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The School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture

Series 1 - 5

Series 1 - 5

Series Five

Duncan Heath - 4 May 2012

in conversation with Prof. Alan Marcus

6.00pm, Friday 4th May 2012, King's College Conference Centre, Aberdeen

Duncan Heath is one of the world’s leading agents and head of Europe’s largest talent and literary agency, the Independent Talent Group, based in London.

His clients includes a ‘who’s who’ of film stars, such as Michael Caine, Rachel Weisz, Daniel Craig, Colin Firth, Maggie Smith, Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman and Ben Kingsley, as well as directors Sam Mendes, Danny Boyle and Mike Newell. His model agency represents Naomi Campbell, Iman and Elizabeth Hurley.

Son of the Battle of Britain Spitfire ace, Sir Barrie Heath, Duncan studied law and then got his start at the William Morris Agency.  

Duncan Heath’s company has 32 agents representing over 1,500 clients. With thirty years experience of deal making at the top of the film industry, in this Director’s Cut we will discuss the pivotal role of the agent and how the deals for some of the best known films were put together.

PLUS: Director's Cut Masterclass, 2-3pm, Friday 4 May 2012, Screen 2, Belmont Picturehouse, Belmont Street

Duncan Heath will also be appearing in a special masterclass at the Belmont Cinema. In this session, participants will have an opportunity to discuss the process of getting feature films made through 'the art of the deal', and gain a better understanding of the business side of the film industry from its top deal maker. Limited seating - email events@abdn.ac.uk to reserve your place.

Limited tickets are available for both events, and an informal reception will follow each event.

Ken Hay - 25 April 2012

Director's Cut Masterclass, introduced by Prof. Alan Marcus

5.30pm, Wednesday 25 April 2012, The Belmont Picturehouse, Aberdeen

Ken HayKen Hay is the current Chief Executive Officer of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, which is world renowned for discovering and promoting the very best in international cinema, as well as heralding and debating changes in global filmmaking.

Born in Edinburgh, Ken had responsibility for the running of Intermedia Film and Video in Nottingham, before taking on the role of Cheif Executive of EM Media in Nottingham following its establishment in 2001 which brought together the EMMI Production Fund, the East Midlands Screen Commission, the film development unit of East Midlands Arts and the East Midlands element of Midlands Media Training Consortium.

He then spent five years from 2005-10 as Chief Executive of Scottish Screen, the national development agency for the screen industries in Scotland, before joining the Edinburgh Film Festival in September 2011.

This Masterclass is a joint venture between the University's Business School and Film and Media Department and the goal of the series is to bring leading filmmakers and industry figures to Aberdeen to engage in a high-profile public exploration and discussion of their work.

There are still a limited number of tickets available for this event. Please contact the University Events Office for more information on events@abdn.ac.uk

Malcolm Ritchie - 29 February 2012

Director's Cut Masterclass, introduced by Prof. Alan Marcus

5.30pm, Wednesday 29 February 2012, The Belmont Picturehouse, Aberdeen

Malcolm Ritchie is a University of Aberdeen graduate who has enjoyed a successful career in London and Los Angeles and has been involved in overseeing the production of more than 100 films, including Trainspotting, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill.

He is currently partner or director in four media companies, including Tern, a leading UK television and digital production company based in Scotland (Aberdeen and Glasgow).

During his time as Chief Operating Officer at Polygram Films he was responsible for overseeing a large number of highly successful productions, including Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Hudsucker Proxy, Dead Man Walking, Bean, The Big Lebowski, Elizabeth and many more.

At this Masterclass, the first in the new Director's Cut series, Malcolm Ritchie will give provide insight into his career in the industry. He also offers a unique overview of the financial and logistical aspects of film making, from raising finance to marketing.

Series Four

Kevin Macdonald - 4 May 2011

in conversation with Prof. Alan Marcus

6.00pm, Wednesday 4 May 2011
Arts Lecture Theatre, University of Aberdeen

Kevin MacdonaldOscar-winning Scottish director Kevin Macdonald has had an extraordinary career since receiving an Academy Award for his film One Day in September (1999). 

His latest film, The Eagle (2011) is released in March, follows on from his thriller State of Play (2009) starring Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams and Helen Mirren, The Last King of Scotland (2006) featuring Forest Whitaker in an Oscar-winning performance, and the iconic mountaineering film Touching the Void (2003).

Macdonald also made the experimental film, Life in a Day: the Story of a Single Day on Earth (2011), culled from 80,000 Youtube videos and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Film Retrospective: in tandem with the Director's Cut event a mini-retrospective of Kevin Macdonald's work will be held at Cineworld Union Square to include on Tues 3rd May: Touching the Void at 6:40pm and The Last King of Scotland at 8:50pm, and on 4th May The Eagle at 8:40pm.

