East End Film Festival 2010

The tenth annual East End Film Festival kicks off on Thursday with a mammoth nine-day programme of over 200 films, documentaries, shorts, workshops, discussions and live music and arts events shown at over thirty East End venues.

Opening with the cult Mod classic ‘Bronco Bullfrog’, a series of heritage films will showcase the East End of yesterday and today.

St Anne’s Church in Limehouse provides a dynamic venue for the world premiere of ‘The Rime of the Modern Mariner’, a documentary exploring the extraordinary culture, community and folklore of the London Docks accompanied by a live score.

The festival will also be host to a wide range of international films from Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Far East Asia, documenting topics ranging from drug addiction during the Russian civil war (‘Morphia’) to the Islamic punk rock scene (‘Taqwacore: The Birth Of Punk Islam’).

As the general election rapidly approaches, a raft of political pieces are on show beginning with ‘SUS’, a new drama set on the eve of the 1979 general election.

Penned by the writer of The Long Good Friday, it examines police tactics and institutionalised racism on the eve of the 1979 general election and is followed by a panel discussion with guests including Shami Chakrabarti.

Throughout the festival, The Filmmakers’ Centre is offering daily talks, workshops and networking events. For budding auteurs, this will be a great opportunity to hobnob with an array of industry professionals among whom Nitin Sawney and Barry Adamson are confirmed guests.

There are many free events throughout the festival but the more thirsty enthusiasts can drink in some local history with the Heritage Pub Trail.

The Trail starts Monday 26th at the Water Poet with a special screening of a film capturing the last thirty years of the East End’s vibrant characters and establishments. The film makers will then lead a tour of ten of the best local drinking dens, staggering in the footsteps of some of the area’s more notorious clientele.

With many more outdoor screenings, punk poetry, live concerts, hog roasts, installations, pop-up hair salons, discussions and masterclasses, the East End Film Festival has become one of the city’s most appealing events to celebrate its most colourful neighbourhoods.