Out for Nowt

I’ve read several reviews of Sounds Like Teen Spirit, like this one in the Telegraph, that focus on the tacky absurdity of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. But that’s not what I took away from the film.

Yes, the contest is every bit as rhinestone, glitter and sequin filled as you would imagine, and Jamie J. Johnson captures this perfectly, walking a fine line between satire and sincerity. There are several moments of sheer brilliance in the editing- such as the cut from an awkward, pubescent, Belgian drummer to a girl in the crowd, near tears with excitement and gushing hormones, the light glinting of her braces.

But there is a whole other side to the film, which is a documentary about life as a teenager as much as it is about the contest, and how little the experience differs from country to country, despite the massive contrast in the stars’ upbringing.

The film explores sexuality, responsibility, and family relationships in an incredibly honest way, showing the children at their most eloquent and their most vulnerable. It is among the most accurate portrayals of adolescence I have ever seen commited to film (along with Little Miss Sunshine, Napolean Dynamite, My So-Called Life and The Inbetweeners) despite the story being so distant from my own teenage experiences.

Visit the website to find out where you can see it: Sounds Like Teen Spirit

Last night I found myself accidentally attendeding an awards ceremony/film premiere, as part of the East End Film Festival. I’m sorry to say that I’d never heard of this event until yesterday, when a friend had a spare ticket. I wish I’d known about it sooner, and I would have recommended it to all of you.

The East End Film festival has been running since 2001, and celebrates the talent of film makers in Tower Hamlets. Last night was unfortunately (for you, not me) the closing gala, although the website promises that “EEFF is now a year round concern, with regular short film screenings and events, supporting new and established filmmakers and contributing to East London’s profile as the beating heart of creative London.”

I can’t tell you anything about most of the festival, but the closing gala was fabulous! It involved free wine (which you know I’m a fan of), a short presentation about the festival, and the presentation of the awards, a film premiere, a short but memorable trip on a routemaster bus through streets it wasn’t designed for, an afterparty- which involved more free booze (yay!)- and an adolescent belgian band.

I would absolutely encourage people to get involved if, like me, you had no idea there was so much talent on your doorstep. The premiere was for a film called ‘Sounds Like Teen Spirit’, directed by Jamie J. Johnson, that was so endearing, charming and FUNNY that it deserves it’s own post as soon as I get around to writing one.

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