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Dark Hearts World Premiere | Raindance 2012

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At the beginning of the Raindance Film Festival Frost went along to the world premiere of Dark Hearts. I had a good chat with lead actor Kyle Schmid and director Rudolf Buitendach. Rudolf is very friendly and I will be interviewing him shortly.

Dark Hearts is an oxymoron: a modern film which is also an old fashioned film noir. Made on a low budget, Dark Hearts is a technical achievement of the highest order. Rudolf Buitendach’s directorial debut looks beautiful and is very well done. It also has a famous cast including Goran Visnjic (Ridley Scott’s The Counselor, E.R., Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Beginners),  Lucas Till (X-Men, Wolves, Stoker, Paranoia), Sonja Kinski (daughter of Nastassja Kinski), Kyle Schmid (Lead Star of Copper – BBC America) and Juliet Landau (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Ed Wood). Rudolf Buitendach is obviously well connected and Dark Hearts has some talented people working on it.
Dark Hearts was nominated for BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM at the 2012 Raindance Film Festival and is in the running for possible BIFA nominations as well. The acting is strong and it is a very enjoyable film. I loved Dark Hearts. Go see it if you can. An impressive debut from director Rudolf Buitendach.

 
Supporting star Rachel Blanchard (Snakes on a Plane, Clueless)
Director Rudolf Buitendach (Cannes-Venice Shorts Alum, Trailer for Bronson)
DP Kees Van Oostrum (2x Emmy-Nominated DP of Gods & Generals, Gettysberg)
Screenwriter Christian Piers Betley (13 Eerie, Stranded)
Executive Producer Jack Bowyer (Private Peaceful, Gallowwalker)
Gabrial McNair of No Doubt (Original Score Composer)
Paul Oakenfold (Original Score Composer)
Richard Strange (Original Score Composer)

 

Colson is an artist struggling to make it in the frenetically paced downtown LA art scene. When his brother Sam lands on his doorstep, Colson finds himself drawn back to the fractured family set-up that he felt lucky to have left behind. Out for a night on the town, the brothers run into sultry singer Fran. They both fall in love but Colson becomes obsessed and a passionate affair ensues.


Prodded by an influential gallery owner to push his work that much further, Colson stumbles across the perfect red and the power of painting in blood. Soon it seems like he’s made a deal with the devil as he immerses himself in an affair with Fran that has deception and betrayal looming in the background.

Sonja Kinski, daughter of Natassja, is stunning as Fran, having inherited not only her mother’s dark beauty but her acting skills and too, and she proves a powerfully magnetic muse. A real bonus is the film’s score which features some of the hippest artists around; tracks are provided by Einstuerzende Neubauten, Shirley Manson from Garbage, Fairuza Balk and Daniel J from Bauhaus and Love and Rockets. A debut feature from South African born director Rudolf Buitendach, this is a stylish odyssey that proves as alluring as LA itself.

Mark Potts Cinema Six Interview | Raindance 2012

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The Raindance Film Festival was as brilliant as ever, and we have an exclusive interview with Mark Potts, director of one of the festival’s films, Cinema Six.

1. What made you want to be a filmmaker?
– It was probably a few things. First, The Blair Witch Project. It’s embarrassing to admit, but that got me into it initially. My friends and I took my dad’s Hi-8 camera and made a parody of it. It was a little over 2 hours long. I edited it with VCRs and honestly, I cannot really remember how I set it up. It was two VCRs connected to a television and the camera and somehow it worked. But from there, my high school Spanish teacher encouraged my friends and I to do a public access show, and we did that. Then, I started working at a movie theatre, met Cole, and it just clicked. That theatre was my second home and I loved being there. And the feeling I got being there and immersing myself in films and just escaping life made me fall in love with cinema. I wanted to give someone else that experience, that escape, and some relaxation.

2. Tell us about yourself
I’m currently living in Los Angeles but am from Oklahoma. My partner in crime, Cole Selix, and I met in Enid, Oklahoma while going to school together and working at the movie theatre. We started Singletree Productions in 2006 and have made, literally, 100s of shorts and four features (most can be seen on singletreeproductions.com, even the first three features.) I am married to Hailey Branson-Potts, who works at the Los Angeles Times and she is a million times funnier and smarter than I am but don’t put that in the story because then she’ll be a dick about it.

