1. Becoming a journalist

Talking Heads

WHEN I hit my mid-teens I started to like the idea of being a journalist. I read books about being a foreign correspondent and liked those old-fashioned films with hacks who had a “press” badge in the hatband of their fedora.

In truth, this didn’t quite tally with starting at the Leicester Mercury as a trainee journalist, being sent off to Sheffield to study shorthand, typing and the legal and political implications of journalism.

Being a young journalist was all about covering parish councils, magistrates’ hearings, charity cheque presentations and watching a surgeon carve the turkey at the local hospital on Christmas Day. Great fun was had and you never knew what each day would hold.

As the years went by – and shorthand exams were past – there was the occasional major fire, plane crash and even riots, but there came a realisation that I could add theatre, music and even film reviewing and general arts coverage to the more mainstream news stories.

Cue reviewing the likes of Spandau Ballet and Talking Heads at the De Montfort Halls music venue, heading off to amateur and professional drama productions and dipping my toes into film journalism by heading off to regional film screenings and junket interview sessions with actors and directors.

What a revelation – I loved watching films, and here was a chance to do that as a job and then write about the experience.

2. First press preview screening

Raiders Of The Lost Ark

IT’S true – when you are a professional film critic, you have to attend press screenings. It’s a tough life for sure. So, given I have reviewed for UK national press and international film trade publications over many years, I have attended hundreds of pre-release press screenings of new films, ranging from massive cinemas through to tiny screening rooms, many of which don’t exist any more.

But it is fair to say you always remember your first formal “press” screening. In my case, it was back in 1981, and the film was the wonderful Raiders Of The Lost Ark. This was not a glamorous London event, but rather back in Leicester when the Odeon put on a screening for local media.

Naturally, it was brilliant. This was in the days of no social media, so while expectations were pretty high because of the whole Spielberg/Lucas/Ford retro-adventure premise of the film, even better was the natural high of coming out on to the dark Leicester streets in the early hours of the morning after being blown away by this exhilarating and exciting film.

If confirmation was ever needed, this was when I figured out that writing about film was the way to go…

3. Moving to London

I MADE the move to become UK film correspondent for the legendary and venerable film trade Variety, covering all aspects of the UK film business – from heading out to studios like Shepperton, Pinewood and Bray through to reviewing world premieres of UK films.

This was in the mid-1980s, when Goldcrest Films had just collapsed and a niggling sense of gloom hung over the industry.

But it was also exciting in so many ways. The Variety office in those days was at the top of St James’s Street – handy for The Ritz, Fortnum & Mason and the wonderful Hatchards book store. Visiting American film folk would always stay at The Ritz or The Athenaeum hotels, and long lunches at the Groucho Club and L’Escargot were the order of the day.

This was also when and where I had my first experience of film festivals. My very first UK festival was London Film Festival (LFF) in 1986, staged at the National Film Theatre and which opened with Nic Roeg’s Castaway.

In those days, the LFF was a modest affair, all screenings held at the South Bank, and it was a festival which aimed to show simply the best of new world cinema.

Despite it being a tough period for British cinema, times were changing, with the influence of Channel 4’s investment in films making a real impact on the ever-changing movie landscape.

4. National Film Theatre

Quentin Tarantino

MY switch from journalism to film programming came in the early 1990s when somehow I got a job at the National Film Theatre (NFT) as deputy head of programming.

I had no specific experience, but the then head of programming was American and didn’t really know the UK film business, and after years working in film trades (from Variety I had helped launch a new film trade paper called Moving Pictures International) I brought contacts and knowledge as well as a love for films.

It was something of a dream job. When my boss moved on after a year I was promoted, became the youngest ever head of programming of the NFT (a venue now sadly renamed BFI South Bank), with instructions to try to pep up the programming and attract more varied audiences.

Over six years at the NFT we had great fun staging major retrospectives (on the likes of Howard Hawks and Dario Argento) alongside seasons of Hong Kong martial arts, Blaxploitation, Russ Meyer and even having Quentin Tarantino introduce some of his favourite films. I spent time with the likes of Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Sir Richard Attenborough, Mike Leigh, Gurinder Chadha, Michael Mann and many others, and relished the chance to show rare and unusual films.

5. Travel and film festivals

MY first overseas film festival was when I was with Variety. It was a few days in Rotterdam. I loved it. Film festivals offer so much to relish – great new and unusual films; the chance to meet film folk from around the world, and the opportunity to see the world and sample new cultures (as well as fascinating food and drink options).

