Looking and Leaving

Don’t Look Up follows a group of scientists trying to warn everyone about a comet that will destroy the world. Only to find that American media is too interested in distracting the public, politicians are too willing to delay acting so that they can eventually use the situation to favour them electorally and billionaires use the situation to test hastily created tech which hasn’t been peer-reviewed. All of which eventually results in the world ending.

Leave The World Behind sees a family escaping the city for the country when strange things start happening. They witness an oil tanker running aground, the internet going out, the TV not picking up signals and the father and daughter who supposedly own the house (though they don’t have ID) turn up at the door. All of which puts them on edge as they try to navigate what is going on. By the end, we are not sure if the US is being invaded, if this was down to hackers, a satellite fault or all or none of the above. The only certainty is that humanity has been decimated physically and mentally by the technology we rely on.

As of April 28th this year both films are among Netflix’s most popular English-language films.

Where Fiction Meets Reality

Despite their differences, both films have several common themes. They talk about how little the world is prepared for disaster. They mistrust how pivotal modern technology is to our lives, particularly those fronted by high-profile self-obsessed billionaires. While also acting as critiques of American policy (both domestic and overseas).

And given many recent events like Western politicians continually backtracking on climate pledges despite much of the world already feeling its effects, the disasters brought about by products owned by high-profile people like Elon Musk, US politicians pushing policies and rhetoric that can put their constituencies at risk and facilitating imperialist actions like backing the alleged genocide in Gaza, it’s easy to see why the films would continue to speak to audiences.

But both these films also showcase something else, apathy. 

Apathy in Film and Politics

Don’t Look Up mainly focuses on the apathy of politicians, who are portrayed as only caring about serving people when the situation can benefit them. Meanwhile, Leave The World Behind reflects the apathy of general people (or at least a subsection who can afford to get away at the drop of a hat) towards politics. The film’s central family only becomes concerned with the wider world when events and people intrude on their lives. Never recognising that for other communities (like people of colour) politics is something that affects them all the time.

Recently stories like the US President finally paying attention to the tragedy that happened in East Palestine due to it now being an election year and the marginally shifting rhetoric from some politicians regarding Gaza because of threats to their job security, among many others, have shown the clear apathy of politicians to people’s safety. Plus the move to neuter trade union activity and the bids to demonise Palestine marches helps to further insulate people privileged enough to be apathetic about the state of the world. Both films hit the nail on the head when it comes to capturing political apathy in a way reflective of real life and given the stake so many people have in politics its easy for many to see their fears laid out plainly in these narratives, which could be a factor in their success.

Conclusion

Don’t Look Up and Leave The World Behind speak about many big political fears today. But the theme that underpins both stories is the lack of care for how political decisions impact others. And given how reflective they seem of real-world attitudes it’s easy to see why they remain popular.

Also Read: ‘American Psycho’ to ‘The L Word’: Guinevere Turner Details Her Transformative Storytelling

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About While We Watched

While We Watched is a newsroom drama intimately chronicling the working days of broadcast journalist Ravish Kumar as he navigates a spiralling world of truth and disinformation. As factual reporting is in freefall globally, WHILE WE WATCHED is a dignified lens into the abyss.

Watch the full interview with Vinay Shukla below.

Also Read: Political Thrillers: Between Fact, Fiction, and Hidden Agendas

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Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher is available to watch now on Amazon Prime

Also Read: Episode 007 The Big Picture Film Club Podcast ft Dom Lenoir & Matt Hookings

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Big Picture Film Club started in 2015 with a straightforward mission: to find films that we wouldn’t usually see in the cinema and create an event where we can watch them with friends. Since starting our first events we’ve had the privilege of working across the film sector: from a U.K-wide screening programme with Odeon Cinemas to producing a wide array of events and interviews with people within the film & TV industry. However, early into our journey, we started to see a disconnect between the great films our audience and ourselves have been exposed to from both emerging and independent filmmakers and the limited options people had to distribute their films, particularly after their film festival run. How could we help filmmakers expand the reach of their films? Why are there limited opportunities for broadcasters and streamers to get the right film & TV content? How can we make the distribution of films simpler? These were some of the questions we were asking ourselves. And from these questions and crowdsourcing opinions from people at every level of the film industry we developed our new platform, known as Cinnect.

