Transforming and Secret Cities

Photograpgh: Marco Longari/Getty Images-taken from the Guardian World Blog

More Metropolitan Journeys and other things:

This year discussions plans screenings in July, September and Midwinter.

We will bring you More Metropolitan Journeys followed by the Transforming and Secret Cities. And so once again we are seeking submissions. In summer we’d like to continue and expand the Metropolitan Journeys theme merging in into the Transforming City in autumn; inspired this time by a prospective journey to Cuba, the events in the Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, I would like to explore about the effects of politics and conflict on the texture of cities. This week it was stated that the Middle Eastern may just have had a 'Berlin Wall Moment'. Films such as goodbye Lenin have described the effects of the end of Communism on the city. In 1956 Fidel Castro embarked on a revolution in Cuba which has coloured the life of the country's cities ever since... How will the cities such as Cairo, Tripoli, and Tunis be affected by what is happening now?

And what effect will the inevitable Diaspora from these cities have on the places they move to? I think now of my home city London and how places such as Dalston, which have been affected by influxes of migrants over the years, often those fleeing conflict. When they arrive it is with stories of places left behind, What are these stories? They add to the local texture, setting up outlets for produce from home, new eating establishments, arts' venues and so on - importing new tastes and ideas.

So cities are transformed...

The Secret City, will seek to draw on dystopian settings inspired by the literature JG Ballard and Ian McEwen in The Cement Garden and the like we will be looking for films that explore the narratives of often desolate in between spaces of decay...more on this to come.

Spread the word, send us your films and watch this space for details of dates and venues.

Looking forward to seeing you.

Ps: I will be undertaking little explorations in desktop filmmaking based around these topics, exploring web based sources and posting the results on Vimeo so watch that space too...