3. You were co-writer and director of Cinema Six. How did you find directing your own work?
Cole and I have been directing our own stuff for years, so it isn’t too difficult for us now. If anything, while directing, we discover all the things we missed while writing and it creates this odd paradox of feelings where we feel like good directors but bad writers. But a lot of that is because Cole and I are always changing stuff, trying to make it better, trying to make things snappier, funnier, more emotional. And that’s why we asked a lot of the guys who worked on it to come aboard because we trust their opinions and tastes and wanted them to help make us better.

4. Tell us about Cinema Six.
Cinema Six has been around for about nine years. Cole and I first started talking about it while working in the movie theatre back in 2003. Of course, at that time, the script was really just un-connected scenes of us messing with customers and complaining about customers and being jerks to customers. Since that point, Cole and I have moved multiple times, gone to college, gotten married, had kids (Cole has two awesome kids, I have a pug) and have gone through some big changes which all can be seen in the version of the film now. It’s a love letter to the cinema and a commentary on growing up and just doing whatever you have to do to be happy.

5. What was the hardest thing about making the film?
Oddly enough, there wasn’t anything too difficult about making the film. The two biggest things were the budget because we were very limited and finding the perfect movie theatre. We needed a theatre that was older, not that flashy, and still ran film. It’s hard to find film theatres, which makes me sad. For me as an actor, the hardest part was remembering lines. I don’t memorize lines, which is terrible. Brand Rackley and John Merriman, the other two leads, are as professional as you can get and they were always prepared even as far as to tell me my lines. It was embarrassing but also humbling to know I had two friends and actors that cared enough to do that and not give me too much shit for it.

6. Where did you get the funding?
We received our funding from Reilly Smith and some of his family and friends. They chose to believe in all of us and I will forever be in their debt. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t pray to God we make their money back. They deserve it because they took a chance on some young filmmakers who just wanted to talk about growing up and tell vulgar jokes. I can never thank them enough.

7. How did it feeling getting into Raindance?
It was shocking and awesome! I was dumbfounded by the news and still kind of am. I am incredibly upset I couldn’t make it as well. But, we did make a special video Q&A that we hope people stay and watch. It answers a lot of questions. Not really.

8. What advice what you give to others filmmakers?
The best advice I have is to keep making things. Just keep making, even if it’s bad. We made many, many bad things. We still do. But we’re always making something and you learn something from every video and every mistake. Watch movies, read screenplays, make stuff.

9. You co-wrote the script, can you tell us about your writing process.
Cole and I have written scripts together for over six years. Our process is pretty solid now. When we get ideas, we talk about them for a long time. We throw around jokes and scene ideas and if we still love it months later, then we feel like it’s worth writing and trying to make. This process has weeded out many, many ideas and I love doing it. Just talking things through and seeing what sticks. When we’re at a point that we want to write it, we’ve talked about it so much that it really just needs to be put on paper, so I write it all out, then we get to ripping it apart and fixing it.

10. What’s next for you?
I’m hoping to start another feature next year. I have a few ideas and none of them are like Cinema Six, which excites me. They are all funny, but much, much darker.

Raindance and Staffordshire University Announce an Autumn 2012 Intake

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– Postgraduate Training Programme with Distance Learning Option –
Raindance – a leading UK film industry network and training organisation – is pleased to announce that
applications for its September/October 2012 intake are now open.

The Postgraduate Film Degree Masters Programme, available in both MA and MSc versions, was launched
in 2011 and designed to meet the needs of emerging filmmakers. It is based on a proven formula that
includes Raindance courses, industry networking (including one-on-one tutorials) and self-directed study.

From October 2012, both MA and MSc are available as a distance learning option, making the course
available to anyone with internet access wherever they are based in the world.

Raindance’s groundbreaking postgraduate degree enables students to set their own individual career and
project objectives. This is made possible by an unrivalled collaboration between Raindance, the
Independent Film Trust as a charity established to advance the cause of independent filmmaking, and
innovative academics at Staffordshire University who introduced the UK’s first single honours degree in
Film, Television and Radio Studies in 1990. Graduates of the Raindance programme are awarded an M.A.
or M.Sc. degree that is academically validated by Staffordshire University.

