Film Devour 8 at the Black Box

Two short film festivals in two days, what a great time to be a film fan in Belfast! Having to decide between this and Joe Lindsay's "Shower of Cults" film night across town at the Hudson Bar showing Grind House Star Wars was a tough choice. So, having promised myself I'd go to the last Few "Film Devour Short Film Festival" and not quite making it I finally made it to number 8. As I arrived at the Black Box I noticed a huge crowd gathered before the doors, this is always a good sign. Soon we filed in paid our £4 and were ready to see some of Northern Irelands finest shirt films.

With 20 films in all covering many Genres - Horror, Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Sci-Fi...I could go on-it's safe to say there was something for every one. We started off with a film I'd heard a lot about but never seen "Looking for Al" essentially a documentary about 4 lads from Northern Ireland travelling down to Dublin trying to meet Al Pacino at the premiere of his latest film. An absolute geg with much banter included it's a great way to kick off the fast and a welcome opening 15 mins it's worth saying at this point that these films area lot longer short films than the ones shown last night. Where the longest film shown there was 3 mins 30secs these films range from 5 mins to 15.

"The Beach" is a wonderfully shot black white horror film about a man finding himself on a lonely island where he encounters a not so friendly apparition. The Portrush backdrop makes this a beautiful film to watch and the black and white adds a touch of gravitas. We have a few technical difficulties as Intermission is called after 7 films but after we're all refuelled were back for the long haul an date last 13
McKeever and Jones have 2 films shown here tonight. Both filled with classic Belfast humour and the 2 extremely likeable characters. The shorter of then2 was my favourite "McKeever and Jones Dreams Come True" filmed outside Victoria Square in the Cornmarket it features a chucklesome almost dance sequence about a man whose every wish comes true as he walks by the world, from nicking a chicken burger to swooping in for a snog with his dream girl and with a fun ending that everyone creasing with laughter.

Other mentions would be "Nuts and Robbers" by Aiden Gault and Marty Stalker. A very black comedy about bungling robbers that's worth a watch. Special effects mention of the night goes to Chris Thompsons "Skyhawk". With SFX that would look at home in any Hollywood Bloackbuster it's really surprising what the guys working in their bedrooms can come up with. "Spiderland" ended off the night with an usual ode to the muppets via the festive imagination of Paul Currie. A tale of spices in Belfast and their camp Rottweiler this was a dark slice of twisted comedy that finished off the night perfectly.

The main thing if notice tonight was the quality of all the films shown and the sell out crowd that came to pay in, while the Olympics are on, on a sunny day, to come and support these films. As I left the black box having been in there for over 4 hours I did quip that it was the longest Short film festival I'd ever been too, but long may it continue. Vive la Film Devour!

By Chris Caldwell

Hansel of Film at The Black Box

Last night as part of the Olympic Festival and the Belfast Film Festival, 'Hansel of Film' came to the Black Box. Basically a bunch of short films are going on a relay, being carried by real people from Shetland to Southampton and back again, making 24 stops along the way. One of those stops was Belfast. Being curated by film critic Mark Kermode and film historian Prof. Linda Ruth Williams, who were both present last night, you knew you were in good hands (however large and flappy they may be).

We started with seven short films made by people living in the Shetland Islands and they had some brilliant (and bonkers) films! There was a four minute documentary about the UK's northern most bus shelter "Unst Bus Shelter" (which never showed a bus), one about a female polish murderer "Vycky" and a great one from a bunch of kids that featured a physical battle between two opposing armies that represented the decision process that goes on when one has to decide between juice and cola "Battle of the Juices". The films were all great quality and thoroughly entertaining, showing that creativity can come from anywhere and isn't restricted to the big thinkers in capital cities.

Next up we had seven films from Wotton-Under-Edge. These were screened in Belfast because their own local screening encountered difficulties and couldn't proceed, so we got to see them instead. Featuring a lot of films made by youngsters and with Olympic and other funding, these also were a joy to watch. My highlight being the laugh out loud history of the stick figure we see in warning signs, "Remembering Formby" was beautifully animated by Susan Elliot and her team. It was a great twist on something we see on a daily basis but never really think about. Also thrilling, was a film made by 13-17 year olds about how the Olympics is represented in their small village: "Olympic Village" was well shot, edited and wonderfully executed.

