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Festival coverage

Raindance Film Festival

2008

Sam Rockwell stars in opener Choke
Sam Rockwell stars in opener Choke

This independent festival is "dedicated to fostering and promoting independent film in the UK and around the world". More than simply a festival, Raindance also runs training courses for up and coming film-makers and also hosts the British Independent Film Awards.

Now in its 16th year, the festival will open with Sam Rockwell starrer Choke and run from October 1 to 12. New to the festival this year is an Audience Award, to be voted for by the audience and the rather cumbersomely named Dailymotion Short Circuit Award which aims to "search for budding new talent".

Got a feature or short film screening at Raindance 2008 and want us to review it? If you have a screener, please feel free to send it to us.

Other years (7)

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Latest reviews

  • Zebra Crossing
    Review preview for Zebra Crossing

    Holland’s directing shows a lot or flair and promise, often finding a striking image or unusual angle in his stark cityscapes.

    Jeff Robson · 3.5 out of 5
    A young man growing up in south London tries to escape from a life of crime and violence.
  • Senseless
    Review preview for Senseless

    Senseless is a well-crafted, relatively restrained affair, boasting rock solid performances, believable characters (in extremis), highly effective sound design, and a clinically claustrophobic Big Brother-style set.

    Anton Bitel · 4 out of 5
    A businessman is abducted and deprived of his senses one by one as his torment is broadcast live over the internet.
  • The End - Confessions Of A Cockney Gangster
    Review preview for The End - Confessions Of A Cockney Gangster

    The names and job titles might read like a Guy Ritchie synopsis, but it soon becomes clear this is an altogether darker, more sober look at the criminal life.

    Jeff Robson · 3.5 out of 5
    Members of the East End underworld talk about their life and times.
  • Little Ashes
    Review preview for Little Ashes

    Javier Beltrán is the real standout, delivering a performance that could easily have slipped into sentimentality with heartbreaking precision.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Biopic about Salvador Dali, filmmaker Luis Bunuel and writer Federico Garcia Lorca.
  • Clubbed
    Review preview for Clubbed

    Reeking with authentic period atmosphere, a rich ska based soundtrack and featuring unshowy but solid performances.

    Mike Davies · 3 out of 5
    A lonely factory worker drifts into the underworld after taking a job as a bouncer.
  • Hush
    Review preview for Hush

    A taut thriller, rooted more in atmosphere, character and nail-gnawing suspense than the sort of sadistic gory excess that has otherwise typified this decade's horror.

    Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
    Cat and mouse thriller sees a young couple fall foul of a trucker on the motorway.
  • Bonne Année
    Review preview for Bonne Année

    Berberich shoots the film in a series of stylised, long single takes – a restriction he turns into a virtue.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    The events leading up to a hit gone bad.
  • Choke
    Review preview for Choke

    Despite the busy plotwork, surprisingly little actually happens.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
    A sex-addicted med school dropout pays his mum's hopital bills by running a restaurant scam... but with her memory fading fast, will he ever find out the truth about his dad?
  • Fine, Totally Fine
    Review preview for Fine, Totally Fine

    A skillful cast and writer/director Fujiya's eye for detail and vivid imagination add up to a warm-hearted and engaging picture.

    Emma Slawinski · 4 out of 5
    A gentle, witty character study that takes in a panorama of small-town eccentrics.
  • Turtles Are Suprisingly Fast Swimmers
    Review preview for Turtles Are Suprisingly Fast Swimmers

    A miscellany of characters, scenes and events that studiously avoids a plot.

    Emma Slawinski · 2.5 out of 5
    A young woman in small-town Japan leads a dull and solitary life, until she stumbles into a local spy ring.

A–Z of Raindance Film Festival 2008 reviews

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