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Month: April 2017

Album: Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.

Released 14th April via Top Dawg Entertainment

9/10

‘Kung Fu Kenny’ came out kicking last Sunday as he closed the final night of California’s Coachella festival. With a handful of guest appearances, cinematic interludes and a multitude of hits from the Compton rapper’s back catalogue it was dramatic way to end a festival already packed with world class performances. DAMN. had only been released two days previously but the risk to play a lot of it certainly paid off, with tracks from the album easily providing some of the set’s highlights.

Sunday also marked a disappointing end to the rumours that after dying on the opening track to DAMN., he may rise again on an accompanying album release. Despite the excitement around a second album that never materialised, going back to reflect on what we did get comes with little in the way of disappointment. DAMN. is a landmark hip hop album for 2017. Paying homage to rap’s history, with references to ‘Pac and Jay-Z, Kendrick decisively aligns himself with the genre’s greats.

One of the cornerstones of DAMN., and the reason many were left speculating about the possibility of an accompanying album, was its focus on duality. Even on the track listing, ‘PRIDE.’ comes before ‘HUMBLE.’, ‘LUST.’ comes before ‘LOVE.’. Putting ‘GOD.’ next to ‘DUCKWORTH.’ (the latter referring to his father), he once again aligns himself with greatness.

Ultimately this pervasive sense of duality translates into a conflicted narrative of the kind we aren’t used to hearing from Kendrick. Along with all the posturing and assertions of his talent we’re presented with contradictions and vulnerability. Much as he appears on the cover artwork, DAMN. paints a sometimes-unflattering picture of a man, in many ways torn: torn between his faith and his fame, uncharacteristically unsure of himself at times, but articulate as always.

Lyrically he remains as cryptic and diverse as ever, while the instrumentation often takes a more stripped back, punchier approach. That’s not to say the backing tracks on here don’t deliver. From the Life of Pablo-esque overlapping vocal samples on ‘DNA.’, to ‘HUMBLE.’’s bouncing, bassy piano riff, and sudden changes of pace — along with a surprisingly good U2 feature —on ‘XXX.’, there are plenty of rewarding moments in the instrumentals here.

Changing up his style once again, Lamar has produced yet another confident effort that’s likely to be remembered as a step above the work of his contemporaries. With the old legends dying out, there’s room for a new vanguard of musical greats and Kendrick clearly intends to not just sit among them, but at the head of the table. Not only though his repeated declarations as “the one and only king…” or his epithet of “Mr. 1 through 5” does he project his, but also with the sheer standard of his work.

Proclamation of greatness is one of the oldest trends in hip-hop, but few have had the material to back it up as much as Kendrick Lamar. Whether teaser track ‘The Heart Pt. 4’ was calling out Drake or Big Sean or whoever, DAMN. sets a standard and makes the message clear to all those listening: sit down and be humble, or step up and match this.

Manchester City 0-0 Manchester United

The Future is Manc

Expectations were high when Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho took over the Manchester teams this season, and both have fallen a little short from what was expected of them, but something big is obviously shaping-up at both Clubs.

Manchester City have instilled a certain possession-based style of play – which saw them have 69 per cent possession against Manchester United in this match – but have struggled at stages to balance this with a strong defence.

Meanwhile United have become the team in the League that are the most difficult to beat, but have struggled to get the goals to turn draws into wins. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Juan Mata out for this game, United fans were not expecting a goal fest which probably explains why Mourinho went with a defensive style of play.

Obviously, this game was much more entertaining for Blues’ fans as they watched their team try to break down United, who did not see much of the ball, but the Reds will be happier with the result.

Things are beginning to click with both these clubs and I’ll eat my hat if they aren’t shooting it out for the top prize next season. And I bloody love that hat.

If this Game was a Film…

Return of the Jedi

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

As a guardian of peace and justice, Vincent Kompany is basically a Jedi. Well, I think so – I’ve never seen Star Wars, I hope my Googling has gone well. I’m that guy that turns up to parties and tells everyone “I’ve never seen Star Wars”.

Kompany’s return to the back four in the past few weeks has installed a sense of security at City, and everyone has picked up their game. Both Kompany and Nicolás Otamendi had a fantastic game, breaking any opportunity that United sought, handling the pace of United’s attacking players, and starting City’s attacks well.

Kompany was in fine form, stepping forward from the back and pulling out the bag some beautiful old-school slide tackles. I’m also pretty sure that Otamendi will be necking MigreLief as we speak now, because he won almost every aerial dual thrown to man.

19 seconds in paradise

Ahh I remember playing ‘19 seconds in paradise’ when I was a kid! They used to chuck me in a store cupboard with a girl at school for ‘5 minutes in paradise’ and for some reason it only lasted… I think it’s best we get back to the football.

Of course, 19 seconds in Paradise refers to the amount of time that it took Marouane Fellaini to commit a foul, get booked, do another foul, head-butt a player, and get sent off.

Fellaini was having a pretty good game to this point. With Ander Herrera struggling against the Yaya Toure and Fernandinho, Fellaini had to pick up some of the slack and was good at holding up the play and knocking on to the pacey Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.

That was until he fouled Sergio Aguero twice in 19 seconds and then head-butted him before being shown red.

Possession with intent

With 69 per cent possession, you would expect City to have broken down United in the end, but the Reds held on for a 0-0 draw, with Eric Bailly displaying an impressive performance at the back. On the ninth minute Aguero set the tone for the night, as a great de Bruyne cross met Aguero a couple yards out from the goal, but he hit the post.

With all this being said, Gabriel Jesus made his return and was substituted on the 85th minute when Guardiola saw Fellaini’s sending-off as an opportunity to go for goal.

Eight minutes later Jesus had the ball in the back as he headed in from close-range after an Aguero cross. The linesman ruled for offside in a hideously close decision. That will haunt the City team until their last days.

United’s only real chance came on the 25th minute. Bravo palmed away a cross that honestly didn’t really need palming away, and it fell straight to Henrikh Mkhitaryan. His shot was saved well by Bravo though despite how the goal was at his mercy. Bravo was his match. Unfortunately, though Bravo picked up an injury on the 76th minute and was substituted for Willy Caballero. He could miss the rest of the season.

Finalists announced for Venture Further’s business catergory

The finalists for the four prize categories in this year’s Venture Further competition have been announced.

This article looks into the people and ideas behind the four finalists in the business category. The other shortlists for the research, digital and social categories have also been announced.

This year’s finals take place on Wednesday the 3rd of May, at Whitworth Hall, University of Manchester.

Venture Further invites students and recent alumni to submit a business proposal to an expert judging panel of enterprise and business professionals.

There are four prize categories to choose from – business, social, digital and research – with the winners receiving a £10,000 cash injection to get their businesses off the ground.

The business category recognises companies that have real commercial potential, through new products or services. This year’s ideas range from data analysis to phone cases, and affordable food to clothing rental.

The entries that made it through to this year’s final four in the business category are below:

Neurolytics 
Eleanor Trimble, Siddharth Kohli, Mohammed Abdulaal, Meera Dulabh, and Dr Alex Casson

Using biometric data analysis, Neurolytics’ vision is to enhance marketing solutions through insights into consumers’ subconscious behaviours. The team’s goal is to bridge the gap that currently exists between academic research and commercial industry.

UWispa 
Bilal El Sayed and Benedict Vardey

UWispa is an innovative mobile phone case that allows for clear communication when whispering or when speaking even in the noisiest environment. The mission of UWispa is to extend the privacy and communication clarity of your home phone to your mobile phone when out in public.

Wardrobe in the City 
Crystal Bromwell

Wardrobe in the City is the first UK-based company to revolutionise clothing ownership, providing women with unlimited access to new outfits through a clothing-rental subscription service. This offers a commitment-free alternative to buying and storing clothes that quickly become outdated and/or unwanted. Furthermore, it discourages women from fraudulently returning worn goods.

Russell Food Group 
Drs. Amir Khorasani and Mohammad Hajhashem

Russell Food Group’s aim is to bring healthy and locally sourced food at affordable prices to all consumers. To do this, the team plans to harness the power of technology in order to democratise the rural economy, empowering farmers and disrupting existing supply chains, for the benefit of both consumers and stakeholders.

