Bulletin

It’s that time again…after the majesty of The Golden Globes and The Oscars kick-started the year, the East End Film Festival has come just in time for spring when we can start to get excited about outdoor cinema season. With just over one more week to go of this year’s festival, many acclaimed pieces of cinema have already been and gone, but don’t fear because there is so much more still to come.

If you aren’t familiar with the East End Film Festival, where have you been? Having been gracing the screens of the east since 2000, this festival is renowned for giving some of the most creative and talented, up-and-coming filmmakers a platform to showcase their work. The films selected to be exhibited are unique in their own way, displaying new and interesting ideas for film enthusiasts to sink their teeth into.
This year, there will have been a grand total of 95 screenings over the course of the whole festival in some of the area’s favourite cinemas, including Rio Cinema in Dalston and Bethnal Green’s Rich Mix.

Some of the best has definitely been saved until last this year and we have handpicked just a couple of the screenings that are still up-and-coming so you can have a little taster. Showing at Old Spitalfields Market on April 27th will be a film that has been described as melancholic, endearing and heart-felt and has been classed as one of the best films from 2017. Call Me By Your Name is a film not to be missed out on if you're interested in impulsive romance, true love and the joys of parenthood.

On the penultimate day of the East End Film Festival, there will be a piece playing that will be right up your street if you are all for female empowerment and the equality movement. London Unplugged will be a combination of eleven films by some of London's emerging female film-makers showing at Rich Mix cinema, a thought-provoking and moving collection of motion pictures will be a great way to bring this renowned festival to a close.

I thought of this as a topic to talk about after a discussion I had the other day when somebody didn’t know what a millennial was, when in fact they were a millennial themselves! I know what you’re thinking…you’re sitting there right now pondering the same question. To clear things up, a millennial is somebody who has reached young adulthood in the 21st century. Here’s an interesting fact, did you know that people aged under 30 make up half of the world’s population?

Overall, the millennial generation has seen some really good change over recent years; the start of the eradication of inequality, an increase of environmental enthusiasts and a growth of inspiring young and successful entrepreneurs. This generation of youths have seen the monumental rise of social media, a place where they can share any and every part of their lives as they wish, sometimes it’s cool, other times it’s just plain narcissistic.

So what are the main lifestyle trends of a millennial quotidian? There has never been so much consciousness surrounding food, what is in it and where it has come from (hashtag cornfed, hashtag cleaneating hashtag vegan). In fact, I read an interesting article recently talking about how millennials would be more likely to get onto the property ladder if they stopped eating brunch and avocado on toast…but then what would they post on Instagram?

Travelling is another thing that is a high priority on a millennial’s list, the more obscure the destination the better. Most have accepted that it is a tough world out there for first-time buyers, therefore making memories and gaining experiences are becoming much more important.

If you don’t own anything millennial pink are you even a millennial? This soft rosy hue fits the bill for almost anything – sofas, walls, trainers, hair, you name it.

Many of the young adult population have their own lingo too which has evolved over the last few years – squad goals, eyebrows on fleek, slay…you know the drill.

In his most recent set of work, Quiet Utopia, Iraqi-born Tishk Barzanji has taken inspiration from his Kurdish roots and his past experience living in Dalston to create this colourful and surreal exhibition. Brutalist works of architecture, dreamlike hues and abstract notions all come together to create this collection of artwork which has been labelled as being a welcome distraction from the real world in which we deal with on a day to day basis.

The way in which Barzanji cleverly combines his love of art and architecture means he creates a fairytale-esque aura which surrounds his work and his subliminal messaging causes spectators to wonder whether they are observing something which is representing a dream or a nightmare.

Symbolic, fanciful and mesmerising, Quiet Utopia will be sure to leave you full of questions and curiosities, marvelling over the mysteries conveyed by Barzanji’s surreal and quirky creations.