New Cinematic Experiences: Screen Arts Festival: Picturehouse Cinemas, Nationwide.

The Screen Arts Festival, a brand new cross arts initiative organised by Picturehouse Cinemas, opens this summer. Showcasing a wide range of arts content – ballet, opera, theatre, and concerts, both pre-recorded and live – the festival will also include a number of related films, documentaries and special events, including a satellite Q&A with Sir David Attenborough to accompany the first wide cinema screening of BAFTA winning documentary Flying Monsters – all programmed into a variety of themed strands.

It's a packed programme so we've hand-picked some of our favourite events below:

DANCING ACROSS BORDERS
Anne Bass

The UK premiere of Anne Bass’ wonderful documentary, chronicling the meteoric rise to stardom of teenage dance prodigy Sokvannara Sar. Whilst holidaying in Cambodia, filmmaker Anne Bass saw Sar dance and, spotting a true un-tapped talent, invited him to the US to train with dance legend Olga Kostritzky. The film is a feast for the eyes and testament to a truly inspiring success story.

DON GIOVANNI
Jonathan Kent

Just one of a host of hit productions from Picturehouse Cinemas’ successful run of opera broadcasts, Jonathan Kent’s hugely popular production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni from Glyndebourne’s 2010 season returns for a one-off show. Reset against a slick corporate European backdrop in the late 1970s, Gerald Finley’s Don is now a pin-stripe suited sleazeball, master seducer of women, and doomed to a grisly comeuppance in the opera’s stonking final act showdown.

NUREYEV AND FONTEYN: SWAN LAKE
Truck Branss

A never-before-seen restoration of the historic Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s exquisite ballet, performed at the Vienna State Opera House in 1966. The performance was choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev and conducted by John Lanchbery, with the Wiener Symphoniker orchestra.

MRS CAREY’S CONCERT
Bob Connolly & Sophie Raymond

Fresh from its UK premiere at Sheffield Doc Fest, we are proud to include Mrs Carey's Concert in this diverse programme. A powerfully moving portrait of passionate High School Music Director Karen Carey, and her preparations for a school concert at the Sydney opera house, the film provides a rare and intimate insight into the world of child music prodigies as they prepare for the gig of their young careers.

DANCING DREAMS
Rainer Hoffman

After Wim Wenders’ striking 3D experimental tribute to legendary dance choreographer Pina Bausch earlier this year, Hoffman’s more traditional documentary focuses on the creation of one of the most striking pieces featured in that film, the surreal dance hall drama Kontakthof. An account of the ten months of gruelling rehearsal leading to its first performance at her Tanztheater Wuppertal, Hoffman’s film provides a revealing look at Bausch’s methods and an insight into troupe of dedicated and skilled young dancers.

The Screen Arts Festival takes place across Pictureshouse Cinemas until August 11. For full details visit www.picturehouses.co.uk

Aesthetica Magazine
We hope you enjoy reading the Aesthetica Blog, if you want to explore more of the best in contemporary arts and culture you should read us in print too. You can buy it today by calling +44(0)1904 479 168. Even better, subscribe to Aesthetica and save 20%. Go on, enjoy!

Image:
Still from Dancing Dreams

A World-Class City of Bad Taste: Patrick Dalton Explores London's Darker Side

Understanding and exploring the role of street photography as an agent for social reflection and expression is now more important than ever. However, the dissemination of street photography, facilitated by the web, has meant definitions are difficult to pin down. This certainly isn’t a bad thing, and allows photographers such as Patrick Dalton, the man behind Shit London, an arena for expression.

Ahead of the London love-in brought on by the 2012 Olympics, Shit London captures the eccentricities of the capital city. For Dalton, London isn’t about Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St Paul’s of The Ivy, he prefers to focus his lens on the area’s of the city that remain hidden and undiscovered.

It’s a humorous book, in which David Cameron’s campaign posters and comical typos play the lead role. There are some real gems, ‘Sellfridges’ in Stoke Newington, and the destitute sofa branded ‘Louis Futon’. However, it’s best read in stages. There are only so many bad-puns and grammatical errors one can take.

Shit London is published by Portico, and is on sale now.

anovabooks.com

Aesthetica Magazine
We hope you enjoy reading the Aesthetica Blog, if you want to explore more of the best in contemporary arts and culture you should read us in print too. You can buy it today by calling +44(0)1904 479 168. Even better, subscribe to Aesthetica and save 20%. Go on, enjoy!

Images:
Courtesy the artist

Aesthetica August/September Issue - Without Limits

Text by Cherie Federico

The line between production and consumption is blurred. As a society we yearn for more; of what, we’re not sure, but it could be anything. As a result, we create more and more. It’s a complex dynamic, one which needs to be considered. On a recent visit to Amsterdam, I saw Willem Popelier’s Showroom Girls; it was a fascinating exhibition, which made me think about the past and the future, but more importantly the now and how all this production and consumption is forging a new identity.

Many of the features in this issue are about time and awareness. In art, the V&A’s latest blockbuster show, Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970 - 1990 explores architecture, design, popular culture, film and fashion and the manner in which they challenged modernism. Phenomenal: California Light, Space, Surface opens in San Diego and investigates how artists like Robert Irwin and James Turrell appropriated and utilised light as a medium. The first major UK retrospective of French artist, Charles Matton, opens at AVA, London and presents his miniature boites. Investigations of a Dog from the FACE collection emphasizes today’s social reality, and we also give you a snapshot of this year’s Arles Photography Festival and introduce the work of Lara Jade, one of fashion photography’s rising stars.

In film, it gets gritty with Break My Fall. We also chat with Xanthe Hamilton, the Director of Branchage Film Festival in Jersey, about the rise of the boutique festival experience. In music, Scottish band FOUND discuss art, winning a BAFTA and their new album. We also consider the rise of app music and how this is changing the way music is produced. In performance, we preview Re-Triptych from New York-based Chinese choreographer Shen Wei; complete with stunning visuals and inspiring movement.

Finally, we chat with artist Mariah Robertson about her show on now at Baltic, which investigates analogue techniques with work sprawling across the gallery.

Pick up a copy from our stockists or visit our online shop.