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The leading independent film festival in the UK opened on Wednesday in London’s Apollo West End, at the heart of the theatre district. Raindance inaugurated with the loud and bloody debut of Edward and Rory McHenry: Jackboots on Whitehall (UK), a quirky vision of England’s role in WWII in stop motion animation. What if Hitler (clothed in Elizabethan drag according to the occasion) had seized London and the fate of the nation had depended on a farmer from Kent with hands too big to be accepted in the army? The McHenry brothers pose this hypothetical question and stage a wickedly satirical and self-mocking version of the War, drawing from British cinematic history - specifically from war films of the 1940s. The heroism of a group of English villagers who fight the German invasion in Alberto Cavalcanti’s Went the Day Well? (1942) is echoed in Chris’ (Ewan McGregor) assembled army though in a less dignified manner with the farmers portrayed as true patriots yet bluntly idiotic. Jackboots on Whitehall captures the unique spirit of the festival.
Raindance was founded back in 1992 to support independent filmmaking. Since then, it has created training courses, launched a production company, Raindance Film Festival and the British Independent Film Awards; covering nearly all stages of filmmaking. Equally concerned with delivering independent cinema from all over the world to the British audiences, the festival has premiered Pulp Fiction (Tarantino 1994), Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff 2001), and other cult classics. It has also been a showcase for live music, panels featuring filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg, Peter Greenaway or Roger Corman, and workshops attended by young Guy Ritchie or Christopher Nolan. The festival has attracted a long list of film and music celebrities such as Lou Reed, Mick Jones, Marky Ramone, Noel Gallagher, George Martin, Jarvis Cocker, to name only a few. A great example of what Raindance has on offer is the ‘Live! Ammunition!’ event, a two minute session in which anyone gets the chance to present their film project to a panel of industry executives. There's something for all film enthusiasts, whether spectators or film craftsmen.
This year’s programme includes Best of British (already a classic), Best of Europe, a comprehensive list of documentaries, a Japanese section, a rich set of North American indies, and the Raindance Symphony Orchestra, the alternative and music section of the festival which features the UK premiere of cult director Bruce La Bruce’s most recent film, L.A. Zombie and the highly controversial A Serbian Film (Srdjan Spasojevic).
Though occasionally featuring the big names, the festival does a formidable job screening the truly independent strain of cinema. The 18th edition of Raindance Film Festival opened September 29 and closes October 10. For full festival listings visit raindance.co.uk and keep reading The Yorker for comprehensive coverage of this exciting event.
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