COMPETITION: WIN ‘BEGINNERS’ ON BLU-RAY!

Mike Mills’ truly excellent film BEGINNERS is released today and to celebrate The Roundeyes have got hold of five copies on Blu Ray to give away!

This is one of the year’s top releases, easily in our Top Five movies of the year. Which is why we’ve decided to do make this our first ever competition!

BEGINNERS is a heartfelt comedy drama about Oliver, a graphic artist (Ewan McGregor), dealing with his elderly father who a) has terminal cancer and b) comes out as gay at 75 years old.

It’s also a love story dealing with the coming together of Oliver and Anna (the excellent Mélanie Laurent) against a cinematic backdrop of hazy Southern California. Moving, reflective, laugh-out-loud funny and more, this film is a real treat from start to finish.

And how many movies can honestly count a jack russell (subtitled of course) as the real star of the show? Director Mike Mills’ last film of note was the also-excellent THUMBSUCKER, so if you enjoyed that we seriously recommend you check out this little gem of a movie.


To enter our fab competition to win the film on Blu Ray, simply email the answer to this question along with your full name and address to:

roundeyecompetitions@hotmail.co.uk

What was the name of Mike Mills’ debut feature film starring Tilda Swinton?
a) Toesucker
b) Thumbsucker
c) Titsucker

UK residents only please. Only one entry per household. You must be over 15 to enter. The competition closes on Wednesday 23rd November.

The five names out of that hat with the correct answer will then get their hands on a sparkling new Blu Ray of the film.

GOOD LUCK!

If you’re not one of our lucky winners, remember BEGINNERS is available to buy on DVD and Blu Ray in all your usual places from November 14th.

ALL QUIET ON THE ROUNDEYE FRONT...?!

Yep, there's no hiding it friends... things have been a tad quiet here in Roundeye's tiny corner of cyberspace.

No excuses, it's just we've been extra busy planning new films for 2012, sending Little Red out to lots of cool festivals, oh, and welcoming our very own Roundeye child into the fold - poor thing!

All that said, we will be back with a bang very soon - launching with a fab new Blu Ray competition actually! So watch this space if you please... all will be revealed soon(ish)!

JUST IN... THE PORTOBELLO FILM FESTIVAL 2011

Details for this year's Portobello Film Festival have just been announced - one of London's best film events - and our film Getting Ready is in the line-up!

Here's the official release:

Staking its claim as Europe's largest independent film festival with a programme of over 700 films, the Portobello Film Festival is 17 days of non-stop cutting edge cinema from the modern masters of the medium – unimpressed with bling, spin and celebrity culture, these guys have gone out and made their films, often on budgets of next to nothing, for the sheer thrill of it. And keeping to its indie roots, the all events are FREE.
At the heart of Portobello Film Festival are shorts and features that embody the state of cinematic art from international upcoming directors. Evenings are programmed into drama, documentary, comedy, animation, music, art, sci-fi, horror and world. They’ll be non stop screenings at The Inn On The Green and Westbourne Studios, plus with a Filmmakers Convention and loads of fringe events - you can see why this is truly the biggest celebration of independent films in Europe!

Getting Ready will be part of the Video Cafe line up at the Westbourne Studios, screened in the cinema and the bar. This event runs from Monday 5th to Thursday 8th September, from 6pm-11pm each night.

RUMBLINGS IN SZEGED - WE'VE GOT THAT HUNGARY FEELING AGAIN!

Coming this September is the extra-special 10th anniversary edition of the Szeged Super 8mm Film Festival - one of the world's best super 8 festivals, held every year in Hungary.

We've been so well supported by the festival - they've featured a new Roundeye film every year since 2008 actually, so we are delighted to back on the bill again for this very special year!

They'll be screening our spooky new film Little Red in the main competition programme, on Tuesday 6th September, in the Grand Cafe Cinema. The films start at 7pm.

More details to come as we get them!

Peeps watching our film 'The Return of Ellen Love' at the Grand Cafe Cinema.

OPEN SESAME!

Well this is exciting news... Starting early next week the Roundeye film Little Red will be showing at the New Gallery London as part of 'Open', a curated programme of contemporary artists' short films.

Here is the official blurb about the exhibition...
'Open' brings together a diverse selection of film recently created by a variety of emerging, established and international artists.
From an open submission the work has been selected through a panel of curators and artists displaying a variety of exciting and challenging work that is being produced today from all over the world. The exhibition places the role of the gallery at the forefront of its interests, bringing into question the structured ideas of an 'Artist film'. The position of the gallery entices the role of the filmmaker, artist, cinema and Hollywood.

