The Ciné O’Clock British and Irish Film Festival in Villeurbanne will be presenting its 27th edition from 22-26 February. There are some great previews of upcoming releases. On of the Oscar nominees is Colin O’Farrell, for Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin (the most nominated film this year). If you haven’t caught it yet, it’s … Continue reading “Irish and British Film Festival in Villeurbanne”
Equestrian performer Bartabas started his “Cabaret of Exile” series with a show about the Jewish culture of Eastern Europe. Now he has focused on Irish Travellers for his latest Zingaro show, that has proved so popular that it has doubled its run. This is the first time that a show in France has paid tribute … Continue reading “On the Road: Irish Travellers”
The British Tate museum has a large collection of David Hockney’s work. A large selection from the collection is on view in Aix-en-Provence, a great opportunity to appreciate the variety of Britain’s most famous pop artist, from his California swimming-pool paintings to collages, portraits and objects. Hockney was born in Yorkshire in 1937, and despite … Continue reading “David Hockney: Pop Art in Aix-en-Provence”
South African photographer Zanele Muholi describes themself as a visual activist. For the last 20 years, Muholi has explored the depiction of black women and the LGBTQIA+ community. Muholi’s photos are included in several modern art collections around the world and the major exhibition of their work at Tate Modern in London from 2021 has … Continue reading “Zanele Muholi: Visual Activism”
A chance meeting between novelist Kazuo Ishiguro and actor Bill Nighy led to Ishiguro remaking Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film Living, setting it in post-WWII London. Nighy plays a buttoned up English civil servant who changes his attitude to life when he is told he is dying. It may not sound like it but it’s a … Continue reading “When a Nobel Laureate Remakes a Cinema Masterpiece”
The strange, gothic Addams family have been a staple of American cultures since cartoonist Charles Addams created them for The New Yorker in 1938. And when you think Gothic, Tim Burton is definitely one of the first filmmakers who comes to mind. He has created a Netflix series, Wednesday, about the daughter in the Addams … Continue reading “The Addams Family, Tim Burton Style!”
Veteran British street photographer Martin Parr is well known for capturing quirky images that make you wonder what is happening. There are lots on view at two exhibitions in Paris, at the Irish Cultural Centre and the Fondation Henri Bresson. Parr hails from Surrey in southern England but has been photographing Irish subjects for over … Continue reading “Martin Parr’s Ireland and England”
Edward Hopper lived and worked in New York City from 1913 till his death in 1967. Many of his paintings depict the city, but also more generally an essence of American life. Hopper’s vision of that life was of isolation and solitude. He loved films, too, and his paintings often have a cinematic quality: like … Continue reading “Edward Hopper: Views of America”
As well as lots of new and upcoming films, the Arras Film Festival (4-13 November) is organising a retrospective of films around Queen Victoria, the Victorian age and the British Empire. It includes literary classics like Oliver Twist and Sherlock Holmes, films about the Empire such as Zulu and The Man Who Would Be King, … Continue reading “Queen Victoria at the Arras Film Festival”
Since Black Panther premiered in February 2018, fans have been clamouring for a sequel. They’ll finally get their wish on 9 November 2022. But with the death of Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is going to be very different to the first film. Black Panther was hailed as a massive leap forward for the … Continue reading “Back in Black Panther!”
