Common Ground selected for American Online Film Awards Autumn Showcase

Beg Steal Borrow News, Common Ground, Festivals, Friends of Beg Steal Borrow, Screenings, Uncategorized

After a successful run at the American Online Film Awards (AOFA) Spring Showcase in May, Common Ground has been invited to take part in the AOFA’s follow-up Autumn Showcase.

Common Ground is a contemporary film noir set against the backdrop of the economic crisis and Occupy. It tells the story of Dennis (Dennis Chua), a Guatemalan in London who goes looking for his missing brother – only to discover that his brother owes money all over town. Common Ground was shot for a mere £500 (or US$750).

The Showcase runs from 1 October to 14 October 2014. It features numerous films from all over the world. So if you have not yet had a chance to see Common Ground, do be sure to log in and to watch it at/on the Showcase when it starts.

Meanwhile, Common Ground star Musa Okwonga has just completed a two-part radio documentary for the BBC on the forthcoming football World Cup in Brazil – investigating how football was adopted and adapted by Brazilians. It is available via the BBC World Service here. In Common Ground, Musa plays Dennis’ boss.

Furthermore, Common Ground‘s Charlie Partridge, who plays an outspoken tramp, has just completed a new music video, ‘Change The World, Change Your Status’, with his comedy group, the Slacktivists. You can see it below and here.

These are simply the latest exploits of the Common Ground gang. As mentioned in previous posts, star Alex Chevasco has recently been selected for the Sundance Lab in the USA, while co-star Laura Murray will be performing Macbeth in the grounds of Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford, England, over the summer.

 

Ur stars busy on stage and at Sundance

Beg Steal Borrow News, Uncategorized

Various of the stars of Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux are busy this summer with stage work – and at the Sundance Lab.

Rosie Frascona, who plays Rosie in Ur, is currently starring as Baby in the touring stage production of Dirty Dancing. She has been interviewed for the production in the Daily Star – and will be heading around the UK, Ireland and Belgium with the show between now and next year.

Rosie has also told us that she has plugged Ur several times during her radio interviews for the show.

If you’d like to catch Rosie on tour with Dirty Dancing, then click here for dates and venues.

Laura Murray, meanwhile, who plays Laura in Ur, has been cast as Lady Macbeth in a stage production of Shakespeare’s famous Scottish play, which will be held at an open air theatre venue in the grounds of Lady Margaret Hall, one of the University of Oxford’s prestigious colleges and halls.

Details of how to see Laura in Macbeth can be found here.

Finally, Alex Chevasco, who plays Alex in Ur, has been selected to take part in the Sundance Lab this year. The Sundance Lab has launched the careers of the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson. So this is exciting news indeed…

What great achievements by these Beg Steal Borrow collaborators. It is an honour for us to have worked with – and hopefully to continue working with – these wonderfully talented people.

We wish them luck over the summer and look forward to seeing them soon!

En Attendant Godard plays at Sweden’s Cinemateket

Beg Steal Borrow News, En Attendant Godard, Screenings, Uncategorized

Beg Steal Borrow’s first film, En Attendant Godard, has enjoyed a screening at Sweden’s prestigious Cinemateket in Stockholm. The screening took place on 12 May 2014.

Screening in the Victor Room (named after great Swedish director Victor Sjöström), En Attendant Godard played to a sizeable crowd, many of whom were film students at the University of Stockholm.

Alex Chevasco, Hannah Croft and Kristina Gren on the screen of the Cinemateket's Victor theatre in En Attendant Godard.

Alex Chevasco, Hannah Croft and Kristina Gren on the screen of the Cinemateket’s Victor theatre in En Attendant Godard.

Director William Brown then gave a lecture on digital cinema to those who wished to stay. Not everyone seemed bored by this.

We feel very privileged to have had the film screen at such a wonderful and historical venue. May more and similar opportunities arise in the future!

Many thanks to Anna Backman Rogers and to the staff at the Cinemateket for their invitation and their kind welcome.

Common Ground playing at American Online Film Awards Spring Showcase

Beg Steal Borrow News, Uncategorized

Beg Steal Borrow film Common Ground is playing right now at the American Online Film Awards Spring Showcase.

The festival opened on 1 May 2014 at 2pm UK time.Image

 

As per the above picture, the film is even *trending* as the festival reaches the close of its first day.

Common Ground is a contemporary film noir about a man, Dennis, who goes looking for his missing brother – only to inherit a whole bunch of problems he did not expect. Set against the backdrop of the economic crisis and Occupy, the film is also a love letter to London.

If you’d like to watch the film, please follow the link here.

Otherwise, fingers crossed that Common Ground gets some views, gets some fans, and maybe even qualifies for an award at the American Online Film Awards in New York at the end of the year!

Ur Preview Screening Announced

Beg Steal Borrow News, Uncategorized

Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux will enjoy a preview screening at the prestigious Olympic Studios in Barnes.

The screening will take place at 10am on 25 May 2014.