Students manage their own schedule and modules which are developed in regular discussions with their
tutors in one-on-one tutorials. Depending on the student’s needs and interests, the investigations could lead to an M.A. in Directing Independent Films, an M.Sc. in Digital Cinematography, or highly specialised issues like Producing Films with Crowd Funding or Writing Fantasy Screenplays, that traditional institutions would not be able to offer.

Raindance founder, Elliot Grove, said: “I am delighted to be working with one of Britain’s most forward-looking universities to deliver a programme designed to respond to the changing filmmaking climate, and the constantly changing influences of digital filmmaking and distribution techniques.”

Veteran producer Carl Schoenfeld who has overseen Raindance’s educational strategy said: “Students are
empowered by skills that enable them to take responsibility for their own learning throughout the course and beyond. This is a great opportunity for filmmakers anywhere in the world keen on developing
themselves in an inspirational higher education environment. This course allows them to explore their own individual voice and trajectory into the film industry and culture around them.”

James Fair of Staffordshire University says: “We have always pursued a combination of relevance and
excellence at Staffordshire. We feel that the partnership with Raindance demonstrates our ability to provide flexible learning opportunities that correspond to the demands of the workplace. This will be where theory and practice meet, mirroring the complex realities of filmmaking.”

Since 1992 Raindance has developed and delivered pioneering industry-relevant filmmaking courses which
combine practical and theoretical training. Raindance trained filmmakers include such legends as Edgar
Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), Oscar® winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park,
Downton Abbey), Guy Ritchie (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; Sherlock Holmes), Matthew Vaughn
(Layer Cake, Kick-ass), and Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight, Inception).

Applicants starting the programme on 9 September (London) and 15 October (Distance Learning)

Hollywood Storyteller hosts Raindance Masterclass

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Raindance is a Frost favourite. I have taken their 99 minute film school, and a couple of their other courses. We also cover their amazing film festival. Now they have one of Hollywood’s top story consultant doing a masterclass.

Raindance has announced that Christopher Vogler – one of Hollywood’s most celebrated story consultants – will host a weekend masterclass in London on 27-28 April.

Renowned as a leading expert in storytelling, Vogler is the guiding hand behind such films as The Wrestler, Black Swan, The Lion King, Fight Club and The Thin Red Line. Having worked for Disney, Warner Bros, Paramount and Fox, Vogler is in a unique position to share his insights into how powerful stories are made.

“We’re thrilled Christopher Vogler will be hosting this special Raindance masterclass in a rare appearance here in London,” says Elliot Grove, Director of Raindance. “He really is the stuff of screenwriting legend so this is a must for writers, directors, actors and producers interested in the entire story process from idea to script to screen,” he added.

Vogler’s best-seller, The Writer’s Journey, has been read by over 250,000 screenwriting students, establishing itself as one of the cornerstones of modern screenwriting theory and influencing a new generation of storytellers. Based on a memo he wrote while working at the Disney studios, the book has been translated into eight languages and its ideas were promptly put to use by a whole generation of screenwriters and novelists. Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky cites it as “the first book that everyone’s got to read”, while the LA Times describes the original memo as “the stuff of Hollywood legend… (Vogler’s) idea of a ‘mythic structure’ has been quickly accepted by Hollywood, and Vogler’s book graces the bookshelves of many studio heads”.

Raindance Award Winners Announced

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There was a 62% Rise in Attendance for the 19th Raindance Film Festival

Some of the winners this yeat included British Indie Stranger Things (Best UK Feature), Croatian/Serbian/Slovenian co-production Just Between Us (Best International Feature), Bulgaria’s Tilt (Best Debut Feature) and Italian
short Reset (Film of the Festival) Raindance Film Festival Awards. The prestigious jury, which included actor Dexter Fletcher, director Gillies Mackinnon, and TV/radio presenter Alex Zane, selected winners in the eight awards
categories.

“There were some outstanding films across the whole line-up so selecting winners was especially
difficult this year,” said Elliot Grove, Festival Director. “This has been a really successful festival – from the heart of London’s West End we’ve screened over 200 features and shorts at the state-of-the art

Apollo Cinema, Piccadilly. Attendance was up by a staggering 62% on last year proving that the
appetite for independent film is thriving.”

