Colin Kennedy's "I Love Luci" to screen in US! at Manhattan Short Fest

Big news as there is now a fantastic opportunity for many readers in the US to catch a screening of Colin Kennedy's multi-award-winning short film "I Love Luci" which is in competition at The Manhattan Short fest. Click here to read a new interview with Luci writer/director Colin Kennedy and learn more about this fun short film which was produced by Sigma and Brian Coffey.
Click here to see where the film is screening in your area (example while showing all over the place in the US late Sept, the film screens in hometown Glasgow on Sunday, 2nd October at the Glasgow Film Festival.
Manhattan Short organizers describe this truly world-wide film fest as follows:

An extraordinary global event takes place the week of September 23rd to October 2nd 2011 when over 100,000 people in over 250 cities across six continents gather in Cinemas, Galleries, Universities, Museums and Cafes for one purpose...to view and vote on our Finalists' Films in the Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival
Our mission is to unite audiences from all corners of the globe for one week via the most compelling short films submitted each year. Our tagline One World One Week One Festival is emblazoned within the rings that surround the Festival Logo and it is this mantra that sets us apart from any other film event of the year.

CONGRATULATIONS COLIN! GO LUCI GO GO GO GO SEE THIS FILM
Really, tis delightful off-beat original short film!

"Perfect Sense" to Screen in US this month at Woodstock Film Festival

Speaking of sweet, more fans in the US will be given the opportunity to catch two screenings of David Mackenzie's critically acclaimed forthcoming film "Perfect Sense" when it screens later this month at the Woodstock Film Festival. TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE for the new movie starring Ewan McGregor and Eva Green for the showings on the 24 and 25th of September.

IFC films have not yet announced the US release of the film... but quite interestingly... Lovefilms.com in the UK will apparently be showing this online when it opens in the UK in October, as well as DVD sign up! and I also saw a few things about a DVD on other sites as well. Thus, do NOT know if this means IFC will make this available ON DEMAND to allow for great access in the US to meet the time frame later this year and/or DVD along with cinema showings when it does so, but fingers crossed news on that front will happen soon!

Again I urge you to please follow along on Twitter as well as esp the PERFECT SENSE FACEBOOK PAGE (they are even doing recipes woot I can not wait for that) along with a load of pertinent fun and interesting news etc. Also please consider adding the Distrify/Perfect Sense widget to your blog-HELP GET THE WORD OUT ON THIS GREAT FILM!

Few more International release dates for "Perfect Sense"

The Perfect Sense IMDB page has been updated with a few more international release dates, some of which we already knew:

Greece: 15 September
Hungary: 29 September
Ireland/UK : 7 October
Netherlands: 19 January 2012

Those that have graciously been following along with me will recall that Turkey saw the release of the newest film from David Mackenzie this week. Perfect Sense is also screening in many major German cities as part of Fantasy FilmFest (in Munich still yet next week)
Also as reported earlier, the film will be part of a special dinner and a film series at the San Sebastian Film festival 16-24 September, with fans in France able to catch the film at the Dinard Film Festival in early October. Still no word from IFC films regarding a timetable on a US release yet folks, sorry

Finally and this is very cool, check out this video interview with EVA GREEN for Cinema.de conducted earlier this year at Sundance, where Eva talks working with Ewan McGregor and even eating at Guys Restaurant in Glasgow :)

"Perfect Sense" to Screen at Dinard Film Fest Along with "You Instead"

Recently via Screen Daily, we learned that "You Instead" will be in competition at the Dinard Film Festival in October. In addition I can report now that screening out of competition will be David Mackenzie's critically acclaimed "Perfect Sense" as part of a special "close-up Scotland" section of the festival.

This is a great chance for fans in France to catch two of David's most recent movies when the festival takes place 5-9 October.

Take a Bite out of Ewan and Perfect Sense at San Sebastian Film Festival

Well its not quite an invitation to dinner with Chef Ewan McGregor but close ;) as the San Sebastian Film festival will feature dinner and screening of David Mackenzie's "Perfect Sense" next month. Part of a special event at the festival in Spain, the Culinary Cinema will feature 7 films, 7 themes, 7 restaurants and 7 chefs, one for each of the films. The screening of "Perfect Sense" which stars Ewan McGregor and Eva Green, will be accompanied by a meal from Illara of San Sebastian, prepared by Josean Eizmendi, owner and chef well known for his excellent servings from the grill. AWESOME! As a blatant foodie, I think this is fantastic idea (esp given the high concentration of Michelin rated restaurants in the city). The festival says of Chef Eizmendi:
Josean Eizmendi
Today the Illarra restaurant is a must in the world of the grill, an evolving technique sending strong ripples through the sector of which Josean is a recognised, prizewinning author. An inquisitive, outgoing chef who loves to teach those who delight in his food and refuses to offer anything but the best.

