It is finally here! After a year’s hiatus, this week actually brings back the Cambridge Film Festival. The absence of this yearly event was prominent in my calendar last year (although there wasn’t much cinema going anyway at the time!) and its return is hugely welcomed.
There are always so many wonderful films that are to be experienced throughout the Festival. Films that you’ve never heard of before, countries and cultures being shown on the big screen that are all entirely new to you. The chance to catch these films, not only on the big screen, is an opportunity that I wholeheartedly hope you can take up. Sometimes it is the entirely unknown and unexpected film that delights the most.
There are a number of strands that the festival is covering this year that aims to bring a diverse and astounding selection of films to your attention and for your viewing pleasure, featuring big names and new names alike.
To whet your appetite, here is this years trailer
Now that you are interested in the offerings for this years festival, take a look through the strands within the festival this year:
OPENING & CLOSING FILMS:
The Opening Night film this year is Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava. Starring Adeel Akhtar (Four Lions, Big Sick, Ebola Holes, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain) and Claire Rushbrook (Ammonite, Enola Holmes) as two people who have been left behind by their partners, delving into the themes of happiness and belonging.
At the other end of the Festival is the Closing Night film. 2021’s film brings an all star cast to the big screen in the shape of Will Sharpe’s The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. Bringing together Claire Foy and Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead roles as they highlight Louis Wain’s role in popularising cats through his prolific paintings. With narration by Olivia Colman and also featuring Taika Waititi, Richard Ayoade, Aimee Lou Wood and Nick Cave. Oh, and Adeel Ahktar also crops up in this one too.
GALA SCREENINGS:
There are six films with populate this strand. Bringing themes of mystical journeys, the fall from stardom, queer sexual liberation and the fight for recognition
Michael Showalter’s The Eyes of Tammy Faye follows the rise and fall of a TV evangelist and stars Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain.
Justin Chon’s Blue Bayou stars Alicia Vikander and Chon himself as the couple that has their lives threatened by immigration laws and enforcement in this gripping tale.
Sebastian Meise’s Cannes ‘Un Certain Regard’ prize-winning Great Freedom portrays life in a homophobic post-WWII Germany. Starring Franz Rogowski as Hans who is imprisoned and beaten by his cellmate on his arrival, but their relationship develops in a way that they couldn’t countenance outside the prison walls.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria has already garnered some attention for its restricted release methodology. But this other-worldly experience, starring the ever-impressive Tilda Swinton, is a must see.
Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part Two continues on with the story from The Souvenir, with Honor Swinton Byrne reprising her role as Julia, still mourning Anthony. Abandoning her film-school project’s script, she sets out to recreate the magic and heartbreak of her relationship with a complex man.
Julia Ducournau’s Titane has been the film I am most excited about seeing at this festival since the listings were revealed. This is a hypnotic, spectacular and brutal ride that keeps you on edge as to where it is going to go. Top that off with it taking home the Palme D’Or at Cannes this year, why wouldn’t you want to see this one?
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS:
Without doubt you will find many exceptional films in this strand. I know I thoroughly enjoy chancing my arm at something I haven’t heard of before and being suitably stunned, amazed, enthralled or delighted by the themes and quality of the film-making that is invariably on show within this strand.
From the Cambridge Film Festival Website:
LUZZU foregrounds the stunning, bucolic Maltese vistas in Alex Camilleri’s daring and authentic portrayal of a dying way of life. Sundance Film Festival acting award-winner Jesmark Scicluna, a professional fisherman by day, is cast as a character of the same name, who is hurled into the dark underworld of illicit swordfish trading and illegal markets to keep his young family afloat.
FEAR gets its UK Premiere. Directed by Ivaylo Hristov, this is an exceptional combination of dark comedy and theatre. Tallinn Black Nights grand prize winner, set in a rural village in Bulgaria, follows a lone black refugee Bamba (Michael Fleming) greeted at the edge of a forest by Svetla (Svetlana Yancheva) and her shotgun. An exceptional, heart-warming, deeply affecting and funny story ensues as one begins to consider life beyond the small confines and attitudes of the village and what the village represents.
Also enjoying its UK Premiere is WHEN I’M DONE DYING in which director Nisan Dağ takes us into the buzzing rap scene in Istanbul and a glorious combination of music, composed by Da Poet, and colour provided by the neon lights so characteristic of the global music scene and Istanbul inner-city streets. Love and heartbreak follow.
From France comes Céline Sciamma’s PETITE MAMAN in which a poetic and sweeping opening sequence sets the scene as Nelly (Joséphine Sanzal) comes to terms with loss and finds solace in friendship.