You can find the New Gallery London on the Peckham Road at Camberwell - the private view is tomorrow at 6pm, but the films are showing from 6pm to 11pm every day next week.

HOWND DOGS...

Last night our colourful kaleidoscopic super-8 delight, Getting Ready, was shown at the fantastic Braine Hownd short film night.

Promising to showcase 'the best in new short films' our little movie was one of just five on the bill for this brand new film event, held every first Tuesday of the month at the Hideaway, which you can find in between Tufnell Park and Archway tube stations in LONDON TAAN!

This is what Braine Hownd's official blog made of the night:

There have been a few great sequels (Terminator 2, Aliens, Desperado, Three men and a little lady, Jaws 2) and some not so good sequels (Teen Wolf Too, Transformers 2, Sex and the City 2, Jaws: The Revenge). However, there was no sophomore slump for Braine Hownd Film’s second short film night (or as host Matt Prendergast put it ‘the first, second Braine Hownd Film Night ever”).

It was another packed night in The Hideaway basement, and, thanks to the summer coming to London for a few days, its lovely beer garden, which seemed to host both the pre and post film shenanigans... The last film before the interval was Getting Ready by Ben Barton. Though I wouldn’t call this a short film, more a music video, it looked stunning. It was shot on Super 8 film and on location at Chatham Brook Theatre. Getting Ready tells the the story of faded glories and past dreams.

You can read the whole thing here: Braine Hownd Film Blog

Right - let's sign off with some photos from the event. Enjoy!

IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE WOODS TODAY...

Fresh from it's premiere at the Folkestone Triennial 2011 last week - and now being broadcast on the short film television programme Ronke - we are now in the process of sending out the latest Roundeye film to a host of film festivals, screenings nights and art events all over the UK.

This one is a creepy take on Little Red Riding Hood - which combines elements of fairytales and horror to reveal something unexpected lurking in the forest...

As always - we really don't want to put the full film to view online. Why? Well because we want you to actually come watch our films with an audience, to get that crowd experience going, to get some alcohol into the mix (!) and to show you our work up on a big screen. Besides - it never looks that good all pixelated and juddery on a computer screen, does it?

That said - we will give you a little teaser trailer to feast your eyes on. So here goes... (but keep coming back for details of future screenings - we hope to see you there - in person!)

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE...

Well not quite live actually... but we are talking about primetime on a Saturday night!

Yep - the Roundeye mini-classic Getting Ready is going to be screened on Ronke, Britain's best short film show, tonight at 9pm.

The programme goes out on Sky channel 166 (or Freesat channel 402).

Tune in if you can!

ON THE SMALL SCREEN WITH... RONKE

ronke (ron-kay) Chiefly Norwegian Vulgar Slang
vb (intr) to masturbate
n an instance of masturbating

Yes – apparently 'Ronke' is the Norwegian word for an old fashioned five-knuckle shuffle. But more importantly, it’s also the title of the best short film show on British television!

Broadcast most days on the channels Showcase and InformationTV, Ronke is now in its sixth year and promises "strange, unusual, funny, moving and always entertaining short films from around the world".

I’ve tried for ages to get some Roundeye films on the programme – and I’m thrilled to say that they have finally snapped-up two of our finest creations – Getting Ready and brand-new film Little Red – for the show TOMORROW NIGHT!

So PLEASE tune-in to Sky channel 166 tomorrow at 9.30pm to watch some real super-8 cine films on the small screen! It doesn't happen very often!

The screening will be the virtual premiere of Little Red – our scary version of Little Red Riding Hood - it’s only ever been screened once before, last week at my solo film show for the Folkestone Triennial.

So please tune in, or SkyPlus it, or whatever… super-8 is great!


How to watch ‘Ronke’ - this Wednesday 13th June at 9.30pm
- Sky viewers - turn to channel 166 - or channel 189 for the +1 version which runs an hour behind.
- Freesat viewers - click on channel 402.
- If you're outside the UK - the channel can be received via any satellite equipment pointing at the Astra/Eurobird complex at 28.2E using frequency 11.623 H, FEC 2/3, symbol rate 27500 and service ID 50880.
- Or if all that's a bit complicated (no shit!) - then just visit the website here and watch the channel's live online streaming - it's completely free!


