May programme

Dates to put in your diary!

6/5: BAFTA award winning film maker Michael Clifford

Michael is a two times BAFTA award winning film maker. 'Brown Paper Bag' won best short film 2004 and 'Hiding Place' won a children's BAFTA in the same year. Since 1994 Michael has directed documentaries, drama and gallery installations for Channel 4, BBC, Channel 5, UK Film Council, The Arts Council and Screen WM. Two of Michael's documentaries are RTS award winners - 'Danger UXO' 1998 and 'The Man Who Wouldn't Paint Hitler' 2002. Michael has his own company – Grand Union Productions Ltd, which has a slate of feature films in development. Have a look at http://www.michaelbaigclifford.co.uk/ for some clips of his films.

13/5: performance artist Dr Jane Bacon

Jane is based at the Performance Studies Department of the University of Northampton where she works as Divisional Leader and Reader.

20/5: (performance) artist and film maker Dr Mo White
Mo about her practice:
”I am an artist working in the moving image, photographic media, print and drawing. My interests are in visualising gender, diasporic identity, and queer identities within a context of critical art practices. For some time my work has placed my own body at its centre, in what has become a series of 'performances for the camera'. Whilst the subject matter of the work changes, the object that is embodied in the work remains the same; the artist-self. This way of working that I have been developing throughout my practice raises questions about how this artist-self can be and is conceptualised.

What she can speak of and how she can speak it - and if she can speak at all, in the public space.
This is clearly not the same self as the one that practices everyday life; or the one that writes this - it is a self which is narrated in the work. Recent concerns have been with addressing themes of dislocation, desire and memory reflecting on the experience of Irish migration. In my current work started on an AA2A residency at University of Wolverhampton in 2008 I began to address the theme of movement and stillness, and again visualise the body engaged in an action; a performance for the camera. I also write and have recently been awarded a doctorate for research examining film theories which emerged in the 1970's and their effect on artists working in the moving image from 1970s to the present.”
Mo’s work and cv are included on the axis website: http://www.axisweb.org/

27/5: (dance & performance) artist and film maker Saranjit Birdi

One of the many projects this multi-disciplined artist took part in was the SUR-FACE exhibition at The Works Gallery in Birmingham. There he explored social dynamics of territory and freedom through the surface of a life-size, action-painting installation combined with dance, movement and mark making as an art form. Saranjit is based in Birmingham, West Midlands. Have a look at his cv and website http://www.saranjitbirdi.com/ to get a sense of his diversity.

Solo exhibitions
· 2005 EXPANSIONS- multimedia exhibition, RBSA Gallery (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists), St. Pauls Square, Birmingham
· 2004 FOLLOW - multimedia exhibition, RBSA Gallery (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists), St. Pauls Square, Birmingham
Live/Performance
· 2004 'Follow' - short dance film synthesis of Music, Dance and Architecture, Screened on BBC Big Screen, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham City Centre
· 2003 'Surge'- live performance and multimedia projections, Collide Commission - venue Living Room Bar, Birmingham
Public commissions
· 2005 'Under The Sun' - 'Gateway' Sculpture for city main vehicular route to city, Birmingham City Council Commission, Handsworth, Birmingham
· 2002 'Urban Tapestry'- Crowd control Barriers Commission, Birmingham City Council, Birmingham City Centre Multicultural festivals
· 2002 'Seams of Time' - Sculpture Trail for Highley Village, Bridgnorth District Council and Highley Initiative Trust, Highley Village, Nr Bridgnorth, Shropshire

Other film and multimedia events at Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum

Museum Movies competition

Create a short film inspired by the Art Gallery & Museum’s collections, the Royal Pump Rooms building or Leamington Spa. The five most inspiring entries we receive will be shown on our mezzanine level film screen in the local history gallery throughout the summer. Visitors will be able to vote for their favourite film and the winner will receive the Best Film Award and £150 prize money.

It is free to enter and the competition is open to all ages and abilities. Films should be submitted in DVD format with a completed submission form by Wednesday 14 July 2010. There is no minimum length but the films cannot be longer than 10 minutes. Please contact Tammy Woodrow on 01926 742700 or email tammy.woodrow@warwickdc.gov.uk for a submission form or any other queries.

A futuristic vision of the Hindu Gods

Our new exhibition, Ananta: Digital Art by Sumit Sarkar, continues until 20 June. This touring exhibition from Lanternhouse International uses state of the art digital technology to bring together the artist’s deep personal knowledge of Hindu theology, reinterpreting it for the modern age. Come and see fascinating sculptures and animations inspired by sources as diverse as ancient Hindu imagery, Manga cartoons and transforming robots.

Animation workshop for adults
Saturday 12 June, 10.30am – 4.30pm
If you enjoy watching digital animations and always wonder how it’s done don’t miss this workshop. Sumit Sarkar, creator of the Ananta exhibition will demonstrate the processes involved in digital animation and will help you to create your own animated character. £10 per person. Advance booking is essential as places are limited. Please call 01926 742700 to book.

Hope to see you on a Thursday Flickers night!
Tammy

Museum Movies Film Competition at Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum

Are you interested in making a short film for
Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum?

Call for film makers, animators and artists from the West Midlands

Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum is starting an exciting new film project titled Museum Movies. We are inviting local film makers to submit short films inspired by Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum’s collections of fine and decorative art, social history, ethnography, archaeology, ceramics and glass. Have a browse through our online collections for ideas! (www.lsagmcollections.org.uk) Other subjects could include the history of the Royal Pump Rooms building, Leamington Spa’s historic gardens, Leamington Spa’s social history or life in 21st century Leamington Spa.

