Scotland Film Event Highlights – September 2014
A new film festival launches, Nick Cave beams into cinemas via satellite and the incomparable Bill Murray shows up throughout the month with a quartet of his best films
The newly established Scottish Queer International Film Festival presents its inaugural event this month, a screening of Tomboy (CCA Glasgow, 12 Sep). This award-winning French film, about a ten-year old girl who moves to a new town and presents herself to as a boy to the neighbourhood children, will be introduced by the SQIFF team as part of the lead-up to the main festival in September 2015. As well as the movie, there's a selection of short films also screening.
A short season of European films, Blues in the Night, is showing at the GFT this month. With movies spanning five decades, the season provides a chance to see how European filmmakers adapted the stylish, sombre style of classical Hollywood noir made popular in the 1940s. Beginning with Manchester-set crime drama Hell is a City (6 & 8 Sep), the line-up also includes influential filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville's last film, Un Flic (13 & 15 Sep), as well as Lars von Trier's dystopian noir The Element of Crime (20 & 22 Sep) and Three Monkeys (27 & 29 Sep), from Nuri Bilge Ceylan. All the Saturday screenings will be introduced by academic and critic Dr Pasquale Iannone.
Both the DCA in Dundee (7 Sep) and the Cameo in Edinburgh (10 Sep) are offering audiences a chance to experience John Waters' 1981 film Polyester as it was initially intended – in glorious, stinky Odorama. One of the trash director's collaborations with iconic performer Divine, the addition of scratch 'n' sniff cards enable viewers to be truly immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of Water's alternative suburban comedy.
Fans of ultra-deadpan cult star Bill Murray shouldn't miss the Bill Murraython happening at the Grosvenor throughout the month. Four films are showing: Stripes (17 Sep), about two friends who decide to join the army for fun; What About Bob? (21 Sept); Kingpin (24 Sept); and Rushmore (28 Sept), the first of many collaborations between Murray and writer-director Wes Anderson.
Several sites (Grosvenor, GFT, Cameo) are showing a special screening of Nick Cave's new film, 20,000 Days on Earth (17 Sept). A kind-of documentary, the film follows the multi-talented musician over the course of a fictional 24 hour period. With appearances from a number of the Bad Seeds and other friends and collaborators, the eagerly anticipated film has already won an award at Sundance Film Festival. This preview screening will be followed by a special satellite event featuring performances by Cave and special guests.