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Pick of the Indies
TWO very good reasons for heading down to the Apollo in Lower Regent Street next week.
Firstly, it’s a grand old bird of a building, a lush place to settle down for a couple of hours of screen-goggling. Built nearly 100 years ago, it was recently revamped, giving it five good screens and comfy chairs without losing any of its original charm.
Secondly, starting tomorrow (Friday), it plays host to the second Russian Film Festival.
Russian films do not get much in the way of publicity, and even arthouse cinemas tend not to run regular features, so it’s a pleasure to find the festival offering 10 UK premieres of Russian films that have been acclaimed on the European festival circuit. It also offers showcases for new directors from the east and, according to the curators at the Academia Rossica, it will offer a valuable insight into the look and feel of Russia today.
Backed by the Russian ministry of culture and the Russian Embassy the series includes a number of real gems.
Ones to look for include:
12: which is basically a Russian remake of the Henry Fonda classic, 12 Angry Men.
We have 12 jurors locked in a room trying to decide the guilt of a teenager on trial for killing his father, and, as any fan of the Fonda version will know, what appears to be an open and shut case quickly becomes nothing of the sort.
Terra Nova: Set in 2013, it tells the story of a group of convicts who, instead of being condemned to death, are sent to an isolated island. They are meant to work out how to manage their society without the input from civilisation. It has elements of action about it, but also touches on the psychological issues raised by William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.
For details see www. academia.rossica.org.
Meanwhile, POTI’s favourite local, the Dartmouth Arms in York Rise, Dartmouth Park, has been polling regulars to discover the pub’s fave films.
They plan to screen them in a new film club once a week. More on the films chosen next week. |
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