The thirteenth East End Film Festival begins, ironically, on Friday, 13th June and runs for two weeks. Unfortunately, much of the promotional material about the festival’s events doesn’t say where each is being held. You will have to head over to the Festival’s website, to check for yourselves. Make sure you have plenty of time to spare when you do so, as the festival consists of a complex offer of films and related events. You will have to find the strand which interests you and then look through the initial brief information on the individual items in it. If you are interested in any of the items, you have to click a “read more” option to find out where the event is being held. There’s probably enough website to keep you looking through it till the 14th Festival, or to provide you with the research material for an MA thesis on data processing. Hmph.
The Festival (EEFF) includes 15 World Premieres, 8 European Premieres, 25 UK Premieres and 15 London Premieres. There will be a special focus on football as one of the strands of the festival, which seems to consist of the UK premiere of You and the Night, a surreal cinematic orgy featuring Eric Cantona (who, it seems will be present) and a showing of The Second Game. There is also a strand of teen-focused cinema to mark the age of the Festival.
There will also be a mini-feature on Palestine, with the UK premiere of Mars At Sunrise (which portrays the conflict between artists on both sides of the militarized borders) and the European premiere of Just Play, documenting the men and women who work with a Palestinian cultural association.
Our ears pricked up to hear “EEFF reaffirms its anti-establishment credentials”: it seems this refers to the London premiere of One Rogue Reporter, in which ex-Daily Star journalist and Leveson Inquiry witness Rich Peppiatt lampoons his former employees with mischievous stunts and interviews. Featuring names such as Steve Coogan and Kelvin Mackenzie, this searing and funny exposé will be accompanied by headline grabbing stand-up.
There are also films about community issues. The latest film from Whitechapel-based Rainbow Collective, Mass E Bhat – a moving portrait of children growing up in Bangladesh – receives its world premiere. Casablance Calling (see picture) documents a new generation of women who challenge convention to work as official Muslim leaders.
So there you have it. There’s more information on www.eastendfilmfestival.com. Good luck finding it.