The winners were announced on Saturday night (8th October) at the festival venue, the Apollo Cinema,

Piccadilly Circus. The 19th Raindance Film Festival, which started on 28th September and wrapped on 9th October, brought 94 UK feature film premieres and 137 shorts to London, cementing Raindance’s position as Europe’s leading independent film festival.

The other winners were How To Start A Revolution (Best Documentary), the UK’s Monk3ys (Best
Microbudget Feature), Denmark’s Words (Best International Short), and Love At First Sight (Best UK Short). The winning team behind Reset (Film of the Festival) will be offered the chance to film next year’s Raindance Film Festival trailer, with the support of the Independent Film Trust.

Festival Jury
The jury comprised Sally Bibawy of photography company Lomography, actor Dexter Fletcher (Lock,
Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), Director Gillies MacKinnon (Hideous Kinky), Julian Richards,
filmmaker and co-founder of Jinga Films, Oli Harbottle from Dogwoof, CŽline Masset, co-founder and artistic Director of the Brussels Short Film Festival, actress Helen McCrory (The Queen, Harry Potter films), Wendy Mitchell, Head of News at Screen International, and radio/TV presenter and film critic Alex Zane.

Festival Awards – nominated films with winners indicated

Best International Feature

Just Between Us / Rajko Grlic – Croatia/Serbia/Slovenia WINNER
No Return / Miguel Cohan – Spain / Argentina
After Fall, Winter/ Eric Schaeffer – USA
Youth H2 “Come As You Are” / Kota Yoshida – Japan
War Games / Cosimo Alemˆ – Italy

Best UK Feature
Stranger Things / Eleanor Burke/Ron Eyal – UK WINNER
Acts Of Godfrey / Johnny Daukes – UK
A Thousand Kisses Deep / Dana Lustig – UK
Flutter / Giles Borg – UK
Hollow/ Michael Axelgaard – UK
Seamonsters / Julian Kerridge – UK

Best Debut
Tilt / Viktor Chouchkov Jr. – Bulgaria WINNER
Synchronicity / Joe Tanaka – Japan
Exteriors / Marie Kristiansen – Norway
On The Way Home / Emiliano Corapi – Italy
Restive/ Jeremiah Jones – USA

Best Microbudget Feature

MONK3YS / Drew Cullingham – UK WINNER
Julius Caesar / Adam Lee Hamilton & John Montegrande – UK
Uspomene 677 / Mirko Pincelli – Bosnia Herzegovina / UK
Meso Cafe / Ja’far ‘Abd al-Hamid – UK
Black Pond / Tom Kingsley & Will Sharpe – UK

Best Documentary

How to Start A Revolution / Ruaridh Arrow – UK WINNER
White Button / Igor Stoimenov – Serbia
The Echo Of Astro Boy’s Footsteps / Masanori Tominaga – Japan
Where My Heart Beats / Khazar Fatemi – Sweden
Heaven + Earth + Joe Davis / Peter Sasowsky – USA

Best International Short

Words / Sven Vinge – Denmark WINNER
The Lady Paranorma / Vincent Marcone – Canada
Martyr Friday / Abu Bakr Shawky – Egypt
Zoltan- The Hungarian Gangster of Love / Justin Reardon – USA
Hemingway’s Pen / Renzo Carbonera – Italy

Best UK Short
Love At First Sight / Michael Davies – UK WINNER
This Side of the Afterlife / Adam Horton – England
God View / Billy Lumby – UK
The Girl Is Mime / Tim Bunn – UK
Rough Skin / Cathy Brady – UK

Film of the Festival (Short)

The winner is offered the chance to film next year’s Raindance Film Festival trailer, with the support of the Independent Film Trust:

Reset / Nicolangelo Gelormini – Italy

The Raindance Film Festival runs from 28 Sept – 9 Oct at the Apollo Cinema in London’s Piccadilly Circus, with the Opening Night premiere of Another Earth at Cineworld Haymarket on 28 Sept.

