There’s a lot of hype around at the moment surrounding new Hollywood blockbuster The Social Network and whilst it may be popular, the real Facebook film you should be looking out for is Catfish.
The film which has caused a stir at America’s Sundance Film Festival and The BFI London Film Festival this year was created by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost in 2007, when they decided to document Nev Schulman’s online experience as he gradually became friends with a family in Michigan via Facebook. Throughout the documentary it is revealed that Nev is starting to have reciprocated feelings for a member of the family, Megan; they talk on the phone, online and send each other texts, but it’s not long until strange discoveries about the family arise. What follows is a series of strange events as Nev eventually meets the family and the saying “people aren’t what they seem” springs to mind.
The three central protagonists Ariel, Henry and Nev are all very likeable, funny and soon into the film the audience begin to sympathise towards Nev and his quest for the truth. The film is enjoyable, and does well in creating suspense throughout as the viewer and filmmakers start to learn more about “the facebook family”, although the twist revelation near to the end of the film isn’t quite as shocking as the trailer makes out, but it is still is an interesting one.
Catfish is shot using a camcorder to begin with, which can be quite disorientating and distracting but towards the end of the film the quality improves. There has been much deliberation as to whether this is really a documentary as has been claimed. It could be argued it is fictional because the content could appear to be unbelievable, and also because there seems to be a large amount of brand names used in the film such as iphone, Blackberry, Google Maps, Apple Mac and Supermarche – which might suggest these companies helped fund the film.
Whether or not it really is a documentary Catfish is still highly entertaining, and teaches a good lesson to be more internet aware, and to not take people at face value.
Catfish - A movie about what happened in the USA in 2007 when Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost began to film Ariel's brother Nev's life. Nev had made friends on Facebook with a girl named Megan Faccio and after much time they become very close and Nev and the two others decided to travel to Megan's home to meet her. From watching the trailer, after the 3 people arrive at Megans house nothing more is told of the story, just quotes saying that the film will shake you for days, that it's unpredictable and that it's the best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never directed.
After causing a stir at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year there has been much debate online as to whether the film is a real documentary or not. Some claim it is and some claim it isn't but its obvious from the Official Website - Enter Nev's World, that there is a clever online marketing campaign in action. When the Enter Nev's World link is clicked the screen transforms into that of an Apple Mac computer, it contains all the same icons, there's links to trailers and information about the film, emails from Megan can be read and there's a chat screen where you can witness what appears to be Megan and Nev typing online to each other. This reminds me of the internet campaign that was in place before the release of The Blair Witch Project. On April Fools Day 1999 Artisan entertainment relaunched The Blair With Project website with extra material including footage disguised as discovered film footage, police reports, information on the missing film students and a history or mythology of the Blair Witch legend. The next day Artisan sent 2,000 Blair Witch screensavers to journalists and premiered its trailers online instead of on tv or in cinemas. Overall Artisan spent $1.5million of their $20million budget on their internet campaign and debates as to whether the footage and evidence were real filled web message boards and online chatrooms. From creating mass hype the film managed to take around $248million worldwide at the box office. Many other films have used the internet as a big outlet for marketing their films such as Artificial Intelligence: A.I., Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings and Matrix Revolutions. The fact that the The Blair Witch Project turned out to be a fake documentary despite all the "real evidence" on it's website makes me question as to whether all the "evidence" on the Catfish website leads to the fact that the film is also a fake documentary. Whether it is or not, with the hype it's creating already and the relevance of the storyline to todays youth, I'm sure the film will be a big success.
Catfish is showing twice at the BFI London Film Festival Sat 23-21.15-Vue Screen 3 Mon 25-15.30-Vue Screen 3
Below are listed the films I would recommend checking out at this years BFI London Film Festival; which category they are in, a short description, a trailer and when and where they can be seen.
It's looking like the best festival yet!
All info is taken from the BFI Website.
Galas & Special Screenings
127 Hours - British - Danny Boyle Gripping, adventurous film-making and headline grabbing drama from Oscar-winning Danny Boyle.
Trailer
A powerful contemporary drama set in Barcelona's underworld, with an award-winning performance from Javier Bardem.
Trailer
Tue 26 Oct. 20:45. Vue Screen 7
Tue 26 Oct. 21:00. Vue Screen 5
Wed 27 Oct. 15:00. Vue Screen 7
Black Swan - USA - Darren Aronofsky A sophisticated psychological thriller set in the milieu of the New York Ballet.
