Reel to Real returns for the New Year with a screening of Matt Hulse’s Sound For the Future, part essay film, part exploration of post-punk British music and DIY culture. A family history seen through the fractured lens of art, self-exploration, music, politics and attitude, Sound For The Future is a passionate, hilarious and brazenly honest delve into the creative process.
About the Film
On the surface, acclaimed artist-filmmaker Matt Hulse’s affectionate recreation of the time he and his siblings formed Britain’s youngest post-punk band THE HIPPIES in 1979 can be viewed as a wistful and energetic memoir. But dig beneath and you’ll find a powerful, battered and bruised ode to childhood and the experiences which make us us.
We join Matt as he reimagines The Hippies in the modern day, recruiting a group of teenage Scottish actors to play the parts of himself, his sister Polly and brother Toby in a series of workshops and experiments to revive that momentous moment.
Part essay film, part exploration of post-punk British music and DIY culture, the creation of The Hippies was fuelled by Matt hearing Gang Of Four’s debut EP, kickstarting a lifelong creative and personal odyssey. Sound For The Future features music from XTC, Gang Of Four, Sleaford Mods, The Stranglers and The Hippies and the film also features one of the final appearances of Gang Of Four’s Andy Gill before his untimely death in 2020.
Watch the Film Trailer here:
About Reel to Real
Reel to Real Cinema is a monthly film space in the Stove Cafe, featuring an eclectic mixture of conversational films – from artist made shorts to feature length documentaries, locally made to international cinema. A space for discussion and thought-provoking films, you are welcome to join us after the film for a short discussion about the themes from this month’s selection. The Stove cafe will be open from 5.30pm – 7pm with a special pre-film dinner option alongside hot drinks and cakes.
Access Information: Level Access in rear of building through adjacent close to left-hand side of the Cafe (facing the front of the building). To ensure your experience with us is as best as it can be, please do let us know if you have any specific access requirements and we’d be happy to help. Please email Kevin or Sal on: [email protected] or phone 01387 252435 and speak with one of our team. We are able to provide walk-throughs of the building before attending our events as well as assign seating before your arrival.
This month for our last Reel to Real of the year, we are joined by director and filmmaker Patrick Rooney with a screening of his documentary, In The Red. Marking 5 years of filmmaking this year, during the Q&A we’ll be discussing his experiences and getting started in a competitive industry.
About the Film In the red (Director’s cut):
‘In The Red’ is an award-winning feature-length documentary film about Speedway motorcycle racing in the UK, taken from the perspective of the Glasgow Tigers club during their 2019 season. The film follows the Tigers’ highs and lows as they travel across the UK, competing against other Speedway teams for the title in their Championship League. The film also documents the current condition of Speedway; a sport that faces an uncertain future as many clubs continue to shut down across the country. As well as presenting the thrilling drama that takes place on and off the track, the film highlights some of the amazing personal stories of Glasgow Tigers fans and volunteers; the people who make this community so special and who never fail to bring an emotional touch to the film.
‘In The Red’ is the feature-length documentary directorial debut from Patrick Rooney, who also filmed and edited the entire feature over an eight month period. The Director’s Cut of the film was selected and nominated across 15 international film festivals, winning 4 awards, including ‘Best Feature’ at the Black Hills Moto Film Festival. The film was sponsored by Allied Vehicles and Executive Produced by Gerry Facenna.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:
Patrick Rooney is an award-winning freelance director and filmmaker, working under the title of DEAR FRIEND Films. He produces a variety of high quality, professional video and film content: from feature films, short films and documentaries, to promotional videos, showreels and other online content. Based in Glasgow, Scotland, Patrick is experienced in working with various communities and organisations across the U.K., as well as with a number of international clients. He also continues to collaborate with other production companies across the U.K.
About Reel to Real Cinema:
Reel to Real Cinema is a monthly film space in the Stove Cafe, featuring an eclectic mixture of conversational films – from artist made shorts to feature length documentaries, locally made to international cinema. A space for discussion and thought-provoking films, you are welcome to join us after the film for a short discussion about the themes from this month’s selection.
The Stove cafe will be open from 5.30pm – 7pm with a special pre-film dinner option alongside hot drinks and cakes.
Access Information: Level Access in rear of building through adjacent close to left-hand side of the Cafe (facing the front of the building). To ensure your experience with us is as best as it can be, please do let us know if you have any specific access requirements and we’d be happy to help. Please email Kevin or Sal on: [email protected] or phone 01387 252435 and speak with one of our team. We are able to provide walk-throughs of the building before attending our events as well as assign seating before your arrival.
