It's Not My Film review – relationship-crisis movie takes the long road through the Baltics
Wanda is in a stagnant relationship with Jan, played by Marcin Sztabinski, a heavy-set guy who maybe wasn't quite as heavy-set when they first got together; he runs a bike repair shop, a situation to which he has dwindled having once dreamed of biking around the world. Wanda is irritated beyond endurance at the way Jan does nothing but doom scroll. (Rather shrewdly, she points out that people who spend their time knitting at least have a scarf to show for it.)
But it is Jan who has had the imagination to dream up a plan to challenge them both: they will hike along the remote and icy Baltic coastline, sleeping in a tent and generally braving the terrible cold. If they stay the course, they will stay together – but if either loses heart and leaves the sandy shore, then they are finished as a couple.
Well, perhaps there are no prizes for guessing whether they have cathartic rows and revelations and quirky serendipitous encounters with unusual people along the way. But the relationship between Jan and Wanda looks very real as they trudge along the vast and freezing seascape, like an ice-cold version of David Lean's desert. And what does it all add up to? Perhaps not all that much: but it's a charming and plausible relationship drama featuring people who look as if they might actually be in a relationship.
It's Not My Film is at Hull Independent Cinema on 20 March, then tours, as part of the Kinoteka Polish film festival, and on Klassiki from 21 March
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The Sun
8 minutes ago
- The Sun
Olly Murs, Pro Green and Cat Burns lead star-studded line-up as they perform at stunning Bolesworth Castle in Chester
OLLY Murs, Professor Green and Cat Burns lead a star-studded line-up as they performed at Together Again Festival in Chester. The Dance With Me Tonight singer got festival-goers on their feet within minutes of taking to the stage with a string of hits. 15 15 15 15 15 Last Friday, former X Factor star Olly, 41 headlined at the stunning grounds of Bolesworth Castle, performing his chart-topping singles. Olly kicked off with his 2012 hit Troublemaker, before belting out Right Place The Right Time and Please Don't Let Me Go to a packed out crowd. The musician then took a trip down memory lane and told fans: "Ladies and gentleman, I'm taking you guys all the way back, right to the beginning, put your hands up." Olly brought the energy with his cheeky-chappy charisma as he sang his catchy 2010 track Thinking of Me, with the star rocking the stage with his slick moves and turning the crowd into a full-on singalong. The atmosphere was buzzing with festival-goers of all ages attending this four-day music event, with even Wayne Rooney's wife Coleen and her family enjoying the weekend. This is the first year this new festival was held at Bolesworth Castle, a Grade II listed building. The views alone are worth the visit, with plenty of rural beauty to admire while rocking out to the music and enjoying a bite to eat. UB40 also took to the main stage earlier that day and it wouldn't be a UB40 performance without them singing their arguably best know hit Red Red Wine, which got the festival-goers singing along. Another standout star from the line-up was rapper Professor Green, who performed a set on Sunday. There may have been some rain and grey skies but that didn't dampen spirits in the slightest. The Lullaby hitmaker looked thrilled to be performing in front of such a lively crowd as opened with hit tune Bad Decisions. He was full of enthusiasm as he performed Remedy, Monster and Read All About It while bouncing around the stage. British singer songwriter Cat Burns also smashed it out of the park with her stunning vocals. She commanded the stage as she performed her huge track Go while the crowds were left captivated by her voice. There was plenty more artists taking to the stage across the weekend - with noughties favourites Scouting for Girls, Britain's Got Talent's Diversity, X Factor double act Jedward, international DJ Nathan Dawe, Artful Dodger and Ocean Colour Scene. Nineties icon Gabrielle brought the sunshine with her during her set, with classics like Out of Reach, Sunshine, Dreams and Rise. The mums, dads, grandparents and kids were up on their feet for this one. There really was something for everyone. The music is not the only thing that this festival has to offer. We headed to the Wonky Lizard tent for some late night comedy and spent some of the afternoon channelling my inner Nicole Kidman in a special Moulin Rouge Cabaret show. The variety of entertainment available will keep you busy all day. There was also bingo, a Greatest Showman circus - with firebreathers, hula