Trailer
Fri 22 Oct. 20:30. Vue Screen 5
Fri 22 Oct. 20:45. Vue Screen 7
Sun 24 Oct. 14:45. Vue Screen 5
Mon 25 Oct. 12:30. Vue Screen 7
Conviction - USA - Tony Goldwyn Based on real events, Hilary Swank stars in this uplifting story of one woman's persistence to overturn a miscarriage of justice.
Trailer
Fri 15 Oct. 20:30. Vue Screen 5
Fri 15 Oct. 20:45. Vue Screen 7
Sat 16 Oct. 12:30. Vue Screen 7
Mon 18 Oct. 14:45. Vue Screen 5
The Kids are Alright - USA - Lisa Cholodenko Julianne Moore and Annette Benning star in a smart and funny story of modern family life.
Trailer
Mon 25 Oct. 20:15. Vue Screen 5
Mon 25 Oct. 20:30. Vue Screen 7
Tue 26 Oct. 12:30. Vue Screen 7
Wed 27 Oct. 15:15. Vue Screen 6
Miral - French/Italian/Israeli/Indian - Julien Schnabel A richly textured look at one woman's experience of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Trailer
Mon 18 Oct. 20:15. Vue Screen 5
Mon 18 Oct. 20:30. Vue Screen 7
Tue 19 Oct. 12:30. Vue Screen 7
Wed 20 Oct. 12:15. Vue Screen 5
Never Let Me Go - British - Mark Romanek A haunting story of love and loss based on Kazuo Ishiguro's best-selling novel.
Trailer
Wed 13 Oct. 19:00. Odeon Leicester Square
Fri 15 Oct. 12:45. Vue Screen 6
Sun 17 Oct. 12:30. Vue Screen 7
Uncle boonmee who can recall his past live - Thai/British/French/German/Spanish - Apichatpong Weerasethakul Apichatpong's fabulous Palme d'Or winner uses a gathering of humans and ghosts around a dying man as the springboard for amazing memories and fantasies.
Trailer
A small boy reacts badly to his father's departure from the family home in Diego Luna's engaging feature debut.
Trailer
Mon 25 Oct. 17:45. Vue Screen 5
Tue 26 Oct. 15:00 Vue Screen 7
Benda Bilili! - French - Renaud Barret, Florent de la Tullaye
Staff Benda Bilili are a band of homeless, disabled Congolese and street children playing both conventional and improvised instruments, and rise from desperate circumstances to international acclaim.
Trailer
Thu 21 Oct. 18:15. Vue Screen 7
Fri 22 Oct. 12:45. Vue Screen 6
Film Socialisme - Swiss/French - Jean-Luc Godard Enigmatic as ever, but provocative and visually vibrant, Jean-Luc Godard's latest film takes to the Mediterranean, with Patti Smith briefly glimpsed on board.
How I Ended This Summer - Russian - Alexei Popogrebsky A taut psychological drama set against a striking polar landscape.
Trailer
Sat 23 Oct. 17:45. Vue Screen 5
Mon 25 Oct. 15:30. BFI NFT2
Howl - USA - Robert Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman An imaginative interpretation of Allen Ginsberg's poem, and the battle for artistic freedom it provoked.
Trailer Tue 26 Oct. 18:00. Vue Screen 7
Wed 27 Oct. 12:15. Vue Screen 5
It's Kind of a Funny Story - USA - Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck A funny, astute and authentic look at the sometimes difficult process of growing up.
Trailer
Tue 19 Oct. 18:15. Vue Screen 7
Wed 20 Oct. 12:30. Vue Screen 7
Thu 21 Oct. 14:45. Vue Screen 5
Let Me In - USA - Matt Reeves A shy young boy realises his new friend might not be the innocent she first appears in this atmospheric and ultra-modern vampire tale.
Trailer
Thu 14 Oct. 20:15. Vue Screen 5
Thu 14 Oct. 20:30. Vue Screen 7
Fri 15 Oct. 12:30. Vue Screen 7
Sat 16 Oct. 12:45. Vue Screen 6
Poetry - South Korean - Lee Changdong Cannes winner Lee Changdong shows scenes from the life of an ageing woman who joins a poetry class – and then learns that her grandson is implicated in a terrible crime.
Trailer
Thu 21 Oct. 20:15. Vue Screen 5
Fri 22 Oct. 14:45. Vue Screen 5
A Somewhat Gentle Man - Norwegian - Hans Petter Moland Stellan Skarsgård stars in this droll, dark comedy about an ex-convinct's return to his hometown.
Trailer
Wed 27 Oct. 20:45. Vue Screen 7
Thu 28 Oct. 12:30. Vue Screen 7
Submarino - Danish - Thomas Vinterberg A powerful story of two brothers' attempts to escape a childhood of neglect.