Introducing Cinnect

Our vision for Cinnect is to create a platform that allows the owners of film & TV content to directly distribute their content to buyers from all around the world in a way that is easy and transparent. There are many aspects of a filmmaker distributing their film, both within your own country and outside your own national borders, and we wanted to reduce those barriers that prevent great content from reaching new audiences. We’ve built a number of features on our platform to help make the journey of film & TV distribution simpler: such as the ability to securely see or send film & TV screeners, make legal agreements within the platform, video conference with other users, send and receive payments and intuitively submit your content to prospective buyers. Alongside this, we are working strategically with different service providers and film festival partners to deliver a truly unique platform.

The journey so far

With the platform nearing its release, we’ve already had over 100 companies from over a dozen countries sign up. This includes film companies not only from right here in the U.K but as far afield as South Korea, Australia, U.S, Canada, Italy, France and more. We’re continuing to build more partnerships by the day and from the initial response, we’re very excited to see what the future holds for independent films.

If you’re filmmaker or production company and want to distribute your content on Cinnect you can sign up below, alternatively, book a demo call with us to have a walkthrough of the platform and discuss how we can help you.

Also Read: The New Hollywood: Streaming Giants

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The London Action Festival, which runs from 28-31 July, is a first-of-its-kind celebration of one of the most globally produced and commercially successful genres of Film and TV will launch in London with a major 4-day celebration this Summer. Ticketing and full information can be found at: www.londonactionfestival.com

Speaking with Festival Co-Directors Julian Alcantara & Ron Fogelman, as well as festival Chairman, Lee Vandermolen, we got a glimpse of what action fans can expect from the festival. Read our interview below.

There aren’t that many film festivals devoted specifically to the action genre, why do you think that is and how did the London Action Film Festival come about?

It was for that very reason – when we realised no one had delivered a world-class celebration of all things Action before – we knew that had to be addressed.

When it comes to the main awards seasons, Action films and TV are over often overlooked. That absolutely shouldn’t be the case as, in so many ways, they are a centre of excellence that has sat at the heart of the global entertainment industry since its very beginning. It takes a lot of effort to appear effortless!

Our ethos is shared with our Senior Media Sponsor Den of Geek which is “By Experts For Fans” which is why we connected so strongly on the creation of this Festival. We really want the Festival to be a meeting point between leading figures in the industry, across all the disciplines of film-making, and the audience. We hope we can always get the balance right between being fun and informative and that’s our approach to building the inaugural year’s line-up of events.

There’s our Special Event the “Friday Night Showdown” -a truly spectacular 2 hours of entertainment on July 29th with an incredible array of talent. There we will launch our “Moving Target” Awards. Already announced are Outstanding Contributions to Action Cinema awards for two industry greats; John McTiernan (“Die Hard” “Die Hard With A Vengeance”, “Predator” and “The Hunt For Red October”) and legendary stuntman, stunt coordinator and action director, Vic Armstrong.

We’ll be celebrating John McTiernan’s work with our Special Event “The World’s Greatest “Die Hard” Screening Ever (Probably!)” on July 28th in which not only will John give his insight as to why so many people consider the film the greatest action movie of all time, but we seek to prove that it is indeed a Christmas movie. Helping us will be everyone’s favourite tough guy Robert Davi (“The Goonies”, “Licence To Kill”) who played Agent “Big “Johnson in the movie. Robert’s going to help us win the global debate … with a song!. We’re also holding a special 35th anniversary screening of John’s masterpiece “Predator”.

Vic Armstrong is one of the greatest names in the business with an incredible legacy that is still growing. The award to him is also part of our initiative to ensure this sector of the entertainment industry gets the recognition that is long overdue. We’re also holding panels on the best car chases on film with three of the best stunt drivers in the world and, with the British Stunt Register, running a panel called “Don’t Try This At Home – How To Be A Stunt Professional”.