Finalists announced for Venture Further’s research catergory

The finalists for the four prize categories in this year’s Venture Further competition have been announced.

This article looks into the people and ideas behind the four finalists in the research category. The other shortlists, for the business, digital and social categories, have also been announced.

This year’s finals take place on Wednesday the 3rd of May, at Whitworth Hall, University of Manchester.

Venture Further invites students and recent alumni to submit a business proposal to an expert judging panel of enterprise and business professionals.

There are four prize categories to choose from – business, social, digital and research – with the winners receiving a £10,000 cash injection to get their businesses off the ground.

The research category recognises businesses that focus on the application of university-based research to real-world problems and needs. This year’s ideas span everything from particle manufacture to graphene, and boosting grid capacity to wearable e-textiles.

The entries that made it through to this year’s final four in the research category are below:

MicroSpray Technologies Ltd 
Drs. Salman Malik and Muftau Akanbi

MicroSpray Technologies’ mission is to revolutionise particle manufacturing using an innovative, simple and cost-effective spray technology. This platform technology is considered the ‘holy grail’ of particle manufacture in aerosol generation methods and the team can now provide the sufficient production of particles for high-value added applications, such as pharmaceutical drug delivery.

GrapheX 
Denis Bandurin and Alexander Obraztsov

GrapheX develops x-ray sources with graphene-based cold cathodes. Due to their low power consumption, the team’s x-ray sources find their application where portable technology is required, e.g. in urgent medical imaging, oil and gas pipe testing, food inspection and so on.

Cable Coatings 
Niall Coogan and Barry Johnston

Cable Coatings is a novel, low-cost solution to the increasingly prevalent issue of how to boost electricity grid capacity.

2Dtronics 
Mohammad Nazmul Karim and Shaila Afroj

2Dtronics is a R&D company offering simple, scalable, cost-effective and environmental friendly 2D materials–based technology for wearable e- textiles applications. This patent pending technology would be used in developing 2D material-based e-textiles that would monitor body temperature, heart rate and muscle activity, all in real time.

Live: The Orielles

14th April at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton

8/10

The Orielles are shaking things up within their music; the fresh-faced trio bring a strange new and modern twist on the 90’s grunge feel. The female-led group, with Esme on bass and vocals and Sidonie on drums, was refreshing to watch in a time where music is male dominated – however, this isn’t to say that guitarist and vocalist Henry Carlyle Wade was short of the spotlight; he was full of energy and impressive moves which really pulled in the crowd.

Set in The Hope & Ruin in Brighton, the grungy but cool venue emphasised the mood and reflected the vibe that the band were trying to relay, the whole room was brimming with excitement and intent to experience the group. Whilst there were no magic light shows or extra visuals, it was not necessary nor would have added anything extra to the performance.

The 30-minute set was filled with swirling and sultry melodies transporting you to a world full of surf pop, magnetic vocals and sea green. Despite their young age they are all really making ripples in the music world.

Sometimes old-school sounding music has a tendency to have most songs sound very similar and merge into one other; this was not the case for the Halifax-based band. Each song had its own unique sound, each song cleverly thought out and causing a dreamlike trance with its ooh’s and ahh’s or inducing a intense urge to dance around by its incredible riffs and solos.

For a band, who are relatively new to the game and such a long way from their home town up in Yorkshire the trio did surprisingly well to pull together a relatively large audience; and still only partly way through their tour, one can only imagine that this will be same the case up and down the country.

The Orielles performed tracks from their last EP ‘Jobin’ which is Abe to transport you to the middle of a feel good rom-com from the 90s. Light jingly melodies and airy vocals make you want to blast it from a car with the roof down a perfect summer soundtrack.

The standout song for me was ‘Sugar Tastes Like Salt’. Normally the idea of an eight-minute song would quickly get boring, yet the ever-changing tempo, which took us from a slow and lulling mood to rapid beats, synths and distortion, kept everyone moving and engaged. It really was spectacular.

The Orielles are something not to be missed or underestimated; they are making ripples in music, and have a large eventful career ahead of themselves. I highly recommend and look forward to hearing what they make next.

Manchester Students’ Union support of BDS could be breaking the law

Support of the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign at students’ unions around the country is being investigated by the Charity Commission amid claims of a rise in anti-Semitism.

The University of Manchester is one of the many UK students’ unions to openly support the BDS campaign. BDS define themselves as a “global citizens’ response of solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality”, campaigning to “challenge international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism” in disputed Israeli/Palestinian territory.

In 2010, students’ unions became registered charities, meaning that they have a legal obligation to support the views of their members. In universities across the country, many Jewish and Israeli students have complained of feeling discriminated against. Last year, an ‘Israel Apartheid Week’ was held at SOAS in order to “raise awareness of Israel’s apartheid policies over the Palestinian people”.

Charity guidelines state that a union should only make public statements on matters that directly concern the welfare of the university’s students. Because of this, universities’ support for the pro-Palestine campaign has been reported to the Charity Commission. David Holdsworth, the Commission’s Chief Operating Officer, said that students’ unions cannot discriminate against students “of a particular faith or race.”

Support for the campaign has grown quickly in the last two years. London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) began a boycott of Israel in 2015, and, in a university-wide referendum in the same year, voted in favour of formally supporting the BDS campaign. The BBC reported that 17 universities in the UK have now passed motions in favour of supporting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. In a vote last December, 60 per cent of the Manchester Students’ Union Senate voted in favour of endorsing the movement.

In February this year, current National Union of Students President and BDS supporter Malia Bouattia was found guilty of making anti-Semitic remarks involving the Israel/Palestine conflict. A Home Affairs Select Committee investigation found that “referring to the University of Birmingham as a ‘Zionist outpost’ (and similar comments) smacks of outright racism,” though Bouattia was not disciplined for this. She yesterday lost the NUS presidency to Shakira Martin after running for a second term.

A Charity Commission spokesperson said the reports of support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement within university organisations will be “assessed consistently” by the organisation. If necessary, it will “take regulatory action.”

Speaking to The Mancunion, a spokesperson for Manchester BDS said the movement has “overwhelming support from students and academics,” but also spoke of the “difficulties caused by the university, such as disciplinary charges.” The organisation claims to have never received any complaints of anti-Semitism or discrimination. The spokesperson also said that BDS “welcomes members from the whole community…we would never condone any form of discrimination.”

The University of Manchester Students’ Union did not respond to a request for comment.

Finalists announced for Venture Further’s social catergory

The finalists for the four prize categories in this year’s Venture Further competition have been announced.

This article looks into the people and ideas behind the four finalists in the social category. The other shortlists, for the business, digital and research catergories, have also been announced.

This year’s finals take place on Wednesday the 3rd of May, at Whitworth Hall, University of Manchester.

Venture Further invites students and recent alumni to submit a business proposal to an expert judging panel of enterprise and business professionals.

There are four prize categories to choose from – business, social, digital and research – with the winners receiving a £10,000 cash injection to get their businesses off the ground.

The social category recognises businesses that will improve the lives of people and communities. This year’s ideas range from empowering the homeless to youth training, and celebrating the LGBT+ community to tutoring disadvantaged students.

The entries that made it through to this year’s final four in the social category are below:

Second Shave Barbers CIC

Dr. Salman Malik and Jamshed Malik

Homelessness is a global problem that could affect any one of us. Second Shave Barbers is a barbershop that will empower homeless people to develop new skills as a professional barber and re-enter the world of work. The team knows that barbering can be an effective tool to alleviate homelessness – and create a new wave of entrepreneurs.

Somewhere MCR CIC

Kathryn Pierce

Somewhere MCR Community Interest Company is a new dynamic social enterprise designed to support and celebrate the LGBT+ community through innovative partnerships and cultural projects. The organisation will create and deliver value as a new arts-based LGBT+ creative heritage and learning hub, through the celebration of LGBT+ arts, culture, heritage and enterprise.

The Science League

Hamza Arsbi and Farah Abu Hamdan

The Science League is an educational platform combining online gaming with affordable hands-on learning to train children and youth on creative skills for the 21st century, and challenge them to be change agents in their communities.

