Supporting Film Variety in Bedford

27 - 29 SEPTEMBER 2013
SUPPORTING FILM VARIETY
WWW.BEDFORDFILMFESTIVAL.ORG

327-29 SEPTEMBER 2013 | BEDFORD FILM FESTIVAL
INTRODUCTION 5
VENUES 7
FULL PROGRAMME 10
FEATURE FILMS 14
DOCUMENTARIES 17
WORKSHOPS 19
SHORT FILMS 21
Contents

WELCOME TO BEDFORD FILM
FESTIVAL
Christmas 2012 and in a festive haze the idea of a film
festival was formed. Hardly a revolutionary idea but one
of those moments where you wonder why it hadn’t been
thought of before.
But, the question that really needed answering was how
could we organise something that Bedford could really be
proud of? Skip forward a few months and Bedfordshire
based director Richard Jobson is one of the everyday
radicals speaking at TEDxBedford. Paul Hutchinson and
Stephen Judge were in the audience and during the break
Richard commented that he’d heard about the film festival
idea and wondered if we were open to working together.
We decided early on that this should be a festival for
Bedford. With something for all ages, tastes, communities
and budgets. We also wanted to help inspire budding film
makers with an exclusive workshop programme facilitated
by industry experts. We hope you’ll agree we’ve achieved that.
The festival starts with a drinks reception at our primary
venue, The Higgins Bedford, before a screening of a film
shot right here in Bedford - Wayland’s Song, presented by
the film’s director Richard Jobson. We’ve then got a weekend
with something for everyone. Family entertainment from
animated feature Turbo, three weeks before its general
release, right through to an exposure of a cult classic with
the writer of Quadrophenia, Martin Stellman, followed by
an outdoor screening of the film.
Our British feature films include dark comedy Dead Cat
and the thought provoking Dummy Jim and Back to the
Garden. We’re very pleased to bring foreign films In the
name of… from Poland and Una Noche from Cuba to the
town, before we then close the festival with Hollywood A-list
film Emperor, another preview not on general release until
mid-October.
The documentaries available cover everything from Adam
Ant and his struggle with depression in The Blueblack
Hussar right through to Hip Hop imposters in The Great
Hip Hop Hoax and snowboarding culture Crash Reel. We’ve
another preview screening here too, a full month before
general release we bring you Muscle Shoals. The story of
a small town in backwater Alabama, home to the studio
where almost every soul legend and rock icon you can think
of recorded some of their most popular tracks.
In-between the films we’re helping to educate and inspire
future film makers with a series of workshops in directing,
camerawork, lighting, make up and working in ‘the cloud’.
We hope you enjoy what we’ve put together in such a short
time and we hope you’ve come to see films you might not
have considered before. Whatever you’ve chosen, thank you
for supporting variety and thank you for supporting Bedford
Film Festival.
Stephen, Paul, Richard
Introduction
ADDITIONAL THANKS
Katrina of Katrina Dixon Creative, James at
Bedfringe, Maria at Pensieri, Libby at La Piazza, our
projectionists Jesse and Ben, volunteer managers
Caroline and Rachel and all our volunteers, Iris and
Tony at Cambridge Film Festival, Graham and Jim
at Bonfire, Keiron and his team at Bedford Borough
Council, everyone at The Higgins Bedford, Bedford
College and The Higgins Pantry, and the ever patient
and fantastic Annie, Francesca and Kayte.

THE VENUES
You don’t need to own a cinema to show good films.
In our first year we have kept our venues limited but we
hope that as we grow, so will the number of venues across
Bedford that want to be part of our festival.
We hope you enjoy the venues we have chosen this year
and if you are interested in hosting a Bedford Film Festival
event in 2014 please contact us.
THE HIGGINS BEDFORD
Recently reopened following a major redevelopment
project, The Higgins Bedford now boasts excellent facilities
for schools, space for workshops and talks and improved
facilities for visitors and has been transformed to feature
new exhibition galleries.
We believe the ideals of The Higgins Bedford match the
ethos behind our festival and we are delighted they have
agreed to be our primary venue.
www.thehigginsbedford.org.uk
BEDFORD COLLEGE
Oﬀering creative arts courses in film and media production,
plus animation, graphic design, photography and many
more, Bedford College aims to produce the next generation
of creative thinkers. Whether you’re leaving school,
an international student, interested in degree-level courses,
want to study part-time to improve your job prospects,
or would just like to take up a new activity, Bedford College
oﬀers a fantastic range of subjects in spaces that inspire.
www.bedford.ac.uk
Venues

Full
programme
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10 BEDFORD FILM FESTIVAL | 27-29 SEPTEMBER 2013
This event is founded and run by Bedford Film Festival Limited.
DIRECTING MASTERCLASS TIME VENUE
Workshop, 1 hour, £5 17:00 The Higgins, Barbican
WAYLAND’S SONG - OPENING TIME VENUE
Feature film opening ceremony, £8 18:00 The Higgins, Gallery
LIGHTING & SHOOTING A SCENE TIME VENUE
TURBO (U) TIME VENUE
Feature film, 96 minutes, £5 13:00 The Higgins, Gallery
SHORT FILMS - REEL 1 TIME VENUE
A selection of short films, FREE 13:30 The Higgins, Barbican
BACK TO THE GARDEN (15) TIME VENUE
Feature film, 93 minutes, £5 19:00 The Higgins, Barbican
MAKE UP FOR FILM TIME VENUE
UNA NOCHE (15) TIME VENUE
THE GREAT HIP HOP HOAX TIME VENUE
Documentary, 93 minutes, £5 17:00 The Higgins, Gallery

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WORKING IN ‘THE CLOUD’ TIME VENUE
DUMMY JIM (15) TIME VENUE
IN THE NAME OF...(W IMIE...) (15) TIME VENUE
THE BLUEBLACK HUSSAR (15) TIME VENUE
Documentary, 98 minutes, £5 16:00 The Higgins, Barbican
THE CRASH REEL (15) TIME VENUE
EMPEROR (15) - CLOSING TIME VENUE
Feature ﬁlm closing ceremony, £8 19:00 The Higgins, Gallery
QUADROPHENIA (18) & MARTIN STELLMAN TIME VENUE
Feature ﬁlm event & guest speaker, £10 17:00 Bedford College
DEAD CAT TIME VENUE
28
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2013
MUSCLE SHOALS TIME VENUE

Putting Bedford in the
picture since the 1800s...

14 BEDFORD FILM FESTIVAL | 27-29 SEPTEMBER 2013
This event is founded and run by Bedford Film Festival Limited.
Feature films
Join us for pre-screening drinks in the court yard of The Higgins Bedford before we go into our
specially created ‘indie’ cinema for Wayland’s Song, filmed right here in Bedford. With opening
comments from Richard Fuller MP.
Injured on the battlefield in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, a soldier, plagued by epileptic
seizures as a result of his injuries returns to his provincial hometown to find his daughter
missing in mysterious circumstances. Wayland’s Song is a daring, formally invigorating
approach to filmmaking.
27
SEP
2013
WAYLAND’S SONG - OPENING TIME VENUE
Feature film opening ceremony, £8 18:00 The Higgins, Gallery
See it here first, not on general release until 18 October 2013. Featuring the voices of Ryan
Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Samuel L. Jackson and Snoop Dogg.
Theo is a young speed-freak, the only problem is that Theo is a snail. After a mysterious
encounter with the inside of a souped-up sports-car little Theo suddenly discovers that inside
his shell is the horsepower he’s always dreamed of, and sets off on a madcap adventure to
fulfil his ambitions of tearing up the race-track.
28
SEP
2013
TURBO (U) TIME VENUE
Promising debutant director Lucy Mulloy immersed herself in Havana, researching the city’s
true character and seeking out young non-professional actors. ‘Una Noche’ is a vibrant and
highly authentic portrayal of the struggles facing Cuba’s younger generations.
Brother and sister, Elio and Lila, devise a haphazard plan to make the 90-mile journey to
Miami, escaping the poverty, disillusionment and repression that their homeland has come to
represent. But the plan is fraught with scrapes and mishaps, and a happy ending seems unlikely.
28
SEP
2013
UNA NOCHE (15) TIME VENUE
The 1979 cult classic Quadrophenia comes to Bedford as we celebrate the history of the film,
its story and its message.
Quadrophenia writer Martin Stellman talks about the film and its legacy, before we watch
the film as the sun goes down. Set against the soundtrack of The Who’s 1973 album
“Quadrophenia”, Phil Daniels plays working-class Jimmy who comes alive at night, with the
all-nighters, his pills and his scooter-riding friends. Always on a high, life can’t get any better
but what goes up must come down.
28
SEP
2013
QUADROPHENIA (18) & MARTIN STELLMAN TIME VENUE
Feature film event & guest speaker, £10 17:00 Bedford College

