Red as Blood
The Company of Wolves
I am more excited than I can describe to announce that together with Sam Bompas & Harry Parr, I'll be presenting the next installment of Scratch 'n Sniff Cinema as part of the Abandon Normal Devices Festival in The Lake District over Easter. The reason for the fizzing tummy bubbles is that the film we'll be presenting is one of my all-time favourites - a truly beautiful yet horrifying oddity, directed by Neil Jordan and penned in partnership with the late, lamented author and mistress of magic surrealism, Angela Carter.
The Yan, Grizedale Forest Park
The Company of Wolves is based upon a series of short stories within her brilliant, aphrodisiac-infused anthology in response to the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, The Bloody Chamber. I'll be announcing at least two key scents closer to the event, but there will be eight in total responding to moments within the film. The location itself will be award-winning forest hideout The Yan, a contemporary yet sensitively designed education and community resource centre designed by architects Sutherland Hussey.
Keep an eye out for ticket sales at the official AND website. Remember - as you're pretty, so be wise. Wolves may lurk in every guise. Now, as then, 'tis simple truth: sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth.
Tales of Two Cities
With an OCD fury not seen since the woman in the Shake 'n Vac advert ground her Valium and mixed it with a glug of Bacardi, I've been plugging the cracks in this site and pasting up former production duties with a vengeance. My personal favourites A Wall is a Screen now have a page to themselves, as do the rapidly expanding MegaPhone team - flying the flag for those of us who see no reason why computer games should progress beyond the Atari era. Once upon a festival, The Light Surgeons conjured up a storm in a Gothic salon and The Royal Opera House treat us to no fewer than twelve outdoor relays in the past five years.
Bella Bella!
Thanks to old friends, new friends and the generosity of An Outlet and staff in providing a snug location for our festive re-staging of one of my favourite projects from this year, Scratch 'n Sniff Cinema presents Gregory's Girl. I'm still not tired of it and laugh all the harder for silently mouthing the script in advance. The Tunnock's range of Scottish playground snacks were enjoyed by all (well, me), whilst the experience was enhanced by my friend Maria knocking over her drink as I shouted the cue "Number six!", which she followed up by loudly exclaiming "Sh*t!"
It turns out she wasn't too far from the truth..!
In my dark cupboard
Shhh! Are you coming? Just a few places left for an invite-only film screening of a 1981 classic starring John Gordon Sinclair, Clare Grogan (of Altered Images, above) and Dee Hepburn, although the true star of the title that I'm being deliberately vague about is Allison Forster, as the lead's little sister, steeped in a Yoda-like wisdom beyond her years. Here's a clue. Friday 11th December, An Outlet, Manchester.
Wave Your Hands In The Air
Thanks to friend and collaborator Sam Meech for riding to my rescue, a blonde knight upon his horse Isadora to deliver title animations for Unsilent Night tomorrow. I have blisters on my hand from carrying the 'portable' AnyCast vision mixing desk over from Manchester on the train (the approximate weight of a drowned man wearing flannel pyjamas) and just over 24 hours to remind myself how it works again.
Inspire Mark
After sitting on this like a constipated hen for the past few weeks, I can now go public that Unsilent Night is one of the projects granted the London 2012 Inspire Mark which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Games.
In this case, the association is through our work in throwing open the cupboard upon a wealth of archive film, pulling off kid gloves in fusing old with new and encouraging investigation of early cinema by stepping outside (literally) of the multiplex experience.