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Clowning Glories

CLOWNING GLORIES: Women in Film Comedy Before 1930

As part of the International Comedy Film Festival, we are very excited to welcome the team from highly respected Bird's Eye View women's film festival in London with a selection of celluloid gems from the early age of cinema. Their Clowning Glories programme was first shown at the British Film Institute in London earlier this year and we are thrilled to have such a prestigious event visiting the Bay.

Each of the silent films screened at the Palace Theatre in Paignton will be accompanied by some of the UK's leading women composers, performing live music specifically commissioned for the festival and introduced by surprise star comedians. The programme is a rare chance to see these classic comedies on the silver screen with beautiful live orchestration.

Aviva Pearson, Director Of Tourism said: "We are thrilled to have this programme on tour as part of the International Comedy Film Festival. This is really something totally unique, perfect for lovers of cinema, comedy and music alike. This kind of thing hasn't been seen in the area since the early days of Torbay Picture House, so it seems fitting that an event that combines nostalgia with performances from some of the UK's most respected musical talents, some of the best musical talents, should be coming to Paignton."

Saturday 27th September. 7.30pm.
Zoe Rahman with I Don't Want To Be A Man and JUICE with The Danger Girl

I Don't Want to Be a Man stars Ossi Oswalda, Curtz Goetz, Victor Janson, Ferry Sikla, Margarete Kupfer. Ossi's father hires a guardian to educate his rebellious daughter. When she escapes from house arrest in disguise, Ossi begins to investigate whether life is more liberated in a man's shoes.

Zoe Rahman has firmly established herself as one of the brightest stars on contemporary jazz scene, with The Observer describing her as "one of the finest young pianists in Europe. Her last album, 'Melting Pot', was short-listed for the 2006 Nationwide Mercury Prize and was voted 'Jazz Album of the Year' at the 2006 Parliamentary Jazz Awards.

Starring Gloria Swanson and Bobby Vernon, The Danger Girl tells the story of vampish Helene, who uses her charms on Bobbie, until Gloria breaks up the pair by disguising herself as a man to seduce Helene.

Juice are an experimental vocal trio who specialise in vibrant, theatrical performances. They draw on world music, jazz, folk and pop, have commissioned countless new works and featured on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM and Resonance FM. In June 2007, they came second in the internationally-renowned Tampere Vocal Festival, the only UK group ever to be prize-winners.

Sun 28th September. 2pm.
Jane Gardner with My Best Girl

Maggie falls in love with Joe, her new colleague in the stock room, unaware that he is the son of the department store owner, working undercover to prove his business skills. Stars Mary Pickford.

Jane Gardner is a silent movie pianist, composer and teacher based in Edinburgh, who holds a PhD in Composition from Goldsmiths College. Her concert hall works have been widely performed by ensembles such as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust and Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Evening performance at 7.30pm
Nikki Yeoh and Serafina Steer with a selection of comedy shorts.

A selection of side-splitting shorts includes riotous early comedies directed by Gaumont pioneer Alice Guy (L'Hiérarchie Dans L'Amour; Madame à des Envies; Le Frotteur). Mabel Normand, one of cinema's first superstars, plays a bandit in Should Men Walk Home?, while the glorious child star Baby Peggy goes undercover to get the perfect scoop in The Kid Reporter, and rubber-faced Florence Turner excels as star and director of Daisy Doodad's Dial. Films courtesy of the BFI.

Serafina Steer plays harps keyboards and vocals. She is a classically trained musician from London who has focused on song writing and production. Her debut album `Cheap Demo Bad Science` came out last year, while her Public Spirited EP was released in April to coincide with her first Japanese tour.

Nikki Yeoh is a London based jazz pianist, composer and keyboard
player. She has worked with Courtney Pine, Oxford New Chapel Boys
Choir, Jools Holland, The Roots, Sir George Martin, Eddie Harris, JoAnna
MacGregor and Piano Circus, among others.

Tickets are priced at just £6 and are available from the Torquay Tourist Information Centre on Vaughan Parade and from the Palace Avenue Theatre Box Office. Tickets are also available online at www.icff.co.uk

Editors notes:

-Birds Eye View is a creative platform for women filmmakers. They launched the UK's first major women's film festival in 2005 across London's leading film venues, showing a tip-top programme of stunning and inspirational features, documentaries and short films from around the world.

-Each year they develop their programme with more outstanding films and innovative cross-arts events, and now equipping the next generation to break new ground through technical and creative training programmes.

-Earlier this year, Bird's Eye View took their programme to Cannes and will be visiting the Latitude Festival, the Secret Garden Party and the Edinburgh International Film Festival, before touching down at the International Comedy Film Festival in September.

- ENDS -

For more information contact:

Matt Newbury
PR & Marketing
English Riviera Tourist Board
01803-408350
Matthew.Newbury@torbay.gov.uk