If you miss tomorrow's show - fear not. Word on the street is that our films will be repeated quite a bit over the foreseeable future, so keep tuning in...

Ben Barton


P.S. Here’s the brand new poster for Little Red, btw. Artwork is courtesy of the ridiculously talented Mr V. Big love. x

OUR FILM NIGHT IS... TOMORROW!

Yep - the week has zoomed by - and the aforementioned Roundeye film night IS TOMORROW!

So remember folks, please get your cute bumbums down to the excellent Quarterhouse on Tontine Street to see our full oeuvre of super-8 wonderment right where they belong - on the big screen!

It's tomorrow at 7.30pm. But you already knew that, didn't you?!

LOCAL RAG WRITE-UP

SOLO FILM SHOW - THIS WEEK!

Well this week this the most exciting one EVER for Roundeye - and that's a fact.

And it's all because coming this Friday 8th July is Ben Barton's first ever solo film night, all being held for the fantastic Folkestone Triennial 2011.

Part retrospective, part avant garde film night, the evening promises our usual blend of scratchy, imperfect super-8 films, found footage and great music from Roundeye regulars Jennifer and Robert Harris.

We'll be showing virtually every single film we've made over the past three years, including the first ever screenings of new works Little Red and 5,000 Miles From Hollywood.

So if you can get to Folkestone's fab Quarterhouse this Friday - please come down and support us - the more the merrier! The films start at 7.30pm and entry is a teeny-tiny £3!

You can read more about the short film night here at the Folkestone Fringe website, or here at Benny's very own homepage.

We hope to see you there!

TRIENNIAL VIDEO BLAH BLAH...

If you've got a spare five minutes - here's a half-interesting video about the Folkestone Triennial that's popped-up on the Guardian website...

AT LAST... PRIMETIME TV!

Well, we seem to be ever so popular over at Sky TV channel 219 - Eat Cinema/My Channel - they're repeating our underground Dungeness film Initial Prospect three times this coming week!

Yep - and rather than being relegated to the midnight slot - this time we're primetime - sort of.

Here's the blurb for the week's shows, now rebranded as My Super Shorts Light:

Enjoy a selection of our best easy going short films on this special programme dedicated to new talents, good ideas and an important piece of cinema yet to be explored on television - the short film.

You can watch Initial Prospect this Tuesday at 6pm, Wednesday at 1.30pm and Thursday at 4.30pm.

THE FOLKESTONE TRIENNIAL STARTED - TODAY!

Well I thought I knew Folkestone pretty well - but today was a real eye opener! As you all probably know, the fab Folkestone Triennial 2011 launched today - in spectacular fashion!

It kind of started last night with the fireworks over the harbour, but today was the first day of action. The truth is - I hardly recognised the place! Instead of gum-chewing wellard chavs - the town was abuzz with artists, music, food, theatre, installations and general merriment - and this was only day one!

There were hundreds of people milling around, going in and out of the galleries and quirky little shops, kids jumping around the new fountain (who looked like they'd 'catch their death' as your Gran might say...), a large walk-in whale, amazing new restaurants opening their doors, art installations around every corner, live bands, street food, performers, art-in-progress, filmmakers, a new mermaid overlooking the Sunny Sands and so so much more!

So if you need any more encouragement, get your arses down to the harbour and Old High Street, and to all the other locations dotted around - and take a look for yourself!

Here's a little video that someone's just uploaded, which captures some of what's been going on...



As part of the festival, there's going to be an extra special screening of all the Roundeye films, at the Quarterhouse in Folkestone, on Friday July 8th, 2011 at 7.30pm. Watch this space for more info - coming very soon!

It's all part of the Folkestone Triennial 'Fringe' - which you can read all about in this cool little catalogue thing here...


To grab a copy you can go to the snazzy new Folkestone Triennial Visitors' Centre (at the bottom of the Old High Street) or download one here.

SEE... HEAR... SPEAK...

Well, the three wise Jesuses on my desk are calling me... which means... BACK TO WORK!

And the next few weeks are going to be lots of fun - with plenty in the pipeline such as a solo film night and another short film TV programme showing my stuff... Watch this space peeps!

Ben Barton

VAMPIRE T.V.

Just a quickie... but our film Initial Prospect is being repeated on the Super Shorts television show in the wee early hours of tomorrow morning (Wednesday).

So yep - vampires and insomniacs only I'm afraid - or you can always Sky Plus it...!

