The Great Acting Blog: “Drifting Clouds”

The Great Acting Blog: “Drifting Clouds”

Check out the video, it’s the trailer for (An)Other Irish Cinema.

 

I’ve long been skeptical of the notion that the actor should not have control over his work and his life. I hold the opinion that the actor is an artist in the same way a filmmaker or a playwright is (or a painter), and, as such, should look to define an aesthetic and develop that aesthetic by constructing a body of work over a lifetime. The actor should take responsibility for his work, and seek out the culture he wants to participate in, and if he cannot find that culture, he should strive to create it.

It was with this point of view I founded my film club, Drifting Clouds Cinema Group a little less than a year ago. The object of the group is to spread the word about films I love, and organise nights out at the movies. I’m the type of person who always nags my friends to go and see a new masterpiece I’ve discovered, and Drifting Clouds gives me the platform to take that one step further, and actually become a disseminator of cinema culture, and therefore, help to create the very culture I want to participate in as an actor.

It was through Drifting Clouds I met Dublin based filmmaker Rouzbeh Rashidi, and we have since completed our first collaboration, a feature film called Closure Of Carthasis (which you’ll be hearing a lot more about) and we plan to collaborate again in the future. And it was through Rouzbeh I was offered the chance to screen the short films of (An)Other Irish Cinema.

(An)Other Irish Cinema is actually three cinemas, in addition to Rouzbeh Rashidi, there is Donal Foreman and Maximilian Le Cain. As their website informs us, they are resolutely independent filmmakers based in Ireland, and have each built up extensive filmographies, working in complete creative freedom. Having already screened their short film program in Ireland, Italy and Brazil, I became very excited by the prospect of presenting the work by three filmmakers each with his own distinct and compelling vision, and yet united by a shared love of cinema, which is clearly present in the finished films.

Interestingly, Rashidi, Foreman and Le Cain state on their website that by creating (An)Other Irish Cinema, they “propose the possibility of an/other filmmaking culture in Ireland”. Well, Drifting Clouds, based in London, is proud to participate in the creation of this culture by presenting the work of (An)Other Irish Cinema.

 

Drifting Clouds Cinema Group will present (An)Other Irish Cinema on February 4th at Monty’s Bar And Lounge, Brick Lane. Entry is free and the program starts at 7pm.

If you would like to learn more about (An)Other Irish Cinema, please visit their website:

www.anotheririshcinema.blogspot.com