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Branchage is a film
festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
held in the Channel Island of
Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
. The festival was founded in 2008 by filmmaker Xanthe Hamilton to bring film and arts to the island. It is a mix of site-specific film screenings held across the island in churches, castles, barns, and bunkers alongside more conventional arts spaces and cinemas, alongside film and art commissions, live soundtracks to film, short film programmes, industry networking and spectacular themed parties mixing live performance, name DJs and cabaret. Branchage is a not for profit organisation.


2008 Festival

The inaugural Festival opened with a screening of the Oscar-winning documentary feature '' Man on Wire'' (dir: James Marsh) in the
Opera House An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...
, followed by a Q&A with producer Simon Chinn; Simon became patron to the Festival in 2009. The Branchage Spiegeltent was erected in Weighbridge Square, St Helier, for the first time. Saturday night saw the first Bordée de Branchage, a party inspired by burlesque cabaret and circus sideshows, featuring a live performance from
Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. After signing with Epic Records in 2008, Faith released her debut album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?'' (2009), which produced the UK ...
alongside DJ duo The Broken Hearts. Friday night saw a
Warp Records Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in Electronic music, electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. It has released recor ...
themed party with a live set from The Oscillation and DJ set by Broadcast, in celebration of the Warp Films release: ''A Complete History of My Sexual Failures'' (dir: Chris Waitt). Saturday afternoon saw local Jersey musicians perform live as part of the Beat Happening Sessions, and Sunday afternoon saw broadcaster and writer Jonny Trunk transmit a live film soundtracks radio show for Resonance FM. Electronica composer Zan Lyons was commissioned to create a live score to a commissioned film by artist/filmmaker Sarah Wood using Jersey archive footage, called ''Angel of History'', to premiere in the Jersey War Tunnels. The Kings Chamber Orchestra performed a live score to Suzie Templeton's animated version of ''
Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и волк, Pétya i volk, p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk) Op. 67, a "symphonic tale for children", is a Program music , programmatic musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a ...
'' 1,200 local school children watched the event in the Jersey Opera House, followed by an evening public evening performance. Folk musicians The Memory Band performed a live score by candlelight to classic British horror film ''The Wicker Man'' (1973) in the medieval hall of Mount Orgueil Castle. The art collective Le Gun were commissioned to create an art installation at the Old Magistrate Court police cells. Directors Barbara Hammer and Lizzie Thynne both attended Branchage for screenings of their documentary films about Jersey artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore. This was the first time both films had screened together, and a Q&A session was held with the two filmmakers after the films. Comedian Graham Fellows attended Branchage in support of alter ego John Shuttleworth's feature film ''Southern Softies'', filmed in the Channel Islands as the UK's most southerly point. ''Imaginary Summer'' (dirs: Rebecca Coley / Richard Hall), Jersey's first-ever full length fiction feature film, was premiered at Branchage. ''Love Me Still'' (dir: Danny Hiller), funded through Jersey's Defiant Productions and starring British character actor Tom Bell, also premiered. The Branchage Bootcamp helped local Channel Island filmmaking talent between 16 and 25 to make short documentary films to premiere at the Festival, mentored by UK filmmakers The Blaine Brothers. The Forum Cinema (now closed) hosted classic British feature film screenings by
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
,
Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company Powell and Pressburger, The Archers, they together wrote, produced ...
and David Lean. Other documentaries screened at the Festival included '' Heavy Metal in Baghdad'', ''In The Shadow of the Moon'', ''
Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...
'', '' The King of Kong'', ''
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...
: Dream of a Life'', ''
My Winnipeg ''My Winnipeg'' is a 2007 Canadian film directed and written by Guy Maddin with dialogue by George Toles. Described by Maddin as a "docu-fantasia", that melds "personal history, civic tragedy, and mystical hypothesizing", the film is a surrealist ...
'', '' 5 Miles North of Molkom'', ''We Are Together'', UK skateboard documentary ''Rollin' Through The Decades'', and the classic Maysles Brothers' film '' Gimme Shelter''. Other feature films screened included ''Garage'', ''Mouth To Mouth'' (starring a pre-fame Ellen Page), the Brazilian box office hit ''Elite Squad'' and the Polish box office hit ''Ladies''; many of the films were accompanied by Q&As with directors and producers. There were guest short film programmes from London Short Film Festival, Birds Eye View, the
UK Film Council The UK Film Council (UKFC) was a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee, owned by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and ...
, Rushes Soho Shorts and Channel Four FourDocs. There was a series of industry events hosted by
Shooting People Shooting People is an international social network for independent filmmakers that was founded in 1998 by Cath Le Couteur and Jess Search, in which members share resources and knowledge to get their films made and seen. Dedicated to the support ...
and iQ (The Apple Shop). The festival £10,000 short film award for a Channel Island filmmaker went to director Michael Pearce, for his National Film & Television School graduation film ''Madrugada''. The jury consisted of Rebecca Mark-Lawson (
UK Film Council The UK Film Council (UKFC) was a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee, owned by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and ...
), James Mullighan (Shooting People), Deputy Kevin Lewis, and John Davey (Spearpoint Ltd). The 2008 Festival closed with a screening of British comedy feature ''Faintheart'', directed by Vito Rocco and starring Eddie Marsan, Jessica Hynes and Ewen Bremner, set amongst the world of Viking battle re-enactment societies. The screening took place at Mount Orgueil Castle, and was preceded by a drinks reception on the Castle battlements with a particularly strong serving of local cider.


