Going Green - My film - A nod to the Summer Solstice

This week sees the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year caused by the rotation of the sun. Back in the day when I was 25, I was at the last Free Music Festival of Stonehedge when UK New Agers had gathered since Woodstock to celebrate the Solstice at the ancient monument stones. My film Going Green, which I wrote and directed is loosely based on characters I met at the Stonehedge Free Festival in the 1980's and our subsequent escape to the Ridgeway ancient right of way road.

It was always a peaceful event when I had gone in previous years, but in 1985 I awoke from my tent with my hippie boy friend, Al Murray, nicked named Free Wheeling Frankin from the Alternative Comic book, to hear the rumour that police were gathering down the road. I had been sent out to collect the wood for the cooking fire. We all I am afraid, took advantage of the freedom we had to cook food on open fires right beside the monument. It is understandable that the monument took at bit of a beating in those days when Hippies and New Agers from all over the planet converged on Stonehenge, but the violence that ensued from the police seemed disproportionate to the 'crime' of endangering the monument. I had returned to the camp with the wood and was told by Al the safest thing we could do was to leave. Being a peaceful person he packed up the camp and because we were on foot we carried everything on our backs and walked past the road blocks of the police. Another hippy took pity us and offered us a lift in his car.

We did see that they had blocked a convoy of travellers in cars and that the truncheons were out on the cars. The Battle of the Beanfield remains to be the event where the largest number of people were arrested in the UK at one time. You can read about it here

I was not arrested and in our case under threat of that, the police escorted our group to the Ridgeway, an old road high up on the Wiltshire hills near Avebury, where we had tried to set up an alternative small encampment, and from which we were also moved on from by Police.

We camped happily and peacefully there on the Ridgeway with the blessing of the police for a few days. During that time I got to know the 20 or so campers who all had different stories about their lives. The characters in the comedy Going Green are my homage to their particular alternative look on life and how a homeless family are helped by them in Scotland on the other famous right of way the West Highland Way. You can see my film Going Green on Amazon at this link here
You can see a clip of the film Going Green at this link here


It is of credit to this generation that now Stonehedge is a protected national monument and that the Glastonbury Festival is it's legacy. A nod to my namesake who is appearing there as a singer song writer this weekend.

Cannes Film Festival 2017 - The Spectre of fascism is haunting Europe

A spectre is haunting Europe, the Spectre of Fascism. Freedom is a bad word, at the Cannes Film Festival 2017 in France, particularly for women where the body shaming dress code symbolises a return to an age Oppression. This spectre extends more importantly to the work Women do in the film industry, particularly when it comes to directing feature films. The 2017 proudly announced it had 7 women directors in it's selection, but let's see that in perspective. Out of the 60 or more Male directors 7 women were featured. The maths of this  tells you that at the Festival, Women directors amounted to less than 10% of the selection. Since female attenders have been banging on at the lack of serious female supervision in films at Cannes Film Festival for 5 years, it maybe that it is now time to request a special section in the festival for Female achievement in film to re dress the balance.

Fascism is a strange thing it pervades peoples minds slowly and creeps darkly into the manners in which people compete with each other. Women are less free than they were 30 years ago and Cannes does nothing to promote a free, confident, working women, who have accepted the mantle of emancipation. Instead women there are clothes horses, with hidden bunions on their feet, smiling sweetly like 'Stepford' wives, trailing after male business men who march round in comfortable shoes and black fascist  style Tuxedos. Women are failing to speak up about the endless body shaming, which was rife at this year's festival when men openly berated and made fun of women who they said were not thin enough or acting in a way that was not submissive to them. What!

Fascism is a breeding. It is a force lead by men in tuxedos, with flat feet, and beer bellies. It is the men who should be taking a good look at themselves before they utter the fat word. With the exception of a few actors mostly the Festival was awash with over weight men, but the tabloids never discuss it or comment about their weight, their clothes or their shoes. So why do men like that think they have the right to have a Size 8 on their arm when they are not slim themselves? Ridiculous. Arise Dear Women and head forward to become film Directors and not just 5% but 50% of the employed working force of the film industry seizing it from these elitist, male, tuxedo, creatures. Not that I should be biting the hand that feeds me. Sure we are all trying when it comes to the weight game. However the trend of body shaming has really gone too far and a person is more than the some of their parts.

Cannes 2017 marked a return to an age of  Oppression as if  Europe was in the 1930's when Fascism gained ground prior to World war 2. It is up to Women to stop this trend and for men to shut up with their mocking laughs for once.

The Marche Du Film was a different this year with over 12,000 attendees according to Sydney's Blog piece. So there were some good pointers to film distribution with the people that count, mostly the smaller distributors who work hard for the Independent Film Maker and put their best foot forward usually a steady Doc Martin  I may add, while they wrestle with the over wrought Studio  Execs selling their block busters with the ubiquitous high heeled shoes in tow. Don't women realise in ten years when their bunions develop high heeled shoes will be a thing of the past for them too?
Hail Caesar Hail the High Heeled shoe! Lets keep the Mache Du Film going with Women at the foremost while they train to become good film Directors.

A nod to the sales agents and the work they do to keep us all in a job.

For my fans, I think I have some, here are some photos from Cannes 2017. I go between a size 10 and 12, but I could do with some work on my tummy. But who really cares? It's what you achieve that counts.

If we are to counter extremist ideology of all kinds, drastically changing the way all men from all backgrounds, treat women would be a great start.

Selfie outside the Majestic Hotel, Cannes

Outside the Majestic Hotel 

Actor Adam Lannon Presenter of the HP Presentation

Anonymous young film maker stating

'We should all be feminists' on her T-Shirt. 

A moment of fun with the Star Wars Photo Exhibit

May the Force Be With You.

Live Long and Prosper.

For the Amazon Fans

Photoshoot Movie Screenplay

You can get the screenplay of the film, Photoshoot one of the films I wrote and directed here

and the DVD here

Going Green Movie 

Also the other film I wrote and directed Going Green seems to available on DVD at Amazon.com here