, one of the three or four films that was mentioned time and time again. It's a beautifully shot, beautifully acted, and thoroughly gruesome little shocker which I thoroughly enjoyed and would heartily recommend. And the director is very cute and very nice. Not that this should have any bearing on matters, but he is.
And so, the prizes handed out, it was time for us to party like it was 1999 (Jury Chair Elan Closs Stephens with Festival Patron Andrew Pierce, pictured right). Or perhaps some equally party-based year of your choosing. We drank, we laughed, we danced. The aforementioned Adam Price suggested that Dino Gamecho and I could enjoy an Arthur Miller/Marilyn Monroe-like relationship, which Dino, bless him, seemed quite enthusiastic about, or maybe he was just being charitable. I promptly started writing an all-male remake of The Misfits. Without naming names, Wales and the US were apparently united when a well known director from this side of the pond locked tongues with a well known producer from "over there", or so I'm told.
So Iris really is all about bringing film-makers together.
If there was any truly scandalous behaviour (and quite frankly, I'm pretty sure there was) [and yes there was -- Ed.] I was not privy to it, for, by about 4am, it was time for this blogger to hit the old dusty trail and travel home to Bedsville.
Which just about wraps it up for this year, I think. I was initially going to sign this thing off with an Iris-based pun, like "Iris has left the building", or maybe even "these Iris eyes are smiling" (geddit?). Instead, I thought I'd leave you with a few of the incoherent, hastily scribbled notes that I've jotted down in the gloom of the cinema these last few days. I won't tell you which films they're from... You'll just have to guess!
- Clubs, crack and 3somes
- String, wrestling, kitchen bum sex
- Cocks and bums
- Blimey!
- Lolly pop shot
- Unsettling, ouch, pins!
- FUCK!!! [Actually, I don't mind saying, that was written when the twist came at the end of winning film Cowboy]
- Turtles, spaghetti westerns
- Bumless chaps man
- Twinks vs Bears... Alien vs Predator?
So... It only remains for me to say, until next year: Goodbye, hwyl fawr, auf wiedersehen, a bientot, lehit, annyong-hi kashipshio, bless, slan leat, and ate logo.
Dx (Me pictured above with Edward Russell)
Friday becomes Saturday
So... Where were we?
Oh yes! Programme 5 ended and we then travelled in a mass exodus from Cineworld to the University Of Glamorgan's very swish and very futuristic Atrium (Professor Stephen Blandford and Ceri Sherlock pictured left) building for the launch of Queer Cinema In Europe, a compendium of essays on the eponymous topic edited by Robin Griffiths. I've picked up a copy, and so should you!
Then it was back on board the Irismobiles (yes, this year we have three of them!) and straight to Chapter Arts in Canton for the UK premiere of Yair Hochner's Antartica, a twisty-turny and thoroughly eccentric comedy drama with possibly more bed-hopping than all five seasons of the US Queer As Folk combined!
Sadly I missed Paul Smith's talk with Yair which followed the film, giving myself approximately twenty minutes to run home (I literally ran), shower and get changed in time for another UK premiere [European -- Ed] - this time, Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild (director Tod Stephens and leading actor Jonah Blechman pictured right). This, to quote the Ronseal ads from a few years back, does exactly what it says on the tin. The gays do indeed go wild. Very wild. I won't spoil any of the jokes... Suffice to say, I was sat next to Johann Hari, and the pair of us laughed like drains throughout. Even at the bits that had a sizeable chunk of the audience saying, "Ewww" and "Euurgh". Enormous fun, and, for a gross-out sex comedy, visually stunning. Adam Price, MP for Carmarthen East, later described it as the visual equivalent of walking into a sweet shop, and in a good way!
The after-party at Pulse (Casper Andreas in Pulse, pictured left) was a booze-drenched affair with lots of people much younger and prettier than your humble narrator partying into the small hours of the morning, but by 3am it was time for me to call it a night. I think I managed maybe four and a half hours sleep before my alarm clock shattered my brain, and it was time to head back to Chapter for a very engaging discussion on the subject of homophobia in gay cinema: ie, is it possible for gay films to project images that incite homophobia. Can you answer that question? No... Neither could we, but it's a question worth asking and talking about!
There was time for a coffee... Or there would have been if the queue didn't stretch out of the building, and then we had a screening of last year's absolutely magnificent, jaw-droppingly good winner, Pariah, before director Dee Rees (who is lovely, btw) spoke to Andrew Pierce about her influences, creative processes, and forthcoming projects.
Lunch was taken at Cardiff Bay's Spice Merchant (Lewis Tice entering the Spice Merchant pictured right), and a lovely lunch it was too. I felt kind of guilty helping myself to two large platefuls of food, but hey... You've got to refuel when you can on this kind of schedule. After all, we'd barely finished our food when it was back on the Irismobiles and back to Chapter for the cinematic double bill of Dream Boy, a visually stunning little melodrama about young love in the deep south, and Between Love And Goodbye, a clever little tale about a romance that goes horribly, horribly wrong. I don't think I've seen a more bitter on-screen break-up. Ever. Imagine if Kramer vs. Kramer had involved knife threats and Dustin Hoffman calling Meryl Streep an unmentionable word starting with C, and you still wouldn't be close. This made War Of The Roses look like You've Got Mail.