My yearly calendar is often defined by months and which festivals are staged then. February is Berlin, May is Cannes, September is Toronto, etc.

I’ve stayed in amazing hotels and in grotty guesthouses; watched films in state-of-the-art multiplexes and dingy old cinemas. I still remember one in Caracas, Venezuela, where you would keep your feet up on the seat in front because you could hear the scurrying sound of cockroaches.

I’ve been lucky enough to serve on film juries with amazing people, all of whom are still friends … glitzy folk like Kim Cattrall who I spent time with in Krakow in Poland, Jon Hamm in snowy Park City for Sundance and Diego Luna in sunny Los Cabos in Mexico, but also hard-working and dedicated film professionals whose love and knowledge of cinema is always inspiring.

6. Casablanca and A Matter Of Life And Death

Casablanca

THERE are always a handful of films that stay with you. The great thing about what you feel about a film is that it is completely subjective – you might love a film that someone else hates … but that is OK.

I still remember seeing great classic Hollywood films on television, often in black-and-white, and always recreating an era long lost.

Over the years I’ve often been asked to come up with my top 10 list of films – the roster has changed (as I believe it should), but two have been constant: Casablanca and A Matter Of Life And Death.

Maybe because both have romance and honour at their core and maybe quite simply because they are beautifully made and are packed with memorable performances – but these two have stood the test of time for me.

Casablanca is one of those perfect Sunday afternoon matinee films. Lush, evocative, exciting, funny and romantic, it features both Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman at their glamorous best.

I was lucky enough to meet Julius Epstein, one of the film’s screenwriters, back in the 1990s.

The Technicolor delight of Powell and Pressburger’s A Matter Of Life And Death (shot beautifully by Jack Cardiff) helps make it a special film. The balance of wartime backdrop, pastoral British beauty, David Niven’s easy charm and the magical story of a heavenly court case for a man’s life, all based around love, results in a film to treasure.

7. Children and family screenings

MY children are now fully-fledged adults and somehow managed to avoid working in the crazy film world. But from a very young age we took them to the cinema, and in many ways they have grown up at the movies.

In addition, as a film reviewer, the handy thing about having children is that you don’t quite feel so out of place when you head off to Sunday morning family media previews of new children’s films.

And while the experience can be challenging – screaming babies, shouting children and cinema seats regularly being kicked from behind – as a film reviewer, it is rather perfect to see a film with the audience it is intended for. These films are often all the more special when you sense the response of youngsters around you.

8. Edinburgh

Leith

I STARTED visiting Edinburgh for the film festival back in the late 1980s, and still have very clear memories of the fun, the film and the parties.

The festival was still in August at that time, but then in those days the Fringe was a more radical, seemingly off-the-cuff affair. But trips to the city were always magical.

Spending time in Edinburgh is always special. I still travel a great deal, but being back in my Edinburgh flat always enables a chance to really get to know the city. There are always new places to discover. I’m a big fan of Leith and Stockbridge. I love the walk along the River of Leith and to get the train out to North Berwick, walking along the beach and taking in the views.

9. Being an artistic director

I’D always fancied the idea of being artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, so when the opportunity came up in 2015 I was thrilled.

While I loved being a film critic, I always equally enjoyed the “business” of cinema culture, and there is something special about being able to show films to audiences. Seeing and feeling the response of an audience to a film or the appearance by a filmmaker or movie star is always special, and being part of something that is important to the city remains truly satisfying.

I’ve also come to really appreciate just how well loved and thought of the film festival is around the world. I always say our secret weapons are an amazing festival team who make all guests feel welcome and Edinburgh itself. It is simply a city everyone wants to come to.

10. Film festivals

AS I might have alluded to, I love film festivals. They come in all shapes and sizes and are blessed (or not) with all levels of funding, but on the whole they are bonded by a genuine passion to celebrate all that is wonderful, exciting, challenging, thrilling and enthralling about moving image culture.

I’ve been going to the likes of Cannes and Berlin for around 30 years but have never got bored.

I’ve been lucky enough to hang out at glamorous parties in Cannes, bump into a producer friend in an obscure festival in China, have drinks with old friends on the Copacabana Beach in Rio and spend a taxi journey with Quentin Tarantino talking about how great Christopher Walken is … but as far as which is the best film festival – well, that simply has to be Edinburgh.