Bristol Radical Film Festival 2018
Polyland | Film starts 1pm (Dasa Raimanova, 2018, 72mins)
“The Morawiecki government is adopting ultraconservative, xenophobic and misogynist reforms that annihilate democracy and freedom in Poland.” - Tania González Peñas, Podemos, 2018
Wroclaw presents itself to Europe as the liberal, friendly and ‘alternative’ Polish city. This documentary lays bare another, darker side. Polyland is a story of three courageous Wroclaw women: Elmelda, Miriam and Ania. Very different from one another, they share a common experience: discrimination. We follow their brave and unrelenting fight for an equal and liberal society and experience what it's like be black, Muslim or homosexual in a place where an estimated 97% of the population are native Polish and 92% declare themselves Roman Catholic.
Polyland was successfully Kickstarted in 2016.
Workshop: lo/no budget filmmaking | Starts 3.30pm (Elizabeth Mizon, 2hrs)
Do you have a political documentary idea that you want to make, or a hard-hitting feature script that you don't know what to do with? Whether you have no funds, a creative block, or it's just your first time making a film, this 2-hour workshop is for filmmakers who want to make powerful progressive work. Filmmaker, lecturer and BRFF co-organiser Elizabeth Mizon will take you through some filmmaking-101 for lo/no-budget films. There will be time afterward to chat about your specific film ideas further; please note there are limited places. This workshop is open to all, and can be included in the 3-event pass.
Stranger in Paradise | Film starts 7pm (Guido Hendrikx, 2016, 77mins) + panel discussion
“...one of the most conceptually rigorous documentaries I've seen” - Michael Sicinski
In a classroom, newly arrived refugees learn a lesson about their place in Europe as their ‘teacher’ plays devil’s advocate several times over. Operating at the intersection of fiction and documentary, Stranger in Paradise reflects on the power relations between Europeans and refugees in a candid fashion.
About Radical Film Festival
The Bristol Radical Film Festival returns this October for its 7th year celebrating political, activist and experimental filmmaking. This year’s programme combines urgent contemporary political subjects with an eclectic mix of archive gems, basking in reflection on the 50th anniversary of the progressive political upheavals of 1968. As ever we’re showcasing the winners of our international short film competition, and rather than continuing our nomadic tradition, this year we return to 2017’s excellent hosts at the Trinity Arts Centre. Together we continue build awareness for our programme of radical and progressive film for an increasingly inclusive audience.
This year’s selection of radical cinema includes the first British feature made by a black director (Pressure, Saturday), for which filmmaker Horace Ové holds a Guinness World Record; one of Ken Loach’s first works, a story of worker revolt so radical even some leftists were up in arms about it (The Big Flame, Saturday); and a docu-fiction exploring the current refugee crisis that Michael Sicinski called “one of the most conceptually rigorous documentaries I've seen” (Stranger in Paradise, Sunday).