The last segment was devoted to short films from Belfast. They cited a lack of response to their call for submissions for the comp, so they had to pad it out with other quality shorts to make up the allotted half an hour. However, some great animation from students at the University of Ulster represented Belfast fully and showed what great things are being taught in our own city. The best of these being "Labyrinth of Language" a rich, funny and meticulously animated short about a boy lost in a maze. The highlight of this section was from London and the This is it collective. "Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared" was the perfect way to finish off the evening.

Original, hilarious and a little bit  twisted, it had the whole audience laughing and gob-smacked in equal measure. As we all sat there with our jaws a little bit open at the end and trying to get the song used out of our heads (green is not a creative colour) Mark and Linda thanked us for coming. They then welcomed some of the local film makers on stage for a round of applause before handing over the film canister to the next runner to be taken to Bo'Ness just outside of Edinburgh. The runner was actually going to cycle and having been born in Belfast and now living in Bo'Ness seemed the perfect choice to do it, until he revealed that he hadn't cycled more than 1 mile in the last 5 years! Good luck Bo'Nes and enjoy the Hansel of Film.

The Found Footage Festival - The Black Box

 Where else can you see a kitten playing the piano, a man wearing tubs of peanut butter for shoes, an angry motor-home salesman, or a vibrating face exercising mask? The Found Footage Festival has arrived. 

On Tuesday 10th July my brother told me that he had won tickets to The Found Footage Festival being held in The Black Box and asked if I wanted to go along with him. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into, but I happily agreed and soon found myself in The Black Box in the Cathedral Quarter sipping on a cider. The room was quite full for a Tuesday night and shortly before 8pm the lights went down and the projector screen at the front of the room lit up. What followed was an hour and a half journey into amusement and madness.

I really didn't have any idea of what to expect, and for some reason I literally thought that they would just play funny movies, one after the other and that would be it. So I was surprised when two American guys stepped out to compere. It soon became clear that these two guys, Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett had dedicated their lives to finding the most unintentionally weird and funny VHS tapes from around the world and their witty banter between videos really tied the night together and made everyone feel a part of their descent into weirdness.  As a massive Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan I was very excited to find out that these funny guys had contributed, and their other comedy credits also include The Onion, Late Show With David Letterman, and The Colbert Report. So you have some idea of the hilarity which ensued throughout the night.

Personally, I think that the two rules stated on The Found Footage Festival website really sum up what The Found Footage Festival is all about: "Two rules govern Found Footage Festival: 1) Footage must be found on physical format.  No YouTube. 2) It has to be unintentionally funny. Whatever it’s trying to do, it has to fail miserably at that." These videos aren't of posers trying too hard; they are genuine, serious videos which people have produced. Which to be honest, makes them all the funnier. 

The night was filled with weird and wonderful videos, most of which were montages which the guys had compiled over the years and we saw such classics as: magic rainbow craft sponging, exercise videos, public access footage, a song about every single astrological sign,  Arnold Schwarzenegger at Rio Carnival, various home movies, "Rent-a-Friend", How To Seduce Women Through Hypnotism and a dating video montage. 

Between videos, we were told the history of the video we were about to watch and some funny anecdotes to match. These were very entertaining and there are all kinds of extras and interviews on the 5 volumes of 'The Found Footage Festival' DVDs, which are available to buy. The sixth volume is due to be released on 28th July and can be pre-ordered here.

The quality of the comedy was spectacular, we didn't see a single un-funny video and the room was in stitches all night. It's basically like someone showing you the funniest videos on YouTube and weeding out the stuff that it isn't worth seeing. Joe and Nick have done all the work - so we don't have to.

By Laura Caldwell

Titanic Week and Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival Picks!

