March saw the 78th MK3D at the BFI! Mark was joined on stage by six fantastic guests: Jerry Dammers, Joe Dunton, Pauline Black, Taghi Amirani, Raine Allen Miller and Vivian Oparah.
The show opened with Ask the Audience, with questions from the audience about the Oscars, about what Mark looks for when he decides to re-watch a films for reviews, and a question about WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY.
First on stage was cinematographer Joe Dunton, who spoke about shooting the film DANCE CRAZE, which has recently been remastered in 4K by the BFI. DANCE CRAZE showcases the very best of the British Ska phenomenon, with exclusive live performances from THE SPECIALS, MADNESS, THE SELECTER, THE BEAT, BAD MANNERS and THE BODYSNATCHERS – brought to the screen particularly vividly due to Dunton’s revolutionary camera work.
Joining Mark and Joe on stage were musicians Jerry Dammers (The Specials) and Pauline Black (The Selecter), who talked about the ska movement, and how controversial it still was at that time for people of different colours to take to the stage together.
In Here’s The Thing, Mark celebrated the life and career of Racquel Welch who passed away earlier in the month – especially her memorable role in ONE MILLION YEARS BC (1966) directed by Don Chaffey.
Next on stage was filmmaker Taghi Amirani, who discussed his documentary COUP 53, which uncovers details of US and UK involvement in the 1953 coup in Iran, emerging from BFI Archive footage he unearthed. The film was first released in 2019, and as this year is the 70th anniversary of the coup, the filmmakers are producing a follow-up, which comes out later this year.
Taghi went on to talk about the film that changed his life: LOCAL HERO, directed by Bill Forsyth> Mark and he share a passion for the film and Taghi explained that the film influenced his first documentary in 1989, why he has such a strong connection to the film and to the film’s producer David Puttnam.
Our final guests were director Raine Allen Miller and star Vivian Oparah to talk about the new, joyously uplifting Peckham-set rom-com RYE LANE, which is out in cinemas now. Mark asked Vivian to talk about a performance that was hugely significant to her: she chose Lupita Nyong’o in Jordan Peele’s US. Raine talked about her guilty pleasure, BOWFINGER, directed by Frank Oz and starring Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin.
