HippCast: Episode 13

It’s the annual ‘programme picks‘ episode – a listener favourite! – and with only one week to go, what better time to have another look over the line-up?

We hear from Festival Director Alison Strauss who urges audiences to check out The Rugged Island: A Shetland Lyric (1933) either in-person or via live-stream, plus squeezes in every Frances Marion title under the guise of one: Just Around the Corner (1921), available to view either in-person or via live-stream; Natalie Allison (Festival Producer) who is proud to present a Friday Night Gala screening of Mantrap (1926), and recommends audiences check out New Found Sound; Nell Cardozo (HippFest Development & Engagement Officer) who was blown away by the contemporary resonance of The Norrtull Gang (1923), and points audiences towards the free Pen-to-Picture exhibition at Bo’ness Library; Paul Eames (Falkirk Council Team Leader for Cultural Services) who is looking forward to re-living a memorable first viewing of The Wind (1928), seconds a need for audiences to see New Found Sound, and also recommends Queen of Sports (1934); Lesley O’Hare (Falkirk Council Cultural Services Manager) who jointly anticipates the exploits of mischievous children in both Adventures of Half a Ruble (1929) and Oliver Twist (1922); and finally Marketing Manager Abbie Dobson, whose first choice is Jenny Hammerton’s Cooking with Joan Crawford workshop, followed by the gothic architecture and cinematography of The Organist at St Vitus Cathedral (1929).

Please note that this transcript is generated with the assistance of AI technology and therefore may contain some errors.

Episode 13

 [00:00:00]

Alison Strauss: Hello listeners and welcome to Episode 13 of our Festival Podcast, or HippCast for short. We are in the middle of intense preparations for our 14th edition and wanted to dedicate, our March episode to the packed programme we’re about to deliver. In fact, if you’re listening to this at the time of release, there is exactly one week to go.

Our cunning plan is that this episode will prompt you to return with fresh interest to film titles that you might just have scrolled past when we launched the program, or if you’ve been swithering that you’ll now take the plunge at last and make your pick… or picks! This episode is also a chance to hear from some of the wonderful people behind the scenes who work so hard to make HippFest happen.

But that’s enough from me as it’s a longer than usual episode ahead. HippFest Digital Content Manager Christina catches up with all the members of our team discussing which [00:01:00] titles they’re most excited to see at HippFest 2024. You’ll notice she fiendishly avoids committing to her own two picks but instead shares thoughts on everyone else’s…

We hope you enjoy this personal rummage through the details of the programme and we look forward to seeing you very soon, either in person or online from afar. Take care.

Christina Webber: I always think when we do the program launch, I’m coming at it very much from a digital perspective and all of the digital bits and pieces, all of the admin involved with getting it physically bookable. But it must be quite an exciting time for you as the programmer, because it’s the first time that your baby gets seen outside of just us.

Alison Strauss: That’s exactly the metaphor that I had in my head. Actually, I was thinking I’ve been gestating this for more than nine months. I’ve been gestating it for, in some cases, actually, since about [00:02:00] 2017. And anyway, so it is, it’s a really lovely time when it’s out into the world and you can share it with everyone.

 It’s also the first time everything is really visible as a, or appreciable as a sort of, as a coherent whole, so in my head, the idea of themes running through the programme, when you’re sort of pulling all the pieces together, those are just separate bits.

But then, like I say, when it’s all laid out beautifully in the beautiful programme, it’s like, ah, it all hangs together.

Christina Webber: I probably shouldn’t admit this, but even though I’m part of all of the planning all the way through, it’s still at this stage that I’m realising connections that you’ve probably outlined to me. It’s a beautifully crafted program, that’s what I’m trying to say, it’s a really rich, yeah, I’m basically just saying thank you.

Alison Strauss: Oh, you’re very welcome. And uh, it’s funny what you say about connections as well, because as well as those, um, you know, those, [00:03:00] ostensible themes or sort of focuses or spotlights. There’s always, there’s always a surprise connection that comes and peeks up. Like, I mean, they’re not massive, but like things like, um, you know, Ernest Torrance, who’s in the program cause partly to be celebrated as a Scottish born actor who, who made it big in Hollywood, but just that he pops up in, the Jeely Jar film on Saturday morning, as well as the Friday night gala.

