New British Cinema Quarterly is an initiative led by Soda Pictures with 15 partner cinemas across the UK. Every three months, Soda tour a new British independent film around cinemas in the UK with members of the crew in attendance, allowing the talented people behind the films a chance to interact with their audience as well as giving these exciting low budget titles a chance to be seen on the big screen.
The ‘Annual’ is Soda’s yearly compilation of the four films that were toured in the previous year, accompanied by a 20 page magazine which looks back at the the state of British cinema over the period as well as providing a place for the filmmakers to describe their experience of touring the films.
Below are my brief thoughts on the four films included in the set and an overview of the package as a whole.
Honeymooner
Director: Col Spector
Screenplay: Col Spector
Starring: Gerard Kearns, Daisy Haggard, Chris Coghill, Al Weaver
Running Time: 74 min
Year: 2010
BBFC Certificate: 15
(2/5)
Things got off to a shaky start with Honeymooner (I’m reviewing these in the order in which I watched them) which is a lightly comic romantic drama from second time director Col Spector.
The film’s protagonist is Fran (Gerard Kearns), a 29 year old whose fiancee leaves him shortly before their intended wedding. The timespan we follow is the fortnight he should have spent on his honeymoon. Taking anti-depressants and mooching around London with little hope for his future, his two best friends try to get him back on the saddle. So we watch as Fran stumbles from one bad date to another failed chat-up line. Ultimately though, cracks start to appear in his friends’ relationships and the tables start to turn.