FLEE tells the story of Amin, a successful academic and with a loving partner, recalls fleeing Afghanistan to start his new life in Denmark. A documentary genre-defying approach sees Amin and long-time friend in conversation as animated characters, bringing not only themselves, their homes, and even the recording equipment into the frame.
ROARING 20’S gets its first UK showing. Elisabeth Vogler’s first feature is a seamlessly choreographed single take along the glorious Parisian streets and a beautiful reflection on human connection. An ensemble cast featuring Noémie Schmidt, Alice de Lencquesaing, and a host of new faces, are linked in a continuous passage and dialogue through the city.
MEMORY BOX is a timely reflection on the zeitgeist of 1980s Beirut through the lens of a mysterious trove of photos, notebooks, and recordings that arrive one Christmas Eve .
In SMALL BODY, Laura Samani takes us on an epic journey over mountains and seas in this beautiful period drama set in Italy in 1900, shot in Friuli Venezia-Giulia and featuring dialect from the region. It follows the quiet and determined Agata (Celeste Cescutti) as she makes her way through many hazards and dangers whilst travelling to a remote region to perform a miracle for her stillborn child.
PLAYGROUND is an award-winning debut by Laura Wandel in which Abel (Günter Duret) and Nora (Maya Vanderbeque) are starting a new school but it’s not easy. A startling portrayal of the difficulties in fitting in and the lengths humans will go to become part of the group.
CONNECTION AND DISCONNECTION:
A slightly heavier topic as this strand explores the way we can connect with others and also the reverse, when that connection is severed or breaks down. Having been disconnected physically from family and friends for a long time over the last 18 months, this strand will be of immediate interest and invoke no small amount of emotion
I know that I have a couple of these on my watchlist for the week and I am very much looking forward to watching. Again, some information from the Film Festival website of the films included in this strand:
Highlights in this strand include KARNAWAL, directed by Juan Pablo Felix, is part thriller/road movie/family drama and coming-of-age story; lauded director Niki Karimi brings a fresh perspective to Iranian cinema in ATABAI, a film about generations and communities, and BEYTO is a poignant story set in Switzerland about a seemingly impossible love.
Further offerings include the UK Premiere of THE LAUREATE about esteemed war poet Robert Graves played by Tom Hughes; the International Premiere of THE SEED, an emotional tour de force from Germany directed by Mia Meyer; and UK Premiere of THE MASSACRE OF ANRÖCHTE, a blend of meticulously framed shots, a razor-sharp script and German techno beats; and European Premiere EVERYTHING IN THE END, a poetic take on the quiet apocalypse story.
CAMERA CATALONIA:
This is a familiar strand in recent years but one that I haven’t explored as much as I should have, given the quality of the films here. Journeying through the best of recent Catalan cinema from drama to comedy, tragedy to harrowing domestic-abuse.
CFF is delighted to bring back this strand to the big screen. Our journey through the best of recent Catalan cinema will take us as far as the Dominican Republic, sailing through the Mediterranean waters with stories full of pathos and drama, but without forgetting the necessary snippets of comedy and humour that can be found in everyday life. Highlights include:
THE BELLY OF THE SEA which gets its UK Premiere. Camera Catalonia’s favourite, Agustí Villaronga, returns to the Festival with a hard-hitting court drama that pits a surviving officer and a sailor from the French ship Medusa, which sank off the coast of present-day Mauritania, in a moral and historical confrontation. Villaronga’s emotive and distinctive style places the events from 1816 into a modern narrative that challenges whether the same would and is happening today.
THE PEOPLE UPSTAIRS in which Cesc Gay (Truman, Ficció) writes and directs a highly entertaining romp, which delves into love, sex and relationships, through an excruciatingly funny evening with two very different couples.
Fresh from opening the DocsBarcelona Festival, BALANDRAU, FROZEN HELL sensitively portrays the real tragedy during a storm in the Catalan Pyrenees. It’s a story of survival, sorrow and guilt. The beauty of the mountains, captured in gorgeous widescreen photography, contrasts with the merciless rage of natural disasters like this one.
Following hot on the heels of the world Premiere in Locarno, Neus Ballús (LA PLAGA, STAFF ONLY) continues to explore her cinematic combination of reality and fiction in a distinctively personal way in THE ODD-JOB MEN.
