Changing Times inspires curious film experiences that connect future and past
A programme of special events is underway across the UK, all of which use film to connect us in these ever-changing times.
The Changing Times: Curious screen heritage programme, which began in earnest at Thurrock Film Festival, uses archive film to find new ways to celebrate the human desire to learn more about the people and things around us, bringing heritage cinema to new audiences in many different ways. The programme from the BFI Film Audience Network is made possible thanks to National Lottery funding.
Later in the autumn, The Box, in partnership with Plymouth Arts Cinema and Compass Presents, will show a selection of films as part of Changing Times: Curious, which allow audience members to expand their connection with the work in the galleries.
CURIOUS About British Art Show 9 will feature screenings that highlight the ways in which encounters between British and other cultures have enriched our society throughout history.
This follows the events in Thurrock by the Anglo Asiatic Arts and Heritage Alliance (AAAHA), which honoured several socio-historic milestones, namely the 75th anniversary of the Independence of India and Pakistan, the 50th year since the expulsion of South Asians and Sikhs from Uganda, and the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong.
Similarly, Re:Score was part of The Freedom Festival 2022, an annual feast of music and performance arts held since 2007 in honour of Hull’s slave trade abolitionist, the MP William Wilberforce. It featured commissions by The Broken Orchestra (UK), providing specially created scores to breathe new life into seemingly forgotten pieces of silent archive footage, featuring a Black May Queen in wartime Britain, and a charity supporting the families of local fisherman in the 1960s.
Journey to the Isles, Marjory Kennedy-Fraser, a new commission from the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival offered a glimpse into the landscapes, folktales and songs that inspired one of Scotland’s great early collectors of traditional arts.
The tour of the piece across Scotland, including at Sea Change Festival by Screen Argyll in Tiree, Dundee Contemporary Arts, and An Tobar and Mull Theatre, concluded at Eden Court in Inverness and featured a performer Q&A, plus a live stream for international audiences.
In collaboration with the East Anglian Film Archive, Reel Connections in Norwich will host an archive package entitledSounds of Silents: Curious Youth at the Octagon Unitarian Chapel in the city on 27 October.
The event will include live scores by local musicians Broads, featuring Jess Blake, Kitty Perrin and Milly Hirst. A short film version will then be made available for screenings at community venues in partnership with Creative Arts East, later in the year.
This will be followed by I Ken Whaur I’m Gaun(I Know Where I’m Going) by Cinetopia at The French Institute in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town between 27 and 31 October.
The event, which will explore how folk songs have acted as a form of storytelling in Scotland over time, includes archive film screenings, live musical performances using material extracted from the National Library of Scotland’s moving image archive, and a looped audio-visual installation that will be on display throughout.
Having started on October 13 at Berneray in Borve, Uist Film will screen Gaelic documentary Dúthchas (Home) through the UK, accompanied by a minority language archival film programme using materials from across the UK’s film archives.
Dúthchas (Home) is a touching and emotive exploration of what it meant – and still means to people, especially women, to have to leave the island of their birth.
For the finale of Yorkshire Silent Film Festival on 6 November at Morecambe Winter Gardens, No Dots Ltd will present Echoes of the North: Four Chapters in Time, the world premiere of a silent film made from more than 100 fragments of archive film, together with an all-brass live score performance from Brighouse and Rastrick Band.
The event will be complemented by a selection of short films scored by Morecambe and Lancaster-based musicians.
Throughout November, Birds’s Eye View will present Queerious, an archive programme with short films from national archives that’s touring the UK, exploring a multitude of desires on screen in ways all too rarely seen in cinema, including stories of sexual awakenings and re-awakenings, and queer love through a feminist perspective.
Venues include the Exeter Phoenix, Glasgow Film Theatre, Broadway in Nottingham, London’s Rio and Genesis, the Showroom in Sheffield, Chapter in Cardiff, and Depot in Lewes.
Venues in Glasgow, Leeds and Erith this month and next will showcase After Hours,co-curated by Invisible Women and T A P E Collective to explore the significance of nightlife and safe cultural spaces through a queer/feminist lens.
