All eyes were on east London in 2012. Since that summer of glory, gold medals and diamond jubilation, questions have been raised as to what kind of legacy recession-hit Britain has really inherited. With that in mind, and with the G8 Summit being held in the UK in June, the 12^th East End Film Festival will open on Tuesday 25 June with the World Premiere of a vital new feature documentary that is the antithesis of last summer’s manic Union Jack waving. 

As Olympic gold medals pumped the UK with pride, vast financial hauls from across the planet were being secretly processed within a few miles of the Olympic stadium. In the shadows of that stadium, one local resident took an equally daunting leap: to challenge one of the most powerful and clandestine institutions in the world. Journalist and filmmaker Mark Donne’s second feature THE UK GOLD follows the dramatic battle of a vicar from a small parish in the London Borough of Hackney as he goes head to head with an ancient and mighty heavyweight, revealing its central status as the tax-haven capital of the world. From Zambia to Salisbury; from the Cayman Islands to Clapton, a huge, untold story unfurls which shakes our notions of nationhood and empire; a story seismic enough to shift perceptions of finance and flag forever. Narrated by actor Dominic West (The Wire, The Hour), and featuring an extraordinary new sound-score from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja, it incorporates the views and voices of British politicians, hedge fund masters of the universe, Vanity Fair investigative journalist Nicolas Shaxson, Private Eye’s Richard Brooks and Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow, to expose the fundamental role the City of London plays in the secretive network of tax havens and tax avoidance. Screening at the Art Deco Troxy, this unique red carpet gala screening will be followed by a very special musical performance. 

Further highlights include: 

-       As one of the UK’s largest film festivals, EEFF will screen an international programme of over 80 features and 100 shorts, many by first- and second-time directors, including MISS LOVELY (dir: Ashim Ahluwalia) which follows two brothers and a shady ingénue on Mumbai’s trashy movie scene; INCH’ALLAH (dir: Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette) which follows a Canadian doctor who’s torn between two sides while working in a West Bank refugee camp; and Rotterdam award-winner LIFE SOLDIER (dir: Daniel Hoesl), a provocative portrait of two women from different ends of the social spectrum. There’s also films from established and renowned directors, including stylish psycho-sexual murder-mystery SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF from Academy Award nominated Mike Figgis; and PENANCE from Japanese master of suspense Kiyoshi Kurosawa. 

-       EEFF continues its partnership with Sheffield Doc/Fest, taking over an infamous Doc/Fest party venue now known as the East End Bar. The festivals also share a selection of films, with EEFF hosting London Premieres of PUSSY RIOT: A PUNK PRAYER (dir: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin), chronicling the way a small act of protest became an international story of human rights abuse; AFTER TILLER (dir: Lana Wilson, Martha Shane), documenting a group of doctors who become targets of the pro-life movement; SMASH & GRAB (dir: Havana Marking), pursuing a gang of international diamond robbers; THE MAN WHOSE MIND EXPLODED (dir: Toby Amies) portraying an man who can remember working with Salvador Dali, but who can’t remember yesterday; and RICHARD PRYOR: OMIT THE LOGIC (dir: Ali and Marina Zenovich) celebrating the legendary comedian.

-       Committed to giving exposure to new and distinctive filmmakers, first- and second-time directors are shortlisted for EEFF’s prestigious Best Feature award, the winner of which is invited back the following year as Director In Residence. Having won in 2012 with his barnstorming debut feature El Ultimo Elvis, this year’s Director In Residence is Armando Bo and the festival will include a special focus on Argentine Cinema including UK Premieres of THE WILD ONES (dir: Alejandro Fadel) and LEONES (dir: Jazmín López), both compelling tales of angst-ridden Argentine teenagers. 