Christina Webber: It’s, it’s always such a delight, um, when it’s out there and seeing people respond to the programme. But the purpose of today’s episode is for you and for all of the team to offer their personal picks, uh, from the program, and I’m limiting it to a maximum of two per person.

because otherwise, well, otherwise the episode will be a triple decker. Um, so I was wondering what your [00:04:00] first number one programme pick would be for HippFest

Alison Strauss: Um, well, it’s always so hard, but yes, I think my first pick would have to be The Rugged Island: A Shetland Lyric, which is our opening night feature film.

And it’s, was made at the cusp of the, uh, the sound era, end of the silent era, 1933, directed by a woman called at that time, Jenny Brown, who we now know more often as Jenny Gilbertson. She was born in Glasgow and she’d moved to Shetland and made a life there and had started making sort of observational films about life in Shetland, and the, the industries, the crofting industries of the people there.

And, um, she got a bit of recognition from, John Grierson at the GPO film unit. And he’d encouraged her to make something longer, more ambitious, [00:05:00] and she made what she called a story documentary, which is this film that we’re showing. Um, and it’s a very, very deceptively simple story about a couple who, uh, a courting couple who live in a crofting community and, um, they have the tantalizing offer of a life in the new world.

I think it’s Australia and, um, really the central drama is there. Trying to decide what’s the right thing to do and, you know, realising the implications of if they leave the community that they’ve grown up in and that they’re really integral to, to how could they do that. And yeah, so that’s the setup really.

Um, but it’s just, honestly, it’s such a beautiful film. We’re showing the silent, the full, the silent version. Um, cause as I say, it was, it, I don’t know if I did explain, but it was released initially as a fully silent version. [00:06:00] And then with the bit of encouragement, again, I think from John Grierson, father of the British documentary movement, as he’s often called, um, Jenny decided to recut the film and make a, a sound version,

and to invest a little bit of money in having a score produced for it. So in the sound version, there’s no intertitles. And instead you’ve got this kind of, um, quite sort of RP pronunciation voiceover. Um, it’s quite strange actually, because the thing about the film is it’s so deeply in tune with its subject or Jenny’s in tune with her subject,

so she’s got this lovely flair for filming people and animals and landscape. The opening shots are of these beautiful birds wheeling over the cliffs at the edge of the islands. And there’s, it’s just so warm and, um, what’s the word like, empathic is I think what I’m trying to say. But so when you, if you did ever see the sound [00:07:00] version, it seems really discordant that the, the voiceover narration is this sort of very, sort of: “Hello, here’s Johnny gazing over the cliffs.” And it just seems a bit of a mismatch to me, so I really love the silent version, and, and I’m really pleased that two exceptional musicians have taken on the challenge of creating a new musical accompaniment for it. And that’s Inge Thomson and Catriona Macdonald. And they’re both from Shetland themselves. Catriona is a wonderful fiddle player and Inge plays multiple instruments including the accordion and, but she uses found sounds and recorded sounds as well. It’s going to be exceptional I think having this new accompaniment that’s, that’s really, I feel it’s going to be in tune with the, the spirit of the film and the spirit of how Jenny approached the making of it.

Christina Webber: Oh, so exciting. [00:08:00] And if listeners tuned in to our previous episode, you will have heard a bit about Jenny Gilbertson and the making of the film, uh, from Inge and Catriona. So yeah, a nice follow on. What would you pick as your second programme pick? I know it’s hard.

Alison Strauss: I think, well, I’ve got to quickly say that I’m really, really, really looking forward to How to Be a Flapper and the whole programme about Eve’s film review. You’ve done a lovely podcast on that, uh, whole program with Jenny mertonon, who’s introducing it, so maybe rather than use up my slot with that one…

Christina Webber: This is a cheeky way of getting three in isn’t it?

Alison Strauss: I’m totally busted. Um, no, so I, I want to say there’s, we’ve got a little treat tucked away in the program on Friday, the Friday afternoon. So if people are coming for and the Friday Night Gala. They should just get along a bit [00:09:00] earlier and come to see Just Around the Corner, um, which is, it’s also being live streamed actually.