Meanwhile, audiences in Walton, Liverpool can enjoy Walton Wonders under Cinema Nation’s The Spirit of Liverpool banner, a series ofscreenings and community events celebrating unexpected archive discoveries, including a Home Movie Day and a pop-up cinema at the Rice Lane Underpass in collaboration with the North West Film Archive.
A double bill of Welsh Horror films from the 1970s will be shown by Matchbox Cine in collaboration with the National Library of Wales Screen and Sound Archive. Screenings will take place at Weird Weekend, Glasgow on 30 October, and at Abertoir – The International Horror Film Festival of Wales in Aberystwyth, starting on 15 November.
And last but not least, Belfast Film Festival is to host Vox Populi: The Voice of the People, a walk-through installation at the Bank of Ireland building in the city featuring informal street interviews recorded between 1959-1969 from the Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive, offering an insight into the area’s social history and highlighting unexpected attitudes of the day which both differ from, and echo, those held today.
Sheffield International Documentary Festival 2019
Screen Heritage Producer Andy Robson was a key decision-maker selecting projects to make up Changing Times: Curious. Speaking on the theme of curiosity, and the forthcoming events, he said: “The last few years have forced us to look at life through a new lens. Through disruption and isolation, we’ve recognised things we may have missed or never considered before.
“Through multiple lockdowns, we gained a new awareness of our communities and neighbourhoods, made discoveries of previously unacknowledged places on our doorsteps, and found satisfaction in personal passions and curiosities.
“However we experienced it, we were asked to question and learn something new, to understand the unfamiliar and seek solutions. Through film’s unique ability to transport us, illuminate ideas and to spark a conversation, we can seek those solutions and understand those experiences together.”
Visit individual venues and organisations to find out more about events and to book. And to find out more about Changing Times: Curious, visit
Edinburgh International Film Festival in partnership with Essential Edinburgh returns to St Andrew Square Gardens for an opening weekend of free outdoor screenings from Friday 12th August to Sunday 14th August.
Film Fest in the City in St Andrew Square Gardens returns as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival programme on the festival’s opening weekend from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th August. The free and non-ticketed outdoor screening programme of new and classic cinematic favourites reflect the wider EIFF 2022 themes, including a celebration of Scotland’s Stories on Screen for Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.
The programme is delivered in partnership with Essential Edinburgh and supported by Innis & Gunn, EIFF’s Official Beer Partner, travel partner LNER and supported by EventScotland as part of the Year of Stories 2022 and reflects EIFF’s return to August embracing other cultural festivals around it. EIFF is working closely with local travel partner Lothian Buses to encourage sustainable travel to Edinburgh’s city centre, plan your journey at lothianbuses.co.uk or download the Lothian buses app.
On Friday 12th August, EIFF tips its hat to the Edinburgh International Book Festival with a day of films that all started in the twinkle of an author’s eye.
The day will also feature a selection of short films with a Scottish connection, screened before feature films and presented in celebration of Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022 as Scotland’s Stories on Screen.
On Saturday 13th August, the celebration of Scotland’s Stories on Screen picks up pace as the Film Fest in the City programme fills the square with homegrown stories and some family fun, including a special live musical performance to accompany the 100 year anniversary screening of the 1922 classic Rob Roy, as well as Brave, set in the Highlands story of Princess Merida and The Illusionist set in Edinburgh plus more short films with a Scottish connection. And if all that homegrown fun wasn’t enough, stay on and enjoy the evening with the family favourite WALL-E followed by the recent blockbuster, Free Guy.
Sunday 14th August sees EIFF Youth Programmers from Edinburgh and Aberdeen take over the square with a selection of favourites including Twilight, Big, Shrek and Whip It to celebrate big screen favourites all directed their favourite female directors.
As a nod to EIFF’s closing night film, After Yang, the Film Fest in the City explores the idea of Artificial Intelligence on screen. For sci-fi purists out there there’s Stanley Kubrick classic, 2001 A Space Odyssey. If you like your A.I. all singing, all dancing, don’t miss everybody’s favourite Pixar robot Wall-E or maybe you just want to spend Saturday night with Ryan Reynolds (who doesn’t?!) then don’t miss Free Guy.
