East London Life

Yesterday marked the beginning of the sixth East London Film Festival, which runs until next Thursday at various venues throughout Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

The festival is truly an East London affair, organised and paid for by Tower Hamlets and Hackney councils, Film London and even the East End’s own Three Mills film studios at Bow., and features films reflective of the heart of the East End; from the fashion trade to Bengali families.
This year’s highlights include the world premiere of With Gilbert and George, and the UK premiere of journalist John Pilger’s War on Democracy.

Thurs, April 19: Opening Gala With Gilbert and George - World Premiere, 7pm at Bethnal Green’s Rich Mix. A film that probes the myths behind the East End’s most revered artistic duo and reveals the two people that exist within the persona of a single artist.

Fri, April 20: Beatz!Camera!Action, 6pm, Rich Mix, a showcase of pop promos made in East London under the Beatz!Camera!Action! artist development scheme run by Hi8us South, followed by live performances.

Sat, April 21: The Pied Piper of Hutzovina, 5.30pm at Dalston’s Rio, intimate portrait of unique musician Eugene Hutz from celebrated gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello, who has a longing to revisit his past. From 8pm, Cutting East, a night of cutting edge music.

Also, UK Premiere of The War on Democracy, 8pm, Genesis in Mile End Road, John Pilger’s powerful documentary on the imperial ambitions of America in his first feature film.

Sun, April 22: The East End On Film, 1pm, Rio. A selection of artists’ film and video, showing very different approaches to filmmaking.

Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears, 7pm, Rich Mix. Exploring both the traditional views of Bangladeshi families and their Anglicised offspring’s concerns about arranged marriage, Simon Chambers’ first independent feature documentary that shows a talent for finding humorous ways of approaching serious subjects.

Lights, Couture, Action! 7pm, Hoxton Hall, featuring an evening of variety, spectacle and surprise, told through fashion and film, performance and music.

Mon, April 23: Working With Pinter, 8.30pm, Genesis. One of the 20th century’s most influential playwrights and screenwriters and a recognised icon of the East End, Harold Pinter is due a film tribute, and Harry Burton’s Working With Pinter does him justice.

Tues, April 24: An evening with Julien Temple, Director in Residence, 7pm, Rich Mix. Director of Glastonbury biopic The Filth and the Fury, discussing his approach to film-making, how music has influenced his life and the making of the Closing Night film about Joe Strummer.

Offcuts - Cutting It! 9pm, Rich Mix. The festival showcases the best of the ‘Offcuts 07′ music promo competition, with live music session from the bands.

‘Broken’ starring Michelle Collins of BBC TV’s EastEnders fame, 9pm, Genesis.

Shorts: Experimental, 9pm, Genesis, where the East End’s more experimental film-makers give you a glimpse of their worlds.

Weds, April 25: The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, 6.30pm, at Cineworld in Canary Wharf. Winner of the Grand Prix, Glass Bear and Teddy awards last year in Berlin, one of the first internationally-successful films to come out of the Philippines.

What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day, 6.15pm, Rio, a collaboration with musicians St Etienne, this dreamy snapshot of the Lower Lee Valley is an oral history of a part of East London that may vanish under the 2012 Olympic development steamroller.

An evening with Andrew Macdonald: Producer in Residence, 7pm, Genesis.

Glasgow-born Andrew Macdonald is best known for his collaborations with screenwriter John Hodge and fellow film fest patron and East Ender Danny Boyle. Here, he talks about a career which spans Trainspotting, 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later.

Thurs, April 26: Closing Gala, sneak preview of Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, 7pm, Rio. A ripped, raw, cut-up, hand-spliced patchwork of iconic images and freshly-found footage, news clips, films, TV ads and unseen home movies, highly evocative of the hugely influential musical individual that was former Clash frontman, the late lamented Joe Strummer.

Venues: Rich Mix in Bethnal Green Road, Genesis in Mile End Road, Cineworld in West India Quay, Isle of Dogs, Hoxton Hall in Hoxton Street, Shoreditch, and Rio in Kingsland Road, Dalston.