This month’s MK3D at the BFI Southbank saw another extremely talented array of guests and wide-ranging conversations about film and film culture.
The news in Here’s the Thing focused on Judy Garland’s recent 100th birthday and the season of her films currently at the BFI (which was given a glowing review by Mark’s daughter who was in the audience); the relaunch of the BFI Imax; the upcoming Cineramageddon at Glastonbury that Mark is curating with Julien Temple, and his upcoming MK3D at Latitude – and a shout-out to the new Britbox series REEL BRITANNIA.
Our first guest on stage was Swedish director Ninja Thyberg who talked about her brilliant new film PLEASURE and the female gaze, and about her favourite filmmakers Lukas Moodysson and Ruben Östlund.
Next Mark in the Q&A segment, Asked The Audience to decide who would win in a fistfight between Friedkin and Herzog (no prizes for guessing: it’s Herzog). He also – very subtly – asked to be invited on the wonderful Girls on Film podcast hosted by Anna Smith after a question about his recent appearance on Brett Goldstein’s ‘Films to Be Buried With’. He paid tribute to the late Julee Cruise and her amazing work on the soundtrack for TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME.
Our second guest was Movement Director & Choreographer Polly Bennett who talked about her latest project, ELVIS. Polly was previously praised by MK3D guest Rami Malek about her work on BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY and so we had to have her on herself! Her work on ELVIS is stunning and to illustrate her technique she taught Mark to move like The King – a moment that will make it into our Hall of Fame. She went on to talk about her choreographic influences, ANNIE and WEST SIDE STORY.
Next up was a List-O-Mania where Mark dissected a list of the 20 most confusing films of all time. Mark invited Kermode on Film co-host Jack Howard to the stage to explain the film in the number one spot, TENET.
Next Mark welcomed Director Lucile Hadžihalilović onto the stage to talk about her newly released first English-language film EARWIG. Then, much to Mark’s delight, Lucile chose THE EXORCIST as her Film That Changed My Life.
Finally, Mark welcomed friend and filmmaker Mark Jenkin to the stage to talk about his film ENYS MEN who had just returned from the Cannes Film Festival and which will be distributed in the UK by the BFI in the near future. Mark talked about the influence of Derek Jarman’s THE GARDEN and its soundtrack, which he still listens to regularly on cassette, as well as naming THE PERFECT STORM as his Guilty Pleasure pick.
We ended on a Sound & Vision moment with actual ’68 Elvis.
