Sunday 21 October 2007

Rediscovery of Noel Coward Play by Glamorgan’s Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries Scholars Excites International Theatre World



[Pictured above: Professor Mike Wilson, CCI Head of Research; Prof Richard Hand Professor of Theatre and Media Drama, CCI, backstage in Glasgow with Dr Paul Carr Principal Lecturer in Popular Music, CCI.]

Coward Play Rediscovered

September 2007

A Noel Coward play, which has remained untouched for almost 90 years, has been rediscovered by academics at the University of Glamorgan’s Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries.


[Pictured above: Sir Noël Peirce Coward, 16 December 1899 -- 26 March 1973.]



The play, ‘The Better Half’, was discovered in the Lord Chamberlain’s archives in the British Library by Professors Richard Hand and Mike Wilson during research for their latest book, ‘London’s Grand Guignol and the Theatre of Horror’, which includes the text of Coward’s previously unpublished play.



The one-act play was last performed in 1922 by ‘London’s Grand-Guignol’ company, which involved Sybil Thorndike and her husband Lewis Casson.



Professor Wilson explained, “We were conducting research for our book on ‘London’s Grand-Guignol’, a theatre which combined horror and comedy plays on the same bill and were thrilled to have found the manuscript to the play that Coward wrote for the company.



It was probably the only surviving copy of the play and has not been published before.



“This play will no doubt arouse the interest of Coward fans worldwide, especially as it was written at a time when Coward was on the threshold of achieving critical acclaim and fame.”



Now for the first time since the 1920s the play will be performed in London by theatre company ‘The Sticking Place’ as part of their annual Hallowe’en season of horror theatre.

Sticking Place Theatre

Noel Coward Performance (Noel Coward performs some of his song on "Noel Coward & Mary Martin: Together With Music")


This will be a unique opportunity to see the play performed in its original context.



Hand and Wilson’s new book, due to be published in November by the University of Exeter Press, focuses on the attempt to establish a permanent Grand-Guignol theatre in London between 1920 and 1922, an experiment that was ultimately undermined by the censorious eye of the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, the official public censor.



The research was co-funded by The British Academy and the Society for Theatre Research.



tagged: cci research

Issued by: University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, CF37 1DL
Contact: Press Office on 01443 483362
E-mail: press@glam.ac.uk

Noël Coward Society



For additional info please contact Dr. Mark Leslie Woods at mwoods[at]glam.ac.uk

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

AIM -- ATRiuM Intelligent Media, Cardiff, Wales, U.K. on Face Book

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods

Monday 8 October 2007

Celtic Media Festival 2008 Calls for Entries


Celtic Media Festival 2008 Calls for Entries

Oct 2007

The 29th Celtic Media Festival, which takes place in Galway from 16th-18th April 2008, is calling for entries for its 18 award categories across film and television.

The festival is an annual celebration of film and broadcasting talent from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany, with the primary aim of promoting the languages and cultures of the Celtic countries on screen and in broadcasting.



The festival has 18 categories including Animation, Arts Documentary, Drama Series, Feature Length Drama, Short Drama and Education, with ‘Best of Category’ being chosen from each.



In addition, the festival will present the Frank Copplestone First Time Director Award to the best first TV programme or film, and a Spirit of the Festival award to a film or programme wholly or substantially in the Celtic language.



Applicants can apply online at www.celticmediafestival.co.uk or by post, by downloading an application form at:

www.celticmediafestival.co.uk/call-for-entries/

The Closing date for entries is Friday 2nd November 2007.




Galway city is unique among Irish cities because of the strength of its Irish language, music, song and traditions - it is often referred to as the 'Bilingual Capital of Ireland'.

The city is well known for its ‘Irishness', and mainly due to the fact that it has on its doorstep the Galway Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area).

The language is visible on the city streets, with bilingual signage on display on shops and road signs, and can be heard by locals around the city.



Irish theatre, TV production and Irish music are an integral part of Galway city life, with both An Taibhdhearc, the National Irish Language Theatre, and TG4 and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta headquarters in Galway.



This has brought an Irish-speaking young professional population to the city and county, and has generated a renewal of interest in the language and in language-related activities.