This special open-air series of screenings coincides with the main programme of full in-person cinema screenings as part of the 75th anniversary of the city’s International Film Festival, giving the Film Festival an East-to-West city centre presence and making cinema accessible to both film buffs and Edinburgh residents of all ages. Attending audiences can look out for lots of special surprises at each screening too.
These events are free. Film times and details of accompanying activities can be found by visiting www.edfilmfest.org.uk.
Audiences will enjoy the outdoor screenings with an amazing range of food and drink produce available to purchase on site, including EIFF Official Beer Partner Innis & Gunn. Heritage gastropub The Voyage of Buck will be have a bar on site which will be focusing on Lind and Lime Gin cocktails including collins and spritzes featuring summer flavours with London essence tonics and sodas.
Bring your favourite cinema snacks and picnic blankets or sit yourself down on one of the famous St Andrew Square deck chairs to enjoy the following:
FRIDAY, 12 AUGUST
11.00 | Paddington(2014 / dir. Paul King)
Everyone’s favourite bear in his first big screen adventure as he travels from deepest darkest Peru to London to try and find himself a new home.
13.00 | Fantastic Mr Fox(2009 / dir. Wes Anderson)
Filmmaker Wes Anderson guides an A-list cast in this stop-motion take on Roald Dahl’s classic book.
14.45 | SHORT FILM: What Makes Soup, Soup?(dirs. Conor Reilly, Tommy Reilly, Malcolm Cumming)
…one of life’s greatest mysteries. From BBC Social team, a short film including a rising star, Glasgow-based Malcolm Cumming and composer Tommy Reilly, both known for their work on Anna & The Apocalype. In celebration of Scotland’s Stories on Screen.
15.00 | Christopher Robin(2018 / dir. Marc Forster)
Perth-born Hollywood actor Ewan McGregor stars as a now-grown-up Christopher Robin who is visited by Winnie the Pooh to help find his lost friends in the Hundred Acre Wood.
17.00 | SHORT FILM: Neville is Dead(dir. Louis Paxton)
Neville is Magnus’ best friend. Neville can’t die. This is going to be AMAZING. A short film from an Edinburgh filmmaker who recently directed the last ever episode of tv series Shetland. In celebration of Scotland’s Stories on Screen.
17.30 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(2000 / dir. Ang Lee)
Join us for high-flying spectacle in filmmaker Ang Lee’s martial arts masterpiece
19.40 | SHORT FILM: Flit(dir. Jack Allen)
A world-renowned, professional fly killer, named Carl, is on the cusp of finalising his latest and most powerful invention… an exciting new short film from an emerging Scottish filmmaker and animator.
In celebration of Scotland’s Stories on Screen.
20.00 | 2001: A Space Odyssey(1968 / dir. Stanley Kubrick)
One of the greatest cinematic experiences of all time. Stanley Kubrick’s journey into space is designed for the big screen.
SATURDAY, 13 AUGUST
11:00 | Brave (2012 / dirs. Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews)
Follow Princess Merida as she forges her own path in Disney and Pixar’s journey into the mythical Scottish kingdom of DunBroch. Celebrating Scotland’s Stories on Screen. Pre-screening family entertainment, including face-painting.
12.50 | SHORT FILM: Fear of Flying(dir. Conor Finnegan)
A small bird with a fear of flying tries to avoid heading South for the winter. A short animation which screened at EIFF in 2013. Celebrating Scotland’s Stories on Screen.
13:00 | The Illusionist(2010 / dir. Sylvain Chomet)
Based on the story by Jacques Tati, this beautifully animated tale tells of a French illusionist who travels to Scotland, where he meets a young woman where their exciting adventures together change both their lives forever. Celebrating Scotland’s Stories on Screen. Pre-screening family entertainment.
14.49 | SHORT FILM:Widdershins (dir. Simon Biggs)
A pampered gentleman’s seamlessly automated life is thrown into chaos when he pursues a free-spirited woman, against the advice of his robot butler. Scottish Film Talent Network-funded Scottish animation from the team at Once Were Farmers. Celebrating Scotland’s Stories on Screen.
