Anticipation creating atmosphere

Russell Gordon-Jones is painting sort of surreal spaces where the mere anticipation creates an very interesting atmosphere.

Russell just recently took his BA in fine art from Oxford school of fine art and we are intrigued by the atmosphere and his interest in Lynch and Hitchcook. Have a look for yourself and find the inspiration.

Win two tickets to CPH:DOX | a film of your choice!

We have another two tickets from the lovely people at CPH:DOX to give away. The tickets are valid for all 75 kroner screenings. To be in the running take a look at the program and let us know which film you would most like to see. Please include a valid email address. Entries close at midnight tonight. A winner will be selected at random and announced shortly thereafter.

Good luck!

Update: congratulations Ditte!

Win two tickets to CPH:DOX | Anna Pavlova Lives in Berlin!

The good folk at CPH:DOX have kindly provided us with two tickets to the sold-out screening of 'Anna Pavlova Lives in Berlin' at Empire Bio tomorrow evening. The director, Theo Solnik, will be attending, as will Anna herself!

To be in the running all you have to do is "like" this post and leave a comment below, including a valid email address. Entries close at 19:00 tonight! A winner will be selected at random and announced shortly thereafter.

Further screenings:

Grand Teatret | Friday 11/11 | 17:00 | 75 kroner

Update: congratulations Malene!

CPH:DOX | The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

Towards the end of the sixties and into the seventies, Swedish television journalists travelled to the United States to document the revolutionary Black Power Movement; to offer an outside perspective on the struggle for freedom, equality and civil rights endured by African Americans at the time. The footage aired briefly on Swedish National Television before being consigned to the network's basement archives. After 40 years of hibernation, it has re-emerged in a compelling depiction of empowerment. 

In The Black Power Mixtape 1967 – 1975, director, Göran Olsson, pieces together startling footage of revolutionary leaders including Stokely Carmichael, Eldridge Cleaver and Angela Davis in a series of blazing, unguarded interviews. Fresh interviews with leading African American artists, activists, musicians and scholars are merged with the archival 16mm footage, and underscored with fitting contemporary beats by the likes of Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Om’Mas Keith. By mirroring the mixtape format popular in the 70’s, Olsson creates a captivating cinematic and musical journey that appeals aesthetically across the generations.

The original footage was condemned by the United States media, namely TV Guide, who argued that it focussed solely on negative aspects of American society with total disregard for the positive. Olsson explains that within the United States the Black Power Movement had either been ignored by the media, or treated as a burgeoning terrorist movement. He emphasises that the film offers an outside perspective free of prejudice and loaded assumptions, not a definitive truth. As Angela Davis outlines, “it’s not about black and white - it’s about telling a story”. And what a story it tells.

Further screenings:

Grand Teatret | Saturday 12/11 | 14:20 | 75 kroner

Jessica Braz

CPH:DOX | Andrew Bird: Fever Year

Innumerable Santa hats, free beer streaming plentifully from the back of horse drawn carts, the occupants merrily united in song. Downtown Copenhagen is teeming with inebriated folk celebrating the launch of Tuborg’s annual Christmas brew. It is J-Day – the infamous date in Denmark’s calendar when one should be prepared to witness the unthinkable. And that we did. 

Buried in a cosy cinema below the revelry, fifteen or so strangers were greeted with birdsong. In her directorial debut, Xan Aranda captures the essence of Andrew Bird’s creative evolution, and that of the man himself. She chases the feverish virtuoso through the final months of a gruelling yearlong tour, all the while he chases the ghost. Bird steadfastly believes that the evolution of his music is imperative to its survival, likening the process to that in the animal kingdom. His rigorous fifteen-year touring career is a testament to this. 

Bird is satisfied on stage; here his music exists in a malleable state, free of the constraints inherent in the recording process. A lingering fear of repetition repeatedly thrusts him back onto the touring circuit where, he explains, his songs regain elasticity and his shows exist as shared moments privy to only those present. Clearly such a whirlwind lifestyle does have its drawbacks; true to the title Bird was afflicted with a perpetual fever for the duration of the tour. 165 shows later, and on crutches, Bird returns to the family farm to reclaim himself, to play for the sheer joy of playing, free of pressure, free of expectations.

In 'Andrew Bird: Fever Year', Aranda has eloquently pieced together a poetic masterpiece for the senses. Not only has she gifted Bird’s ever-faithful audience with insight, but more importantly, a shared memory. Bird, who owns all of the commercial rights, has no plans to show the documentary beyond the festival circuit.

And so we rejoin the festivities, whistling.

Further screenings:

Empire Bio | Thursday 10/11 | 22:30 | 75 kroner

Jessica Braz

CPH:DOX | Inside Lara Roxx

Quick cash and a thirst for life experience beckoned 21-year-old Lara Roxx from her hometown of Montreal to pursue a career as a porn star in Los Angeles. After just two months in the industry Lara was diagnosed with HIV, having contracted the virus from a co-worker on set. Her story quickly erupted into a media sensation but was soon forgotten once the attention faded.

In her first feature-length documentary, director, Mia Donovan, delicately records Lara's journey of self-destruction, self-discovery and self-affirmation over the course of five and a half years. A handheld camera trails Lara from a psychiatric ward in Montreal back to Los Angeles where she attempts to reconnect with the industry, and through the tumultuous chapters that follow.

Rather than focussing on all the gritty details that such a story entails, Donovan paints a tender psychological portrait of a young woman learning to live with an illness. As Lara poignantly suggests, "courage doesn't exist, just a lack of fear".

Further screenings:

Grand Teatret | Sunday 6/11 | 21:30 | 75 kroner

Dagmar Teatret | Friday 11/11 | 16.40 | 75 kroner

Jessica Braz

CPH:DOX - let the festivities begin!

Today marked the commencement of Scandinavia's largest documentary film festival, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival. For the next ten days Copenhagen will be blessed with a selection of over 200 independent documentary films from across the globe, along with art exhibitions, concerts, debates and industry seminars.

It's only fitting that Stella will be there to report on the deluge, so expect film reviews aplenty in the coming days.

Grey skies and blustery winds make for perfect viewing weather. Get ye to a cinema!

Miranda July: The Future

The Stella team is very much looking forward to the premiere of Miranda July's latest masterpiece, The Future, at Stockholm International Film Festival coming up in November. Head on over to Nowness for an amusing vignette on how to tackle life's distractions.