Produced by Temporama and distributed by Pecadillo Pictures, Brian Butler reviews Darko Stante’sConsequences.
FORGET the fairy-tale castle on the hill and the beautiful Slovenian countryside surrounding picturesque Ljubljana. This modern morality tale is set in an uncompromising young offenders institution and centres round the sad, angry wretched life of teenager Andrej.
He is so rebellious that his weak father and feisty mother plead with the authorities to lock him up and so they do, pitching him headlong into a training college for minor thugs with expensive tastes in drugs and booze, as well as wayward girls.
Matej Zemljic is a sweet-featured youth who just can’t find a compass point in his chaotic self-induced tragic situation. The problem with the film is that writer/director Darko Stante offers no path to rehabilitation or redemption.
When it looks like Andrej may have made a friend of a much weaker inmate, he turns against the boy, threatening him with violence to extort protection money for two other tearaways whom he seems fatally drawn to.
The staff of the offender centre are one-dimensional and ineffectual in their leadership and stewarding of the boys, and one scene of violence, drug-induced stupor and pointlessness just leads to another.
The story, though potentially interesting, isn’t developed sufficiently to keep us guessing what will happen next. We know exactly where the downward loop is leading all the main characters and though we care for Andrej, beautifully played with subtlety and angst by Zemljic, we ultimately start not to sympathise with him .
The ending when it comes is more a whimper than a bang and we are left in mid-air, hoping for the best for the boy but fearing the worst.
At the centre of the film are a couple of quasi-queer scenes, where the two leading characters seem to have a fatal physical and sexual attraction that turns out in the end to be more drug-induced than anything serious.
This strain of the story could have been better developed and it would certainly widen the audience appeal, but in the end the writer plays with the idea and moves on.
The 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe drew to a close over the bank holiday weekend having brought together artists, arts industry, media and audiences from over 150 countries, including over 750 shows from Edinburgh.
MORE residents than ever before attended Fringe shows, with a record 856,541 tickets issued to audience members from the city.
This year’s Fringe saw venues across Edinburgh play host to a diverse selection of work from across Scotland, the UK, mainland Europe and the rest of the world, with showcases from over 15 countries. They were joined by 1,000 of the world’s finest street performers, who brought the Royal Mile and Mound to life as part of the Virgin Money Street Events.
The 2019 programme tackled critical issues such as the climate crisis, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic identity, mental health and wellbeing, disability and working-class representation, with the best upcoming talent showcased alongside well-known names and the very best of international work.
The Fringe is the largest arts market and platform for professional development in the world. Over 100 professional development events for Fringe participants were delivered in partnership with 57 external organisations in Fringe Central, the dedicated centre for artists at the heart of the Fringe.
The Arts Industry office accredited 1,661 producers, programmers, bookers, talent agencies, festivals and others from 54 countries looking to find work, tour it and support artists beyond the festival itself.
They were joined by over 1,000 of the world’s media, who came to cover the greatest celebration of arts and culture on the planet. Included in their number were Lonely Planet, who named the Fringe the UK’s number one unmissable destination as part of its Ultimate UK Travelist.
To help audiences discover work amongst the over 3,800 shows featured in this year’s programme, the Fringe Society created a new Inspiration Machine, an interactive, arcade-style machine that randomly displayed videos from Fringe artists at the push of a button. Located on the Mound and also available online, the machine was spun more than 100,000 times during August, encouraging audiences to try one more show and potentially discover a new festival favourite.
The Fringe Society has made a long-term commitment to community engagement and access, and this year received the Euan’s Guide Hello Award in recognition of ‘the warm welcome for all visitors’ to the Fringe Shop and Box Office.
Key initiatives this year included loaning out 80 sensory backpacks for autistic children and adults, BSL interpretation on the Royal Mile every Saturday of the festival, and a dedicated Changing Places toilet located right outside Fringe Central.
Organisers worked with over 30 Edinburgh charities and community groups to distribute £60,000 of Fringe vouchers and Lothian bus tickets, enabling residents from across the city to experience the festival, many for the very first time. In addition, over 1,000 schoolchildren and 188 teachers came to the Fringe as part of their schools’ outreach work.
Shona McCarthy
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “The Fringe is the perfect combination of local and global – a magnificent medieval city and its residents welcoming performing artists from all over the world. At a time of political division and uncertainty around the world, the role of the Fringe as a platform for radical conversations to happen – from the future of our environment to gender politics, racism and disability – has never been more important.
“We are delighted to welcome audiences from Edinburgh, Scotland, the rest of the UK and across the world to this year’s Fringe, alongside 1,661 producers, programmers and bookers who will help ensure the work presented at this year’s festival is seen by audiences in venues and festivals both here in the UK and internationally.”
Sir Tim O’Shea
Sir Tim O’Shea, Fringe Society Chair, added: “We want everybody in Edinburgh to have the opportunity to attend and enjoy the Fringe, which is why we have been developing and enhancing our work to engage with people in the city who might not have had the chance to attend before. The positive impact of the Fringe is felt long after August comes to a close – from the artists who use the Fringe as a career springboard to the local communities who come to the festival, many for the first time, and are inspired to take up something completely new.”
