Post 9/11, the Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff.  After the attacks on the World Trade Center to help economically and culturally revitalize Lower Manhattan, the festival was launched as an annual celebration of film, music, and culture. The Festival’s mission is to assist filmmakers to reach the broadest possible audience, enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film, and to promote New York City as a major filmmaking center.

In its first five years, the festival has attracted over one and a half million attendees from the US and abroad and created more than $325 million in economic activity for New York City.

The sixth annual Tribeca Film Festival will run from April 25, 2007 to May 6, 2007, 2007. The Festival is anchored in Tribeca with additional venues throughout Manhattan, and includes film screenings, special events, concerts, a family street fair, and Tribeca Talks panel discussions.

Acknowledged by the industry as a very welcome addition to the movie festival timetable, it's also your chance to spot many of the great and the good of the film industry including many local New York residents.

SURREAL THINGS AT THE V&A IN LONDON

Salvador Dalí, Téléphone-homard [Lobster Telephone], 1938.
© Salvador Dalí, Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, DACS, London 2006

The review:

Art should not  be too serious, or take itself too seriously; and yet at the same time it should act as a commentary on society, albeit yesterday's, today's or tomorrow's.

Today we are in love with retro; and in many aspects of our lives we experience  a nostalgic look back at the more frivolous times of the thirties and the sixties.

Surreal Things focuses as much on the light-hearted, mid-war humour as any other period; but it is its 'surreal' vision of everyday things alongside glamorous artifacts that makes it not so dissimilar to the equally refreshing approach of the sixties.

When artists identify art, architecture, theatre, fashion, design and much more as worthy of a substantial helping of irony, the reference is pertinent to the sensitivities of that moment in time.

Entertainment and humour challenge our assumptions and that is what makes  surrealism in 1930's equally pertinent and attractive in this new millennium retrospective period.

300 exhibits fill three large rooms - but try and visit outside of peak times so that you can get a close-up look at some of the divine details.

A timely exhibition, we leave the V&A impressed and entertained by the beauty of some of the exhibits and something of a sense of déjà vu. 

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Surreal Things is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see 300 of the most extraordinary objects ever created, in a spectacular theatrical setting.

This exhibition is the first to explore the influence of Surrealism on the worlds of fashion, design, theatre, interiors, film, architecture and advertising. It shows how artists engaged with design and how designers were inspired by Surrealism.

The Surrealists explored unique ways of interpreting the world, turning to dreams and the unconscious as inspiration for a new vision. Their innovative thinking challenged convention, changing perceptions of the world in which they lived and transforming the language of art and design. Surrealist imagery and ideas were absorbed into the worlds of fashion, commercial design, graphics and film and many Surrealist artists were actively engaged with these activities throughout their careers.

Alongside paintings by Magritte and Ernst are Elsa Schiaparelli's dramatic 'Skeleton' dress, Meret Oppenheim's 'Table with Bird's Legs', Oscar Dominguez's satin-lined wheelbarrow, and many world-famous works by Salvador Dali including paintings, the 'Mae West Lips Sofa', the 'Lobster Telephone' and 'Venus de Milo with Drawers'. Other highlights include Giorgio de Chirico's costumes and set designs for Diaghilev's 'The Ball', film clips including the dream sequence from Alfred Hitchcock's 'Spellbound', and a case study of Monkton, the purple-painted Sussex home of the English Surrealist patron Edward James.

Fecha: 30 de marzo al 7 de abril de 2007 Lugar: Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba Principales Sedes: Palacio de Convenciones de La Habana Teatro Auditorium "Amadeo Roldán" Salas de conciertos del Centro Histórico de la Ciudad

Each four years, in collaboration with the International Federation for Choral Music, a Latin American country is honoured to invite all the choral conductors and singers of the world to participate in the América Cantat Choral Festival and discover Latin American choral music.

During one week, renowned choirs of local and international prestige are engaged in artistic and academic activities, meeting colleagues and building and exchanging friendship.

In each edition of this festival, several workshops and study-tours take place under world renowned conductors and composers. 

This year it takes place in Havana, Cuba between March 30 and April 7.

Sydney, Australia's National Maritime Museum offers historic exploration cruises from April 26-30, arriving -- just as Cook did -- in Kurnell on the April 29th, just 237 years ago.

Join in as crew or simply relax on board the Endeavour replica, lap up the “Festival of Kurnell” and catch a glimpse of Captain Cook's memorial. Crew members will be taught old school 18th Century sailing techniques.

The History of the Boat Race

The first boat race was the result of a challenge issued to Oxford by Cambridge in 1829. It was rowed on the Thames at Henley. Oxford wore dark blue jerseys, later to become the Oxford blue, whilst Cambridge donned pink sashes. Oxford were the first winners. The second race was staged in 1836 when Cambridge adopted their own light blue, and was rowed on a five and three-quarter mile stretch of the Thames between Westminster and Putney.