Bounceback Education

Duncan Swainsbury, Eve Chancellor, Jessica Stalmach, Ashton Coates and Neil Stewart

Bounceback Education is a ‘buy one, donate one’ tutoring service giving disadvantaged students in the North West access to free tuition. Following a successful pilot, the team is building an online platform that will level up the private tuition market across the UK and tackle inequality in the education sector.

Finalists announced for Venture Further’s digital catergory

The finalists for the four prize categories in this year’s Venture Further competition have been announced.

This article looks into the people and ideas behind the four finalists in the digital category. The other shortlists, for the business, social and research categories, have also been announced.

This year’s finals take place on Wednesday the 3rd of May, at Whitworth Hall, University of Manchester.

Venture Further invites students and recent alumni to submit a business proposal to an expert judging panel of enterprise and business professionals.

There are four prize categories to choose from – business, social, digital and research – with the winners receiving a £10,000 cash injection to get their businesses off the ground.

The digital category recognises businesses that apply digital technologies to generate new experiences and innovative business opportunities. This year’s ideas span everything from storage to services, and gamification to dining.

The finalists are:

Spare Space 

Caleb Conner

Designed to help customers save money on storage and businesses generate more revenue, this idea allows local companies to use their spare space for storing bags, bicycles, boxes and much more. Customers will be able to connect easily to businesses through app, finding storage locations that won’t cost them a fortune.

HollaMe 

Mubashshar Rahman, Jonathan Tang and Ali Ibrahim

HollaMe is a marketplace and platform for a student services exchange. The team wants students to be able to make money, how they want and when they want through offering up their services, as well as saving money through leveraging the skills of their peers. Student life will never be the same again!

Simple Terms 

Michal Wisniewski and Edmund Moore

Simple Terms aims to re-shape and revolutionise the way recruitment industry works by reducing its complexity, and increasing transparent and efficiency. It leverages the technology of crowdsourcing and gamification to provide companies with highly qualified candidates, quickly and on a cost-effective basis, while benefiting hiring companies and recruitment agencies.

Otterly 

Rishabh Jindal

Otterly brings your favourite eateries into the 21st century. Allowing you to simply walk into an eatery and place your order on your mobile, or have your order ready just in time for your arrival, the app eliminates the need to wait in queues, carry multiple loyalty cards or have to wait to be served.

Journey to the moon with the EAC & LEL Ball

It’s finally over: Long Essays are in, exams seem far away on the horizon (they’re not, but let’s pretend), and the sun is (maybe, hopefully) shining. What better way to celebrate than with a ball?

The EAC and LEL societies are putting on their annual ball on the 4th of May, and everyone is welcome, regardless of your degree subject!

The theme is ‘Voyage Dans La Lune’, so it’s a perfect excuse to get dressed up in something sparkly and celebrate the end of the year before exams and essays make us all stressed again.

All years are welcome, it’s not just for final year students — and it’s a great way to let your hair down in style at the Principal Hotel on Oxford Road.

Tickets are on sale now, but you’ve got to be quick — they’re only available until the 28th of April at 12 noon.

Tickets cost £37.50, which includes a 3-course 5* meal, a private red-carpeted entrance, welcome drinks, and entertainment from the MSC Big Band and a DJ! What more could you want from an evening?

So much work has been put into this night to make it incredibly special and exciting, so get dressed up and head on down to the Principal on the 4th of May, and get ready to journey to the moon with us all!

Full details of the ball can be found on the Facebook event here, and tickets can be bought here.

Malia Bouattia defeated in NUS president election by Shakira Martin

Shakira Martin has been elected NUS president with 402 votes, beating the incumbent Malia Bouattia and the University of Manchester Students’ Union’s endorsed candidate Tom Harwood.

Martin, the current NUS Vice President for Further Education, was elected with 56 per cent of the votes at this year’s conference. Martin is a black single mother from a working class family.

Speaking before the vote Martin positioned herself as the centrist candidate and spoke of wanting to focus more attention on all of the 7 million members, instead of being focused on the president.

In an interview with The Independent prior to the results Martin said she wanted “to put the NUS back into the hands of its membership and send the message to the heart of the government about what students want”.

Malia Bouattia, 29, who came second with 272 votes, and is the current NUS President, will be leading NUS into the general election until Martin takes the reins on the 1st of July. In an emotional election speech before the vote she talked about death threats and harassment she has faced as President. Malia was NUS’ first Muslim woman president, born in Algeria.

Her family were forced to flee during the civil war when she was seven years old. Having been denied refugee status, her family of five shared one room when they arrived in the UK. In a statement the NUS applauded “Malia’s work to make the movement more diverse, ensuring the organisation is representative of the students it represents”.

However controversy has plagued her year as President, including a Home Affairs Select Committee investigation after she was accused of anti-Semitism, which concluded that her “choice of language (and ongoing defence of that language) suggests a worrying disregard for her duty to represent all sections of the student population and promote balanced and respectful debate. Referring to the University of Birmingham as a ‘Zionist outpost’ (and similar comments) smacks of outright racism.”

Tom Harwood, who gained only 35 votes, pledged to create a more “credible, inclusive NUS” as he claims that the “NUS is in crisis” and is “failing students”. His campaign Facebook page states that “whether it’s embroiled in yet another anti-Semitism scandal, organising riotous protests, or involving itself in foreign policy discussions, it’s clear that [the NUS] has not been working for students.”

After her election Martin said: “I am honoured and humbled to have been elected as NUS’ National President. I take this as a vote of trust that our members believe I can lead our national movement to be the fighting and campaigning organisation we need it to be, representing the breadth of our diverse membership.

“Further Education made me who I am today and look forward to sharing stories of just how powerful all forms of education can be when we’re all given access to it. During my term in office I want to spend my time listening, learning and leading.”

Fallowfield Fete aims to encourage students to embrace their local community

Fallowfield’s first ‘Community Fete’ will be held in Tower Dining room at Fallowfield Campus on Wednesday 3rd of May educating students about the work that is being done within the local community.

On the 3rd of May 1-4pm Manchester Student Homes invites all students to attend Fallowfield’s first ‘Community Fete’ that will showcase how students can get the most from their time living within the local community.

The Fete will bring partners from the Students’ Union, Sports, Volunteering, Greater Manchester Police amongst others to provide first year students with all the information they need to successfully transition from halls of residence to their homes off campus, and to enhance the student experience.

Students will be invited to complete a circuit of exhibitors and collect a stamp for each stall attended and once finished a completed flyer will entitle them to an item from the barbecue provided by the Owen’s Park Students Association.  Partners will also have a host of goodies and freebies.

Cooper Healey, Manager of Manchester Student Homes told The Mancunion they were “delighted to have such a fantastic opportunity to give attention to all the work that is put in by various partners to make Manchester and Fallowfield an exciting place to live”.

For more information please contact Manchester Student Homes’ Community Cohesion Intern at [email protected]

University of Manchester students back Tom Harwood for NUS President

University of Manchester students have voted to back Tom Harwood for NUS (National Union of Students) president in their Primary elections, mandating the University of Manchester Students’ Union delegates to vote for him tomorrow at the NUS conference.

Speaking to The Independent, Harwood described the NUS’ current leadership as from the “extreme end of far-left politics”, and added that he hopes to “drag the NUS back to the centre so that it can speak for all students”.

Tom Harwood has pledged to create a more “credible, inclusive NUS” as he claims that the “NUS is in crisis” and is “failing students”. His campaign Facebook page states that “whether it’s embroiled in yet another anti-Semitism scandal, organising riotous protests, or involving itself in foreign policy discussions, it’s clear that [the NUS] has not been working for students”.

Harwood’s manifesto outlines his plans to create a more inclusive NUS, claiming that  “only when [the NUS] is inclusive to all can we achieve real change”, promising to “tackle mental health stigma”, “combat sexism”, and we “fight anti-Semitism”.

Promises listed on Harwood’s website include a one member one vote system in all NUS elections, allowing every student the right to vote for an NUS president, and a call to raise the threshold at which Further Education students have to pay back fees to the UK average wage of £26,500.

His policies also include some more satirical pledges, from an aim to defeat ISIS using NUS boycotts to ensuring every lecture begins with a pledge of allegiance to the NUS.

Harwood is looking to oust the current President Malia Bouattia, who is also standing to be NUS President again under the slogan: “For a strong transformative union.”