15:30 | Rob Roy(1922 / dir. W. P. Kellino), in celebration of Scotland’s Stories on Screen
Join us for a special live musical performance to accompany this impressive 1922 classic film.
17.20 | SHORT FILM: Betty (Will Anderson)
A new short from the BAFTA Award-winning Scottish animator tells the story of an avian protagonist as he falls in love with Betty and then loses her through a series of bad decisions…
Celebrating Scotland’s Stories on Screen.
18:00 | Wall-E(2008 / dir. Andrew Stanton)
An all singing, all dancing modern classic from Pixar.
20.00 | SHORT FILM: Don Vs Lighting (dir. Big Red Button)
Unlucky Don keeps getting struck by lightning… a short film from Big Red Button (Johnny Burns and Pier van Tijn), starring award-winning Scottish actor Peter Mullan. Celebrating Scotland’s Stories on Screen.
20:15 | Free Guy (2021 / dir. Shawn Levy)
Affable bank clerk Ryan Reynolds discovers he is a computer game character in this recent action comedy.
SUNDAY, 14 AUGUST
11:00 | Shrek(2001 / dirs. Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson)
Join a whole host of fairy tale characters in this animated, tuneful and funny animated adventure.
13:00 | Big (1989 / dir. Penny Marshall)
Tom Hanks reconnects with his youth in this 80s family classic.
15:15 | Whip It(2009 / dir. Drew Barrymore)
Get your skates on and join Babe Ruthless and the roller-derby team in this funny and quirky drama.
17:30 | The Farewell (2021 / dir. Lulu Wang)
A funny and uplifting tale of a family reconnecting with their past
19:45 | Twilight (2008 / dir. Catherine Hardwicke)
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart star in this everlasting teenage vampire romance.
Summer season of curious film experiences gets underway
All events as part of Film Feels: Curious, a nationwide celebration of curiosity and cinema officially launched by comedian Joe Lycett, have now been confirmed.
An event is taking place in Edinburgh this Saturday as part of CURIOUS, a film festival partnership between Film Feels and Changing Times supporting independent programming.
Edinburgh-based Cinetopia is collaborating with The Debutante (a feminist-surrealist magazine), and musician-composers Aurora Engine (Deborah Shaw), and Bell Lungs (Ceylan Hay) to bring audiences Electric Muses: a women-led evening of surrealist film.
Electric Muses celebrates women working in creative technology spanning across two centuries, bringing their overlooked input into the public eye. Since the birth of cinema, women filmmakers have used this “electric” art form to tell their stories. With Electric Muses Cinetopia will merge cinema and live, technologically enhanced music to highlight the profound contributions women have made in creative technology art forms.
The main feature will be ‘The Seashell and the Clergyman’ (1928) by Germaine Dulac, a female surrealist filmmaker and director active during the 1920’s. This will be accompanied by a live soundtrack composed and performed by Aurora Engine and Bell Lungs. In addition, audiences will experience a newly commissioned score of Maya Deren’s experimental short, ‘Meshes of the Afternoon’ (1943) composed and performed by the same musical team. Two additional short films will be screened curated by The Debutante.
Curiosity is the theme of this year’s FilmFeels season from the BFI Film Audience Network, made possible with National Lottery funding, taking place at independent cinemas across the UK following its launch by Joe at Flatpack Festival 2022.
For the first time since 2018’s inaugural Film Feels, event organisers have also partnered with the Screen Heritage programme Changing Times under the unifying theme for this year of CURIOUS.
A total of 27 projects have been funded across all the regions of the UK, including a curated programme of classics by The Place Bedford throughout June and July, a programme as part of London Short Film Festival on July 30th and 31st, and from July 8th, a three-day update of Cinetopia’s Electric Muses programme in partnership with feminist magazine The Debutante – a women-led evening of surrealist film and technologically-enhanced live music in Edinburgh.
