Behind the Scenes at GalleryFilm

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BEHIND THE SCENES

In the last few months, I’ve been involved in the programming committee for a new film club, GalleryFilm, at the Dulwich Picture Gallery and it’s been an interesting ride, learning all about what’s involved in running a club and showing films. GalleryFilm is part of the Friends of the Dulwich Picture Gallery, which is entirely run by volunteers to raise funds for the Picture Gallery’s art exhibitions.

It all began when I was helping on a music video shoot at a nearby restaurant. The director was local film entrepreneur, David Grey. We bumped into the Chair of the Friends, Ingrid Beazley, and I introduced them. Ingrid is a dynamo of energy, always looking for ways to broaden the activities of the Friends. David knows anything you need to know about film - making them and showing them and raising funds for them and encouraging up-and-coming directors to make more of them.

Ingrid pulled together a core team of us volunteers, with David as consultant. We have Stephen Henden, who lives down my road, an IT whizz and local WW2 flying bombs expert, and Steve Slack, an editorial writer at the British Museum, who are both on the Friends’ main committee already. Apart from David, none of us knew anything about what goes on behind the scenes to put on film shows. All we knew was that we loved films and wanted to put on an evening of film a month locally so we didn’t have to trek into Central London to watch good movies.

With David’s guidance, we learnt all about getting a licence from the Council for premises to show films to the public and where you have to go to hire films with the proper permissions to show at public gatherings. We had some films on our list that those companies did not have on the “permitted public screenings” list so we had a go at tracking down the copyright holders to get express permission.

One search, for Deepa Mehta’s “Fire”, took me first to Pathe UK who told me it was not one of their films but I should try L.A. Pathe. L.A. sent me to the Directors Guild in New York, who sent me to the Canadian Directors Guild in Toronto, who sent me to another branch in Toronto, who said they would pass my request on to Ms Mehta’s representatives. A few weeks later, Ms Mehta’s colleague emailed me back to say that the rights were vested in Pathe UK. Which was where I had started in the first place. Aaaargh!

Amazingly, it has all pulled together and we have our autumn screenings set and we’ve issued a press release and everything. And tickets are selling hot and fast!

GALLERYFILM PROGRAMME

Here is the film programme:

16th October - the 1986 British film, Mona Lisa, starring Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson and Michael Caine, chosen to tie in with an exhibition connected to the painting of the same name. (”Sometimes love is a strange and wicked game. She was a tart. He was an ex-con. And she was about to shatter his life forever.”)

20 November - the Indian film, Earth, (”The 1947 partition of India and Pakistan seen through the eyes of an eight-year-old Parsee girl growing up in Lahore - A darkly fascinating and magical look at epic social upheaval and a remarkably affecting human tale that shines through it all”)

18 December - Peter Greenaway’s The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover (”A deliberate and thoughtful film set in an elegant gourmet restaurant called Le Hollandais. Spica dines at this restaurant frequently, along with his gorgeous wife Georgina and his group of uncouth associates”.) .

GalleryFilm’s screenings will take place on the 3rd Monday of every month, at Dulwich Picture Gallery. There will usually be food, drinks and mingling, and various tie-ins with current exhibitions

HOW TO BOOK TICKETS AND WHERE TO GO

Screening will be at 7.30pm in the Linbury Room at the Dulwich Picture Gallery - “The most beautiful small art gallery in the world” - Sunday Telegraph. For directions, click here

Tickets are £5 for Friends and £7 for non-Friends. All profits go to the Picture Gallery, which is a charity. The Picture Gallery houses a magnificent permanent collection of old masters, including works by Poussin, Claude, Rubens, Murillo, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Watteau, Gainsborough and many others and has regular special exhibitions of other artists and artwork. Friends enjoy free entrance to the gallery and other benefits.

If you’d like to come along, please book tickets in advance by emailing galleryfilm@yahoo.co.uk - please state the number of tickets you need, which film(s) you want to see and whether you are a Friend or not. Also, please mention Fusion View!

Or, if you prefer, use the form below and I will forward your email to Stephen who is handling the ticketing.

PLEASE SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS!

Also, if you can think of 3 friends who may enjoy watching great movies in the lovely surroundings of an art gallery, please email them and copy & paste the link below to your email.

http://www.fusionview.co.uk/2006/09/behind-the-scenes-at-galleryfilm/

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Useful links:

Dulwich Picture Gallery

David Grey, Village Film

Friends of the Dulwich Picture Gallery

Stephen Henden’s Flying Bombs and Rockets site