The festival runs 16-24 September, with tickets becoming available in a few weeks; updates on that to follow.

FB page Illarra

Bonus: Just because, in case you missed the earlier tweets, here are a few pics of David Mackenzie, a man of definite taste, enjoying himself and a glass of wine to boot at the recent Motovun Film Festival where he was a judge and screened Perfect Sense.

You Instead, Perfect Sense to Screen at Chichester Film Festival

Summer is in full swing, and so are stops for Sigma at film festivals all around. This week of course is Motovun; now there is word today as You Instead and Perfect Sense will both screen next month at Chichester Film Festival. Tickets are now available for the weekend screening next month as follows:

YOU INSTEAD 24, 25 August
PERFECT SENSE 27, 28 August

ENJOY!
ps. The festival, sponsored by (UK) Screen south is doing a special tribute to the late great Pete Postlethwaithe, who was truly an A class actor; will be sorely missed.

Motovun Film Festival: David Mackenzie on Jury

Director David Mackenzie is having one busy summer, including the next several weeks. Up first: You Instead will screen this week on Thursday at T in the Park, marking a year to the date the film was made at the legendary Scottish music film festival. Then David is off to Galway for the Masterclass and the screening of four of his films. The end of July will see yet another appearance by David, this time at the Motovun Film Festival, where David will sit as one of three directors on a jury to determine the winning film at the acclaimed Croatian film festival. The Motovun Film Festival run 25-29 July, with more information here.
Update: Here's the link for the screening of PERFECT SENSE at the festival on 29 July

Snapshot: Colin Kennedy and Team I Love Luci at EiFF

As many of you already saw that follow along on Twitter, was very glad indeed to see photos now online via Flickr of Sigma Films' own Colin Kennedy who took part in the Noika shorts panel series at the recent Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Pictured: Colin, James Lees, Sigma's own Brian Coffey



...as they share their thoughts on their muli award-winning hit short film "I Love Luci" Colin let me know that the entire panel session was recorded by the folks at EiFF; for those like me who were unable to be there, am greatly hoping this video will be made available soon-updates to follow asap
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE LUCI PAGE on Sigma website for a roundup of recent awards and more :)

(ps once again the fates are against me; broken three toes this time round causing the delay...clearly this was the year I should have never gotten out of bed bleh)

David Mackenzie, Master Director to Speak at Galway Film Fleadh

Lucky film goers in Ireland will have the chance this summer to hear and learn from David Mackenzie. The Galway Film Fleadh (5-10 July) has announced that Sigma's own David Mackenzie will deliver a masterclass on the art of filmmaking. There is a very nice writeup on David at the film fleadh site, which reads in part: 'It's difficult to work out how to be populist without sacrificing some of the things that make your work interesting.' So says Scottish Director David Mackenzie, the subject of this year's Directors Masterclass. In terms of his films, 'interesting' is just the tip of the iceberg. His work has also been described as 'poetic', 'original' 'captivating', and at times 'transgressive', but above all else 'versatile'.


Further info: "The Masterclass will take place in the Radisson Blu Hotel Galway (date TBC) and costs €50. For further information contact Brónagh Keys at 091-562200 or email: masterclasses@galwayfilmfleadh.com To apply directly please register online at www.screentrainingireland.ie Please note places are limited. Deadline for applications: Friday the 24th of June."

Reminder: The UK premiere for Perfect Sense will take place THIS WEEKEND in just a few days at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Star Ewan McGregor will be there along with David, Gillian (I strongly suspect co-star great Ewen Bremner will also be about as he has another film screening at the festival as well.) as well as many of the dear faces of Sigma and co. Be sure to ENTER VIA THE OFFICIAL PERFECT SENSE FACEBOOK PAGE for two tickets to the premiere as well as your chance to win a SET VISIT TO THE NEXT SIGMA FILMS feature film production LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY!

ps If you fancy I took the plunge and there is a SoSigmaFilms page too-all are welcome to chat Sigma, Jamie Sives any and all things Scottish and/or Independent films! :)

Perfect Time to Get Fired Up about Perfect Sense!

