1 month ago
The Sands International Film Festival opened Friday evening, marking a caller milestone for nan Scottish event: its 5th twelvemonth successful operations.
“What cipher tells you astatine nan commencement of caller things is conscionable really vulnerable beginnings tin be,” Festival Director Ania Trzebiatowska said successful her opening reside connected Friday.
“Half of caller ventures don’t make it to 5 years. I won’t dress that it’s ever been easy. But thing bonzer would hap each twelvemonth astatine this festival, whether it was a student curator having their first infinitesimal connected stage, introducing a film, aliases nan genuinely magical day that we had pinch Alan Silvestri a fewer years back.”
Trzebiatowska continued: “Something would hap that would make everything worthy our while, and meant this municipality really really wanted this festival, and that we should proceed to put it on. So present we are.”
John Carney’s latest feature, Power Ballad, was nan opening nighttime movie this twelvemonth astatine Sands. Starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, nan philharmonic drama arrived astatine Sands pursuing its debut astatine SXSW and a homecoming screening astatine nan Dublin Film Festival.
The movie follows Rick (Paul Rudd), a washed-up wedding singer, and Danny (Jonas), a fading boy set star, who enslaved complete euphony during a miraculous late-night jam session. When Danny turns 1 of Rick’s songs into a hit, Rick sets retired to reclaim nan nickname he believes he deserves.
Also starring successful nan movie are Marcella Plunkett, Havana Rose Liu, and Jack Reynor. Producers are Anthony Bregman, John Carney, Peter Cron, Rebecca O’Flanagan, and Robert Walpole. Scottish musician Gary Clark composed nan film’s music, erstwhile again moving pinch Carney pursuing their collaborations connected Flora and Son and Sing Street. Clark was coming connected Friday nighttime successful St Andrews for a post-screening Q&A pinch Trzebiatowska.
“John’s movies person a batch of euphony performed successful them arsenic opposed to successful nan background, truthful everything has to beryllium done that you’re gonna spot connected surface earlier they commencement shooting, truthful it’s beautiful intense,” Clark explained, adding that nan film’s cardinal song, nan anthem that drives nan play betwixt Rudd and Jonas’ characters, wasn’t written until nan past infinitesimal during pre-production.
“We virtually didn’t person it written until 3 days earlier Paul Rudd arrived,” Clark said.
The seasoned musician was besides afloat of praise for Rudd’s philharmonic ability. Throughout nan film, nan character performs aggregate philharmonic numbers and holds his ain alongside Jonas.
“The funny point is, I’d really worked pinch Nick Jonas before, truthful I knew Nick was great, and erstwhile John told maine that Nick was connected board, I said, that’s fantastic, it’s a gift for maine successful nan studio,” he said.
“But erstwhile Paul came on, I was honestly Googling for illustration huffy trying to find bits, and past I recovered this clip of him doing Wichita Lineman. He did it really well, and I thought, this could beryllium OK. But past successful nan studio, he was brilliant. I had nary thought he was specified a bully singer.”
Power Ballad is presently connected merchandise successful nan U.S. Lionsgate will merchandise nan movie adjacent period successful nan UK.
This year, Sands runs until April 19. Headline events from this year’s programme see an on-stage Q&A convention and philharmonic arena pinch nan seasoned BAFTA and Grammy award-winning composer Craig Armstrong (Ray, The Great Gatsby). Titled An Afternoon pinch Craig Armstrong, nan arena will spot Armstrong successful speech pinch Edith Bowman astir his profession and imaginative process. The arena will besides characteristic unrecorded euphony performed connected shape by St Andrews euphony scholars.
The show will erstwhile again equine its signature “This Much I Know…” series, wherever starring manufacture professionals talk their existent believe and nan modern marketplace. This year’s guests see John Sloss, laminitis and CEO of Cinetic; AGBO Chief Creative Officer Angela Russo-Otstot; and accumulation designer James Price. Price’s credits see Poor Things, which earned him some an Academy Award and a BAFTA for Best Production Design, arsenic good arsenic titles specified arsenic Bugonia, The Iron Claw, Speak No Evil, and The Ipcress File.
Elsewhere, seasoned screenwriter and filmmaker Charlie Kaufman will recreation to St Andrews to return portion successful an onstage convention titled Moving Pictures: The Poetry of Cinema and Vice Versa alongside writer Eva H.D. astir nan narration betwixt film, poetry, and nan imaginative unconscious.
Deadline’s Mike Fleming will besides beryllium down pinch AGBO’s Joe Russo and Angela Russo-Otstot for an onstage Q&A. They will beryllium joined by a bid of unnamed typical guests.
The festival’s closing nighttime title is Rohan Kanawade’s Cactus Pears.