Trailer
Sun 24 Oct. 21:00. Vue Screen 6
Tue 26 Oct. 12:15. Vue Screen 5
WasteLand - British/Brazillian - Lucy Walker An uplifting portrait of the garbage pickers in Rio who participated in a project with artist Vik Muniz.
Trailer
Fri 15 Oct. 17:45. Vue Screen 5
Sat 16 Oct. 15:00. Vue Screen 7
French Revolutions
Copacabana - French - Marc Fitoussi Isabelle Huppert plays a free-spirited mother getting to grips with the working life (and the Belgian seaside) in this brisk, intelligent comedy.
Trailer
Sun 24 Oct. 21:00. CINE LUMIERE
Tue 26 Oct. 15:15. Vue Screen 6
Cinema Europa
JOY - Dutch - Mijke de Jong
The story of one girl's search for the mother who abandoned her, impressively filmed throughout Amsterdam's high-rises and shelters.
Trailer
Tue 19 Oct. 18:30. NFT3
Wed 20 Oct. 14:00. NFT
Thu 21 Oct. 16:15. ICA 1
Hunting & Sons - Dutch - Sander Burger The disturbing tale of a young couple whose marriage disintegrates when they become pregnant.
Trailer
Fri 22 Oct. 20:45. NFT3
Mon 25 Oct. 16:15. NFT3
My Joy - Ukranian/Dutch/German - Sergei Loznitsa A chance encounter leads to a nightmare journey into a Russian heart of darkness.
Trailer Sun 24 Oct. 18:15. Vue Screen 6
Mon 25 Oct. 12:45. Vue Screen 6
World Cinema
Catfish - USA - Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman A provocative and unsettling documentary about the impact of social media.
Trailer
Sat 23 Oct. 21:15. Vue Screen 3
Mon 25 Oct. 15:30. Vue Screen 3
Cold Weather - USA - Aaron Katz A crime film that refuses to be recognised as one. Cold Weather rarely takes an expected turn.
Trailer
Sat 16 Oct. 20:45. BFI NFT2
Sun 17 Oct. 13:15. BFI NFT2
Mon 18 Oct. 21:00. ICA 1
Journey's End - Canadian - Jean-Francois Caissy Jean-François Caissy's poignant, allegorical documentary portrait of an old people's home and its residents.
Trailer Sun 17 Oct. 21:00. Vue Screen 3
Mon 18 Oct. 13:00. Vue Screen 3
Lemmy - USA - Greg Olliver, Wes Orshoski An outstanding documentary portrait of the 'Greatest Living Englishman'.
Trailer
Sat 23 Oct. 21:00. BFI NFT1
Mon 25 Oct. 12:15. Vue Screen 5
Wed 27 Oct. 19:00. STUDIO
Life, Above All - South Africa/German - Oliver Schmitz A powerful drama about a courageous young girl fighting prejudice in her African village.
Trailer Tue 26 Oct. 20:15. Vue Screen 6
Wed 27 Oct. 12:45. Vue Screen 6
Sandcastle - Singaporean - Boo Junfen A young man learns truths about his late father which change his view of himself, his mother and the modern history of Singapore in Boo Junfeng's accomplished debut.
Trailer
Fri 15 Oct. 18:45. ICA 1
Sun 17 Oct. 16:15. ICA 1
The Taqwacores - USA - Eyad Zahra The Taqwacores may have a provocative, insurrectionary swagger about it, yet it emerges as a heartfelt, spirited and positive blast of indie cinema.
Trailer Fri 22 Oct. 21:00. BFI NFT1
Sun 24 Oct. 15:30. Vue Screen 3
Wed 27 Oct. 20:45. RICH MIX Screen 1
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within - USA - Lony Yeyser Yony Leyser's riveting and perceptive documentary attempts to get to the heart of Burroughs using the themes that drove him as a starting point: drugs, sexuality and weapons.
Trailer
Sun 17 Oct. 20:30. BFI NFT2
Mon 18 Oct. 13:45. BFI NFT2
Tue 19 Oct. 18:45. ICA 1
American Express Screen Talks Darren Aronofsky - Sat 23 Oct. 16:00. BFI NFT1 One of the most exciting directors of his generation joins us to talk about his brilliant work
Mark Romanek - Thu 14 Oct. 21:00. BFI NFT1 The director of our Opening Night Film joins us to discuss his stunning music video work and his thought provoking feature films.
Masterclasses Peter Mullan - Thu 21 Oct. 18:30. BFI NFT1 The highly driven actor, director, writer and producer, offers an insight into his fascinating career.