Sami Blood | 2016 | Amanda Kernell | Swedish | 12 A | 1 hr 48 mins
Join us for the next in our edition of Reel to Real Cinema, a pop-up cinema space hosted at the Stove Cafe where we will be sharing Sami Blood, a historical drama following a Sámi girl in 1930’s Sweden where she is exposed to the racism faced by her indigenous family.
About the Film
Elle Marja, 14, is a reindeer-herding Sámi girl. Exposed to the racism of the 1930’s and race biology examinations at her boarding school she starts dreaming of another life. To achieve this other life, she has to become someone else and break all ties with her family and culture.
Watch the trailer below:
About Reel to Real Cinema
Reel to Real Cinema is a monthly film space in the Stove Cafe, featuring an eclectic mixture of conversational films – from artist made shorts to feature length documentaries, locally made to international cinema. A space for discussion and thought-provoking films, you are welcome to join us after the film for a short discussion about the themes from this month’s selection.
The Stove cafe will be open from 5.30pm – 7pm with a special pre-film dinner option alongside hot drinks and cakes.
Access Information: Level Access in rear of building through adjacent close to left-hand side of the Cafe (facing the front of the building). To ensure your experience with us is as best as it can be, please do let us know if you have any specific access requirements and we’d be happy to help. Please email Kevin or Sal on: [email protected] or phone 01387 252435 and speak with one of our team. We are able to provide walk-throughs of the building before attending our events as well as assign seating before your arrival.
Reel to Real Cinema returns for a second outing this month with an eclectic evening of moving images from Kolaj Institute‘s Collage in Motion project exploring collage and moving image, including animation, film cut-ups, stop motion and documentary film. The film programme runs for approximately 1 hour, and will include a post film discussion with screening curator Ric Kasini Kadour.
About the Film
Collage on Screen presents dozens of short films by an equal number of international artists. Artists are working across disciplines and using painting, puppetry, dance, sound collage, comics, clay and other forms of craft to make films. Some artists use traditional methods of stop motion animation and collage film tomake music videos, documentary films, and storytelling works while others are adapting the terrain of experimental video and video installation.
The subjects are as diverse as the methods: Absurdist takes on technology, consumerism, advertising, skateboarding and Sports Illustrated; the quirky English strangeness of Britain’s youngest post-punkband; an early 20th century, Black, queer Brazilian writer. Films explore failure as an artist, American art history; and art movements in the Scottish countryside. A busy Berlin crosswalk becomes a metaphor for how quantum physics understands the behavior of subatomic particles. Artists draw from the visual legacy of wacky 90s television, 70s girl comics, vintage science education, landline telephones, linozip safety cutters, and phenological cycles in the garden. Filmmakers wrestle with migration, historical memory, the romantic melancholy of childhood, symbols in social media, and rage at the state of racerelations in America. Films reflect on the pandemic and the war in Ukraine from the perspective of Argentina, Israel, and Germany. Yankee whaling-inspired puppetry retells the Greek myth of Scylla & Charybdis.
“We see our role as not one of defining ‘collagein motion’, but as one of asking what ‘collage in motion’ can be,” said screening curator and director Ric Kasini Kadour. “Our hope is that this presentation inspires audiences to seek out Collage in Motion and revel in the complex and diverse cultural expression it offers us. We hope it inspires artists to make new works that challenge our understanding of what this film genre can be.” Kadour will attend the screening and be available afterwards to answer questions.
About Reel to Real Cinema
Reel to Real Cinema is a monthly film space in the Stove Cafe, featuring an eclectic mixture of conversational films – from artist made shorts to feature length documentaries, locally made to international cinema. A space for discussion and thought-provoking films, you are welcome to join us after the film for a short discussion about the themes from this month’s selection.
The Stove cafe will be open from 5.30pm – 7pm with a special pre-film dinner option alongside hot drinks and cakes.
Access Information: Level Access in rear of building through adjacent close to left-hand side of the Cafe (facing the front of the building). To ensure your experience with us is as best as it can be, please do let us know if you have any specific access requirements and we’d be happy to help. Please email Kevin or Sal on: [email protected] or phone 01387 252435 and speak with one of our team. We are able to provide walk-throughs of the building before attending our events as well as assign seating before your arrival.