Bouattia’s Vice President, Shakira Martin, is also in the running, with the aim of “making education an option for everyone”.

The vote for the National President is planned for Wednesday 26th of April at 10.30am.

In a statement on the University of Manchester Students’ Union website they outline that “in accordance with the Union bye-laws, the NUS Conference Delegates are required to vote in accordance with the outcome of a Primary Election, open to all University of Manchester students.

“This ballot was held 5 April 2017 (20.30) to 24 April 2017 (12.00) following the Hustings event held 5 April 2017.

“The results are in and our NUS National Conference delegates are now mandated to vote for these candidates in the election they’ll vote in at conference.”

The chosen candidates are as follows:

National President: Tom Harwood

Vice President (Higher Education): Ana Oppenheim

Vice President (Society and Citizenship): Danny Nasr

Vice President (Welfare): Izzy Lenga

Vice President (Union Development): Matt Grange

Analysis: Marcelo’s brilliance

Marcelo’s performance in the thrilling second-leg match between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the prestigious Champions League was astounding. Although Ronaldo scored most of the goals, along with receiving Man of the Match, Marcelo was a vital pivot in that second clash between the two mammoth clubs.

His partnership with Ronaldo is noteworthy. The Brazilian plays behind the Portuguese legend as a full-back on the left-side, and they have been at the club together for a very long time. Plus, they both speak the same language, ensuring vital good communication. Evidently, their relationship is quite strong.

Using this game as an illustration, Marcelo usually searches for Ronaldo when the former is driving forward, which is what the Brazilian often does in a typical match. Just before the third goal was scored by Los Blancos, he literally passed the ball to his companion just outside the six-yard box, completing the forward’s hat-trick in that match. When the last goal was scored, the synced celebration between the two says it all.

David Alaba has long been known as one of the most versatile players in the game, as the Austrian can comfortably play in multiple positons. His current original role is at the left-back position, but he has previously played as a CB, CM and CDM — his preferred side remains left. In the past, he said that he prefers contributing more upfront by playing up there, signalling his positional desires.

Marcelo has shown numerous times that he is highly capable of switching his positional role during a single match many times. During a Los Meringues attack, he is able to transform from a full-back to a forward in the same way a river flows from the source to the mouth, transitioning through the positons in-between smoothly.

This is primarily noticeable when he is the main man holding and driving forward the ball, as it was seen many times during the match against the Bavarians at Santiago Barnebeau. This versatility in a first team player is priceless, especially to a superior football team. His capabilities even reached goalkeeping by clearing the ball on the goal line on that thrilling night.

This makes Real Madrid’s left side virtually invincible, as Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo are also playing at that side. These three world-class footballers almost always end up in the team of the year. The intriguing question is: Is Marcelo still indisputably the best left-back on the planet?

GRUB Food Fair

GRUB Food Fair, now a staple in any Manchester foodie’s Saturday is coming to a temporary close. Their collaboration with Alphabet Brewing Company has seen hundreds of punters head to their hidden away venue on a street behind Piccadilly, but the guys running it have decided they want to expand and trade on Fridays and Saturdays, in a bigger space. Before their final Saturday, on the 29th of April, I decided to head down and see what all the hype’s about.

Scanning the Facebook event, I saw plenty of vendors that were likely to tingle my taste buds, so I set off to explore. Make sure you check out online who’s expected to be trading each week as it is always changing.

When I hopped off the train at Piccadilly, I must admit I got Google Maps out to figure out which direction to head in, but once that was established, the walk was quick. Luckily, I could hear some music to direct me into the right entrance and I was met with a buzzing courtyard full of stalls handing out aromatic goodies.

I managed to resist the food for a few minutes, just enough time for me to head to the bar and check out the inside section which boasted long street-food style tables, some vibrant street art, and DJs pumping out some feel-good tunes. I grabbed one of the location’s own brewed pilsners, a ‘Hoi Polloi’, a smooth citrusy pint, and headed back to weigh up the food options.

Asian food is my go-to cuisine at the moment, meaning Nasi Lemak caught my eye (and nose). I’ve heard great things about Jim, the man who runs this Malaysian pop-up, so I couldn’t wait to dive into some of his food. The choices evolved around flavours, such as Rendang, that make my belly rumble even when I’m not hungry.

Despite wanting to order a bit of everything, I finally chose to get some Rempah fried chicken. When it was handed over I knew I was in for a treat. Freshly fried chunks of chicken, covered in sweet and spicy sauces and finished with chilli, cucumber and grated carrot. Not only were the colours beautiful, but the taste left me wiping up any leftover sauce with my fingers — delicious.

When my veggie friend arrived, I immediately hinted at the meat-free options I had already spied out. Choices ranged from butternut squash macaroni cheese to vegan hotdogs. However, we decided to dig into some Poutine, a French-Canadian dish that has fast become a new trend: chips, cheese curds and gravy.

GT Poutine was serving up a variety of toppings aptly named by different cities that they represented. We went for ‘The Budapest’, chips topped with cheese, mushroom gravy, charred peppers, crispy onions, and smoked paprika sour cream. My friend decided to get some veggie spring rolls from Nasi Lemak too.

Food in hands we headed to the inside table area and squeezed on the end of a bench. The spring rolls were a delightful mix of sweet, spicy and crunchy and were washed down perfectly with our beers. The Poutine ingredients combined to make an indulgent mix of richness — who knew cheese, gravy and sour cream could go so well.

After relaxing for a good while and taking in the atmosphere, we thought to take some food home for our ‘hard-working’ housemates to try. The queue surrounding the Latin American stall named Yakumama tempted us over and we ordered the Pork Tequenos and a chocolate and avocado brownie.

The Tequenos were small slightly sweet pastry wraps, fried and filled with minced pork, served with a mango sauce that had a hot chilli after kick. The brownie, devoured later that evening, was massively rich, but when shared between a few people, was a luxurious little treat.

Having finally experienced GRUB’s food fair, I’m only sorry I haven’t been every week. However, as someone clever once said: ‘Everything in moderation’. Be sure to keep an eye out for upcoming announcements on Facebook, as GRUB plans to relaunch, bigger and better, very soon.

Review: Suri

Opening its doors only recently, this new King Street restaurant, which shares its name with Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise’s daughter, looked set to impress. Their middle-eastern tapas style menu immediately took my fancy, even if the prices were definitely on the student wallet-breaking side.

Dissertations submitted meant my foodie friend and I were out to celebrate, and Suri seemed like the ideal place to do this. Their navy and gold coloured exterior screamed classiness, so luckily I had swapped our normal trainers for some wooden wedges.

On arrival, we were offered the choice of whether to sit upstairs or downstairs and we can advise you all, upstairs is the place to be. With an open kitchen, plush cream interior, and views out onto the Victorian buildings that King Street boasts, it is a truly lavish setting.

On opening the wine menu, we were fairly confused to see that wine was only offered by a 125ml measure or a bottle. Strange and perhaps a ploy to catch out an unobservant customer to spend £5 on a tiny splash of wine. We decided to order a glass of prosecco and a pricey, but worth it Gin Med Mare, a mixture of Mediterranean flavours such as thyme and mandarin.

As we sipped our drinks, we attentively listened to our waitress explain the menu. As is becoming increasingly common in modern restaurants, the menu is made for sharing.

Split into sections named ‘graze’, ‘field’, ‘farm’, and ‘waves’, we decided to try at least one from every section. We told the waitress our decisions and she honestly told us that it would be the right amount of food. She then told us that the dishes would be brought out in stages, a few at each time.

When looking at reviews earlier that day, I had realised a few comments regarding customers feeling rushed, so I felt they had obviously constructively listened to this, and decided to stagger their serving – a great idea.

First, came two idyllic manchego cheese filled filo parcels. They were melt in the middle and crispy on the outside, then drizzled with truffle oil and sweet honey. Balanced on top was a small handful of pickled red onion, which created a perfect sharpness to contrast the sweet.

We quickly finished them and moved on top our prawn dish. Underneath juicy, well-seasoned prawns, lay a mash of avocado mixed with middle-eastern seasoning, we were left scraping the dish to taste every last bit of the delicious combination.

