Last Tango In Prestwich

And finally here it is, a film that was a joy to make and I am immensely proud of. To quote our swanky DVD...Last Tango in Prestwich is a funny, moving and frequently surprising portrait of the lives and loves of the regular at an afternoon tea dance in Prestwich. Alongside their own personal stories of competition, jealousy and loneliness the dancers are also battling to keep their beloved dance hall from being closed down. This film offers a rare insight into an often overlooked sector of our society and reveals there is much more to tea dances and the people who frequent them than meets the eye.

Hitting Home Last Tango in Prestwich from International Media Centre on Vimeo.

Connor Collins

This Next one is a portrait of a Manchester based artist called Connor Collins, check out the awesome piece that he was working on at the time made up of the his thoughts written down.

Connor Collins from International Media Centre on Vimeo.

4D Cinema

I have just found a couple of films I edited online thanks to the University of Salford International Media Centre. This was a film looking at the 4D cinema technology available at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, looks like great fun! Enjoy!

4D Cinema from International Media Centre on Vimeo.

A BLOCumentary

I have always loved Lego and am in no way surprised to see a group dedicated to the world famous danish marvel. AFOL (Adult Fans of Lego) is a great short documentary about folk like me whose love of the little blocks never diminishes.

AFOL A Blocumentary from AFOL on Vimeo.

A Portrait of England

I have currently been looking at an interesting project that will take shape over the course of the next twelve months. A Portrait of England is inviting the public to capture their lives in the hope that notions of Englishness will be prevalent in the results.

This form of user generated content follows in the footsteps of films such as Life in a Day (2011) and the BBC's next project Britain in a Day. However, A Portrait of England is looking at life over a twelve month period. Amateur or professional film makers are invited to post videos online and then notify the group through twitter (@portraitofENG) or Facebook, from the 12th of August 2011 to the 12th August 2012 and hopefully the footage will serve to recapture the notion of Englishness as a nationality to be proud of, not scared by the negative ideology and symbolism that it has become renowned with.

Show Reel

Here is my first attempt at a show reel.

Untitled from Adam Mulcahy on Vimeo.

Any comments or pointers would be very much appreciated as it is my first try at this. Thanks.

#50 Docs

I love "Best" lists, they evoke so much debate, no one is ever happy, something is always left out and people inevitably look down their noses, the aficionados' who know more than the rest. Like I say, I'm not criticising, I love that these people come out of the wood work, so disgusted that they like me need to self publish something, be it in blog form, comment section or even the holy #!

I have recently started watching Current TV, (basically because they were showing the amazing King of Kong A Fistfull of Quarters.) and I found that Morgan Spurlock was to be hosting "50 Documentaries To See Before You Die", an exciting prospect. Instantly from episode one it was evident that only documentaries post 1980 would be include in the list as this was deemed the turning point when documentaries stopped becoming "educational filler" and became a different much more entertaining animal.

I ranted, of course I did, what about Fredrick Wiseman and the Maysles, those stunning documentaries like Gimmie Shelter (1969) or Titcut Follies (1967)? Documentaries that were absolutely world changing. Documentaries that captured the cultural, social and political sense of a revolutionary time. But... I got over it, after being incensed for a while I enjoyed the show for what it was. Some of the best directors including several of my all time favourites were interviewed and soon my only criticism was that the program moved on too quickly and I was desperate to hear more about Murderball (2005) or Crumb (1994)

So that brings me to the list itself; -

50. Spellbound (2002)
49. Truth or Dare (1991)
48. The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
47. One Day in September (1999)
46. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1998)
45. The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
44. Burma VJ (2008)
43. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)
42. Catfish (2010)
41. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
40. When We Were Kings (1996)
39. Biggie & Tupac (2002)
38. March of the Penguins (2005)
37. Inside Job (2010)
36. Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)
35. Paragraph 175 (2000)
34. Brother’s Keeper (1992)
33. Tongues Untied (1989)
32. Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)
31. Jesus Camp (2006)
30. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
29. Man on Wire (2008)
28. Gasland (2010)
27. Tarnation (2003)
26. Murderball (2005)
25. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
24. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
23. The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000)
22. Shut Up & Sing (2006)
21. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
20. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
19. Touching the Void (2003)
18. Food, Inc. (2008)
17. Street Fight (2005)
16. Bus 174 (2002)
15. Crumb (1994)
14. Dark Days (2000)
13. The Fog of War (2003)
12. Bowling for Columbine (2002)
11. Paris Is Burning (1991)
10. Grizzly Man (2005)
9. Trouble the Water (2008)
8. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
7. The Celluloid Closet (1995)
6. The War Room (1993)
5. Supersize Me (2004)
4. Waltz With Bashir (2008)
3. Roger & Me (1989)
2. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
1. Hoop Dreams (1994)

So thats the list, I have to say, there are some missing that I would love to see in there, but equally this count down has opened my eyes to some films I would love to see. I disagree with number one, but Im not going to question the order of things.

The decision to make a list from only contemporary films is relevant. Since such breakthrough films as The Thin Blue Line (1988) documentaries have taken a different direction where the pursuit of the absolute truth is not relevant. Although recent films (such as Exit Through.. and Catfish) have shown us that the truth is an important element in documentary film making, as an audience we are now expected to question films. Our collective knowledge of film making is such that we now know how the process works, and we should step back and question. Like these lists, those questions, debates and passions to ask relevant and difficult questions about or world and what is presented to us is what these films are all about.