She only gained public attention four years ago with the smash hit "I Kissed A Girl”, but, aided by her glitzy persona, Katy Perry has come to dominate the pop world with two highly successful albums and has made history with five number one singles from the same studio album - a first for a female artist. Now she has a film on her hands and a touching one at that.
The BFI Southbank recently held a screening and Q&A for Searching for Sugar Man, with the film’s affable director Malik Bendjelloul present together with the subject of the feature length documentary, the Detroit musician Rodriguez. Total Film’s deputy editor Jamie Graham hosted the event and introduced Bendjelloul as a director who has worked on short films with musicians such as Rod Stewart and Sting. Paraphrasing, Graham noted that Bendjelloul had asserted that if a story couldn’t be told in ten minutes then it wasn’t worth telling. This is Bendjelloul’s first feature length film, however, and when asked if it seemed like an immediate ‘no brainer’ that this story needed to be a feature Bendjelloul simply answered with a smiling ‘Yes.’
Nicholas Barclay was 13 years old when he disappeared on the 13th of June, 1994. Three years of agony and confusion pass the Barclay family by, until 1997, when the Barclays were told Nicholas had been found. In Spain.
Reunited with Nicholas, the family are initially relieved but they soon notice the cracks in this happy ending. Nicholas' eyes were now a different colour and he spoke with a clear French accent. It becomes clear that the person living under their roof is not all he seemed.
The shocking true story of family's search for a missing child and the person they bring home.
Lawrence, the erstwhile singer songwriter of 80’s post-punk band Felt and latterly front man of the ludicrously monikered Go Kart Mozart is the eponymous subject of Paul Kelly’s Lawrence of Belgravia.
From the master of photography who brought us Chronos and Baraka, the first teaser trailer for Ron Fricke’s Samsara has been released and once again promises on-screen poetry of the purest kind.
The death penalty is as incendiary a subject as any, whatever side of the debate you stand on, you're sure to stand there defiantly.
Werner Herzog is staunchly opposed to the death penalty but, in making this intense and insightful look at the death penalty in contemporary America, he refuses to make a political statement. This is one of the boldest aspects of Into the Abyss; he avoids grandstanding, he refuses to massage the truth to strengthen his case. There are no staggering statistics offered, no comparisons to other countries in the developed world that have abolished the death sentence, even the story he follows would be the worst possible option for someone crafting a polemic.
If you love films and film making – and if you’re reading this on Lost in the Multiplex, it’s more than likely you do – then This Is Not a Film is one of the most fascinating films you are ever likely to see.
This Is Not a Film is not directed by director Jafar Panahi.
The first trailer and poster for a documentary on Comic-Con have been released this week, opening up a world that not many of us, especially here in the UK, get to experience.
Netflix is still in its infancy in the UK and, in these early months, it feels a bit like digging through bargain bins searching for a rare classic. While there might be a lot of junk to dig through, there are some real gems to find.
Every week, Lost in the Multiplex will pick through the detritus in search of Netflix's buried treasures.
This week - Gasland.
