A small percentage of everything we'd like to see at BEV 2011

Just a couple of weeks to go until this year's Birds Eye View Film Festival, 8th to 17th March.  So much going on at the festival - with fiction features, docs, shorts, fashion films, restrospectives, music vids and training events - that we've done a little pre-digesting for the Branchage Blogage.  Just picking out some of the little gems we're looking forward to....

Starting off with DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE on Friday 11th March - Birds Eye View have commissioned the wonderful Blue Roses (aka Laura Groves) to write a soundtrack to John S Robertson's 1920 version of the famous Jekyll and Hyde story.  This film is just everything that was utterly brilliant about the very early horror movies, tremendously and freakily acted by John Barrymore.  We can't wait to see it on the big screen with Blue Roses' live score.  Here's her myspace to get a feel for her brilliance. 

Brilliant range of documentaries showing as well, and we're looking forward to catching these three in particular: SELF MADE - Turner Prizewinner Gillian Wearing's debut feature follows members of the public using Method acting to access personal memories and experience.  It's been called 'startlingly original' and was the talk of the town at London Film Festival.

BEV have also managed to score a special preview screening of the new doc by Oscar-nominee Lucy Walker (nominated for WASTE LAND, which is out in the UK this week).  New film COUNTDOWN TO ZERO (at BEV on Weds 16th March) is an investigation into nuclear arms - the history, the politics and the risks.  The screening is followed by a masterclass with Lucy Walker. 

And then there's GUILTY PLEASURES - bit lighter maybe, but we can't wait for this UK doc all about Mills & Boon readers around the world.  And they said romance was dead!

Great fiction features too of course - we'll definitely be watching Susanne Bier's IN A BETTER WORLD, Kelly Reichardt's MEEK'S CUTOFF and Lena Dunham's TINY FURNITURE, but also looking forward to the UK Premiere of NIGHT CATCHES US, starring Anthony Mackie, on Weds 9th March.  'Searing' is a word that's being used a lot to describe this drama about the legacy of Philadelphia's Black Panther movement.  And a 'pounding' new score by The Roots.  Watch the trailer, just watch this trailer.  Great, huh?

Deep breath - there's also... Bloody Women, their season of horror films including seminal silents by women pioneering the genre, recent classic horror movies made by women, and a panel discussion on women's role in the genre.  It's going to be HORRIFIC.

Then there's music videos, fashion film, innovation, training...

That's quite enough for now though.  We need a lie down.