In this article, we will look at some directors without many feature credits to their names who have films starting to make festival tours. We will look at their backgrounds, their styles, and why we think viewers should be excited about their projects.

Rose Glass

Rose Glass got her start making short films at the London College of Communication and the National Film and Television School. In 2019, she made a splash in the horror world with her first feature film, Saint Maud. Her direction and writing yielded a film with an impressively dour and creepy atmosphere, fantastic lead performances and nuanced female characters. Saint Maud saw Glass nominated for several industry awards, including at the BAFTAs and Fangoria’s Chainsaw Awards. Marking her as a director to watch. With her latest film, Love Lies Bleeding, having its UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival later this month, it will be interesting to see Glass’ dark, character-focused style in use in a different genre, in this case, a crime story.

Pamela Adlon

With a career reaching back to Grease 2 (1982), which includes acting, writing, producing and TV directing credits, Pamela Adlon is now making her feature directorial debut this year with Babes. Which will be premiering at SXSW. Her citing John Cassavetes’ “conversational, documentary-style” as a creative influence on prior projects, her long acting career and her previous experience directing the naturalistic comedy series Better Things, which, like Babes, deals with themes of motherhood, it’s easy to see Babes being a great launching pad for an artist interested in creating more realistic, grounded work.

Jon Bell

RGM artists call Jon Bell “one of the most experienced Indigenous Screenwriters in Australia”. With writing credits on several award-winning television projects already under his belt. His first feature film is an extension of his short The Moogai. Which I stated was the scariest short film at Celluloid Screams 2021. Owing to Bell’s ability to develop great tension through dark visuals, careful editing and eliciting great performances from his cast. The Moogai (2024) has already had a screening at Sundance and will have a later showing at SXSW. If Bell can keep the style he demonstrated in the original short while expanding the story in interesting ways then The Moogai (2024) may be on track to be one of 2024’s best horror films.

Tiago Teixeira

Another horror director about to make the leap from shorts to full-length films is Tiago Teixeira. The Frightfest regular (his previous shorts Molar, Dog Skin and Wrong Number all having played at the festival before) will be debuting his upcoming movie Custom at Glasgow Frightfest in March. The award-winning filmmaker’s penchant for precise and glacial camera movement, eye-catching colour and his clear understanding of visual storytelling, owing to his studying of cinema and design, should have horror fans excited for an arresting work that doesn’t rely solely on sound for scares.

Julie Lunde Lillesæter

Finally, we would like to highlight a documentary filmmaker whose work has already been featured on several high-profile news sources and whose feature debut will be coming to SXSW soon. A critical media and communication studies graduate from LSE, Lillesæter’s career has focused on humanising marginalised and oppressed voices. Such as migrants, the LGBTQ community and people affected by climate change. Her mixture of handheld and poetic visuals creates both an immediacy and an emotional depth to her work. Her film An Army of Women looks at a group of women’s struggle for justice against law enforcement for their inaction regarding sexual violence cases. An unfortunately all too common occurrence. With Lillesæter’s track record, this film is sure to provide searing insight into a difficult subject. In a way that sensitively foregrounds the people affected.

These are just some up-and-coming directors whose careers we are interested to see progress. Hopefully, their upcoming projects will cement their positions as filmmakers. And with many talented new directors out there we will continue seeking out more rising creators for everyone to see.

Also Read: The Impact: How Dozens of Filmmakers Around The World Crowd-Created A Film About The Apocalypse

The post Emerging Directors To Watch In 2024 appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

The online festival hosted five movies produced in South Korea as part of its Country Focus program. Which draws attention to the works of a specific part of the world. Today we will quickly run down each movie shown in this program from worst to best. We will provide a basic plot synopsis of each movie and summarise whether you should watch them.

The Swordsman

In this story, royal guard Tae-yul has gone into hiding with his daughter Tae-ok, and is slowly going blind. Nonetheless, he is forced to take up the sword again when his daughter is captured by slaver Gurutai.

This was the program’s most disappointing entry. Unlike other acclaimed modern South Korean action films, such as A Bittersweet Life and The Villainess which had great senses of style and strong characterisation, The Swordsman feels very inert. With the choreography being flat and most of the characters feeling like stock archetypes. Unfortunately, though the actors try their best, The Swordsman doesn’t cut the mustard. Rating: (2 / 5).

Da Capo

Described as a treat for fans of Sing Street and School of Rock, Da Capo follows musician Tae-Il who returns to his hometown and helps his former bandmate Ji-Won by training a young band at her music school to enter a competition.

Those looking for something new may be disappointed by Da Capo. The story is fairly cliché, being all about a struggling musician who comes to find fulfilment in just playing music rather than being successful. The film works best if seen as a love letter to making music. Watching the main characters explore their passion is intoxicating. Also, it’s helped along by a stellar soundtrack and some creative camerawork that gets across the otherworldly wonder of creating something. It may be a familiar tune but it’s still an enjoyable listen. Rating: (3 / 5).

Voice of Silence

An oddball crime film where Tae-in, a mute man who provides clean-up services for organised crime, is forced to care for a young child while his boss waits for her ransom to be paid. But things soon go awry. And both he and his partner, Chang-bok, must find a way out for them and the child.

