Thursday 30 June 2016

Somerset House - Celebrate film with talks, events and family activities at Behind the Screen

Behind the Screen brings the world of cinema into sharper focus with a varied and entertaining programme of talks, screenings and activities, providing unique insights into the film industry and some of the subjects featured in the Film4 Summer Screenprogramme.
Historian Fern Riddell, Ripper Steet advisor explores the gruesome and alluring Dracula; Oscar-winning FX advisor for Ex Machina, Andrew Whitehurst and former host of Robot Wars, Professor Noel Sharkey discuss the rise of A.I.; and Vogue editor and author Polly Devlin celebrates Audrey Hepburn and fashion on film, all of which can be enjoyed before the accompanying film screening in the courtyard.
Ticket holders can be the first to see a selection of new short films from emerging British filmmakers, and exclusive premieres of Random Acts shorts presented by their editor Pegah Farahmand and some very special guests. Plus, an evening with Ben Wheatley and Andy Starke in conversation on their mutual inspirations and working together at Rook Films.
Families can get involved at the weekend with a Robot workshop and free afternoon film screenings, and young creatives can create their own Avatar with Ravensbourne College.
There’s more to see at this year’s Summer Screen Prints exhibition, with its largest collection to date and a new programme of events as part of Behind the ScreenGet involved with one of the weekend workshops or see Little White Lies discussing print media in a digital age.

How To Make Magazines And Influence Peoplewith Little White Lies
Thursday 28 July 2016
Arrive from 18.30 - 20.30

£10
Bi-monthly print magazine, Little White Lies will host an evening in the Summer Screen Printsexhibition to discuss their creative process, and the art of making print media engaging, relevant and successful in the digital age. Ticket includes a complimentary drink and a copy of Little White Lies.
Young Creatives: An Introduction to Screen-Printing with Print Club London
Saturday 30 July 2016
12.00 – 14.00

£10, Ages 13-17
This workshop will introduce participants to the practise and art of screen-printing. Print Club London will guide members through what’s involved in screen-printing, and how artists begin to imagine their work in this form. The workshop will culminate with the creation of your own print using a template and stencil technique, ready to take home.
An Introduction to Screen-Printing with Print Club London
Saturday 30 July 2016
15.00 – 17.00

£10, Age 18+
This workshop will introduce participants to the practise and art of screen-printing. Print Club London will guide members through what’s involved in screen-printing, and how artists begin to imagine their work in this form. The workshop will culminate with the creation of your own print using a template and stencil technique, ready to take home.
Sex, Perversion and the Victorians: Dracula on Screen
Friday 5 August 2016
19.00 – 20.00