Next, our fish order of hake was brought over with a side order of chorizo beans. The hake, a hard fish to cook, was flaky and moist with a crisp, salty skin. We halved it and wished we had more. The chorizo and white beans were submerged in a rich tomato sauce giving the dish a full comfort-feeling effect, something every customer would welcome.

We polished off these two options just in time for our most eagerly awaited dish to arrive. Of course, we ordered the 35-day aged steak. It was promised to be paired with a harissa spiced hollandaise sauce, which on paper grabbed us straight away.

Our steak was cooked medium-rare, just as we had asked and the sauce was a more-ish taste of spice, we would have loved a bigger pot full. Alongside the steak dish, we had ordered some Za’tar fries. Freshly fried the fries were topped with slithers of chilli and Za’tar, the herb was generously shaken over the top.

Finally, we were presented with a plate covered in slightly pink strips of pork belly, delicately placed over a warm orange coloured dhal and garnished with crispy pieces of kale. The tastes of the succulent pork with the slight hint of saffron in the chickpeas and the salty, buttery kale created beautifully balanced mouthfuls showcasing middle-eastern flavour to its fullest.

Once we had finished our savoury dishes, we were easily tempted to see the dessert menu. Something my guest and I have realised recently is that our sweet-tooth is nearly as strong as our savoury. We ordered a dessert each. When our cheery waitress placed them down, we knew we had made the right decision in ordering something sweet to finish our meal.

Our two options included a chocolate slab with a burnt orange ripple, and, a cardamom vanilla pannacotta with a rhubarb compote and ginger biscuit crumb. Both were extremely impressive so we would certainly recommend leaving space for dessert.

We realised, at the time of paying, we had spent a lot. So, maybe for an average student meal, Suri is out of price-range. There are definitely places to get more food for your money. However, celebration season is nigh, perhaps we’ll head back for our graduation meals.

Live: You Me At Six

Manchester Academy, 2nd April

9/10

I entered Manchester Academy last Sunday with a need for that cathartic chaos, that invigorating energy and that sweaty sense of unity amongst strangers that only a gig can truly satisfy. And boy, did You Me At Six deliver.

The band kicked off the set with the title track from their latest album, ‘Night People’, which immediately channelled the crowd’s energy in the right direction with its stompy beat and gritty chorus. This was sharply followed by the anthemic ‘Underdog’, and from then on the set was a brilliantly chaotic and energetic celebration of the band’s generation-defining career.

The show was consistently exceptional in its deliverance and reception, with this year’s ‘Swear’ inciting the same intensity and fervour amongst the crowd as pop-punk favourites like ‘Save It For The Bedroom’ from the band’s debut, Take Off Your Colours, due to turn a decade old next year. This milestone was picked up by vocalist, Josh Franceschi, who even hinted at the possibility of a ten year anniversary tour.

Josh’s performance ranged from the sultry tones of ‘Spell It Out’ to the growling drama of ‘Bite My Tongue’ in a compelling display of the front-man’s talent, while guitarists Max Helyer and Chris Miller masterfully maintained the balance of volatility with refined riffs, capturing the room.

One thing is for certain; Rock’s not dead. Rock is alive and kicking. Rock just evolved, like all good things must. And in that room, in the middle of a crowd that was dripping with enthusiasm (and sweat) I knew what ‘rock’ meant, what rock means now, because it was right there.

It was in the vigour of each member’s performance, it was in the raw passion of each member of the crowd giving back everything they had to the band before them, and it was in the words Josh spoke towards the end of the set about love, and about acceptance, and about saying a big ‘fuck you’ to the people in power.

And while rock has evolved, You Me At Six evolved with it. You Me At Six have, at the very least, proved that they will not be filed away with the rest of your CD stack of bands you used to listen to. The attitude they brought to the stage was as refreshing as it was reminiscent, and the result was proof that this band, just like the genre they represent, is sticking around for a good while yet.

I could, quite easily end this review here. Certainly, word count suggests I should. However, I wanted to bring up something that Franceschi himself paused the set to draw attention to.

It is often the case that a band will draw a momentary lapse in their set to make a ‘speech’, say a few words about the current state of the world. And it is often the case that this is met with the odd few guys at the back groaning about how the band should just ‘play another song’. But when Josh stood on stage and he spoke about being anti-racism, and anti-homophobia and anti-Trump, it really hit me just how important that was. As an LGBT+ female, that had actually experienced homophobia horribly close to home that day, I saw just how powerful it was to have a band pledge their support for you, in front of thousands of people.

So, going back to my point about You Me At Six carrying the banner for British rock music, there really isn’t anything more rock than calling people out on their shit, and using your platform to help make this world just a little bit better.

But regardless of all of that, there is a reason underneath it all that You Me At Six’s success has endured for a decade; they are fucking good at what they do. So good, in fact, that a few days later I bought myself a ticket to see them again in Birmingham!

Album: Diet Cig — Swear I’m Good At This

Released 7th April via Frenchkiss

8/10

Anybody who’s been to a Diet Cig show will know that the New York pop-punk duo don’t stand still for a second. Formed a little over two years ago, Alex Luciano and Noah Bowman met when Luciano interrupted the drummer’s college show to ask for a lighter. In a matter of months, Luciano had learned to play guitar and the two put out their first EP Over Easy, a short-but-sweet collection of punchy guitars and sticky hooks that breezed by in a little over ten minutes.

Between then and now, they’ve somehow found the time between their near-constant touring to put out Swear I’m Good At This, a confident debut which appropriately develops their music and lyrics without losing their amateurish appeal.

Opener ‘Sixteen’ immediately shows how Diet Cig have grown: the track’s intro is slow and sparse, immediately setting it apart from every other song the duo have put out to date. It’s an apt introduction to a record which boasts a range of cautious but welcome developments.

‘Leo’ and ‘Road Trip’ feature bigger, brighter choruses, while ‘Apricots’ and ‘Bath Bomb’ offer some respite from the album’s whirlwind energy by showing a softer, quieter side to the band. Meanwhile, their bare-bones guitar and drums set-up has been suitably developed: ‘Barf Day’ boasts some heavier riffs, ‘Maid of the Mist’ showcases some fizzy keyboards and ‘Bath Bomb’ experiments with some crashing bells in its cathartic conclusion.

These developments are flattering, and quickly eased my fears about how the pair would adapt their short, sharp and to-the-point songwriting into a longer work without fizzling out (at twenty-nine minutes, this is a short album, but it still nearly triples the length of their recorded output to date). However, the greater tonal and aural variation that we see on Swear I’m Good At This manages to maintain interest over the course of a record that is, by their own standards of length, a behemoth. Importantly, none of these developments feel unnatural or threaten the rickety, DIY sensibility which has made them so appealing so far.

There isn’t a dull moment. Since forming, Diet Cig have barely left the road —they return to the UK in October for their third visit since last year— and have attracted gushing praise for their lively shows. On stage, Luciano hops, skips and lunges around the stage while Bowman pounds the drums like a man possessed, both grinning amiably throughout.

Thankfully, this energy is well-documented on record: it’s suitably rough-around-the-edges and clinging to the charming side of sloppiness, and the record’s disorientingly non-punk opening is quickly rectified a minute in, when Alex mischeviously asks ‘Ready?’ and the guitars and drums immediately crash in. It’s an exhilarating way to kick off the record, second only to their outrageously fun live shows.

One of the most compelling developments I’ve observed on Swear I’m Good At This is in Luciano’s songwriting. Diet Cig has always been a platform for Luciano to vent her frustrations and call people out for their bullshit: see ‘Harvard’, ‘Dinner Date’ and, oh, more or less every song they’ve put out. But many songs on this record suggest a little more depth.

Though still rooted in her own personal experiences, many of the topics she sings about correspond to wider themes: ‘Sixteen’ brings up slut-shaming, for example, while ‘Link in Bio’ tackles the expectations of being a “chill girl” who should speak her mind “but not too loud”.

It’s political, then, but in a resolutely personal way, and isn’t, as some have uncharitably suggested, a collection of empty feminist signifiers. Rather, it’s a searching, learning introduction to feminist politics, and if anything the focus on lived experience may make the political conclusions more effective through connecting the dots that many may notice in their own lives.

