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Monday, 18 February 2008

Robert Carlyle stars in Justin Kerrigan's feature film 'I Know you Know' Now Shooting in Bridgend and Port Talbot, Welsh Valleys

[Pictured above: Emmy nominee Robert Carlyle stars in Justin Kerrigan's newest film currently being shoot in South Wales.]

Emmy nominee Robert Carlyle, who found fame in 'The Full Monty' and 'Trainspotting' and whose credits have since included 'Carla's Song', 'The World is Not Enough' and '28 weeks later' is currently filming Cardiff born, Justin Kerrigan's new feature film 'I Know you Know' in Bridgend, and Port Talbot.

Carlyle takes the lead role of Charlie in the coming of age drama, in which a boy relishes the excitement and challenge of his father's espionage work; until the 'spy game' turns real.

Jamie, a young teenager, is fascinated by his father Charlie's espionage work until the world of spies becomes all too real.

Charlie lives in his own reality—an undercover agent, always on an important mission, always on the move.

Life for Charlie is highly charged and on the edge.

He is unpredictable, explosive, yet kind hearted and fiercely protective of his Jamie who hero-worships his father until he slowly begins to understand that his father is occupying a quite different reality.

Making his screen debut alongside Carlyle as Jamie is Cardiff school boy, Arron Fuller who was picked to play Carlyle's son in the movie.

The 13 year-old is a pupil at lady Mary Secondary School, Cardiff.

Kerrigan is best known for his 1999 hit 'Human Traffic' for which, amidst several other awards, he won a BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Director and was nominated for a Carl Foreman Award for the Most Promising Newcomer at the BAFTA 2000 awards in London.

Human Traffic Trailer -- Miramax Films

Kerrigan is working alongside the experienced and award winning producer Sally Hibbin of Screen East sponsored Parallax Independent, whose extensive list of credits include 'Yasmin'.

'Liam' starring Ian Hart and 'Carla's Song' that was directed by Ken Loach and starred Robert Caryle. He also appeared in her 1990 hit 'Riff Raff', winner of the Cannes Critics prize.

'I Know you Know' has the financial backing of the Film Agency for Wales, on behalf of the Arts Council of Wales National Lottery and the Wales Creative IP Fund, managed by Finance Wales on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government, in association with Limelight, Post Republic and the Screen East Content Investment Fund.

Worldwide sales are being handled by LA based, The Little Film Company, helmed by the acclaimed sales agent, Robbie Little.

[Pictured above:Pauline Burt, Chief Executive of the Film Agency for Wales]

Pauline Burt, Chief Executive of the Film Agency said:

"We operate our lottery finance as a talent fund rather than a location fund, placing a particular focus on Welsh born and/or resident writers, directors and producers.

We have been involved in the development of Justin's feature, which is close to his heart and for which he has a particular and engaging vision, and we are delighted to additionally contribute significantly to the production financing to help get this film made.

The Twang - Two Lovers -- Also directed by Justin Kerrigan

This story is original, touching, evocative and has, in our opinion, the potential to travel at an international level and put Justin firmly back on the talent map for filmmakers of international repute.

Additionally of course, we hope that the film can be a showcase for a previously undiscovered talent, in the form of Arron Fuller."

"This is one of seven features that we're currently supporting with production finance – each of which is distinctive, and we have a further 15 features in development, each of which have key Welsh talent that we're keen to platform to the wider film industry."

Linda James of the Wales Creative IP Fund, said:

"The commercial potential of 'I Know You Know' as a film destined for a global marketplace is a reflection of its star power with Robbie Carlyle in the lead, and the talents of Cardiff-born writer/director, Justin Kerrigan, and producer, Sally Hibbin.

We are delighted to have been instrumental in the film happening and from the footage that has been shot to date, It already looks to be a jewel.

"The export potential of projects, the inward investment to Wales and the development of Wales' Creative Industries all feature in the investments made by the Wales Creative IP Fund."

"The film is the 15th investment made by the £7million Wales Creative IP Fund which has invested £4.7million million since it was established in May 2005."

"We would like to acknowledge the support of CIRIC at Swansea Institute and in particular two of their staff Chris Buxton and Chris Holtom.

CIRIC supports economic development in the Objective One area of Wales through their support of creative practitioners. They have been a huge help," finished Sally Hibbin.

CIRIC is funded by The Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO), Swansea Institute and private sector finance to re-invigorate the creative industries sector within Wales.

The Film Agency for Wales is funded by the Arts Council for Wales, the UK Film Council and the Welsh Assembly Government, via Creative Business Wales, the latter of which was set up to support, encourage and increase the range and number of films being produced in Wales and to foster the abundance of creative talent in Wales.

