\n\u201cFestivals like Underwire<\/em> receive no formal funding, because all the focus is on audience development, but the filmmakers need support in their careers\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0Gabriella Apicella, co-founder of Underwire<\/em><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The evening began with a screening of Claire Oakley’s Underwire<\/a> Winning Short Tracks<\/em> – a story of tradition and masculinity set within the highlands of Scotland. The film explores the relationship between a father and son during a hunting trip where the son, Ed, makes his first kill.<\/p>\n
The father is played by Gordon Brown<\/a> – Only God Forgives<\/em> (2013) Valhalla Rising<\/em> (2009) and Ed is played John Bell<\/a> – The Hobbit<\/em> (2012) and Wrath Of the Titans<\/em> (2012) who together bring a subtlety to the story, written by Oakley, revealing the complexities of nature, cultural traditions, fathers and sons.<\/p>\n
Tracks<\/em> is a gorgeous short film too – it\u2019s aesthetic worked on by Oakley and Rob Hardy BSC<\/a> who is famed for working on films such as the recent Ex Machina<\/em> (2015) and James Marsh\u2019s Shadow Dancer<\/em> (2012). Inside the frame it\u2019s hazy and damp (we\u2019re in Scotland after all) whilst showing the stillness, scale and beauty of the highlands.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been lucky to see in our community of filmmakers that we\u2019ve met through Underwire there have been some really positive success stories \u2013 however, that is not reflected in the mainstream cinemas\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0Gabriella Apicella<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=M_ww0sQq7lE”][vc_column_text]\n
Claire is a member of the Film Fatales<\/a> – a collective of female directors who meet regularly to mentor, collaborate and support each other in a creative community. It\u2019s an organisation well worth checking out and a brilliant example of a community led group creating it\u2019s own support system outside of national programmes.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]UTOPIA<\/strong>
\nIn a slight deviation from the overall theme of the evening, we then went onto screening a short film by artist, filmmaker and cultural activist Andrea Luka Zimmerman<\/a>\u00a0Towards Estate<\/em> (2012). Assembled from varying elements of her long term production Estate, A Reverie<\/em> (2015) this short tells different stories from the Haggerston Estate about social housing, gentrification and everyday humanity.[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]\n”\u00a0–\u00a0A lyrical and gripping vision of the loneliness and disempowerment that haunts life even in the world\u2019s wealthiest cities.\u201d<\/strong> <\/em>Joshua Oppenheimer, Director of The Act of Killing<\/em> (2013) and The Look of Silence<\/em> (2014)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/vimeo.com\/112103377″][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]\n
Estate, A Reverie<\/em> (2015) played at this years East End Film Festival<\/a> and\u00a0played at the BFI last month.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]RISE<\/strong>
\nIn the run up to the evening’s discussion we began screening films created by two members of our panel. The first was a film by Isabelle Sieb (another member of the Film Fatales<\/a>) called College Romance: The Musical<\/em> (2013) a candid approach to the musical genre featuring music written by Stephanie Taylor<\/a>, reworking genre conventions and using the film\u2019s format to remind us it\u2019s not all about serious shorts.[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SMI600bCJYw”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]Along with this we also screened Terminally Happy<\/em> (2015) written and directed by Adina Istrate<\/a> and produced by Giannina La Salvia<\/a> through their production company\u00a0ToyBox Films<\/a>. It’s a beautifully shot short film loaded with melancholy and futurism, teasing us towards a wider narrative, unnerving and mysterious – we can\u2019t wait to see what Adina\u2019s going to do with this\u2026 We\u2019re thinking Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror<\/em>…<\/p>\nBoth Isabelle and Adina are part of the\u00a0Northern Film and Media scheme ‘RISE’ – An intensive year long development programme for female writer-directors based in the UK.[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/vimeo.com\/114055984″][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]\n
\u201cThis is going to take generations.\u00a0At the moment it\u2019s trendy to talk about this stuff and it\u2019s very much a cyclical thing and it needs to not be a trendy thing or a novelty thing \u2013 it needs to be supported.\u201d <\/strong>–\u00a0Gabriella Apicella<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
In one of our main events of the evening, Screen Social presented a live discussion hosted by Alexandra Haddow<\/a> and Marisa Bate<\/a> of The Pool<\/a><\/em> – an innovative new website for women from Lauren Laverne and Sam Baker that launched earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Joining Alex and Marisa on the Panel we had the pleasure of welcoming:<\/p>\n
\n
- Writer, Educator and Activist Sophie Mayer<\/a>.<\/li>\n
- Gabriella Apicella<\/a> – Writer, Producer, Tutor and Gemma Mitchell<\/a>, Founders of Underwire Festival<\/a>.<\/li>\n
- Isabelle Sieb<\/a> – Award-winning film director who has worked with clients like National Geographic and FIFA.<\/li>\n
- Adina Istrate<\/a> – Filmmaker & Director of Terminally Happy<\/em> (2015)<\/li>\n
- Mike Buonaiuto<\/a> – Director and founder of Shape History.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Taking to the microphone, Marisa began the discussion by asking about the current situation for gender diversity within film and other creative industries; bringing in Gabriella and Sophie to provide their opinion.[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/vimeo.com\/136944052″][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]\n
\n\u201cThere\u2019s more and more entry level activity that happens – but that doesn\u2019t mean that there\u2019s support for sustainable careers.\u201d<\/strong> –\u00a0Sophie Mayer<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]\n