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The 18th edition of Raindance Film Festival came to an end on Sunday night with two events: the 2010 Festival Awards and the Closing Night Film. Although in the words of founder Elliot Grove, Raindance is not very fond of awards and had managed to avoid them for years, these were nonetheless granted gracefully in a laid-back and casual environment. Some of these awards represent good working opportunities for the winners. This is the case of Distribution or the Film of the Festival awards which grant theatrical distribution in the UK and the chance to shoot the festival’s trailer next year. So whether award-granting is an excluding gesture or not, Raindance awards serve a good purpose as they allow independent filmmakers to keep working.
Best International Short was granted to Lin (Piers Thompson, UK), the story of a woman who is appearing to be running away from her past when she arrives in an unknown country. Best UK Short went to Stanley Pickle (Vicky Mather), a stop motion animation of a twenty-year-old mamma’s boy whose world turns upside down when he meets a mysterious girl. A new award was introduced this year, Best Micro Budget Film, which celebrates an artist’s outstanding efforts to make a film with very little resources. This was awarded to Macho (Rafael Palacio Illingworth, Mexico), a portrayal of a long distance relationship. Best Documentary went to two features, Sounds Like a Revolution (Summer Love, Canada), dealing with contemporary protest music in America, and There Once Was an Island (Briar March, USA/New Zeland), about the Polynesian island of Takku which is gradually disappearing due to the rising of sea levels. Film of the Festival went to I Am a Fat Cat (Alex Brook, USA), a portrayal of lost people in New York City dreaming big about the wrong things. The Best Debut Feature was awarded to The Story about MySpace (Yana Polyarush, Russia), in which the inhabitants of a communal flat see their memories instead of the yard outside their kitchen window. Best UK Feature went to Five Daughters (Philippa Lowthorpe), based on the story of the Ipswich murders of 2006. The Distribution Award grants the winner the opportunity to be distributed in Apollo theatres in the UK. This was awarded to Treasure of the Black Jaguar (Mike Bruce, USA), a gory and speedy road trip film. Lastly, Best International Feature went to Son of Babylon (Mohamed Al-Daradji, Iraq/UK), the closing night film of the festival.
Son of Babylon records the hopeless journey of twelve year old Ahmed and his wilful grandmother through Iraq in the aftermath of Saddam Hussein’s fall from power. Ahmed’s father, a Gulf War prisoner, has been missing since 1991. At hearing news of his supposed imprisonment in southern Iraq, Ahmed and his grandmother, the only survivors of a family annihilated by the passing of two wars, leave their village in an attempt to find him. Passing through towns devastated by the war, with a fresh smell of death and traces of its former inhabitants, or through vacant prisons bursting with mass graves, they are reminded of what might lie ahead. They encounter people who are also in search of lost relatives, former soldiers troubled by guilt, lamenting widows, and orphans. What keeps them going is each other’s company and the hope of some certainty. Ahmed is an eager boy, just and sensitive; his face tells of so much knowledge and experience, an outstanding performance by non-professional Yassir Talib. Son of Babylon is a beautifully shot film that exposes the harsh realities of war, focusing on the loving relationship between a boy and his grandmother against a background of desolation.
The film represents Iraq’s first entry to the Oscars (a political gesture perhaps). It has already received two awards at Berlin International Film Festival, one at Sundance, the Czech Republic Film Festival and a special mention at Edinburgh International Film Festival. Son of Babylon was made thanks to the collaboration between international institutions committed to supporting independent filmmaking: the UK Film Council and Screen Yorkshire in the UK, Sundance Institute in the US, CNC France and Rotterdam Media Fonds in the Netherlands.
Without a doubt Raindance showcased controversial and extreme films from around the world, bringing to the UK a taste of the truly independent strand of cinema. Some festival highlights include the riveting 99 minute film schools, the American indies programme, and for founder Elliot Grove, the fact that the controversial films programmed were screened in their entirety without the intervention of the censors. As a first time attendant, my expectations were not only fulfilled but exceeded: great films, entertaining events and parties, and very interesting Q&A sessions after the screenings.
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- Interview with Elliot Grove, Raindance founder - Part 1 & Part 2
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