Welcome back guys to our latest issue of The Spread! After perhaps the most intense month of the year so far in June, I’m happy to be moving on with the summer and digging into all the exciting films coming up. And there’s a lot of them, with new Ghostbusters, Star Trek, Bourne and Ice Age coming up in the next few weeks - and that’s only the sequels and remakes! It should be an exciting summer for film ahead.
But before we dive into July, a recap of June. Things were busy as ever at Cinema Jam, with the big event as always being the Jam Session, on the 28th. Films show included Christine Hooper’s On Loop, Christian Cooke’s Edith, Kate Jessop’s Little Elephant, Brady Hood’s Sweet Maddie Stone and a secret film. Our guest speakers were BAFTA-winning cinematographer Remi Adefarasin, art director Tim Blake and Governor of The Guild of British Film & Television Editors Michael Johns.
Along with the Jam Session we also hosted our second Bite-Size Course: Cutting an Oscar-Winner, with acclaimed editor Nicolas Chaudeurge (Fish Tank, Still Alice). Check out our interview with Nicolas here. Our writer Dan Theophanous was also busy this month, providing daily coverage for the Sheffield Doc Festival. Check out the daily round-ups starting here.
This month on The Spread we’re covering a theme I’ve been interested in a while: Digital. Last year, I wrote a feature comparing film and digital, and this time around we’ve got articles exploring some of the other meanings of digital, including Matthew Wilson’s ranking of the Top 10 A.I.s on film - from Wall-E to the Terminator. I’ve also got a countdown - of the Top 10 movies about the Internet, from The Internet’s Own Boy to The Social Network. A D Cooper also dives into digital, exploring the fast-evolving world of G-Tech drives for filmmakers.
Over on the review side, Matthew Wilson has some praise for Finding Dory, though he doesn’t think it quite lives up to its predecessor. John Higgins applauds Iggy Pop’s performance in Blood Orange, and gives high acclaim to the football documentary Messi. I also look into Alex Ross Perry’s gripping psychological thriller Queen of Earth, which features incredible performances from Elisabeth Moss and Katherine Waterston. Also check out our recent reviews of Tom Sturridge drama Remainder, Terrence Malick-produced doc The Seventh Fire, and re-released war classic Ivan’s Childhood.
We’ve also got interviews with a group of exciting Jammers making waves in the industry. Christine Hooper talks her fun, experimental short On Loop, which comically exaggerates a night of insomnia. Kate Jessop dishes her heartfelt animated short Little Elephant, which explores the intersection of LGBT identity and the South Asian community in Britain. And our Jammers of the Month, Roxanne Holman and Mark Blackman of Joker’s Pack Productions, chat about their thrilling new short Neon.
Follow The Spread throughout the month for more reviews, interviews and more.
