Watershed Podcast

Reflections on the Watershed year in cinema for 2015, with a list of the top 25 films screened at Watershed. Mark Cosgrove, Watershed Cinema Curator discusses why the hugely diverse 25 films selected stand out for him, highlights a few that slipped through the critical net and reveals his favourite film of 2015.

This month Mark Cosgrove, Cinema Curator at Watershed, wonders why is it that African films continue to excite audiences and garner international attention, yet are woefully under-represented in British cinemas. With a particular focus on Senegalese cinema Mark introduces some of the key directors and films in African filmmaking from the last 50 years, and looks forward to the 10th Afrika Eye Film Festival which takes place at Watershed and across Bristol this November.

In this month's podcast Mark Cosgrove, Watershed Cinema Curator, asks what is curation in the film exhibition world? And how is it different from programming, scheduling or booking? And indeed do audiences care how a film comes to be on at a cinema as long as it is something they like and it is showing? He asks these questions having recently worked with a group of Watershed's Future Producers who have created a season of late night sensory cinema that asks what LOVE is Like.

In this month's podcast Mark Cosgrove, Watershed Cinema Curator, talks about why the Watershed hosted Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival holds a vital and unique place in the annual film calendar. Mark selects some of his highlights from the upcoming festival and tells us it's the perfect opportunity to see the talent of tomorrow, hear from the filmmakers themselves and to share the all too rare pleasure of seeing short film on the big screen.

In this month's podcast Mark Cosgrove, Watershed Cinema Curator, reflects on his recent visit to Bologna, Italy, for Il Cinema Ritrovato festival. The festival has been going for nearly 30 years and has grown to become a vital and important film festival. The title of the festival roughly translates as Cinema Revisited or Cinema Restored and focuses on representing restored and often neglected archive films from around the world. Mark considers the value of watching old films and having a festival dedicated to them, and argues that these films still have historic importance and resonance today.

In this month's podcast, to mark the centenary of the birth of legendary American director Orson Welles, Watershed Cinema Curator Mark Cosgrove talks about the the impact of Orson Welles work. Mark looks back over the career of this landmark figure, not only in the history of cinema, but also in his early days shaking up the worlds of theatre and radio. Mark also discusses the films, some well known and some less often seen in cinemas, all of which are screening in July as part of the The Magnificence of Orson season at Watershed.

This month Mark Cosgrove, Cinema Curator at Watershed, reflects on his five film highlights from the Cannes 2015 film festival including; Carol directed by Tod Haynes and based on a once shocking Patricia Highsmith novel, an idiosyncratic Icelandic film about two sheep farming brothers and Taklub which explores how survivors rebuilt their lives after a super typhoon – which Mark says is one of the greatest films he has seen in a some time.

This month Mark Cosgrove, Cinema Curator at Watershed, and Palliative Care Consultant Julian Able discuss May's Caring About Dying season of films at Watershed. The films are screening as part of the cultural programme of the 4th International Public Health and Palliative Care Conference, of which Julian is the Chair of the organising committee. The conference explores how to reframe death and dying and brings these two subjects out in the open to talk about loss and suffering, and how to foster community participation and resilience in response. In this podcast Mark and Julian talk about our contemporary context for dying, the professionalisation of end of life care and the films screening at Watershed – Amour, Still Alice and Last Orders – and their vivid portrayal of the realities and emotions brought on by death.

This month Mark Cosgrove, Cinema Curator at Watershed and Phil Johnson, Senior Programme Producer at St Georges Bristol delve deeper into our Folk Noir strand of screenings and performances that looks at the darker side of folk music and film.

This month Mark Cosgrove, Cinema Curator at Watershed and Professor Tim Cole from University of Bristol reflect on some of the themes, ideas and discussions that have emerged from films recently screened at Watershed as part of Conversations About Cinema: Impact of Conflict. This season of screenings, events and conversations, co-created by Mark and Tim, continues until July and looks at how film and filmmakers address the impact of conflict.

This month Mark Cosgrove, Watershed Cinema Curator, talks about The Impact of Conflict and discusses the Playable City with Watershed Producer Hilary O'Shaugnessy. Mark discusses how film and filmmakers have and do address The Impact of Conflict, in particular in relation to new cinema release Selma. Selma is a gripping drama that focus on Martin Luther King in a vivid retelling of the months leading up to the historic 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, that would secure voting rights for African Americans - a story that resonates with contemporary American events and screens this month at Watershed. Hilary talks about the notion of the Playable City and Watershed's past successes in making Bristol recognised as the original Playable City and upcoming Playable City activity in 2015.

