The film-maker on the evergreen Leonard Cohen, teashop lithographs and wartime architecture
Nick Broomfield is an award-winning British film-maker best known for his offbeat and sometimes controversial documentaries on a wide range of subjects, including Margaret Thatcher, Eugene Terre'Blanche, Sarah Palin, Courtney Love, Tupac Shakur and Heidi Fleiss. His feature films, made in a style he describes as "direct cinema", include Ghosts (2006) and Battle for Haditha (2008). His latest film, Sex: My British Job, in which he teams up with undercover journalist Hsiao-Hung Pai to investigate the British sex trade, is on Channel 4 on 23 September.
Theatre: The Pride by Alexi Kaye Campbell
I thought this was fantastic. It dealt with a really complicated subject incredibly well, with a great deal of humour, as well as having very strong dialogue and characters. It was the first time I had seen buggery on stage, which was shocking – and I don't often have...
Nick Broomfield is an award-winning British film-maker best known for his offbeat and sometimes controversial documentaries on a wide range of subjects, including Margaret Thatcher, Eugene Terre'Blanche, Sarah Palin, Courtney Love, Tupac Shakur and Heidi Fleiss. His feature films, made in a style he describes as "direct cinema", include Ghosts (2006) and Battle for Haditha (2008). His latest film, Sex: My British Job, in which he teams up with undercover journalist Hsiao-Hung Pai to investigate the British sex trade, is on Channel 4 on 23 September.
Theatre: The Pride by Alexi Kaye Campbell
I thought this was fantastic. It dealt with a really complicated subject incredibly well, with a great deal of humour, as well as having very strong dialogue and characters. It was the first time I had seen buggery on stage, which was shocking – and I don't often have...
- 9/23/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
The long Labor Day holiday weekend is upon us, and between that and the Venice and Telluride film festivals, it seems like a lot of Hollywood has shut down in anticipation of the last relaxing days of summer. But we've got a few new casting bits to throw your way regardless. After the break, Ed Helms will remake a French pimp comedy, Paul Dano is among the cast additions to Kelly Reichardt's new film Night Moves, The unlikely duo of Stephen Dorff and Steve Coogan are in an adaptation of the novel The Catastrophist, and found footage film Evidence gets new players. First up, Ed Helms is going to produce and star in a remake of the 2010 French film Le Mac, which "follows a mild-mannered banker forced to masquerade as a notorious gangster and pimp." Johnny Rosenthal is writing (he's also a writer on Bad Santa 2) and Media...
- 9/2/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
'Critical' film to compete with authorised Palin documentary
He's tackled Kurt Cobain, Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur and Heidi Fleiss. Now British documentary-maker Nick Broomfield has turned his attention to Sarah Palin, darling of the American right and potential candidate for a Us presidential run next year.
Broomfield's as-yet-untitled film reportedly offers a critical examination of the former Us Republican vice presidential candidate via interviews with her parents, friends and ex-colleagues from his subject's time as governor of Alaska. It is due to be screened in Los Angeles next week for potential buyers, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
A trailer for the film features interviews with former Alaska legislative director John Bitney and former state senate president Lyda Green, both of whom describe an "unengaged" Palin who made of a habit of texting on her mobile during important meetings and legislative sessions.
"I never felt that Sarah was ever connected to...
He's tackled Kurt Cobain, Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur and Heidi Fleiss. Now British documentary-maker Nick Broomfield has turned his attention to Sarah Palin, darling of the American right and potential candidate for a Us presidential run next year.
Broomfield's as-yet-untitled film reportedly offers a critical examination of the former Us Republican vice presidential candidate via interviews with her parents, friends and ex-colleagues from his subject's time as governor of Alaska. It is due to be screened in Los Angeles next week for potential buyers, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
A trailer for the film features interviews with former Alaska legislative director John Bitney and former state senate president Lyda Green, both of whom describe an "unengaged" Palin who made of a habit of texting on her mobile during important meetings and legislative sessions.
"I never felt that Sarah was ever connected to...
- 6/29/2011
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Xiaolu Guo's adaptation of her own novel is an insightful treatment of China's place in the global village, writes Peter Bradshaw
This film, by London-based Chinese novelist and film-maker Xiaolu Guo, won the Golden Leopard at Locarno and has been liked and admired on the festival circuit. Understandably so. It is bold and unparochial in a doggedly low-key style, following the story of Li Mei (Lu Huang), a young woman who journeys from a remote Chinese village to London, finding that "the west" – an idealised place of impossibly glamorous consumer riches – is just as tough as the place she left. In her home town, bored and mutinous Li Mei goes to the cinema with a truck driver who sexually assaults her; then she hangs out, blankly, with a moody guy in the pirate-dvd business who is proud that the cousin of ex-premier Jiang Zemin once spoke to him in...