2009 Festival

The second Festival opened with a screening of the
Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...
documentary feature about Antarctica '' Encounters at the End of the World'' in the Jersey Opera House, followed by a Q&A with Herzog's regular editor Joe Bini. The first Branchage box office opened in an empty shop, next to the now-demolished Southampton Hotel on Weighbridge Place, right opposite the Spiegeltent. The Branchage Spiegeltent returned to Weighbridge Square for a second year, sponsored by Barclays Wealth. Saturday night saw the return of Bordée de Branchage, featuring live performances from Kitty Daisy & Lewis, The Correspondents and
Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
nominee
Jeremy Deller Jeremy Deller (born 30 March 1966) is an English people, English conceptual, video and installation artist. Much of Deller's work is Collaboration, collaborative; it has a strong political aspect, in the subjects dealt with and also the Idealiz ...
's
Acid Brass Acid Brass is a musical collaboration between Turner-Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller and the Williams Fairey Brass Band. The project is based on fusing the music of a traditional brass band with acid house and Detroit techno. History Aci ...
, as performed by Jersey's Premier Brass. Friday night saw the 100% Dynamite reggae party hosted by Soul Jazz Records with a live set from 10-piece reggae orchestra Top Cats featuring Natty Bo, in celebration of the reggae documentary '' Legacy in the Dust'' (dir: Winston Whitter). Friday afternoon saw DJ Billy Jam transmit a live radio show for New Jersey's (New York)
WFMU WFMU (91.1 MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported, independent radio, independent community radio station city of license, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey, with studios in Jersey City. It is owned by ...
, and Sunday afternoon saw local Jersey musicians perform live as part of the Shear Talent, as presented by BBC Jersey Introducing. Animagica was a Branchage live music commission at the Opera House for Iceland's Amiina to perform a new live score to the fairytale animations of
Lotte Reiniger Charlotte "Lotte" Reiniger (2 June 1899 – 19 June 1981) was a German film director and the foremost pioneer of silhouette animation. Her best known films are ''The Adventures of Prince Achmed'', from 1926, the oldest surviving feature-length a ...
(''Cinderella'' 922 ''Sleeping Beauty''
954 Year 954 ( CMLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – A Hungarian army led by Bulcsú crosses the Rhine. He camps at Worms in the capital of his ally Conrad the Red, d ...
. Support came from Paper Cinema, with live music by The Cabinet of Living Cinema. Brighton's British Sea Power performed their live score to the classic 1934 documentary ''
Man of Aran ''Man of Aran'' is a 1934 Irish fictional documentary ( ethnofiction) film shot, written and directed by Robert J. Flaherty about life on the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland. It portrays characters living in premodern condition ...
'' (dir: Robert Flaherty), as commissioned by the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
, which took place in the Opera House. British Sea Power wrote about Branchage in a 'takeover' of the online music magazine Drowned in Sound... their guitarist Noble, stated that Branchage was "Perhaps the most innovative and exciting new film festival in Europe. The War Tunnels saw a unique live score to the new British documentary ''Isolation'', an impressionistic portrait of soldiers returning from conflict, as composed and performed by the film's directors Luke Seamore and Joseph Bull alongside guest musicians. ''The Battle of Branchage'' was a spectacular 3D mapping projection onto the side of Mount Orguiel Castle, commissioned by Branchage, with ground-breaking projection mapping by Seeper using the latest technology and sound by Flat-e.
Vimeo Vimeo ( ) is an American Online video platform, video hosting, sharing, and services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices and operates on a ...
footage of the event went globally viral following the Festival, and was reported in
Wired magazine ''Wired'' is a bi-monthly American magazine that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. It is published in both print and Online magazine, online editions by Condé Nast. The magazine has been in public ...
as a significant event on the technology circuit. Site-Eye were commissioned to create a 3D time-lapse film at various Jersey locations, which were screened as an installation in the Branchage box office. The Branchage Drive-In screened classic films ''
Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee an ...
'' and ''
