Black representation in Film interview

About to go and do an interview on BBC Radio Nottingham about representation of black culture on film.
Framed around recent released discussed in prior post and hoping to discuss my paper due to present in Milan in 10 days and the new BA (Hons) filmmaking course at ntu that I lead and how these all connect.

Black Screenwriting

Off to Milan soon to speak at the Screenwriting Research Network annual conference taking place in Milan this year. I’m talking about how black screenwriters might write for non-black filmmakers. It doesn’t happen very often.
These two films connected with my paper in my head.

BlacKkKlansman Poster image

and

Yardie Film Poster

I saw Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman yesterday and am speaking alongside two others after a screening of Yardie on Friday about black diaspora depiction so waiting until after Friday before forming any conclusions.

update

Been super busy. working on a number of research projects, 1 subject to an nda so can’t show much but been really fun, editing 15 secs insta versions of video. Playing with trying to get the same ‘power’ into the 15 secs as the longer version of a test edit carry.

Other project is a project with architecture where the research is into using camera to measure bridge deformation. Research question is how effective can cheaper camera be? Ordinarily the cameras used cost 30G or upwards.

Posted a couple of images of an in lab test.

tempDistortionCapture1

tempDistortionCapture2

When the weather gets better we’ll be going on into the field to do some further tests. My role is to acquire the measurement data and I’m also making a creative film, working title, ‘buildings that breathe’.

I also submitted a doco idea for this https://whickersworldfoundation.com

 

Disgrace

Working through films that I’ve recorded over the years on my set top box and not gotten around to seeing so last night was Disgrace.

Disgrace Poster

John Malkovich played the main character and I didn’t recognise any of the supporting players. Not read JM Coetzee’s Booker-prize winning book that the film was based on but film felt very disjointed and hard for me to get into and I guess it’s one of those books that was super complex to adapt as a film.

storytelling

Saw this via ideastap via twitter
On storytelling
on storytelling

Mark Cousins article

Mark Cousins has written a provocative article in Sight & Sound magazine about film schools.

dispatches-mark-cousins-film-school-programme-

50 weeks, new project/focus every week.
see it here

Lots of good ideas

Cot- new project

working on Cot an idea for the stage that’s being developed by Serendipity as part of a Black History Month workshop commission. Cot is a story about a young boy detained in an immigration centre or some such place and the immigration worker who tries to establish where boy is from so he cane be sent back there. The idea is that i work on the piece and then it’s showcased at Curve Leicester in Feb.

Screenwriting Mentoring IdeaTap Pitch competition

Submitted mine.

IdeaTap Screenplay Mentoring Pitch

You’ve still got time

http://www.ideastap.com/Opportunities/Brief/Feature-Film-Screenplay-Mentoring-240914#Overview

Toronto Creating Characters Done

Creating Characters International Symposium at Humber Institute of Technology and Learning (ITAL), Lakeshore Drive, Toronto is finished. Mine was the last presentation of the three days and went well. The last day we had Barry Flatman, Joseph Kertes, and Wayson Choy attend. They discussed creating characters and both the break from the presentation of papers style and the content, what they discussed and the way they discussed it was really good. Overall the symposium was excellent. Lots of interesting conversation after each of the varied events. People were from Toronto, Barcelona, Manitoba (Winnipeg), Oklahoma, New York, Ireland, South Korea, Perth, Oporto (plus other places I’ve now forgotten) with the disciplines being as varied as the journeys we had made.

Hopefully details of how to access the publication will be forthcoming soonish.

NIAGARA FALLS

Next’s year’s takes in Barcelona, March 2015 and i’m hopeful the dates will match up with what else I’ve got going on.
I’ll no doubt post details in about 8-10 months time.
Pic of the fantastic Niagara Falls. Ideas can’t simply come from talking, they ahve to be floating about in the mist also.
Whilst at the conference a fellow delegate mentioned this Screenwriting Research Network network which i’d not heard of before

SRN-logo-red

Going to check them out.

Heading off to the airport now.

Toronto reading

Lining up some books for my jetlag/time difference whilst in Toronto for the Creating Characters Symposium. Never sure if it’s jetlag. I always think jetlag is feeling terrible but I never really do that, I just feel awake/tired. For the parents out there feeling tired at weird times of the day is perfectly normal. So back to the point I’ve got some books

History of World in 100 Objects: Neil MacGregor

I also got this review copy today.

Script Analysis Book by James Thomas

This one focuses on analysis for Plays Read loads for screens but not that many on plays so looking forward to this.
I’ll also have my Motion version of my presentation to prepare so plenty to keep me awake.