So again, if you’re a HippFest at Home audience only, you can definitely tune into that and it will be available for 48 hours after we are live. And that one is directed by Frances Marion, and I mentioned earlier about these strands, and this is one of them. So we’ve got three films in the program which have a Frances Marion link, Stella Maris, because Frances Marion was a screenwriter for that one, and also she was a screenwriter for our Closing Night Gala film, which is very exciting, I’m popping in one more title, sorry, Christina, uh, The Wind, but anyway, she is, she has the sole directing credit on this film, Just Around the Corner. And she, she was so involved with all the elements of the, of production, you know, like casting and developing the story and, you know, [00:10:00] everything, um, production, so that probably she has been a bit overlooked in the crediting.

And I was thinking, you know, it’s great that we are showing films directed by women when we can, you know, we know that women were directing, but there’s still stories being uncovered. And we, I’m trying to think about, um, so we’ve got two films directed by women in this, uh, edition.

It’s really nice to, to be able to showcase women who are directing and give them their proper, like, time in the sun. And, uh, yeah, this one. It’s a, Melodrama really, about a mother and how she’s keen to have her children find their happy place in the world. But when you compare the original story to how Frances Marion has presented it in the film,

she really draws out the social commentary and the place of women in the workplace and, and, uh, these [00:11:00] things. So it’s definitely, it’s worth a look. And I do hope that people will come along, as I say, a bit early on the Friday to try that one.

Christina Webber: Oh, sounds amazing. Thank you so much. Um, And yeah, I totally, I think I might, I might edit this bit out if it sounds a bit naff, but I really do think, and it’s not my work, obviously, but I’m so proud to be involved with HippFest because I think considering that we present silent film, there’s such an incredible…

um, the programme is so supportive of women in the industry and really platforms…

It’s just such a women heavy program considering, you know, and I remember in the, the conversation that you had with Lisa Hoen of Tromso International Film Festival, and when you come to talk about the challenges of programming silent cinema and you both look at each other and are like, [00:12:00] the sexism of the content.

And you’re just so used to it, obviously, and trying to navigate and a program that’s really exciting and contemporary around that. I just think when you look at the programme, there’s just such an incredible, I mean it is, I’m going to edit this out because I’m rambling.

Alison Strauss: No, don’t edit it out. I think it’s a really nice point well made and somebody’s, well I can’t remember who it was, somebody said it’s femme centric, the festival. I think, I quite like that, it sort of captures it. We don’t want to put anyone off.

Christina Webber: Men are welcome too! But it’s, it’s just, yeah, I’ve been really thinking this year about how, grateful I am for that aspect, so thank you. Um, but yeah, anyway, I said that everyone gets a 10 minute slot and you’ve had 20 something, so I’m sorry.

Alison Strauss: I’ll see you online. Thanks very much. Everyone’s a winner anyway…

Christina Webber: / [00:13:00]

Thank you so much for joining me this morning, Natalie.

I’m sorry that it’s, uh, so early in, in the early hours. For anyone that didn’t get to listen to last year’s episode, if you wouldn’t mind introducing yourself to our online audiences, that would be amazing.

Natalie Allison: Hi everyone,

I’m Natalie, and I’m HippFest’s Festival Producer.

Christina Webber: Welcome! Thank you. So

 2023 was your first year at HippFest, and then this year I feel like everyone knows exactly what to expect. Uh, but yeah, how are you feeling about HippFest 2024? Are you more excited this year? Yeah, how are you feeling?

Natalie Allison: I’m feeling really excited because there’s one thing that I love celebrating and being part of and that is a production that features formidable, strong, emancipated women from a hundred years ago and also today.

Christina Webber: I remember last year you spoke about the gala and I feel like it’s [00:14:00] kind of your baby as a producer. So, and last year you wowed audiences with some unexpected surprises. So without, you know, um, taking away all of the mystery, are you looking forward to the gala this year?

Were you going to talk about the gala anyway before I make you talk about it? Or what was your, what was your pick going to be for the 2024 programme?

Natalie Allison: It’s absolutely the gala. It’s always the gala. It is, it is my baby. It’s a big theatrical burlesque packed, demon baby of that. It’s, you never quite know what it’s going to do and that’s what I love the most about it and I just love that intersection between film, burlesque, comedy, um, and everything else that we can possibly pack into the, the hour after the, the HippFest Gala film.