-       EEFF’s signature paring of live soundtrack and silent film in a unique setting was voted Best Silent Film Event Of The Year in 2012 by Silent London. EEFF returns to Spitalfields Market in 2013 with a FREE outdoor screening of LA ANTENA (dir: Esteban Sapir). Set in a future dystopian city whose residents have lost their voices, this imaginative Argentine film will be accompanied by immersive contemporary dance by East End-based Neon Dance, and a specially commissioned score by gothic pop band Esben and the Witch.

SAVE THE DATE: East End Film Festival’s full 2013 programme will be announced 23 May.

For more information please contact:

National press: Sarah Bemand & Hilary Cornwell at Margaret_

sarah@margaretlondon.com / hilary@margaretlondon.com or 020-7923-2861

or

Stuart Haggas, Head of Press, East End Film Festival

press@eastendfilmfestival.com or 020-7364-7917

East End Live, taking place July 13^th, continues the EEFF’s rich connection with sound. From EEFF 2012 Opening Night Gala film Arena: Amy Winehouse and 2011’s The Libertines: There Are No Innocent Bystanders; to curated film and live music performances from Guillemots and Saint Etienne, specially commissioned live scores from Antony Rosumnundo (Dirty Pretty Things) and Minima; and live performances from acclaimed new artists such as Lianne Le Havas; the EEFF is a festival that has long championed live music, music film and the boundaries between sound and image.

Being held across multiple venues, and with a choice selection of the up and coming, the established and the legendary, East End Live will be a genre-hopping must-see for any music fan, with a special film element of its own. Main headliners so far include Toy, Wet Nuns, Perspex Flesh and Charles De Goal, and the full line up of East End Live will be announced over several weeks until May 16^th.  Early bird tickets are just £10 and are available now from seetickets.com. See eastendlive.com for more details, and we look forward to welcoming you to the inaugural edition of our very own music festival!

Moving from the sonic to the digital realm, Emerge takes place at the heart of the EEFF on Wednesday July 3^rd. Sited at Brick Lane’s beautifully refurbished Vibe Bar, this celebratory exploration of the creative and innovative possibilities lying in the digital realm will explore the potential for originality in cinematic storytelling offered by convergence and emerging technology.

Interactive talks, discussion, live performance, installation and screenings will offer a wildly varied experience, as the EEFF uses Emerge to introduce filmmakers, technologists, industry experts and audiovisual and digital artists to unpack subjects as diverse as emerging exhibition formats; the rise of micro-filmmaking; the potential of transmedia; the crossover between gaming and film; and innovations in marketing and distribution. Equipping filmmakers and those working in the digital space to tell cinematic stories in a tech-savvy age, look out for more announcements on the Emerge programme soon, with the full line-up confirmed with the EEFF full programme announcement on May 16^th.

With the EEFF expanding to two weeks from 25th June to 10th July in 2013, this year’s EEFF will be the largest, most high profile and dynamic edition of the festival to date. Committed to discovering the great new filmmakers of tomorrow, and to providing a platform to brave, imaginative and challenging cinema -  from bold dramatic narratives and documentaries to the experimental  realms of art and music – the EEFF offers an unrivalled platform for new cinema in London, boasting wonderful audiences, industry attention and professional development opportunities.

The festival is still open for submissions to Withoutabox members, and wishes to see as much of the exciting new work being produced by local, British and international filmmakers as possible. For more details on how to signup as a Withoutabox member and to submit your film to the EEFF, please visit www.eastendfilmfestival.com/submissions.

Taking over East London from 5pm-5am on July 13th, EAST END LIVE will sit side by side with the EEFF’s mission of discovery in cinema, and reputation for celebrating the combination of live music and film by extending the festival’s music arm for a stand-alone, one day, multi-venue festival.

Featuring both new and established cutting-edge acts from various genres, and a special cinematic element, EAST END LIVE will offer a vibrant communion of sound and image. Don’t miss the first line-up announcement on the 22^nd of April at www.eastendlive.com, and follow this exciting new initiative on Twitter at @EastEndLive.