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase


© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Friday 5 October 2007

Cardiff Rocks This Weekend With Short Filmmaker Fest / Short Filmmakers from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales Showcased in BBC Film Network


[BREAKING NEWS: Cardiff the Capital of Wales inundated with world-reknowned filmmakers for Iris Prize awards this weekend! Hint: If you go out, take along your autograph book and digital camera, and send us your fotos of visiting celebrities!!! Read about it here:

'Iris Prize' comes to Cardiff, with £25,000 up for grabs for the winner of the best short film.]

Speaking of using your short film to become famous . . .

Silence Is Golden trailer on the BBC Film Network Showcase



[About the video: A trailer for Chris Shepherd's latest film, a period drama called SILENCE IS GOLDEN. It mixes live action with animation and follows on from his other shorts, DAD'S DEAD and WHO I AM AND WHAT I WANT. The whole 15 film is on BBC FILM NETWORK site and is going to be released on DVD later in the year.]



If you would like the chance to showcase your short film on the BBC Film Network, then this is what you need to do:

We cannot guarantee to publish every film, but we do guarantee that your film will be watched. We expect a certain level of production standards to ensure that your film is seen in the best possible environment. See our submission criteria for more information.



what you get from us
If your submission is successful you'll get:

your film showcased on bbc.co.uk
a dedicated film page, with links to you and your cast and crew's profile pages, allowing people who see your film to find out more about you and your work
feedback on your film from other Film Network members
your film seen by our Industry Panel.



what we need from you
To submit your film, you need to be registered with Film Network. It'll take less than 5 minutes to create your membership.

Once you're a member, you need to fill in the online submission form. Please read and check you're happy with the submission rules before you do so.



The information that you need to give is:

your contact details
your film's details - including length, funding details, production company, distribution information and weblinks
a synopsis (of less than 100 words) and log line or short description (20 words)
festival screenings and award details
crew and cast names
a short fact about the making of your film



You'll need to supply us with a hard copy of your film on either VHS or DVD (not DVD-ROM) - we'll give you address details at the end of the submission process.

If we decide to show your film, we'll then need a broadcast quality copy and copies of any stills you have associated with the film, preferably supplied as high-resolution JPEGs on CD-Rom.



Please note: We regret that we cannot return submission tapes and we do not guarantee to publish your film. If we do publish your film though, we will return any Digibetas by registered delivery.

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Thursday 4 October 2007

Scottish Parliament Poised to Debate BAFTA Oscar Controversy Over Alleged Snub of Gaelic Language Feature Film



{Pictured above: publicity still from the Gaelic Language feature film, Searchd: The Impossible Pinnacle (2007).]

Scottish film director Simon Miller has put out an appeal for help, as it's been reported to Celtic Cult Cinema that the Scottish Parliament is poised to debate BAFTA Oscar Controversy over the alleged snub of the Gaelic Feature Film 'serachd: The Impossible Pinnacle (2007).

Simon Miller's Gaelic language feature film opens across Scotland this week, just as the BAFTA Oscar nomination controversy has caught fire.



It’s a film specifically about storytelling, and about the firm location of old stories in particular landscapes."

"A fitting theme for the first ever feature film in Scottish Gaelic."

[Quoted above from the programme book of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2007]

What the critics are saying:

"Gorgeously-realised blend of magic realism and family drama" THE HERALD
"Dramatic, funny, spectacular and steeped in Gaelic mythology" THE LIST
"Glows with warmth and humanity" THE OBSERVER
"Visually breathtaking" BBC



Simon Miller writes:

"As you may have seen in the Seachd group blurb on facebook BAFTA (The UK's film academy) has failed to put forward any non-English language films for the Best Foreign Language Film category at next year's Oscars - which includes Seachd."



"THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO TO HELP, PARTICULARLY THOSE OF YOU FROM OUTSIDE THE UK..."

"Of 18 Western European countries invited by the Academy to put non-English language films forward for the Oscars, the UK is the only one to fail to do so."



"BAFTAs decision is sensless and really could not have been made on some measure of the "quality" of the film, given the strong early reviews we have had (“excellent” The Sunday Times, “breathtaking” BBC, “tender, graceful…gorgeously-realised” The Herald, “worth shouting about” The Scotsman, “dramatic, funny and spectacular” The List, and “an astonishing production” Eye For Film). And surely they wouldn't have put forward such obviously English language turkeys as they have in recent years if quality really was the issue?"