The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...
'' from 35mm film, in Peoples Park. Kim Longinotto's powerful documentary ''Rough Aunties'', about the Bobbi Bear charity for abused children in South Africa, was accompanied by members of the charity, some of whom hadn't been outside of South Africa. A charity raffle to raise money for Bobbi Bear included a
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
sports car donated by a Jersey resident. Magical site-specific screenings included Gideon Koppel's observational film '' Sleep Furiously'' about a small Welsh farming community, screened in a barn at the Classic Herd Farm, the relaxing monastery documentary ''Into Great Silence'', screened in the quiet confines of the St Helier Town Church, and Irish children's fairytale animation '' The Secret of Kells'', in Mount Orgiel Castle. Branchage engaged with a younger Jersey audience by staging a series of events at the Live Lounge club, including screenings of documentaries about
Soulwax Soulwax are a Belgian electronic band and DJ/production collective from Ghent, who formed in 1995. Centred around brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, other current members include Igor and Laima Cavalera, and Stefaan Van Leuven. The group first ...
, the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival, grime artist Dizzee Rascal, and a live indie music night hosted by The Asylum with local bands performing. And for even younger audiences, Aardman animator Richard Golesowski attended to present his latest ''Shaun The Sheep'' short films for schools and young children. Classic British feature '' if....'' (dir:
Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered fo ...
, 1968) was presented in the chapel of Victoria College, followed by a Q&A with David Wood discussing his experiences as young actor on the film, playing opposite Malcolm MacDowell. British filmmaker and artist Andrew Kotting attended Branchage to screen a selection of his work and to hold a Town Hall meeting to launch the Jersey Jape project, to use Jersey residents home movie footage in a future film project. Unfortunately, funding wasn't secured to continue the project into the following year, and it was abandoned. British filmmakers The Blaine Brothers returned to Branchage to head up the Vauxhall 48 Hour Road Movie Challenge, for local Jersey filmmakers to make a film in 2 days, to screen at the Branchage Drive-In before the main features. Other documentaries screened at the Festival included ''Burma VJ'', ''Carmen Meets Borat'', ''End of the Line'', ''
Grizzly Man ''Grizzly Man'' is a 2005 American documentary film written and directed by Werner Herzog. It chronicles the life and death of bear enthusiast and conservationist Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard at Katmai National Park, A ...
'', ''Only When I Dance'', ''The Posters Came From The Walls'', and ''Sounds Like Teen Spirit''. Other feature films screened included ''Fish Tank'', ''Le Donk'' and ''Unrelated''; many of the films were accompanied by Q&As with directors and producers. There were guest short film programmes from London Short Film Festival, Peccadillo Pictures, the UK Film Council, Rushes Soho Shorts, Sheffield Doc/Fest, and an animation retrospective by
Max Hattler Max Hattler is a German video artist and experimental filmmaker. He created the kaleidoscopic political short films "Collision" (2005) and "Spin" (2010), abstract stop motion works "Shift" (2012) and "AANAATT" (2008), and psychedelic animatio ...
. There was a series of industry events hosted by
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
, 4Docs, Shooting People, and a journalist mentoring scheme hosted by
The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...
. The festival £2000 Cutting Hedge short film award went to Rowland Jobson for his film ''Girl Like Me''. The jury consisted of Ed Fletcher (Soda Pictures), Claire Cook (BBC Film Network), and Kobi Prempeh (Future Films). The 2009 Festival was planned to close with a screening of British science-fiction feature ''Moon'', directed by
Duncan Jones Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones (born 30 May 1971) is a British film director, film producer and screenwriter. He directed the films ''Moon'' (2009), ''Source Code'' (2011), '' Warcraft'' (2016), and '' Mute'' (2018). For ''Moon'', he won the BAFT ...
and starring Sam Rockwell, with Jones in attendance for a Q&A, to take place at the Jersey Opera House. Unfortunately, due to last minute unavoidable technical issues, the Opera House screening was cancelled and replaced by a second screening of the documentary feature ''Big River Man'' (dir: John Maringouin). ''Moon'' was rescheduled to screen later the same night at St Helier Cineworld, with Jones still in attendance.