By Bank Holiday Monday afternoon (August 26), with hundreds of performances still to take place, the Fringe Society confirmed that more people than ever attended shows at the Fringe, with just under 250,000 attendees at shows across Scotland’s capital and three million tickets issued. 56% of attendees came from Scotland, highlighting the continued appeal of the Fringe for locals and visitors alike.
Next year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe will run from August 7 – 31, 2020.
Beverley Knight MBE recently celebrated twenty five years in music with a sold out show at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
THE event was recorded for a live album due to be released later this year ahead of a UK tour with a Brighton Centre stop on October 1. Super fan Dean Pender caught up with Bev and asked if in the mid 90’s she envisaged having such success 25 years on:
“I knew I would still be making music. What I could not have predicted was how, and in what capacity. I knew I was going to make music throughout my life but I had no idea how big it would be but I always knew that somehow, someway I would have a career, a lifetime of singing and making music. I didn’t know if I would need another job to supplement that. But as it turns out…. I never did!”
In the 90s you were vocal about your support for the LGBT communities and called out artists who included homophobic lyrics in their work. What was the reaction at the time? “It caused immense problems. I was literally on my own. Absolutely no other black, British artist in the urban field and I make that distinction importantly – the urban field, spoke out. I was an island but I believed, as I do today, that your silence means you are complicit with homophobes and racists. I’m not here for that. There was a backlash although luckily there was no social media back then but it was terrifying. People wrote to magazines saying they were going to make sure my career was going to be over, and I received [messages] that could be construed as death threats “I know where you live” and things like that. But these were a minority, the overwhelming majority supported me. It was a minority of individuals from within my own communities who were absolutely furious with me”.
Did your career suffer? “As a result, a lot of people who were decision makers in the music industry would distance themselves from me. It was very hard for a time as those people stood away from me but I didn’t care. I was raised to believe in standing up for what is right, even if it costs you and I still believe that now. I am proud that I had the strength to do that. Would I do it again in the age of social media? I’d like to think I would but it is difficult when you are the only one”.
Is it true that your band at the time didn’t want you to perform for gay audiences? “Yes. It was awful. It was the band I had at the time in the beginning, in the mid 90s. I was asked to do Pride and I was so excited. My manager put it to the band then three days before the event was due to happen my manager told me that they felt they were unable to be my band in this circumstance due to their religious beliefs. Are you serious? For their religious beliefs? Well I was going to play Pride, even if they weren’t. So the band had to go it was that simple. It was stressful and I had to get a band together in lightning time but that’s how it was. Sod ‘em! (laughs).
“I won’t name those people because since then those people have seen the error of their ways and come round to being full rounded people. But if they hadn’t, I’d have shamed them! With time people grow up”.
You were awarded an MBE for your services to music and charity in 2007. Did this come as a surprise? “I was so stunned it took me a long time to say yes. In 2007 I still thought I was very young, in my thirties and “I haven’t done anything!”. My management had a word with me and said this isn’t just about you, it’s about the people coming up behind you and those who laid the path for you. My mum and dad came to Britain not knowing what life was going to be like for them and they certainly didn’t think their daughter would go on to have the career that I’ve had. The award was as much for them and so I agreed to take the MBE.
“That day at Buckingham Palace, I had my mum, dad and my manager there. When they called my name all I could think was ‘don’t fall over, why did you wear platform heels!’ Can you imagine if I’d fallen over – the shame. When you meet The Queen, she pins the award on you and then gives you a shove as if to say – ok, go now – and you have to walk away backwards! The shoes looked good but what a mistake!”
In 2013 your career took a different turn and you moved into acting. How did that come about? “I had acted my entire life. My first role, I was five! All the way through school I did drama and joined local amateur dramatics, but I stopped acting when the music career took off. So I feel this is a return to acting but on a professional level and I’m so proud that I was able to go back to it. I loved it being on stage and being someone else for a minute. I was the first black Grizabella in Cats in the UK. Next year there’s lots of theatre happening for me and all original roles too so keep an eye out for that.”
Dean and Beverley
Your new tour is a tribute to Stevie Wonder and involves you and an orchestra performing some of his songs. What can we expect at your Brighton show on October 1? “It’s going to be beautiful. I am Stevie Wonder’s ambassador for the night and I’m going to share his music. I’ll be singing all the songs that I love of his that mean something to and resonate with me. I’m tackling some of the greatest songs known to man, it will be beautiful. Two hours of his music and I’m really looking forward to it.”
And the new album?
“I have the live album coming in November which is of the anniversary show from May at the Royal Festival Hall with some new studio tracks on there. I’ve never done a live album show before and with that and the new tracks I’m really excited.”
Beverley Knight tours in October with shows including Brighton Center (1), London Palladium (8) and Bournemouth (13).
To book tickets for Brighton Centre show online, click here:
Beverley Knight MBE recently celebrated twenty five years in music with a sold out show at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
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