This month Mark Cosgrove, Watershed Cinema Curator, talks about our new strand Conversations About Cinema: The Impact of Conflict with co-curator Tim Cole, Professor of Social History at University of Bristol. Mark and Tim reflect on how the impact of a war, any war, is not confined to its dates, but goes far wider, far deeper. They discuss this notion in relation to our January programme, which includes a special Sunday Brunch season (Rebels in the Rubble) that explores filmmaking in the immediate post-war period and new release Testament of Youth. The Impact of Conflict strand runs from January until June 2015 and will explore the effects of war across people, society, places and politics.

In this episode: This month Mark Cosgrove, Watershed Cinema Curator, considers his five, or so, top films of 2014. We also hear from Nikesh Shukla, editor of Watershed's young people's magazine Rife on their list of the twenty four most influential Bristolians under 24. Mark discusses films that this year have renewed his confidence in British filmmaking, films that mesmerised him and films that have thrilled him with their subtlety, vigour and passion. What are your top five films of the year?

In this episode: This month Mark Cosgrove, Watershed Cinema Curator, is in conversation with Fern Dunn, an MA Curation student on placement at Watershed. They discuss the nature of and influences on Film Curation, why Watershed is a partner in the MA course and the upcoming season of films that Ferne has curated – Beats to Buddhism. Beats to Buddhism is Watershed's contribution to November's Glassfest celebrations which sees seminal composer Philip Glass return to Bristol, with the season of films exploring the interests, inspirations, and influences on a composer who has irrevocably changed the face of contemporary music.

In this episode: Mark Cosgrove, Watershed Cinema Curator, talks about Watershed's upcoming season Sci Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder which boldly celebrates the ever popular genre of science fiction with re-released classics, an in depth look at Afrofuturism and an evening featuring the sound of sci-fi and a screening of Silent Running at the magnificent Eden Project. Mark is also joined by three of Watershed's Future Producers to talk about the sci fi imbued screenings and events they have created as part of the season, taking in late night screenings, a weekend of free events and a Blind Date screening as part of Fun Palaces, plus a range of family activities over October half-term.

In this episode: Clare Reddington, Watershed's Creative Director, discusses the positive aspects of play and how we can use the infrastructures of cities to make people think about where they live and how they connect with each other. Clare also talks about ways to get playful at Watershed this month from Shadowing – a new artwork that connects people at dusk across Bristol through play, to the Making the City Playable conference and through playful cinematic visions of how we might work, rest and play in the future.

In this episode: Mark Cosgrove, Watershed's Cinema Curator, considers what is unique about the experience and what is the value of seeing a film in the cinema, and what is it that makes film quintessentially cinematic.

In this episode: Mark Cosgrove discusses Creativity Inc, which offers a rich, behind the scenes look at Pixar Animation's creative success; and considers the issue of the industrialised processes of the film industry engaging with creative and artistic talent. It is through this prism that Mark wonders how the sublime, 12-year-spanning, Richard Linklater epic, Boyhood was ever made. Finally Mark looks ahead to July's Century of Chinese Cinema season, which offers a fascinating insight into the richness and history of Chinese film culture.

In this episode: Rife Magazine is a new online magazine written by young people in Bristol for young people in Bristol, covering arts, entertainment, events, lifestyle, social issues, politics and Bristol itself. It is run by Watershed and funded by Bristol City Council. In this month's edition of the Watershed podcast, Rife Magazine Editor Nikesh Shukla and Project Manager Vanessa Bellaar-Sprujit present the team of young journalists working with him for the next six months. Shanai, Ryan, Adibah and Jon tell us what they were doing before they joined Rife, what they'd love to come out of the project, and why it's so important. We also hear about the regular features you can expect from the journalists, such as What Grinds Our Gears and Little Ryan's 30 second film reviews. Follow updates from the team at @rifemag.

In this episode: Andrew Kelly, Director of Bristol Festival of Ideas talks to Mark Cosgrove, Watershed Cinema Curator about the tenth anniversary of the festival. They discuss May's wide ranging programme of talks, events and screenings which cover amongst others science, literature, new wave feminism and the centenary of the start of World War One – and how audiences ten years on still have a voracious appetite to come together face-to-face to engage with ideas. Cinema screenings they discuss as part of the World War One commemorations include Bristol produced Till The Boys Come Home, in which the people of Midsomer Norton and Radstock re-enact the oral history of their ancestors, and Stanley Kubrick's incredibly brutal, anti-war film Paths of Glory.