Curated by Philip Ilson of London Short Film Festival and hosted by Sugarhouse Studios in Stratford, Acre After Acre, Mile After Mile promises "a weekly evening of film and discussion throughout May and June, themed around an English sense of place and journey with specific reference to times gone past". Taking place this Thursday, the inaugural event is a folk-flavoured May Day celebration involving the BFI-assembled archive collection Here’s A Health To The Barley Mow: A Century Of Folk Customs And Ancient Rural Games plus live music from The Memory Band, Serafina Steer and Olivia Chaney.
In contrast, next week’s outing sees experimental filmmaker Chris Petit droppping in to discuss his post-punk road movie Radio On, which was co-produced by Wim Wenders. As the trailer below indicates, this 1979 art house favourite enhances its austere mood with soundtrack selections by Kraftwerk, Devo, Robert Fripp and Berlin-era Bowie (don’t let Sting’s appearance put you off). There’s another director q&a on May 17, when Ben Rivers will present his Slow Cinema feature Two Years At Sea. Shot using a vintage 16mm Bolex camera, this near-wordless wilderness portrait focuses on white-bearded bric-a-brac hoarder Jake Williams (first encountered in the short film This Is My Land), who lives alone in a secluded house amid the forests of Scotland.
Two classics from 1980 round out this month’s programme. John Mackenzie’s gritty gangster flick The Long Good Friday will be screened on May 24, followed by an Olympic-themed discussion (special guests TBC, hopefully including producer Barry Hanson). The picture’s protagonist Harold Shand, memorably played by Bob Hoskins, is of course planning to develop Docklands for a future games. May 31 sees an always welcome airing for David Lynch’s monochrome beauty The Elephant Man, also set in East London, accompanied by a panel conversation about freak shows and changes in the public perception of what is deemed acceptable.
More information can be found at the Sugarhouse Studios website plus this Facebook page. And be sure to check your local cinema listings from Friday, when Two Years At Sea receives a selected theatrical release nationwide.