2010 Festival

The third Festival opened for the first time with a fiction film, with a screening of the new Stephen Frears comedy drama ''Tamara Drewe'' based on the graphic novel by Posy Simmonds, in the Jersey Opera House, followed by a Q&A with lead actor
Roger Allam Roger William Allam (born 26 October 1953) is a British actor who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical ''Les Misérables'', First Officer D ...
(who attended on a break from his role on the London stage as Shakespeare's King Lear). The second Branchage box office opened in another empty shop in St Helier town, on the corner of Burrard Street and Cattle Street. The Branchage Spiegeltent returned to Weighbridge Square for a third year, again sponsored by Barclays Wealth. Saturday night saw the now ubiquitous Bordée de Branchage return, featuring a live performance from the 8-piece gypsy Ziveli Orkestra direct from Paris, and a Victorian seaside boardwalk theme. Friday night saw London's cool Lock Tavern host an Adventures in the Beetroot Field party with a live set from prog-disco-metal orchestra Chrome Hoof and a DJ set from Filthy Dukes. Friday afternoon saw DJ Billy Jam return to Branchage to transmit another live radio show for New Jersey's (New York) WFMU, and Sunday afternoon saw Yarn Festival present a storytelling workshop. Eisenstein's classic 1925 silent film ''Battleship Potemkin'' was screened with live performance by French electronic duo Zombie Zombie on the back of the ''Duke of Normandy'' tugboat in
St Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; ) is the Capital city, capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island' ...
's harbour; a spectacular photo of the event became a Branchage symbol to really show the inventiveness and ground-breaking aspects of the Festival. London based Japanese experimental rock band Bo Ningen were commissioned by Branchage to perform an intense new score to the disturbing Japanese anime ''Cat Soup'' (dir: Tatsuo Sato, 2001) Experimental electronica artist Scanner collaborated across generations with Jersey's own Mrs Waddington's magic lantern slide collection, as he performed electronic and digital soundscapes alongside a Victorian lantern show in a drawing room of the 19th century Merchant's House. Founder members of Welsh indie band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci,
Euros Childs Euros Childs (; Welsh: ; born 16 April 1975) is a Welsh musician and songwriter, perhaps best known as the frontman for the band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and—as of January 2019—the keyboardist for Teenage Fanclub. His sister, violinist Megan C ...
and Richard James, were commissioned by Branchage to create a new score to the classic Russian animation of
Yuri Norstein Yuri Borisovich Norstein (; born 15 September 1941) is a Soviet and Russian animator best known for his animated shorts ''Hedgehog in the Fog'' and ''Tale of Tales (1979 film), Tale of Tales''. Since 1981, he has been working on a feature film ca ...
