oh hello there

So of course I say I'll write loads about the film festival and then disappear without another word for weeks... Sorry about that. It was such a frenzied few weeks (what with me also having many essays due during the festival... which I may or may not have ended up actually doing...) that I just couldn't find the time to sit down and write about it!

I had an amazing time though and personal highlights include: Ainslie Henderson's short animation 'I am Tom Moody' [watch the trailer here], accidentally telling off a director, seeing the interview with James Cosmo and him giving me a huge grin of feigned embarrassment as he stood at the back with me watching scenes from Braveheart, being unable to tear tickets properly even after doing it for days, watching the surprise film (Spring Breakers) and laughing hysterically throughout, finally using one of my free tickets to see The Place Beyond the Pines (mmm to Gosling, hmm to the plot), and working behind the free bar at the closing night party with the loveliest barman I have ever met - and who gave Kathryn and me a free bottle of vodka and some t-shirts for our hard work (a.k.a. spilling most of the alcohol around the cups and commenting on hipsters' clothing choices). Side note: we have yet to decide whether he said that he was heading back home to 'two three year olds' or 'three funerals'... it was rather loud in there and by the look on his face it could have been either!

Anyway, since then I have been a bit of a zombie and today I've managed to do my back in - a phrase I'm pretty sure is used solely by those over fifty. So after a bit of a rest, I'm hoping to start filming a little music video/short film this weekend (if the weather allows it) starring the gorgeous Natalie! Until then, here's a teeny and rather crappy stop motion animation I made a couple of weeks ago in about ten minutes out of boredom and blu-tack (and instead of reading about manuscript decoration...)

Hanna xx

the trees sigh like a harp

It's been quite a busy week for us both but we've still tried to make the most of the film festival's offerings. I only caught a few pictures (including one which most of our friends found awful yet I found hilarious-Springbreakers) but Hanna's got about and taken in a lot more than me, so she'll probably write up a few things soon.

So instead, I'm going to talk about what I did on Saturday night-I went to see my first opera. Scottish Opera's new production of Werther was on at the Theatre Royal (the opera is based on Goethe's novel) It is "testament to the destructive power of obsessive love" and being a right girl when it comes to that sort of thing, I was anticipating an emotional evening. The performers were incredible (I was in awe at their voices. They manage to sound so pure and delicate yet powerful too) and the orchestra was tremendous. I'm a bit of a simpleton when it comes to classical music and such so my opinion might not count for much, but nonetheless I was blown away.

The set design was quite pared down but perfect. Snow falls, illuminated by lamplight, and provides the loveliest backdrop for the misery that unfolds. Although Werther and Charlotte are only seen together once before he proclaims his undying love for her, you really believe their story and the pain they go through as the story progresses. He is exiled from Charlotte and plumbs the depth of despair. Meanwhile she is driven to the brink of madness as her familial duties are at odds with her heart.

I won't go on and spoil the ending for anyone who's going to see it. Apparently it was originally turned down as a production in the 19th century for being too serious a scenario, and I can see where they were coming from (it's by no means light-hearted)

It runs for another month so I'd highly recommend going along if a beautiful but heartbreaking love story sounds like your cup of tea!

Natalie xX

for he's a jolly good fellow

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and I spent the evening in work... It was a nice enough shift but the most valentine'sy things about my night were some hearts on my tights and slightly wilting roses around the back of the cafe.

Suffice it to say, I didn't really do 14th Feb. properly. Today is another day, and 15th Feb. (whatever that is) can be celebrated in a more appropriate way. Turns out it's Conor Oberst's birthday* (he's a ripe old 33!) and I'm more than happy to listen to his music all day to mark the occasion.

(Bowl of Oranges) http://vimeo.com/6647107

He does have a song called 'Happy Birthday to Me' but it's a bit sad so let's not listen to that. 

Many happy returns Mr. Oberst!