Take closing track ‘Tummy Ache’, where Luciano codifies the album’s varying observations of gender politics and personal experience into the album’s most accomplished statement. Taking on the overly-masculinised sphere of the DIY punk scene, she’s demanding the space “to make my words count/In a way that I haven’t quite figured out”. Compared to the charming but simplistic Over Easy track ‘Scene Sick’, which similarly calls out boorish boys in the local scene, the band’s rapid development over the last two years is clear.

It all ties into a philosophy of ‘radical softness’ that the duo have explored in recent interviews. Brave in its vulnerability, the positioning on this album is far more than cuddly, defanged Tumblr feminism: it’s a revolutionary call for an inclusive but firm space of self-expression. Moreover, Diet Cig’s fundraising for Planned Parenthood and their decision to sponsor and tour with groups from Girls Rock Camps shows they can walk the walk too.

Combining this radical philosophy with relatable statements of imperfection (‘Blob Zombie’ will strike student listeners particularly close to home, capturing the student pathology of bristling with ambition from the confines of one’s bed), the album tells you that what you’re feeling is to be respected and that it’s okay to not have it all worked out yet. It’s both more effective and affecting than its pontificating alternative, the Grand Statement Album — above all, this feels real.

There are just a couple of missteps where the duo hit some of the pitfalls that have made similar bands falter: at times, Diet Cig come off as perhaps a little too bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, losing some of their edge and consequently veering towards the twee. ‘Road Trip’, for example, is easy to imagine soundtracking an advert, and while this confirms their gift with a melody it also hints at the absence of the uncompromising songwriting that would usually make commercial advertising such an odd pairing.

Thankfully, such moments only stand out because Luciano and Bowman navigate the tightropes between radical softness and preciousness, and pop-punk and caricature, with overwhelming success.

Diet Cig aren’t the only band combining blazing guitar riffs, fuck-off vulnerability and a faintly twee image in 2017, but they’re certainly one of the best. Swear I’m Good At This should be lauded as a template for how a band could tackle challenge of the hotly-anticipated debut album.

They’ve advanced in leaps and bounds lyrically while subtly finessing their music to ensure it’s exciting and varied throughout; impressively, all of this has been achieved without losing an ounce of their whirlwind enthusiasm or rickety charm.

As the album comes to an end, Alex Luciano sings “It’s hard to be a punk while wearing a skirt”, but here she makes it look so easy.

Lift-Off 2017: In Conversation with Nicholas Connor

Director Nicholas Conner came to Lift-Off on Day Two to present his film Northern Lights. Before the showing took place I managed to interview him about his film and his opinions on filmmaking in general. The ‘quick five minute’ interview ended up being a 43 minute conversation about his films, plans for the future and IMDb. If you would like to read my review of the film before reading our conversation then click here.

First of all congratulations for getting your film into lift-off, are you hoping to win an award here?

Thanks! Hopefully, I think it’s all off audience vote and if you do well you’ll go onto a ballot for the next one. We’ve got quite a good turn out so it’ll be nice to see the reactions. That is what it’s all about for me, see how the audience feels about it. The venue (Texture) is a really great space, I’ve not been here before and it’s a different experience to the typical film festival. I would love to have another screening here in the future, it’s perfect for my current film too because of the red brick. It is set in Manchester and all about retaining the traditional lifestyles.

The setup of the festival is really useful for filmmakers, the scorecard the audience fills out along with the notes section must be incredibly useful for you to learn from?

Yeah, it’s quite intimate as well. You don’t often get to sit this close to the audience and be able to see their reactions. I’ve not watched this film (Northern Lights) in a few months now, the last time was probably at the premiere.

So have you been trying to avoid it?

Well I have just finished my next one so the focus has really been on that. Northern Lights has been on the back burner for the moment as a result.

When you rewatch the film are there things you think ‘Oh I should have done that better?’ or vice versa?

Yeah I mean the budget was a lot lower than the film we just finished. So I’ve just been looking at it thinking ‘What could I have done with a bigger budget?’. That said I do like it as it is. There are little things there, things critics have picked up on that I actually really do appreciate that shows they understood the film. I have learnt a lot from this.

There are so many things I wish I could have improved on from Northern Lights. Pacing is a problem I’m sure you’ll spot, the dialogue is also a little long at times. It’s nice because you don’t always expect that they will understand it. As well the audience seemed to understand it which is perfect for me.

I’m happy with the feedback both positive and negative. All I want is a response, if people don’t know how they feel about it then I haven’t made a good film. There is nothing worse than a review that says absolutely nothing either way, it doesn’t help me to progress as a filmmaker.

I agree, a well-writen negative review is preferable over a neutral review as it help you understand what areas you need to work on.

Exactly and I think this (Lift-Off) is a really great platform for that purpose. It doesn’t feel too capitalised, rather it is audience centred which is nice.

I read that you went through over 20 rewrites of the script before you got to the final version, was that difficult for you or was it preferable as you could keep evolving it as you went along?

It was lovely because I got a sense of what I was making through so many drafts. There were characters that were cut. There were whole scenes that were shortened or lengthened. As a result of having such a long preproduction stage which we didn’t have with the film before it, I really benefited from being able to analyse and make the dialogue richer with meaning. It’s something to learn from as well, similar to writing a novel actually because it was more about writing a story than writing a script. It took about five/six months to write the script so kind of a long time I suppose.

How long after the last draft was it before you began filming then?

I think the last draft was about a week before. I’m always in contact with my crew, not so much in my next film but in this one particularly because I was friends with the crew and knew them really well. I would just send them a draft and the communication would be very direct, no going through agents or anything like that. It was a friendly process. There wasn’t really a stress so much as we all want to make a good film with the very short time we had to shoot. I don’t think I’ve heard of a 55 minute film being short being shot in six/seven days before. It was crazy.

Why did you choose 55 minutes as the runtime? It’s half way between a short and a feature length film. Was that purposeful or how it ended up being?

It ended up being that way. I am one of those people that just makes a film the length it should be rather than the length that festival would want. It’s not necessarily a good thing, I should probably be looking at festivals and going ‘this is the time restraint’ but Northern Lights shouldn’t have been any longer. If it had been longer it would have felt too pacy and it already is a little too long. In hindsight I would have cut ten or so minutes. If I had made it longer it wouldn’t have been right for the narrative and if it was shorter I wouldn’t have been able to build up the characters.

I think that is preferable though, making it the length that is right for the story you are telling rather than needlessly adding or cutting from the film.

On other films I’ve had to cut like 37 pages to 30 pages just because of the shooting ratio which is so annoying. You don’t want to cut stuff that is precious. I like to film something anyway and then have the option to cut it in the edit. There has been times where we had to cut something on the set due to time constraints.

Is that painful for you as a director?

It painful but it’s the evolution of making a film. It is never going to go entirely smoothly. You sign up for that at the beginning and you have to understand that it will happen at some point.

The budget of Northern Lights is around £12,000, has the budget of your next film gotten larger as a result of the positive reception of this one?

Definitely! We wanted to step up the actors in terms of the weight behind their names I guess. Getting a great set of people involved and up the ante because we didn’t want restrictions this time. We did have restrictions in terms of days to shoot. I was privileged to have a really beautiful crew where they all understood what I was doing. There is nothing more painful than people not understanding or sharing your vision. It will be about £40 thousand including distribution for this one through the funding of Cherwell Productions which is based in Oldham. They have been funding me personally and I have been very very lucky with that.

If this film you have just finished gets the same positive reception, will you step it up again?

Well I’m currently writing a feature, which will be a feature, it won’t be a 55 minute film. I know that one is going ahead but it depends on the reception of this film how large the funding will be. The future of what I do will always depend on the how well the films do. I just love directing so hopefully with recognition from festivals like this one I can continue to make films. It’s hard to get good actors if they have never seen any of your previous work and when they have seen some of my films it really helps me to boost myself. The script isn’t always enough I don’t think to get someone to sign on.

Is your ultimate goal to become a blockbuster director or do you want to remain an independent film director?

I love making independent films, I don’t think I would ever go into Hollywood. British cinema is my thing. I could potentially see myself making a Hollywood film if it had heart to it. There is something lacking at the moment that I might be able to bring. At the moment I am just loving working with actors who aren’t say Leonardo di Caprio. British actors from the north (of England) is what I am about right now. Most of the actors I cast I’ve sort of nicked from Ken Loach. So like Crissy Rock or Kate Rutter. Great actors, they’re not Hollywood actors. I go for talent over the name power.