Loads of "Perfect Sense" news to catch up on! (sorry battered body/brain are slowly getting there and been a bit distracted by Sir Jory lol, but its all good and go from now on no worries)

The Seattle International Film Festival opens tonight and tickets for the 21st May screening of "Perfect Sense" are going quickly. It's not yet confirmed, but there seems to be a possibility that star Ewan McGregor may make an appearance at this screening (unclear from this SIFF news post on the guests hmm; it sure looks like it, woot!), but tickets for the special tribute to Ewan are now sold out! Take heart, for if you can't make the 21st showing, plenty of tickets yet remain for the 25 May showing at the Seattle festival still remain-CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS. Enjoy!

Be sure to check out the new FACEBOOK PAGE FOR PERFECT SENSE!

Also in the other major news of the week, TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE FOR THE UK PREMIERE of "Perfect Sense" at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Available right now for Filmhouse members, these sales open to the general public tomorrow (20th); more information can be found right here at this link. The film is premiering at the Cameo in Edinburgh 18 JUNE, then again the next night on the 19th. ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY! Arrow Films is distributing the film in the UK later this year, with IFC to handle the US-can.not.wait!

Two other cool related bits of news: Screen Daily confirms that yes indeed, Sigma Films' own GILLIAN BERRIE will take part in a special panel at the Edinburgh Film festival next month, in an event titled "Co-productions: why the British should love Europe" Absolutely! Sending good thoughts to Gillian and all who are lucky enough to attend this event.

Finally, Sigma continues to prove they are cutting edge filmmakers as they move into taking a larger role with the distribution of their films. Per the great folks at Creative Scotland, we learn that Sigma will take on some of the marketing for the release of both "Perfect Sense" and "You Instead," working closely with their distributors. Quotage:

Sigma Releasing: One of Scotland’s most prolific film production companies has created a new integrated business model which will allow them to co-release its films in the UK. Creative Scotland investment will allow them to contribute to the print and advertising costs of the UK release and allow it to reinvest the revenue generated from distribution across the range of its film activities.

Creative Scotland is investing £250,000 into Sigma Releasing.

Gillian Berrie, Director, Sigma Films said: ‘It’s great to have the resources to collaborate with Icon on You Instead and Arrow on Perfect Sense to support the UK releases and embrace and explore new distribution models and strategies.’


Also too the awesome Savalas Sound is getting a boost as they too will get some help from Creative Scotland:

La Belle Allée/Savalas Sound Post Equity Fund: A fund to allow sound post-production facility, Savalas to offer equity investment to attract international production to Scotland and discounts for locally produced feature films. Savalas is the only Dolby Premier studio outside of London and this fund would allow the company to attract large-scale projects and lead to the company becoming an equity stakeholder in the projects they invest in.

Creative Scotland is investing £125,000 in La Belle Allée/Savalas Sound Post Equity Fund.

Karen Smyth, Producer, La Belle Allée:‘La Belle Allée are delighted to be involved in the creation and running of a post-production equity investment fund, alongside Scotland’s leading sound post production facility, Savalas. We look forward to attracting high quality projects to Scotland, as well offering domestic production world-class facilities at an affordable price.’

The new initiatives will help inform Creative Scotland’s future film investment policy.The organisation also recently announced an increase in its film investment funds, bringing the total available for development and production of film and television in Scotland this year to £3 million.

UK Premiere Set for David Mackenzie's Critically Acclaimed "Perfect Sense"

Exciting news tonight as the UK premiere of David Mackenzie's "Perfect Sense" has been announced. The film starring award-winning actors Ewan McGregor and Eva Green will screen at the Edinburgh International Film Festival next month! The film, which was met with widespread critical acclaim when it screened at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year (read my Perfect Sense coverage, reviews photos more here), will be shown in the lovely city of Edinburgh where David has previously premiered Hallam Foe and Young Adam, the Scotsman reports.

With the full programme for the festival due to be revealed in two weeks time, no date is yet available for the premiere, but am hopeful to have more on this very exciting news soon, stay tuned!

