Podcast: Short films at The London Film Festival

To compliment the live review shows that take up I'm ready for my close-up during this year's London Film Festival, we have the first of a series of exclusive podcasts featuring interviews with filmmakers and programmers involved in this year's LFF. Virginie Selavy interviews curators Simon Young and Philip Ilson about the short films they've chosen for this year's festival - download now... (edited by Alex Fitch)
(mp3 format, 27.5mb)

For more info and a selection of different file formats you can download or stream, please visit the home of this episode at www.archive.com

Links: Read a partial extract of Virginie's interview at Electric Sheep Magazine
More info about Halloween shorts curated by Philip
Philip's "Death to short film" manifesto as quoted at The Dawn Chorus
Info on short films curator by Simon at remotegoat.co.uk
Simon's Shorts International website

Podcast: The art of Paper Rad

As their exhibition closes Saturday evening and IRFMCU is being podcast only this month, in a break from tradition, this week's I'm ready for my close-up is available to download now (30 hours early) to give our listeners a chance to get down to Conduit Street and check out the installation...
Alex Fitch interviews Jacob Ciocci and David Wightman members of the band Extreme Animals. Jacob is also a member of the art collective Paper Rad (for whose videos David has supplied sountracks) and while they were in Europe touring with their band Alex spoke to them about the Paper Rad exhibition showing at Sketch Gallery in London which Jacob curated. Paper Rad are famous for their low-fi DIY videos, art and comics which mix fanzine indie aesthetics with the detritus of our generation's pop culture...
(mp3 format, 27.4mb)

For more info and a selection of different file formats you can download or stream, please visit the home of this episode at www.archive.com

Links: Wikipedia's page on Paper Rad
Sketch Gallery's press release about the show: PDF format / HTML format
Sketch Gallery's website
Paper Rad and Deitch Projects' Super Mario Movie

N.B./ The following links are not suitable for viewing if you suffer from epilepsy, if you choose to click on them, it is your responsibility!
Paper Rad's website
Paper Rad comics
Extreme Animals' myspace page

Podcast: "Shoot, shoot, shoot!" - the films of Chris Welsby & Margaret Tait

Last week's show is now available to download... (mp3 format, 28.1mb)

For more info, please visit the home of this episode at www.archive.com

Tonight's show: "Shoot, shoot, shoot!" - the films of Chris Welsby & Margaret Tait

Richard Thomas presents a show on the work of experimental film-makers Chris Welsby & Margaret Tait who explore(d) nuances of the landscape when captured on film...

10.30pm BST Resonance 104.4FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com

Links: Chris Welsby's website
Lux Online biography on Margaret Tait
Article on the London Film-makers' co-op
Lux Online article on landscape film-makers
Fundació Antoni Tàpies website regarding the exhibition that gave tonight's show its name

Podcast: Scoring Silent Movies

The show broadcast a couple of weeks ago is now available to download... (mp3 format, 27mb)

Links: Info about tonight's performance at the Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol
Watch excerpts of The Seashell... with music performed by Minima
Watch the 30 min silent version of The Seashell... on youtube

Tonight's show: Scoring Silent Movies

It's the one year anniversary of "I'm ready for my close-up" (I'll track down a copy of Richard's first show on William Greaves soon for podcasting) - so to celebrate the occasion we have a couple of shows about the birth of cinema and how it is still relevant and appreciated today.
Tonight, Alex Fitch is talking to Alex Hogg from the band Minima who are touring the country with a print of the 1928 film 'The Seashell and the Clergyman' written by Antonin Artaud. The film was infamously banned on first release in this country with the BBFC quoted as saying: "This film is so obscure as to have no apparent meaning. If there is a meaning, it is doubtless objectionable".
Minima provide a terrific new soundtrack to the film and there will be extracts in tonight's show which concludes with the start of an interview with Matthew Sweet, author of Silent Britain and Shepperton Babylon, and this will be continued next week.

Links: Minima's myspace page which has info on forthcoming performances
IMDb page on 'The Seashell & the Clergyman'
Wikipedia page on Artaud
Download clips from the film from 'Expanded Cinema'
Director Germaine Dulac's battle for authorship

10.30pm GMT Resonance 104.4FM / www.resonancefm.com

Podcast: Imbolc Day

Last night's show is now available for download...
(mp3 format, 27mb)

Links: Out of the shadows - 50 cinematic masterpieces @ the NFT
Geoff Andrew's favourite films of last year
Watch Tom Purcell's The Long Weekend on youtube
Info about events in the IWM cinema this month
Buy Doctor Who: Year of The Pig from Big Finish
Matthew's episode of Back Row on Radio 4
More info on Imbolc and Groundhog Day at Wikipedia

Tonight's show: Imbolc Day

It's Imbolc day (Groundhog Eve if you're American) which means we're half way to Spring... To celebrate this minor event, Alex Fitch is sticking his head out of his metaphorical burrow and looking forward to various events in the cinema and home entertainment. Tonight's show includes interviews with Matthew Sweet (Silent Britain) about his Doctor Who audio plays, Tom Purcell (animator) about winning "Best Imaginative Response to the Subject of War" at the IWM student film festival and Geoff Andrew (BFI) about forthcoming screenings at the NFT.

10.30pm GMT Resonance 104.4FM / www.resonancefm.com

Podcast: The Horror films of David McGillivray

Originally broadcast 16th November 2006: As a companion piece to our show on Norman J. Warren Alex Fitch talks to Norman's contemporary and collaborator David McGillivray about the horror film scripts he wrote in the 1970s such as Satan's Slave and Frightmare plus his new series of short films, Worst Fears...

