Are you planning a special event around the launch of Turner Contemporary? Are you planning a special event around the launch of Turner Contemporary?

Just in from Margate Renewal Partnership's: This is Margate / Creative Margate /

"Dear All,

Are you planning a special event around the launch of Turner Contemporary?

If so, we at Creative Margate would like to hear about it so we can help spread the word. Our aim is to bring together in one place as many of the great things that are going on in Margate as we can. We will put the information into a document that can be posted on websites as well as handed out in paper form - to be shared with you and with our visitors.

If you would like us to promote your venue or event, please send us an email, by return, with details of any special plans or opening arrangements your might have for the period Saturday 16 - Monday 25 April.

We need to know:

What's happening (title and description in no more than 25 words)

When (dates and times)

Where it's happening (full address inc postcode)

If there's a cost (and how much)

Where to go for further info (phone number and web address)

We will also forward your event details to the Tourism Department at TDC for promotion on the Visit Thanet website.

Many thanks,

Sophie (on behalf of Creative Margate)"
Sophie.Jeffrey@thanet.gov.uk
www.thisismargate.com

Come to the opening of Discover Thanet's Pop Up Shop Friday 15th April 6pm

To coincide with the launch of Discover Thanet, an independently published guide to Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate, are opening a pop-up shop at The Pie Factory in Broad Street, Margate. It all happens on Friday 15th April at 6pm.

We're looking forward to this as it looks like the one publication that will appeal to tourists and that's what it is supposed to do!

Model and Monument, an exhibition of work by Stephen Blowers opens at Crate Project Space

Model and Monument, an exhibition of work by Stephen Blowers opens at Crate Project Space in Margate on Friday April 1st from 6 - 9pm and is then open Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd April 11am - 5pm.

Perceptions of Margate are being reshaped by redevelopment work in the town. New energies and aspirations are unfolding out of existing narratives of the town as a seaside resort. The exhibition contrasts the development in Margate of the new Turner Contemporary with a building traditionally associated with Margate, Dreamland.

For further information contact: stephenblowers@hotmail.com

2 DAYS LAUGHTER 2011 APRIL FOOLS’ SCREENING & AWARDS NIGHT

Saturday 2ndth April @ The Theatre Royal Margate


Beeping Bush Productions is bringing the sound of laughter back to the British seaside with the return of its quirky collection of hilarious comedy shorts.

Now in its fourth year, the incredibly successful and utterly unique 2 Days Laughter Short Film Competition gives audiences the chance to scream with laughter! Aimed at talented filmmakers, comedians and writers, the production challenge is to produce a comedy short in a total of only 48 hours.
The films will be screened in the sumptuous surroundings of the Georgian Theatre Royal Margate. These will be judged by a panel of industry professionals from film and media & entertainment that includes actress, Brenda Blethyn, Time Out comedy editor Ben Williams, Film 4 Development Editor Lila Rawlings, and comedian teams from Pappy’s and online shorts sensation, Popcorn Comedy.
This year’s competition has attracted enquires from all over the world: Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece, Sweden, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Canada, USA, Brazil, Zimbabwe, India, Hong Kong, and Australia! With over 400 downloads for the film brief, the competition received a total of 46 film entries involving over 300 filmmakers, from as far as Devon and Wales, to Sheffield and Switzerland! 21 comic gems are from Kent–based filmmakers, and eight have made it to the Judges’ Competition Screening.

“We have had the best response ever this year! It’s a fantastic opportunity for comedians, filmmakers and the public to all come together and actually see how an audience will react to their own creativity, in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. There are some real corkers in there, so it’s going to be great free night out at the theatre.”

MICK ETHERTON, BEEPING BUSH PRODUCTIONS



21 films from Kent!

Nine films were produced in Thanet and two have made it to the final Judges’ Competition Screening.

There are two films from Broadstairs: Ian Reader’s spellbound Munassa, a cautionary tale about a man who desperately needs not to get in touch with his feminine side, with surprising results. The other film entry comes from students Mark Castro and Max Philo, whose contemporary farce, Facebook Man, provides a fresh and witty account of teenage social networking addiction!

Canterbury based filmmakers Katharina Mietz, Dalina Rusanova and Augustas Marozas produced Me & my Dead Husband – a cautionary story about how not to walk out on your loved one!

Canterbury based Martin Banov’s student film, Brainstorming is a tale of a trio of wannabe filmmakers with a fast approaching deadline and ‘inappropriate’ ideas!

Street Party by Whitstable based filmmaker Nick Pearson, was produced entirely on his iPhone, a slapstick escapade about a pizza delivery order gone manically wrong!

Chatham based comic dynamic duo, William Thomas & Ben Worsfield have once again come up with a comic gem KENT! A Brief History is a wonderful satire of local history television programmes. That’s also true of Wild Watch, a film co-produced by ex-University of Kent student, Dan Thompson, that even out-Goodies Bill Oddie and Kate Humble!

Congratulations to Rochester based filmmaker Ed Hall, who directed two of the films in the Judges’ Final this year: How to Throw a Soiree! An alarming development starting with a girls night in; and The Lovers’ Tiff, a homage to Mr and Mrs Smith, with Hollywood-style special effects!

The evening’s gala screening will conclude with Work! Love! Dance! Die! A comic musical film extravaganza from Switzerland!

ALL 43 accepted film submissions will be shown at the April Fools’ Screening on Saturday 2nd April 2011 at the Theatre Royal Margate, and hosted by University of Kent Student Stand-up Comedians Kenny Budd and Ryan Parsons.

To get a flavour of the competition why not check out last year’s entries and short documentary of a Screening night.