Michael and Kristen were childhood sweethearts, but haven’t spoken in 10 years. Thrown back
together as they both begin their thirties, is there still anything between them?
With only a gang of hilariously dysfunctional friends as allies, the former lovers attempt to work
out whether their chance reunion constitutes love or just nostalgia. Dead Cat is a winsome,
entertaining take on contemporary relationships, and a breezy shot in the arm for British
comedy.
28
SEP
2013
DEAD CAT (15) TIME VENUE
Jon Sanders continues to explore his improvisational techniques with great delicacy in his new
film, Back to the Garden.
It’s a year since the death of an inspirational theatre director and teacher, and his widow is
struggling to come to terms with her loss. A group of close friends, many of whom are or
were actors, come to spend the weekend with her to offer their support and to celebrate his
memory in an entertaining and moving performance before scattering his ashes in the garden.
28
SEP
2013
BACK TO THE GARDEN (15) TIME VENUE
Feature film, 93 minutes, £5 19:00 The Higgins, Barbican
After his mother sent him the curious memoirs of deaf cyclist James Duthie, filmmaker Matt
Hulse was compelled to give the maverick Scotsman’s story the recognition it deserved.
Twelve years in the making, Hulse blends conventional narrative and documentary to tell the
remarkable tale of ‘Dummy’ Jim’s attempt, in total defiance of his impairment, to cycle from
Scotland to Morocco – a journey which took him instead to the Arctic Circle.
While an absorbing, layered sound-scape provides a feast for the ears, Hulse has also kept
hearing-impaired audiences in mind offering a plethora of visual stimuli.
29
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2013
DUMMY JIM (15) TIME VENUE
We are very please to bring this Polish language film to our festival.
Adam is a priest working at a centre for delinquent young men. Behind a confident, devout
exterior, Adam harbours illicit homosexual urges, which are stoked by the arrival of the
enigmatic Lukasz. As he flirts with the forbidden, Adam’s life threatens to come tumbling down.
Though the film has been subject to conservative invective on home soil, the sensitive
religious context is well-handled — providing a catalyst for psychological drama rather than
sensationalism.
29
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2013
IN THE NAME OF… (W IMIE…) (15) TIME VENUE
See it here first. Not on general release until 04 October 2013
Join us for a short and informal Q&A to discuss ideas to encourage film making in Bedford
before we screen Emperor, starring Tommy Lee Jones as General Douglas MacArthur, who in
the wake of WWII had to decide if Emperor Hirohito was to be charged with war crimes. The
historical aspects of the film are handled with respect but considerable tension remains as the
audience shares the tension of MacArthur’s decision.
Closing comments from the festival founders and Mayor of Bedford, Dave Hodgson.
29
SEP
2013
EMPEROR (15) - CLOSING TIME VENUE
Feature film closing ceremony, £8 19:00 The Higgins, Gallery

Documentaries
In the early 2000s, the music charts on both sides of the Atlantic were dominated by American
rap music.
Enter Billy Boyd and Gavin Bain who, having built a sizeable home following, were looking
to launch their hip-hop career. Rejected by A&R men the pair reinvented themselves
as Californian rude-boys with accents and wardrobes to match. Now masquerading as
Silibil’n’Brains, Boyd and Bain set about establishing their new personae with convincing online
promo videos, and before long the record labels came knocking.
28
SEP
2013
THE GREAT HIP HOP HOAX TIME VENUE
See it here first, not on general release until 25 October 2013
The backwater town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, has been a hotbed of musical creativity ever
since the early 60s. Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James and Percy Sledge all recorded
songs there, followed by The Rolling Stones, The Osmonds, Lynyrd Skynyrd, U2 and Alicia Keys.
Narrating Muscle Shoals’ story via interviews with a host of stars, the film’s most captivating
moments see the artists recalling those magical moments in the booth before recording started.
28
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2013
MUSCLE SHOALS TIME VENUE
Adam Ant was one of the biggest pop-stars of the 1980s, before a nervous breakdown
consigned him to a creatively enervating passage through the mental health system.
The result of over a year spent with the eccentric singer, award-winning filmmaker Jack Bond’s
documentary charts Ant’s much vaunted return to the music scene — older and wiser, but
still the erudite, charismatic, flamboyant figure of 30 years ago. Largely a fly-on-the-wall,
Bond’s camera is nevertheless a revealing window into Ant’s life: his overactive mind and his
eﬀervescent personality.
29
SEP
2013
THE BLUEBLACK HUSSAR TIME VENUE
Aged 18, Kevin Pearce was a starlet of the snowboarding circuit and considered a shoo-in for
the 2010 US Winter Olympics team.
But just weeks before the Olympics, Pearce suﬀered a horrific accident leaving him with serious
damage to his brain and one of his eyes. Despite the risk of fatal trauma, Pearce insisted on
returning to the sport.
Immersed within both snowboarding culture, and Pearce’s close-knit family group, this is an
incisive insight into the world of extreme sports, where danger is the criterion of value.
29
SEP
2013
THE CRASH REEL TIME VENUE

Adobe are proud sponsors
of Bedford Film Festival 2013.
To find out more about our range of market
leading software and the Creative Cloud,
as outlined in our workshop, please visit:
www.adobe.com/uk/products/creativecloud
Manfrotto are proud sponsors
of Bedford Film Festival.
To find out more about our vast range
of lighting and filming products, as utilised
in our masterclass, please visit:
www.manfrotto.co.uk