This film, by London-based Chinese novelist and film-maker Xiaolu Guo, won the Golden Leopard at Locarno and has been liked and admired on the festival circuit. Understandably so. It is bold and unparochial in a doggedly low-key style, following the story of Li Mei (Lu Huang), a young woman who journeys from a remote Chinese village to London, finding that "the west" – an idealised place of impossibly glamorous consumer riches – is just as tough as the place she left. In her home town, bored and mutinous Li Mei goes to the cinema with a truck driver who sexually assaults her; then she hangs out, blankly, with a moody guy in the pirate-dvd business who is proud that the cousin of ex-premier Jiang Zemin once spoke to him in...
- 2/25/2010
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Dave from Victim of the Time here once more. It's St. George's Day here- the patron saint of England (and several other countries but who cares about them?)- and although usually all that patriotism makes me slightly ill I thought I'd be more cheerful for once and bring you good mostly-American people some examples of my country's film-making prowess. Although even though it's the English patron saint's day I'll still sticking the banner out to cover the other three countries of our country, because it's all very confusing and we haven't devolved yet. Only a matter of time, though, I hear. /tangent]
Ten years ago, the BFI polled a whole bunch of people to determine what the best British films of the twentieth century were. Now- spoiler!- the winner was The Third Man. A fair enough choice, says I. You can't beat a bit of zither. But, since they did that,...
Ten years ago, the BFI polled a whole bunch of people to determine what the best British films of the twentieth century were. Now- spoiler!- the winner was The Third Man. A fair enough choice, says I. You can't beat a bit of zither. But, since they did that,...
- 4/24/2009
- by Dave
- FilmExperience
By Aaron Hillis
It was only a matter of time before renowned British documentarian Nick Broomfield ("Kurt & Courtney," "Biggie & Tupac," "Aileen Wuornos: Life and Death of a Serial Killer"), whose on-camera muckraking begat Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock, would tackle the Iraq War. But what's surprising for a guy who's been developing his doc style since the early '70s is that "Battle for Haditha," based on a 2005 tragedy in which U.S. Marines slaughtered 24 Iraqi men, women and children as kneejerk retribution for an Ied attack, isn't a documentary at all. A progressive but blisteringly angry re-enactment that may be the first Iraq-themed narrative with any intelligent sense of the complexities at hand, Broomfield's drama casts real-life Iraqi civilians, insurgents and U.S. marines to depict the humanity from each side of the story. I sat with a no-nonsense Broomfield at Nyc's Film Forum to discuss the film,...
It was only a matter of time before renowned British documentarian Nick Broomfield ("Kurt & Courtney," "Biggie & Tupac," "Aileen Wuornos: Life and Death of a Serial Killer"), whose on-camera muckraking begat Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock, would tackle the Iraq War. But what's surprising for a guy who's been developing his doc style since the early '70s is that "Battle for Haditha," based on a 2005 tragedy in which U.S. Marines slaughtered 24 Iraqi men, women and children as kneejerk retribution for an Ied attack, isn't a documentary at all. A progressive but blisteringly angry re-enactment that may be the first Iraq-themed narrative with any intelligent sense of the complexities at hand, Broomfield's drama casts real-life Iraqi civilians, insurgents and U.S. marines to depict the humanity from each side of the story. I sat with a no-nonsense Broomfield at Nyc's Film Forum to discuss the film,...
- 5/6/2008
- by Aaron Hillis
- ifc.com
PARK CITY -- Veteran documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield makes an impressive leap to features with "Ghosts", a story of illegal Chinese immigrants in the U.K. Based on actual events and using nonprofessional actors, the film has the immediacy of a well-made documentary and the character arc of a good narrative film.
While immigrant issues are very much in the news, specifics unique to Britain and the gritty reality of the story might limit its theatrical potential in the U.S. But it should play very nicely on cable outlets.
About 3 million illegal immigrants make up the bedrock of the English labor force. Not surprisingly, it's a horrible life. Broomfield, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jez Lewis, displays a keen sense of story and has chosen a charismatic novice, Ai Quin Lin, to play a variation of herself and serve as a way into this hidden world.
The film opens with a gripping sequence in which a group of immigrants are digging for cockles at low tide and become stranded on top of their van as water and a storm rush in. From here, Broomfield cuts back a year to see where this all started.
Ai Quin is a single mother living with her family in the Fujian Province, but she can't make enough money working in the rice fields to support her infant son. So she borrows $25,000 to pay the "Snakehead" gangs to smuggle her into England. Forced into near slavery as part of a crew of immigrants run by Mr. Lin (Zhan Yu), Ai Quin is brought to live in a two-bedroom flat with 11 others, sleeping on a dirty mattress on the floor. Using forged work papers, she gets a series of menial jobs for meager pay. Watching her gutting ducks in a meat-packing plant is enough to make anyone swear off poultry.
Gradually she falls into a routine, and we get to know her and her fellow immigrants. All of them are in the same boat, even Mr. Lin and his haughty Chinese girlfriend. Mr. Lin proves to be a more complex character than the money-grubbing bully he first appears. He has done a little better than the others and now exploits them, but he is there for the same reasons. When he can no longer bribe the ghosts (all white people are referred to as ghosts) at the employment office, the group sets out for what they hope is a more profitable job -- digging for cockles in Morecambe Bay. But the local workers resent the Chinese, and in a beautifully staged and shot scene, a bunch of ghosts attack them in the sand and steal their haul.
