The 74th episode of MK3D at the BFI Southbank on Monday 7 November saw Mark on stage with a brilliantly varied group of talented guests, and discussions about film of different genres.
First on stage was director Charlotte Wells, talking about her latest feature AFTERSUN, which has been nominated for 16 BIFA awards. She talked about the autobiographical roots of the film and working with her leads Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal. She also discussed The Film That Changed Her Life, Lynne Ramsey’s 1997 GASMAN. The portrayal of memory in this short impacted her own filmmaking style.
Following this Mark was joined by Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman, who talked about NEPTUNE FROST – an Afrofuturist sci-fi punk musical that opened in cinemas on Friday 4th November. They highlighted the significance of music, movement and sensory joy within the frame, and encouraged the audience to get up and dance in cinemas whilst watching the film. Anisia expresses her love for Wong Kar-Wai’s HAPPY TOGETHER, and Saul explained why the music in his guilty pleasure, MARY POPPINS, is actually rap music.
During Ask The Audience Mark received a question about the position of independent cinema in the current film streaming scene, to which he responded with a positive outlook on the wider availability of independent films and called cinema lovers to take risks with what films they go to see. This was followed by a question about the restoration of THE DEVILS, to which Mark got on his soapbox to say that the uncut version of the incredible Ken Russell film should be released universally.
Next, we saw filmmaker Ondi Timoner talk about LAST FLIGHT HOME, a moving film about the last days and intentional death of her father. She went on to talk about The Film That Changed Her Life, Frederik Wiseman’s 1967 TITICUT FOLLIES, which sparked her curiosity for making the private public – with the camera acting as a bridge into worlds otherwise unseen.
After this, Mark was joined by A BUNCH OF AMATEURS directors Kim Hopkins and Margaréta Szabó and stars Joe Ogden and Harry Nicholls, who discussed their charming new movie about the oldest filmmaking club in the world. Mark asked Harry and Joe about the films that influenced them; Harry highlighted the original KING KONG, while Joe chose BIRDEMIC: SHOCK AND TERROR and BEING THERE.
Intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien returned to MK3D after her last appearance in July 2021 to talk about her role in the film industry and the work she does with Intimacy On Set. She discussed the new releases she has worked on which include EMPIRE OF LIGHT, LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER, PRETTY RED DRESS, OUTDOORS, and BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER.
Ita was joined on stage by DANGEROUS LIAISONS star Paloma Faith. The pair worked together during the intimate scenes in DANGEROUS LIAISONS, the television series that premiered on 6th November on LIONSGATE+. Paloma explained that Ita helped refine her performance and made her feel comfortable on set as a postpartum woman. Paloma revealed her guilty pleasure Nick Sparks’ 2004 THE NOTEBOOK, a film Mark clarified is nothing to feel guilty about.
We ran out of time so we had to skip Ita’s Guilty Pleasure, which will be revealed in next month’s 75th edition of MK3D at the BFI Southbank.