- International short film festival comes to Birmingham
Acclaimed Australian film festival Over The Fence makes its UK debut in July.
Coming to Birmingham for two nights (4-5 July 2014), the selected films explore the theme of death, love and desire and include movies from Australia, America, Europe and Britain.
Among the highlights are The Things My Father Never Taught Me, in which a dad gives his three-year-old son dating advice, the gender-swapping Best of Both Worlds, WW2-set Division Azul, and Birmingham filmmaker Mark Pressdee’s Titanic Love, which won the Audience Choice Award in Australia.
Established in Perth, Over The Fence features contemporary short comedy films from around the world. The festival tours cities throughout Australia, and further afield, but this is the first time it has visited Britain.
Greg Coffey, Festival Director, says: “Over The Fence aims to celebrate new and independent filmmakers, their comic masterpieces and their excellent sense of humour.
“Our mission is to offer a refreshing challenge to people’s ideas of what comedy is, to give our audience a whole new experience of the way in which funny stories can be told through a the wide variety of filmmaking styles, genres, and, from all countries across the world.”
Hosted by Friction Arts, the official festival programme will be proceeded by an evening of West Midlands-made comedy films and performance, including screenings of Evil Resident, cult classic The Westerner, and the newly discovered Battle Of The Lickey Hills – a comedy documentary screened for the first time in the city.
The Over The Fence Comedy Film Festival can be seen at The Edge (Friday 4 July, from 6.30pm, £2) and The Custard Factory’s Mockingbird Theatre (Saturday 5 July 2014, 7.30pm, £5). For more information see: www.frictionarts.com or call 0121 772 6160.
LISTINGS
Friday 4 July 2014-Saturday 5 July 2014
Over The Fence Comedy Film Festival
Friday 4 July 2014
The Edge, 79-81 Cheapside, Birmingham B12 0QH
Time: 6.30pm ‘til late
Tickets: £2 available on the door only.
A selection of films by local filmmakers with live-action interludes. Part of Digbeth First Friday.
Saturday 5 July 2014
The Mockingbird Theatre and Bar, The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B9 4AA
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: £5, available on the door, or via: www.wegottickets.com
International short films on the theme of Death, Love and Desire direct from the 16th Over The Fence Film Festival, including Perth Audience Choice, the Birmingham-made Titanic Love.
Web: www.frictionarts.com
Contact: info@frictionarts.com or 0121 772 6160
NOTES FOR EDITORS
About Over The Fence
Over The Fence is the largest touring comedy film festival in Australia. Initially focusing on Australian filmmakers, the festival has since opened up to accept international submissions and, since 2005, has been touring internationally.
“We’ve screened the festival, without subtitles, in Brazil, India, Malaysia, and the US (yes, without subtitles!),” says Greg Coffey, Festival Director. “Regardless of the national language, the films were received with great laughter and enjoyment, proving to us that humour is fully capable of transcending language and cultural barriers.”
Now in its 16th year, 2014 marks the festival’s first UK appearance.
“What a treat and honour! For 16 years we have passionately worked on Over The Fence building it from a local Perth festival to become one of the widest and coolest touring comedy film festivals in Australia. And, this year filmmaker Mark Pressdee and Friction Arts have invited us to Birmingham (OTF in the UK!!!) to screen and share our peculiar, charming and wildly different selection of short comedy films from around the world (and one of Brum’s very own!)
“Here’s an odd thing about our festival; each year something bubbles up out of our selection, we don’t ask for it, nor seek it, it simply arises out of our selection – it the theme. And this year it is ‘Death, Love and Desire’. So folks, we sharin’ the ‘Looove….’, and the ‘Death’, and the ‘Desire’ too!
Come, join our world of comedy shorts with a punch!”
About Friction Arts
Friction Arts make arts projects with communities. Recent projects include Echoes, an installation of multi-media rooms exploring the history of industrial and domestic Birmingham, inspired by interviews with residents.
Web: www.frictionarts.com
IMAGES / MEDIA
Link: Downloadable Press / Media images. [Click on images for larger versions]
Link: The Over The Fence festival trailer
For full Day Two (5 July 2014) Custard Factory listings, see: Over The Fence Comedy Film Festival: Day 2 Programme.
- For more information, contact us.
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