Now in its 19th year, Raindance Film Festival is Europe’s leading Independent Film Festival showcasing feature films, shorts and docs from around the world and specialising in independent films and directorial debuts.

The festival has a strong legacy of showing alternative, edgy films. Since 1993 Raindance Film Festival has uncovered the hottest new filmmakers to hit the cinematic scene. Raindance-premiered hits include Pulp Fiction, Memento,
the Blair Witch Project, Ghost World and Love Exposure.

www.raindance.co.uk

Raindance announces Jury for Festival Awards

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Raindance announces Jury for Festival Awards for 19th Raindance Film Festival

28 Sep – 9 Oct

Raindance is delighted to announce the jury for this year’s Festival Awards. The panel, which includes
actors, directors, presenters, journalists and members of the film and photograph industry, will judge
the films nominated in each of the eight categories, with the winners to be announced on Saturday 8th
October, 8pm at the Festival venue, the Apollo Cinema in Piccadilly Circus.

The eight categories are:

Best International Feature, Best UK Feature, Best Debut Feature, Best Documentary, Best Microbudget
Feature, Best UK Short, Best International Short and the Film of the Festival.

“Our jury represents the spectrum of the film industry – from actors to directors and critics to
programmers – they bring an in-depth knowledge of film to the judging panel and will have the
difficult job of choosing winners from the outstanding titles nominated this year,” said Elliot Grove,
Festival Director.

The jury is as follows:

Sally Bibawy
Sally Bibawy joined analogue photography company, Lomography, in 1995 and took over the art direction
and product development in 2000. She is a board member, together with Matthias Fiegl and Wolfgang
Stranzinger, since 2004 and is based in Vienna.

Dexter Fletcher
Best known for his role in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Dexter Fletcher has grown up on screen,
beginning with his role as Baby Face in Bugsy Malone and on the British TV series Press Gang. His many
credits include The Elephant Man, Layer Cake and Kick Ass. Dexter also appeared in the 2009 Raindance Film Festival Trailer.

Gillies MacKinnon

Scottish Director Gillies MacKinnon has assembled one of the most impressive bodies of work in
recent British cinema with directing credits including Small Faces, Trojan Eddie starring Richard Harris
and Stephen Rea, A Simple Twist of Fate with Steve Martin, Regeneration starring Jonathan Pryce,
James Wilby and Jonny Lee Miller, Hideous Kinky with Kate Winslet, and the Golden Globe-winning
television Film, Last of the Blond Bombshells starring Judi Dench. His other work includes The Escapist,
Pure, historical drama Gunpowder Treason and Plot with Robert Carlyle, Tara Road , and The Snow
Goose starring Billy Connolly.

Céline Masset
Céline Masset is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Brussels Short Film Festival, which will
celebrate its 15th anniversary next year. Her company, Un Soir Un Grain, also distributes and produces short films.

Helen McCrory

Helen McCrory is a multi award-winning actress on stage, television and the silver screen. She played
Cherie Blair in The Queen and The Special Relationship and played Narcissa Malfoy in the last three Harry
Potter movies. She will appear in Martin Scorsese’s soon-to-be-released film, Hugo and We’ll take
Manhattan for the BBC.

Wendy Mitchell

Wendy Mitchell is head of news at Screen International and ScreenDaily.com. Before moving to London,
she worked on staff in New York for Entertainment Weekly, indieWIRE, Rolling Stone and CMJ, as well as
freelancing for the New York Daily News, Playboy, Variety, Billboard, Time Out New York and The Wall
Street Journal. She is also the author of New York City’s Best Dive Bars (published in 2003).

Alex Zane
Alex began his career hosting the film review show Screenplay and fronting MTV’s flagship show, TRL.
A talented radio broadcaster, Alex began working at Xfm in 2002, and hosted the station’s Breakfast
Show for two years. His TV credits include Popworld, Balls of Steel, 8 out of 10 Cats and he hosted this
year’s Red Carpet Live for the Golden Globes and the Oscars. Alex currently hosts Channel 4’s Rude
Tube, Alex Zane’s Guest List and is the lead film reviewer for The Sun.