Read more here:

Film Agency for Wales

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

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

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Wednesday, 6 February 2008

Funky Victorian Welsh Performance Artists' Enclave in Llandaf North Continues to Provoke and Impress with Sexy Exhibits

When I arrived in Wales almost four years ago to begin my doctoral studies, one of the first places I wandered into was the old Victorian laundry turned into a combination studio and gallery, called Tactile Bosch, located in Llandaf, which I reached by biking along the Taff Trail.

We have a similar enclave in South Florida called the Bake House and I knew several of the Welsh artists after promoting their work at a gallery show in Manhattan, so I was keen to see what all the excitement was about in South Wales.

Apparently South Wales has a long and established pedigree as British artists' preferred place for living and working, going back to the 1960s art explosion associated with the Barry College Summer School, which Dr. Heike Roms has documented in her recent research.

Read more about Dr. Roms remarkable investigation here:

What's Welsh for Performance? - 40 years of Performance Art in Wales

When I'm lucky enough to be relaxing at our home in Miami Beach during the annual winter Basel Art Festival, my fashionable or Bohemian NYC artist friends tell me that if they moved to Europe they would move to Berlin, for its cheap cost of living and high standard of living related to the growing cluster of artists who have moved there from around the world, along with Berlin's great mix of unverisities, museums, and quirky neighborhoods, etc.

From what my Welsh artist friends tell me, Cardiff and South Wales have a similar appeal (albeit on a smaller scale when compared to Miami Beach or Berlin) for British artists who want to live and create somewhere in the UK that's both affordable and stimulating, but aren't quite ready to learn to speak German . . .

Which brings me to back to those wild and crazy but extremely talented folks who create and exhibit at Llandaf's Tactile Bosch.

Check out their latest exhibit, you won't regret it!

Exhibit background notes:

Trace / Taenu opened in London on the 23rd of May 2007 in the Woburn Studios, Bloomsbury, and ran until the 26th of May 2007.

Organized by MA students from the SLADE School of Fine Art, the exhibition featured those from the ‘media’ department, who work and experiment with photography, film, performance, video, installation and sound.

After the success the London show the SLADE collective retained a hard-core group of 28 practitioners taking the exhibition to Stolzestrasse 11, [Konstablerwache] in Frankfurt.

They will showcase a site specific version of the new work produced during 2007 @ tactileBOSCH from Sat 16th - Sat 24th Feb. Opening @ 6.30pm on Saturday 16th Feb.

[Pictured above: Situated in a reclaimed Victorian Laundry in the Llandaff North section of Cardiff UK, opened as a fledgling art facility in June 2000. Primarily used as artists studios and an alternative exhibition space filling that time honoured tradition of artist led space . . .]

Recognising common subjects of investigation, which had emerged in the preceding months, the general term ‘contrast’ was selected as a working title by the artists.

The term referred to obvious formal contrasts explored such as black and white and light and shadow, and regarding content- contradictions and exaggerations, fiction and reality.

After in-depth discussion emphasis was placed on the play with light, use of black-and-white studies and a sense of theatricality, as the major themes or interests of the exhibition.

The title "Taenu" [meaning trace elements or dust left covering remains] was developed, capturing the essence of the "quiet" statements observed in all participating artists and their work.

Showing experimental films, videos, installations, photographs and drawings.
The exhibition highlights the strong shift in creative expression and social sensitivity seen in the last few years.

Young artists are no longer interested in using complex interweaving, aggressive methods and shock tactics in their art but follow a more rigid, calculated and understated direction: although leaving traces quietly, they are no less determined.

The work appears "natural", its casualness is convincing, as art should not be any more exerted; but is volatile, surprising, precise and significant.

Since the participating artists originate from many different countries, it will be a chance to see international post graduate students evolve work in situ @ the studio before taking the exhibition up to Liverpool to showcase their endeavours further during Liverpool’s’ City of Culture 2008.

[Pictured above: An old photograph of the late Victorian laundry while it still operated, and before being turned into an eclectic-cum-Early-Edwardian-minimalist-centre for a local Welsh art explosion.]

Several participants intend to take the exhibition to their home cities.

Which range from Korea – Japan, Poland to Spain drawing attention to the wide range of talent emerging from the Slade School of Fine Art to the international art arena.

Trace / Taenu
An Exhibition @ tactileBOSCH
by the SLADE MA Fine Art & Media Collective.
Opens: Sat 16th Feb @ 6.30pm

If you go:

tactileBOSCH is located on Andrews Rd, Llandaff North Cardiff Tel. +44 07951 256255

Arrivals by train to Cardiff Central Station plus a local link up to Llandaff Station;

Local Bus #25 takes you from town centre up Cathedral Rd and drops right at the end of Andrews Rd opposite Glan Taff School;

Bike Ride up the Taff Trail but don't forget to pull off at Hayley Park [by the Tennis Courts]

Take a sweater the heating in the old building is funkkier than the folks who perfrom and exhibit there -- of course, there's usually a wine bar or cuppah to be had. Tell them I sent you . . .

Tactile Bosch Cardiff art Studio and Gallery Space