The East End Film Festival starts today and runs until the 30^th April.  There’ll be eight days celebrating all things East/Film related (East London and Eastern Europe), with screenings, Q&A’s with directors, parties, live music, premieres and special events all held at East London venues. Everything is deliberately geared towards being affordable and accessible. So, if flicks are your thang, get involved!

There’s so much going on but a couple of things really jumped out at me:

The End 

If you love gritty, dark, violent films based on a semblance of reality then The End looks pretty damn raw (think chestnuts like: ‘People only respect violence’ and ‘I thought of myself as a Robin Hood and everyone else thought I was a robbin' bastard’). Set against the back-drop of London’s east end and made by first time film makers and twin sisters Nicola and Teena Collins, it explores the fascinating complexity of the life of their father, Les Falco and his mates, all infamous criminals, their life growing up in poverty and descent into the east end underworld. Told through a series of interviews, with the likes of Mickey Goldtooth, the debt collector, and Victor Dark (I’m going to change my name by deed poll today), the bank robber, this is a no holds barred approach to film making and it looks grimy. If you’re feeling it, the premiere’s tonight at the Alhambra Club, and the dons themselves will all be there (so no beefing or throwing pop corn cause these men are serious!) and after the screening there'll be a good, ol’ Cockney, knees up.

 A couple of other things to check for:

City Rats:

The premiere of City Rats on Friday 24^th April. Directed by Steve Kelly, this film has been much anticipated, and is hailed as the ‘Brit flick’ of the year.  What would a Brit flick be without Danny Dyer? Good. A commercial success. Slightly less formulaic. Well, tough cause he stars in it, alongside Tamer Hassan (The Business), in what is billed as: ‘a ‘career best performance’. Ahem. I have to say after witnessing much hype on Facebook, the trailer looks promising and suitable gritty. The film tells of ‘London’s lonely and lost looking for redemption in each other and finding solutions of darkness and light’ (use the force Danny!).  So, I’ll reserve judgment until I see it but if you do see it and it’s rubbish, these are just suggestions OK? So no come backs.

Sounds like Teen Spirit:

Directed by Jamie Jay Johnson, it's a behind the scenes documentary about teenage kids battling it out for the converted title of teenage Eurovision Song Contest winner. Worth a look even if it’s just for all the tears, sequins and random songs me thinks?

Fire Burn Babylon:

Directed by Sarita Siegel, narrated by Don Letts is about a crew of Rastafarians evacuated to the east end of London after a volcanic eruption in Montserrat. This crew decide to reinvent themselves as ‘rude-boy’ rappers and small time hustlers on the nightclub circuits. It’s about a struggle of spiritual identity and the thrills of the city. Looks pretty deep to me.

Any ways log on to the website and see what’s happening. I highly recommend, if a splash of graff is your thing, that you check out my mate Teilo Vellacott’s documentary ‘Altered Egos’ screening at the Rio Cinema on Weds 29^th April. Style Wars eat your heart out.

 

More info: CLICK.