15 HOURS, a ravaging story about domestic abuse, also receives its UK premiere at CFF. Director Judith Colell will be part of a Q&A session following the film. Set in the Dominican Republic, this story of domestic abuse highlights the difficulty in raising women’s voices when confronting domestic abuse in the context of traditional family values and the complexity of navigating government support agencies. Aura’s painful journey and escape from her abuser is also a path to self-discovery and freedom.
Japan2021
A couple of years ago there was a Korean strand and it was glorious and went a long way to intensifying my love of East Asian cinema. Now, a few years later we have another East Asian country providing the cinematic delights. In partnership with the BFI, the Japan 2021 strand will allow a look into the world of the contemporary Japanese cinema on offer.
Japanese animation will need no fanfare or introduction but POUPELLE OF CHIMNEY TOWN, based on Akihiro Nishino’s bestselling book of the same name, looks like a stunning film. Bringing the touching tale of a child who refuses to believe the world is wrapped in smoke and that there is something more for him to see and experience. On the back of much environmental action and talk in recent times, this will no doubt elicit some of those fears and thoughts around our ecological plight.
Sometime you find that short-story adaptations make for the best films. Without having to cram too much into the restrictive runtime, the director is free to explore the themes of the story more. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Cannes Film Festival award-winning screenplay for DRIVE MY CAR is based on Haruki Murakami’s short stories, ‘Drive My Car’ and ‘Men without Women’ and examines relationships, responsibility, and guilt. This is definitely one to catch.
Another Ryûsuke Hamaguchi film and award winner, WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND FANTASY took the 2021 Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival. Detailing the issues of Professor Segawa as an erotic reading with a student causes trouble for both of them.
Naoko Ogigami’s multi-award-winning feature, CLOSE-KNIT, focusses on the new family unit of 11-year old Tomo is taken in by her Uncle Makio and his transgender girlfriend, creating a new, loving home for the previous neglected child.
Keita Fujimoto’s first feature is also a UK Premiere at the Cambridge Film Festival. JUST THE TWO OF US brings forward the frustration of Shunsaku, who is left immobile after a car accident, as he abuses and behaves appallingly towards his father and anyone else who cares for him. This is brought into sharp focus as Hanae, completely blind for the last five years, takes over his care and delivers a timely dose of reality.
Allegra Pacheco, a Costa Rican artist, explores the reality and myth of the ‘salaryman’ in the documentary SALARYMAN. Expected to commit excessive hours to work, at the expense of everything else, this film asks questions about our capitalistic society and the ethics of these kind of working practises.
SHORTFUSION:
There are always a wide selection of short films to view every year. With so many excellent options they are brought together into categories themselves, with a defining theme running through them all.
See below for more information on these shorts, but also check out Elle Haywood’s thread on Twitter, giving a great synopsis of all of these excellent shorts.
Shorts to Embrace, Shorts to Debate, Shorts to Contemplate, Shorts to Unnerve, Shorts to Expand & Shorts to Cheer
Another milestone for CFF, this year marks 20 years since ShortFusion was added as a major element of the programme with the aim to showcase a collection of outstanding contemporary short films from across the globe. Threading together 44 fiction, documentary and animation stories across seven shorts strands, the festival presents Shorts to: Cheer, Debate, Contemplate, Embrace, Expand, Journey and Unnerve. These works reflect on true stories of communities coming together, lost love and reconciliation, and finding closure after devastating incidents.
This series of carefully curated shorts feature works from seasoned directors who have mastered their craft, such as Andrew Köttting’s DISEASED AND DISORDERLY, to fresh newcomers presenting their debut films to the public, including Cassiah Joski-Jethi’s CATCH A BUTCHER. Audiences can also discover the latest works by local Cambridge filmmakers, including TO ERR directed by Nancy Cruz, BANSHEE directed by Matt Ditko and GUIDE ME HOME directed by CFF regular Stefan Georgiou.
Notable performances come from Philip Glenister, Gemma Arterton, Nathaniel Parker, Joel Beckett, Richard Crehan and Melanie Nicholls-King.
But the Film Festival isn’t just the films that are being shown during its week-long running time, but also the atmosphere that the festival brings. Without fail the many workers and volunteers who are present throughout the festival are friendly and welcoming to one and all. It really is such a lovely, vibrant atmosphere and it is always a delight to spend so much time in the Arts Picturehouse.
Don’t forget that, even if you can’t make the festival in person, this year there is the added strand of CFF@HOME, a collection of films that are able to be viewed in the comfort of your own home. There are also some exclusive films that are only available through the CFF@HOME platform.
For tickets, you can go here: Whats On
For more information, please see the Cambridge Film Festival website.
Film N Stuff 