, including his 1975 masterpiece ''Hedgehog in the Fog'', taking place in St Helier Town Church. Support came from a retrospective of Jersey animator Julia Coutanche. French musician Pevin Kinel performed a solo live score to the harrowing documentary ''Our Daily Bread'', about modern day food production, which took place at the Classic Herd Farm. London's Little Angel Theatre came to the Jersey Opera House to present ''The Fabulous Flutterbys'' puppet show for children, with live music by jazz legend Barb Jungr. Branchage begins to branch out (no pun intended) into further artforms beyond film and music: Live comedy arrives at Branchage for the first time in the form of Comedy Rocks at Club 72 (now demolished), featuring stand-up from Paul Foot, Angelos Epithemiou and Jeff Leach.
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
musician and author Ian Svenonius attends Branchage to give a storytelling walking tour across Jersey's 'moon landscape' tidal flatlands. Zoologist and on-line filmmaker Lucy Cooke talks about her work with sloths. And Branchage takes a foray into sound walks, with ''Always Something Somewhere Else'', around St Helier with a pair of headphones. Magical site-specific screenings included Liz Mermin's horse-racing documentary ''Horses'' screened in a horse box!, and the activist documentary ''The Vanishing of the Bees'', screening in a polytunnel in a field on the Jersey Organic Farm and followed by a heated discussion involving Jersey's agricultural community. Jersey Opera House saw screenings of The Doors documentary ''When You're Strange'' with a Doors covers band, and 70s pop star and Jersey resident Gilbert O'Sullivan attended his portrait documentary ''Out on his Own'' for a Q&A. Branchage inspiration
True/False Film Festival True/False Film Fest is an annual documentary film festival that takes place in Columbia, Missouri. The Fest occurs on the first weekend in March (sometimes beginning in late February), with films being shown from Thursday evening to Sunday nigh ...
(which takes place in Missouri, US) attended the Festival to host a series of documentary screenings including ''American: The Bill Hicks Story'', ''Cowboys in India'', and ''Last Train Home''. Other documentaries screened at the Festival included ''Separado!'' (with Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys in attendance) ''Mario and Nini'', ''Shed Your Tears and Walk Away'', ''Shelter in Place'', and ''Videocracy''. Other feature films screened included ''A Town Called Panic'', ''Gainsbourg'', ''I Am Love'', ''London River'', ''Lourdes'', ''Skeletons'', and classic films ''Breathless'' and ''Went The Day Well?''; many of the films were accompanied by Q&As with directors and producers. There were guest short film programmes from London Short Film Festival, Rich Pickings, Peccadillo Pictures, and Rushes Soho Shorts. There was a series of industry events including the launch of a Channel Island Filmmakers Network, a day for schools about getting into the film industry, and a second year of the journalist mentoring scheme hosted by The Quietus. There was no short film award at the 2010 Branchage Festival. The 2010 Festival closed at the Jersey Opera House with a screening of the uplifting documentary feature ''Out of the Ashes'', about the Afghanistan cricket team as it rises from obscurity out of cricket's lowest ranks to become a phenomenal success on the international arena. Co-director Leslie Knott attended for a Q&A.