Titanic Week

The Titanic Belfast Festival is finally here to commemorate 100 years since the big boat sailed away.  They're putting on MTV concerts, boutique festivals, light shows, dramatisations, tours, plays, movies, all sorts to mark the occasion.  But the Biggest news is the opening of the 90 odd million pound Titanic  Belfast Centre.  Now PastieBap.com hasn't had a chance to go yet but we will be there at the end of the month and we'll be giving our opinion on whether its been £97 million well spent.  But I have to say that the buzz surrounding the opening was phenomenal.  It was all over the social media and world wide; the news papers were spreading the news. I personally am excited to see what it's like and I'm excited for Belfast to get such an impressive looking building.  It certainly makes my train ride into work that little bit better looking and it's a welcome addition to the port of Belfast.  The rejuvenation of the Titanic Quarter as a whole has been a breath of fresh air for Belfast and securing these sorts of monies can't have been easy especially during this recession. I feel it firmly secures Belfast as a world class city and an excellent holiday destination for anyone visiting for the UK or world wide.  In fact we like the building so much we've put it in our banner!  Come back at the start of May for our full write up.

Titanic Belfast

Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival Picks!

These are our top picks from the upcoming Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival.  There is a lot to choose from however so go and have a wee look for yourself.

Tickets

 

Tickets

Tickets

Tickets

Tickets

The Out to Lunch Festival 2012

Ah so the Out to lunch festival.  What a great idea, put on shows that are roughly an hour long serve up some great food and so people can go on their lunch breaks and have fun and food!  I went to see a Marxist magician at the OTLF last year and it was great craic and the food wasn't bad either.  So this year when the brochure came out I paid a bit more attention.  Also for £6 for a show and food you really can't beat it.  Sure what would you be doing that's better on your lunch break anyway?

Only it's not all done during lunch.  It's expanded over the years, so now some of the Out to Lunch festival take place....well...not at lunch time.  I decided on seeing 5 shows. 3 at lunch and 2 at night.  the food on all 3 days was provided by La Boca and I have to say was fairly delicious.  it was also different at all 3 events which was good cause i didn't want o be getting the same thing every time.  I had a Jambalaya one time and and cous cous another time.  LaBoca is known for their Argentinean food so i wasn't always familiar with what i was eating but i can say it was always tasty.  So with bowl in hand and crusty roll ready for dunking here's the shows.

Kevin McAleer

Comdey at lunch time is a tough one.  Comedy when no-one is drinking is an even tougher one. Comedy at Lunch when no-one's drinking in front of an NI crowd is supremely tough.  But Kevin McAleer pulled it off.  I remember watching Kevin's slide show on an VHS (kids ask you parents) when I was but a young 'un.  I remember laughing my arse off at it.  So when I heard that he was bringing that show back I was more than excited.  if you're not familiar basically he shows a lot of slides and makes joke about them.  It's quite surrealist humour. Also I find Kevin to be funny from the moment I see him, like a Mr. Bean or a Father Dougal from Father Ted.  The moment you see him you can't help but laugh.  And it was obvious from the moment he stepped on stage that this crowd agreed with me.  An hour later as he left I had to return to work with sore side and an aching jaw.

Dorance Lorza y the sexteto cafeI have never seen the Black box as busy as I have for  Dorance Lorza y the sexteto cafe. Barely room to stand let alone sit!  Half the room was taken up with the dance floor and even then it was hard to find a place to dance. As the Latin music filled the air and I indulged in a few Erdingers i even found myself getting up for a dance or 2 and to the people who had to witness it i say sorry. Colombian born  Dorance Lorza wasan amazing front man as he sashayed around the stage and eventually the dance floor belting out music the likes I've never heard before- a sort of caribbean cuban jazz salsa - he had the crowd in the palm of his hand.  A great night that got a tad hazy towards the end (blame the Erdinger) but a great night all in all.

Sarah Savoy and the Francadians

I'd never heard of Sarah Savoy prior to this event, but I do love my down south Cajun music and I do speak a little French, so I thought I'd give this ago.  Sarah sings her way through song after song about lost love and dramatic circumstances backed by her band the Francadians. God only know how her husband feels about all this.  But you could ask him if you want, he's playing the double bass.  But with the songs sounding jaunty and raucous you'd never guess that half of them where so dark, but she takes the time at the start of each song to talk us through the story of the song and helpfully she does this part in English.  The rest is in French. She also does a few covers including Hank Williams - mind your own business in French and Jonny Cash - Folsom prison blues in English.