It's on Eat Cinema/My Channel, Sky channel 219 at 3am. Not exactly primetime!

WE'RE ON T.V.

We've just had some very exciting news - one of the Roundeye films is being screened on TV!

The film is our nostalgic cine wonder 'Initial Prospect', filmed in Dungeness and with a fantastic soundtrack by our very own Jennifer Harris.

It's been selected for Super Shorts on the channel Eat Cinema - now rebranded as My Channel.

Super Shorts is one of just two short film shows broadcast here in the UK (the other one being Ronke). Can you believe that - just two shows in the whole country?! So of course I'm absolutely delighted to have been chosen... popcorn anyone?!
So tune in this week to My Channel, available on SKY channel 219. The screenings are this Wednesday 8th June at 9.30pm, and Sunday 12th June at 8pm. Or for insomniacs - there's a screening in the wee hours of Sunday morning at 1:30am!

Ben Barton

MOVIEBAR MAGIC

Now in it's third incarnation - I think - the new, more snappily-titled Movie Bar is still Brighton's best short film night... held the first Monday of every month at the Cornerstone.

This month is sure to be the best night so far. Why? - well because it will feature a trio of Roundeye films all directed by our very own Ben Barton - that's why!

They will be showing our super-8 films Getting Ready, The Lighthouse and Initial Prospect, described in the programme as 'three stories of love, loss and dreams presented as visual poems'.

So get down to the Cornerstone at the bottom of Elm Grove in Brighton on Monday June 6th... the usual movie quiz starts at 8pm, followed by the screenings...

NICE FRINGE!

We're very happy to be a part of the inaugural Shorts Festival as part of this year's Stratford-upon-Avon Fringe.

It's our sparkly delight Getting Ready that will be screened, at the town's fab Picturehouse Cinema, this weekend on June 5th. The films start at 1pm and admission is absolutely FREE!

THE PICTURES R.I.P.

The Pictures - a very special film night which were one of the very first to show my little films - has come to an end... Very sad news!

Above is a roll call of everyone who was involved, from start to finish. My name's in there somewhere, if you squint...


Ben Barton

WE'RE IN A WHIRLYGIG...

Roundeye favourite The Return of Ellen Love is getting something of a makeover this weekend - with a brand new live soundtrack - all part of Whirlygig Cinema's new 'Making Tracks' event.

Whirlygig describe themselves as "an ongoing project working to expose the talents of lesser known and up-and-coming filmmakers... helping them to find their feet in a daunting and murky art world".

Our film's new soundtrack will come courtesy of The Cabinet of Living Cinema, a collective of artists working exclusively in music and film. The idea behind the night is quite simple: Whirlygig Cinema seek out top-quality short films, strip them of their original soundtracks and The Cabinet rescore them live on the night.

Entry to this special event is £8 - this Friday 20th May - at the coolio Rich Mix arts venue - in the heart of London's East End on the Bethnal Green Road.

Addendum: It also seems our film will be repeated for the August 2011 event - so we'll post again nearer the time...

STOP YOUR JUNK FILM DIET!

If you’ve been stuffing yourself with film junk lately, why not follow my suggestions for these healthier options? They’re every bit as tasty – but all are free from artificial sweetness, hydrogenated twats and genetically modified film stars. Best of all – they won’t leave a bad taste in your mouth, and you can tuck in GUILT FREE.

Swap ‘Burlesque’ for ‘On Tour’

Sure she can sing, but Christina clearly can’t act her way out of a recycled paper bag, and even the frozen features of Queen Cher and a glimpse of Cam Gigandet’s lovely bum can’t save this mess. No siree! – for a taste of the real glitz, glamour and sleaze of modern burlesque, it has to be Mathieu Amalric’s excellent road movie ‘On Tour’. Directed by and starring Amalric, it follows a travelling troupe of burlesque performers, a real ragtag pick n’ mix, as they travel from one crappy gig to the next all along the coast of France, passing through a series of crummy hotels and smoke-filled dives. Bittersweet and imperfect, ‘On Tour’ is a movie with real heart.

Swap ‘The Social Network’ for ‘Catfish’

Yes I know David Fincher is unbelievably cool, and he’s made some excellent films in the past. And the truth is, ‘TSN’ really isn’t that bad – but for me – ‘Catfish’ is the real Facebook movie. Who gives two shits about the millionaire geeks who wrote the html – why not see how Facebook is actually corrupting people’s lives right here right now? It’s hard to give you a synopsis of this film without ruining it – just watch it!