"BAFTA is an institution designed to promote British film - in whatever language - and their decision feels dangerously close to censorship and it will mean - ultimately - that less people will get to see the film in the UK internationally."

"YOU CAN HELP CHANGE THAT..."

"We have been able to gather a great deal of support to help overturn their decision within the film industry in the UK, and also from the Academy who have written to BAFTA asking for an explanation. And we have just learned that this issue is on the agenda to be debated in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday this week."

"HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP..."

Read the entire story here:

http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,2177934,00.html

Searchd: The official Website




Read more here:

A CALL FOR HELP TO OVERTURN OUR GAELIC FILM'S OSCAR SNUB!




AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Tuesday 2 October 2007

New Club Starting for Cardiff ATRiuM Arts & Media Students, Faculty and Friends


AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

We are an open and inclusive collective of student artists and student entrepreneurs who band together for social contacts, artistic education and stimulation, entertainment and all things pertaining to the advancement of our dreams and careers in media, journalism, film, television, sound and video recording and distribution, set design, costume design, lighting design, concert, online innovations, photography, architecture, mixed and multi-media and dramatic performance.



AIM -- ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Are you a member of the AIM / ATRiuM Intelligent Media? Why not? It’s free and some your friends are joining – so what are you waiting for?

Just what are the Five Primary Aims of AIM / ATRiuM Intelligent Media?


Our Five Primary Aims


1) We are an open and inclusive collective of student artists and student entrepreneurs who band together for social contacts, artistic education and stimulation, entertainment and all things pertaining to the advancement of our dreams and careers.



2) We devise and launch events and projects related to media, journalism, film, television, sound and video recording and distribution, set design, costume design, lighting design, concert, festival and special events promotions, online innovations, presentational graphics, photography, architecture, mixed and multi-media, dramatic performance, public speaking, performance art, individual or collaborative projects and other diversions.



3) We assist each other in developing and perfecting our art forms and professions.

4) We sponsor, attend and promote artistic, educational and social events, including imagined, narrated, fictional, real and virtual.



5) We assist one another in developing our artistic and professional portfolios, and we share these creations at various networking opportunities; with all these activities, we commit ourselves to the promotion and refinement of our own as well as our colleagues’ artistic portfolios and professional dossiers.



Is AIM a political or religious organization?

While it’s true that our ultimate goal is WORLD DOMINATION balanced with INTRINSIC FULFILLMENT nuanced with MEANINGFUL / MEANINGLESS PLEASURE enhanced by INCREDIBLY GREAT STYLE / LACK OF STYLE, and the inevitable material / spiritual gains / losses that accompany these goals, AIM respects the fact that we’re all on similar / different and interesting / mind-numbingly-boring paths; to this end, we neither affirm, deny or espouse any one political view or religious / non-religious, irrational / rational viewpoint.



Is AIM an arts club, a social fetish, a secret society, or a Cult of Personality?

It’s all of these things and none of these things. It has never existed and it has always existed. If it ceased to exist tomorrow, in the GREAT UNIVERSAL SCHEME OF THINGS, hardly anyone would care.



How do I join?

Email our Faithful Leader and Esteemed Founder, Dr. Mark Leslie Woods at mwoods[at]glam.ac.uk

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

AIM -- ATRiuM Intelligent Media, Cardiff, Wales, U.K. on Face Book



What happens next?

When Dr. Mark collects a sufficient number of interested students’ names and details, he will announce an initial organizational meeting.

He’ll probably call or write to you before the end of October 2007, just in time to plan your Halloween costume.



Please include at least your name, alias, email address, mailing address, interests, Zodiac sign, your favourite ice cream flavour and hat / rollerblade size. Dr. Mark will use his extraordinary intuition to guess in which century you were born.



Where will the meetings be held?

The first meeting will be held at either ATRiuM or Ty Pont Haearn in the Cardiff City Centre. ATRiuM students and Ty Pont Haearn residents will host the first meetings to assist the launch of our collective.



Later meetings will held in Newport, London, Aberystywth, Port Meirion, Castle Harlech, Salisbury Plains, among the Roman ruins of Caerleon and the Norman ruins of Ogmore Castle, online, via pod-casts and video-conferences, in eventually in Copenhagen, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Toronto, Prague, Southern Italy, Barcelona and Amsterdam.



