John Henshaw joins cast of Rochdale Pioneers, about birth of Co-op movement
Written by Andrew Torr
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06 January 2012
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Production
 It started with 28 men in Rochdale in 1844. Now there are over a billion members of co-operatives worldwide - with combined turnover each year in the UK alone of £33bn. A new film from the British Youth Film Academy, funded by the Co-Operative Group will tell how it all began. Filmed in the Greater Manchester area as part of The Co-operative’s activities to highlight this year as the International Year of Co-operatives, the 52-minute feature tells the story of - and gains its working-title from - ‘The Rochdale Pioneers’ and their vision for a better social order which established the co-operative movement.
Actor John Henshaw plays the role of John Holt, one of the original members of The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, in the film. Well known for roles in Early Doors, Born and Bred, Looking for Eric and Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal, John Henshaw said: “I am delighted to be involved with "The Rochdale Pioneers”. It’s a brilliant initiative, BYFA brings together talented people from all backgrounds and all levels of skill to work hard together to make film - it’s good fun, a pleasure to work on, I am really enjoying it. The application, dedication and professional standards is inspiring and, it bodes well for the British Film Industry that the wealth of talent out there is being supported, encouraged and nurtured by The Co-operative British Youth Film Academy.”
 The new film is inspired by the 1944 film ‘Men of Rochdale’. It is funded by The Co-operative Group – the UK’s largest mutual business – and is being filmed and produced by The Co-operative's British Youth Film Academy. The co-directors of the new film, Adam Lee Hamilton and John Montegrande, along with its producer, Kevin Atkinson, worked together on the BYFA movie ‘Julius Caesar’ which was selected for the international Raindance Film Festival in London, October 2011. Kevin Atkinson, Operations Director of The Co-operative British Youth Film Academy and producer for the new film, commented: “Through the medium of film, we are bringing the spirit, heart and belief of the original pioneers to a brand new audience.”
The original 28 ‘Pioneers’ were all working men. After a year of trading (1845) membership had increased to 74 and total takings for the year reached £710. Soon the Pioneers’ fame spread overseas and today, there are one billion members of co-operatives worldwide and, in the UK alone combined sector turnover exceeds £33 Billion. Mark Robinson-Field, The Co-operative’s National Co-operative and Membership Manager, said: “Over 160 years-ago the original Rochdale pioneers set out the ideals which became the basis for the principles on which co-operatives around the world still operate to this day.
“Now, with one billion members of co-operatives world-wide and a thriving co-operative sector enjoying international attention, we believed the time was right for this inspirational story to be re-told.” The film will be distributed internationally and plans are in place for it to be screened at the co-operative world festival and expo at Manchester Central in autumn 2012. To follow the progress of the film or for more information visit www.co-operative.coop/2012
Studio Beyond Film Competition
Written by Studio Beyond
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05 December 2011
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Contests
submitted by Studio Beyond
Studio Beyond, the global online business platform for the entertainment industry, is accepting submissions for its first "Notable Filmmaker" competition.
The winning trailers will be shown on our "Movie City" homepage as well as in our ‘Executive’s Online Screening Room’ where sales agents, distributors, film financiers, film festivals, producers have gathered to watch your movies.
How to submit your work: Register for FREE on www.studiobeyond.net and then apply to the Talent Call opened by Studio Beyond by clicking on the red Alert once you enter your online studio office.
Contest ends 20th Dec, 2012 www.studiobeyond.net
LFF review: We Need to Talk about Kevin
Written by Suchandrika Chakrabarti
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17 October 2011
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Feature film
Warning: spoilers (as far as I can spoil the plot of a very famous 8-year-old book for you)
Ah. "We need to talk about Kevin." The words that the eponymous Kevin (Ezra Miller/Jasper Newell/ Rocky Duer)'s mother Eva (Tilda Swinton) never manages to say to her sweet, blinkered husband Franklin (John C Reilly).
Lynne Ramsay's fine adaptation of the very unloveable 2003 novel dispenses with the epistolary form of the original, and is instead structured around Eva's life post-massacre, with flashes of the past forcing continually pushing to the surface. Kevin's actions have defined her current situation; the film shows us how.
LFF review: Shame
Written by Suchandrika Chakrabarti
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17 October 2011
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Feature film
Artist/director Steve McQueen's second feature (following 2008's Hunger), follows the unravelling New York existence of sex addict Brandon (Michael Fassbender). Living alone, he (seemingly) happily picks up girls in bars, orders prostitutes like takeout and masturbates in the work loos after watching porn on his computer. It's a tad compulsive, but his outward charm and ability to just about hold it together is keeping people fooled.
Then, his volatile, attention-seeking sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) turns up to stay in his apartment, and things slowly fall apart.
LFF opens with Fernando Meirelles' 360
Written by Suchandrika Chakrabarti
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12 October 2011
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Feature film
 The 55th BFI London Film Festival opens tonight!
Oh. Fernando Meirelles. This is no City of God. This isn't even Love Actually.
It just. Doesn't. Work. So... there's sex trafficking, infidelity, infidelity, people meeting on a plane, loooooads of interminable airport scenes, a brilliant bit of Anthony Hopkins in AA (but his character never rings true), pretty brunettes bringing sad guys redemption through their smiles, a thumping and terribly obvious score (we're with Russian people now, does it sound Russian enough???)...
It never feels as though there is a meaning behind these superficially interconnected lives. And if there was meant to be a main character, well, giving her a bit of voiceover at the start and at the end... that isn't consistent enough. Sadly.
There are several narrative strands but only one or two will keep you sitting there waiting for more. It's a shame.
Don't worry though; the London Film Festival has a lot more to offer. As for Meirelles? Hopefully he'll get back on form asap.
