 The Same Difference Film Festival
Below are details of The Same Difference Film Festival which took place in March/April 2007. The film Paradise Now was shown at St. Mary's on the 30th March.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
 The Same Difference Film Festival is a week long festival showcasing films based on the themes of conflict, conflict resolution and community. The festival includes local and international films that reflect the rich and diverse community that makes up Slough. We hope this will help to bring us together, create a greater awareness of each other and dispel myths and prejudices. This year the festival features films from five different continents, in addition to some of Britain’s brightest filmmaking talent. Our international short film competition returns, alongside screenings in some of Slough’s most visually stunning buildings. In keeping with previous years, conflicts of the past and present feature heavily in our programme. However, this year the potential within all of us to change the lives of others, shines through in every film. We hope this is our most inspiring collection of films yet.
We Hope You Join Us To Experience The Same Difference…
Organisers: Aik Saath, Slough Co-operative Film Society, Resource Productions, Instinct Media [1616 and Beyond is a Fusion Dance Company production]
Supported by:
Creative Academy, Slough Borough Council, European Social Fund, Equal, Together, Government Office of the South East, Arts Council, The Co-operative Group, Screen South, Thames Valley University, West Focus, Media Works, Queensmere Observatory Shopping Centre
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PARADISE NOW (15)
FRI 30 MARCH 8.30PM
ST MARY ’S CHURCH
  Paradise Now is the story of two young Palestinian men as they embark upon the last 48 hours of their lives. On a typical day in the West Bank city of Nablus, we meet two childhood best friends, Saïd and Khaled. An unnamed Palestinian organisation, informs them that they have been chosen to carry out an attack in Tel Aviv. Saïd and Khaled have been preparing for this moment for most of their lives. They are taken to a hole in the fence that surrounds Nablus, where they are to meet a driver who will take them to Tel Aviv. But here the plan goes wrong, and Saïd and Khaled are separated.
  DIRECTOR: HANY ABU-ASSAD
STARRING: KAIS NASHEF, ALI SULIMAN
2005 90 MINS
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The Same Difference Film Festival 27 MARCH – 3 APRIL 2007 – SLOUGH
FEATURES
THIS IS ENGLAND (15)
TUE 27 MARCH 7.30/8.30 PM LAUNCH/FILM
SLOUGH EMPIRE
This Is England tells the story of Shaun, a 12-year-old growing up in the North of England. A group of skinheads befriend him and take him under their wing. Soon Shaun discovers parties, girls and snappy dressing, and finds role models in the gang. But when an older, overtly racist skinhead returns home from prison, the easy camaraderie of the group is broken, and Shaun is drawn into uncomfortable territory. Handling the complexities of masculinity, violence and race with sensitivity and a lightness of touch, it’s hard to imagine a film that could have any greater an understanding of the allure of being part of a gang.
FAVELA RISING (12A)
WED 28 MARCH 8PM
THAMES VALLEY COMMUNITY CENTRE
Favela Rising documents a man and a movement, a city divided and a favela (Brazilian squatter settlement) united. Haunted by the murders of his family and many of his friends, Anderson Sá is a former drug-trafficker who turns social revolutionary in Rio de Janeiro’s most feared slum. Through hip-hop music, the rhythms of the street, and Afro-Brazilian dance he rallies his community to counteract the violent oppression enforced by teenage drug armies and sustained by corrupt police.
IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS (NR)
THU 29 MARCH 8.15PM
SLOUGH EMPIRE
Iraq in Fragments illuminates post war Iraq in three acts, building a vivid picture of a country pulled in different directions by religion and ethnicity. The three chapters take us through Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish territory, with the personal stories captured during two years of shooting taking on a poetic life of their own. Filmed in verité style, with no scripted narration, the film powerfully explores the lives of ordinary Iraqis: people whose thoughts, beliefs, aspirations, and concerns are at once personal and illustrative of larger issues in Iraq today.
PARADISE NOW (15)
FRI 30 MARCH 8.30PM
ST MARY ’S CHURCH
Paradise Now is the story of two young Palestinian men as they embark upon the last 48 hours of their lives. On a typical day in the West Bank city of Nablus, we meet two childhood best friends, Saïd and Khaled. An unnamed Palestinian organisation, informs them that they have been chosen to carry out an attack in Tel Aviv. Saïd and Khaled have been preparing for this moment for most of their lives. They are taken to a hole in the fence that surrounds Nablus, where they are to meet a driver who will take them to Tel Aviv. But here the plan goes wrong, and Saïd and Khaled are separated.
1616 AND BEYOND
SAT 31 MARCH 6.00-8.30PM
Fusion Dance Company will provide a tour-deforce of interwoven dance, film and music that promises to make for an astounding evening. Their multimedia composition will be performed on one of Slough’s most iconic buildings- the Brunel Bus Station. The evening will consist of fused traditional and modern cultural dance, live music, animation and guest singers brought together by Dub Poetry representing the people and landscape of Slough from 1916 to the present and beyond...
MAD HOT BALLROOM (U)
MON 2 APRIL 6PM
WEST WING
Mad Hot Ballroom is an inspiring look inside the lives of New York City school kids on a journey into the world of ballroom dancing, an unexpected arena where they discover new frontiers about attitude, movement, style and commitment. Told from the candid, sometimes hilarious perspective of the boys and girls themselves, the picture chronicles their transformation from beginner-level to their participation in a final citywide competition. As the teachers gently cajole their students to learn the intricacies of the various disciplines, Agrelo intersperses classroom footage with the students’ musings on life. Mad Hot Ballroom is a joyous, life-affirming experience.
