Up North Down South

"Ah, crap. These guys again."

Just another quick remind-the-world-I'm-still-alive post with some news on the latest broadcast slots for "The Naughty List". This March Canal+ Xtra will be screening it on the 12th at 3:06am and then again at the notably more civilised time of 2:06pm on the 19th.It will also be shown as part of the Shire International Short Film Festival, one of a number of Cinewest festivals that have been giving it some much-appreciated exposure down-under (following on from its inclusion in the Auburn International Film Festival last year and Short Soup in January). The screening will be on March 28th and takes place in Sutherland, New South Wales. Which, for the geographically-impaired, is in Australia. Not Wales.
As previously mentioned, the upcoming Roanne Animation Short Film Festival will see the film participating in the International Competition 1 alongside such personal faves as 'Luminaris', 'Playing Ghost' and 'Morris Lessmore', a little film that just picked up an Oscar, so my expectations of winning anything myself are, as ever, not high. Just glad to be involved. The screening will be on Friday 23rd, 9pm at the Espace Renoir.
"Ground Running" will also be shown in the 'Best Comedies' section, which also includes Richard Phelan's 'Damned' and Joanna Quinn's 'Dreams & Desire - Family Ties' on the 25th at 6:30pm, same venue. The line-up on the whole looks great, other talents including Virgil Widrich, Luis Cook, Osman Cerforn, Louis Hudson, Philip Hunt, Jadwiga Kowalska, Mikey Please, Spike Jonze...to be honest, this could take a while, but the full programme is viewable online. Good stuff indeed.
G'night!

Cartoons Are Fun

Best souvenir ever...

My massive Encounters-athon has just come to a close and I'm shakily writing this in the interim between the final screening and a personal trainer session that's sure to finish me off. The festival's been great, if for no other reason that I drank until my eyes melted and got to meet some much-admired filmmaker types. Knock wood I didn't manage to completely alienate the greater percentage of them. "Ground Running"'s Saturday screening played to a slightly smaller crowd but the overall response to it seemed even better than on Thursday. Shame on all of you for laughing at that little naked baby's pain.
My own self-celebration aside, there were loads of amazing and inspiring shorts including some previous favourites "Damned", "The External World", "Bertie Crisp", "A Morning Stroll", "Greetings" and "The Eagleman Stag" along with a few seen for the first time:









All in all it was a great week and I'm especially grateful to Pete, Justine, Jo, Matt, Hans, Mel, Chris and Rachel for their support. Also I want to express my appreciation for the volunteers for all their help, including the frumpy one (who couldn't have been in a shittier mood if her knickers were lined with fibreglass) for not spitting directly in my face.
Well, it took three films and ninety festivals but I finally have this one crossed off the list. I finally feel at home in Bristol now.