My Favourite Films of 2020

In this strange and frightening year, the importance of art and the sharing of the experience of art has become even more significant. So, although my cinema viewing has plummeted, watching films however I can and meeting people virtually to talk about them, has been both nourishment for the mind and a way of maintaining …

Interviews For Herts Jazz Film Festival 2018

For this year's Herts Jazz Festival I was able to bring back the Herts Jazz Film Festival. We only had space for two films, but they were rather special. My interviews with Gareth Williams (about accompanying a Buster Keaton masterpiece) and director Gary Barber (about his documentary on legendary tenor player Bobby Wellins) are reporduced …

When Beckett met Buster and they made Film (updated)

Update: 20 May 2017 Next Monday (22nd) finally sees the release on Blu-ray / DVD of FILM, the collaboration between Samuel Beckett and Buster Keaton. In addition, the BFI package comes with a new documentary, NOTFILM. Pamela Hutchinson extolls the riches of this welcome new release. While it is a joy to see Film on …

Herts Jazz FILM Festival 2016: Buster and the Jazzer

This is the fourth in a series of posts about films being screened in the first ever Herts Jazz FILM Festival (HJFF), which takes place on 16-18 September and 2 October in Welwyn Garden City. The festival showcases compelling films that all have a distinctly jazz flavour. Timed to complement the Herts Jazz Club’s well-established and prestigious annual Herts …

Herts Jazz FILM Festival – flyer and promo video with a rather special soundtrack

The flyers for my film festival have arrived and I'm very pleased with how they've turned out. A big thank you goes to Sally Stray who designed the wonderful logo, and Kay Hill who designed the leaflet as a whole. I've also put together a quick promo video which features a Stan Tracey Quartet backing track (with Clark Tracey's …