hoopers and a family quiz, while tribute band Oasish paid homage to rockers Oasis in the tent, amid Noel and Liam Gallagher's comeback tour. There was a whole dedicated section to keep the kids busy, with a full fun fair, rides, a silent disco and even a Bluey, Peppa Pig and Bing meet and greet. The little ones were also able to enjoy some downtime in front of the a big screen playing children's films throughout the day. If you fancy taking some time out, many headed to the Retreat zone which ran from the morning to mid afternoon, offering Thai massage workshops, south baths and yoga which will leave you feeling zen. The weather did pick up and those who wanted to get an dose of Ibiza headed to O beach, a premium pop up space with everything synonymous with O Beach including iconic round pool beds. There was even hot tubs and a dance floor with dancers putting on a immersive shows throughout the day. The quality of food vendors at the festival made the experience even better knowing we could grab some delicious food and drink without having to leave the venue. We tucked into some piping hot jacket potatoes, freshly made pizzas, and mac and cheese with loaded fries and chicken. And if you thought you'd be waiting hours for some nosh, then you'd be pleasantly surprised to know that queues were quick and efficient. Five reasons to visit Together Again Festival The music has something for everyone, if you want your cheesy pop tunes, your more electric beats, some chilled out country vibes or some throwback beats, then you'll love this. The food is reasonably priced and has a variety - from Greek food, to noodles or Italian, there is something delicious that will keep you full and happy The venue and location is breathtaking and when your attention is not on the stage, then it will be on the gorgeous scenery and the Bolesworth Castle in the backdrop Perfect for all ages whether you're a toddler or over 80. The organisers have really catered for everyone. If you fancy taking some time out you can head to the Retreat zone or if you want a mini rave then Agora tent is for you. There was also baby sensory class, science fun and circus school for the little ones. Chester perfect place to explore if you've got a few hours spare between acts. Cheshire Zoo is around a 25mins drive from Bolseworth Castle and has over 37,000 animals from over 500 incredible species. The city centre also has an array of food spots, stunning architecture and Chester Cathedral is a must visit, with plenty of history. Party-goers who wanted to get up on stage themselves headed to the Wonky Lizard for a bit of Barrioke, while you could rave from morning to night with electric dance music in the Agora tent. And those who wanted to throw things back to the 90s, boogied on down to the Rewind stage, where So Solid Crew, Ultrabeat, Sonique, East 17, Phats and Small and Soul Town performed some bangers. But my favourite had to be the Ranch stage. If you're a Taylor Swift fan and love your country music, this is the perfect little spot where you can don your cowboy boots and straw hat while chilling out on haystacks and sipping on a cold beverage. Singers Emilia Quinn, Fanny Lumsden and Shellyann were exceptional as they belted out smooth tunes and well known tracks. While the Whiskey Brothers performed some incredible covers and finished with an impressive medley - even dropping hits from Eminem and 50 cent into their round-up. Who knew I was a country girl at heart! Together Again Festival returns to Bolesworth Castle on the 24-26 July 2026. You can find out more here. 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15
The National
9 hours ago
- The National
Mark Brown: Breaking the bank at Edinburgh International Festival
A co-production between the National Theatre of Scotland, Dundee Rep and the EIF, it brings together an impressive array of theatrical talent. Both Graham and director Andrew Panton (who is artistic director of the Rep) are award-winning theatre artists. Outstanding Scottish actors Brian Cox (as the ghost of Adam Smith) and Sandy Grierson (as the ruinous and disgraced banker Fred Goodwin) lead a cast that is peppered with A-list actors. Grierson is utterly compelling as Goodwin, the working-class Paisley boy 'made good'. Steeped in the slash-and-burn Thatcherism of the 1980s, his dedication to voracious accumulation (including bloating the RBS with a hidden portfolio of toxic assets) is matched only by his ruthless approach to management. Opposite him, Cox's Adam Smith is enthralling in his indignation when he discovers how his views on economics and society have been wilfully twisted to fit the agenda of neoliberalism. He is delightfully humorous, too, in his bewilderment in encountering 21st-century