2011 Festival

The fourth Festival returned to a documentary for its opening night film, with a screening of the award-winning Asif Kapadia Formula One doc ''Senna'', in the Jersey Opera House, followed by a Q&A with writer Manish Pandey. The third Branchage box office came back to the harbour front in St Helier, taking over an empty unit in the newly refurbished abattoir, Liberty Wharf. The Branchage Spiegeltent returned to Weighbridge Square for a fourth year, sponsored by Barclays Wealth for a third year. Saturday night saw the incredibly popular Bordée de Branchage return with a mythical island theme, featuring a live performance from the 8-piece marching band Perhaps Contraption, alongside Gertie and her Gaiety. Friday night finally saw Jersey mainstay ''Bergerac'' engage with Branchage, with a black tie dinner with lead actor John Nettles in conversation, and further cast members in attendance to talk about the TV show's lasting legacy. Saturday afternoon saw live comedy return to Branchage with ''Whose Hedge Is It Anyway?'' featuring live stand-up from Jeff Leech, Mark Dolan and Sara Pascoe, and Sunday afternoon saw The Tonic Record Club ''No Man Is An Island'' broadcast on BBC Radio Jersey as Branchage guests bring records to play and discuss on an island theme.


2012 and 2013 festivals

The festival ran into funding difficulties and lay dormant for two years, while a grant was negotiated with the
States of Jersey The States Assembly (; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable (Jersey and Guernsey), Connétable of each of the Parishes of Jersey, twelve parishes. The origins of the legislature of ...
Economic Development Department. However, a special screening of ''
Searching for Sugar Man ''Searching for Sugar Man'' is a 2012 documentary film about a South African cultural phenomenon, written and directed by Malik Bendjelloul, which details the efforts in the late 1990s of two Cape Town fans, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Craig ...
'' was held in Jersey at the Hotel de France, to an audience of 800. Festival patron and producer of the film Simon Chinn was in attendance for the Q&A, which was followed by a surprise appearance from musician and star of the show
Sixto Rodriguez Sixto Diaz Rodríguez (July 10, 1942 – August 8, 2023), mononymously known as Rodríguez, was an American musician from Detroit, Michigan. Though his career was initially met with little fanfare in the United States, he found success in Sou ...
, who had flown from Detroit to begin his UK tour. The film was preceded with a commissioned performance by performance artist Nissa Nishikawa, photographer Jonathan Hallam and film composer Tandis Jenhudson.


2014 Festival

After a two-year hiatus, the festival made a comeback in 2014 moving its Spiegeltent headquarters from St Helier to Coronation Park. As well as changing its location, the festival took a different approach to programming, and appointed two guest curators, French fashion designer agnès b and
BBC Radiophonic Workshop The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was one of the sound effects units of the BBC, created in 1958 to produce Incidental music, incidental sounds and new music for radio and, later, television. The unit is known for its experimental and pioneering ...
.''Dr Dick Mills, these sonic adventurers are guest curators of this year's Branchage Festival''
Aesthetica Magazine 2014 The Festival opened once again in the Jersey Opera House with a screening of How We Used To Live Paul Kelly's documentary about vanishing London with live soundtrack from Saint Etienne, with a Q&A panel discussion with the writers of the film Bob Stanley and Travis Elborough along with British Pop Artist Sir Peter Blake.


References


External links

{{Commons category, Branchage Festival
Branchage Festival
Official Website
''The best festivals around the world''
Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club me ...
2015
''All change for the film festival at Branchage''
Simon Jablonksi,
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
, 6 October 2009
''The new wave of film festivals''
Chris Michael,
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
, 28 October 2010
''Jersey's hidden charms''
Tim Burrows,
Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
, 13 February 2011
''Life on London's film scene''
Hannah Marshall,
Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
, 8 March 2012
''A postcard from Branchage''
Catherine Bray, Film 4, 2 October 2014
''An Introduction To The Cinema Event Of The Year''
Luke Turner,
The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...
, 14 September 2009
''Things Learned At The 2014 Branchage Film Festival''
Colm McAuliffe, The Quietus, 10 October 2014
Branchage Festival – ''Jersey’s unique celebration of film and culture''
Flux, 26 September 2014
''Branchage Film Festival 2011 – Round Up: Part I''
Nadia Attia, Little White Lies, 26 September 2011
''Alternative Delights , Branchage Film Festival , Various Locations , Jersey , 22–25 September''
Aesthetica Magazine, 8 September 2011 Film festivals in Jersey 2008 establishments in Jersey Film festivals established in 2008 Non-profit organisations based in Jersey