Queen of Glory, dir. by Nana Mensah (Bohemia Media, 2021)
This month, Reel to Real Cinema returned with Queen of Glory (dir. By Nana Mensah), in recognition of International Women’s Day. This feature-length film; written, directed, and starring Mensah, follows Sarah Obeng, a cancer-curing PhD student and brilliant daughter of Ghanian immigrants who is trying to navigate life after her mother’s sudden death. Mensah manages to explore themes of maternal/paternal relationships, heritage, grief and acceptance all in a neat 79 minutes – no mean feat for her directorial debut. Being an F-Rated film, (meaning it’s created by and significantly features women), Queen of Glory is perfect viewing for this year’s IWD.
Sarah Obeng is preparing to move to Ohio with her already-married lover (Adam Leon), when she receives a phone call that her mother has died following an aneurysm. Sarah is the sole inheritor of her mother’s estate, and the new owner of her Christian bookstore ‘King of Glory’ in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx.
Sarah is left to organise both a wake and a Ghanian funeral, decide the fate of the bookstore, wait on her dad (Oberon K.A. Adjepong) who is visiting from Ghana and placate her aunties who despite her scientific success keep telling her to lose weight and have some babies. During her endless tasks Sarah develops friendships with the lone bookstore employee, tattoo clad ex-convict and talented baker Pitt (Meeko Gattuso), and the multi-generational Russian-American family who live next door.
The film opens with close-ups of vibrant, rich textiles accompanied by the sound of West-African drums. Archive footage from Ghana is interspersed throughout the film, representing Sarah’s ongoing conversation with her heritage and her journey to celebrating it. The intermittent archive videos show both an insight to Ghanian culture and the repetitive cycle of the human experience as the videos echo what is happening in Sarah’s life.
Rich with these references to heritage and a powerful overarching conversation with grief, Queen of Glory also finds itself punctuated with pockets of humour. Memorable moments of laughter were the effects of Pitt’s pot-brownies, Sarah answering the door to a flat-viewer in a risqué outfit intended for her boyfriend, and the chaos of her neighbour going in to labour as three generations of people rush to find the blasted car keys.
At the second funeral for Sarah’s mother, we revisit the same drumming sequence which opens the film. From this we gain an appreciation of Sarah’s journey and the many women (and men!) who have influenced it. Sarah adorns her natural hair and a vibrant funeral dress, marking the inevitable end to her journey as she dances and finally weeps over the loss of her mother.
Voices of aunties, neighbours, customers and mothers guide Mensah’s character through this story with a feeling of familiarity and genuine warmth. Like the bright West-African fabrics shown in the title sequence of the film, Queen of Glory feels like it is carefully woven together by the voices of women.
Queen of Glory is currently available to watch via Amazon Prime and can be rented/bought online from various streaming services.
Erin is our Marketing Assistant at The Stove but is no stranger to watching and talking about film. Erin graduated with an English and Film Studies degree in 2022, and is delighted to share her thoughts on the films shown at our monthly Reel to Real screenings.
You can find out more about Reel to Real Cinema here.
November: New Beginnings & Fond Memories at 100 High Street
November’s here! For all its drizzly driecht, soggy leaves and howling breeze, it’s all go for a month of dance and exhibition, climate chats and birthday celebrations!
But first…you might have heard about COP26.
Yes, the glitterati of global politics will be arriving in Glasgow, in all their blue blazered, shooder-pads and pouting. Not to mention the news crews and protestors, police vans and placards, it all feels a little bit nerve-wracking. (Yes, just what we need from this year, another thing to worry about!).
So while the whole wide world tumbles on to George Square and Kelvingrove, we want to ask; what does all this mean for us down here?
A Doonhamer’s Guide to the End of the World
Creative Spaces are hosting a series of conversations, workshops and creative activities for people under 30 to share, collaborate and make their ideas heard in the big climate conversation. Working with Historic Environment Scotland the programme explores climate through story and myth, unearthing our local history to see what lessons can be learned from our past to guide the future we’ve yet to take.
Alongside this, Reel To Real, the Stove Cafe’s monthly film night, will be screening two films exploring climate, loss, distance and relocation, from Africa to Ireland. Our Reel To Real film nights include some scrumptious pre-movie scran courtesy of stew-maestro Marcus, from 5PM through till 6:30!
First beginning in June of 2019, Atlas Pandemica: Maps to a Kinder World is a compendium of 10 projects led by Dumfries & Galloway based creative people exploring different themes highlighted by life during the COVID pandemic, working directly with people in the region, it focussed on the impacts and learning from the community’s experience of the evolving pandemic.
