tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316955732024-03-16T20:11:57.291+00:00Kunstblogclose encounters of the artistic kind...Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.comBlogger563125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-84746023707464431222024-03-16T20:11:00.000+00:002024-03-16T20:11:05.759+00:00BFI Flare: Five Films for Freedom This year's crop of Five Films for Freedom, which heralds the start of BFI Flare, is especially strong. Along with the dramas of Halfway and Cursive is the unusual animated docudrama of Little One, in which an unseen narrator asks her two dads how they knew they were ready to be parents. The interview takes place on camera but with the very stylised rubbery animation, an unusual combo.Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-72479607500116619462024-02-26T15:58:00.002+00:002024-02-26T15:58:19.454+00:00GUT photo: Mara von KummerJust caught up with GUT, the 3-part series which aired in Germany last year. Made by and about music legend Gudrun Gut, it is a fascinating portrait of the artist as country Frau. Once I stopped thinking of it as a documentary and more as experimental film I quite enjoyed it. Gut's rural home in Uckermark is the setting for the programmes, with her resplendent in Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-60340416796103925972024-01-29T14:13:00.001+00:002024-01-29T14:13:30.844+00:00Grief and Art I had a loss in 2023, a rupture in my life. I have cried and reflected and it still hurts. I find it interesting how grief manifests in creative works and who is given permission to grieve and for whom or what.When I viewed Maestro recently, I was struck by how emotionally unintelligent Leonard Bernstein is portrayed. He seems dumbstruck by his wife's upset at him having a lover and missingVal Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-85456543161867472602023-12-31T11:50:00.000+00:002023-12-31T11:50:11.190+00:00Not So Happy EndingsFarewell to 2023!Recently, I finished the Netflix series Sex Education which gave me pause to reflect on how shows end well or badly. It's hard to remember one that ended well but long-term fans of Sex Education were particularly annoyed with how it finished after four seasons. I am guessing Covid and various strikes may have played a part but Season 4 did seem oddly paced, introducing Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-72070023998516799092023-11-26T16:34:00.001+00:002023-11-26T16:34:06.611+00:00Dolly Parton Rockstar Well, this is unexpected. Rockstar, Dolly Parton's first rock album, prompted by her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, spans 30 tracks of fist-pumping, guitar strumming, wide-legged RAWK. Plus, some power ballads. Anyway....If you did not have Dolly warbling alongside Paul McCartney, Pat Benatar and Kid Rock on your 2023 bingo card, well, join the club. I was speechless as I Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-16937592149580400742023-10-16T20:22:00.005+01:002023-10-16T20:22:48.872+01:00BFI London Film Festival highlights I say highlights, but they are simply a sampling of what I saw. Not much, but how wonderful to be able to go out to the cinema again! I am cautious--I mask and distance as much as I can, and hardly anyone else does, which is disconcerting. But I was thrilled to be able to sit in a cinema seat and watch a screen. Actually, Curzon Soho's cinema 2 worked out well for me, because I was in Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-83805753023092297802023-10-02T20:24:00.002+01:002023-10-02T20:24:15.283+01:00Fringe! Queer Arts and Film Festival The festival finished last week but I have taken some time to finish watching films and gather my thoughts. Naturally, I spent a bit of time pondering my own film, Lactasia, which made its belated UK debut. The screening was socially distanced and relaxed and was somewhat masked. It certainly was a new experience for me to see people lying on bean bags at a festival screening. We were Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-91148292235056759652023-09-22T19:23:00.001+01:002023-09-22T19:23:23.152+01:00Made in East LondonTomorrow my film Lactasia gets its UK premiere at Fringe! Queer Film and Arts Festival in London. It's been a long process to get to this point, with many bumps in the road, not least Covid which delayed our post-production process by two years. still from LactasiaNonetheless, it's gratifying to finally get the chance to see the film on a proper cinema screen with an audience. And the film Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-40059340574425814652023-08-29T21:31:00.001+01:002023-08-29T21:31:38.463+01:00Elizabeth Fraser at 60 Happy Birthday, Ms. Fraser!Can it be 41 years since Cocteau Twins' first album, Garlands? Here's a live version of "Wax and Wane", my favourite of their early work. And now she has a new creative outlet courtesy of Sun's Signature with her partner Damon Reece. I had the pleasure of speaking to Liz back in the 1990s when she talked of lacking confidence to venture out on her own. Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-44575548510777587602023-07-27T19:50:00.001+01:002023-07-27T19:50:12.745+01:00RIP Sinéad This one is hard. Like many I have spent the last 24 hours immersed in the incredible back catalogue of Sinéad O'Connor who passed yesterday at age 56. "Be kind to Generation X," someone wrote on Twitter, and that is exactly how I feel. One of our own is gone and it really, really hurts. Here is one of my favourite songs by her, performed live in 1988 at a gig I should have been at!I Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-47395652629139508912023-06-29T11:50:00.003+01:002023-06-29T11:50:37.109+01:00Women Make Movies Pride Month In line with their promotion for Women's History Month in March, Women Make Movies, the New York distributor, has offered free access to an array of its films for Pride month. I have so far watched four and and am on my fifth, but will concentrate on what I have finished. Among the highlights are Esther Newton Made Me Gay (dir Jean Carlomusto), a reflection on the life of the Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-15615787639798239412023-05-25T19:21:00.001+01:002023-05-25T19:21:31.459+01:00Tina and RonnieStill digesting the news of Tina Turner's passing and I can't help but think about the parallels with the life of another iconic singer, Ronnie Spector, who passed in 2022: both in the 1960s miniskirt era; both playing with family members in their acts; both involved with abusive men who controlled their careers; both escaping and finally re-emerging in the 1980s. Turner had a longer career Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-54233197444672402122023-04-24T18:21:00.000+01:002023-04-24T18:21:00.816+01:00Dyke March at 30Happy Birthday, Dyke March! I have written before about the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation on 25 April 1993. But, of course, the night before that was the first ever Dyke March, a smaller but by no means less thrilling affair. It remains one of the greatest experiences of my life, caught up in a sea of drumming, dancing, singing, chanting lesbianVal Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-44940690822348971792023-04-09T17:40:00.001+01:002023-04-09T18:19:24.205+01:00Poets In VogueThis was a small exhibit tucked away upstairs at the Southbank, in the National Poetry Library I never knew existed. Always good to make cultural discoveries and the exhibit is well worth seeing for the thoughts it inspires and the conversations it sparks.On show are textiles relating to a handful of women poets. My first thought on arriving was the prevalence of writers known to have mentalVal Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-84942308017013680772023-03-30T11:32:00.002+01:002023-03-30T11:32:29.736+01:00BFI Flare: Warnings from History Willem and Frieda is a gripping watch as Stephen Fry wanders present-day Amsterdam, like an absent-minded professor intoning lessons. The city looks lovely, with its lapping canals and twinkling lights. But the story he tells is of an extraordinary band of rebels who defied the occupying Nazis via forgery and sabotage. The titular heroes were two creative types, struggling artist Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-78866566775998779572023-03-28T16:12:00.001+01:002023-03-28T16:12:23.482+01:00BFI Flare: Sting in the TailNext up are two features that are ostensibly comedies but end up being a bit more than expected.
