Tuesday 29 October 2013

A Scottish Wrestling Fan’s Journey to the Candelabra


On November 5th, the SouthSide Film Festival are showing this year’s hit movie, Behind The Candelabra focusing on the fascinating true story of outrageous pianist/entertainer Liberace and his lover Scott Thorson. 

You may have read the title and wondered what exactly my journey was to this movie. Well, I’m a huge fan of American wrestling. You know Hulk Hogan and The Rock type of stuff. Anyway, when I was younger I got a videotape of the first ever ‘WrestleMania’ event from 1985. The main event was packed with stars like Hulk Hogan, Muhammad Ali as a referee but the one man, that I never forgot was the guest time keeper for the evening, Liberace. He danced around the wrestling ring in an outrageous outfit with The Rockettes. That image remained with me for over 20 years.



A couple of years ago, I remember reading an article in the Metro newspaper about a new movie on the life of Liberace. I immediately pictured the dancing pianist from back in 1990 on VHS. Fast forward to 2013, add in an outstanding performance from Michael Douglas as ‘Lee’ and a mesmerizing performance by Matt Damon as his lover, Scott and you have Behind The Candelabra. This movie is can’t miss. From the camp, catchy showtunes to the moments of real emotion and harsh truths of celebrity, you won’t be disappointed.



The film will be shown at The Glad Cafe at 8pm as part of our Autumn Film Club. Doors open at 7:30. Tickets are £6 (£5 for concessions) and are available directly at the Glad Cafe or online from Tickets Scotland (booking fee applies)

Monday 28 October 2013

marxism today (prologue)

In other Southside film related news, the Southside Film Festival is pleased to share a screening that The Common Guild is organising next month at Langside Hall on the 15th November.

In the lead up to Phil Collins' major new project for Queen's Park and Glasgow 2014, The Common Guild and Film and Video Umbrella present a special screening of 'marxism today (prologue)' (2010) followed by a talk with the artist.
Phil Collins - marxism today (prologue)
 Friday 15 November, 7pm
Langside Hall, 5 Langside Avenue Glasgow G41 2QR
Tickets: £2.50 
The film is a poignant reminder of the extent to which the fault-lines and power struggles of history impact on individual lives. It was premiered at the Berlin Biennale in 2010, and later broadcast on national television in Germany, where its portrayal of teachers of Marxism-Leninism in the former GDR had particular resonance.

Presented in collaboration with Film and Video Umbrella, as part of '25 Frames', a programme of screenings and events marking the organisation's 25th anniversary, in which stand-out pieces from the organisation's past are re-staged and re-evaluated for the present.

This special event finds a richly appropriate setting in Langside Hall, on the edge of Queen's Park, an emblem of the city's distinctive social, cultural and architectural heritage. Phil Collins will be in conversation with Film and Video Umbrella Director, Steven Bode, after the screening. 'marxism today (prologue)' was co-commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella, Cornerhouse, Abandon Normal Devices, Berliner Künstlerprogramm/DAAD, and Berlin Biennale, and produced by Shady Lane Productions. Places are limited.

Please book via Eventbrite: marxismtoday.eventbrite.co.uk

Wednesday 9 October 2013

The mighty Wurlitzer cinema organ returns! With Vampyr...


Join us on Sunday 27th October for a unique Halloween themed film screening of Carl Th. Dreyer's Vampyr with live Wurlitzer Cinema Organ accompaniment as part of our Autumn Film Club in partnership with Pollokshaws Burgh Hall and the Scottish Cinema Organ Trust.

Pollokshaws Burgh Hall (2025 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow, G43 1NE) is home to the mighty Wurlitzer Cinema Organ, Scotland’s only cinema organ. The Scottish Cinema Organ Trust (SCOT) dedicate 2 days a week to restoring and maintaining this musical instrument now well into its 8th decade! 

Vampyr is a 1932 French-German horror film, one of the first psychological horror films. It ranks in many circles as one of the greatest horror films of all time (appearing in the top 10 of the Guardian’s list of ‘best horror films of all time’ in 2010). The story centres around Allan Grey, a student of the occult who enters the village of Courtempierre, which is under the curse of a vampire.


Grey arrives in a remote castle and starts seeing weird, inexplicable sights (a man whose shadow has a life of its own, a mysterious scythe-bearing figure tolling a bell, a terrifying dream of his own burial). Things come to a head when one of the daughters of the lord of the castle succumbs to anaemia - or is it something more sinister?

The film will start at 8pm, doors at 7:30pm. Tickets are £6 (£5 for concessions) and are available online from Tickets Scotland soon (booking fee applies) or on the door from Pollokshaws Burgh Hall.
Vampyr
Cert PG, 1932 (75 mins)
Pollokshaws Burgh Hall
Sunday 27 October, 8pm

Tuesday 1 October 2013

FILM CLUB PRESENTS: Let the Right One In

The nights are fair drawin’ in here in Glasgow so if you’re feeling stuck for some Autumnal midweek activities in the Southside, look no further as we’re back for first in our October edition of the film club with Swedish romantic horror Let the Right One In.

The Vampire genre appears to be enjoying somewhat of cultural rebirth of late – so much so that it can be difficult to pull a diamond from the rough – but we think we’ve done just that with Tomas Alfredson’s 2009 adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist's best selling novel.

Twelve year old Oskar is an outsider – viciously bullied at school in the day and left to fend for himself in the evening while his single mother works nights - the muted wintery backdrop of a small suburb of Stockholm only intensifies Oksar heartbreaking loneliness & isolation.  

It’s during one of these bleak lonely nights that Oskar meets Eli. He has no friends, she has no friends and in their despair, the two misfits forge a beautifully tender bond.

But is Eli all that she seems…..or more?

Marrying the often only ‘too real’ realism of Swedish cinema with a new twist on the grotesquely fantastical nature of the vampire genre, Let the Right One In is a magnetically atmospheric tale of loneliness & desperation, but most of all, a complexly delicate love story – the context may be grim but the sentiment is one that will ring true to us all….

What would you look past or sacrifice for the sake of love & companionship?


Tues 8th Oct - 8pm (doors 7:30)
Tickets - £6/5 conc. - available online at Ticket Scotland or in person at The Glad Cafe.