I’m very, very, very pleased to announce that at 11am on Sunday, May 13th I’m once again joining forces with the world’s only known magazine for film-makers and photographers, Hungry Eye, and Britain’s oldest continuously operating purpose built cinema, The Duke of York’s in Brighton, to screen Anton Corbijn’s “Control” as part of the England’s largest arts festival, the Brighton Festival, 2012. Tickets are available here. There will also be a special guest Q&A afterward, read one for all the info…
“Control is a 2007 black-and-white biographical film about Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. Matt Greenhalgh wrote the screenplay based on the book Touching from a Distance, written by Curtis’ widow Deborah who co-produced the film. Directed by acclaimed photographer Anton Corbijn, Control stars Sam Riley as Ian, Samantha Morton as Deborah, and Alexandra Maria Lara as Annik Honoré. It also stars James Anthony Pearson, Joe Anderson, and Harry Treadaway as Joy Division members Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris, respectively, as well as Toby Kebbell as band manager Rob Gretton and Craig Parkinson as Factory Records head Tony Wilson.
The film follows Ian Curtis’ life from 1973 to 1980, focusing on his marriage to Deborah, the formation and rise of Joy Division, his struggle with epilepsy, and his extramarital affair with Annik, culminating in his May 1980 suicide. The film’s title comes from the Joy Division song “She’s Lost Control”.
Control premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2007 where it won several awards including the Director’s Fortnight, the CICAE Art & Essai prize for best film, the Regards Jeunes Prize for best first/second directed feature film, and the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film in the sidebar. It went on to win five British Independent Film Awards including Best Film, Best Director for Corbijn, Most Promising Newcomer for Riley, and Best Supporting Actor for Kebbell. It was named Best Film at the 2007 Evening Standard British Film Awards, and Greenhalgh was given the Carl Foreman award for outstanding achievement in his first feature film at the 61st British Academy Film Awards.”
Following the screening we’ll have a live discussion with Stephen Mallinder, of Caberet Voltaire. Stephen is ideally placed to discuss Anton’s film and the aesthetic of that era. Caberet Voltaire were highly acclaimed contemporaries of Joy Division, both were signed to Factory Records and they frequently shared the bill at early gigs. The band were also photographed a number of times by Anton Corbijn.
(photograph by Anton Corbijn)
“Stephen, founder member of pioneering electronic act Cabaret Voltaire, who are regarded as one of the key influences on contemporary electronic and popular music culture, has a background of both theory and practice in media and popular culture working as a musician, video maker, journalist, broadcaster, researcher and academic.
The group’s first release, Extended Play in 1979, represented the first domestic release for Rough Trade Records, the UK’s foremost independent label followed by, A Factory Sampler, the debut release for the seminal British record label, Factory Records.
He went onto produce more than 30 albums for these and other independent labels plus worldwide releases for Virgin, EMI, Manhattan/ Blue Note with chart and club successes around the world notably in Europe and USA.
Stephen has worked numerous artists, film and record producers including Afrika Bambaataa and early electro producer John Robie. He has recorded albums with legendary dub producer Adrian Sherwood and became the first UK act to record an album in Chicago in the late 80s with ”the originator of house” Marshall Jefferson. More recently has worked with Shaun Ryder (Happy Mondays /Black Grape), Billie Ray Martin, John Foxx, and members of Nine Inch Nails.
He has established a number of record labels: Plastex (UK); Off World Sounds (Australia); and Doublevision, the UK’s first independent video label with associated record label. Has won awards in USA and UK for videos and artwork. Produced soundtracks for cinema, television, theatre and national ballet.
Currently living in Brighton, UK Stephen continues to produce music and has signed to dTone Music in the USA reissuing his Ku-Ling Bros. recordings which debuted at No 1 on eMusic in the USA. He is currently recording as Wranger two with members of Tunng and has just completed an album as Hey, Rube! with Stephen Cobby (Fila Brasilia) for 23 Records.
He holds a doctorate in electronic music, and continues to write, research and teach”.
The screening will be at 11am on Sunday 13th May at the Duke of York’s Picture House in Preston Circus Brighton. As soon as the credits roll, we’ll be starting the live discussion (you must have a ticket for the film to see the discussion). Coincidentally (or not so coincidentally), the cinema will be screening another classic photography & film-making linkup with Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow Up showing straight after our discussion.
You can buy tickets for the Control screening and Stephen Mallinder discussion here (click on the red 11:00 button on the left hand side).
This event is part of the miniclick talks: Brighton’s free monthly photography talks.
