Please watch the film before reading and if possible, dim your lights and don your headphones.
You wait… and you wait… and you wait… you can feel a sense of foreboding as everything moves slowly toward something, but to what? The wings flap chaotically, the struggle and unease is palpable. The shock on that boy’s face. The power of the horse! When a blip – a jolt – in the edit, happens, it resets your eyes and ears. You’re close to realising what’s happening, but you’re not there, nor may you be aware that since the opening shot, this film has been drawing you in to a manipulation; a small world of beauty and destruction. Has that fork-load of vegetation not quietly transformed into an ailing creature? A leafy, woody blob, convulsing in the smoke? Things are beginning to shatter. Hen feathers and droplets of water fall like nails down a blackboard.
And what am I listening to whilst these images are converging in slow motion? I’m hearing various sounds and Sounds; I instantly recognise a few TV Sounds of the ’60s… the kind of thing I remember cropping up in Captain Scarlet and early episodes of Star Trek. Then there are those alien sounds, the buzzing, the low hums and drones, that I may have never heard before. Similar to the subtle horrors that were drilled into audiences of the ’60s by the specialist inventors at the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop.
An Untitled Film was created by British filmmaker David Gladwell in 1964, with support from the BFI Experimental Film Fund. It is a film about time. It does something that I have been interested in for a long time; it creates the strange, the deadly, and the alien, through a transformation of the ordinary, rather than through the filming of Strange, Deadly and Alien Things.
So, what do we think? I think it’s a haunting little film that looks surprisingly crisp given that it’s made up of a few moments shot 49 years ago on a British farm somewhere. I also think it’s a great example of filmmaking without a text. Born out of a camera technique and a simple set of actions that were no doubt happening before Gladwell’s shoot and continued long after the film’s world came to an end.
Believe it or not, we are approaching our 50th screening. That’s 50 unprogrammed, un-curated, unexpected screenings! Not quite sure how we managed to go from one screening to the next with nothing (that’s nothing) programmed, and still end up with a full house each night, but we did! Long may it continue.
So, join us for a special birthday screening at the Horse Hospital on Wednesday 8th May. We can guarantee balloons, popcorn, birthday treats and a bumper screening list of shorts, all introduced by their makers.
As always, filmmakers register in advance to screen their short at each event, sight unseen. There are no themes, no pre-selection and no restrictions, other than:
- films must be under 6 minutes – films must be on DVD – films must include the Kino logo + screening number (50) at the end, just for our screening – the filmmaker must present the film in person.
Screening slots are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’d like to screen your short drop us a line ASAP at screen@kinolondon.com We’ll need your name, the title and duration of your film, along with your contact details.
WANT TO MAKE FILMS WITH US?
Alongside the open-mic shorts we’ll see the results of the Kino Challenge film awarded at Kino #49 (‘Pigeons know things‘) and there’ll be the chance – as always – to participate in the new session of Challenge filmmaking that will be happening in the month running up to Kino #51.
If you’ve never made a short, or are stuck for an idea, or just want to work with new people, the Kino Challenge is a great way to get those filmmaking juices flowing.
(PS. … Kino is always a busy one, and the Horse Hospital has a limited capacity of around 100 plus a few standing. Once we’re full we’re full! As you know, we are first-come, first-served with Kino, so all screening filmmakers are requested to arrive early – around 7:30pm/7:40pm to ensure entrance. Thanks!)
******************************************************************************** Kino’s Open-Mic Short Film Night (#50) Wednesday 8th May at the HORSE HOSPITAL Colonnade Bloomsbury London WC1N 1JD
Nearest tube: Russell Square (Piccadilly Line) Doors at 7:30pm, films start 8:15pm £4 entry, £3 with flyer (save some paper and get it on your phone) Free Popcorn
One of the many things we love about Kino is that, sometimes, our little monthly film night turns out to be… how do I put this? Just a tiny bit odd.
And so it was that, those brave enough to fight the elements, made their way through the Arctic winds and enjoyed stories of corporate cannibalism; coal mining in North East India; talking trash; and a dating disaster.
Add to that a classic Molly Brown B-movie, the triumphant return of our monthly challenge team, a film made entirely from sellotape, and the most polarising two minutes of Kino in living memory; and you have London’s most eclectic short film night.
Our next screening marks Kino London’s 50th Anniversary.
Watch this space for details, but as Paul Thomas Anderson would say… There Will Be Cake.
Here’s the rap sheet for March 2013:
SUCKER – Jonny Ford
THERE IS NO ORIGINAL – Stephen Snell
COAL BOY – Chandrasekhar Reddy
I AM THE BABY THAT I AM – Colin Russell
ATTACK OF THE KILLER EELS FROM MARS – Molly Brown
RESPONSIBLY SOURCED – Paul Philpott
THROW ME ON THE FLOOR – Marcos Villasenor
A FILM WHERE ALL THE AUDIO COMES FROM TV / RADIO – Kino Challenge Film
And remember: there’s no such thing as bad weather. Only bad clothing.