Resources

Gurinder Chadha - 18 March 2011

in conversation with Prof. Alan Marcus

18th March 2011 - 6.00pm
King's College Conference Centre, University of Aberdeen

Bend It Like Beckham (2002) starring Keira Knightley and Parminder Nagra is one of the highest grossing British films in cinema history, and its director, Gurinder Chadha, is one of the country's most successful directors.

Her award-winning films include Bhaji on the Beach (1993), What's Cooking? (2000), Bride and Prejudice (2004), Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008) and It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010).

She was awarded an OBE in 2006.  In this Director's Cut, Gurinder Chadha will discuss the themes which infuse her narrative blend of comedy and drama, and the cultural territory her films traverse.

Resources

Series Three

Alex Cox - 29 March 2010

in conversation with Janice Forsyth

Monday 29 March 2010 - 6pm
King's College Conference Centre

Alex CoxCult director and actor Alex Cox has released his latest film, Repo Chick (2009), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Possessing a highly distinctive visual style and provocative approach to narrative film, the director first made his reputation with the classic films Repo Man (1984) and Sid & Nancy (1986).

His film Walker (1987), starring Ed Harris, broke new ground as an abrasive postmodern comment on the USA's military interventions in Latin America.

In addition to directing twelve feature films, as well as documentaries and presenting the BBC's Moviedrome series and acting in over twenty films, Alex Cox has written perceptive books on the Spaghetti Western, 10,000 Ways to Die (2008), and X Films: True Confessions of a Radical Filmmaker (2008).

The event was introduced by organizer Prof. Alan Marcus

Resources

Kevin Macdonald - 27 February 2010

in conversation with Janice Forsyth

Director's Cut at the Glasgow Film Festival

Introduced by Prof. Alan Marcus

2:30pm, Saturday 27 February, Glasgow Film Theatre

Tickets £7 full price / £6 concession from the Glasgow Film Festival or telephone 0141 332 6535

Oscar-winning Scottish director Kevin Macdonald has had an extraordinary career since receiving an Academy Award for his film One Day in September (1999).

Establishing a strong track record in documentaries and feature films, the 42-year old filmmaker received a BAFTA for his next film, Touching the Void (2003), before directing Forest Whitaker in an Oscar-winning performance as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006).

His latest film, the taut thriller State of Play (2009) features Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams and Helen Mirren.  He is currently completing The Eagle of the Ninth, due for release later this year, which explores the mysterious fate of a Roman legion in the mountains of Scotland. The film stars Jamie Bell and Donald Sutherland.

Kevin Macdonald is also the author of Emeric Pressburger: the Life and Death of a Screenwriter (1994) and Imagining Reality (2005).

He will be interviewed by BBC presenter Janice Forsyth in this special edition of the Director's Cut being held for the first time at the Glasgow Film Festival.

Resources

Craig Armstrong - 2 December2009

in conversation with BBC presenter Janice Forsyth

Wednesday 2 December 2009 - 6pm

Craig Armstrong is one of the world's most sought-after and respected composers and arrangers for film.  A native of Glasgow, Armstrong studied musical composition, violin and piano at the Royal Academy of Music.

After graduation, he received numerous commissions from classical ensembles, the Traverse Theatre, the BBC, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, among others, while maintaining a parallel career in the Scottish Pop music scene.

By the late 1990s he had gained critical acclaim for his work in film. His expressive and moving soundtracks have been the keystone to such films as Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge! (2001) (which won him a Golden Globe for Best Original Score), Love Actually (2003), Ray (2004) (for which he won a Grammy Award), World Trade Center (2006), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), and Marvel's The Incredible Hulk (2008).

Armstrong has also released several albums of original music, as well as working with artists such as Hole, Massive Attack, Madonna, Björk and U2.

The event will be introduced by organizer Prof. Alan Marcus.

In tandem with the event, Cineworld at Union Square is screening Moulin Rouge and Elizabeth on Thursday 3 December, and are offering a special 2 for 1 ticket promotion to Director's Cut attendees. 

Resources

Simon Callow - 23 November 2009

in conversation with BBC presenter Janice Forsyth

6pm, Monday 23 November 2009

Simon CallowSimon Callow made his first professional appearance on stage in 1973 with The Thrie Estates at Assembly Hall Theatre, Edinburgh, and has since accumulated an impressive list of credits in theatre, opera, TV and film to his name.