Every year has something thematic that we can explore in terms of live performance. This year we’ve obviously got the wonderful Neil Brand, who’s accompanying the, the film itself, [00:15:00] but then afterwards we have two of Scotland’s leading burlesque performers, internationally renowned burlesque performers, D Bay Deluxe and Miss Behave, who are going to take us a little bit further into those themes that follow on from Clara Bow’s amazing performance in Mantrap.

And they’ll have a little bit more of an exploration as to what happened following that flapper movement and where burlesque went after the 20s. And I think that’s always something that’s the most exciting for me when we can really immerse our audiences in live performance, but also the classics that they love.

Christina Webber: It is such a treat as an audience member and I imagine a bit of a peek into what it was like in the days of kind of variety performance and where these things were mixed up because now as a contemporary cinema goer, you go and you see a film and the closest you get to a live performance alongside of it is like buying your popcorn [00:16:00] beforehand.

And so being able to have the film, the live music, and then also a live performer in the after party or some kind of element of additional performance, is, I think something that you really don’t get to see anywhere else. So it’s exciting that you, you have things up your sleeve, um, for 2024.

Natalie Allison: As always, we love to scandalise a bit as well. You have to remember that burlesque is embedded as far back as the 1840s.

And Victorian burlesque, when it made its way to New York with the visiting dance troupe, the British Blondes, you know, Lydia Thompson’s first season in the city featuring attractive women mimicking patriarch’s roles, grossed over $370, 000. And it gets people to the theatre because we’re intrigued by those parts of ourselves that we are scared to explore. And I think, if anything, that screening [00:17:00] choice of Clara Bow in Mantrap celebrating that emancipated sort of female figure that isn’t afraid to be herself despite all the odds and against all the odds, it still carries a really important message in 2024.

Christina Webber: Oh, I’m so excited. And, uh, we should mention I saw recently that there’s going to be a themed cocktail menu, um, as well…

Natalie Allison: We did have fun coming up with the names. One of the most straightforward choices being the HippFizz. It’s a classic. You’ll just feel very merry and giddy and want to chat to everyone. And we’ve also got The Man Trap, which apparently includes gin, peach, apple, elderflower, and mint. But I would have just thought it was a tequila.

Christina Webber: Well, that sounds amazing. Thank you, Natalie, [00:18:00] and thank you for Making sure that the Friday Night Gala always runs without a hitch. I think there’s a few, only really a few tickets left, so if anyone is listening to this and thinking, oh, I’ll just rock up on the night, don’t.

Like, book ahead. Because those tickets will go. So I would say book now if you’re interested in coming.

So other than the Friday Night Gala, is there anything else in the glittering 2024 program that you’re particularly looking forward to seeing ?

 We also have a lovely, um, event called New Found Sound on Sunday morning. So You can come and join us and support our wonderful young musicians, um, that every year compose, a piece of new music to accompany a film that’s chosen by, for them, by our engagement and development coordinator.

Natalie Allison: And we also have the junior and senior trad bands that also accompany a film. And we really get to see what [00:19:00] their interpretation is of classic silent film as well. And more often than not, it’s super refreshing.

Christina Webber: It’s always a really, really lovely screening. Get up, get a bacon roll and come and support them because they are always in, I always feel so untalented as a 31 year old woman watching these tiny babies.

I mean, they’re not babies, they’re, they’re, they’re young people, but, uh, watching them wow audiences. So yeah. And it’s lovely as well to see like a big ensemble on stage, like a big band.

Natalie Allison: And accompanying a short as well. There’s something really satisfying. Maybe it’s the era that we live in now, um, with short films and short clips, but there’s something, um, really luxurious about watching a full band accompany just a 10 minute short.

Um, and they’re beautiful films as well. They’re always really, really lovely.

Christina Webber: Well, thank you very much, Natalie. Um, I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.

Natalie Allison: I’m ready. Bring the HippFizz!

Christina Webber: Thank you so much for your time today [00:20:00] and, uh, yeah, we’ll see you very soon.

Natalie Allison: See you soon.

Nell Cardozo: Hi, uh, my name’s Nell Cardozo and I’m the development and engagement officer for HippFest, and this will be my second year working on the festival, which is really exciting because I know how it works this year round. I got to finally meet the amazing Hipponauts and the audience last year.

So it’s funny..