We will select the five most inspiring films and present them on our mezzanine film screen in the local history gallery. 96,000 people visit Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum every year and on a daily basis the screen is viewed by many local people and tourists. Visitors will be able to vote for their favourite film and the film with the most votes will win the Best Film Award and £150 prize money. The award ceremony will be held on Thursday 23 September 2010 at Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum.

It is free to enter and the competition is open to all ages and abilities. Films should be submitted in DVD format with a completed submission form by Wednesday 14 July 2010. There is no minimum length but the film should not be longer than 10 minutes. If your film is shortlisted we will contact you on Thursday 15 July. The shortlisted films will be screened from Thursday 22 July onwards.

Please contact Tammy Woodrow on 01926 742700 or email tammy.woodrow@warwickdc.gov.uk for a submission form or any other queries.

Thursday Flickers in April

Seen on 18/3: Luke Colley

Keep an eye on this emerging talent! The first time I was aware of this young film maker was through reading this article a while ago.

After doing some detective work on the web I tracked this Warwickshire College student down and invited him to show his work during a Thursday Flickers night. That thrilling horror movie was part of the many films and video clips Luke treated us to on the 18th. His work is dark, enigmatic and atmospheric. He often uses Leamington Spa as a backdrop and astonishlingly, it looks urban and cool. Luke's editing qualities and unusual camera eye will make sure that we will hear and see much more of him in the future!


ICO Screening Artists' Moving Image workshop 26/3

I can recommended ICO workshops to anybody who is involved with film programming. They are informative, very well structured, very suitable for networking and the lunch provided was out of this world! ICO stands for Independent Cinema Office, it was established in July 2003 and is the national organisation for the development and support of independent film exhibition in the UK. I joined that particular workshop to gain some more in depth information (and inspiration) on programming artists' moving images, this is another term for video artists or art house film makers. George Clark, curator, writer and artist, gave some enlighting presentations on subjects like A brief history of artists' moving image: exhibition and practice, Finding your audience, Effective marketing and From idea to exhibition. Guest speakers were Yasmeen Baig-Clifford (VIVID), Ian Francis (Programme Director Flatpack Film Festival), Matt Lloyd (film programmer Edinburgh International Film Festival). The speakers talked about their experiences in programming and gave some valuable hints and tips. After the workshop I joined the Flatpack Festival for the screening that was curated by George Clark 'Build them in mind'. A screening which I would love to have curated! For more information about the George Clark screening go to http://www.flatpackfestival.org/event/build-them-in-mind or visit http://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/ to see what other workshops are on offer.

Seen on 1/4: Scrubberjack and Kissing the Hag

There is nothing wrong with women film makers, so why aren't there more of them? These two locally produced shorts were moving portraits of women made by women. Would these movies have looked the same if they were made by men? An interesting question about gender differences. Scrubberjack was a refreshingly honest, unpretentious documentation about a poet Jackie, who I would call a street fighter and survivor. You can sense that she hasn't had an easy life but she has worked through her issues through the medium of poetry. It was clever of the makers not to go too much into her problems, this would have caused a sense of sentimentality. This was also the case for Kissing the Hag. You never find out why exactly she is in the rehabilitation centre, this added an extra dimension to the feeling of mystery and fantasy. I can't wait to see more of this all female group of Coventry film makers. Good stuff girls!

Opportunities

• Call for young film makers from the West Midlands to show their work at Glastonbury Festival 2010: budding film makers from the West Midlands are to get the chance to showcase their work at the Glastonbury Festival 23 - 27 June. The Village Screen Project, part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, is looking for a mix of inspiring, funny, original and challenging films from young film makers, aged 12 to 24, to show on the big screens at the Festival. The team in the West Midlands are also inviting adult film makers the opportunity to submit short films for After Dark which will show the seamier, sinister and darker side of life and animations or ambient films including time delay, abstract work or art films of up to ten minutes long to be shown at the Festival. For more information please contact Moira Rawlings, Editorial Content Producer, West Midlands Culture programme for London 2012, moira.rawlings@artscouncil.org.uk or 07872412806


• The 'Roots to Shoots Short Film Competition' is a collaboration between the Royal Spa Centre, Warwickshire College and Roots to Shoots and launches on Friday 9th April for aspiring film makers in the West Midlands. More details along with submission forms and regulations will be available for download at http://www.royal-spa-centre.co.uk/. Deadline for entries is Thursday 27th May.


• A local poet and writer named Soner Britton has written a mythological short story called Grass Feet and she is looking for film makers who would be interested in visualising it. Let me know if you want to have a look at it.

Don't forget this Thursday!

Dance artist and film maker Ray Jacobs will screen his work this Thursday 15/4. His artist statement:

The perfomer, the community, the story and the moving image

We all have stories, both real and imaginary that shape our sense of self and place within our community. I will be sharing my time and films made with Arty Party an extraordinary learning disabled group of performers based in Telford. We will look at how stories emerge, are unearthed and developed into visual storymaking. I will also share snippets of work by other film makers that have helped shape my own and arty party's work. Please come along, enjoy witnessing the work share some of your thoughts about it.

Keep up to date with digital technology at Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum

Ananta: Digital Art by Sumit Sarkar opens on Thursday 22 April. This touring exhibition from Lanternhouse International uses state of the art digital technology to present a futurist vision of the Hindu Gods. There will be a chance to meet the artist who will give a live demonstration of some of the digital techniques he uses on Thursday 22 April, 6 - 7pm. Entry is £3 per person and is free for students. Advance booking is essential as places are limited, please call 01926 742700 or visit www.warwickdc.gov.uk/royalpumprooms

Hope to see you soon on a Thursday Flickers night!

Tammy