So now it's 8:24pm. The clock is still ticking. I've got just enough time to shower and iron a shirt before heading back to Cineworld (pictured below) for the grand finale. I honestly can't say who I think will win, the competition really is that high. Excited? I know I am.
Providing I manage to not drink myself into the Heath Hospital, I'll be back tomorrow morning with all the gossip on the final night. See you then!
And finally, from Friday 3 October
No sooner had the Producer's Forum ended than programme four of the short films had begun, kicking off with German film-maker Eva Thron's (pictured left) debut work, the touching monochrome mini-documentary 40 Square Metres.
Irish director Connor Clements' James was next, featuring a stunning central performance from young actor Niall Wright. Morning Suits, by North Walian Helena Mitchell (pictured below), was short, simple, and very, very funny. There was another stand-out performance from a young actor in Lee Sung-eun's I'm Jin Young, the story of a precocious young Korean girl coming to terms with the new love in her mother's life, and developing a crush of her own. The visually stunning Man, from US director Myna Joseph, provided us with an unsettling exploration of the dark side of sibling rivalry. Last but not least was two-time nominee Trevor Anderson's Dinx, which began as an engaging take on the hierarchy of the gay club before veering sharply into wonderfully surreal territory.
The army of Iris then headed north to The Spice Merchant on Park Place, where we were suitably fed and watered before rushing back to Cineworld for programme 5.
Who I Am was Jesse Peretz's confident and intelligent look at the issues of race and sexuality, dealing with the burgeoning relationship between two girls from very different sides of the tracks. The Back Room, written, directed by and starring Greg Ivan Smith, was a rather sweet little accelerated love story, with a great big "Awww" moment at the end. It was also another example of something which seems to have been a bit of a theme this year... Twinks & Bears.
Another recurring theme this year has been the depiction of gay families, an issue that was further explored in both Tim Slade's Every Other Weekend, 
and Nimrod Rinot's very touching Tryout, both of which dealt with estranged gay father's relationships with their young offspring.
Chris Loizou's Lost Night placed a bitter and suicidal drag queen in the back of a Bangladeshi immigrant's minicab. Unfortunately, I did try and write down the name of the actor who played the minicab driver, but I did so in a pitch black cinema, and can't read my own notes! Suffice to say, his performance was brilliant, funny and touching in equal measure.
Closing not only Programme 5, but the shorts programme as a whole, was the insane and hilarious Daddy, from US director Sidney Karger. Remember what I was saying about the recurring theme of gay parenting? Well this one took it to one hell of an extreme. That's all I'm saying for now.
Next time I'll regail you with more tales from Tel Aviv, and the reason why sitting next to Johann Hari when watching a film is so much fun.
No... No, I didn't mean that...
Honestly, you lot... Minds in the gutter, the lot of you.
Later on Friday 3 October...
Like some kind of Urban Safari the visitors to Iris were, on their first night in Cardiff, treated to a tour of Caroline Street. For those of you who don't already live here, or have never visited, Caroline Street is Cardiff's saturated-fat clogged heart; known locally as "Chippie Alley", for its abundance of kebab and chip shops.
Despite a late night involving copious amounts of wine, not to mention the late night pies and chips, there was an excellent turn-out for the Producer's Forum. Prior to the forum itself, Another Gay Sequel star Jonah Blechman waxed lyrical about the merits of mushy peas (which, just so you know, he pronounces with an endearingly Northern twang [ie, "mooshy"]).
For first time and inexperienced film-makers the Producer's Forum was indispensable. So... for those of you who weren't there, or are joining us online from far-flung corners of the globe, here are you Top Tips, as suggested by chair Christopher Racster (pictured left), and panellists Jonah Blechman, Tom Abell (Peccadillo Pictures), Yair Hochner (director of Antartica and organiser of TLV Fest), and David Pearce (pictured left) (Queer Screen Vision, Sydney). Apologies for all of the above if I've left anything out!
1) Hire a unit photographer. If a distribution company or festival hasn't got stills, they'll struggle to market your film. Thing seriously about what image sells your story, and get a photographer who understands the difference between art photography and set photography.
2) Shoot digitally. Film looks gorgeous, but shooting on digital will save you a hell of a lot of money.
3) Story is more important than budget. You can spend a fortune on digital effects and fancy equipment... If the story isn't good, no-one will care.
4) Research your festivals to find one which may suit you. Try www.withoutabox.com.
5) There's nothing wrong with aiming high. Trying for one of the big festivals may be a gamble, but if it pays off it's more than worth it.
6) Budget wisely. Include the costs of sending your film to festivals etc in your initial budget.