Conversations will take place in the past, present, future, conditional, imperative, pluperfect, and in other dimensions.



Can anyone be a member of this collective?

Well, the collective intends to include all interested residents of Ty Pont Haearn and other local student residences, communes, and shared living arrangements in the Cardiff City centre area.



Students or faculty can be affiliated with ATRiuM, UWIC, Coleg Glan Hafren, Cardiff University, Swansea University, Swansea Institute, Newport School of Art, Media and Design, or other institutions. Enthusiastic, dynamic and artistic friends and families of these students are also welcome to join.

What will be the social and political ethos / mythos of this collective?



Our collective will vacillate between historical notoriety and contemporary obscurity. We will foster greatness and encourage Misfits and other Outcasts. Invariably power struggles, nepotism, clicks, sub-groups, spin-offs, copycats, crass commercialism and other controversies will overtake our collective.



Does any of this strike your fancy?

Read more here: http://aim--atriumintelligentmedia.blogspot.com/2007/09/new-club-starting-for-cardiff-atrium.html

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Monday 1 October 2007

Continuing Controversy Blusters About Gaelic Language Feature Film 'Searchd: The Impossible Pinnacle' (2007) while Audiences and Movie Critics Rave


Pictured above: publicity still from the Gaelic Language feature film, Searchd: The Impossible Pinnacle (2007).]

A major controversy surrounding the Gaelic Language Film Searchd: The Impossible Pinnacle (2007) --

“No one can tell the truth – just stories.”

So concludes Aonghas’ enigmatic grandfather (played by renowned poet and storyteller Aonghas Pàdraig Caimbeul) as he approaches the end of his life in this Scottish Gaelic tale about a childhood on the Islands.

It’s a film specifically about storytelling, and about the firm location of old stories in particular landscapes."

"A fitting theme for the first ever feature film in Scottish Gaelic."

[Quoted above from the programme book of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2007]

What the critics are saying:

"Gorgeously-realised blend of magic realism and family drama" THE HERALD
"Dramatic, funny, spectacular and steeped in Gaelic mythology" THE LIST
"Glows with warmth and humanity" THE OBSERVER
"Visually breathtaking" BBC



And now, according to the Guardian:

"He knew some people would think he was taking a risk in making his film in Gaelic. According to the 2001 census, only 1.2% of the population of Scotland speaks the language, some 58,600 people; and that's a 15% decline over the previous decade."

"Most are in the Western Isles. That said, the language is enjoying a status it has not been afforded for many years, with concerted efforts at a political level to sustain this ancient tongue, first introduced to Scotland from Ireland in the fifth century."



"Less than 100 years ago, children were beaten into speaking English at school. Now, Gaelic-medium education is championed. A national plan has been launched, aiming to stabilise the number of speakers over the next few years, and increase them to 100,000 by 2041."

"There has been an increase in funding for education, media and development, and moves to create the first dedicated Gaelic TV channel."



"'For me, the question is not why make a film in Gaelic but why not make a film in Gaelic?' says Young, who is self-taught in the tongue and whose children are fluent. 'It seemed strange that a culture so full of storytelling didn't particularly have a tradition of cinema. I have never been to a cinema to see a film in Gaelic.'"



"'There is plenty of Gaelic drama but it does seem to have suffered from stereotype. It tends to have been period works. There is a feeling that Gaelic is old-fashioned. I wanted to tackle that head-on.'"

"'Film is the kind of thing that, if you get it right, it does not matter what language it is in,'" says Miller. 'Mel Gibson has proved that more than anyone in recent years. You don't have to know the language to experience the film.'"



"For both men, authenticity was the key. So they collaborated with Gaelic writers, co-directors and a local Gaelic amateur crew and actors. The soundtrack features noted Gaelic musicians, and the whole thing was shot on the island of Skye for £650,000."



[-- Quoted from The Guardian --The movie at the edge of the world -- They found their lead actor up a tree and they held the premiere in a cinema on wheels. Kirsty Scott travels to the Western Isles to catch a little piece of film-making history; Thursday September 27, 2007; The Guardian]





Read the entire story here:

http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,2177934,00.html

Searchd: The official Website



AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods