Page 30 - 21_Bafta ACADEMY_Alistair McGowan_ok

news and events
Calling All Members From Amy Minyard BAFTA Events and Membership Officer
May saw some amazing events at the Academy, with Dougray Scott, Mike Barker and Kevin Loader con- ducting a Q & A on the making of To Kill A King and award-win- ning sound and film editor Walter Murch talking about his career working on films such as The Godfather Trilogy, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, The English Patient and many others.
We also held a screening of the new feature length drama for television, Promoted To Glory, and we are keen to hold more preview screenings of television programmes with the cast and crew in discussion.
All events in May were fully booked and our sessions at the Production Show were a huge
success. Marilyn Gaunt spoke elo- quently about making documen- taries, Marcus DF White talked about directing for drama, and Joe Houlihan and Jeremy Phillips debated the definition of reality TV while agreeing on the impor- tance of narrative storytelling in this unpredictable genre.
e are planning many more exciting events for the rest of the year. The
Academy will host the Grierson Forum: ‘How We Made Feltham Sing’ on July 3. The Grierson Forum is a new platform for documen- tary makers launched by The Grierson Memorial Trust. It aims to raise the profile of documentary making, and to stimulate discus- sion about the nature of docu- mentary and its role in popular culture, through lectures, work- shops and masterclasses.
This first Grierson Forum draws on the creative forces behind Feltham Sings, winner of The Flaherty Best Documentary Award at this year’s British Academy Television Awards. This innovative ‘documentary musi- cal’ was made within Europe’s largest Young Offenders Institution, notoriously branded as ‘rotten to the core’ by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in 1999.
Feltham Sings is an inspired col- laboration between veteran doc- umentary producer Roger Graef, whose long track record secured the co-operation of Feltham’s governors, and director Brian Hill, who pioneered the documentary musical in Drinking For England. Hill, incidentally, scored a unique BAFTA double this year also win- ning best New Director Fiction for the C4 drama, Falling Apart.
With rare access and intima- cy, Feltham Sings combines inter- views with inmates, guards and social workers with their perform- ances of original songs which run
the gamut from R&B and reggae to garage and hip-hop.
Some were written by the per- formers themselves, but most were fashioned from their words by poet Simon Armitage, and set to music by DJ Dextrous (aka Errol Francis), in an original score which has been nominated for an Ivor Novello Award.
The Grierson Forum ‘How We Made Feltham Sing’ will bring together director, producers, poet, composer and contributors to dis- cuss the making of the film and answer questions from the audi- ence. This stimulating exploration of the boundaries of documentary and performance, will explore how the documentary form can be tested and developed. Please watch out for your July pro- gramme to book for this event.
I On t e r a c t i o n ’ 0 3
ur Interaction ’03 event,
which was cancelled in
April due to concerns about the war in Iraq, has been rescheduled for September 18. This Transatlantic Producers’ Forum presented by the American Film Institute, the BBC, and BAFTA will provide a forum for producers from both sides of the Atlantic who have grappled with the many challenges of cre- ating interactive television.
Does interactivity work better for some genres than others? Are audiences learning and chang- ing as they begin to use interac- tivity? Does interactivity function differently on public service tele- vision than on advertiser-support- ed systems? What has succeed- ed best? What has been tried and rejected?
New Hotel Discounts for BWAFTA Members
e are pleased to announce that we have added a special offer
with The Ritz to the range of dis- count hotels available to BAFTA members. For those of you who may not be aware of the many different hotels which offer dis- counts to BAFTA members, the full list is included below:
The Ritz, London
Opened in 1906, the Ritz today still retains the personal feel of a French country
house whilst offer-
ing all the glamour,
excitement and
graceful living that
are synonymous
with this legendary, world famous hotel. Rate for BAFTA members start from £210+VAT, reduced from £310. For reservations please call 020 7493 8181 or email enquire@theritzlondon.com.
For toll free reservations from the US, call 1 877 748 9536.
The Cavendish
The Cavendish Hotel is now offer- ing discounted rates to BAFTA members starting from £125 + VAT. For booking information please call Annabel Story on 020 7389 3543 or reception on 0207930 2111 and mention that you are a BAFTA member. You may be asked to show your membership card on arrival.
Sofitel St James
The Sofitel St James Hotel is pleased to offer BAFTA the spe- cial rates that are valid from April 25, 2003 until December 31, 2003. Rates start from £185+VAT, discounted from £320. Facilities include 186 Bedrooms and Suites, a Fitness Centre offering fitness studio, steam room and beauty treatments and Brasserie Roux, offering new classic French cui- sine created by world famous chef Albert Roux. Reservations can be made directly by tele- phoning 020 7747 2222, by fax on 020 7747 2223 or e-mail H3144-re@accor-hotels.com. Please mention you are a BAFTA member when booking.
Hotel Inter-Continental London
The Hotel Inter-Continental London on Hyde Park Corner, situ- ated just five minutes walk from
rierson Forum
GW
Photos above: Lesley Manville in Promoted To Glory; top: Mike Barker, Kevin Loader and Dougray Scott, at the Q & A for To Kill A King; opposite page: The Heart Of Me stars Paul Bettany (centre) and Olivia Williams
28