After last year’s incredibly successful first edition, the Argentine Film Festival London kicks off today, offering a fantastic programme of new Argentine cinema, including a series of screenings at East London’s Hackney Picturehouse. It’s the perfect way to warm up for the Argentine focus at this year’s EEFF.

The Argentine Film Festival London strives to celebrate the finest in Argentine cinema, offering a selection of films touching on subjects as varied as football, wine, warring families and mysterious hit men.

Opening with Daniel Burman’s acclaimed romantic comedy All In, starring Oscar-winning musician and actor Jorge Drexler, other highlights include fascinating Argentine football history document The Lost World Cup; Gonzalo Tobal’s Villages, which sees two feuding cousins embark on a road trip to their hometown for a family funeral; and the brilliant new films from Argentine auteurs Carlos Sorin (Gone Fishing) and Pablo Trapero (White Elephant).

Highlights at Hackney Picturehouse include Javier Rebollo’s brilliantly idiosyncratic road movie The Dead Man and Being Happy, a special shorts programme from the country’s best young directors (including Medianeras director Gustavo Taretto’s Locarno prize winner Not Available Today), and Dario Nardi’s Sadourni’s Butterflies, a wonderfully off-the-wall tale of a circus dwarf with a prison record struggling to go straight.

To celebrate the arrival of the festival, the EEFF is giving away two tickets to see its pick of the festival Sadourni’s Butterflies at Hackney Picturehouse on Friday 19^th April. To claim your tickets, simply email film@eastendfilmfestival.com with your request, with ‘Sadourni’s Butterflies ticket offer’ clearly marked in the subject heading.

The Argentine Film Festival runs from 17^th – 21^st April 2013. For more information on this year’s programme please visit www.argentinefilmfestival.com

Having championed some of world cinema’s most groundbreaking cinematic New Waves over the past few years, the EEFF’s annual national focus returns in 2013. Having previously mined the bold and the new in Indian, Russian and Romanian film, the EEFF is very excited to be focusing on the bold and distinctive cinema of Argentina this year. Following Argentine director Armando Bo’s dark comic drama The Last Elvis (left) deservedly winning the EEFF’s top award in 2012, Bo will be the EEFF’s Director in Residence this year, helping the festival to shape an incredible strand of cinema, panels and a very special dose of live music.

What makes the EEFF 2013 focus so exciting is that Argentina represents one of world cinema’s most important and internationally renowned movements, made clear by it being the most awarded Latin American country at the Goya Awards (the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars), and being the only Latin American country to have won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (for both 1985′s The Official Story and 2009′s The Secret in Their Eyes). Argentina also had two films – Lucretia Martel’s The Headless Woman and Pablo Trapero’s Lion’s Den – compete at Cannes in 2008, a feat only recognised cinematic powerhouses France and the US could match. 

With a little help from our friends at the London Argentine Film Festival, the EEFF 2013 selection will show how this socially conscious tradition is being interpreted by a new generation of filmmakers.  With recent output ranging from pacy thrillers (The Secret in Their Eyes) to surreal, visually-striking psychological dramas (The Headless Woman); to gentle slow-paced character studies (Las Acacias) and whimsical Woody Allen-esque comedies (Sidewalls), we hope to showcase the diversity and independence of new Argentinean filmmakers, in the process offering something for all lovers of cinema.

Discovering and nurturing new cinematic voices has always been at the heart of the EEFF mission, and in 2013 we’ve also got some big developments in the professional development stakes. Really engaging with the issue of sustainability, the EEFF team are currently putting together what is intended as the most specialised, targeted industry schedule at any UK festival, focused on the alarmingly high drop-off between first and second features. The festival is here to help filmmakers cross that divide between shorts, a first feature, and the second feature that represents a step into a true filmmaking career.