Natalie xX

*trivia! 15th Feb. is also Susan B. Anthony Day, Afghanistan Liberation Day and the day King George VI was laid to rest (The King's Speech is about him)

gsff//the dead man’s waltz: story’s end

The Glasgow Short Film Festival began with a ‘quiet bang’ last night (only people who were there will get that...) with a wonderfully strange event created by the Scottish band The Dead Man’s Waltz. They brought together music, film and spoken word to explore death in a way that managed to be beautiful, witty and a little creepy at the same time. The night began with an eerie echo of Keaton Henson’s gig the night before - a darkened room, a spotlight, a cello, a bearded man (albeit on a piano this time) and a blank projector screen - but as the evening went on it evolved into something far more complex and intriguing. The night included...

A black and white film about a man struggling to write, his hands blackened, his tiny room slowly swelling with discarded attempts, curious markings appearing to him as revelations in a sea of confusion... while The Dead Man’s Waltz played a haunting and beautiful melody to accompany it.

Readings from Scottish author Hal Duncan - who played the frustrated writer in the first film - again accompanied by a live soundtrack. Duncan could not have been more perfect for this event - resembling a mixture of the post-punk musician Nick Cave and a character from Tim Burton’s drawings, the self-dubbed ‘carnival freak’ lead the audience into an awed silence with his uncanny tales of tiny toymakers and of ‘the boy who loved death’.

A collaboration between the band and animator Thomas Hicks, resulting in the short film/music video ‘Emmeline’ which tells the tale of a sailor promising to return to his love as he leaves for war in 1939. It is a sweet yet tragic sea shanty of a song, and is worth a listen/look. (Imagine it on a big screen) Emmeline music video

The show is going to tour later in the year so i won’t give any more away, but it is definitely worth getting a ticket to see it if you can. Also check out The Dead Man's Waltz here. Fallow Fields, Emmeline and Swings and Roundabouts really stood out as the best songs on the night.

Hanna xx

[I’m volunteering for the Glasgow Film Festival this year, so expect lots of posts about it...]

keaton henson

We saw Keaton Henson on Wednesday evening, playing in the Jeffrey Room of the Mitchell Library. 

Support came in the form of the lovely Jo Mango. The venue and Jo are each deserving of a review in their own right, so for brevity’s sake, they were both exquisite and a perfect match for the lilting frailness of Keaton’s songs.

Cellist Ren Ford took to the stage, providing an absorbing few minutes of music to mark the beginning of Keaton’s set. 

He came from a side door, walking towards the small stage slightly hunched and with a lowered gaze. He creates the impression of one being lead, as if the half dozen steps to the stage were a little too disorientating to complete. He appears angular under his shirt, nervously tugging his beard and pushing his hair back behind his ears. This man is somewhat of an enigma, notorious for crippling stage fright and shyness. And yep-this ‘fragile soul’ image appears in no way an exaggeration. 

He was wonderful; the songs he chose to perform, and his quiet snippets of conversation in between. He was sweet and self depricating (apologising for his reliance on sheets of lyrics) and he was also kindly complimentary of Glasgow-his first time in this fair city. 

Folk always remark at the intimate nature of his songs and the gigs he plays, and this one was no exception. He played some new tracks, a couple we hadn’t even heard before. His penultimate offering called ‘Best Today’ “still sucks” as he so charmingly put it “...sucks as in sucks emotionally.” Such an endearing admission. His distant gaze and hunched posture suggests that each song “sucks,” like each gig is its own exercise in catharsis.  

He switched between electric and acoustic, accompanied by Ren for the most part. ‘Small Hands,’ ‘Sarah Minor’ and the stunning ‘You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are’ were some of the old favourites he included, while a new one “about girls on trains” was a beautiful catchy number that sparks excitement for a recorded version. 

So it was the perfect venue, perfect company (Hanna dearest,) perfect artist and near-perfect set (the perfect setlist would require him to play every one of his songs...at least twice)

Please go listen to this wonderful man. Buy his albums, his eps, his artwork, his merchandise... and go forth and tell your friends to do likewise.

Natalie xX

[I couldn't have said it any better - here's a snap from the night. - Hanna]