Bonus:
Given the recent good news from Screen Daily that Trust Nordisk sold the UK/Eire rights to David Mackenzie's "Perfect Sense" to Arrow Films, have gotten a few questions regarding where and if the film starring Ewen McGregor and Eva Green will be shown in other parts of the world (All over! :) As such, here's a list of what is out there so far (will update as warranted)

PERFECT SENSE Distributors

• Abu Dhabi - Falcon Films
  
• Bahrain - Falcon Films
  
• Belgium- Wild Bunch
  
• Dubai - Falcon Films
  
• France- Pretty Pictures
  
• Greece - Seven Films
  
• Iran - Falcon Films
  
• Iraq - Falcon Films
  
• Jordan - Falcon Films
  
• Kuwait - Falcon Films
  
• Lebanon - Falcon Films
  
• Luxembourg (Wild Bunch)
  
• Netherlands - Wild Bunch
  
• Qatar - Falcon Films
  
• Saudi Arabia- Falcon Films
  
• South Korea - Entremode
  
• Syria - Falcon Films
  

• UK/Ireland- Arrow Films
  

• United Arab Emirates - Falcon Films
  
• US - IFC
  

* random : click here for PP in France Hallam Foe page; forgot how awesome their stills were :) If you are looking for previous posts on "Perfect Sense" please click here or via "Last Word"
Related: As a reminder, Perfect Sense will also screen this month at the Seattle Film festival :)

David Mackenzie's "Perfect Sense" to Screen at Seattle Film Festival

Another bit of cool news now, as Variety is reporting that David Mackenzie's "Perfect Sense" will be screening next month at the Seattle Film Festival. This is all part of a series of films due to be screened as part of a tribute to Perfect Sense star EWAN MCGREGOR who will be honored at the film. While no ticket or exact time is yet available, these seems to be taking place on May 22; updates to follow as possible. Congratulations to Ewan!

Here is the press release via the official SFF website:

In recognition of his illustrious career, Ewan McGregor will receive this years’ Golden Space Needle Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting at a special tribute event featuring a screening of his new film, Beginners (USA), on Sunday, May 22 at the Egyptian Theatre. A special tribute dinner for Mr. McGregor and 75 guests will take place immediately following the screening and interview at Prava Studios and will be prepared by James Beard Award-winning chef, Thierry Rautureau of Rover’s and Luc Restaurants in Seattle. Tickets for the dinner are $250, which includes reserved seating to the tribute event, and are available for purchase at SIFF.net.

Special retrospective screenings of Moulin Rouge! and Peter Greenaway’s The Pillow Book, and the Seattle premiere of another of Mr. McGregor’s new films, David Mackenzie’s Perfect Sense, will also be featured at the Festival.

Tickets Remain for Advance Party Screenings at East End Film Festival

Reminder: Once the excitement of the royal happenings have swept by, London will also be the setting for another equally exciting event: Back to Back screenings of Sigma's acclaimed Advance Party Series at the East End Film Festival! :)
Saturday, 30 April, will see the London premiere of Morag McKinnon's DONKEYS with JAMES COSMO, KATE DICKIE AND MARTIN COMPSTON due to take part in a Q & A after the event at the Rich Mix! CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS while you still can. Then, on Sunday 1 May, its a special showing of the critically acclaimed film that started it all-Andrea Arnold's "Red Road" Yep back on the big screen; tickets for this event at the Aubin Cinema are HERE. GO. ENJOY! (and pls tweet pics :D)

Advance Party Hits London with East End Film Festival Screening of "Donkeys"

If you are going to be in London at the end of April/begining of May there is a great chance to see BOTH ADVANCE PARTY FILMS with the new announcement from Sigma. Film two in the series, "Donkeys" will make its premiere in London on 30 April as part of the East End Film Festival on 30 April at 8:30pm (Festival page for the film here). Tickets for the showing at Rich Mix can be found right here at this link. There will be a Q & A with director MORAG MCKINNON and an actor from the film (not sure if its James, Kate is off filming Ridley Scott's new film so dunno who will be there; will update on this asap) VERY COOL NEWS

Reminder then the VERY NEXT DAY ON 1 MAY, the first film in the Advance Party trio RED ROAD will screen over in Shoreditch at The Aubin Cinema, with tickets STILL AVAILABLE RIGHT HERE AT THIS LINK (Morag Mckinnon will also be there discussing the differences/similarities to her film and that of Andrea Arnolds Red Road, should be FANTASTIC opportunity for true film fans to get some great insight into this ground-breaking series from Sigma Films)

Short Film Starring Jamie Sives Grand Prix Winner at Clermont-Ferrand

Belated Congratulations!! are in order for Vincent Vizioz, director of "Tremblay En-France" which took the Grand Prix prize at the Clermont-Frerrand short film festival a few weeks ago. As reported here several times previously, Scotlands own Jamie Sives is the lead actor in this film (and he won Best Actor for his performance in this film at another festival several months ago). Readers will recall of course, last year Colin Kennedy and I Love Luci also pulled out a win at this prestigious event; Many Congratulations to Jamie!

