Editor

BIRDS EYE VIEW (BEV) film festival presents nine days of inspiration and celebration, showcasing the very best work from women filmmakers with over 70 events including screenings, workshops and parties at 7 London venues including the ICA and BFI. See www.birds-eye-view.co.uk for more info.

There are still 4 days of the festival left to explore and packed with excellent films, docs and workshops … so don’t miss out on this unique opportunity!

Highlights include:

EXPIRED + Director Q&A
(Cecilia Miniucchi, US 2007, 107’)
ICA CINEMA 1 Thursday 13 March 8.30PM
UK PREMIERE

"brave, witty, distressing and touching – often simultaneously" - Sophie Ivan, Birds Eye View
2007 Cannes Critics Week closing film Expired is the story of Claire (Samantha Morton), an unimposing, sweet-tempered meter maid whose sheltered existence with her stroke-afflicted mother is jolted when she meets Jay, a troubled fellow parking officer. As Claire tentatively emerges from her shell and emotionally stunted Jay jumps in with gusto, their love affair becomes an awkward and sometimes-hilarious dance of antagonism and attraction, where she must decide whether to engage or pull away.

For more details see: http://birds-eye-view.co.uk/2008/expired.htm


XXY + Q&A with Ines Efron + Martin Piroyanski
(Lucía Puenzo, Argentina / Spain / France, 2007, 86’)
ICA CINEMA 1
Wednesday 12 March 9PM

Winner: Cannes International Critic's Grand Prix 2007
"Its sensitive treatment of an equally sensitive theme elevates it into something memorable." - Variety.com
The Q&A will be hosted by Dave Calhoun - film editor, Time Out

Alex (Inés Efron) is a young hermaphrodite child who flees with her family to Uruguay, only to encounter increasing prejudice amongst the community in which they attempt to settle. Alex’s romance with the all too willing neighbourhood kid Alvaro (Martín Piroyansky), causes tensions amongst the locals. However, as the parents battle it out to instil a sense of open-mindedness amongst their society, it is the children who prove themselves flexible in their understanding the sexual complexities of others.

About the Director:
Lucía Puenzo was born in Buenos Aires and has a Ph.D. in Argentine literature and critical theory from the University of Buenos Aires. She has written three novels and several television scripts, and directed a short film, The Invisibles, in 2004. XXY is her feature film directorial debut.

For free pair of tickets answer the following: In which country is XXY set?

http://birds-eye-view.co.uk/2008/xxy.htm

HOLD ME TIGHT, LET ME GO + Q&A tbc
(Kim Longinotto, UK 2007, 100’)
ICA CINEMA 1
Wednesday 12 March 6.30PM
"Mixing ferocity with tenderness, delicacy with tenacity... a docu of uncompromised integrity and edge-of-the seat drama" - John Anderson, Variety
Winner of the Special Jury Prize at IDFA and Best British Feature at BRITDOC, the latest film from Kim Longinotto looks at Mulberry Bush, a boarding school for children excluded from the mainstream education system. Here, as traumatic histories are gradually revealed, the children’s violent behaviour is met with compassion, communication and unending patience by their carers. "I thought about our own culture and how a lot of families work and a lot of our institutions work, and the school seemed to be a metaphor for what's wrong with boys and young men in society." Kim Longinotto (BBC Film Network interview, 25th July 2007)
For over twenty years, award-winning filmmaker Kim Longinotto has been making extraordinary documentaries about extraordinary people. From women wrestlers in Japan (Gaea Girls, 2000) to female lawyers in Cameroon (Sisters in Law, 2005), her intimate, verité portraits turn an unflinching eye to controversial issues with sensitivity and compassion.
http://birds-eye-view.co.uk/2008/holdme.htm

OPERATION FILMMAKER
(Nina Davenport, US 2007, 95’)

ICA CINEMA 2 Wednesday 12 March 9PM
Winner: International Documentary Grand Jury Prize, AFI Festival, KNF Dutch Film Critics Award, Rotterdam IFF.
"Droll, entertaining....Not since Luis Buñuel have we had such a wonderful joke on do-gooder liberalism." - Gerald Perry, Boston Phoenix
"In this mix of tragedy and farce, Davenport perfectly captures the follies of our times." - Thom Powers, Toronto International Film Festival
In the midst of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" Hollywood actor/director Liev Schreiber decides to assuage his feelings of Western guilt by inviting a young Iraqi film student to be an intern on his upcoming shoot. Documentary maker Nina Davenport is invited to film what everyone imagines will be a heart-warming cultural exchange, however when Muthana arrives on set, it quickly becomes apparent that there will be no Hollywood ending. As tensions mount and with no exit strategy in place, Davenport finds herself at the centre of a power struggle between filmmaker and subject which seems to echo the war itself...
New York based filmmaker Nina Davenport’s previous films Hello Photo, Always a Bridesmaid and Parallel Lines have garnered numerous awards and her work has screened here in the UK on BBC’s Storyville and Channel 4. Operation Filmmaker furthers her personal style of filmmaking.

For more details on the programme please see: www.birds-eye-view.co.uk/festival