The band banter well on stage talking about how they've just devoured a 24 inch pizza back stage and how that makes it hard to sing some of the more Tongue twistering lyrics.  It seems like they're having a genuinely good time and are thrilled to be here.  I'm not sure how many of the crowd knew Sarah Savoy when the arrived but i think we were all fans when we left, stoping only to buy her Cd and her DVD of good old fashioned Cajun cooking.

SwingabellaDouble bass. Keyboard. 3 women singing (mainly but not exclusively) 40's and 50's songs. 2 blondes and a brunette with victory rolls and navy day dresses from Tipperary, Cork and Portadown.  I admit it's not a usual way to spend a weekday lunch time, but its definitely a great way.

I'll admit that I'm a sucker for a good vocal harmony, maybe it's because it's something i'll never be able to do, maybe its the sound of the voices coming together, whatever it is I love it! And these girls do it perfectly.  They open with sisters, sisters and from there the tunes just keep coming. Java jive, To know him is to love him, Video killed the radio star, Mr sandman,In the mood , Don't sit under the apple tree and eventually finishing off with Goodnight sweet heart. Oh and They also squeezed in a version of Beyonce's Single ladies in a bizarre con-incidents it transpires that the double bassist is one of the singers husband! That's 2 times in 1 week!

Opera at Lunch

Presented by NI Opera and featuring a cast of top-notch young singers they barrelled though an hour of some of the best bits from well known opera's. One of the High lights was when one of the young male singers went though the audience Serenading the ladies with his operatic song. I'm not a massive fan or Opera  but I have to say i enjoyed it presented in this format. Alot of it was sung in enlish which made for better understanding of what was going on but a few were sung in  Italian and Czech.

The NI top 6 (things) of 2011

This was originally intended as a top 5 but I've just realised its actually 6 so there you go!  Also I'd state these are in no particular order but I'm sure Sigmund Freud would argue there's no such thing.  As such I present PastieBaps NI top 6 of 2011!


Mental Deficiency

This was the year of Mental deficiency!  The got management, they released a bloody brilliant album, they filled the Black box for the album launch and they invaded the Edinburgh fringe festival.  They also managed to support larger bands in a variety of venues.  The most amazing part of this feat is that they weren't just random bands they were supporting, they were bands that would be playing to the exact crowd that would appreciate their music, thus exposing them to a much larger audience.  But more importantly an audience that would appreciate their musical stylings!  I was there for both The Rubber bandits and the Electric six gigs and both times they played to fairly sizable audiences and i would suspect at least half of the audience at these gig would've been people that had never seen Mental Def before.  It'll be in an interesting 2012 with the difficult second album looming and a watchful eye waiting to see where they go from here.

Pigstock
Expanding to 2 days and with an improved lay-out this year saw a stellar line up and improved attendance for Pigstock. In my opinion much better than Glasgowbury as the lack of outside influences and the real 'Small Festival' feel. I enjoyed it so much I'll be attending next year regardless of line up. Also regardless of that ridiculous hill you have to walk up to get there.



MTV EMA's

The visitors came. The stars came.  the whole thing went off without a hitch and it was a brilliant way to show case Belfast to the rest of the world.  Snow Patrol done what they do and people who like Snow Patrol told me it was good.  I was in Belfast with a few mates that weekend and the buzz was evident around the city. The build up was fantastic with Music Week putting on a spate of gigs showing off the great and good and creating a great deal of hype (and debate) around the province. 

The Black Box
Best venue in Belfast.   Again showing its versatility the Black Box put on no end of Brilliant events throughout 2011.  Poetry, Magicians, Gigs, Cabaret, Album launches, fundraisers the list goes on and on.  it really seems that there very little that can't be put on in this venue.  It's versatility is unbounded.  The green room i felt really came into its own as well making this a regular spot for people even when there wasn't something on in the Black Box itself.  A great place for some coffee, a few beers and even a slice of Pizza.


 I also need to mention the amount of performances put on in the green room ranging from comedians to Art displays and everyhting in between. A place with a real community feel but located so centrally is great to have and a great place to show off how far Belfast has come in passing years. A great venue in a great location and a real asset to the Cathedral Quarter as a whole.  They recently received news that they had secured £25,000 in funding to help them reach their aim of being self sufficient so it seems like we'll have the Black Box for the fore see able future.