In addition, throughout July, the charity Birds’ Eye View, which supports films by women and non-binary people, is touring Queerious both across the country and via streaming on BFI Player. Events will be accompanied by curated live or participatory events in select cinemas to explore the themes of sexual awakenings and re-awakenings, and queer love through a feminist lens.
Venues and organisations including Chester’s Story House, Fabrica of Brighton, Hove and Lewes, Birmingham’sVictoria Park Productions, Derby QUAD and Cornwall Film Festival are also taking part, with events touching upon the forgotten films of the 1990s and 2000s, Queer culture, Filmosophy for Families and more, all of which are designed to connect people through film.
Manon Euler is Major Programmes Manager at Film Hub Midlands, part of BFI FAN. She said: “With CURIOUS, we wanted to take audiences out of the ordinary and down the wonderful rabbit hole of cinema, with intriguing, exciting film programmes that will stimulate the mind and the senses and allow everyone to (re)connect with their wondrous selves.
“There’s absolutely no doubt that these projects will deliver exactly that, with both in-person and virtual options. We’ve been so impressed by the imagination that has gone into the creation of such a varied and intriguing season by programmers at all levels of experience, including young people. We can’t wait to hear what audiences think.”
CURIOUS was chosen as the theme for this celebration as it’s clear as we continue to recover from the worst of the pandemic that bringing people together to experience art collectively and learn more about the people and things around us, is more important than ever.
Over the past four years, Film Feels has funded more than 150 projects and more than 1,000 screenings have taken place across the festival seasons nationwide, with around 40 per cent of increasingly diverse audiences each year being new to the festival. Previous themes have included obsession, uprising, hopeful and connected, with almost £400,000 given to participating programmers in total so far.
Screen Heritage Producer Andy Robson added: “Inspired by our theme and our collective experience of multiple lockdowns, which gave many a new awareness of our communities as well as the wider world around us, this year’s programmers are helping us to both better understand the unfamiliar, and seek solutions.
“Through film’s ability to transport us, illuminate ideas and spark conversation, we can recognise things we may have missed or never considered before, and find new passions together.”
Find more information about the full nationwide programme for CURIOUS, including all participating venues and exhibitors, at filmfeels.co.uk.
Support for screen heritage screenings and events is also still available through Changing Times: Curious.
Love them or loathe them, the Royal Family in its various forms has been entertaining, enthralling and fascinating us for centuries.
The British Monarchy’s catalogue of blood feuds, forbidden love affairs, wars, abdications and endless scandals has supplied material for the writers of every age.
From Shakespeare’s thinly disguised commentaries on Elizabeth and James I respectively to Peter Morgan’s reimagining of the Royals as high-end Soap Opera in The Crown, the audience for these gilded dramas has never waned.
And now, as Elizabeth II, and indeed millions of Britons, celebrate her becoming not just the longest serving British monarch but the third longest serving monarch in world history, we take the opportunity to cast our gaze over some of the best Royalty-themed films of the first century of cinema.
In no particular order, here are the top 10 picks to watch over the Jubilee weekend:
Spencer
Kristin Stewart brings her own brand of sparkle and unpredictability to this intense, poetic take on Princess Diana.
Whether Diana was really like this or not is sort of missing the point.
Pablo Larraín’s film is a tightly wound character study of a woman unravelling under intense pressure and as a consequence plays out as much as a psychological horror as it does conventional drama.
The Queen
Given the intense scrutiny the modern day Royals find themselves under, it’s quite rare to find Elizabeth II at the centre of a movie narrative.
Helen Mirren transcends as a Queen in semi-exile after the death of Diana, facing a crossroads in her reign and, more immediately, a beguiling stag that haunts her estate in the Scottish Highlands.
Elizabeth
Radical choice of director (Shekhar Kapur): tick. Young actress ready for super-stardom (Cate Blanchet): tick. The rise of Elizabeth retold as The Godfather: tick.
A period film for all the ages.
The King
I confess to being on the fence about Timothée Chalamet until I gave this film a whirl. And it’s astonishing.
His spindly, hungover, sad rendition of Prince Hal slowly morphs into something raw, timeless and utterly believable.
