Stranger Than Fiction 2008 - preview
It's less than two weeks until Stranger Than Fiction, the annual documentary film festival at the Irish Film Institute in Dublin. Once again I'll be there and will write about it here afterwards (about a month afterwards if my usual form is any indicator) but in the meantime here's a ramshackle attempt at a preview.
The opening night film is SLEEP FURIOUSLY, which I believe played in Edinburgh this year. This look at life in a Welsh farming community got good word of mouth but I missed it, so this'll be first on my schedule. It'll be playing with the short film PILGRIM by Pat Collins, about which I know absolutely nothing. I've no idea if this is the same Pat Collins who directed JOHN McGAHERN: A PRIVATE WORLD, but I enjoyed that one.
ROUTE IRISH looks like an interesting examination of the use of Shannon airport in the USA's Iraq shenanigans, but I'll be missing it as I'm more interested in THE BLUE TAILOR, as it involves the plight of a small Irish island community that sounds like it has some parallels with St Kilda, a Scottish island with a history that fascinates me.
I'll also be skipping ABOUT BEAUTY (about Irish artist Dorothy Cross) so that I can see FORBIDDEN LOVE, a documentary about the attitude of modern Ireland to the British queen. You only need to look at the interesting history of UK royalty's relationship with Ireland to see why that one has potential.
GREENDALE: DEATH OF A SCHOOL sounds like it could be quite depressing, but I'll give it a whirl.
I've already seen Friday night's THE ORDER OF MYTHS and JESUS CAMP, so that'll give me a chance to skip out for a decent meal at least. If you've not seen either of them though, they're definitely worth a watch. I think I've probably written about them both here in the past, so have a search for that if you're interested. The last film on Saturday night is PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE. I know nothing about her, but what the heck, I'll not be doing anything else so chances are I'll be there too.
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME was aired last year on digital station BBC4, but I'll still be heading along to the IFI first thing on Saturday morning to watch it again, because it is without doubt (as you'd know if I'd ever got round to writing the "best of 2007" series that I keep threatening) the second best film of 2007. It's brilliant, and again I've probably blogged about it here in the past. If you see only one film at this festival, make it PLEASE VOTE FOR ME.
Because I'm going to see that and INISHARK: DEATH OF AN ISLAND (more Irish stuff that I can't resist) I'll be skipping THE JOHN O'CONNOR BEETHOVEN PROJECT and CHIPPERS. The last one is a particular shame as a documentary about Irish chip shops sounds like it could either be really dull or really brilliant.
NOTE BY NOTE, a documentary about the making of a piano sounds pretty dull to me, but I bet it's one of those ones that I skip and then everyone tells me how great it is. I mean, HELVETICA managed to make fonts interesting after all, so this'll probably do the same for pianos. But no, I'll be taking in I SEE A DARKNESS, an Irish doc about suicide.
GABRIEL BYRNE: STORIES FROM HOME has played at a few festivals where I've failed to see it, so I'll finally catch up with that one, before seeing WAITING FOR THE LIGHT for a second time. See my recent post from Galway to see why that one's so special.
TORY ISLAND will be another Irish island-themed documentary (one of a few themes emerging at this year's fest) that I'll be checking out, and then I can finish the evening with UPSETTER, the story of Lee "Scratch" Perry, reggae superstar. I like his music and it's yet another film that I've failed to see despite it playing at other festivals I've attended, so I look forward to that.
Sunday morning will open up with the short film showcase, which you'd be daft to miss given the talent working on short films in Ireland these days.
THE HOUSE has potential but will be falling off my list due to it clashing with the shorts, and then I'll be checking out A BLOODY CANVAS. This one, about a legendary boxing match on St Patrick's Day during the civil war, sounds like it could be a belter, despite my hatred of boxing. Strange but true, I despise boxing but it does seem to make for great films.
HOLD ME TIGHT, LET ME GO (following a school for children with behavioral problems) has bypassed my radar in the past despite airing on TV and at other festivals, so I'll check out that one before finishing off with CORRIDOR #8, documenting the failed attempt to build a road linking Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania.
Two films remain after that, FOOTBALL UNDERCOVER (which definitely sounds like a must-see) and ANNIE LEIBOVITZ: LIFE THROUGH A LENS but alas by the time they're on, I'll be en route back to sunny Scotland.
