Scott Walker is being brought into focus at the London film festival
How have I managed to squeeze in so many parties and screenings when we are still putting the finishing touches to the film? It's a miracle. But who could resist jumping in head first with a world premiere right around the corner.
Scott Walker: 30 Century Man screens (mercifully) late in the London film festival, which gives me just enough time to do the final quality check on the film, deplete all my reserves of energy, and pummel my liver out of existence. I hope they don't mind me doing a Q&A on life support.
Scott Walker was born in Ohio in 1943, but in the cold, damp February of 1965 he arrived Britain, where he became one of the best known pop artists of his day. That fame has since been replaced with enigma, but he's still here.
I've been coming to Britain ever since I did a course at the University of East Anglia ages ago. In fact, I shot and edited my film about Scott here, so this is in many ways a real hometown screening. It has now sold out, but if you don't know about Scott Walker (shame on you), go when the film opens in February 2007.
While I'm blogging, I just need to thank the festival for programming a film called Running Stumbled, probably the best film I have seen yet. It is a personal, slightly experimental doc about a film-maker's mad family in a soon-to-be decimated New Orleans - a surreal Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with perfect editing and lots and lots of pharmaceuticals. (Can I get the name of their doctor please?) Of course there is lots of blockbuster talent at the festival, but I've been digging for the films that will inevitably fall through the distribution cracks. Keep an eye out for this little gem if you can.
Has anyone seen any other gems?
And if you did manage to grab a ticket for Scott Walker on 31 October or 1 November, bless you... see you at the show!