When it comes to cinema’s future creatives, the festival is even trying to catch them early.  ‘Cutting East,’ a project supported by Film London, Tower Hamlets Council and Queen Mary University, is an entire ‘festival within a festival,’  engaging and training young East Londoners aged 16-21 to programme a weekend of cinema both about and for young people.  Seeking to show how cinema can address issues relevant to their lives, and offer experience in the world of festivals, it’s an inspirational exercise that will include screenings, talks and even a pop-up cinema.

All of this comes within the EEFF’s commitment to creating a festival that engages with all. Bringing political documentary and debate to London with the likes of Sheffield Doc/Fest and Amnesty International; offering up our first screenings for the hearing impaired; reaching out to marginalised communities; and more satellite venues are signs of a festival looking to engage with the world around it. With LGBT programming representing the most comprehensive in the UK outside specialist festivals, and expanding digital, interactive and live music programmes, EEFF 2013 will truly be must-attend event, whoever you are.

By Priscilla Eyles

Late entry submissions for EEFF 2013 close on the 16th April 2013. With the EEFF expanding to two weeks from 25th June to 10th July in 2013, this year’s East End Film Festival will be the largest, most high profile and dynamic edition of the festival to date. Committed to discovering the great new filmmakers of tomorrow, and to providing a platform to brave, imaginative and challenging cinema -  from bold dramatic narratives and documentaries to the experimental  realms of art and music – the EEFF offers an unrivalled platform for new cinema in London, boasting wonderful audiences, industry attention and professional development opportunities.

The festival is still open for submissions and wishes to see as much of the exciting new work being produced by local, British and international filmmakers as possible. For more details on how to submit your film to the EEFF, please visit www.eastendfilmfestival.com/submissions. Final Special WAB members deadline closes on 23rd April 2013.

EEFF 2013 to open on 25th June.

This will give the EEFF the chance to engage in new ways with its audience, and to further explore the festival’s programme of cutting-edge filmmaking from new international directors, live cross-arts events and dynamic exhibitions.

The East End Film Festival has grown in recent years to become one of the UK’s most significant film festivals. With a commitment to first and second time feature filmmakers reflected in the EEFF’s established awards system, as well as offering one of the UK festival circuit’s most targeted and relevant professional development programmes for filmmakers seeking to establish a sustainable career, the festival is a hub for the discovery and development of new filmmakers. 

The EEFF is also very pleased to confirm that it will be expanding its music-related activity, welcoming a variety of established and emerging acts to the festival’s music arm, as well as building on its industry & professional development programme and the festival’s digital platform. The EEFF is very excited to be embarking on new territory in addition to its commitment to discovering and developing brilliant new cinematic voices, which will see the EEFF establish itself as the true festival of discovery for cinema, music and the future of new media.  We look forward to sharing more news with you very soon.

Returning in 2013 will be the festival’s awards, supporting the festival’s commitment to first and second time feature directors and judged by high profile figures from the industry and beyond; the famous EEFF outdoor screenings, taking a fresh turn for 2013; a renewal of the EEFF’s commitment to enhancing cinema with cutting edge live music; a number of fantastic partnerships, including an expansion of the EEFF’s relationship with Sheffield Doc/Fest, who will be working with the EEFF to bring a number of exciting documentaries and industry expertise to London; and much more besides.

We very much look forward to welcoming you to EEFF 2013 in July, and to releasing more information on the festival’s exciting plans very soon

EEFF 2013 Submissions opening 22nd January
With EEFF 2013 officially confirmed for 4th – 10th July, the EEFF is delighted to open submissions for this year’s festival on 22nd January.With nearly 1000 feature and short film submissions in 2012 the last edition of the EEFF was by far the largest to date, and we are extremely excited to begin the process of selecting the best new cinema from filmmakers from East London, the UK and beyond.

Please visit our Submissions Page for more details on the festival’s various submission deadlines, which includes a discounted early bird deadline of 19th February. All submissions are accepted through Withoutabox, with site members receiving a special late submissions deadline of 23rd April 2013. The festival endeavours to make all selections by 6th May 2013.