Edinburgh (even if a joke about a certain popular department store is extended beyond breaking point). Excellent though the lead actors are, the production is riven with flaws. Panton likes a play with songs, and this, problematically, is one. The musical dimension of the piece – which is comprised largely of uninspired snippets from pop songs, such as Keane's dreary Somewhere Only We Know – runs in frustrating parallel to the dramatic action. Indeed, so superfluous is the music that one cannot help but feel that the momentum of the play would be enhanced (and the two hours 40 minutes duration of the production reduced advantageously) by dispensing with it entirely. Ironically – given that this is a story of a Scottish bank that overreached itself by seeking to be so much bigger than it needed to be – Panton's production often feels like it is trying too hard to meet the expectations of a large stage EIF show. Consequently, the sound, music and big-screen projections are often bombastic. There are fine performances from such excellent actors as Andy Clark (who inhabits the role of Gordon Brown beautifully) and Hannah Donaldson (as the senior RBS officer with whom Goodwin has an affair). Too often, however, the supporting cast looks like a chorus from a stage musical that has inadvertently wandered into the wrong show. It has long been a complaint from within the Scottish theatre community that the EIF puts our nation's live drama at a disadvantage. Whereas other countries bring tried-and-tested productions to the Edinburgh stage, Scotland's contribution is required to be a world premiere. New work is the lifeblood of theatre, but it is also difficult and uncertain. Once again, the EIF's strictures have led to a disappointing Scottish contribution to the Festival. Meanwhile, in the Fringe programme of Scotland's new writing theatre, the Traverse, there are a number of acclaimed productions from overseas. These include Rift (Traverse, until August 24), a taut two-hander by American writer Gabriel Jason Dean. Given the drama's subject matter – the very occasional prison visits of a liberal novelist to his brother, a convicted murderer and leading neo-Nazi gang member – the 'rift' of the play's title is a massive understatement, akin to the description of the 30-year war in Northern Ireland as 'The Troubles'. The chasm between the siblings is, Dean explains, inspired by his relationship with his own half-brother. The piece is set over a 21-year period, beginning with a visit four years into the prison sentence. 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Those who might be hoping that Rift would shed some light on the rise of the American far-right, and its capturing of the White House for the second time in eight years, should look elsewhere. The play does serve, however, as a resonating indictment of a prison system that fails to rehabilitate and, instead, institutionalises racial separation and gang membership. Director Ari Laura Kreith's tight production engages meaningfully with such difficult and complex issues as education as a tool of moral improvement and recovered memory. Despite its many nuances, the play does put an emphasis on childhood trauma that threatens to become reductive at times. If that is a shortcoming, it is a minor one in a thoughtful and affecting drama about an anguished intersection of family history and political morality. If seen back-to-back – as they were at the Traverse on Friday – Dean's play and Red Like Fruit (Traverse, until August 24) by acclaimed Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch are bound to put you through the emotional wringer. In theatrical terms, Muscovitch's piece is the more ambitious, and the more emotionally powerful, of the two. Constructed somewhat like a Russian doll, the work has a metatheatrical dimension that is simultaneously troubling and engaging. On-stage – sitting on a chair on a raised platform – is Lauren (played by Michelle Monteith), a journalist whose current story began with an investigation into a domestic violence scandal within the Liberal Party (the dominant force on the Canadian centre and centre-left). However, the issues raised by the investigation confronted Lauren with a series of instances of predatory and opportunistic sexual abuse in her own life going back to her childhood and adolescence. Through remembering these experiences, she recalled how the prevailing ideas and social atmosphere tended to create guilt and confusion, rather than outrage, within her. In the play, this painful personal history forms the basis of a text written by Lauren, but spoken – at her request – by a male actor, Luke (performed by David Patrick Flemming). In certain moments – sometimes due to Lauren's visible distress, at