He has been gracing the big screen in a wide variety of roles since his film debut in 1984 as Schikaneder in Amadeus, but, it was as the character Reverend Mr. Beebe in A Room With a View (1985) and as Gareth in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) that he became known to wider audiences.

In 2009, he starred as Pozzo in a UK tour of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett with Sir Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart. As well as his numerous successes as an actor and director, Callow is also a prolific writer, including key texts on acting and two biographies of American film legend Orson Welles. He was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1999 for his services to acting. 

Simon Callow will be interviewed by BBC Movie Cafe presenter, Janice Forsyth, and the event introduced by organizer Prof. Alan Marcus. Director's Cut Special Screenings are being run by Cineworld Aberdeen Union Square - visit the website Opens in a new window for more details.

Resources

Series Two

Guy Hamilton - 28 April 2009

in conversation with Janice Forsyth

28 April 2009 - 6pm
King's College Conference Centre

Having worked as Assistant Director on two of the classic films in cinema history, Carol Reed's The Third Man (1949) starring Orson Welles, and John Huston's The African Queen (1951) with Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, Guy Hamilton went on to direct four James Bond films, including Goldfinger (1964) and Diamonds are Forever (1971) starring Sean Connery, and Live and Let Die (1973) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) starring Roger Moore.

He also directed one of the foremost Cold War thrillers, Funeral in Berlin (1966) starring Michael Caine.  His other films include An Inspector Calls (1954) with Alastair Sim, The Colditz Story (1955) with John Mills, and Battle of Britain (1969) starring Laurence Olivier and Susannah York.

Guy Hamilton will be interviewed by BBC Movie Cafe presenter, Janice Forsyth and the event introduced by series organizer Prof. Alan Marcus. Special screenings of The Third Man and Battle of Britain are being run by Cineworld in Aberdeen on the 27th and 28th.

Resources

David Mackenzie - 25 March 2009

in conversation with Prof. Alan Marcus

25 March 2009 - 6pm
King's College Conference Centre

One of Scotland's leading film directors, David Mackenzie, won awards at the Berlin Film Festival for both Hallam Foe (2007), set in Edinburgh and starring Jamie Bell and Sophia Myles, and his film, Asylum (2005), featuring Natasha Richardson and Sir Ian McKellan.

His psychological thriller, Young Adam (2003), starring Ewan McGregor and Tilda Swinton, is one of the most important films made in Britain in the last 50 years, winning a Scottish BAFTA for Best Director, as well as awards at Edinburgh and the London Critics Circle.

His latest film, Spread (2009), shot in the States is being released this summer.  

The event, which is co-hosted by the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen, will be followed by a reception hosted by Scottish Screen.

Resources

Richard Holloway - 23 February 2009

in conversation with Prof. John Swinton,

23 February 2009

Richard Holloway, the broadcaster and former Bishop of Edinburgh, will feature as the next Director's Cut speaker in this special event being held at King's College Chapel.  Richard Holloway's television series include Holloway's Road, When I Get to Heaven and The Sword and the Cross.

Holloway hosts the BBC Radio book review programme, Cover Stories, chairs the joint board of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, and has written 26 books, including Between the Monster and the Saint: reflections on the human condition (2008).

For this Director's Cut he will be interviewed by Professor John Swinton, Chair of Practical Theology at the University of Aberdeen. The discussion, which will be filmed and include a Q&A with the audience, will cover how religious ideas and moral issues are conveyed on television and the media, including faith in a post-Christian age, the problem of evil, homosexuality and the Anglican church, and the moral problems we face in the current economic crisis.

The event will be introduced by organizer Prof. Alan Marcus. It is co-hosted by the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen, and followed by a reception hosted by Scottish Screen with a book signing.

Resources

Jane Treays - 9 December 2008

in conversation with Prof. Alan Marcus

9 December 2008 - 6pm

Watch webcast

Winner of the Royal Television Society Award for Best Network Documentary for Extraordinary Families  (2005), Jane Treays is one of the foremost documentary directors in British television. Of her controversial film, Men in the Woods  (2001), the Mirror wrote: "Acclaimed filmmaker Jane Treays brilliantly draws on personal experience to tell of the effects of indecent exposure on children.

Jane was brave to make this film and Channel 4 was bold to screen it".  Over 2,400 calls were received following its broadcast.

Her latest powerful films, Virgin Daughters (2008) and Mum, Heroin and Me (2008), provoked considerable media interest and public debate.

Resources

Pawel Pawlikowski - 18 November 2008

in conversation with Prof. Alan Marcus

18 November 2008 - 6pm

Watch webcast

My Summer of Love (2004) and Last Resort (2000) each won awards at the Edinburgh Film Festival and BAFTAs. They were made by the internationally renowned director Pawel Pawlikowski.