AT this link, WINDOWS ONLY you can now see almost 5 minutes of Jamie from this film, both drama and some very funny stuff (his timing is so ace with the old nosy lady)

Even more can be seen mid-way here at this link (mac friendly too lol)Hopefully one day more of this will turn up in much more accessible form (or even better I and all of us might actually get to see the entire thing) however until then, Enjoy! (Note you can also see a very few brief seconds from the film in the news piece below)

'Miss It At Your Peril': You Instead Rocking the Film World in Berlin & Glasgow

Excitement is certainly building before the sold-out premiere of You Instead at the Glasgow Film Festival on the 25th. Witness: the newest film from Sigma is already making some serious waves as Bankside Films screened the movie for buyers this week at the Berlin Film Festival. Latest word has it that its going down like a storm among the buyers with great feedback and interest. Of course as only rock and roll will have it, the showing of the film got off to a bit of a turbulent start and involved some quick actions on the part of Team Sigma (gooooo Colin! :))
Per the official Glasgow Film Festival blog:

You Instead was screened to potential buyers on Thursday night but only just. A corrupted file meant that a member of the Sigma team galloped to the rescue, boarding a plane and hand-delivering a replacement to the waiting crowd of buyers in Berlin.

Fortunately, they all waited the necessary forty minutes and, in the words of producer Gillian Berrie, 'the response was fantastic. You Instead rocked Berlin.' Makes us all even prouder that the Glasgow Film Festival has been chosen to host the home town world premiere of You Instead on February 25th. The film will then have its North American premiere in March at the incredibly cool SXSW Festival in Texas.

The Guardian is also reporting on the upcoming screening of You Instead at the Glasgow Film Festival, noting over the weekend the following (see clipping as well)

Perhaps Edinburgh should start looking over its shoulder at "the fastest-growing film event in the UK". But Scotland's big enough for the both of them, for now. This one's almost too big for itself, as evidenced by the mini-festivals within it: a promising music and film festival, a shorts festival, horror strand FrightFest. And that's before you get to the international selection, the Meryl Streep and Ginger Rogers retrospectives, etc. Best of all is the healthy amount of British, and especially Scottish talent around. David "Young Adam" Mackenzie returns with rockers' romance You Instead, Natalie Press leads Hebridean family thriller Island, Ken Loach introduces Route Irish, and his son Jim makes his directing debut with Oranges And Sunshine.

Be sure to check out the official You Instead Facebook page for exclusive and fun contests, first looks from the film (including a new photo of stars Luke Treadaway and Matt Baynton), and dont forget their official Twitter for more! For as the preview on the Glasgow Film Festival reads on You Instead ..."Shot in a swirl of energy during the five days of last Summer's T In The Park it is like a funny, frisky, endearing collision between the Before Sunset/Before Sunrise indie spirit of Richard Linklater and the fizzing energy of those Beatles films that Richard Lester made in the Swinging Sixties. Miss it at your peril.

Awesome!

For more on the making of the film, be sure to check out this earlier interview from the Scotsman, where director David Mackenzie discusses his groundbreaking 5 day shoot on this motion picture at the T in the Park Festival:

It has a dynamic young British cast headed by Luke Treadaway and Natalia Tena (Tonks from the Harry Potter movies), and could be Mackenzie's happiest film to date. It is certainly his fastest. Sigma producer Gillian Berrie pulled out all the stops to get clearance to film at T in the Park for the crowd scenes.

Then Mackenzie decided that "wasn't challenging enough" and suggested they try to shoot the whole movie there.

The film team based themselves in a compound between the Main Stage and the NME Stage, contending with the ever-present throb of bass and the armies of wellies marching from one stage to another. It was exhausting but exhilarating. Mackenzie's voice fills with excitement when he talks about it.

"It's a great method. There's something about throwing everyone into that environment that unifies everyone. Somehow forcing oneself into a live environment and shooting very quickly is a liberation. You don't have control of the environment but as long as you're able to think on your feet and everyone is cool and able to roll with the punches, you can get incredible stuff."

