7 Apr 2010 | Events, Uncategorized
April 10th 2010 11am – 6pm
A day of discussion to accompany the premiere run of Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s new play Behud at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
‘Behzti Five Years on’ – panel discussion
Chaired by Kenan Malik (writer, broadcaster), author of From Fatwa to Jihad.
Panellists: Giles Croft (Nottingham Playhouse); Hamish Glen (Belgrade Theatre), Sunny Hundal (Asians in the Media, liberalconspiracy.org), Trina Jones (Birmingham Rep), Hardish Virk (Multi Nation Arts).
In 2004 there were concerns that the fallout from the ‘Behzti’ affair would have a chilling effect on British theatre and that it would become increasingly difficult to stage controversial work. ‘Behzti Five Years On’ focuses on theatre in the Midlands, asking to what extent this has come true. Theatre has a distinct role in reflecting contemporary society, and in influencing, shaping, and interrogating our shared culture. Are we witnessing a trend towards subtle forms of censorship, underpinned by the government’s national security agenda? Is support for freedom of expression on the decline?
The panel discussion will be followed by lunch and the matinée performance of Behud by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti. We will then have an after-show discussion with Lisa Goldman, Hamish Glen and members of the cast, chaired by Jo Glanville (editor of Index on Censorship).
The discussion events are free and the matinee performance is priced as on theatre website . For those who wish to attend the whole day we are offering a ticket priced £20, £10 concession to cover a light lunch, refreshments and the matinee performance. Call 024 7655 3055 to book tickets.
Behud (Beyond Belief) is also running in London’s Soho Theatre, from 13 April to 8 May, 2010. Book online here.
For more information please visit http://art.indexoncensorship.org
7 Apr 2010 | Events
APRIL 29 2010 – 2PM
MAKING POLITICAL FILMS ABOUT THE NORTH: THEN AND NOW
The troubles in the North of Ireland have long been the subject of film-makers. The film-making landscape has changed over the years, as has the political landscape. Both self censorship and political censorship have been key factors in defining which films get made and which don’t. The panel will discuss selected issues relating to censorship — what forms of censorship influence the work being made? is there any difference to the types of films being made 30 years ago and now?
The panel will include:
Mark Cousins director of The First Movie, screening at the Belfast Film Festival, has a first class degree in Film and Media Studies and Fine Art from the University of Stirling. He has since lectured on film history, been published internationally and made documentary films on arts and political themes. A former Director of the Edinburgh Film Festival, he now presents Scene-by-Scene on BBC television, conducting career interviews with actors and directors including Martin Scorcese, Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Shohei Imamura, Jack Lemmon, Sean Connery, Tom Hanks, Dennis Hopper, Kirk Douglas, Rod Steiger, Jeanne Moreau, Lauren Bacall, the Coen Brothers, Bernardo Bertolucci, David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Donald Sutherland, Ewan McGregor and Jayne Russell. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.
James Flynn commenced his career in the Irish film industry with John Boorman’s Merlin Films International as Head of Development having previously worked for the Investment Bank of Ireland. After working as Business Manager of the fledgling Irish Film Board, he, along with Juanita Wilson, established Metropolitan Film Productions Limited with the intention of making strong, independent and resonant films for the international market. In-house projects developed and produced by Metropolitan Films include H3 and Nora.
He established Octagon Films in 2002. Octagon developed and produced Inside I’m Dancing, written by Jeffrey Caine (Goldeneye, The Constant Gardener) and directed by Damien O’Donnell (East Is East, Heartlands). Produced in conjunction with Working Title/Universal, it won the Audience Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and was released in the UK and Ireland by Momentum Pictures in autumn ‘04. It was screened as Rory O’Shea Was Here at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and subsequently released in the U.S. by Focus. He is currently jointly producing Neil Jordan’s Ondine, starring Colin Farrell, in West Cork this summer and this will be released internationally during the Summer and/or Autumn of 2009.
For more information please visit their website http://www.belfastfilmfestival.org
7 Apr 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
The EU Special Representative in the region has condemned “increasing pressures” on media freedom in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Valentin Inzko said in a statement that he was worried by attempts to “curtail the ability of media to report freely, accurately, and fairly from all parts of the country.” Of particular concern are the “efforts led by elected officials to deny certain media access to information or to influence their editorial policies “prior to the country’s parliamentary elections scheduled for October. According to Borka Rudic, the head of a Bosnian journalist association, there have been 18 attacks on journalists in the last three months.
7 Apr 2010 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, Uncategorized
Kuwaiti journalist Mohammed Abdel Qader Al-Jassem was convicted of slander and sentenced to six months in prison on April 1 for publicly declaring that Prime Minister Skeikh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah was unsuitable to run Kuwait and calling for his resignation. Al-Jassem is currently out on bail awaiting the outcome of his appeal against the conviction, he has at least five other government lawsuits outstanding and was fined 7,000 euros in March for an earlier article that criticised the Prime Minister.