RIZE (PG)
MON 2 APRIL 8PM
WEST WING
In 1992, after long-simmering racial tensions in Los Angeles erupted into riots following the verdicts in the Rodney King trial, a man named Tommy Johnson sought to spread a new message in a new way to the city’s African-Americans.
Creating Tommy the Clown, Johnson developed an act that combined comedy and dancing with an anti-gang and anti-violence message. Johnson’s wildly popular performances inspired a new wave of street dancing called ‘krumping’. Rize follows the birth of krumping, documenting how many young people have adopted the dance as a style of competition, offering a safer and healthier alternative to the gang culture that has long dominated Los Angeles.
WE SHALL OVERCOME (12A)
TUE 3 APRIL 8.15PM
EMPIRE SLOUGH
It’s 1969 in provincial Denmark and 13 year old Frits is being bullied by his headmaster, trying to cope with his father’s breakdown and somehow keep his family together as well. Listening to records of Martin Luther King’s speeches gives Frits the inspiration to fight back at the old world repressive regimes at work in his community and spread the winds of change. Does Frits have what it takes?
MOVING IMAGE MELA
SUN 1 APRIL 2-9PM
WEST WING
Building on the success of last year’s Short Film Feast, the Moving Image Mela will treat you to a medley of short films, discussions, workshops and food, as well as the short film competition for the best short film exploring the festival theme.
This year throughout the week leading up to the Moving Image Mela, we will be running workshops in our Festival Shop in Slough town centre. We will be challenging you to create a sequence of images using either video, photographs, paintings, drawings or mini-sculptures. These will be pulled together to create a film and shown at the short film competition awards on Sunday night.
The Short Film Competition will pull together the best short films from around the world exploring the themes of conflict resolution and harmonious communities. A jury of film industry professionals will award a cash prize to the short film that best explores these themes. They will also give an insight into how to go about making your own short films.
Youtube has opened up a world of opportunity and now you can get your own voice heard across the globe. Our event is an opportunity to network with other film makers and learn more about the form. Workshops will be run to introduce you to the art of film making and animation. The work produced in these workshops will be screened at the end of the night.
Of course no event like this would be the same without the good hot dinner at the end of it! You will go home fed, entertained, enthused, and more knowledgeable. We look forward to welcoming you!
An entry from last year to wet your appetite!:
http://www.pawky.com/popup_player.html?movie_id=187&catalog_front_id=402&favorite=0
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WORKSHOPS
Animation
Sat 24 March - Mon 26 March
Instinct Films have been creating award-winning animated films for over ten years. Lucy Lee,
Director of Instinct Films, will be providing an introduction into animation. Whether you are into Bambi or Manga, learn basic techniques with industry professionals. Bring your ideas and have a go! No previous experience required and all ages welcome.
Filmaking
Tue 27 - Wed 28 March
Have you ever wondered how to make a film? Resource Productions are the only video production company working across the South East that specialise in providing video production workshops with Young People and Community Groups. They will give a hands on introduction into filmmaking and the technical skills required to produce a video. No previous experience required and all ages welcome.
Peace Art
Thu 29 - Sat 31 March
During the festival take the opportunity to look at peace creatively. It’s your chance to express what peace means to you. You can draw, sculpt or model! Also get the chance to decorate your own peace tree! Come in and decorate your tree with all the things that are important to you. Pictures will be collected of you and your art/tree to form a mural of what peace means to the people of Slough. All you need to do is come along to the Queensmere Observatory Shopping Centre and create! All ages welcome.
All workshops are free and run from 2.00-4.00pm in the Same Difference Shop at the Queensmere Observatory Shopping Centre
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THEMED DAYS
Partition Day
Thu 29 March
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the partition of India into India and Pakistan. Other countries have faced a similar process of fragmentation and Iraq appears to be the latest country heading towards division. Visit us in the Queensmere Observatory Shopping Centre between 10am and 4pm to see short films from divided countries. Also, catch up on the progress of Aik Saath’s oral history project involving Slough residents’ memories of the partition of India. In the evening Iraq in Fragments (see page 4) will be screened. James Langley’s documentary of Iraq presents three different perspectives from a country on the edge.
Human Rights Day
Fri 30 March
Human rights violations in another country, on the other side of the world, have an impact on our country, our cities, our towns, Slough. Visit us in the Queensmere Observatory Shopping Centre between 10am and 4pm to see short films that deal with human rights and human wrongs. In the evening Paradise Now will be screened (see page 5). Paradise Now breaks new filmmaking ground as it examines the world of the extremist. Though it focuses on individuals, the film raises broader questions about human rights and how their contravention can sow the seeds for even greater humanitarian disaster.
Film and Dance
Sat 31 March & Mon 2 April
Film and Dance provides the opportunity to explore dancing opportunities in Slough and see on the big screen how dance can be a force for positive change. Fusion Dance Company give an insight into how dance, film and music can be interwoven into an artistic tour-de-force in 1616 and Beyond (see page 5). Their multimedia composition will be performed on one of Slough’s most iconic buildings- the Brunel Bus Station. Rize and Mad Hot Ballroom (see page 7) show dance can resolve conflicts and provide positive alternatives to gang conflict, while being hugely entertaining cinematic experiences.
PLUS: Private showings for Age Concern, Arobour Vale School and Lea Junior School
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VENUES
Empire Slough, 45 Queensmere Centre, Slough, SL1 1DD
Thames Valley Community Centre, The Green, Chalvey, Slough, SL1 2SP
St. Mary’s Church, Church Street, Slough, SL1 1PJ
West Wing, Stoke Road, Slough, SL2 5AY
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