Libera Me & Seven Stories by James Kelman

INCLINATIONS film club presents
Seven Stories by James Kelman (1996, 70 mins)
&
Libera Me (1993, 80 mins) directed by Alain Cavalier
+ James Kelman in conversation

A voice in the dark and a film without voices. This double-bill brings together stories by James Kelman and the cult film Libera Me (1993).

We begin by listening to Kelman’s voice as he tells seven of his acclaimed stories. At turns intimate, terrifying and everyday, they are both honed and full of life, performed masterfully by the writer himself. They set the scene for the wordless film which follows. In an unnamed country gripped by totalitarian militias, we see how everyday life goes on despite of and in resistance to violent forces. We follow characters and stories through wordless details and fragments, accompanied by the sounds of the existence, oppression and resistance of human bodies. The film echoes the Nazi occupation of France and the Yugoslav wars of the early 1990s, which were raging at the time.

Alain Cavalier (b. 1931) came of age as a filmmaker during the New Wave era. He won several awards, including the César Award for Best Film and César Award for Best Director for his film Thérèse in 1987. His film Pater premiered In Competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. This year is the 30th anniversary of Libera Me and we will be screening a new restoration of the film.

James Kelman (b. 1946) was born in Glasgow. His first book was published back in 1973 by Puckerbrush Press, a wee indie based in Orono, USA. His current and more recent work is published by PM Press, a much larger indie, based in Oakland, USA. See here for more information. James and his wife, Marie, live in Glasgow, not far from their family.

INCLINATIONS

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