If you had the budget to make a biopic on any person of your choosing who would it be?

Can I say two?

You can say as many as you’d like

Well there are two biopics I have always wanted to do.

One is about Florence Lawrence. Not many people know about her. She was the first ever film star and the stardom killed her. She ended up committing suicide. There is a big story there about her and who she is as a person. It’s something I really want to do and it would be set in America in the early stages of Hollywood. It is interesting to look at someone like her and compare her to a modern day movie star and see how stardom begun.

The other biopic that I want to do is that of my Grandad who passed away before I would be able to understand who he was. He has a great war story, I don’t want to give too much away but it would be set in a prisoner-of-war camp and it’s a very touching story that I feel needs to be told. That would be the big budget one.

Touching on the first one, would you shoot that in black and white? Using only the filming technology from the era to make it as real to that period of time as possible?

That is a really great question that I haven’t actually considered. I’ve always wanted to shoot it on 35mm or 16mm, definitely some sort of celluloid. Not sure about black and white but I definitely want that grain structure. I love black and white and I love contrast so I may decide to go with that. I think strong reds come through that pre-depression, pre-Gatsby era. I think it would be interesting to film. But yeah that really is a great idea.

Thank you very much, I’ll be sure to ask for a little thank you in the credits when it is released.

With that film as well I think it would be an independent production. I don’t think I would want any big names…well I say that it would depend. It is definitely a great role for someone. She actually killed herself with ant poison and it was a very horrific event.

Still in the real of fantasy, if you had to pick one or more actor that you really wanted to work with who would it be?

Actor-wise I would probably say Michael Fassbender or Eddie Redmayne. I think both are very diverse and they are just strong yet fragile actors. One second you can see them weep and the next second they are just so strong. There is something really beautiful about that. For women I would say Alicia Vikander or Marion Cotillard.

Marion Cotillard is actually my favourite actress

That is amazing! I just think she is so powerful. The variety of roles she, and Alicia Vikander, can do is just so incredible. Like Rust and Bone is one of my favourite films. Also I didn’t mind her having a french accent in Lady Macbeth, I love that film too and just everything she does really. She is an artist of a actress and you don’t see that often. I’m glad you like her too. All of the actors I mentioned too are all European so maybe there is something currently going on in Europe that has a realistic edge in comparison to Hollywood.

Hollywood at the moment seems more mechanical, churning out very formulaic, similar films. This is the opposite of your films which feel a lot more real.

For me it’s about making real characters with real stories. Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose is almost like how I would do Florence Lawrence. It’s a great tragedy. Amy Winehouse as well is a great biopic to do. Her life is almost Shakespearian in ways. I also loved the Steve Jobs biopic.

Which one? As there was two

(Laughs) Not the Ashton Kutcher one. The Fassbender one. Aaron Sorkins way of writing is so Shakespearian, it’s all about fatal flaws. It sounds pretentious but I want to be like him in that way. I feel he’s actually quite European in his style. There is something to be said about realism in cinema. I strive towards realism but it’s a representation of realism.

It’s not about filming a tree and letting the tree’s leaves fall, it’s about watching a tree and making it interesting. I feel as though I need to add a little bit of surreal into my films too to make it interesting for the audience. Full realism can tend to get quite boring unless done by someone who has mastery in that like Ken Loach. I would love to be Ken Loach and Fellini at the same time, merge them both together. Show real stories in new and interesting cinematic ways.

So what would be your top three or five favourite or most influential films? Would Ken Loach feature?

I would actually move away from Ken Loach. For starts I would say Xavier Dolan’s Mommy. There is something so beautiful about this film and Dolan’s cinema. Next I would have to say Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso.

Isn’t there a poster for Cinema Paradiso in your film?

Yes! Also there is a poster for Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love, which is another of my favourite films.

I saw that as well on the IMDb connections page too. It is surprising how much detail there was about the film, was that done by you?

That was done by me. IMDb is actually one of the things that got me into film. I was honoured the other day to have met Col Needham the founder and I completely fanboy’d and went up to him saying ‘Can I show you how many films I have rated on your site?’.

How many may I ask?

1301 I think. It is such an amazing platform for filmmakers. I used it for casting mostly and showing the audience connections in my films that they may have missed. I literally almost cried when I met him and he’s from Manchester too it’s crazy. Sorry for going on another tangent but I just love IMDb.

On the topic of IMDb, I’ll keep it over here, the page for Northern Lights mentions two goofs. One was a visible microphone and the other was a script on the bed. How do you feel about those mistakes?

I think it is very hard not to have mistakes in a film. The general audience can’t tell that it’s a script on the bed but I can tell it is. As it was a rushed filming period these things will happen, it’s part of my journey as a filmmaker. I have learned to be careful. Even in major films like The Godfather I think you can see the DoP’s (director of photography) eyes reflected in a scene. I love mistakes like that, it reminds the viewer that this is a film. I don’t think any film should be perfect, too crisp digital annoys me, I like to soften my images a bit. For the film I just finished I shot a scene on 35mm which I was very lucky to do.

What is your next film about?

So it is called Cotton Wool and it’s about this young boy who’s suffers a stroke and he has no help especially from his sister who should be helping him. He has to take the role of a child carer at the age of seven. The actor, Max Vento is fantastic. He questions everything and he is only seven. it’s an emotional film with a heartbreaking story inspired by lots of real life stories.

We had a wonderful crew too including a BAFTA winning cinematographer shooting the film. It was a big step up from Northern Lights and I will never forget the people that got me who helped me on this film. It was such a group effort to make it.

What are some of the difficulties working with an actor who is only seven?

I don’t mind it, in fact I loved it. There is a little bit of me inside which is still a child so I can relate to why he says some things or worried about some things. I find easier working with child actors sometimes because they do question things and they ask stupid questions.

Stupid questions usually cover the things that matter though. I worked with another child actor on Northern Lights called Megan Grady who was also fantastic. It’s a comedic role for the most part but at the end of the film she cries her heart out in a tragic scene. She was just so diverse. Sorry I went off on a tangent again, I love tangents.

What is the length of the new film?

It is about 30 minutes, so a normal short’s length. We are trying to put it into BAFTA qualifying because Leanne Best’s performance as the mother is in my opinion Oscar worthy. That isn’t anything to do with my directing I want to make that clear she was just phenomenal. That’s why we are trying to push it.

We also made the film in relation with the Stroke Association to make it as accurate as possible. Child carers is a topic that isn’t really seen on film which is surprising as there are around 250,000 child carers in the UK. I’m hoping it will get onto television at some point. Festivals first of course, would love to come back to Lift-Off and have another screening here.

Going back to the hypothetical, what is your dream festival to be accepted into?

I love Edinburgh, went there once and it was beautiful. BFI of course. I do love Cannes. What is the one I keep aiming for? Oh Leeds. I got into Leeds Young Film Festival.

I saw you won an award there in your ‘written by yourself anonymously’ IMDb biography section.

(laughs) It’s terrible. I think it’s quite important to push myself in that way to get myself out there and known. I haven’t written everything about myself and my films but most I have.

I think you know you’ve become popular when other people begin to write about you.

It’s weird that with critics. When you didn’t know that they have written a review or an article about you. I love critics even if they are horrible.

What current film critic would you like to review your films? Whether they would like it or not

I would say Mark Kermode, I really respect his opinion. There is a YouTube called Grace or Beyond The Trailer who I like a lot too. I do like Robbie Collin and Peter Bradshaw as well. Mark Cousins is kind of a critic and he gave me a short opinion on Northern Lights and he was my idol.

Was it positive?

Yeah it was. He said ‘Touching and Moving’, something like that. We used that on one of the advertising poster.

Taking it back to Northern Lights, what is the meaning behind the title? Obviously it’s set in the north so that is part of it

Chris Cyprus is a pretty well known painter and he paints the north using the orange glow of streetlights. They’ve recently changed to LED’s now which is a sterile colour. He used the orange glow of the old style to give light his paintings and called it the Northern Lights. He inspired me to use that in my film. It’s a play on words a little bit.