Links: 'Worst Fears' website
David's filmography on the IMDb

Download (mp3 format, 26mb)

Podcast: Desperate Optimists and the art of the long take

Originally broadcast 5th October 2006: Alex Fitch interviews Joe Lawlor, who with Christine Molloy make up the film-making duo 'Desperate Optimists': a couple who make short films in a single take. Alex and Joe discuss the new film 'Daydream', which premiered at the Liverpool biennial last year plus Joe and Christine's award winning series 'Civic Life' and also mention their favourite examples of the long take in other people's films...

Links: Desperate Optimists' website
'Daydream' screening details
Buy 'Civic Life' on DVD
Civic Life review at backprojection.com

Download (mp3 format, 27mb)

Podcast: The best films of 2006

Last night's show is now ready to download...
(mp3 format, 26.5mb)

Tonight's show: The best films of 2006

It's the end of the year show... Alex Fitch asks various broadcasters and previous guests of I'm ready for my close-up to name their favourite film of the last 12 months. Guests include Emma Smart (BFI), Kim Morgan (Midnight Sex Talk), Kev. F. Sutherland (The Beano), Kai Clear (Film-maker), Grant Rogers (Artist / animator) and Toby Haggith (Head of cinema programming, IWM).

Other links: IWM student film festival
Alex's film reviews

10.30pm Resonance 104.4 FM / streamed at resonancefm.com

Podcast: Audible pictures

Originally broadcast 19th October 2006: Alex Fitch talks to Matt Hulse, curator of and contributor to 'The Audible Picture Show' a touring collection of short films without pictures featuring such film-makers as Andrew Kotting and the Brothers Quay. Alex and Matt talk about the art of foley work, the under-appreciation of sound in modern society, the joy of found footage and the use of sampled soundtracks to create evocative soundscapes.
There will be a retrospective of Matt's work and a 'showing' of 'The Audible Picture Show' on Sunday 14th January 2007 as part of The Halloween Society's 4th Short Film Festival at the ICA. Please visit the sites below for more info.

Download (mp3 format, 27mb)

Links: www.audiblepictureshow.org.uk
The Halloween Society
Institute of Contemporary Arts

Tonight's show: The Horror films of David McGillivray

In the first of two belated Halloween specials, we're looking at horror movies... Tonight it's the companion piece to our show on Norman J. Warren as Alex Fitch speaks to Norman's contemporary and collaborator David McGillivray about the horror film scripts he wrote in the 1970s such as Satan's Slave and Frightmare plus his new series of short films, Worst Fears.

10.30pm Resonance 104.4 FM / streamed at resonancefm.com and will be available to podcast here soon after. This site is available both in HTML or as an RSS feed...

Links: 'Worst Fears' website
David's page on the IMDb

Tonight's show: Audible pictures

Alex Fitch talks to Matt Hulse, curator of and contributor to 'The Audible Picture Show' a touring collection of short films without pictures featuring such film-makers as Andrew Kotting and the Brothers Quay. Alex and Matt talk about the art of foley work, the under-appreciation of sound in modern society, the joy of found footage and the use of sampled soundtracks to create evocative soundscapes.

10.30pm Resonance 104.4 FM / streamed at resonancefm.com and will be available to podcast here soon after. This site is available both in HTML or as an RSS feed...

Link: www.audiblepictureshow.org.uk

Tonight's show: Desperate Optimists and the art of the long take

Alex Fitch interviews Joe Lawlor, who with Christine Molloy make up the film-making duo 'Desperate Optimists': a couple who make short films in a single take. Their new film premieres tonight in Liverpool, so Alex and Joe discuss 'Daydream' plus Joe and Christine's award winning series 'Civic Life' as well as their favourite examples of the long take in other people's films...

10.30pm Resonance 104.4 FM / streamed at resonancefm.com and will be available to podcast here soon after. This site is available both in HTML or as an RSS feed...

Links: Desperate Optimists' website
'Daydream' screening details
Buy 'Civic Life' on DVD
Civic Life review at backprojection.com

Tonight's show: LLGFF (repeat)

Look, I meant it, honestly I did... I really intended tonight's show to be all new and not a repeat, but due to technical difficulties, tonight we have another repeat, sorry!

As tickets go on sale tomorrow for this year's London Film Festival, you've got a chance to hear our show about the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival again. Alex Fitch talks to Emma Smart, BFI librarian about gay films and what not.
Incidently, in this show, Alex & Emma have a good old moan about how the regular Film Festival is getting less gay because of the LLGFF... Well having read the brochure for the 50th LFF, it turns out this year's big festival is gayer than ever! I guess someone was listening!

Regular service will be resumed next week...

Tonight's show: Expanded Cinema

Richard Thomas talks to William English about 16mm, silence, expanded cinema and school science experiments...
William also produces the bi-weekly radio art experiment Wavelength on this very station - 15:00 every other Sunday.
10.30pm Resonance 104.4 FM / streamed at resonancefm.com and will be available to podcast here soon after. This site is available both in HTML or as an RSS feed...

Podcast: Home Movie Day

Last week's show is now available to download.
(mp3 format, 22.4mb)

Links: Guy Edmonds
David Wenk
Home Movie Day in London
Lambeth Cinema Museum
The annual international Home Movie Day

Tonight's show: Home Movie Day 2006

Alex Fitch introduces and moderates a discussion with Guy Edmonds, film preserver and travel writer David Wenk about this year's Home Movie Day which is being held at the Cinema Museum in Kennington. The annual Home Movie Day is designed to celebrate a populist art form which represents a cultural memory of the 20th century and documentations of everyday life. All visitors to the museum are welcome to bring their old cine reels to share, project and archive with others...
10.30pm Resonance 104.4 FM / streamed at resonancefm.com and will be available to podcast here soon after. This site is available both in HTML or as an RSS feed...