We’ll also take a look at the world of music composition for film in “What’s The Score” which is being run by Oscar-winner Steven Price (“Gravity” and a regular collaborator of Edgar Wright’s). We’re proud to be working with Proof Inc. one of Hollywood and London’s leading visualisation and pre-vis companies on a masterclass on the making of “Jurassic World Dominion”.

With many classic action titles to choose from how did you go about curating the selection of films?

Well we started by listening to everyone. The enthusiasm for the Festival has become infectious. We want the festival to become an annual fixture for the industry and we knew we couldn’t be all things to all people in our first year. What we hope we have achieved, and are keen to build on, is a carefully curated look at the Past, Present and Future of Action Film & TV.

As you rightly say, there are so many classic action titles so there will often be something truly great that is celebrating an anniversary. In the Festival we have two: we’ve already mentioned “Predator” plus the gloriously entertaining “Con Air” is celebrating its 25th anniversary and we’re screening it in 35mm plus an exclusive Q&A with director Simon West.

Aside from panel events representing the craft behind so many key disciplines of Action film-making, we also have two exclusive events. MARV (the makers of “The Kingsman” and “Kick Ass”) have given us a privileged look at footage from their 2023 release “School Fight” marking the directorial debut of their regular stunt co-ordinator Damien Walters. Damien will explain how he made the leap into directing and will be joined by key members of the cast.

We also pay attention to the incredible body of work from the TV industry and thanks to Sky and Pulse Films, we will be joined by Director Corin Hardy for a look at the hit show “Gangs of London” with an exclusive look at material from Series 2 due out later this year. This is very much a global genre and so we want build our coverage of international action cinema and have made a start with The “World In Action” which delivers an in depth look at the incredible contribution to Action from Asian (and particularly HK) cinema. That is accompanied with a screening of recently restored “The Legend of Drunken Master” in its original Hong Kong version and which is one of the BFI’s top 10 Action Films of all time.

This is really a beginning for us and we hope to highlight all forms of Cinema and TV from around the world in the future.

Also Read: The Best Action Films of the Decade (2010 – 2019)

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You can watch the full interview below:

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Also Read: Gio Arlotta Discusses His Documentary “W.I.T.C.H” and the ZamRock Movement of the 70s

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Top Gun’s story is centred around a training academy that produces the very best pilots. Tom Cruise plays the ambitious main protagonist (Maverick) who wanted to be number one and Top Gun shows us the rivalry Tom’s character has with the current number 1 (Ice) played by Val Kilmer. Tragedy, coming of age, romance and action, with a cracking 80’s soundtrack. I found that Top Gun is still an entertaining watch as an adult.

Val Kilmer

Val Kilmer plays the confrontational Ice Man. The rival to Tom Cruise’s Maverick. The American actor later starred in Heat (1995), Batman Forever (1995) and worked with Top Gun Director Tony Scott again on True Romance (1993) and Deja Vu (2006).

In his interview with the New York Times Kilmer revealed he had developed a tumour. It was 2014 when a doctor diagnosed him with throat cancer. The treatments that followed involved chemotherapy and a tracheostomy. The Batman beat Cancer, but was left in a debilitating condition. His ailment meant that he now has to eat through a tube and use an electric voice box in order to speak. Kilmer featured in the autobiographical documentary Val (2021) after his recovery. You can hear how the actor sounds post throat cancer towards the end of the trailer.

Remarkably, despite his unfortunate circumstances, Val is still able to work. How could an actor who uses an electrolarynx be able to work? Through the power of technology.

Sonantic

John Flynn and Zeena Quereshi founded Sonantic in 2018. Their aim was to improve upon the common and robotic-sounding text-to-speech solutions that convert written text into spoken words. They achieve a hyper-realistic outcome by creating a model of an actor’s voice using the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In 2020 Sonantic created Faith, who they claim is the first AI that can cry. Check out this demonstration of the emotion their algorithm is capable of conveying.

