Raindance 15 Raindance is the UK’s largest independent film festival, showcasing shorts and features from around the world and specialising in directorial debuts. Distinguishing itself from other festivals with its rock and roll attitude, Raindance runs riot in the West End of London each September/October.

As well as showing independent films from around the world, it hosts a number of special events, 26 in 12 days last year, including masterclasses, Q&A sessions with industry professionals, its renowned pitching event where you could end up selling your idea to a movie exec, one-off versions of the courses they run year-long, and, of course, parties.

In 1993, its first year, Raindance hosted 22 features and 65 short films, and attracted 1300 attendees. For closing night they screened What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, starring Johnny Depp and featuring the film debut of a 14-year-old Leonardo Dicaprio.

In the following years Raindance premièred, among others, Pulp Fiction, The Blair Witch Project and Memento. Last year, in 2006, the festival showcased over 90 features and 160 shorts from over 40 countries, and in excess of 10 000 people attended

This year’s festival runs from September 25th to October 7th and - reflecting the festival’s strong interest in music - includes Iggy pop and Mick Jones of The Clash are on the jury.

The Festival Trailer

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The Films

The festival will open with Allan Moyle’s Weirdsville and close with Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park. The rest of the line-up is as follows:

JEAN-LUC GODARD RETROSPECTIVE
After last year’s successful Stanley Kubrick retrospective Raindance is honouring Jean-Luc Godard at this year’s festival. The films on show have been personally selected by Mr. Godard himself and will be made available on the big screen.
• Eloge de L’Amour
• Notre Musique
• The Old Place

HOMEGROWN (UK)
UK Feature films (excluding Docs) highlighting the best UK indie films
• The Inheritance
• Exhibit A
• The Killing of John Lennon
• Summer Scars
• Waz

UNITED STATES OF EUROPE
Films from the European Union (excluding Docs)
• Uranya
• Drink Up!
• Children
• Parents
• Red Like The Sky
• One Two Another
• Ex Drummer (trailer)
• The Cream
• Valerie
• Kenedi Is Getting Married

JAPAN / S. KOREA
Films from Japan and South Korea (excluding Docs)
• Amazing Lives Of The Fast Food Grifters
• Prisoner/Terrorist
• Uncle’s Paradise
• It’s Only Talk
• M
• What The Snow Brings

GLOBAL CELLULOID
Every other feature film (excluding Docs) that isn’t in one of the strands above. Films from Africa, Argentina, etc
• Bunny Chow (trailer)
• The Book Of Revelation
• La Antena (trailer)
• The Devil Dared Me To (trailer)
• The Amazing Grace
• Turks In Space
• Day Watch (trailer)
• Bog Of Beasts

NORTH AMERICAN INDIES
Films from the US and Canada (excluding Docs)
• Day Zero
• Congorama
• Being Michael Madsen
• The GoodTimesKid
• In Search Of A Midnight Kiss
• Weirdsville (trailer)
• Phantom Love
• Paranoid Park

DOCUMENTARY
• This Is Nollywood
• Oh Saigon! / Bolinao 52
• Bakushi: The Incredible Lives of The Rope-Masters
• HR Giger’s Sanctuary
• Off The Grid: Life On The Mesa
• Tovarisch: I Am Not Dead
• Manufacturing Dissent
• Flames In The Looking Glass
• U & Me & Tennessee - an American romance…
• Veil Of Ignorance

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
• Twenty To Life: The Life And Times Of John Sinclair
• Frank & Cindy
• Silver Jew
• South Coast
• This Filthy World

The Jury

Iggy Pop is an influential musician whose career has spanned over thirty years. He broke onto the music scene with The Stooges in 1967, before going solo, releasing albums such as The Idiot and Lust for Life. Films include Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee & Cigarettes (Raindance 2004) and John Waters’ Cry-Baby

Penny Woolcock - Writer / Director whose films include the recent Exodus retelling the story of Moses for our times, Mischief Night, The Principles of Lust and The Death of Klinghoffer. She has also made documentaries for television including The Wet House and Shakespeare on the Estate. She’s currently developing a musical about gangs in Birmingham.

Andrea Arnold was the recipient of the 2005 Oscar for Best Short Film for Wasp. Her feature début, 2006’s Red Road, was the only first feature to be nominated for the Palm D’Or at Cannes and picked up the Cannes Jury Prize, five Scottish BAFTA’s, two BIFAs, The Sutherland Trophy, Best British Newcomer at The London Film Critics Awards and The Carl Foreman Award at the UK BAFTA’s.

Simon Channing Williams has produced more than 30 feature films, notable titles including The Constant Gardner and Brothers of the Head (Opening Night Raindance 2006). He has also enjoyed a long-standing partnership with director Mike Leigh, producing films such as Vera Drake, Secrets and Lies, Naked and All For Nothing

Oli Harbottle was the producer of the Raindance Film Festival for three years from 2003 to 2005. He is now the film release coordinator at Dogwoof Pictures, one of the leading art house distributors of independent film in the UK.

Jonathan Harvey an instructor of Cinematography at the NFTS and is currently in production on Amy Heckerling’s new film

Mick Jones is a musician and music producer. He was the lead guitarist in The Clash, who were among the pioneers of the punk rock movement in the 1970s. He and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. He has since gone on to perform with General Public and Big Audio Dynamite, while also producing both albums by The Libertines.

Sandy Lieberson was the president of 20th Century Fox from 1979-1980 and MGM International from 1989-1993. He is also a renowned film producer whose credits include Nicolas Roeg and Donald Cammell’s Performance and Terry Gilliam’s Jabberwocky.

Anthony Quinn has been a film critic of The Independent since 1998. Before that he was a film critic of The Mail on Sunday and arts editor of Harpers & Queen. He also writes for The Daily Telegraph and The New York Times.

Jemma Rodgers Founder of Junction films and BAFTA Award winning producer for The League of Gentlemen, Double Take for BBC2 and Murphy’s Law starring James Nesbitt; Jemma has developed several scripts under the Junction Films label across both comedy and drama. These include the first ever produced original screenplay by Irvine Welsh and his screenwriting partner Dean Cavanagh, Wedding Belles.

Tessa Ross has been the Head of Drama for Channel 4 since 2000 and the Head of Film4 from 2002, combining the two roles in 2004 to become Controller of Film and Drama. Projects she has commissioned include This is England, The Last King of Scotland, The Motorcycle Diaries, The Road to Guantanamo and Shameless. Future releases from Film4 include Michael Winterbottom’s Geneva, Harmony Korine’s Mister Lonely and the adaptation of Monica Ali’s Brick Lane.

Davide Scalenghe manages the VC2 (Viewer Created Content) Outreach department at Current TV. He started his career at CNN International, before moving on to work at TimeOut then subsequently MTV International, where he worked on shows such as The Osbournes and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

Brian Tufano is one of the UK’s leading cinematographers. His work has included such significant films as Quadrophenia, Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and East Is East. More recent projects have included the teen drama Kidulthood and Amy Heckerling’s forthcoming I Could Never Be Your Woman. He is currently filming an adaptation of David Hare’s play My Zinc Bed, starring Uma Thurman and Paddy Considine.

Ed King Content Producer for Film and Video at MySpace UK and Joe Utichi- Editor of Rotten Tomatoes UK.