The poetic cinematography of Mackenzie's earlier films hasn't disappeared in the frenzy: he describes a shot filmed at dawn where hundreds of seagulls swirl in the sky. "It was really visually poetic and magical. To begin with, I think we all thought the whole thing was going to be impossible, but it got better and better. The opportunities just kept on opening up, and we were more fighting fit to take advantage of them."

However, there were also moments when it rained, or when the entire film crew got boxed in by the arrival of Jay-Z's entourage, or the 1,500-strong crowd they had arranged as extras headed off en masse to catch a burlesque show. "You've got nearly 100,000 people out having a good time, not interested in having us getting in their way. That was kind of interesting."

The trade-off was that they were able to capture the atmosphere, energy and spontaneity of a live music festival.

"What's nice is the lightness of the material mixing with the grittiness of the way we shot it. It is able to avoid being too fluffy, which makes me a lot more comfortable about it. What I hope you get from the movie is the sense that you're there. Watching it is making me want to go and hang out at music festivals. I hope we get free tickets next year. We might get to see some bands!"

Sigma in the Sun

Well here's a right sunny lovely gift from the good people at Sigma I heart heart so very much: a batch of exclusive photos of the team enjoying a bit of sun and fun at the Sundance Film Festival! :)
THANK YOU SO MUCH to the wonderful generous thoughtful people who sent this to me and gave permission for these to be posted, THANK YOU!

With the director of the Sundance Film Festival, here is Team Sigma, plus some very cool folks before the premiere of the film



Here's Colin Kennedy and Brian Coffey, they of the kick butt producer/director team behind "I Love Luci"-------->
Ewen and David
and Gillian below too




Love these two lovelies very much indeed :) ->
Brian (below) looking sharp! :)







Related: There was a bit of sunny good news today too
as Screen Daily reported Perfect Sense has now been picked up by Pretty Pictures for distribution in France. Quotage of interest:

Pretty Pictures president James Velaise said: “Perfect Sense is a great film which has everything we are looking for: a real high-end art house film with great actors, a great story, and cross over potential because of the paranormal storyline.”

During Sundance a deal was closed with IFC Films, who holds the North American rights, and just recently Kalinos Filmcilik from Turkey alsocame aboard.

Christine Langan, Creative Director BBC Films, added: “Perfect Sense is a beautiful and passionate film. BBC Films are delighted that the film’s fanastic debut at Sundance attracted two great distribution partners; IFC in the US and Pretty Pictures in France.”

Trust Nordisk pre-sold Perfect Sense to more than 15 territories before its Sundance premiere, amongst these Benelux, Brazil, Korea and the
Middle East.

Perfectly Scottish: Sigma Films Hit Sundance!

As we know, the world premiere of David Mackenzie's latest film "Perfect Sense" will take place in a few days on Monday, January 24 at 9:30pm (MT) There is a large group from Sigma Films there to help kick off this event, so be sure to follow the Sigma Films twitter where Scotland is being represented not with just this wonderful film, but all around town :D


UPDATE: As seen on the front page of the official Sundance Film Festival website :D

And look at this one... I recognize that man in the puffy parka! :D :D

There is already a slew of press about the trailer for Perfect Sense with Ewan McGregor and Eva Green of course, and a few others of note include a piece from THR who says that Perfect Sense is one of ten films most likely to be sold (lets hope so!!!) Also director David Mackenzie has done another interview (rather odd one imo) where he is quoted on the film as follows:

"I guess I wanted to tell a love story, but conventional stories are often being told," said Mackenzie, 44. "There's something very interesting in the way this story happens, the way the couple comes together and how they deal with it. It felt very out of the ordinary, very interesting. It's a love story for extreme times."

Mackenzie has had a film at Sundance once before, "Spread," starring Ashton Kutcher, in 2009. Work commitments kept Mackenzie from attending, so this will be his first Sundance trip.

"I am very much looking forward to it," he said. "I am intrigued to see how people react to the film. This will be the first time it is seen by more than 10 people, who are friends of the film. Obviously, I am a little bit nervous."

But the director has high hopes for Sundance, including drawing interest from film distributors."It's one of the high-profile films," Mackenzie said. "It's a good festival to release a film into the world. There are quite a lot of people there. It's a profile event, and I'm excited to have been asked. It's a great launching pad for the movie."