Today the 4.5 mile course, which was first used in 1845, stretches from Putney to Mortlake. The race is held in March or early April, after the captain of the previous year's losing team issues a formal challenge. Cambridge sank in 1859 and 1978, Oxford in 1925 and 1951, whilst both boats went down in 1912 when the race was started in half a gale. The most recent sinking occurred in 1984, when Cambridge sank after ramming a barge before they were even under starter's orders. The remains of the boat now have pride of place in a Cambridge public house, and have been signed by all crew members. Oxford made history in 1981 with the selection of the first female cox, Sue Brown. She coxed crews to victory in both 1981 and 1982.

The average time taken to complete the course is 20 minutes, but Cambridge holds the record for the fastest time of 16 minutes and 19 seconds, achieved in 1998. The current score stands at 78 to Cambridge, 72 to Oxford, with one controversial dead heat in 1877. There have been other very close results: Oxford won by a canvas in 1952 and 1980, and the 2003 race was won by just a foot.

The race is the most famous of the Varsity Matches and one of the most popular televised sporting events in Great Britain, with an estimated global television audience of 400 million. Around a quarter of a million people are estimated to watch the race from the riverbank.

The 2007 Boat Race will take place on April 7, 2007 at 16.30hrs GMT

Annual Spring Festival of Mount Takao

On April 15 the Annual Spring Festival of Mount Takao, Hachioji will feature chigo-gyoretsu (procession of children in fancy attire), yamabushi (mountain priests) in their traditional attire, and a fife and drum corps. They will parade from Jyuichi-chome Jaya (tea stall) near Takaosan Station (cable car station located on top of Mount Takao) to Yakuoin Temple. Shishimai (lion dance) and hashigo-nori (a performance of thrilling acrobatics on the ladder) will be held by hikeshi (members of the old Edo Fire Brigade) in the temple compound

Yuri's Night

On 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin blasted off the launch pad in Baikonur at 9:08 AM local time. His call-sign for the flight was "Cedar." Sergei Korolev, the Program's Chief Designer, would call from the ground, "'Dawn' calling 'Cedar.'" Gagarin made his historic 108 minute flight (orbiting around the whole Earth once) and parachute landed near his Vostok 1 capsule in the plains of Russia. This flight made him the first human to orbit the Earth and an international hero. Yuri was only 27 years old.

Yuri's Night is celebrated across 30 countries and commemorates the anniversary of the Vostok 1 Launch. The ninety events include The 2007 San Francisco Bay Area Yuri's Night which will take place on April 13 at NASA's Ames Research Facility in Mountain View, California.  In Houston, organizers will celebrate at Pubfiction with an opportunity to win a free ticket to fly aboard Zero Gravity Corp's Boeing 727 airplane through a series of high altitude roller coaster-like maneuvers as a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., based aircraft rises and dives steeply enough to create 20 to 30 seconds of weightiness for its passengers.

NASA will also celebrates Yuri's Night, this year as the 26th anniversary of the first space shuttle mission. .

The first attempt to develop a world championship event for the sport of cricket was in 1912.

This involved a three-way series between the existing Test playing nations of Australia, England and South Africa. Appalling weather made the event a complete wash-out and the bitter experience  left the cricket world with a bad taste.

In 1975 the sport was booming due to the success of domestic one-day competitions and the first World Cup event was scheduled to take place in the same year as the six Test-playing nations - Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and the West Indies were joined by Sri Lanka and East Africa.

A resounding success, the tournament has been repeated every four years.  The event took place in England in 1979 and 1983 before moving overseas to India and Pakistan in 1987.  There then followed a stint in Australasia when the World Cup was hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 1992; followed by a team effort in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1996.  The Cricket World Cup returned to England in 1999 followed by a World Cup in South Africa in 2003.   It continued to maintain its four year cycle when in March 2007 the final teams headed for the West Indies.

However, a large black cloud has descended over the 2007 Championship due to the early exit of a number of the top teams.  Then the currently unsolved murder of the manager of the Pakistan team manager (following their defeat by Ireland) alongside many poorly attended matches has resulted in a somewhat subdued tournament.  NO doubt big questioned will be asked after the championship reaches its conclusion.

Written by the same talent as Les Miserables The Pirate Queen opens in early April 2007 at the Hilton Theatre, New York.   This long anticipated musical is based upon the real-life story of the legendary Irish pirate chieftain. Grace "Grania" O'Malley - a pirate, chieftain, lover and mother in 16th century Ireland - was one of the last Irish clan leaders to resist the English conquest of Gaelic Ireland.