7) Ask for a fee. When sending your film to a festival, ask them to pay you. They may say no, but that doesn't mean they won't show your film. And furthermore, they may say yes. So that would be a bonus.
8) Many festivals will cover your shipping fees, so you can at least ask for that.
9) If you're based in Europe, make the most of government bodies. Many, including the British Council, will be more than happy to give you help and advice, and maybe even funding for trips to foreign film festivals.
10) DVD is an increasingly effective way of reaching the audiences festivals don't reach. There are an increasing number of DVD companies (including Peccadillo) who are distributing compilation DVDs of short films.
11) Know when to call it quits. If you've done everything you can to sell your film, move on. Your time will be much better spent writing a new script or contacting production companies and looking for work.
12) Your short film can be a calling card, so treat it as such.
13) You might want your short film to become a feature. If that doesn't happen, move on. Work on something new.
14) Never, ever approach a distributor with a project which you promise will be "the next Brokeback Mountain". Crossover hits like Brokeback Mountain are unusual and few and far between. Few major distributors will be willing to run that risk again, and certainly not without A-List heart-throbs in the lead roles.
15) Start small. Spend as little money as you possibly can, and use early projects to build a portfolio of work.
And that's about it. If any of those who were on the forum panel remind me of anything I've left out, I'll let y'all know!
Early morning, Friday 3 October
Well... It's now 1:27am, and I've just got home from the first night of Iris. Programme 3 wowed us all with a thoroughly diverse selection of art-house oddities and rural weirdness. Bent It and For A Relationship were welcome moments of experamentalism, with androgynous feminine figures recreating Gilbert and George's seminal work, closely followed by Jim Verburg's fast-forward exploration of a relationship. Visiting filmmaker Till Kleinert's Cowboy is a real stand-out. Gorgeously filmed, and with beautifully understated performances, it delivered a jaw-dropping final act which I think took everyone by surprise. There were more lovingly filmed shots of wide open spaces, not to mention bristling sexual tension in Bill Taylor's Silver Road. Perhaps my personal favourite of this batch was Grimur Hakonarson's Wrestling, which gave surreal insights into Icelandic culture and everyday life, as well as providing us with a touching love story between two middle aged men who can only communicate their affection through the decidedly bizarre medium of Icelandic wrestling.
In fact, once more... I've still not spoken to any judges... But... This is a film to look out for when Saturday night rolls around.
No sooner had Day One of the Iris Prize come to an end, than Day One of the Iris Festival began, with the UK premiere of the tense but entertaining Clanedestinos. This was a thoroughly enjoyable film, but by the time the end credits rolled I was grateful for a glass of the old vino and a chinwag with my fellow Irisians, including MPs Adam Price (pictured right with Emyr Williams, Guest Liaison)and Chris Bryant, and journalists Johann Hari and Andrew Pierce. Sadly they were all very well behaved, leaving me with no dirt to dish... But hey... It's only Thursday, and we've got a whole weekend to look forward to.
Thursday 2 October 2008
I’m writing to you live from Cineworld,
The day began with a first programme that left me deeply unenvious of the jury once again! Stand-outs in an already excellent line-up included Jarrah Gurrie’s (pictured left) Centre Of The Universe, an acerbic take on break-ups and self help groups, touching but never schmaltzy. Trevor Anderson’s Rock Pockets was a beautifully shot quasi-documentary filled with lovely imagery and raucous rock music, not to mention a wonderfully wry voice-over. The last film in programme 1 was Madeleine Olnek’s Countertransferance, a bizarre and faintly disturbing comedy of manners in which a troubled and lonely shop assistant is rebounded between a sadistic boss and a therapist who is infinitely more barking than she is.
From Cineworld we hurtled to
Now I’m glugging Red Bull and sending you this blog in the brief moments respite before we dive into Programme 3!
Tuesday 23 September 2008
Hello, shwmae, guten tag, bonjour, selamat, shalom, annyong, haileo, komið þið sæl, and olá.
Yes, it’s Iris time again, and you've just been greeted in the languages of the host city, and every country with a film competing for this year's prize. So… Now that you're suitably impressed by my cunning linguistics I'm sure you're all wondering what I've been up to since last we met. Well, shortly after last year’s prize I wrote a novel based on the television series Torchwood, which ended up being a kind of gay North By Northwest with aliens. My third novel, Everything Is Sinister, was published by Seren in May of this year and is available in all good bookshops etc.
Shameless self-promotion out of the way, more importantly you might be wondering what Iris has been up to in the last twelve months. Well, she’s certainly been a very busy lady, travelling the globe in search of cinematic gold. Fortunately none of her journeys involved Heathrow’s Terminal 5 or XL Leisure, otherwise this year’s competition may have been a very threadbare affair. Thankfully Iris returned to
Thankyou, diolch, danke, merci, terimah kasih, toda, komapsumnida, go raibh maith agaibh, takk fyrir, obrigado...
[Okay... Now you're just showing off. - Ed.]