Festival Awards – nominated films

Best International Feature

Just Between Us / Rajko Grlic – Croatia
No Return / Miguel Cohan – Spain / Argentina
After Fall, Winter/ Eric Schaeffer – USA
Youth H2 “Come As You Are” / Kota Yoshida – Japan
War Games / Cosimo Alemà – Italy

Best UK
Acts Of Godfrey / Johnny Daukes – UK
A Thousand Kisses Deep / Dana Lustig – UK
Flutter / Giles Borg – UK
Hollow/ Michael Axelgaard – UK
Seamonsters / Julian Kerridge – UK
Stranger Things / Eleanor Burke – UK

Best Debut
Tilt / Viktor Chouchkov Jr. – Bulgaria
Synchronicity / Joe Tanaka – Japan
Exteriors / Marie Kristiansen – Norway
Restive/ Jeremiah Jones – USA

Best Microbudget Feature

MONK3YS / Drew Cullingham – UK
Julius Caesar / Adam Lee Hamilton & John Montegrande – UK
Uspomene 677 / Mirko Pincelli – Bosnia Herzegovina / UK
Meso Cafe / Ja’far ‘Abd al-Hamid – UK
Black Pond / Tom Kingsley – UK

Best Documentary

White Button / Igor Stoimenov – Serbia
The Echo Of Astro Boy’s Footsteps / Masanori Tominaga – Japan
Where My Heart Beats / Khazar Fatemi – Sweden
How to Start A Revolution / Ruaridh Arrow – UK
Heaven + Earth + Joe Davis / Peter Sasowsky – USA

Best International Short

The Lady Paranorma / Vincent Marcone – Canada
Martyr Friday / Abu Bakr Shawky – Egypt
Words / Sven Vinge – Denmark
Zoltan- The Hungarian Gangster of Love / Justin Reardon – USA
Hemingway’s Pen / Renzo Carbonera – Italy

Best UK Short

This Side of the Afterlife / Adam Horton – England
God View / Billy Lumby – UK
The Girl Is Mime / Tim Bunn – UK
Love At First Sight / Michael Davies – UK
Rough Skin / Cathy Brady – UK

About Raindance Film Festival

Raindance Film Festival will run from 28 Sept – 9 Oct at the Apollo Cinema in London’s Piccadilly Circus, with the
Opening Night premiere of Another Earth at Cineworld Haymarket on 28 Sept.
For press accreditation visit: www.raindance.co.uk
Tickets and passes to the festival will be on sale from 6th September on www.raindance.co.uk

Now in its 19th year, Raindance Film Festival is Europe’s leading Independent Film Festival showcasing feature films, shorts and docs from around the world and specialising in independent films and directorial debuts. The
festival has a strong legacy of showing alternative, edgy films. Since 1993 Raindance Film Festival has uncovered
the hottest new filmmakers to hit the cinematic scene. Raindance-premiered hits include Pulp Fiction, Memento,
the Blair Witch Project, Ghost World and Love Exposure.
Raindance – The Voice of Independent Film

Raindance is dedicated to fostering and promoting independent film in the UK and around the world. Based in the heart of London, Raindance combines Raindance Film Festival, Training Courses, the prestigious British Independent Film Awards and Raindance.tv

Frost will be covering the Raindance Film Festival.

One Pill Makes You Larger – Raving Puppets

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So. Festival Season is upon us – at least, in those rare glimpses of summer between the monsoons.

And yet again, Glastonbury provided some superb spectacles, and I don’t mean Bono’s rain-spattered shades. No, I’m talking about all those sideshow acts and crowd-brought additions that give any show that bit of extra atmosphere.

My personal favourite was from Glastonbury 2005. While The Kaiser Chiefs rattled through their set, a giant, inflatable, long-necked dinosaur loomed over the crowd, watching the Leeds outfit with a beatific smile.

And carrying the theme through, Garbage’s Shirley Manson later borrowed an inflatable doll from the front row and used it as a prop during ‘Why Do You Love Me?’

Now, a Rugby-based company are taking that crowd involvement one step further.

Raving Puppets raison d’etre is to provide fun and interactive entertainment on the dance floor itself.

Says Edward Allan: “People are constantly complaining to me that there isn’t enough in the way of stuff to do or see in raves and this is something Raindance have always appreciated and approached by hiring performers such as dancers and stilt-walkers – turning their event into a proper mini-festival.