The project is now drawing to a conclusion, aside from the many outputs each of the commissioned artists have shared, a collection of 10 maps, based on each of the project’s findings will be unveiled as part of ‘After the Pandemic’, Glasgow’s creative and cultural fringe at COP26. For more information on the project please visit www.atlaspandemica.org
Are ye dancin? We’re askin!
Join us on Saturday 6th November for an intimate evening of dance performance and conversation as DG Dance celebrate the end of their first season touring pop up dance across Dumfries and Galloway.
Martin McKeown, taken as part of Sanquhar Arts Festival.
The evening will include a performance of Matthew Hawkin’s Triple Echo, sharing excerpts from new screendance research with Emma Dove inspired by Emma Jayne Park’s touring performance And Now We Unravel, Again, and a performance of Louise Ahl’s newly premiered work heartbeats, fresh air, gestures, time.
This will be followed by an open conversation with lead artist Emma Jayne Park, and company dancers Claire Pencak, Jorja Follina and Malcolm Sutherland.
The following week, we’ll be showcasing the final UK screening of Penny Chivas’s ‘Burnt Out‘ this year, followed by an opportunity to discuss the work with the artist.
Brian Hartley
With original music by Paul Michael Henry, interwoven with the delicately detailed lighting design of David Bowes, this is an autobiographical dance-theatre work from the daughter of an environmental geochemist, bringing together fact and personal account. ‘Burnt Out’ is at once an intimate personal story and a universal meditation on our changing climate.
The Dumfries Fountain Project: Research & Studio Work
A pop-up exhibition at The Smithy, 113-115 High Street, hosted by artist Alex Allan. Allan has been working with the Dumfries Fountain Project coordinated by the Stove Network, exploring, and designing a proposal for a permanent piece of public art to be situated by the Dumfries Fountain to complement the historic landmark.
You are invited to consider the research gathered during their time in Dumfries, experiment and play with ideas and materials from the studio and contribute your own thoughts to the work. What would you like from a new piece of public art in the centre of the town? This is a unique chance to hear from the artist themselves and learn more about this timely and fascinating project. Come on in!
Dumfries Fountain Project: Film and Soundtrack Premiere
The Smithy, 113-115 High Street Saturday, 13 th November 5-7pm
Join us for a celebratory evening marking the conclusion of our two Holywood Trust commissioned artist projects, with a sharing of the short documentary film created by filmmaker Patrick Rooney, and film soundtrack by musician and composer Jenna Macrory.
After the screening we’ll be hearing from our two commissioned artists about their experiences with the project. Light refreshments provided. There is limited capacity available for the event so please sign up via Eventbrite to let us know if you would like to attend.
Can you believe we’re 10 years old? Seems like just yesterday, the Stove were chalk painting flagstones and launching a coo into the Nith (not an actual coo, don’t fret).
10 Year Celebrations
Join the Stove as we celebrate our 10th Birthday! We’ll be turning the Stove Cafe into a t-shirt printing factory where you can print your own 10th Anniversary t-shirt, and the cafe will be open with a special menu (yes, there will be cake!).
Our pals Dave Bass and the magnificent Dumfries Music Collective, fresh off the heels from their stellar 2021 conference are finally back to takeover the Stove Cafe with the U18 Acoustic Cafe. Featuring a line-up of fresh voices from the region, the afternoon is open to all to enjoy. More info coming soon!
Doughlicious
D’ough! Doughlicious are back in the building! Share ideas and recipes whilst breaking bread with like-minded folks. Featuring practical workshops exploring techniques and style, for those that kneed that extra bit of help and radical recipes for aficionados, from chapati to brioche!
Women Signwriters Assemble!
Dumfries Women’s Signwriting Squad are back again with the wee monthly meet-up. This session, open to beginners of all levels, will teach you the basics of signwriting. A popular event so sign up to guarantee your spot!
It’s not as gloom as it sounds, we promise. Dark Time is our yearly switch off, where we re-group as a team, drink too much coffee and chat all things Stove. From planning 2022, pouring over our members feedback (thanks by the way) and reflecting on a year unlike any other.
As we draw some breath from the run of festivals and projects, from wild geese to multiverses, we’re making time to ask some important questions. From who uses the Stove, to what we can offer our community and what themes might take us forward into the new year. We divide our conversations into three areas, which include:
Are you interested in Dark Time? Let us know by emailing [email protected].
