Elliot Grove is a busy man. Not content with founding and overseeing the Raindance film festival, as well as the British Independent Film Awards, he teaches masterclasses in film writing, producing and directing all over the world.

Furiously devoted to finding the best new independent filmmakers, Grove has seen some of the biggest names in the business pass through his doors and we were lucky enough to get his take on his work in film.

If you want to know more you can click here for the Raindance festival homepage, or check out Raindance.tv for a look at some of the best work coming out of Raindance.

Raindance is at the forefront of developing new and exciting films, how does it feel to constantly be involved with a wealth of upcoming talent?
I have the best job anyone could possibly want – I get to meet the most talented and interesting people imaginable. I also get to watch filmmakers and their careers take off. Watching new talent find its voice is what it is all about. I am constantly on the lookout for new ways of bringing new filmmakers to the attention of the film industry. Just this month we are launching an exciting new competition “Welcome To The Extraordinary” which enables new filmmakers to try their hands at a short 40 second piece.

What inspired you to start Raindance?
I am a Canadian. In 1992 I was at loose ends, and the country was suffering from a terrible recession. Rather than getting depressed about the then-sad state of the British film industry, I decided to try and bring British films and filmmakers to the attention of the public. Looking back, I can now see why everyone thought I was mad and would fail.

Success, I have discovered, is about passion, perseverance and vision. These are the qualities I look for when I am on the hunt for new talent.

The 90s seemed to bring the notion of guerilla filmmaking to a wider audience, how do you think this spirit has evolved over the last twenty years?
No longer is it necessary to have tons of money to rent equipment to make a film. The advances in digital technology has brought quality filmmaking production techniques to everyone. The trick remains, however, to find something that is worth making. Something that takes the ordinary, and makes it extraordinary – the challenge of any artist.

Given the economic climate and the critical failing of some of the more expensive studio films, do you think the time is right for distributors to start looking for films with a lower budget?
Eleven years ago, Raindance Film Festival premiered the Blair Witch Project – a hugely successful micro budget film. Last year saw the triumph of Paranormal Activity. Both of these films succeeded because of three things: The films were made for next to nothing (so they could go into profit sooner); the filmmakers had something original to say (as above, by taking something ordinary and twisting it) and because the filmmakers and distribution companies used terrific online marketing and publicity campaigns.

Distribution companies have finally realised that they can make money with micro budget films, and there has never been a better time for filmmakers to tell their bold, fresh and original stories than right now.

Duncan Jones and his debut film Moon triumphed at BIFA at the end of last year, would you consider that film an example of the best of independent film?
Duncan Jones created the script of MOON to utilise the elements of a low budget film: One location and one actor. He then raised his budget from friends and family and shot the film. When it was finished, the film triumphed commercially and artistically because he had something extraordinarily exciting to say.

How important do you see the internet becoming in the nurturing of new, talented filmmakers?
The internet has become the new golden goose for filmmakers seeking an audience outside of the traditional distribution channels. I meet 2 types of filmmakers: Those who loathe and fear the internet, and those who embrace it.

Understanding social media and how it is relevant to building an audience for your film and for your career is the keystone on which new careers are made in 2010.

What independent films have impressed you most recently – who are the names to watch?
This will sound like a cop-out – but I hate singling out films or filmmakers. It goes with my position of running Britain’s largest independent film festival. There are so many new voices creating films in so many different styles, I feel it would be unfair to single out individuals.

Except to say that I don’t think that the internet and it’s storytelling possibilities have been exploited at all yet. By using the advantages of the internet, combined with the possibilities offered by the gaming industry, I think someone, very soon, will create a film that melds these two platforms and makes a film that will astound and delight. And the person who does this first will become the next George Lucas or Stephen Spielberg.

HeyUGuys would like to thank Elliot Grove for his time.

Elliot Grove will be a judge on the InterCasino Welcome to the Extraordinary film competition, running until 25th July. For more information visit www.welcometotheextraordinary.com

Harry Brown is an unassuming name for what may become an iconic character in Michael Caine’s career.

That Caine is able to embody a man of frustration and sadness whose inaction turns to violent action with fluidity and pathos is a testament to the talent of the man and the capability of the film’s director Dabiel Barber.

Make no mistake, Harry Brown is a long and hard look into the dark heart of British society, and no one can stare into it for too long without closing up into self-defeating denial or taking a stand. Complex and unafraid, this is so much more than a British Gran Torino.

Barry reviewed the film on release and you can read his take on Harry Brown here and I’m going to give my verdict here on the DVD experience.

Daniel Barber’s first feature is brutal, and sets out its play with a truly nasty opening scene utilising the device of a video shot on a mobile phone camera and instantly we are thrown into a world which, despite the Daily Mail hysterics, actually exists and one that is not often shown on screen.

I believed in the passion Barber and the assembled cast and crew had for this story, as there is an urgency and willingness to show life on the estates of London as bleak and slow and Barber’s camera begins as voyeuristic as Harry himself, standing by while the gang of kids harass, deal drugs and kill unconcerned while the police do nothing.

We follow Harry’s journey from fear, to nervous action to determined revenge and all the while our morals are kept in check the unrelenting cast of nasties who patrol the run down estate, and when the violence is handed out by Brown there is nothing we as an audience can do except watch its awful cycle play out.