Born in Warsaw, Pawlikowski left at 14 to live in Germany and Italy, before moving to the UK. He studied literature and philosophy at London and Oxford and then embarked on a series of highly original documentaries for the BBC.

His work includes From Moscow to Pietushki (1991), Dostoevsky's Travels (1992) and Tripping with Zhirinovsky (1995). Pawlikowski's hypnotic film, Serbian Epics (1992), was made at the height of the Bosnian war, and includes scenes shot of Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic, who later became sought for war crimes.

Resources

Hans Petter Moland - 14 October 2008

in conversation with Prof. Alan Marcus

14 October 2008 - 6pm

Watch the webcast

Hans Petter Moland is one of Scandinavia's leading film directors, having won numerous awards for his six feature films, including the stunning road movie, Aberdeen (2000). The film features Charlotte Rampling, Lena Headey and Stellan Skarsgard, the Swedish star of the current hit movie, Mamma Mia (2008). The two had previously worked together on Moland's film, Zero Kelvin (1995), set in Greenland.

Born in Oslo and having trained in the US, where he directed music videos, Hans Petter Moland has become known for his striking cinematography and taut narratives. 

We are pleased to have received funding from the Norwegian Embassy for this event, which is co-hosted by the Centre for Scandinavian Studies.

Resources

Series One

Sir David Attenborough - 30 June 2008

in conversation with Prof. Alan Marcus

30 June 2008

Watch the webcast

Sr=ir David AttenboroughSir David Attenborough's distinguished career in broadcasting spans more than 50 years. As the innovative former Controller of BBC2 and the BBC's Director of Programmes, he pioneered a new era of high quality broadcasting.

An estimated 500 million people worldwide watched his 13-part series Life on Earth (1979). Presenter of popular series such as Life in the Freezer (1993), The Life of Birds (1998), and Life in the Undergrowth (2005), Attenborough has also written 17 books.

In this Director's Cut, Sir David will be discussing key aspects of his career, including his latest series and book just out, Life in Cold Blood.

Resources

Nicolas Roeg - 29 April 2008

in conversation with Allan Shiach

29 April 2008

Listen to podcast

Nicolas Roeg is one of the UK's most celebrated post-war directors, whose credits include Performance (1970), Walkabout (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) and Bad Timing (1980) featuring his former wife Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel and Art Garfunkel.

His over 20 movies include the Roald Dahl adaptation, The Witches (1990), and his latest film Puffball (2007) stars Donald Sutherland and Miranda Richardson.

In this unique Director's Cut event introduced by organizer Prof. Alan Marcus, Nicholas Roeg will be talking with Allan Shiach, who under the pen name of Allan Scott wrote the screenplays for four of Roeg's films.

Resources

John Akomfrah - 11 March 2008

in conversation with Prof. Alan Marcus

11 March 2008

John Akomfrah's 1986 film, Handsworth Songs, which explores race and civil strife in 1980s Britain, won seven international awards including the British Film Institute's prestigious Grierson Award for Best Documentary.

His more than 20 features and documentaries have achieved acclaim in the USA and Britain, including Martin Luther King: Days of Hope (1997), Lawless (2001) and The Lie of the Land (2005).

John Akomfrah is also founder of the influential Black Audio Film Collective.

Resources

Allan Shiach - 19 February 2008

in conversation with Prof. Alan Marcus

19 February 2008

Working under the pen name Allan Scott, this Scottish writer/producer has written over twenty screenplays, including the classic Don’t Look Now (1973), directed by Nick Roeg and starring Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland.

His films include a number of Hollywood hits, such as Castaway (1986) and The Preacher’s Wife (1996) featuring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston, and more recently the critically acclaimed Regeneration (1997).

Resources

Raul Ruiz - 27 November 2007

in conversation with Kriss Ravetto-Biagioli

27 November 2007

introduced by Prof. Alan Marcus

Kicking off the first in our new series of public talks entitled The Director's Cut, series organier Prof. Alan Marcus is please to welcome colleague Dr. Kriss Ravetto-Biagioli and filmmaker Raul Ruiz.

Trained as a painter, and having written over 100 plays before starting in the cinema, the Chilean filmmaker Raul Ruiz is one of the most prolific directors of the last 50 years.

His films have been characterized as ironic, surrealistic and deeply experimental, and include Three Lives and One Death (1996) starring Marcello Mastroianni, Genealogies of a Crime (1997) with Catherine Deneuve, Le Temps retrouvé (1999) with Emmanuelle Béart and Klimt (2006) starring John Malkovich.

Resources