Mackenzie said he hopes Sundance audiences have an emotional reaction to his emotional film.

"I hope they hug their neighbors," he said.

I WOULD LOVE TO HUG YOU DAVID and everyone at Sigma, so badly wish to have been there :((( but thrilled for the whole crew who is there. Stay Tuned to their Twitter and more here when available.

New Photo of Alastair Mackenzie at Glasgow Film Festival Launch

There is a new photo now online of Sigma's own Alastair Mackenzie at the Glasgow Film Festival launch, where Al described the newest film from Sigma-"You Instead." More of the launch (tho no more of Al are available at their flickr) Shot over a record-breaking five days at the T in the Park festival, Al plays the boyfriend to the lead female (Natalia) in the movie directed by his brother David Mackenzie, and I assure you this will include some really... interesting things for Al to say the least! :D
As noted below, tickets for the first screening of the world premiere of the movie at GFF are now sold out, but there are a handful still remaining for the later screening, so act now to see this film!

New Still from David Mackenzie's You Instead, Plus Ticket Info

Courtesy of Sigmafilms

Tickets are now on sale at THIS LINK for the world premiere of David Mackenzie's "You Instead" taking place at the Glasgow Film Festival Friday, February 25 NOTE ONLY THE SECOND SCREENING THAT NIGHT REMAINS-THE FIRST HAS ALREADY SOLD OUT! :) So if you want to see it, be quick on the spot!

Reminder: For those new readers, here is a taste of what this movie will be like featuring star Luke Treadaway in You Instead, directed by David Mackenzie




While there has been a flurry of news regarding this and Perfect Sense of course, this article from efestivals caught my attention as it noted You Instead would be released in cinemas THIS MAY.

*I do not know how accurate that is, because the film is still being sold at major film markets (ie in Berlin, with screenings set for Feb. 10 and 13) Thus, it remains unclear if this will be an effort like with Donkeys in the UK or how wide an opening it will have. Updates to follow of course when possible. *

The article has some good bits about the film which was made in ground-breaking fashion over five days at the T in the Park festival last summer. Quotage:

Cast, crew and musicians will be in attendance at the world premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival at Cineworld Glasgow. The film was shot guerrilla-style last summer and is billed as "a hilarious free-wheeling rock 'n' roll love story set against the raucous magnificence and unforgettable sounds of Scotland's leading music Festival."

You Instead features a charismatic performance from Luke Treadaway (Attack The Block, Clash Of The Titans) as strutting indie star Adam from The Make. Arriving at T in the Park for his gig, Adam is handcuffed to punky girl-band leader Morello from The Dirty Pinks (Natalia Tena – Harry Potter). Initial frustration gives way to grudging acceptance and then the stirring of genuine feelings over the next 24 hours of the festival. The impressive cast also includes Ruta Gedmintas (Lip Service), Sophie Wu (Kick Ass), Gavin Mitchell (Still Game) and Alastair Mackenzie (Perfect Sense).

Filming a romantic comedy at a music festival might seem a surprising career move for a director like David Mackenzie, who is known for films addressing dark subject matter and often intriguingly disturbed characters. But frustrated and restricted by making films in a more conventional manner, Mackenzie recognised that You Instead offered the incredible challenge of making a scripted feature film in a genuinely pioneering way.

Produced by Gillian Berrie of Sigma Films and written by Thomas Leveritt, the cast and crew of You Instead achieved in five days what would normally take at least five weeks. They lived and breathed the festival experience, camping onsite and filming in a live, unpredictable environment, at the mercy of the weather, 85,000 extras, live musical performances and unforeseen unknowns.

The finished film fully encapsulates the thrilling passion and energy of a weekend shared by thousands of people in a field celebrating music, friendship and good times.

GFF Co-Director Allison Gardner said, "We are so proud that David Mackenzie and Sigma Films have chosen to give You Instead a big home town world premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival. The Festival's aim has always been to bring the best of international cinema to a Glasgow audience but also to bring the very best of Scottish cinema to the eyes of the world. You Instead is the perfect choice and the world premiere on a massive screen at Cineworld will be one of the truly memorable highlights of the 2011 Glasgow Film Festival."

Paul Sweeney, Film Buyer at Cineworld Cinemas added, "I am delighted to once again be working with Sigma films on this fantastic film, holding the World Premiere as part of the Glasgow Film Festival is very exciting."