Birds Eye View

Birds Eye View

Birds Eye View (BEV) [http://www.birds-eye-view.co.uk] was founded by Rachel Millward and Pinny Grylls in 2002, as a unique platform for emerging women filmmakers. BEV began touring short film programmes around the country, inviting key female figures in the film industry, including Greta Scacchi, Naomie Harris and Sally Phillips, to participate as guest speakers and discuss issues related to women making films.


History, events and tours

In 2003 BEV undertook a 10-city UK tour, launched with a gala event at the National Film Theatre, hosted by Birds Eye View patron Juliet Stevenson and writer/actress Meera Syal.

In 2005 the Birds Eye View Film Festival [http://www.birds-eye-view.co.uk] was born - a 6 day 3 venue event (NFT, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Curzon Soho) and the UK’s first major women’s film festival. The festival opened at the NFT with a programme of outstanding shorts by UK women directors, presented by Matthew Wilcock and Rhona Cameron, followed by a party with sounds from the Siren Suite.

The week continued with more UK shorts, international features and international documentaries, including contributions from Kim Longinotto (world premiere of Cannes award-winning "Sisters in Law"), Tracey Emin (specially licensed teen screening of Topspot with teen debate chaired by Miranda Sawyer), Xiao Jiang (internationally award-winning debut feature "Electric Shadows"), Andrea Arnold (Oscar-winning "Wasp") plus Beeban Kidron ("Bridget Jones"), Penny Woolcock ("Principles of Lust") and Alison Peebles ("Afterlife") and veteran documentary maker Marilyn Gaunt. The festival closed with an awards party at Café de Paris, with presenters including Nik Powell and Jessica Stevenson. The evening was marred by a [http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ouch/200503/a_birds_eye_view_of_a_protest.html protest] outside by disabled protesters. They were protesting against the exclusion of disabled film maker [http://www.roaring-girl.com/ Liz Crow] of [http://www.roaring-girl.com/ Roaring Girl Produtions] who uses a powered wheel chair. The event had been moved from an accessible event to the Café de Paris which has stairs in the main entrance and no lift thus effectively excluding Crow. [http://www.roaring-girl.com/ Liz Crow] had won an award for he film [http://www.roaring-girl.com/prod07_a.shtml Nectar] , coincidentally a film about disability and access, but [http://www.roaring-girl.com/ Liz Crow] was unable to pick up her award due to the inaccessibility of the venue. The protest caused many celebrities, including Joanna Lumley, who were due to hand out awards, to cancel. The event was set up to highlight the exclusion of women in film, but still managed to be exclusive towards some women.

Always intent on bringing different art forms together, BEV also put on a special event mid-festival called Sound & Silents - a live music to silent film event. The music was composed and performed by the internationally renowned pianist and composer Joanna MacGregor, in collaboration with Shri Sriram ("Badmarsh & Shri") and Rita Ray. The programme consisted of several short films from the last 100 years of women filmmakers, from Alice Guy Blache (1906) through Lotte Reineger (1954) to contemporary film artist Kathy Hinde.

2006 has seen the festival experiment with a more consistent presence throughout the year. BEV held the International Women’s Day Gala on March 8 once again at the NFT. This time the international programme of short films, was accompanied with guest appearances from Gurinder Chadha and "Confetti" director Debbie Isitt.

The second programme (screened in June) consisted of international shorts and features at the Apollo West End, opened by actress Fiona Shaw. Highlights included acclaimed Lebanese director Jocelyne Saab’s visually captivating feature "Kiss Me Not On The Eyes", the world premiere of Philippa Lowthorpe’s "Beau Brummell" with attendance from its star James Purefoy ("Rome", "Vanity Fair"), masterclasses with Martha Fiennes ("Chromophobia") and innovative dance filmmaker Magali Charrier, as well as another fusion event, Ladies Who Laugh: live comedy with funny short films in partnership with Funny Women (comediennes including Shazia Mirza, Ayesha Hazarika and Debra Jane Appelby). This part of the 2006 festival concluded with the Birds Eye Review: Short Film Awards and Comment with a debate hosted by Miranda Sawyer, and a panel including Bonnie Greer and Natasha Walter. Award juries included Deborah Warner, Zoe Williams ("The Guardian"), Rebecca Mark Lawson (Lifesize pictures) amongst others.

Current and prospective events (films/Documentaries)

BEV's final large-scale programme for 2006 features international documentaries at the ICA (September 15 - 17) [http://www.ica.org.uk] . Screening 13 documentaries over three days, the programme will open with Hotdocs winner Martyr Street (dir. Shelley Saywell) and be launched by writer/director Amma Asante, followed by projections and sounds by celebrated DJ, Rita Ray.

The documentary programme includes a screening of a short film programme, as well as longer award winning and UK premiering documentaries covering subjects as diverse as taxidermy, octogenarian cabaret dancers, the environmental impact of Death Valley and the emotional impact of Hurricane Katrina, as well as the highlight and closing night documentary, "Until The Violence Stops", a film exploring the grassroots movement which has erupted in response to Eva Ensler's the "Vagina Monologues".

As part of the touring programme, BEV has extensively toured the UK in 2006, and will continue to do so throughout the summer, with a programme of shorts being screened at festivals including "The Big Chill" and "Bestival". In addition to the BEV festival and touring events, education programmes in schools, colleges and cinemas are also managed throughout the year.

Birds Eye View works toward seeing more women in creative, culturally defining roles, and seeks to present exciting work, bringing more inspiration and fantastic entertainment!

See also

*List of film festivals
*Women filmmakers
*Big Chill
*Bestival
*National Film Theatre
*ICA

External links

* [http://www.birds-eye-view.co.uk/ Birds Eye View official site]
* [http://www.ica.org.uk/ ICA official site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/birdseyeviewfilmfestival Myspace site]


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