The London Film Festival is running 12-27 October 2011. For more information, please go to http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/
suchandrika.wordpress.com
A Collection of Steve Jobs' Best Quotes
Written by lolitamoly
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08 October 2011
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hero
[Ed note - I don't normally publish link-farm content that gets submitted, but these were good, timely quotes.]
Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple Company and the leader of the new web era, died on Wednesday, 5 October 2011 at the age of 56. The leave of Steve Jobs was a huge loss for the whole world, and he will be remembered not only in the innovative work on technology, but also for his inspiring and advocated quotes in different areas. Some of them are worthy to memorize in case we need his guides someday.
1. On Technology
"These technologies can make life easier; can let us touch people we might not otherwise. You may have a child with a birth defect and be able to get in touch with other parents and support groups, get medical information, the latest experimental drugs. These things can profoundly influence life. I'm not downplaying that.
But it's a disservice to constantly put things in this radical new light — that it's going to change everything. Things don't have to change the world to be important." [Wired, February 1996]
 2. On Creativity and Innovation
"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they've had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people." [Wired, February 1996] "Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it."[Fortune, Nov. 9, 1998]
3. On Design
"Design is the fundamental soul of a man-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.'' [FORTUNE, 2000]
"Design is not just what it looks like. Design is how it works." [NEW YORK TIMES, 2003]
 4. On His Products
"We're just enthusiastic about what we do." [Playboy, Feb. 1, 1985]
"Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. … One is very fortunate if you get to work on just one of these in your career. Apple's been very fortunate it's been able to introduce a few of these into the world." [Announcement of the iPhone, Jan. 9, 2007]
5. On His Competitors
"The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. They have absolutely no taste. And I don't mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way, in the sense that they don't think of original ideas, and they don't bring much culture into their products." "I am saddened, not by Microsoft's success — I have no problem with their success. They've earned their success, for the most part. I have a problem with the fact that they just make really third-rate products." [Triumph of the Nerds, 1996]
6. On Customers
"You can't just ask the customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new."
 7. On Business
"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful… that's what matters to me." [The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 1993]
8. On Life and Death
"It's more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy." [1982, quoted in Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple, 1987] "When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something." "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." [Stanford commencement speech, June 2005] "I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what's next."[NBC Nightly News, May 2006]
"No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." [Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]
9. On the Future
"I'll always stay connected with Apple. I hope that throughout my life I'll sort of have the thread of my life and the thread of Apple weave in and out of each other, like a tapestry. There may be a few years when I'm not there, but I'll always come back.[Playboy, Feb. 1, 1985] "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."[Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]
"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle." [Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]
10. On Human Beings
"I'm an optimist in the sense that I believe humans are noble and honorable, and some of them are really smart. I have a very optimistic view of individuals. As individuals, people are inherently good. I have a somewhat more pessimistic view of people in groups. And I remain extremely concerned when I see what's happening in our country, which is in many ways the luckiest place in the world. We don't seem to be excited about making our country a better place for our kids."[Wired, February 1996]
International Markets Business School (IMBS)
Written by Media Business School
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19 September 2011
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Training
 The Media Business School (MBS) is delighted to announce the launch of calls for applications to participate in the IMBS – International Markets Business School, a new training initiative focusing on international sales and distribution for entertainment industry professionals from Europe and Latin America.
The deadline for applications will be the 26th of September 2011.
The IMBS will take place from the 27-29th of October in Sao Paulo, during the Sao Paulo International Film Festival. This intensive, 3-day, project based course, is organised by the MBS in collaboration with Cinema do Brasil and Universidade Lusofona, with the support of MEDIA Mundus, the Ibermedia Programme, ICAA (Spanish Ministry of Culture) and the São Paulo International Film Festival.
Win tickets for FROM POLAND WITH SHORTS and two copies of Andrzej Munk's PASSENGER on DVD
12 September 2011
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Contests
 From Poland With Shorts, which aims to promote the talent and diversity of young Polish cinema and filmmakers, comes to London’s Riverside Studios for four screenings between 17th and 18th September. The screenings will include short films of some of the most talented new directors in Poland alongside a restored version of Andrzej Munk’s classic film Eroica.
The screenings include Three for the Taking (Trójka do wzięcia) -a moving film about a 16-year-old girl whose life is changed when she discovers that her mother has a terminal illness - from the Oscar nominated director Bartek Konopka, Echo, a troubling story of two young boys who recreate an unspeakable crime for the police, and Out Of Reach (Poza zasiegiem) a documentary which won the Golden Dragon for Best Film in 2010 at the prestigious Krakow Film Festival.
 To celebrate Netribution are giving two sets of tickets for the screenings (1 pair for the 17th and one pair for the 18th) alongside two DVD copies of Passenger directed by Andrezj Munk courtesy of Second Run DVD, the premiere DVD company specialising in the release of important and award-winning films from all around the world. Passenger has been called 'one of the most audacious fictions ever made about the Holocaust'. Director Munk died in a car crash, aged just 39, in the middle of filming. His friend, Witold Lesiewicz, and his colleagues decided to complete the film to what they believed were Munk's intentions and assembled it using the existing footage, Munk's still photographs and a voice-over narration. Finally released in 1964, the film won main awards at Cannes and Venice and has been described by those who have seen it as an unfinished masterpiece. Unseen for far too long, this is the first-ever DVD release of this unique film anywhere in the world.
To win tweet the following @Netribution:
Win tickets for FROM POLAND WITH SHORTS and Andrezj Munk's PASSENGER on DVD. Go to http://bit.ly/mWNptA and RT this to win!
Winners will be notified on Thursday evening
The screenings take place at the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, London on Saturday 17th September and Sunday 18th September.
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