Return of the Ice Man

The Washington Post reported that Sonantic were approached by Val Kilmer’s representatives to make a custom AI voice model for him. The usual process involves having actors record a script and feeding the recorded audio into their Voice Engine (VE). The VE then trains the AI model. But because Val couldn’t record, Sonantic had to research and implement new algorithms. This resulted in more than 40 different voice models, so Sonantic selected the best one to use for Val. After the model is chosen, it can be fine-tuned in Sonantic’s desktop application. You can read more about the full process here and check out a clip of Val’s voice model below.

Sonantic developed desktop software with a beautiful UI (User Interface) that resembles DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) tooling. Operators have options to choose what kind of emotion the audio is delivered in and choices range from anger to happiness. One could opt for a shouting style and even configure the intensity. Perhaps a director wants the actor to convey a high amount of fear in a scene? Well, there’s an option you can toggle to make the voice sound like it is extremely fearful. A custom dictionary allows one to add new words to the model. Editors can adjust the pitch, the pacing and alter the emphasis too. One can even batch process multiple voices at once. It sounds powerful, doesn’t it? Check out the video demonstration to see this all in action.

Is an AI Voice Model Ethical?

Kilmer felt confident enough in his audio doppelgänger to pitch an idea to Top Gun Maverick Director Joseph Kosinski. The voice model and accompanying software offer filmmakers unparalleled control over an actor’s voice. But this leap forward in voice technology raises ethical questions. What if the actor is deceased? Should the model still be used? What if the software is misused in combination with deep fake technology? Could the actor be impersonated? Sonantic addresses these valid concerns in an article sharing their guidelines and principles.

The AI audio pioneers offered their assurances to actors worried machines are coming for their jobs. Sonantic’s mission is to empower actors, not to replace them. A synthetic voice can be used on multiple projects simultaneously. This could drastically increase earning potential and give actors a passive income. Film production budgets will be able to retain funds that would otherwise be used to cater for actors on site. Maybe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks?

Conclusion

I previously wrote about A Space Odessey 2001. A movie which featured the computer AI – HAL 9000. Back in 1968, the fictional precursor to Siri and Alexa was voiced by an actor. But in 2022 the actor could be at home while his voice model went to work for him. Synthesised voices do carry concerns about potential misuse and some may be wary of their potential to replace actors. But Val Kilmer’s story is a shining example of the good that voice tech can do to empower actors. Hopefully, fans of the original Top Gun movie will be glad that Sonantic’s Photoshop for voice exists. After all, you wouldn’t be able to bring back the Ice Man without it.

Also Read: Artificial Intelligence: The New Art of Storytelling?

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Also Read: Six Underrated Movie Sequels

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About Babylon

“Babylon follows the story of David, a working-class musician and black man in South West London. By day he works as a mechanic, at night David is a Mic controller at a local dance hall. The film centres around the racial divide of London in the 80s, the lack of opportunities available to black people and poverty. David loses his job, gets beaten up and charged by the police, forcing him to go on the run.”

Also Read: The Ingredients Of A Cult Classic

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Prelude To Axanar

Axanar represents an important moment in Trek history, both in and out of the universe. As the title suggests, this was a taster for a film centred around the battle of Axanar, the Federation’s first battle with the Klingons. Shot as a fictional documentary, it was designed to show that great fan films didn’t need huge budgets, as well as act as a showcase for the film itself. However, Paramount and CBS, who own the copyright, got wind of the efforts and threatened to sue the team. It was eventually settled, after harsh guidelines and restrictions on fan productions were introduced, but meant that the project would now be released as two 15-minute parts, rather than a 90-minute feature.

Star Trek- Horizon

Set in the prequel era of Star Trek: Enterprise, this impressive fan film focuses on the Discovery and its mission to help a Romulan defector and keep an ancient doomsday weapon out of their hands. While not the most original premise, the draw here is that, for a fan project, it’s very impressive. The effects are good for its small budget, and various elements from Trek canon make it feel like part of the universe in a seamless way. A sequel was planned but was reworked into an original project after the fan fiction guidelines changed.

