12th Raindance Film Festival
London, 1-10 October 2004

Raindance just kicked off last Thursday September 30 with the London premiere of Shane Meadows hotly anticipated and highly rated new film Dead Man’s Shoes, this year’s Raindance Film Festival which celebrates independent filmmakers and filmmaking, promises ten days of discovery, debate and surprise with probably the richest slate of films in the Festival’s history.

French shock-filmmaker Catherine Breillat’s Anatomy of Hell, (Friday October 1) which reunites her with male porn star Rocco Siffredi is just one of a number of premieres of films exploring differing attitudes to sex and sexuality; also touching this nerve are Scottish director Eleanor Yule’s Blinded (Saturday October 2) which features stunning performances by Peter Mullan and Jodhi May.

Hardcore of a different kind is served up in happy hour measures in Korean director Park Chan-wook’s extraordinary Old Boy. One of Quentin Tarantino’s favourite directors delivers a tour de force of unabashed originality with a film that is ulta-stylish and full of extremes of violence, sensuality and action. The film won Chan-wook the prestigious Jury prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film closes Raindance on October 10.

A strong constitution will also be order of the day for those intent on seeing US director Steve Balderson’s Firecracker, (Sunday October 3) a bold and shocking tale of torture and murder lingering just below the surface in small town Kansas. Lighter relief, but just as mad is Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Marebito (Wednesday October 6), in which Japan’s king of the macabre injects a does of humour into a twisted tale of a mad scientist.

Rock’s recently lost and lamented Johnny Ramone is fondly remembered during Raindance with no less than two films celebrating the influence of the Ramones on modern times with Jim Field’s End of the Century – described as the best rock ‘n’ roll film ever, screening Friday October 1, followed the next day by John Cafiero’s
Ramone’s Raw; a great way to remember just how good the band were, and as funny as hell too.

Funny too, is likely to be former Monty Python man Terry Jones in a special event Saturday October 9). Jones will screen a surprise film of his own choosing and be on hand post-screening to explain what is promised to be a rather unexpected choice from this master of comedy.

A more serious masterclass comes in the form of 2-hour session with Shane Meadows on Saturday October 2. Meadow’s whose Dead Man’s Shoes is the festival opener will present a selection of his short films and discuss his work with Time Out film editor, Dave Calhoun.


The programme for this year’s Raindance Film Festival, the UK’s largest independent film festival now in its 12th year, will feature over 110 films and shorts screening over 10 days at London’s UGC Shaftesbury Avenue EXCEPT opening night and closing night films which screen at UGC Haymarket). Ticket prices £8.50 / £5.50 concessions.