A collection of British feature films and documentaries – NEW BRITISH CINEMA QUARTERLY ANNUAL – released on dvd

NEW BRITISH CINEMA QUARTERLY ANNUAL: ISSUE 3 (15) 2012   £24.99 A collection of British feature films and documentaries. The coming-of-age drama ‘Strawberry Fields’ (2012), traces the changing relationship between two sisters over the course of a long English summer. Anna Madeley stars as Gillian, a Kentish girl who gets a casual summer job as a strawberry picker.

As she bonds with her co-workers, especially bad boy Kev (Emun Elliott), she begins to find freedom and discover new sides to herself – until her domineering older sister, Emily (Christine Bottomley), shows up at the fields and pushes her way into the group.

‘The Joy of Six’ (2012) is a collection of six award-winning British short films, comprising: ‘Long Distance Information’ (2011); ‘Man in Fear’ (2011); ‘A Gun for George’ (2011); ‘The Ellington Kid’ (2012); ‘Scrubber’ (2012); and ‘Friend Request Pending’ (2011).

The documentary ‘Patience (After Sebald)’ (2012), traces the life and work of the late author W.G. Sebald.  Though born and raised in Germany, Sebald relocated to Britain in the 1970s to work at the University of East Anglia and a number of his books display the influence British life and the English countryside had upon him. The documentary draws on one of Sebald’s most celebrated works, ‘The Rings of Saturn’, in which he describes at length a journey along the East Anglian coast, the people he meets and the memories it provokes.

Finally, ‘The Gospel of Us’ (2012), is a feature-length film version of the Easter Passion play written by Owen Sheers and starring Michael Sheen. Also included is a documentary giving a behind-the scenes look at the Welsh National Theatre’s production of the play, performed in the streets of Port Talbot over Easter 2011.

Also available in the series is -

NEW BRITISH CINEMA QUARTERLY ANNUAL: ISSUE 2 (15) 2012 £24.99

A four-volume collection of British feature films. In ‘Treacle Jr.’ (2011), after leaving his wife and child, 40-year-old Tom (Tom Fisher) ends up living on the streets. He is attacked by a gang and while in hospital meets Aidan (Aidan Gillen).

Finding Aidan to be completely different from himself, Tom is initially reluctant to be in his company. As time passes, however, Tom learns that Aidan is dealing with problems of his own. In the psychological thriller ‘Island’ (2011), after years of neglect and abuse in the care system, surviving by absorbing herself in fairy-stories, 29-year-old Londoner Nikki Black (Natalie Press) tracks down her reclusive birth-mother, Phyllis (Janet McTeer), to a remote Hebridean island.

Intent on confronting and killing her mother for the life she has had to suffer, Nikki soon starts to feel conflicted when she discovers she has a half-brother, Calum (Colin Morgan), and that he shares her passion for story-telling. In the romantic comedy ‘Honeymooner’ (2010), Gerard Kearns stars as Fran, a 29-year-old Londoner who gets dumped by his fiancee just four weeks before the wedding. Meanwhile, Fran’s two best friends, Ben (Chris Coghill) and Jon (Al Weaver), are experiencing the reverse of Fran’s predicament: their girlfriends are madly in love with them, but the guys appear lukewarm and are constantly on the lookout for other lovers.

Finally, in ‘Junkhearts’ (2011), lonely fifty-something alcoholic Frank (Eddie Marsan) has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since returning shattered from his service in Northern Ireland. When he meets homeless teen Lynette (Candese Reid), she quickly fills the void left by Frank’s long-estranged daughter, and Frank begins to sober up as his life takes on new purpose and meaning. But Lynette is not all she seems: she has been recruited by her charismatic drug dealer boyfriend Danny (Tom Sturridge) to set up a new drugs den, and has identified Frank as a soft target.

Romola Garai co-stars.

DVD available to buy at -  http://www.worldonlinecinema.com/Home/british-cinema-on-dvd