Celluloid Diaries: October 2013

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Razor Reel 2013

I'll be hosting several Q&A sessions with filmmakers at the Razor Reel Fantastic Film Festival the following two weekends. Here are the trailers of the movies I will be talking about. Come by and say hello if you have the chance.


In 2011, the Razor Reel Fantastic Film Festival buzzed with The Dead, a zombie movie set against the open spaces of Africa. This year, the Ford brothers return with a sequel that takes the action to India and ramps up the action, violence, and drama. Directors Howard and Jonathan Ford will answer questions about their movie at their Q&A session on October 26.

the dead 2

The Otherworld - L'autre Monde


Several years ago, Richard Stanley (Dust Devil, Hardware) had an inexplicable experience in the French locality of Montségur. Its impact made the filmmaker decide to return to the area and shoot a feature-length documentary about the esoteric mysteries there. I will host a Q&A session on The Otherworld on October 27 and will be joined by director Richard Stanley and composer Simon Boswell.

the otherworld richard stanley

On Tender Hooks


For more than a year, director Kate Shenton filmed several groups of people who pierce themselves with hooks and hang in mid-air from rigs. On Tender Hooks explores a wide variety of experiences and opinions on the subject and shows us how the human body can achieve extraordinary things. Shenton will be present for the screening and Q&A of her documentary on November 1st.

on tender hooks

Previous Razor Reel posts: Razor Reel 2012 / Razor Reel 2011 / Razor Reel 2010.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Sitges Film Festival 2013 {part 2}

Sitges Film Festival 2013 poster

This is the second part of my wrap-up of the Sitges Film Festival 2013. You can find the first part at Sitges Film Festival 2013 {part 1}.

Monday.

The week started with a morning screening of Frankenstein's Army. It's 1945. Russian soldiers push their way into Germany through Poland. Their mission is to aid Russian squadrons in need of assistance. When they enter an abandoned church's maze of underground hallways, they are attacked by mutated machine creatures. The atmosphere of Frankenstein's Army is macabre and creepy. The creatures are the best I've seen in a long time. Once the nutty professor who made these creatures shows up, though, the film changes pace and the cleverly constructed suspense falls apart.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Sitges Film Festival 2013 {part 1}

Sitges Film Festival

Last week, I got to cross something off my bucket list... a trip to the famous Sitges Film Festival in Spain. I have always wanted to visit this horror film festival situated in a small Catalan coastal town. What better way to spend my time in between horror films than to have a walk alongside the beach, write at the hotel swimming pool, photograph the local cats, or snack on pimientos de padrón?

Here's an overview of my first three days in Sitges. The second part will follow in a couple of days.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Life lately - Ibiza

Es Vedrà sunset cala d'hort
Ibiza flea market
Ibiza flea market
Geco vegetarian restaurant Ibiza
Portinatx
Santa Eulària
Cala Mastella
Can Tewfik restaurant Santa Gertrudis
Benirràs
Cala des Xuclar

1// and 2// Sunset in Cala d'Hort with a view on Es Vedrà. 3// to 6// Ibiza flea market. 7// Quinoa and vegetable lunch in the vegetarian restaurant Geco in Santa Eulària. 8// Sal de Ibiza shop. 9// and 10// Portinatx. 11// Santa Eulària. 12// My cousin's cat, Romea. 13// and 14// Cala Mastella. 15// Santa Eulària. 16// Pizza at restaurant Can Tewfik in Santa Gertrudis. 17// and 18// Benirràs. 19// and 20// Cala des Xuclar.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Urbex - Abandoned hotel on Ibiza

Abandoned hotel on Ibiza

In the bay of Cala d'en Serra, in the north of Ibiza, lies one of the hidden gems of the Balearic islands: an abandoned hotel complex designed by the acclaimed Spanish architect Josep Lluis Sert. The hotel was started in 1969, but never finished because Spain's fascist government prevented Sert from being accredited as an architect in the region. The idea was to continue the project after the turmoil was over. Unfortunately, Josep Lluis Sert died of lung cancer before anything could be done. In the year 2000 plans were drawn up to finish the complex in the style intended by Josep Lluis Sert and to turn it into a thalassotherapy centre. These plans were abandoned due to the world banking crisis.

The unfinished hotel has an eerie urbex feel that juxtaposes wonderfully with the turquoise sea. As you'll see from the photos, it offers a magnificent view of the bay and the surrounding pine woodland. I visited the site last month and it was definitely my favorite part of Ibiza.

It's easy to find. Just descend the dirt road towards the bay Cala d'en Serra (preferably by foot to avoid damaging your car). It's close to other well-known bays such as Portinatx, Cala des Xuclar, S'illot des Rencí, Cala Xarraca and Benirràs, so you can easily combine a visit of the abandoned hotel with other activities.

Abandoned hotel on Ibiza
Abandoned hotel on Ibiza
Abandoned hotel on Ibiza
Ibiza urbex
Ibiza urbex
Cala d'en Serra
Cala d'en Serra hotel
Ibiza urbex
Ibiza urbex
Abandoned hotel
Abandoned hotel
Abandoned hotel
Abandoned hotel
Unfinished hotel
Unfinished hotel
hotel ruins
hotel ruins
hotel ruins
unfinished hotel
Abandoned hotel
Cala d'en Serra
Cala d'en Serra

Previous urbex posts: abandoned horror-themed restaurant / abandoned haunted convent / creepy war fortification

Previous posts about Ibiza: Ibiza / Santa Eulària / Cats of Ibiza

Monday, October 7, 2013

Writing in Santa Eulària, Ibiza

Santa Eularia

Last week I visited my cousin, Kate, who lives in Santa Eulària, Ibiza. Several afternoons were spent at beach bars where I wrote and rewrote several chapters of Avalon's memoir.

Here are a few photos of those spots. In case you'll read the book when it comes out, you might want to remember that the parts about Avalon's hyperthyroidism, his appearance in a music video, his fan meetings, and his prominent role in my screenplay A Good Man have been written in the places you see here. Enjoy.

Santa Eularia
Santa Eularia port
Santa Eularia port
boats and sea at dusk
Santa Eularia at dusk
Santa Eularia by night
Santa Eularia Ibiza
Paseig de Pau

Photos of my previous trip to Ibiza can be found here, and a collection of photos of the cats I met on Ibiza here.