Stephanie J. Bloch  - the actress who gained critical notice for her performance as Liza Minnelli in her Broadway debut, The Boy From Oz take on the lead role of O'Malley.  Co-stars include Hadley Fraser as Tiernan Fraser, who has appeared on the London stage in, Les Miserables, Assassins and The Pirates of Penzance; Linda Balgord as Queen Elizabeth I who is best known for being the last actress to portray Grizabella in Cats on Broadway and for her portrayal of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard; Marcus Chait as Donal who you may remember in such films as Million Dollar Baby and North Country; and Jeff McCarthy as Dubhdara - best known for originating the role of Officer Lockstock in Urinetown.

THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, THE WHO AND A FEW ARCTIC
MONKEYS AT CHRISTIE’S SOUTH KENSINGTON

Pop Memorabilia
Christie’s South Kensington
Thursday 26 April 2007, 2.00pm
The sale will be on public view from Saturday 21 April at 10.00am

Cream Psychedelia 
Two promotional posters: Cream and Legalise Cannabis by Martin Sharp, 
Speaker's Corner, Hyde Park, London, 16th July, 1967, both -- 30x20in. (76x51cm.) (2)

Christie’s sale of Pop Memorabilia promises a tantalizing line-up 
of exciting memorabilia from the stars of the pop and rock worlds. The
sale features guitars, stage costumes, drum-kits, letters, concert-related ephemera,
photographs and personal items from the legends of the 1950s and 1960s, right through to
today’s stars. Featuring some 300 lots, estimates start from around £200.
Highlights Include:
Marc Bolan
A 1970 Gibson Flying V electric guitar, used extensively by Marc Bolan in the 1970s, most
notably on Top Of The Pops in 1972, performing his hit single Get It On (estimate: £30,000 -
£50,000).
David Bowie
An elaborate stage costume worn by David Bowie for his last performance as Ziggy Stardust
in The 1980 Floor Show at The Marquee Club in London, November 1973 (Estimate:
£4,000-6,000).
John Lennon
? An LP Wedding Album, 1969, signed and inscribed to the parents of James Hanratty,
one of the last men to be hung in the UK at Bedford Prison on 4th April, 1962. John
Lennon and Yoko Ono actively supported Hanratty's family in their campaign to
have the case re-examined (estimate: £3,000-5,000).
? A rare self-portrait caricature of John Lennon and Yoko Ono sitting cross-legged on
a cloud, with John next to a guitar, the drawing on Bag One Productions headed memo
paper addressed to NME Readers !, 1969 (estimate: £5,000-7,000).
The Beatles
The sale includes a collection of correspondence to Len Wood of EMI (Len Wood was
instrumental in signing The Beatles, and rose to become Chairman of EMI) from various
members of the Beatles including:
? Previously undocumented material detailing John Lennon's suggestions for track
listings on the Beatles EPs, issued by Capitol Records in Mexico between 1971 and
1972. This correspondence is important because for a long time Lennon's
involvement was a rumour that nobody believed. This correspondence proves that
not only did he compile the records, but sheds new light on the fact that he was
getting involved with something so (comparatively) trivial, at a time when he was
claiming in public to have no interest in The Beatles or their legacy (estimate:
£10,000-15,000).
? A letter from George Harrison to Len Wood dated 24th February 1964, thanking
him for the gift of a television set for his 21st birthday….."it gives the best picture I have
seen, Ta!" (estimate: £1,000-1,500).
? A somewhat bitter postcard sent by George Harrison to Len Wood years later
querying the royalties EMI has made out of various Harrison compositions
(estimate: £700-900).
Freddie Mercury
A flamboyant costume worn on stage by Freddie Mercury during Queen's 1986 European
Tour, comprising a long cloak of imitation scarlet velvet trimmed with imitation ermine,
decorated with cut-out gold-coloured paper to simulate embroidery (estimate: £4,000-6,000).
Elvis Presley
A pair of tan-coloured jeans made for Elvis Presley in the 1960 Twentieth Century Fox
Western film Flaming Star. Andy Warhol used an image from this film for his iconic series of
portraits of Elvis Presley, 1962-1964 (estimate: £1,500-2,500).
The Arctic Monkeys

Seven fancy dress costumes worn by The Arctic Monkeys to receive their Brit Awards for
Best British Band and Best British Album on 14 February 2007. The costumes comprise
Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow from the film The Wizard of Oz
and the Policeman, Sailor and Native American Indian from the band The Village People. The
Brit Awards were held at Earls Court in London but the band were unable to appear at the
ceremony so received their awards via video link from Sheffield (estimate: £600-800).
Other highlights include a collection of Keith Moon's clothing owned by the Moon Family,
estimates range from £800 to £2,000; a leather jacket worn by Keith Richards, circa 1972
(estimate: £2,000 - £3,000) and a range of autographs from Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley,
to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who with estimates starting at £600.

thelondonseason

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