Some people have come up to me and said the northern lights, aurora borealis, are boring. I tell them they should look at the streetlights in Manchester. It’s a film about the mundane, everyday life and people. About looking at something you wouldn’t even consider and making it magical. That’s what I love about cinema.

Well we should probably wrap it up there are your film is about to start but thank you very much for this and I can’t wait to watch this film and Cotton Wool as well.

Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival 2017 Short Interview: Ascension

Rajnish Sharma’s Ascension was an abstract addition on by far the most outlandish day of films. Sharma’s short was set in a post-apocalyptic world and followed the story of a father who abandoned his family to give himself the best chance of survival. It was a very interesting short that is well worth a watch. Click here to read my review before progressing to the interview.

I began by asking about the inspiration behind his short. “I wouldn’t say there was a singular inspiration to the short film, but the main inspiration was to see if I could make a good film that looks good with an engaging narrative using the very little resources I have. It was pretty much the Robert Rodriguez philosophy of making the best with the very least.”

There was another inspiration to the short as he continues, “the other inspiration behind the short was to make a Post-Apocalyptic drama that centred around the impact of those left behind and abandoned rather than the monsters looming outside. The Survivor’s selfishness to preserve himself and abandon the family was something I wanted to explore. I find it’s more interesting when you explore the character rather than the flashiness of monsters or zombies.”

The character’s sole motives for leaving his family were never addressed and this was intentional by Sharma. “I wrote it in a way were the Survivor left his family as his instinct and myopic desire to survive lead him to fend for himself and abandon the family. When working on the characterisation with my lead actor, he came up with the backstory of abandoning his family due to fear of not being a good enough father and husband to protect his family … to protect them. Without giving too much away in terms of the underlying meaning and subtext. The Survivor left his family, but it wasn’t his choice to do so.”

Throughout the short we never see the world outside his hideout. This was purposeful on his part as “nothing I created would’ve been as interesting or exciting as what the audience would perceive. Plus the outside world wasn’t really the focus of the narrative I was going for. But if I were to say what it would look like, I would imagine a desolate, destroyed place like modern day Syria. A warzone with limited quaratine zones and people too concerned with surviving. A place of death, war, bullets and destroyed buildings and lives.”

There was unfortunately a few major issues during the production period that completely changed the story. He told me that “the third scene was meant to be a lot more intense and deliberate and the ending was originally supposed to be this destructive confrontation with the Valykries outside of his hideout. Both scenes had to be scrapped due to a technical fault with the camera that destroyed 11 hours worth of filming and the garage door breaking on location. With both elements changing and the fact I only had two days of the crew before losing them for five months on another project out of my own. I decided to film three more hours that day and sit my DOP down and tell him the entire restructured story and what I wanted changing. There was one shot in the film that was taken out due to narrative flow with the Survivor walking off screen with a weapon and make shift shield, but creatively it didn’t work and was left out.”

As a result of this there are several things he would change. “I’m very proud of the film but all I see now are the mistakes”, he said. “I would secure a good and reliable First AD (Assistant Director), we had one scheduled but didn’t show up, essentially leaving us without a First AD meaning my DOP (Director of Photography) had to do both roles. I would have had all my actors properly rehearsed with at least a week rehearsal before filming instead of on set hours before rolling, I would have sourced better props and I would have changed the second scene to allow more breathing room.”

This was a debut film for Sharma and was a steep learning curve. “I wish I could have made that film now as the Director I am today, as I feel more confident, more knowledgeable, better prepared and just a better filmmaker then I was when I originally directed it. But hindsight is always 20/20. There’s no point on dwelling on what could’ve been. Things will always go wrong on set and creatively, you’re never really satisfied. I count my blessing and proud of my Debut short film, I feel I’ve done well with my first ever film with the budget of £220. I’m just using it as a learning experience and carrying forward, I’m glad it happened the way it did because now I feel I can do even better.”

His thoughts are interesting for any amateur filmmakers. During the process of making any film there will be countless things that go wrong but it is how you react to them that will affect your end product. Sharma’s experience goes to show that even if everything seems to go wrong, you can create a short of really high quality.

In terms of future plans he has quite a full plate. “The next project I’m doing is a psychology horror called Eve about a girl getting ready for a night out, unable to leave her room beyond her control trapping her into a fate worse than death. I’m hoping to shoot it in April/May and will have a lot more time to prepare.”

After that project is complete he will begin work on more shorts. “I have an experimental piece, a 20 second film challenge at my Local Film society 7/5 Forum in Leicester, writing up two more short films (both that will need funding) and will also be attending Raindance’s Masterclass “Directing Actors” 27th and 28th May.”

“Apart from that I’m still taking Ascension through the festival circuit. Reading books on filmmaking, researching and practicing the craft of Directing and filmmaking. My limit isn’t the sky, it’s the stars. I’m planning on working harder, making more films and getting better at the craft I love.”

Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival 2017 Short Interview: Hope

Hope was among the most original shorts in this years festival and one of the best Zombie films I have watched in a long time. Directer Adam A. Losurdo took some time from his busy schedule to talk about his film and his plans for the future. Click here to read my review of Hope before progressing to the interview.

The premise to Hope, that the zombies don’t kill/eat human and instead just wander aimlessly, is refreshingly new and opposite to most films in the genre. The idea was different to begin with though as Adam told me: “The co-writer Chris Stival had a general idea of the zombie’s loss of hunger. Then, after finding love with another zombie would gain his blood thirst along with the girl starting up the zombie apocalypse once again.”

As the development progressed, the concept evolved as he continues, “we ended up changing the original idea and twisting it into the zombies never becoming hostile in the first place, but rather would just roam the world like stray dogs looking for something other than food. Well until…”

The current state of the zombie genre is something he feels need to change, “over the years zombie movies have been put on repeat with no real creativity or originality. I strive to bring fresh concepts and incorporate them with elements of the films that we all love.” His short is an attempt at breaking the cycle and inspiring others to do the same.

On the topic of inspirations, Adam talked about several directors that influenced his work. “Quentin Tarantino is one for his raw stylised approach. He is a writing genius, and he also takes a lot of elements from older films and makes them into his own, which we all know works very well”. Another is David Fincher for “his versatility in filmmaking and his stylised gritty films like Fight Club and Seven”. Finally, and especially relevant for Hope was John Carpenter “for his old-school style of horror and cheese factor. The 80’s horror films with all the practical scares and effects are the best.

Whilst making the film, Adam tried to include many pop culture and film references. “As far as direct inspiration, I was really inspired to take memorable shots from past movies and make them work within our story and style.” One of those references in particular was from Titanic when Hope and Karl are in love, holding hands and spinning in the field. Another, more prominent reference was from Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, towards the end of the film when Karl and the two young girls have “what we called on set, “The Mexican Standoff””. Fortunately aside from a few minor scenes and shots here and there, no pop-culture references ended up being cut.

The main antagonists of the film, the aforementioned two young girls, was a curious choice by the writers. He explains that he “wanted to emphasise the zombie’s being innocent creatures with no knowledge of their surroundings. Young girls at that age are usually considered sweet and innocent but in Hope, we flipped the roles”. This change in expectation alongside the core concept of the zombies keep the viewers on their toes with constant surprises as the short progresses.

In a look to the future we discussed future projects and aspirations. “My goal is to continue writing, directing and producing my projects. I have some concepts I’m playing with at the moment and have some more shorts up my sleeve. I’m also developing two full-length feature screenplays for future productions.” Continuing to develop his own style is something that is very important to him and he wants to share his visions with the world.

In a step towards the hypothetical, I asked what film he would make if given unlimited scope. “I would have to say a horror/thriller. I love classic horror slasher films and psychological thrillers so I’d want to combine the two creating an iconic film that will stand as a memorable piece of cinema.”

We ended the interview with his top five films. “That’s a hard question to answer. So many favourites. So many! I would have to say Halloween (1978) because it has been one of my favourites for so long, The Ninth Gate, Moon, Seven , and to mix it up Nacho Libre. The list goes on and on with films like Empire Strikes Back, The Abyss, Contact, Alien, Event Horizon, Inglorious Bastards, Kill Bill, Django, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Tropic Thunder and The Secret Window.”