The Wonder Villains
I saw them at Glasgowbury early in the afternoon on one of the side stages and was blown away.  Next they were playing the Oh Yeah centre on culture night then BAMM! They're playing on Radio 1 in the Maida Vale studios! For a band so young they've accomplished a lot so far.  They're insanely catchy brand of all out retro indie pop was bound to catch on and in 2011 it did just that.  I can't wait to catch them playing bigger and bigger gigs in 2012.


Belfast Culture Night
Brilliantly publicised through Social networking sites that ultimately lead to a word of (virtual) mouth campaign that at times had filled my time line with people talking about it. This ensured that Culture night was a huge success! The Streets of Belfast and particularly the Cathedral Quarter where absolutely hoaching with people and the mixture of music, art, plays, food and everything else. Everywhere you went was something else going on and all for free!  Now for next year they just need to get the licensing arangements so we can wander between venues with our drinks!

Christmas Cracker at the Black Box

The Black Box in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter is one of my all time favourite venues and I like to go and support it as much as possible. So when I heard that they were holding a so called 'Christmas Cracker', I gathered up my family and headed out.

Suffice to say that none of us really knew what to expect, however we had gone to the previous two years Pigeon and Plum's Vaudeville Circus and this event featured many of the same performers. The Black Box itself lives up to its name very well, the main room is literally a black box, yet it had been transformed into a veritable wonderland of winter-ness. Paper decorations and tinsel hung from every possible space and a dozen or so tables had been set up across the floor. Christmas music was playing and guests were greeted by mulled wine and a man wearing a ridiculous wig and pink dress...this was going to be an interesting night.

The mood was high and the stage was adorned with christmas decorations galore, it was made up to look like an old 70's style living room, complete with an easy chair, a christmas tree and presents. As we took our seats and sipped at our mulled wine the room began to fill up and it was announced that the hog roast was ready. Yes, you heard, a delicious hog roast.  So after we had all eaten our weight in pork and crackling the show was ready to begin...

We were greeted by the charming 'Miss Candy Cane' who sang a selection of christmas songs including Jingle Bells and All I Want For Christmas Is You. Next up on stage was our host, Ron Crackling who wore a festive Christmas jumper and dodgy toupee. Ron was quite the character and his cheeky smile and sarcastic banter won the audience over instantly, it was clear that everybody was here for a good time.

The Christmas Cracker is basically a tongue-in-cheek variety show which doesn't take itself too seriously. Each performer has their own unique personality which is always as entertaining (if not more so) than the act which they are performing. The performers made good use of all of the Black Box's facilities, using a projector to display a short filmed skit of Ron running all around town looking for presents, this was an unexpected treat and added to the enjoyment over all.

However, I did get the impression that the Christmas theme wasn't a strict one, as the next performance was a hula hooping spacewoman and 'blue blob' (a woman in a blue morph suit who crawled around the stage grinning maniacally while staring at the spacewoman). This didn't matter though, as the audience was practically crying with laughter at this surreal scene. As an added bonus, the hula hooping was very impressive too.

Another particularly poignant, yet surreal moment is when Ron and a man wearing a David Bowie mask (and curtain/cape) dueted on Little Drummer Boy, both of which gave it stacks. Other performances included a sexy christmas burlesque dancer, a lot more singing and a rather impressive escapology act.

Next, the part we'd all been waiting for, the prizes for the 'best Christmas jumper' competition. The audience had donned their craziest knits and we saw some spectacular options including one which featured Santa's legs hanging out of a chimney. The winners however where a couple with matching his and hers jumpers (see below).

My personal highlight of the whole night is when the entirety of the cast gathered on stage in order to participate in a rendition of East 17's classic Christmas song Stay Another Day. Some of the older members obviously didn't know the words, but everyone gave it their all regardless, dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. It was definitely one of the funniest things I have seen all year. It's hard to describe The Christmas Cracker to someone who wasn't there, descriptions really don't do it justice at all. It's one of those 'you had to be there' events and I urge everyone to go next year, as it's definitely been the highlight of mine.