And it is mesmerising, and it is uncomfortable and some people will not want to see this play out, but a stunning turn from Caine and great support from Liam Cunningham, Ben Drew and Emily Mortimer make this a raw and relevant film, with some standout scenes (the drug den is a great example, and include a line every bit as iconic as any in Caine’s career) and an inventive use of camera and location that elevates this one. It is highly recommended.

The DVD and Blu-ray extras are comprised of:

Interviews with cast and crew
Deleted Scenes
Music Video
Feature audio commentary with Sir Michael Caine, director Daniel Barber and producer Kris Thykier

And it is the commentary which provides the most enjoyment, though having the three men laugh and joke their way through such a bleak film is an unusual contrast but Caine especially is a great voice and his anecdotes about this film and others in his long career make for a very entertaining watch.

Harry Brown is old. He lives in a tiny flat, on a run down estate. He eats jam on toast. He has a wife in the hospital, and he spends his days playing chess with his only friend in his local pub.

Harry Brown is scared. The estate where he lives is run by the out of control kids who live there. They deal drugs, are armed, and are prone to committing random acts of violence. Harry is so intimidated, when his wife takes a turn for the worse, he still takes the long way around the main road, because he doesn’t want to go down into the subway. His friend Len is also frightened, and is sick of it. He’s armed himself with an old bayonet, and is threatening to use it. Harry gets the news the next day. He has now lost everything, and despairs for the world around him.

Harry Brown is angry. The kids are getting away with murder, and the police are seemingly powerless to stop them. A chance encounter on the tow path pushes Harry to the edge. Is this what his life has come to? Harry decides to buy a gun. Is it for self defence? Or revenge? With nothing left to lose, what’s to stop ex-marine Harry from dispensing a bit of justice himself?

The early word on Harry Brown was that ‘it’s a bit like Gran Torino’. Be under no mis-conceptions, this isn’t your Hollywood fairy tale, a story of a man who learns to overcome his prejudice and love thy neighbour. This is drama. Dark, bleak, uncompromising. Filmed on a low budget, partly financed by the lottery comission, and directed by British first time director Daniel Barber, Harry Brown is a gritty exploration of the youth in revolt you might find in any working class estate, in any town in Britain.

Drugs, violence, sexual abuse, this film is at times difficult to watch. Difficult because of the nature of the violence yes, but more so because it’s all so… real.

We’d like to hide our heads in the sand, and pretend this is an extreme view of the world, and isn’t really happening. But it is. It’s happening every day, somewhere in your town. The no mans land of the subway may sound a little cliche, but that’s because it’s true. We all know that underpass, or that alley, or that park that we walk around, for we dare not enter. Daniel Barber has shot Harry Brown very well. An opening shaky-cam sequence foreshadows the chaos to come. The violence is filmed in several different ways, all very effectively. A gang attack seen from a high window, vicious with eerily muted sounds. A happy-slap style mobile phone video. Scenes are darkly lit with stark yellow streetlights, but the violence is clear as day, and menacingly real.

Director Daniel Barber also takes a real poke at the ineptitude of the police force too. Caught up with ideas of crime fighting initiatives with names like Project Lion, their ineffectiveness at grass roots level is hopelessly exposed. Never more so than in the run up to the climax, when the police attempt a handful of arrests, but arriving short-handed trigger a terrifying riot in the estate.

Michael Caine doesn’t need to work anymore. He’s worked in the business for six decades, performed in every genre, won awards, semi-retired, then done it all again. This means that when you see his name in the cast list, you expect something special. And it is a great performance from Caine. Known for being a vibrant and humorous character, it makes his convincing portrayal of a timid old man in failing health all the more remarkable.

However, as a movie, Harry Brown is deeply flawed. There is a real pacing issue, particularly in the middle part. Harry’s descent has to be a slow burn to be believable, but as he is present in every scene, it slows the movie down to a crawl. One scene in particular, as Harry sits in a squat trying to buy a gun, starts off tense, but as the sequence drags on, and you wait for the switch to flip, you’re left waiting too long, and the tension ebbs away.

The other major problem is that whilst Harry is a well rounded character, his youthful nemeses are unforgivably two dimensional. There are a couple of scenes explaining away their motivations as being a product of the abuse sustained from their paternal figures, but we see very little of their interactions with each other, no development of their personal relationships. One line in the film gives it away. Harry tells DI Frampton that at least in Northern Ireland he was fighting for something, and that these kids are just doing it for entertainment. That’s the view being expressed here, that the antagonists are just animals.

Ironically, these two major issues could have been rectified at the same time. If the story of these kids had been explored more deeply, those scenes could have been intercut with Harry’s journey, providing a more balanced account and solving the pacing problems.

Caine won’t have been paid much, and it’s obvious he took this role on because of his belief in the message the film maker is trying to put across. Before the screening, Sir Michael explained that it was a film about violence, but not a violent film. He went on to say that it was not meant to glamorize violence.

Harry Brown nearly lives up to this, until the final scene. I don’t want to give too much away, just to say that when someone is shown to have made their own life better by violence that they have perpetrated, for me that is a true glamorization of violence. Barber has tried to make both a film with an important message, and an entertaining movie. Unfortunately, he has not succeeded on either count. He has shown enough here however to suggest he can become a very good director. The problems with this film are down to inexperience and a bad script, both of which can be overcome. Harry Brown is worth watching, if only to remind you how lucky you are.

Harry Brown opens in cinemas in the UK this Wednesday 11th November. No word on a US release yet. Hey, we got Harry Brown, you got Boondock Saints 2.

Bazmann - You can now follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/baz_mann