Jess Plus None starts with a woman masturbating and ends with her at the side of the road making a decision about her future. In between Jess attends the wedding of her best friend and all hell breaks loose. Most of the action takes place on a campsite, the second film I've seen at the festival (BigVal Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-64685320575126360082023-03-26T17:52:00.002+01:002023-03-26T17:52:52.499+01:00BFI Flare: DriftingDrifterThe festival finishes today but I may yet review some more films after that. For today I shall cover last night's closing night film, Drifter, from Germany. While the first shot is an explicit one of a hand job, the rest of the film is a bit coy although there is an abundance of sexuality on show. Moritz, newly arrived in Berlin, has no particular plans other than with his boyfriend, who Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-69135181788016346742023-03-24T19:59:00.001+00:002023-03-30T11:38:15.871+01:00BFI Flare: CrowdpleaserI am still working my way slowly through the online offerings for this year's Flare, but I want to say how amazing it felt to attend in person for the first time since 2019. I had one short screening but to settle into the plush seats and see something on the big screen for the first time since January 2020 was lit. Will review that one later on. But Polarized is probably something that Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-81950850881504682412023-03-20T11:35:00.001+00:002023-03-20T11:35:28.402+00:00BFI Flare: Difficult AgeIf the last post looked at films exploring the golden years, this one looks at films covering the teen years, that oh so difficult time of confusion, soaring hormones and parental disapproval. Big BoysThe US indie comedy Big Boys takes us on a camping trip with 14-year-old Jamie, his older brother, their older cousin and her hunky boyfriend Dan. Dan will prove pivotal in this, just saying. Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-17541759954313430162023-03-18T20:35:00.003+00:002023-03-30T11:39:22.596+01:00BFI Flare: Grey PowerJewelle: a Just VisionThe word legacy is thrown around a lot in Jewelle: A Just Vision, which I find interesting, as the writer Jewelle Gomez is still with us at 74, still working and still fighting. I am sure she would like to be appreciated now and not just in future, so it's good that Madeleine Lim made this doc. I well remember Gomez from my time in SF and her book The Gilda Stories remains aVal Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-37560451424526680592023-03-16T15:09:00.002+00:002023-03-30T11:33:36.627+01:00BFI Flare: 5 Films for Freedom 2023 Hurrah! Flare is back. In fact, I should have been attending the immersive experience today but transport strikes put paid to that. I hope to get back to the festival but for now will be reviewing online material. So, this year's edition of 5 Films for Freedom includes dramas from Guyana, Nigeria, Cyprus and Northern Ireland, plus a comedy from South Korea. Here are my picks. Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-46398358346279180892023-02-27T18:17:00.003+00:002023-02-27T18:20:21.128+00:00The ThingSo, by now we have all had a week to digest the furore surrounding Ariana De Bose's performance at last week's BAFTAs. Interestingly, I have not been able to find a clip of her full number, but the rap that spawned a thousand memes is easy enough to locate. Tasked with celebrating women, DeBose inserted a rap in her musical homage of "Sisters Are Doing it for Themselves" namechecking the Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-25475101443059250512023-01-27T15:22:00.000+00:002023-01-27T15:22:10.581+00:00Soheila Sokhanvari: Rebel RebelI finally got out to see an exhibit! Since I have been lying low during the pandemic, I have rarely ventured into a gallery. But since I was meeting my old chum B., we decided to take in an exhibition. Rebel Rebel was a good choice. The Curve at the Barbican is a unique space which begs the visitor to take a journey. Sokhanvari has installed her paintings of a range of iconic Iranian women Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-4595903541622208162022-12-31T16:43:00.003+00:002022-12-31T16:43:26.603+00:00End of 2022 ThoughtsI usually find myself in a reflective mood toward the end of any year. I recount highlights and favourite books or films. This year, though, I really could not think of any cultural products that stood out. Partly that is because I am still not going out, but also because what I did read, listen to or watch did not seem especially note-worthy. However, I did find some wonderful moments to Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31695573.post-19819642219020321342022-11-26T14:22:00.002+00:002022-11-26T14:22:23.295+00:00Remember My Name Farewell then singer and actress Irene Cara whose passing was announced today. I was immediately struck by youthful pangs of idolatry, recalling her singing not one but two immensely popular title tracks from musical films, Fame and Flashdance. By the time Flashdance came out, I was old enough to see the film and buy the soundtrack which I wore out on the family turntable. It was Val Phoenix, scribehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00621970358271076463noreply@blogger.com0