If for any reason you have come across the film and would likle to attend, then please email us here.

The Olympic is the site where many of the world’s greatest music artists have recorded their work – including the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, The Jam, Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Queen, Oasis, Barbara Streisand, Madonna, Prince and The Spice Girls.

Film-wise, the Olympic also features in Jean-Luc Godard’s film One Plus One/Sympathy for the Devil (UK, 1968), which is about the Rolling Stones.

Ur t-shirt and flyers

Common Ground selected for American Online Film Awards Spring Showcase 2014

Beg Steal Borrow News, Common Ground, Festivals, Screenings

We are delighted to announce that Common Ground has been selected for the 2014 version of the American Online Film Awards Spring Showcase.

The Showcase starts on 1 May 2014, and participation in the showcase means that Common Ground is eligible for the various awards handed out by the American Online Film Awards in New York at the end of the year.

Common Ground has been accepted into the American Online Film Awards Spring Showcase 2014.

Common Ground has been accepted into the American Online Film Awards Spring Showcase 2014.

Naturally, everyone at Beg Steal Borrow, and all those involved in the production, are immensely excited at the prospect of the film’s involvement.

More news hopefully will follow shortly!

Preparation under way for new Beg Steal Borrow films

Beg Steal Borrow News, New projects

Preparations are under way for a whole slate of Beg Steal Borrow productions.

First off, there is a film called Selfie, an essay-film that blends fiction and documentary and which consists uniquely of selfies of/by William Brown. William has nearly finished all photography for this film, having been actively shooting during February and March 2014.

The film is a consideration of the selfie phenomenon – but made ‘from within’ (i.e. by taking selfies). Selfie features sequences shot in London, Basel, Paris, Seattle and elsewhere.

Beg Steal Borrow are also hoping to bring to production a pair of films over the summer. The first, tentatively entitled The Life Automatic, is about a young girl who must find her friend in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, in order to return to her some money that she has ropped.

The second, provisionally called The Rebirth of Metaphysics, is a London-based film shot in two parts, the first about a young boy who befriends a tramp, and the second about the rocky nature of the marriage of the child’s parents.

Cinematographer Tom Maine and director William Brown are also in discussion to find dates to begin shooting a vox pop documentary in London called Circle/Line, in which the filmmakers, in the spirit of Chronicle of a Summer and Le Joli Mai, ask Londoners how they are feeling.

Finally, various of the Beg Steal Borrow team have submitted an application to the iFeatures scheme run by Creative England, the BFI, BBC Films and Creative Skillset, in order to win money to produce William’s script, Assisted Living, which is a quasi-autobiographical account of a weekend-in-the-life of a middle class family in Worcestershire.

Fingers crossed that the application garners some interest!

Ur Preview Screening Announced

Beg Steal Borrow News, Screenings, Uncategorized, Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux

A preview screening of Beg Steal Borrow’s latest film, Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux, has been announced.

The screening will take place at 10am on Sunday 25 May 2014 at the prestigious Olympic Cinema in Barnes, London.

The prestigious Olympic Cinema will host the first preview screening of Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux.

The prestigious Olympic Cinema will host the first preview screening of Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux.

If you are interested in attending the screening, please email begstealborrowfilms@gmail.com – although places will likely be limited.

Further preview screenings will hopefully be arranged during the summer as the film’s makers move towards submitting the film to various European and other festivals.

A teaser for the film can be found here:-

Common Ground has screening in Preston

Beg Steal Borrow News, Common Ground, Screenings

Beg Steal Borrow’s third feature, Common Ground, has enjoyed a screening at the University of Central Lancashire in Preson.

Director William Brown was invited to introduce the film to various students and staff members at the university, in particular those studying a course on British cinema with Professor Ewa Mazierska.

William spoke about zero-budget filmmaking in contemporary Britain with an enthusiastic group of students, before holding the screening to a gathered audience of around 30 people.

Common Ground was screened at UCLan on 7 April 2014.

Common Ground was screened at UCLan on 7 April 2014.

William was delighted by the invitation – and considers it a real honour to be considered a filmmaker of sufficient significance (?!) to be a representative of contemporary British cinema – even if only of the possibilities that zero-budget filmmaking opens up for contemporary filmmaking in Britain.

The screening took place on 7 April 2014.

Beg Steal Borrow Films on Vimeo

Afterimages, Beg Steal Borrow News, China: A User's Manual (Films), Common Ground, En Attendant Godard, Screenings

Beg Steal Borrow has added its first four features to Vimeo for viewers to watch for free.

Please go to the Beg Steal Borrow Vimeo page and see our first four features for free!

Please go to the Beg Steal Borrow Vimeo page and see our first four features for free!

Anyone who has had a chance, therefore, to catch En Attendant Godard, Afterimages, Common Ground or China: A User’s Manual (Films) is welcome to go to the Beg Steal Borrow Vimeo page and to watch the films there.

Please pass on the word – and enjoy the films!