2 Days Laughter 2011 Screening & Awards Ceremony

14.30pm Doors Open
15.00pm Just for Laughs - Film Screening
19.00pm Judges’ Competition - Film Screening
21.45pm Awards Ceremony
22.00pm - Late Afterparty @ The Westcoast Bar, Margate Harbour

Further details will be posted on the www.2dayslaughter.co.uk website.

To book your free tickets please fill in online request at www.2dayslaughter.co.uk/screen/screen.html



NEW KENT FILMMAKERS’ EVENTS CALENDAR

Discover this year’s great film events in Kent! As part of our Screen South Community Network Film role we are delighted to announce that our new Kent Filmmakers’ Events Calendar section is now online.

Check out our free What’s On resource in the Kent area to find out what’s happening in your area - film screenings, workshops, events, festival dates and deadlines and lots of other film and digital media related information.

Need distribution ideas? You can also easily upload your own event to share your activities. This free What’s On resource is a comprehensive distribution resource with lots of useful features, including social networking, diary links, etc.

Visit beepingbush.co.uk/calendar to check out film related events going on in Kent & Medway, or to submit and upload your own event - even if it’s outside the county.

Be the first to know about these filmmaking events! As newsletters are only sent to registered users, please make sure that you sign up your details here to make sure that you don’t miss out on what’s happening in Kent and the South-East.

Please contact Mick or Chris at Beeping Bush if you have any questions or difficulties.

We are here to help - your film is our film!
THREE MONKEYS FILM FESTIVAL IN FOLKESTONE 4th March-2nd April

Whithorse Film club presents
See No Evil Hear No Evil Speak No Evil

Three Monkeys destroys the boundaries between film, music, art and spoken word.
Screening three feature films each day plus short films made by filmmakers based in Kent, Three Monkeys embraces the links between the arts, and all in the comfy surroundings of Bar Below, West Terrace Folkestone.

See No Evil Free Exhibition until 31st March. 2.00-5.00pm or by appointment.
An exhibition of art inspired by film, literature and music, kindly curated by Chimera Gallery. The Members Area, Civic Centre, Castle Hill Avenue Folkestone.

27th March
2.00pm Battle of Algiers (15) Award-winning, enthralling entertainment, this tells the story of the FLN’s guerrilla war against the French, with added relevance in today's global political climate in North Africa and the Middle East.

4.30pm Peeping Tom (18) Kent born Michael Powell’s career defining psychological drama from the 1960s lays bare the cinema's dark voyeuristic underside.

7.00pm Last House on the Left (18) A movie whose reputation precedes it, made in 1972, but not permitted uncut in the UK until 2008. Hailed by critics as one of the greatest horrors ever.

2nd April
Poetry night at Home Ground The Old High Street, Folkestone.
8.30pm Free Admission

The regular rant poets will be letting rip on the subject of censorship.
Special guest poets from Margate and London and an open mic slot for aspiring poets!
See individual posters for more details, find us on Facebook, or email whitehorseevents@hotmail.com or call 07957 440528

Event - Circuit Drive Thru Cinema at Dreamland - Saturday 26th 4pm-9pm

I nearly missed this! I must be off the radar for some news snippets. Circuit Drive Thru Cinema arrives at Dreamland this Saturday 26th March from 4pm to 9pm. Artists are invited to participate by exhibiting in their cars. More info at Marine Studios

Dear TDC,

Don't you think it would be a good idea, if not also the legal requirement, to apply and approve for a replacement for a building in the Conservation Area before you apply to knock it down?

Yours,

MA



"PLANS AGREED TO TACKLE MARGATE EYESORE

Plans to tackle a prominent eyesore along Margate seafront have been agreed.

Thanet District Council’s Cabinet last night (Thursday 17 March) agreed a strategy to tackle the appearance of the Fort Road Hotel, which overlooks Turner Contemporary.

The building has lain derelict for the last 20 years and was acquired by the council through compulsory purchase in December 2010. Since purchasing it, the council has carried out urgent work to the front wall of the building, which was in danger of collapse. Major repair work needs to be carried out to the property and a structural survey, carried out on behalf of the council, has suggested that, because there is so much to do, demolition is one option.

Over the next six months, the council will actively market the property to see if it can be redeveloped as a small hotel and a restaurant. Cabinet Members were told that there had already been interest from people, who are interested in acquiring the property, one of which is the owner of a five star boutique hotel elsewhere in Kent. The aim will be to complete work on the site by September 2012.

If there is no interest in the Fort Road Hotel within the next six months, then an application for consent to demolish the building will be made to the Secretary of State.

Director of Community Services, Madeline Homer, said: “Despite its appearance today and its condition over recent years, the Fort Road Hotel is a property full of history. It’s one of the few buildings surrounding the gallery that Turner would recognise from his era. For that reason, it’s vital that the council does what it can to find a new use for this building, which we now own. Of course, we can’t wait forever, with an eyesore looming over Turner Contemporary, so that’s why we’ve set a deadline for a viable scheme to come forward. We’re hopeful, with the interest that’s already been shown, and the wonderful location of the Fort Road Hotel, that there is a future for this building within that deadline.”

Temporary measures will be put in place ahead of the opening of Turner Contemporary to improve the appearance of the building."

ENDS

Cheryl Pendry
Press and Media Manager
Thanet District Council
www.thanet.gov.uk

Tel: 01843 577 034
Fax: 01843 295 343

The Visitor Centre is moving to The Droit House. Now, is it a good idea to do branding of iconic Margate sites like The Grade 2* Listed Dreamland Cinema that are closed and not due to open for years and are currently covered in scaffolding?

Please Thanet Tourism, promote the things we have and can use now!