And this is where we came in. Suffice it to say, it doesn't end well for many of them. In fact, this incident is based on a real-life tragedy in which 23 Chinese immigrants drowned in the bay while digging for cockles.
Combining his instinct for documentary with a sharp eye for framing, aided by cinematographer Mark Wolf, Broomfield has made a very handsome-looking first feature. He has kept things appropriately sparse, filming with a documentary-size crew of only five. The score by Molly Nyman and Harry Escott, together with a large selection of Chinese songs, adds to the feeling of authenticity.
GHOSTS
A Channel 4 presentation of a Lafayette Films production
Credits:
Director: Nick Broomfield
Screenwriter: Nick Broomfield, Jez Lewis
Producer: Nick Broomfield, Jez Lewis
Executive producer: Charles Finch
Director of photography: Mark Wolf
Production designer: David Bryan
Music: Molly Nyman, Harry Escott
Editor: Peter Christelis
Cast:
Ai Quin: Ai Quin Lin
Mr. Lin: Zhan Yu
Xiao Li: Zhe Wei
Robert: Shaun Gallagher
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
While immigrant issues are very much in the news, specifics unique to Britain and the gritty reality of the story might limit its theatrical potential in the U.S. But it should play very nicely on cable outlets.
About 3 million illegal immigrants make up the bedrock of the English labor force. Not surprisingly, it's a horrible life. Broomfield, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jez Lewis, displays a keen sense of story and has chosen a charismatic novice, Ai Quin Lin, to play a variation of herself and serve as a way into this hidden world.
The film opens with a gripping sequence in which a group of immigrants are digging for cockles at low tide and become stranded on top of their van as water and a storm rush in. From here, Broomfield cuts back a year to see where this all started.
Ai Quin is a single mother living with her family in the Fujian Province, but she can't make enough money working in the rice fields to support her infant son. So she borrows $25,000 to pay the "Snakehead" gangs to smuggle her into England. Forced into near slavery as part of a crew of immigrants run by Mr. Lin (Zhan Yu), Ai Quin is brought to live in a two-bedroom flat with 11 others, sleeping on a dirty mattress on the floor. Using forged work papers, she gets a series of menial jobs for meager pay. Watching her gutting ducks in a meat-packing plant is enough to make anyone swear off poultry.
Gradually she falls into a routine, and we get to know her and her fellow immigrants. All of them are in the same boat, even Mr. Lin and his haughty Chinese girlfriend. Mr. Lin proves to be a more complex character than the money-grubbing bully he first appears. He has done a little better than the others and now exploits them, but he is there for the same reasons. When he can no longer bribe the ghosts (all white people are referred to as ghosts) at the employment office, the group sets out for what they hope is a more profitable job -- digging for cockles in Morecambe Bay. But the local workers resent the Chinese, and in a beautifully staged and shot scene, a bunch of ghosts attack them in the sand and steal their haul.
And this is where we came in. Suffice it to say, it doesn't end well for many of them. In fact, this incident is based on a real-life tragedy in which 23 Chinese immigrants drowned in the bay while digging for cockles.
Combining his instinct for documentary with a sharp eye for framing, aided by cinematographer Mark Wolf, Broomfield has made a very handsome-looking first feature. He has kept things appropriately sparse, filming with a documentary-size crew of only five. The score by Molly Nyman and Harry Escott, together with a large selection of Chinese songs, adds to the feeling of authenticity.
GHOSTS
A Channel 4 presentation of a Lafayette Films production
Credits:
Director: Nick Broomfield
Screenwriter: Nick Broomfield, Jez Lewis
Producer: Nick Broomfield, Jez Lewis
Executive producer: Charles Finch
Director of photography: Mark Wolf
Production designer: David Bryan
Music: Molly Nyman, Harry Escott
Editor: Peter Christelis
Cast:
Ai Quin: Ai Quin Lin
Mr. Lin: Zhan Yu
Xiao Li: Zhe Wei
Robert: Shaun Gallagher
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/29/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Quick Links Complete Film Listing: Premieres: Dramatic Comp: Docu Comp: World Docu Comp: Spectrum: Park City at Midnight: New Frontier: Short Film Programs January 18 to 28, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('January 18, 2007'); Blame It On Fidel (France), directed and written by Julie Gavras, which takes the point of view of a 9-year-old girl whose parents become political radicals in early '70s Paris. Drained (Brazil), directed by Heitor Dhalia and written by Marcal Aquino and Dhalia, about the life change of a devious pawnbroker.Driving With My Wife's Lover (South Korea), directed by Kim Tai-sik and written by Kim Joen-han and Kim, which describes the long taxi journey of a man and the cab driver he's learned is having an affair with his wife.Eagle Vs. Shark (New Zealand), directed and written by Taika Waititi, a portrait of two social misfits who try to find love. A Miramax release in its world premiere.
- 1/18/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
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