Workshops
Award winning director and one of Bedford Film Festival’s founders, Richard Jobson, works on
a scene with a group of actors and breaks down into minute detail how he would treat the film
through the rehearsal stage onto the set of a movie.
If you’re an aspiring actor or director then don’t miss this chance to see the bare knuckles of
transferring a director’s vision onto screen.
27
SEP
2013
DIRECTING MASTERCLASS TIME VENUE
Anyone who has watched home movies will know filming is not just a simple case of pointing a
camera at something and pressing record.
Making sure the look of a scene matches the mood is just as important as making sure the
actors use the right words, tone and emotion.
Lighting cameraman Andrei Austin shows how he has become the most sought after steady
cam op in the UK, presenting a detailed lighting scenario and showing how he creates both
atmosphere and tension in his work.
28
SEP
2013
LIGHTING AND SHOOTING A SCENE TIME VENUE
The glitz, the glamour, the characters on screen look truly beautiful at times.
The role of a makeup artist ensures that performers, models, presenters have suitable makeup
and hair before they appear in front of cameras, touching up if and when needed.
Alison Kynoch will take workshop attendees through her own career so far, giving them
an exclusive insight into the life of a make up artist, talking about how to create contacts,
maximise opportunities for paid work, and the importance of ‘set etiquette’, giving them a good
foundation for a successful career.
28
SEP
2013
MAKE UP FOR FILM TIME VENUE
Just a little over 100 years ago the first film was made, in the 1930’s ‘talkies’ appeared and
genuine colour film arrived much more recently. Now there’s CGI, 3D and digital processing
creating film quality like never before. But what next?
Adobe exec Matt Gyves shows how the next big advance could well be more for the film
makers than the audience, by working in ‘the cloud’ using all the available Adobe software
tools. From Writing to Editing and Grading – almost anything is possible in ‘the cloud’.
29
SEP
2013
WORKING IN ‘THE CLOUD’ TIME VENUE

Short films
Worm - Bert&Bertie
A darkly comic tale of fear and loathing... and invertebrates.
Imbolc – Redbird Films, 16 minutes
Contemporary drama set in real time and filmed at the time of Imbolc.
They say people come into your life for a reason. For Brigid Liston and her son Quinn, such a
person comes in the form of American anthropologist, Janet Hattridge; researching her Ulster
Scots roots and her family’s link to a long forgotten witch trial.
As the relationship between Janet and Quinn deepens, Brigid’s mother dies. Fuelled by grief,
Brigid is set on a path that ends in tragedy, and as her actions unfold, the past reveals itself
Telling Time – Another Short Film
Telling Time was shot in various locations around Bedford in November 2008, including a call
centre, a village hall, a cafe and an underpass.
Rachel is a depressed girl, who finds comfort from the tramp with the smiley face, who she
passes regularly. On finding him beaten up, she refuses to accept the reality at the Police
Station.
Phobias - Bert&Bertie, 8 minutes
A surreal adventure into the minds of five phobiacs in a waiting room.
Marvin - Mark Nute, 7 minutes
Narrated by Steve Coogan with music composed by Jeff Mercel of Mercury Rev ‘Marvin’ is a
short, slightly twisted, animation based Frank Pudney’s original concept.
It tells the story of a young boy born with an unusual extra orifice in the middle of his forehead
and the adventure he embarks upon when one day something important falls out.
The Taxidermist - Bert & Bertie, 22 minutes
A darkly fantastical love story that will knock the stuffing out of any tail that has gone before.
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2013
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2013
SHORT FILMS AT BEDFORD
FILM FESTIVAL
Our short film sessions are your chance to try something
new and see how you don’t need a long time to tell a
powerful and emotive story. Our selection runs over two
days and is free so you really have no excuse but to come
and see the variety that’s out there.
Please note that short films are not officially rated and so
audience discretion is advised.
Bedford Film Festival operates an appropriate audience policy
and people under the age of 15 will not be permitted entry.

The Pantry are proud
sponsors of Bedford
Film Festival.
A family run restaurant in the heart
of Castle Quay serving fine Italian
cuisine, using fresh ingredients with
strong southern Italian influences.
www.thehigginspantry.co.uk
www.blackletterpr.co.uk
Bedford Film Festival
Business partners
www.bonfireci.comwww.nobadfilms.co.uk

BEDFORD FILM FESTIVAL HEADLINE SPONSORS
BEDFORD FILM FESTIVAL GUEST STARS
BEDFORD FILM FESTIVAL BUSINESS PARTNERS
BEDFORD FILM FESTIVAL CAMEO ROLES

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