April 21: Film Screening:"Carry on Ken" and "Rebel County"

Saturday, April 21 at 6:00 PM
Film Screening: "Carry on Ken" and "Rebel County"
New College Theater, 777 Valencia Street, SF

LaborFest will be having a benefit screening of two new films on the life of working class film director Ken Loach and a film about the background to his latest film The Wind That Shakes The Barley.

CARRY ON KEN -- is a documentary tribute to the life and work of acclaimed British film director Ken Loach. The film is part of Ken Loach's 70th birthday celebrations and coincides with the release of his latest Palme D'Or winning film, The Wind That Shakes the Barley. This documentary charts his career and his working methods through film clips and interviews with many of his collaborators including Robert Carlyle, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox, Ricky Tomlinson and Peter Mullan. It premiered on Sat 17th June 2006 and is currently being broadcast in a number of European countries.

REBEL COUNTY -- uses the shooting of the Ken Loach film The Wind that Shakes the Barley as a springboard from which to explore the real life events of The War of Independence in the South West of the country. Rebel County features observational behind-the-scenes material of Ken Loach interacting with cast and crew, key ambush scenes, Black & Tan raids, behind the scenes historical discussions between Loach and cast members and includes clips of the completed film. The documentary strikes a creative and natural balance between the exploration of the film-making process and the real stories from that period. It uses some of the film's key locations (Bandon, Buttevant and Clonakilty in West Cork) as a way of exploring what it was like for the ordinary inhabitants of Cork living through the traumatic events of the time. It explores the origins of the War of Independence, tracing the influence of 1798 and family and parish connections on the revolutionary period. It also explores the nature of society before Independence and the influence of garrison towns, the impact of World War I, and the competing allegiances in towns and villages like Bandon and Buttevant. Harvest Films, 2006, 52 mins.

Donation $8.00 Sponsored by LaborFest, co-sponsored by New College Irish Studies Program and New College Media Studies Programs. For more information go to LaborFest, (415)642-8066, or laborfest [at] laborfest.net