Joel Edgerton and David Michôd’s masterful retelling of the ‘Henriad’ exerts a compelling, epic grip that makes it one of the best historical films since Gladiator.
Mrs Brown
Judi Dench cemented her reputation as one of the world’s most accomplished screen actors with this moving portrayal of a grieving Queen Victoria.
But perhaps the film’s biggest surprise was the unexpected, nuanced performance of Scottish comedian Billy Connolly as the ‘commoner’ who encouraged her to return to public life.
The Lion In Winter
One of three stage plays adapted for the screen on this list, The Lion In Winter brings together the titanic screen presences of Katherine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole for a heady dose of relationship fireworks.
They really don’t make ‘em like this any more.
Notable too for Anthony Hopkins making his screen debut. A Man For All Seasons
I was forced to watch this at school and was ready to write it off until the genius of writer Robert Bolt’s characters and the play’s moral conscience completely captivated me.
A film as relevant now as it was when first released.
Watch out for a late-period Orson Welles filling up the frame with his interpretation of Cardinal Wolsey.
The Madness Of King George
A film in which the a King descends into ‘madness’ only to be retrieved from the abyss by a radical form of treatment.
Gentle, funny, heartbreaking and sumptuous all at once, this is British period filmmaking at its finest.
Viceroy’s House
If all this feels too much like Royalist propaganda, then cleanse the palate with Gurinder Chadha’s brilliant, bold dismantling of the accepted history of the Queen’s Uncle’s attempt at managing the Partition between India and Pakistan. Moria Bufini and Chadha’s masterful script weaves the political and the personal together seamlessly to challenge and confront the dissolution of the ‘British Raj’.
Sid & Nancy
Since The Sex Pistols blew up pop music in the late 1970s, no Royal celebration is complete without an airing of their alternative jubilee anthem, ‘God Save The Queen’.
And why not indulge, then, in the film that launched the careers of Oscar Winners Gary Oldman, Roger Deakins, maverick director Alex Cox and Working Title chief Eric Fellner?
Leonardo DiCaprio officially has the most popular Academy Award acceptance speech of all time, with more than 47 million views.
Matthew McConaughey has the second most-viewed Oscar’s acceptance speech on record, with more than 21 million views.
Jennifer Lawrence’s fall up the Academy steps has more than 14 million views on YouTube.
New research reveals that Leonardo DiCaprio has the most-viewed Oscar’s acceptance speech of all time.
The study conducted by casino experts MapleCasino examined the verified Oscars YouTube account to reveal the most-viewed Acadamy Award acceptance speeches, to establish the Internet’s favourite Oscar speeches ahead of this year’s ceremony.
The research revealed that Leonardo DiCaprio has the most-viewed Oscar acceptance speech in history.
After multiple nominations, DiCaprio finally won his long-awaited ‘Best Actor’ Acadamy Award in 2016 for his role in The Revenant, attracting more than 47 million views on YouTube. The Hollywood actor used his speech to address critical issues, highlighting the threat of climate change and the damaging effects of big polluters, telling the audience to “not take this planet for granted.”
Matthew McConaughey has the second most popular Oscars acceptance speech, with more than 26 million views on YouTube. The Dallas Buyer’s Club actor won his ‘Best Actor’ award in 2014 – beating the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale – and delivered a passionate talk thanking God, his family and colleagues, before finishing his speech with his signature phrase, “alright, alright, alright”.
With more than 21 million views, the Internet’s third favourite Oscar acceptance speech goes to Heath Ledger. As one of the most emotional speeches of all time, the late Heath Ledger won ‘Best Supporting Actor’ in 2009 for his role as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Due to Heath Ledger’s sudden death the year before, his family accepted the award on his behalf, going down in history as one of the most memorable award acceptance speeches of all time.
Kate Winslet has the fourth most popular Oscar’s acceptance speech, in addition to the most-watched speech for a ‘Best Actress’ winner. Kate Winslet won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Reader in 2009, beating the likes of Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep. The actress struggled to hold back her emotions during her evocative speech, which has now received more than 17 million views.
