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The view from Latitude

Apart from all the music at last year's Latitude Festival -- and the comedy, the cabaret the poetry, and the gentle rummage through the Sunday papers in the Literary Arena -- I was naturally inclined towards the doings in the Film Arena.

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Apart from all the music at last year’s Latitude Festival — and the comedy, the cabaret the poetry, and the gentle rummage through the Sunday papers in the Literary Arena — I was naturally inclined towards the doings in the Film Arena.

Inevitably, considering the bespoke nature of Latitude, I’d have been surprised to stumble across screenings of Pearl Harbour or Fantastic Four. Instead, I discovered the Halloween Film Club, in the throes of a fantastic multi-media event, screening short films soundtracked by DJs and powerful visuals.

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I’m delighted to learn, then, that the Halloween Film Club will be back at Latitude this year, fronting their Fucked-Up Love series of short films. On the other end of the scale, Latitude have managed to secure the involvement of BAFTA, who’ll be putting on a screening of Hitchcock’s 1926 film, The Lodger, accompanied by a live orchestra. There’s also the TooLoose Cinema Soundsystem, who’ll be playing their DJ set to Wong Kar Wai’s magnificent Days Of Being Wild.

One of the events that’s raised the most eyebrows round these parts is Phil Collins’ (no, not that one) Dünya Dinlemiyor — his Turner Prize nominated video installation featured the good people of Istanbul performing karaoke versions of The Smiths back catalogue. You can’t really go wrong, can you, particularly when the pear cider kicks in. St Etienne’s Turntable Cafe will also be in evidence, dedicating a special programme to the Watch With Mother strand of BBC Childrens’ TV programming, featuring vintage episodes of Bod and Fingerbobs.

There’s also Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait — Douglas Gordon’s fantastic study of French footballing hero Zidane over the course of one match, featuring a memorable score from Mogwai. And much more besides, as they say, including a Q+A with The Alcohol Years’ Carol Morley, more shorts from Future Cinema and Bird’s Eye View, a strand featuring films by emergent women film makers.

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Anyway, a lot to choose from, I think you’ll agree. John and I will be blogging from Latitude, from July 12 – 15. See you then…

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