Star Trek Continues

As Kirk says in the iconic intro to the original series, the Enterprise is on a 5-year mission. Although changes to the airing of episodes meant that the dates didn’t always go in order, the series chronicles three of those years. Star Trek Continues shows some of the events of the final year, giving the series a proper conclusion. The look and feel of the original series is lovingly recreated, with sets built from the original blueprints and filmed in the same aspect ratio. It also features a stellar cast including Mythbusters Grant Imahara as Sulu, and the son of original Scotty, Chris Doohan playing the role of his father. Many Trek alumni cameo, such as Micheal Dorn and Jason Isaacs. It also features cameos from other sci-fi projects such as former Doctor Who Colin Baker and Battlestar Galactica‘s Jaimie Bamber.

A Long Way From Home

The Covid-19 Pandemic disrupted everyone’s daily life, with many people unable to work or leave their houses. Film and TV projects were disrupted, with many films delayed and series shortened. This fan film was made during the 2020/2021 lockdowns in the UK. With only a few actors and locations, this fan film manages to stand alone, whilst also featuring nods and easter eggs to many other series, and films both official and fan-made.

Of Gods and Men

An unofficial 40th Anniversary celebration, this mini-series focuses on Uhura and Chekov (with the original actors reprising their roles) as they find themselves in an alternate timeline where Captain Kirk was never born, as an act of vengeance from one of his enemies. Despite not being officially endorsed by the rights holders, it did have lots of coverage on the official website. As well as several former cast members reprising their roles from various instalments of the franchise, it also credits creator Gene Roddenberry’s son as an executive producer.

Also Read: May The Fan Film Be With You

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“With global protests on the rise, Dear Future Children is a film about the new generation at the heart of this seismic political shift. We will watch as Rayen protests for social justice in Chile, Pepper fights for democracy in Hong Kong and Hilda battles the devastating consequences of climate change in Uganda. Facing almost impossible odds and grappling with the staggering impact of their activism on their personal lives, we will be asking these three young women why they keep fighting.”

Also Read: Gio Arlotta Discusses His Documentary “W.I.T.C.H” and the ZamRock Movement of the 70s

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Big Picture Film Club is back! Pushed To The Edge is a collection of six independent short films, ranging from dark comedy to psycho-drama, all detailing the lives of people in extraordinary situations pushed to their limit. Here’s a list of the films we will be screening:

* 1500 Words (Dir. Andrew Chaplin): 1500 Words is the dark and comedic tale of one man’s struggle to keep his relationship, and himself alive whilst using his final one thousand five hundred words. When everyman Stanley Franks goes to his doctor to receive his test results, he’s told the brutal and surprising news of how long he has left to live. Shell-shocked and overwhelmed Stanley has to work out pretty quickly how to adapt to life with his new restrictive affliction. Life will never be the same again… or will it?

* Lifeline (Dir. Sam Jones): Lifeline is a BFI funded short film, from the 17-year-old director, Sam Jones, which follows a mother in a desperate mother risking everything to provide a final lifeline for her son. In raising the stakes, by putting lives on the line, Beth’s selflessness and need to care for her son is truly challenged whilst trying to protect her son.

* Listen To Me (Dir. Rob Ayling): This intense drama follows a young musicologist, who suspects her next door neighbour is in an abusive relationship. Listen To Me recently screened at the BAFTA recognised London Short Film Festival in January and Bristol Film Festival in March.

* Pedigree (Dir. Ani Laurie): In the city of London, Alex Powell is a successful 30-something banker running away from his past. When an injured young woman arrives at his front door his world spirals out of control.

* An Arms Length (Dir. Max Weiland): Leonard (Jamie Goldberg) is trapped between his yearning for freedom and his deep tie to his mother (Alexis Zegerman).  An Arm’s Length is a dark and unsettling British comedy about a Jewish mother’s relationship with her son. Steeped in the traditions of Jewish humour and folklore the surreal finale becomes a metaphor for the cliché of the castrating mother.

* Prey (Dir. Sunny King): A young woman, after a night out, is stalked by a psychopath in a car park. Prey is an Alfred Hitchcock-inspired film filled with suspense and horror. The film features Africa and Britain’s brightest stars Weruche Opia, OC Ukeje, Steve Mace, Yvonne Hays and Azizat Saadiq. Prey is directed and executive produced by Sunny King.

Tickets: https://pushedtotheedge.eventbrite.co.uk

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