New Reads

Below are the latest issues (and first I’ve ever bought) of Ballad Of and TLG magazines. I try to limit the number of magazines I buy as I used to hoard too many of them! In this case though, its worth it as I sometimes get bored with celeb/gossip/style ones that dominate the market.

Each issue of Ballad Of is based on a theme and shaped by the work of contributors; it’s a great opportunity for creatives to get their work seen. Next we have TLG, the UK’s first magazine to promote underground arts and culture from a female perspective. Fans of street wear, electronic music and hip hop culture, for example, won’t be disappointed. I’m very impressed by both magazines and will buy them again. Check them out.

Future Film Festival Highlights

Last month I visited BFI’s Future Film Festival, an exciting event for young film makers full of networking opportunities, masterclasses, workshops and more. Even if you’re a film fan but don’t aspire to work in the industry one day, I’d still recommend going as it really doesn’t cost much. Shortly before my visit, someone described the event to me as “a place where creative flares are struck”, and I soon realised that this couldn’t be more true. At the time I was producing my own film (post on that coming soon!) and had been feeling anxious about the whole thing, and thought I could do with some… filmspiration?

Besides learning about the industry from experts and meeting lovely people, I got a taste of emerging film making talent at this years Future Film Documentary Awards. Below are my personal favourites.

The overall winner from the 15 – 18 category was Pippa Jayne, a portrait of a transvestite escort from Bournemouth. I liked the editing and felt engaged from start to finish.

Click here to watch Pippa Jayne.

The Father’s Heart is an intimate and touching film in which young fathers express positive feelings on being dads. The Father’s Heart aired on Channel 4 earlier this month as part of their hour-long short film TV slot, The Shooting Gallery. For more information and previous episodes, click here.

Click here to watch The Father’s Heart.

The winning documentary in the 19 – 25 category was Marie, a beautifully animated and moving film based on a true story which is set in Rwanda.

Click here to watch Marie.

I’d love to hear your film/music festival experiences in the comments.

I’m on Bloglovin’

Hope you all had a brilliant New Year!

I’m now on Bloglovin’ for those of you that use it

<a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4532279/?claim=c7pnh9ehdhb”>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Much love,

Tenelle x

#TwilightForever: Premiere of Breaking Dawn Part 2

As some of you may know from my tweets, I attended my first film premiere last Wednesday, which was that of Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2.

Despite being shoved, tugged and squashed half to death in a pool of Londoners, I couldn’t be any happier to be in Leicester Square on the 14th November. As those three cast members arrived, it was time for us to make our way into the cinema. My guest and I were delighted to find ourselves on the red carpet (which was inevitable as we had to walk on it to get to VUE). But it gets better. We were treated to free snacks and drinks once we were inside; well it was bottled water but come on… Free snacks inside a West End cinema! While guests got comfortable and waited rather impatiently for the movie to start, we got to see what was going on outside by watching the stars on CCTV.

Then, at around 7.30pm, the lights went down and so did the curtains…

*

I won my premiere tickets courtesy of ShowFilmFirst. All film lovers need to know about this website because they hold film previews for audiences before they’re open in cinema. Check out my first blog post here.

After watching the premiere, I was overcome with emotion. Tears in my eyes, clapping hysterically throughout the closing credits, shrieking with disbelief that the Twilight phenomenon was ending. It was a beautiful end to a magical evening.

How do you feel about the Twilight Saga series ending? What did you think of Breaking Dawn Part 2 (if you’ve seen it)?

 

Fashion Weekend

My outfit: Sports jacket- Adidas, Cropped tee- Urban Outfitters, Skirt- Pull & Bear, Shoes- Dr Martens, Backpack- Gucci

On 21st September, I attended Vodafone London Fashion Weekend, an event that I never knew existed until a month before.

Curious to find out what “fashion’s finest shopping event” had to offer, I collected my Mulberry show bag on the way in (the photo above shows what’s inside). Before I could decided what area of Somerset House to wander through first, I was approached and snapped by Fashion Weekend’s Street Style team! My photo appeared in Fashion Weekend’s digital magazine. Click here to read the issue.

Any trip to Fashion Weekend is not complete without visiting the Shoe Room because it is to die for. Here, you can find top shoe designers such as French Sole, Finsk and Kat Maconie.

Fancy being an ELLE cover star? Look no further. The brilliant Canon Studio allows Fashion Weekend visitors to star in their own ELLE front cover with a free photo shoot. Yes, normal, everyday people like me and you on the cover of a fashion magazine. Don’t worry, it’s not about pulling off high-fashion poses or “smizing” until your eyes begin to twitch. If you happen to be a little camera-shy like me, why not grab a friend to join you in front of the lens? No-one is asking you to be a model, so just have fun! As Canon is an official sponsor of London Fashion Weekend, all you photography enthusiasts can view and purchase the company’s newest releases.

Although I didn’t buy anything, I was fortunate to receive tips and advice from successful editors, journalists and bloggers about how to get noticed and get ahead in the industry. So, in addition to shopping the latest catwalk trends, attendees got to meet like-minded fashionistas and gain knowledge. Who can say no to that?

If you want to have fun, attend catwalk shows, meet new people, and buy discounted items from premium and designer brands, you should come down to London Fashion Weekend. It’s fun, it’s informal and more than a designer shopping event.

Tickets for Vodafone London Fashion Weekend SS13 are now on sale. The dates are Thursday 21st – Sunday 24th Febuary.

See you next year?

My ShowFilmFirst day

Saturday July 21st, a chilly day in Leicester Square, London. I sit inside the Empire cinema staring at the big screen in front of me which says ShowFilmFirst, anticipating the day ahead…

It began with a screenwriting talk given by script editor Ludo Smolski. Ludo’s talk included useful advice on what makes a good script and story, screenwriting books and what to do before you write your first screenplay.

The next speaker was Mia Bays, Creative Executive for Film London Microwave, a feature film fund for micro-budget projects. Mia talked about how the Microwave scheme works, what the scheme provides and gave her tips on how to achieve low budget film success.

Films such as Shifty, Freestyle, Mum & Dad and Ben Drew’s directorial debut Ill Manors were all supported and funded with the help of Film London’s Microwave scheme.

For a great end to an informative and inspiring day, the audience were treated to a surprise preview screening in the afternoon.

This screening turned out to be The Imposter, a chilling – and may I add, spectacular – documentary which was released last month and directed by Bart Layton. After watching The Imposter, I thought of nothing else for the following seven days. It still occasionally keeps me awake at night. If you didn’t catch The Imposter in cinema, fear not as the movie will be released on Blu-Ray/ DVD on Monday 7 January. Whatever your thoughts and opinions on documentary films, The Imposter can’t be missed. See for yourself why several film critics and blogs consider it to be one of 2012′s top films.

That day, I learned that anyone can make a film if they want to. The process is by no means easy, but resources are available to support and guide you along the way. It is not vital to have studied at film school or have a enormous budget; it’s your passion and ideas that count the most.

Happy filming!