Why I’m Excited #16: Dr. Gareth Higgins
In a continuing series on the blog, we're going to be hearing about parts of the Lineup for 2010 that people are particularly looking forward to. (For all Why I'm Excited posts, click here.)
Today there's a contribution from reallyquitetired, who you may remember will be continuing to contribute to this blog as one of our official blogging team posting throughout the festival weekend. (You may recall he's also excited about Gil Scott-Heron)
this post in summary:
some people take films seriously most people don't.
Gareth Higgins does.
Gareth is a man who is from Belfast - the home of Queen's University, George Best and modern British terrorism. He now lives in North Carolina - the home of the Charlotte Bobcats, Duke & UNC, and the Outer Banks, as well as some big 'inner' ones (of the money kind).
as a student at the aformentioned Queen's he read for a BA and a PhD, both in Sociology (no i've not heard of it either, but apparently it's a combination of dodgy maths and things said by Weber) in spite of that, he has a sharp mind and a keen theological sensibility both of which he directs towards cinema, as well as a myriad of issues, from postmodern philosophy to violence.
in addition to hearing him speak at greenbelt_ on several occasions about various aspects of cinema and culture, and give his regular rundown of the top ten (or occasionally fourteen) films released in the intervening year, i have for a long time enjoyed listening to the The Film Talk podcasts that he makes in collaboration with producer/director Jett Loe.
TFT is a great podcast not just because both presenters are witty, knowledgeable and interesting human beings, but because he and Jett have one of those relationships where both party is of the requisite intelligence, good humour, confidence and humility that they can happily and entertainingly argue with and shout at each other, in detail and for a sustained period, without it being either overly corrosive or tedious.
another thing i really like is their commitment to the idea that rather than being a series of distinct episodes, TFT is, as they describe it, one long conversation which never ends they bring pleasingly different perspectives and concerns to and away from the films that they discuss, and rarely do they see eye to exact eye.
a good recent example is their disagreement about the new Phillip Noyce film Salt, which Gareth interpreted as violent, misogynistic and nationalist propaganda that comes close to the point of neo-fascism, while Jett thought it not only one of the most anti-nationalistic commercial films of recent years and, but a flawed, yet worthwhile, popular feminist thesis about the social transition away from male violence they both argued instructively and passionately from content, style and (Jett's favourite) photographic technique, and were happy to remain of opposite persuasions regarding the meaning i've not seen it yet, but their conversation made me far keener to do so than i would have otherwise been.
Gareth is speaking three times over the weekend:
- first on Saturday at 5:00pm in the Film venue (above the skate park), when he will be interviewing Pip Piper and Rob Taylor about their work co-producing the new adaptation of (many times greenbelt_ contributor) Mike Riddell's The Insatiable Moon
- later that night, at 9:30pm, he will be talking in Bethlehem about his forthcoming book Cinematic States which chronicles his journey through 50 films, one from each US state, and his resulting reflections on the role of movies in American life and discourse
- then on Monday at 5:00pm he will be joined in the Film venue by Editor-At-Large for Empire Nev Pierce and Luke Walton to review the films of the last year and hand out the awards at the Second Annual Greenbelt Oscars