Voice of Silence is an unpredictable experience. Beginning as a mildly violent crime film, with the two main characters having to take care of bodies for their mob boss, it then transitions into a lightly comedic caper as they look after the kidnapped girl, before delving into some unsettling territory in the last third. While the fluctuating tone may put some viewers off and most of the characters do lack depth it’s worth viewing for the excitement of watching the story unfold. Rating: (3 / 5).

Our Midnight

Struggling actor Ji-hoon takes up a job patrolling the bridge over the Han River to stop people from jumping. One night he meets Eun-yeung who is struggling at work and they begin to form a bond as they drift through the city of Seoul.

Our Midnight is a beautiful meditative piece about the hardship of living in an uncaring modern world. Despite its problems, such as one scene’s random inclusion of fantastical elements, the narrative being a bit loose and sometimes hard to follow and relying a bit too much on dialogue to make its point, the story’s sheer power, the beautiful black and white cinematography and the emotionally resonant performances from the leads make it worthwhile. Rating: (3.5 / 5).

The Man Standing Next

When the KCIA’s former head, Park Yong-gak, offers to give information against South Korea’s President Park to the US, Kim Gyu-pyeong, the current KCIA head, must “solve” the problem. But as President Park becomes more dangerously paranoid thanks to corrupting influences in his inner circle and protests threatening to erupt, how can Kim “solve” this situation?

Undoubtedly this thriller was the Country Focus program’s highlight. The writing is riveting. With great dialogue and captivating character work that effectively explores the relationships and drives of the central players. Its direction and music create a tense atmosphere. And finally, the actors are all fantastic. Particularly Lee Byung-hun who invests Kim with a good deal of humanity masked by an outwardly stoic manor. No wonder this was South Korea’s submission for Best International Feature at the 2021 Oscars. Rating: (4 / 5).

This ends my recap of the 2021 Glasgow Film Festival South Korean Country Focus program. If any of these films piqued your interest be sure to track them down and let us know what you think of them.

Also Read: Netflix and The Success of South Korea

Your contribution to Big Picture Film Club will allow us to continue to produce content. No matter the amount your contributions are greatly appreciated.

The post Spotlight on South Korea at the Glasgow Film Festival appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Today we will explore the positives and negatives of moving online. As well as the impact it could have on film festivals in the future. But first, let’s look at how some festivals took their experience online.

How Film Festivals Went Online

The main consideration when moving online was how the festivals were going to host their selection of films. Major brands found two methods to accomplish this:

Some partnered with major streaming services to help bring their programmes to the internet. For example, South by Southwest 2020 teamed up with Amazon Prime to deliver 39 of their programmed titles.

Meanwhile, others like Sundance have developed their own platforms to provide both film programmes and additional festival branded content such as Q&As, industry talks, and interactive experiences. But what are the positives and negatives of going digital?

The Cons

Of course, there are negatives to this arrangement. Firstly, the experience doesn’t feel the same as seeing movies on a large screen with a big audience. Which will upset cinema purists.

Some also fear it’s a good opportunity for pirating movies meaning the festival, filmmakers, and distributors may not receive as much money in the future. Several festivals have however tried to reduce that risk by watermarking films and geo-blocking their online content.

Lastly, there are worries about how online showings can negatively affect smaller films. Because several major festivals are only showing a limited number of movies, smaller films might not have the opportunity to receive the profile boost that would come with being a part of a big festival. And some argue that giving premiere rights to festivals using streaming services will deter future distributors.

The Pros

But the positives arguably outweigh the cons. Firstly, it offers convenience for viewers by allowing festival selections to be viewed from home. Without needing to spend money on travel and accommodation. Which helps improve the festival’s brand while allowing a larger amount of people to financially contribute to the festival.

This move also helps industry professionals to continue working. Some digital festivals are allowing filmed project pitches to be sent in. As well as this, online industry talks and marketplaces allow film workers to continue to find work, finance, and homes for their projects. Meaning new projects will still be produced thanks to online networking.

Also, despite the worries previously mentioned the move to the internet could greatly help independent films and festivals. It removes the venue barrier as festivals can simply use a website. And it allows their selections to reach a wider audience. Therefore, allowing independent projects greater visibility than before.

Lastly, it further legitimizes the online sphere within an industry continually apprehensive about the internet. Showing with successes like The London Film Festival that digital screenings (in whole or in part) can attract big audiences.

Can Festivals Go Back to Normal?

While many view moving online as temporary, it’s hard to see future festivals going back to being entirely physical after the COVID-19 threat has passed. Because this experiment allows a vaster range of people access to the festival’s materials it would seem silly to shut out this potential audience when things return to normal. It’s probably more likely that as festivals go forward they will try to incorporate online elements alongside the physical experience. As it will allow festivals to take more money and act as a really good tool for attracting those without the finance needed to physically attend.

Conclusion

In summation, despite some downsides, the move online greatly benefits film festivals, fans, and workers across the world. Whether partnering with streaming giants or using their own portals it’s hard to see the festival experience going entirely back to in-person screenings once COVID has been tackled.

Finally, listed below are several upcoming online festivals for you to keep an eye on. Warning, some festival features are geo-blocked:

• Sundance Film Festival
• Glasgow Film Festival
• SXSW Film Festival

If there are any upcoming online film festivals you are looking forward to, let us know.

Also Read: How Film Changed Me: On The Cultural Void

Your contribution to Big Picture Film Club will allow us to continue to produce content. No matter the amount your contributions are greatly appreciated.

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