other times as a consequence of his own discomfort – Luke breaks from his narration to interact with the writer. What emerges from this deliberately discomfiting set-up is a fictional testimony that rings horrifyingly true as a traumatic strand in one woman's life history. In certain moments Lauren realises that – such was (and, by implication, still very much is) the normalisation of abusive behaviours by men against women and girls – that she struggled (and still struggles) to differentiate abuse from healthy and consensual experiences in her sexual life. The seemingly counter-intuitive choice to have this testimony read by a male actor is explained by Lauren in terms that carry a frightening and devastating social truth. Director Christian Barry gives the reverberating material the glass-sharp, perfectly wrought and superbly acted production it to the Summerhall venue, which always has the most diverse and fascinating offering of theatre and performance on the Fringe. With such a substantial programme, it is inevitable that a few disappointing productions will slip through the curatorial net. Sad to say, Julia. 1984 (Summerhall, until August 11) fails to deliver on the promise of a piece that seeks to imagine the life of the titular heroine in the period immediately after the end of Orwell's famous novel. We meet Julia (played by Sofia Barysevich) – a rebel against the Big Brother dictatorship and lover of Orwell's protagonist Winston Smith – as she is being subjected to torture (both psychological and physical) and sexual abuse by the hideous state functionary O'Brien (Michael Tcherepashenets). Julia endures, feigning compliance in her efforts to find out what happened to Winston. Sadly, however, this young company never succeeds in generating the atmosphere of Orwell's novel. The blinking eye of Big Brother peers out from a triangular screen, but the scene it observes looks like an under-resourced student circus. Creating a sequel to 1984 is either brave, foolhardy or both. Little surprise, then, that Karina Wiedman's text doesn't measure up to the demands of Orwell's novel, either in complexity or coherence. Tcherepashenets's high-octane, microphone-grasping performance (which seems to borrow from Joaquin Phoenix's performance in the film Joker: Folie À Deux) has a certain charisma. Ultimately, however, although this production has its heart firmly in the right place, its attempt to complement Orwell's opus has all of the resonance of a cracked bell.
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Dua Lipa cozies up to fiance Callum Turner at festival as she celebrates being granted Kosovo citizenship
Dua Lipa partied the night away as she celebrated being granted her Kosovo citizenship. The singer, 29, who was born in London to Kosovan-Albanian parents, was granted the citizenship from Kosovan President Vjosa Osmani on Friday. To celebrate the honor, Dua enjoyed a big night out at the three-day Sunny Hill Festival, which she organizes with her father Dukagjin Lipa. On Saturday, she shared a gallery of photographs of her dancing the night away on Instagram. In one snap, Dua got cozy with her fiance Callum Turner as she sat on his lap while he wrapped his hand around her head. Dua was joined by a group of friends as she let her hair down while dancing to DJ Fatboy Slim. Alongside her post, she wrote: 'Got my citizenship the night before and then partied hard at @sunnyhillfestival the night after!!!! @officialfatboyslim !!!!! lovinggggg lifeeee.' Speaking about her new citizenship, Dua said she 'feels like my two sides are now one', adding: 'It completes the duality I have always had within. I love this country and this means so much to me and my family.' Hailing the singer as 'one of the most iconic cultural figures in our country's history', President Osmani said it was an 'honor' to grant Dua citizenship. Images of the ceremony showed a beaming Dua posing with President Osmani. Sharing the snaps on X, President Osmani said: 'Dua and Kosovo have always been inseparable. From the world's biggest stages to the hearts of millions, she's carried our story with strength, pride, and grace... 'Our gratitude is endless for everything Dua has done, and continues to do for Kosovo'. Also in attendance was UK Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonathan Hargreaves. Dua now holds citizenship for Britain, Albania and Kosovo. She was granted Albanian citizenship in 2022 by President Bajram Begaj for her role in spreading Albania's fame internationally through music. Dua is currently in Kosovo for the three-day annual Sunny Hill Festival, and she often speaks about her love for the country. She even helped set up a charity that focuses on helping vulnerable communities in Kosovo.