£10
Francis Ford Coppola claims that his Dracula is the most faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker’s book. Is he right? Join historian Fern Riddell, author of A Victorian Guide to Sex and advisor on Ripper Street, for an illustrated lecture on cinema's favourite blood sucker.
> book now
Young Creatives: An Introduction to Screen-Printing with Print Club London
Saturday 6 August 2016
12.00 – 14.00
£10, Ages 13-17
This workshop will introduce participants to the practise and art of screen-printing. Print Club London will guide members through what’s involved in screen-printing, and how artists begin to imagine their work in this form. The workshop will culminate with the creation of your own print using a template and stencil technique, ready to take home.
We Are All Robots
Saturday 6 August 2016
12.00 - 15.00
Free for families with children aged 6-12 years
Drop-in, Limited Spaces
Embrace your inner automaton - design and make the head of the robot you’d like to see, or even be. What super machine skills would you include in your costume? Join us for a free family drop-in inspired by robot heroes past and present of the big screen.
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Family Screening: The Iron Giant (PG)
Saturday 6 August 2016
12.00 and 14.00
Free for families with children aged 6-12 years
Drop-in, Limited Spaces
A beautiful and stirring animated feature from director Brad Bird. Inspired by the Ted Hughes book of the same name, the film tells the story of a young boy who befriends a gentle-giant robot that he discovers in a junkyard. Some traditional hand-drawn animation helps to bring a warm, homemade feel to this family-friendly adventure.
An Introduction to Screen-Printing with Print Club London
Saturday 6 August 2016
15.00 – 17.00
£10, Age 18+
This workshop will introduce participants to the practise and art of screen-printing.Print Club London will guide members through what’s involved in screen-printing, and how artists begin to imagine their work in this form. The workshop will culminate with the creation of your own print using a template and stencil technique, ready to take home.
Cinema and the rise of the Man-machine
Saturday 6 August 2016
19.00 – 20.00
£10
As A.I. and robots rapidly become ubiquitous and the quest for human-like intelligence ever closer, is cinema right to make us fear the rise of the man-machine? Oscar-winning FX advisor for Ex MachinaAndrew Whitehurst and Professor Noel Sharkey, former host of Robot Wars and founder member of Responsible Robotics and the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, explore the phenomenon.
> book now
Shot on Site: Somerset House Film Tours
Sunday 7 August 2016
13.00 and 15.00
£6.00
Somerset House has been used for many purposes over the years, but few people know about its extensive use as a film set. This guided tour explores this little-known facet of the building’s history, highlighting various locations across the site where the cameras have rolled for the likes of Johnny Depp, Dustin Hoffman, Keira Knightley and Emma Thompson.
Nicolas Roeg: It’s About Time
Sunday 7 August 2016
14.00 – 15.00
Free, advance booking required
Find out everything you need to know about visionary director Nicolas Roeg ahead of the screening of his haunting masterpiece Walkabouton Tuesday 9 August. Made for BBC’s Arena, this documentary explores the radical artistry behind Roeg’s films, tracing his influence on filmmakers such as Danny Boyle and Ben Wheatley. Director David Thompson will introduce this free screening.
Ready for her Close Up
Sunday 7 August 2016
19.00 – 20.00
£10
Pamela Hutchinson of The Guardian and SilentLondon film blog and Isabel Stevens, Sight & Sound magazine, present an illustrated history of the incredible female stars who ran Hollywood and pay tribute to actress, comedienne and pioneer Gloria Swanson, star of Sunset Boulevard, and one of the great power-players of Golden Age cinema.
School of Rook: Ben Wheatley & Andy Starke in Conversation
Tuesday 9 August 2016
19.00 – 20.00
£10
Director Ben Wheatley and producer Andy Starke have been creative partners since working together on Wheatley’s debut Down Terrace. Ben and Andy will join us at Somerset House to talk about how – and why – they work together, their mutual inspirations and the past, present and future of Rook Films.
Random Acts Shorts
Thursday 11 August 2016
19.00 – 20.00
£10
Random Acts present the best in original short form creative content. Bold and thought-provoking, Random Acts invites artists to play with your minds and make you ponder your existence. Join the Editor of Random Acts, Pegah Farahmand, and some very special director guests for an unforgettable evening of exclusive premieres and visionary new shorts cinema.
Summer Screen Short Films Showcase
Friday 12 August 2016
19.00 – 20.00
£10
A selection of new short films from some very talented and imaginative British filmmakers – all names you’re sure to be hearing more from in the future. This programme includes the UK premieres of two new films backed by Film4 productions – the hard-hitting Polar Bear, by Sean Buckley, and the mysterious The Briny by playwright Lucy Kirkwood
Young Creatives: Create your own Avatar
Saturday 13 August 2016
11.00 – 16.00
£10, Ages 13-17
This workshop will introduce the practice of character design. Participants will experiment with an approach to characterization rooted in their own observations on themselves, culminating with the creation of their own avatar, as they make their characters come to life using simple animation techniques.
Cult Screening: Forbidden Planet (U)
Saturday 13 August 2016
14.00 and 16.00
Free Drop-in, Limited Spaces.
A must-see science-fiction favourite featuring the famous Robbie the Robot, one of the genre’s most instantly recognisable icons. When a scientific colony on a distant planet falls silent, a crew of space explorers goes to investigate. Classic 50s sci-fi with a rampaging monster, innovative special-effects and a wonderful - and rather cool - electronic score.
The Final Girls present: Reinventing the Final Girl
Saturday 13 August 2016
19.00 – 20.00
£10
Feminist horror collective The Final Girls present an illuminating and entertaining evening of short films and discussion inspired by the ingeniously self-reflexive horror-comedy of the same name (showing at this year’s Summer Screen the same day). There’ll be plenty of laughs and screams during this exploration of the familiar genre trope of ‘last girl alive to confront the killer’.
Shot on Site: Somerset House Film Tours
Sunday 14 August 2016
13.00 and 15.00
£6.00
Somerset House has been used for many purposes over the years, but few people know about its extensive use as a film set. This guided tour explores this little-known facet of the building’s history, pointing out various locations across the site where the cameras have rolled for the likes of Johnny Depp, Dustin Hoffman, Keira Knightley and Emma Thompson.
Behind the Covers: Capturing Fashion on Film
Sunday 14 August 2016
19.00 – 20.00
£10
Join us for a celebration of fashion on film. With special guests including former Vogue editor Polly Devlin who reveals what it was like to work with the real-life inspirations for Funny Face, legendary magazine editor, Diana Vreeland, and photographer, Richard Avedon. “If you can survive all-night fittings with Streisand and Avedon in Paris, you can handle anything!”
Doors open for evening events at 18.30 for a complimentary drink in the Behind the Screen bar, accessed from the River Terrace entrance via Waterloo Bridge. Talks start at 19.00 and last approximately one hour.
Behind the Screen tickets give access to Behind the Screen events only. Tickets for film screenings must be purchased separately. In conjunction with a purchased ticket to Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House, Behind the Screen tickets give access to a reserved space in the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court for the main film.
Opening Night Premiere:
Things To Come (cert TBC)Thursday 4 August 2016
£24 + booking fees
Smart, heartfelt and honest, this Paris-set drama charts the emotional journey of a middle-aged philosophy professor suddenly cut loose from the ordered world she’s built for herself. Isabelle Huppert gives a commanding performance in Edendirector Mia Hansen-Løve’s new film, which celebrates life's unpredictability.
Best of Ten by Kubrick:
Audience Vote (18)
Thursday 11 August 2016
£16 + booking fees
Your chance to influence Summer Screen by voting for what gets shown on this special evening. This year's Best of Ten focuses on director Stanley Kubrick, the visionary who shaped modern cinema. Choose the Kubrick classic you'd like to watch with us outdoors - the winner will be revealed on the night itself!
Funny Face (U)
Sunday 14 August 2016
£16 + booking fees
A dazzling musical romance starring Audrey Hepburn as a bookseller who's transformed into a chic model by photographer Fred Astaire. Featuring such sparkling songs as 'How Long Has This Been Going On?' and ''S Wonderful', Fred and Audrey turn on the charm as they dance from New York to Paris.