The opening night film is SLEEP FURIOUSLY, which I believe played in Edinburgh this year. This look at life in a Welsh farming community got good word of mouth but I missed it, so this'll be first on my schedule. It'll be playing with the short film PILGRIM by Pat Collins, about which I know absolutely nothing. I've no idea if this is the same Pat Collins who directed JOHN McGAHERN: A PRIVATE WORLD, but I enjoyed that one.
ROUTE IRISH looks like an interesting examination of the use of Shannon airport in the USA's Iraq shenanigans, but I'll be missing it as I'm more interested in THE BLUE TAILOR, as it involves the plight of a small Irish island community that sounds like it has some parallels with St Kilda, a Scottish island with a history that fascinates me.
I'll also be skipping ABOUT BEAUTY (about Irish artist Dorothy Cross) so that I can see FORBIDDEN LOVE, a documentary about the attitude of modern Ireland to the British queen. You only need to look at the interesting history of UK royalty's relationship with Ireland to see why that one has potential.
GREENDALE: DEATH OF A SCHOOL sounds like it could be quite depressing, but I'll give it a whirl.
I've already seen Friday night's THE ORDER OF MYTHS and JESUS CAMP, so that'll give me a chance to skip out for a decent meal at least. If you've not seen either of them though, they're definitely worth a watch. I think I've probably written about them both here in the past, so have a search for that if you're interested. The last film on Saturday night is PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE. I know nothing about her, but what the heck, I'll not be doing anything else so chances are I'll be there too.
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME was aired last year on digital station BBC4, but I'll still be heading along to the IFI first thing on Saturday morning to watch it again, because it is without doubt (as you'd know if I'd ever got round to writing the "best of 2007" series that I keep threatening) the second best film of 2007. It's brilliant, and again I've probably blogged about it here in the past. If you see only one film at this festival, make it PLEASE VOTE FOR ME.
Because I'm going to see that and INISHARK: DEATH OF AN ISLAND (more Irish stuff that I can't resist) I'll be skipping THE JOHN O'CONNOR BEETHOVEN PROJECT and CHIPPERS. The last one is a particular shame as a documentary about Irish chip shops sounds like it could either be really dull or really brilliant.
NOTE BY NOTE, a documentary about the making of a piano sounds pretty dull to me, but I bet it's one of those ones that I skip and then everyone tells me how great it is. I mean, HELVETICA managed to make fonts interesting after all, so this'll probably do the same for pianos. But no, I'll be taking in I SEE A DARKNESS, an Irish doc about suicide.
GABRIEL BYRNE: STORIES FROM HOME has played at a few festivals where I've failed to see it, so I'll finally catch up with that one, before seeing WAITING FOR THE LIGHT for a second time. See my recent post from Galway to see why that one's so special.
TORY ISLAND will be another Irish island-themed documentary (one of a few themes emerging at this year's fest) that I'll be checking out, and then I can finish the evening with UPSETTER, the story of Lee "Scratch" Perry, reggae superstar. I like his music and it's yet another film that I've failed to see despite it playing at other festivals I've attended, so I look forward to that.
Sunday morning will open up with the short film showcase, which you'd be daft to miss given the talent working on short films in Ireland these days.
THE HOUSE has potential but will be falling off my list due to it clashing with the shorts, and then I'll be checking out A BLOODY CANVAS. This one, about a legendary boxing match on St Patrick's Day during the civil war, sounds like it could be a belter, despite my hatred of boxing. Strange but true, I despise boxing but it does seem to make for great films.
HOLD ME TIGHT, LET ME GO (following a school for children with behavioral problems) has bypassed my radar in the past despite airing on TV and at other festivals, so I'll check out that one before finishing off with CORRIDOR #8, documenting the failed attempt to build a road linking Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania.
Two films remain after that, FOOTBALL UNDERCOVER (which definitely sounds like a must-see) and ANNIE LEIBOVITZ: LIFE THROUGH A LENS but alas by the time they're on, I'll be en route back to sunny Scotland.
Labels: documentaries, Film festivals, Irish film
posted by Alan at 6:45 pm
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