Rialto Channel is unlocked to Sky subscribers, so enjoy taking a peek at what’s on offer; Rectify, What Maisie Knew and Dancing on the Edge.
From June 23rd to June 29th, Rialto Channel will be ‘unlocked’ for all SKY domestic customers, so tell your mates so they can enjoy taking a peek at some of the award-winning and critically-acclaimed feature films, documentaries and television series Rialto Channel shows everyday
Here are my picks for the week:
Rialto Channel 48 Hour Film Competition 2014
Screening: Wednesday 25th June, 8.00pm
The winners of the Grand National Final of the Rialto Channel 48 Hour Film Competition were announced recently, and this Wednesday you can watch the winning films. Each team had 48 hours to write, shoot and edit a short film and this year there were 14 incredibly strong finalists up for Best Film. The Grand National Champion award was taken out by team Lense Flare for their musical Pants on Fire and the Runner Up award went to team Noise and Pictures for their horror Rubble. You can catch these impressive shorts, as well as meet the talented teams behind them at 8pm this Wednesday.
Rectify Season Two Premiere
Starring: Abigail Spencer & Aden Young
Screening: Tuesday 24th June, 8.30pm
Rectify is the first Sundance Channel produced television series written and created by Ray McKinnon, an actor and writer known for roles in Sons of Anarchy and Deadwood. The series stars Aden Young as Daniel Holden, released from prison, thanks to new DNA evidence, after 19 years on death row for raping and murdering his girlfriend. It’s a beautifully shot and gently paced family drama that cleverly explores themes of crime and punishment, identity and solitude, and guilt and absolution. Season two continues to follow Daniel’s reintroduction into the real world and delves into the lives changed by Daniel’s return. Hopefully it will also go some way to answering the nagging question about whether Daniel is guilty or innocent.
What Maisie Knew (2012)
Staring: Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan and Alexander Skarsgard
Directed by: Scott McGehee & David Siegel
Screening: Rialto Selection, Saturday 28th June, 8.30pm
What Maisie Knew is based on the novel by Henry James about the divorce of two selfish people and the effect it has on their six-year-old daughter Maisie. American directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel, working from a screenplay by Nancy Doyne and Carroll Cartwright, have created a fabulous modern day adaptation filled with excellent performances, and restrained but harsh observations on parenting and divorce. As you’d expect, Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan are excellent as the bitter couple battling over the custody of their child, but much of the success of this film is due to the honest and moving performance by the young Onata Aprile as Maisie.
Dancing on the Edge Premiere
Starring: Matthew Goode, Chiwetel Ejiofor & John Goodman
Directed by: Stephen Poliakoff
Screening: Rialto British, Sunday 29th June, 8.30pm
In January a new British television series Dancing on the Edge received eight Golden Globe nominations, with Jacqueline Bisset winning the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture. This lavish production explores race, class and the impact of music as the British aristocracy fall in love with jazz music, courtesy of a black jazz band looking for fame and fortune in London in the 1930s. It features Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) as bandleader Louis Lester, and is filled with impressive acting, writing and costumes. No doubt, this series will be a hit with lovers of Downton Abbey.