The findings revealed that Jennifer Lawrence’s Oscar acceptance speech is the fifth most popular on record for her 2013 ‘Best Actress’ award for Silver Linings Playbook. Jennifer Lawrence will go down in Oscars history, sadly not for her speech, but for her fall up the Academy steps on her way to collect her award, which has now received more than 14.5 million views on YouTube.
Additionally, Marlon Brando’s acceptance speech also features as one of the Internet’s favourites, placing eighth overall, making it the oldest acceptance speech in the ranking.
Receiving the ‘Best Actor’ award for his role in The Godfather, Brando’s 1973 speech has more than 11 million YouTube views, despite him not making an appearance. During the iconic speech, actress and Native American civil rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather spoke on Brando’s behalf, protesting the treatment of Native Americans in the film industry.
A spokesperson for MapleCasino commented on the findings: “From Kate Winslet’s emotional speech to Leonardo DiCaprio’s political address, acceptance speeches can be used to not only celebrate wins but also as a vital platform to voice political and social change.
“The Internet celebrated when DiCaprio won his well-deserved Academy Award back in 2016, delivering such a powerful speech that it still sparks interest today.
“As a keen environmental activist, DiCaprio used his platform to call attention to the detrimental effects of climate change, which now has close to double the number of views of Matthew McConaughey’s speech.”
The study was conducted by Maple Casino – the premier authority for the best online casinos in Canada, devoted to connecting Canadian players with the top online casino reviews.
Top 10 most viewed Oscar acceptance speeches of all time
Film captures the harsh realities of life in temporary accommodation during a pandemic
A NEW film documents the hardships and challenging living conditions faced by asylum seekers in Glasgow during the Covid-19 pandemic.
I’m Still Here, based on video diaries and photos shared by people living in temporary accommodation and other forms of housing, highlights the insecurity of their lives and constant battle to find the strength to carry on.
Around 350 asylum seekers were moved from their settled flats into various hotels in the city centre following the outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020 in what was said to be an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.
A study last year by Edinburgh Napier University researchers found that they faced unsafe conditions, mobility restrictions and a lack of communication from service providers.
The report said the asylum seekers’ accounts – in which they likened their hotel-type accommodation to detention centres – “pointed to a provision that was inattentive towards their needs, vulnerability and wellbeing.”
Now an 18-minute documentary film produced as part of the research project by staff from Edinburgh Napier is to be premiered at Glasgow’s GMAC Film hub at a stakeholder event from 11am-2pm tomorrow – Wednesday February 23.
Further public screenings are being organised across Scotland and the UK to highlight the challenges faced by the country’s asylum seekers and raise public awareness of the issue.
Film director Dr Kirsten MacLeod, the University’s Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Television, said: “I’m Still Here offers a powerful insight into the lived realities of men, women and children placed in temporary accommodation in Glasgow during the pandemic.
“Participants speak of the insecurity of the system in which they find themselves and of extremely challenging living conditions.
“From hotels, hostels and a mother and baby unit, they tell of the stress and hardships they have faced as well as their personal efforts to stay strong, bravely sharing their experiences in the hope that their stories can affect audiences and create change.
“Featuring footage from across 2021, the film aims to humanise and give voice to those seeking asylum and living in Scotland and highlights inadequate policy and treatment of asylum seekers.”
The research study – funded by the Economic and Social Research Council – and film were produced in collaboration with migrant-led grassroots organisation Migrants Organising for Rights and Empowerment (MORE).
Dr Taulant Guma, Principal Investigator and lecturer in Edinburgh Napier’s School of Applied Sciences, said: “The recent moves by private sector firms to relocate asylum seekers to hotels across the UK during the pandemic have led to a great deal of misinformation in the public and media about the ‘luxurious’ conditions offered by these temporary arrangements, misinformation which has further perpetuated the stigmatisation of asylum seekers during the pandemic.
“This co-produced documentary captures the impact and reality of these moves through the eyes and from the perspective of asylum seekers themselves.
“Through their video diaries, our participants tell a very different story from the one we often hear, a story that sheds new light on Covid realities for those individuals whose lives and mobility are largely regulated and restricted by the state and private companies.”