“We’re different to every other entertainment because we’re not on the stage or on the sidelines, we are actually on the dance floor with the clients – something no other entertainers can do.

“We’re also a lot more interactive with the crowds, chasing people, dancing with people and playing tricks, like stealing hats and coming up behind people who are in groups – so everyone else sees them except the victim.

“Think mischievous spirits,” he adds.

The puppets are operated ‘muppet-style’ by a black-clad performer who wears the puppets on his or her shoulders, ensuring the focus is on the puppet.

Raving Puppets have appeared all over the UK, including Glastonbury, Reading and Raindance among others.

So, next time you’re approached by a 10 foot tall puppet who decides you’re the perfect dance partner, it’s probably not time to stop drinking or blaming the dodgy tablet a shadowy figure gave you earlier.

It might just be a Raving Puppet.

www.ravingpuppets.com

Interview with Raindance founder Elliot Grove {The Film Set}

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I took a course with Elliot years ago. His knowledge of film, and film-making is vast and impressive. Every actor, writer and director should take a course or go to the awards. Here is the excellent article.

Frost Mag: When did you start Raindance and what was the premise behind it?

Elliot Grove: I started Raindance in 1992 as way to make contacts in the film industry. I started bringing over well known tutors from America. the response was astounding, and within a few months, British filmmakers started making films again. So I thought I’d start a film festival in the heart of London in the week before the now-defunct MIFED market, because I noticed a lot of acquisition execs hanging out at the Meridian Hotel on their way to MIFED in Milan.

I then learned a very painful lesson about British culture. Britains, unlike my native Canadians are very snobbish – and as they couldn’t see a government logo or brand on my poster assumed I was just another tourist. I was pretty much wished bad luck by everyone in the industry.

Fortunately the filmmakers in other countries saw Raindance as a way to launch into Europe and into London. The Festival has grown to the point were we outgrew various venues and are now housed in the largest independent cinema in the West End – the Apollo to be precise.

In 1998 I started the British Independent film Awards for a similar reason: to promote British films and filmmakers. This event has grown to become a keynote in the UK’s film industry calendar.

Of course, none of this wouldn’t have been possible without a few generous benefactors and team of colleagues and collaborators unequaled in passion or ability in London.

Raindance still proudly independent, and without any government support.

Frost Mag: Is this the worst time for Filmmaker’s?

Elliot Grove: This is far from the worst time for filmmakers. In fact, I think it is the very best time for filmmakers. IPTV and online distribution have kicked the old boys distribution model to pieces enabling anyone with good visual storytelling ability and simple and inexpensive camera gear to make a movie and get many many people to see it.

Frost Mag: It seems that every filmmaker comes into Raindance at some point. How does it feel to be the founder of such a creative hub?

Elliot Grove: I can’t take any credit for the hundreds of successful filmmakers I have been fortunate enough to meet at Raindance. Except to say that I, and my hard working colleagues are rewarded daily by meeting or speaking to the most talented people one could ever hope to meet. And that is reward enough for us!

Frost Mag: How important is the internet and how can filmmaker’s make the most of it?

Elliot Grove: There are two types of filmmakers: Those who lo the and fear the internet and social media, and those who embrace it. Any filmmaker or film festival without an online strategy is doomed in my opinion.

Frost Mag: Advice for filmmakers?

Elliot Grove: To make it as a filmmaker, you need to be:
– a great story teller
– be able to get your hands on a bit of money
– develop excellent interpersonal and communication skills
– be firm and be strong enough to draw the line when someone makes unrealistic demands of you
– understand and develop a strong social media presence
– have boundless energy and be able to work 100 hour weeks
– talent helps too, but is the least essential of anything on this list

Frost Mag: Who should we watch out for?

Elliot Grove: I am always asked who to watch out for. I really don’t single out individual filmmakers. we do, however, premiere about 75 features and 150 shorts each year by the most talented filmmakers we have found during the past 12 months.

I returned from Brussels at the end of June and I met some extremely interesting “Roger Corman” type producers there and this was most unusual and most welcome.

Several Belgian films will be playing at the Festival this year.

Join Raindance