Film and Disability 2008 by DASh.
Tanya Raabe reviews the recent DASh film festival
Scene from The Trials of Little Red Riding Hood. Tony Gammidge for About Face Theatre Company.
As part of the Borderlines Film Festival, at The Courtyard, Hereford, DASh have created an inclusive Disability Film Festival. The DASh film festival has been growing in support over the past four years and has gone from strength to strength.
The morning screening was a mix of short films from disabled film makers around Shropshire and Herefordshire giving the audience food for thought. About Face Theatre Company from Leominster teamed up with filmmaker Tony Gammidge and created ‘The Trials of Little Red Riding Hood’. This was a sinister collage of sound, imagery and improvised performances that was humorous and thought provoking though at times the slow pace made the film seam too long. It would have benfited from further editing to make the story much more powerful.
Remember artists out there, less is more!
The Short Shorts were really lively and visually exciting. Arty Party from Telford screened their new film ‘The Group of Gardeners’ that created atmosphere and intrigue surrounding dark untold stories. I look forward to seeing their next creation.
Jane Roberts film ‘The Book of Wisdom’ created a portrait using colour mixed in with black and white to give us the feeling of the past verses the present. It seemed to use the techniques of a painter using colour and layers to depict the biker and her untold story.
Each year the festival has brought in new inclusive audiences and this year was an exceptional year with a growing audience of learning disabled people as budding film makers, artists, and art critics.
Oska Bright screened On the Road and ran a course on how to make a film, with local groups from the Hereford Advocacy Group, and the Contact Group from Hereford College. New exciting films will be popping out of the wood work very soon I’m sure. Watch this space!
My very own Who’S WhO portraits screened and was critiqued by the Ed in the audience. He said ‘I like your paintings they are good’. What more can an artist ask for! The day was a sell out. People were queuing at the door to get in. Next yrs film festival deserves to be in the main cinema where more people can enjoy seeing the talent that out there in Shropshire and Hereford.
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last updated: 2008-05-08 10:50:24
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tags : disability arts film festival