Search

Hanif Kureishi, writer and director of 'London Kills Me,' speaks about the new approach in the film of portraying homeless boys, without sentimentality and sympathy and with subtle humor and frankness. The film depicts the young people's perspective and their lack of interest in their roots. The film portrays the waste of talented people who are misfits.

Novelist and screenwriter Ronan Bennett and poet and critic Tom Paulin of Ireland, express their views about the film 'Michael Collins' that portrays the Civil War tragedy in Ireland in early 20th century. Paulin feels that 'Michael Collins' is a southern Irish view of northern Ireland, while Bennett feels that the film has relevance in contemporary Ireland also. Both Bennett and Paulin feels that the criticism of the film by Neil Jordan is inaccurate. Bennett fears that the film may raise hatred for Britain among colonial and ex-colonial audiences. A car bomb is a major issue of criticism in the film.

Art Cities of the Future: 21st-Century Avant-Gardes Phaidon, 49.95 £ ISBN 9780714865362 The Global Art Compass: New Directions in 21st-Century Art Alistair Hicks Thames and Hudson, 18.95 £ ISBN 9780500239193 [...]

British Heritage Minister Stephen Dorrell has acknowledged the magical power of cinema by announcing aid for the National Film and Television School for shifting to Ealing Studios and help for a London Film Commission. The Arts Council has been invested with the power of dispensing the 70 million pounds sterling. The Arts Council should encourage new talent to break new ground in cinema. The people in power want costume drama kind of films to be made because it would be suitable for the Hollywood market.

The BBC has gone into a contract with Pearson to start new channels throughout the world. The BBC may have to compromise on its programs to get more viewers, if it wants to meet its target of having a turnover $200 million by 2000. The BBC can achieve this target only if it reduces its expenditure.

The fragility of nitrate-based film has become the prime concern of film archivists, after the losses suffered by fire in the Hendersons Film Laboratories in July 1993. Nitrate-based film is highly unstable and decomposes from its time of manufacture. It is a quickly inflammable substance, which cannot be extinguished by any means. Film Archives in London and other places have begun copying films from cellulose nitrate originals. As preservation of such films is dangerous and difficult, it is essential for private owners of nitrate-based films to offer their films to their national archives for copying and preservation.

Some of the TV companies in England favor the retention of the cross-ownership rules which guarantee regional diversity in television programs, while the others prefer the relaxation of the rules. If the cross-ownership rules are not valid for ITV, it then becomes necessary for the BBC to telecast programs which reflect regional diversity.

The recent moral panic over the use of violence on television and in the movies merits further research. It is unclear why people periodically mount campaigns against these media, but it is obvious that they do. British television is relatively tame, so the moral majority is probably making its case to try to influence the new faces at the BBC. The advent of videos makes violent movies more accessible to young people, but until a study shows whose kids are watching what, and what role the parents play in all of this, we should not rely on tabloid conclusions.

The rhetoric of the BBC sounds close to the rhetoric of the government and the ruling order. During the Thatcher regime the BBC and the government were often in opposition, but now the BBC's approach to the issue of British heritage coincides with that of the ruling order. Rather than acting as a forum for debating what constitutes national heritage, the BBC conveys a rather conservative view of national heritage.

Film in America has often shaped notions of national identity, but in Britain literature and television have been more likely to fulfill this function. For a brief while with 'Films on Four' in the early 1980s there was a handful of British films that focused on British identity. Many British film-makers and actors are living in the US, and have contributed to movies that re-imagine American identity.