From Almaty
A column of Porches holds up traffic outside our hotel. Down the road, workmen put the finishing touches to the city’s newest Armani store. The bar round the corner serves up sushi and shishas. The streets are clean, green. Not a beggar in sight. This could be anywhere. This beautiful, happening city surrounded by snowcapped...
In Which The Boys Get Invited To Barcelona
The last time we were in Barcelona, we whiled our days away on great tapas, lots of cava and more great tapas. Six days in the city and virtually no sightseeing. Oh, we might have ambled down to the Sagrada Familia, but even that memory is hazy. Yes, our bad. We were pigs. Which is...
No Borat Jokes Allowed
We’re going to Kazakhstan in May! Aki Ra’s Boys is in competition at the Almaty International Film Festival. Random facts: – Kazakhstan is the world’s biggest landlocked country with a total area of 2,717,300 square kilometres. – “Almaty” literally means “Father of Apples”. – The word “bank” is misspelled on some Kazakhstani notes, which are...
Found!
Our search is over. We’ve tracked her down: Ow Wei Yi, the talented young artist behind a very special poster. We love the way she captured Boreak’s wide grin, Vannak’s serious smile. Love the fact that she remembered to put mud on Boreak’s feet. Wei Yi’s poster was part of a publicity campaign for a...
Animals & Awards
Why do film festivals like to name their awards after animals? There’s the Golden Bear at Berlin, Vancouver has Dragons & Tigers, Locarno, the Leopards, Leipzig, the Silver Dove… Animals and awards. The list goes on. Our new favourite is the Golden Panda. We’re not entirely sure who entered us, but Aki Ra’s Boys has...
Poster Surprise
For months, we’ve been saying we should really sit down, get our act together, and come up with some publicity material for Aki Ra’s Boys. For months, we procrastinated. What with that big move to Nepal, the hospital saga, other films to make, festivals to attend… there just wasn’t enough time. Today, we discovered this....
One Helluva Festival
10am on a Monday morning and the queue snakes round the cinema. We blink. Wonder if, maybe the people are waiting to see another film. But nope. Everyone troops into our cinema. They fill up the seats, spill onto the passageway, crouch by the exits and settle down to watch Aki Ra’s Boys.The people of...
So Here’s The Good News
1. The awful pain in the neck is nearly gone now. Down to a teeny lump. The doctor here made suitably sympathetic noises, said the folks in Kathmandu did a great job treating the infection and dispensed yet more pills. 2. NHK is buying Aki Ra’s Boys – one of just three films picked from...