Yvonne Blake, co-founder of MORE, said: “The footage of the prison-like conditions the participants endured in the hotel capture the hostile environment at work and its significant impact on people’s mental health.
“Sadly, it has become common practice for the UK government Home Office through various contractors to subject international protection applicants to this kind of treatment.”
Ahead of the cinema release of video game adaptation Uncharted in the UK, new data has found the best video game movie, revealing Pokémon’s ‘Detective Pikachu’ to be a favourite across the globe.
Pokémon’s ‘Detective Pikachu’ scored the best video game adaptation with scores 53/100 on Metacritic and 68% via Rotten Tomatoes
Second is ‘Rampage’ seeing a box office of £350 million, Critic scores of 51% on Rotten Tomatoes and an IMDB rating of 6.1/10
‘Warcraft’ in third, this video game movie was the highest earner at the box office with £376 million
Gaming experts SolitaireBliss, analysed 34 video games made into movies looking at both critic and viewer ratings and box office income adjusted for inflation to find the most popular video game movie.
First is ‘Detective Pikachu’ from the Pokémon franchise. Released in 2019, the adventure game could be played on Nintendo, where players accompany Pikachu to solve mysteries. Starring Ryan Reynolds in the movie, the film took in £348 million at the box office, making it the third highest-earning video game movie adaptation.
The film received a Metacritic score of 53/100, and the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of all films in the list, at 68%.
‘Rampage’ is the second highest in the list, after placing second at the box office with £350 million. The video game was first created in 1986, made originally as an arcade game, and players control three monsters with aims to survive against the military. The movie claimed Hollywood stars Dwayne Johnson and Naomie Harris to play the lead roles.
The Third most successful movie based on a game is ‘Warcraft’. Starring Paula Patton and Dominic Cooper, the film scored 28% on Rotten Tomatoes and 32/100 on Metacritic, but ranked highly after being the highest earner at box office with £376 million. Warcraft is built up around five core games in the franchise, where opposing players order virtual armies to battle against each other.
The action-adventure game adaptation with Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley, ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’, ranked fourth in the listing with an average score of 51 in the viewer and critic score, the movie made more than £317 million at box office when it was released in 2010.
Released in February 2020, ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ takes fifth place in the ranking. The movie featuring Jim Carrey received an IMDB score of 6.5/10 and 63% via Rotten Tomatoes. The series follows Sonic battling a mad scientist.
Sixth most popular is ‘Tomb Raider’ released in 2018, the film took in almost £225 million at the box office. ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’, the first instalment of this series of movies in 2001, placed eighth in the list. The game ‘Tomb Raider’ is an action-adventure which follows Lara Croft travelling the globe for lost artefacts, involving puzzle solving and fighting enemies.
The Resident Evil series with Kaya Scodelario placed twice in the top ten with ‘Resident Evil: The Final Chapter’ ranking seventh in the list, and ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’ in ninth. The Franchise is a survival horror series which includes zombies and puzzle solving.
Tenth in the list is the fighting, action-adventure game adaptation ‘Mortal Kombat’, the video game movie received a Metacritic score of 60/100 and IMDB rating of 6.1/10.
Most Popular Video Game Movie
Rank
Movie Title
1
Detective Pikachu
2
Rampage
3
Warcraft
4
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
5
Sonic the Hedgehog
6
Tomb Raider
7
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
8
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
9
Resident Evil: Afterlife
10
Mortal Kombat
Commenting on their findings, a spokesperson from SolitaireBliss said, “With the release of the new video game movie adaptation, Uncharted, it’s fascinating to see how viewers and professional critics score the movies based on games, and comparing that with how each film performed at the box office.
“Movies based on video games have the advantage of a set of fans already familiar with the brand, and likely keen to see it. However, it can be a double-edged sword as those same fans are likely to have strong opinions and high expectations. This data shows that plenty of video game films have made good money, but many have struggled to impress fans and critics.”
This study was conducted by SolitaireBliss, which provides an online gaming service allowing users to play a wide array of card games and challenges.