Swap ‘Scream 4’ for ‘Amer’

Now I’m a big-time horror junkie – always have been – so don’t get me wrong: I was looking forward to ‘Scream 4’ (or ‘Scre4m’ for the pedantic) just as much as the next person. And it was ok, in a way, though it will never beat the thrill I got from sneaking in, underage, to the original ‘Scream’ all those years ago… but anyway, I digress…

The problem with horror films these days is it’s all so oversaturated – with shite. Once you’ve seen one big-titted wench running away from the masked madman/monster/ex-boyfriend (delete as appropriate) – you’ve kind of seen it all before. You really have to have your wits about you to separate the wheat from the chaff – and intelligent, button-pressing horrors are seemingly few and far between. So how refreshing to see a film like ‘Amer’. Visually it’s something else – like Argento filtered through a haze of Gothic magic mushrooms. Plus it’s virtually dialogue free – and even I, Mr Pidgin French, still managed to follow it unsubtitled. A striking, unique, trippy, confusing, spellbinding and rewarding little film of three acts, it’s really worth seeking out.

Little anecdote time: When I was at the cinema and asked for a ticket to ‘Scream 4’ the little popcorn kid thought I said ‘Screen 4’ and promptly gave me a ticket to ‘Winnie The Pooh’ – oh the irony…

Swap ‘Sucker Punch’ for ‘Uncle Boonmee’

Well ‘Sucker Punch’ has finally been released, after what seems like the biggest build-up in history. The truth is, I already feel bored by it all... So my alternative fantasy movie for your platter is the wordily-titled ‘Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives’, a Thai film. Sure it’s slower than the kick-ass pace of ‘Sucker Punch’, but it’ll be a far far more rewarding viewing experience!

The film follows the final days of the title’s Uncle Boonmee. He lives in the remote Thai jungle where ghosts, spirits and monkey-monsters with glowing red eyes all come to life and sit around his table. A fable, fairytale and gentle rumination on the meaning of life and death, ‘Uncle Boonmee’ probably won’t please everyone – but I suggest you see it for yourself and make-up your own mind… Just as long as you don’t get offended by bestial scenes of a princess receiving oral from a catfish… you have been warned!

Swap ‘The Mechanic’ for ‘Rubber’

No I haven’t watched ‘The Mechanic’. Why? Because Jason Statham is in it, that’s why. But what I have seen is the surreally brilliant and unique film ‘Rubber’. Actually directed by Mr Oizo I kid ye not – this warped, almost indescribable film is a total blast. It follows the murderous misadventures of Robert, a car tyre who rolls around the Californian desert, blowing people’s heads off via telekinesis – all while being watched by a live ‘audience’ (who of course represent you, the viewer). I’m not making it sound too good am I? But it is, I promise!


So there we have it - why not swap some of the junk for real wholesome film today, and see how healthier you feel… you know it makes sense!

Ben Barton

££££££££££££££

It's been all doom and gloom on the arts' funding front lately - what with the sad closure of the UK Film Council and the tightening of the Arts Council belt etc... so in these frugal times I'm happier than ever to say that I've received some much needed cash from the government to keep on making the Roundeye films!

Sure it's not much, but after four years of begging, borrowing and thieving to get these films out there, it's very nice to be given a little backhander to keep on going!

So a big thanks to all the arts team at Shepway council for all their support... and to the rest of you - you're sure to see the fruits of your hard-earned tax money here very soon!

Ben Barton

A LITTLE RED HERRING...

The Hollywood version - sure to be a PG-13 yawn-fest...

Hell, you know that feeling when you're busy working on your new underground super-8 film with a total budget of say £300 - then along comes a massive Hollywood shitbuster to steal your thunder? You don't? Well I do!

Of course there's nothing new about the Little Red Riding Hood story - I mean, 200 hundred years and the Brothers Grimm have got the edge on me, I know... It's just such a coincidence I guess! A bit like when you see those two buses tailing each other, both heading in the same direction. Still - I know which film will be scarier - and 42 million smackaroonies aint got nothing to do with it!

So Roundeye followers - keep your ears to ground for news of 2011's best version of Little Red Riding Hood... not coming to a Cineworld/Odeon/Vue near you soon!*

*But hopefully to the coolest film nights and underground festivals instead.

Ben Barton

The Roundeye version - mind over money...