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You're already eating GM plants and genetically modified animal meat could be in our very near future - in fact if you're in Canada, you might already be eating GM fish without knowing it.
That's just a fraction of what we found out this week from author and scientist Dr. Helen Pilcher, who told us about the history, present and future of genetic modification - one of the main themes in Bong Joon-ho's brilliant film Okja.
We discuss how selective breeding thousands of years ago was humanity's first attempts at modifying the gene pools of the world around us, the incredible technologies being used right now that can switch on individual genes with pinpoint precision, and what might be in store in terms of genetically modifying humans.
Helen detailed the awful toll the food industry has had on the animal kingdom and the environment, as well as how our desire for certain characteristics in meat-producing livestock might lead to the endangerment of entire species.
She also told us some of the stories of how projects are attempting to use genetic modification to help the environment, and de-extinct certain species.
LINKS:
If you're interested in finding out more you can read Helen's brilliant book 'Life Changing: How Humans Are Altering Life On Earth' - buy on Amazon here.
If you're keen on finding out about de-extinction, her previous book 'Bring Back The King: The New Science of De-Extinction' is available here
Follow Helen Pilcher on Twitter - @HelenPilcher1
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This Friday's live watch-along is Okja - a genre-defying, heart-stopping piece of filmmaking that somehow manages to combine the intimate story of a young girl’s relationship with her only companion, and a savage commentary on consumerism, capitalist culture, the food industry and the facade of PR-driven corporate conscience.
We explain how we felt when we saw Okja for the first time, as well as what to look out for when we all watch together on Friday evening.
There's also time this week to play another round of Movie Chicken and see if Katie can finally get some movie points on the board.
Make sure you head to our Instagram @TSMovieClub at 7:45pm on Friday evening to join us for Okja.
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Eksik bölüm mü var?
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It's a mega double header for Travelling Symphony Movie Club this week!
On Saturday evening, we’ll be watching Bend It Like Beckham - the Gurinder Chadha-directed classic from 2002. Starring Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley, the film follows Jess as she chases her dream of playing organised football against the backdrop of a disapproving family. The movie has such lasting appeal and is as popular as ever almost 20 years after its release. It’s funny, warm-hearted and uplifting - all the hallmarks of a Gurinder Chadha movie!⠀Bend It Like Beckham is part of @LionsgateUK’s #LionsgateLIVE series - we’ll be on Instagram Live at 5:45pm before joining them as they show the film for free on their YouTube channel from 6:00pm on Saturday.
But wait, there’s more!⠀
On Friday evening, we’ll be going back to the 70s with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys - a criminally under-rated buddy comedy. Written and directed by Shane Black, the guy behind Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3, it’s surprising, hilarious and downright chaotic. Gosling and Crowe are superb in the lead roles and it’s such a shame this film didn’t do better in the cinema, because we’ll always be dreaming of a sequel.⠀⠀The Nice Guys will be on in our usual slot Friday evening - we’ll be on Instagram Live at 7:45pm before we all press play (via @primevideouk) at 8:00pm. Then back on IG Live for the post-film conversation and Quizzy Rascal at 10:00pm.
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If you've ever wondered anything about Jurassic Park's dinosaurs, you've come to the right place. We speak to palaeontologist and Dinosaur Researcher at the Natural History Museum Dr. David Button, who explains:
Why "Everything you know about raptors is wrong"How fast a T. Rex really could have runWhether Nedry's nemesis, the dilophosaurus, could have actually spat venom in his faceDavid also told us about the fascinating methods that modern palaeontologists use to find out more about dinosaurs than was ever thought possible, as well as its importance in understanding the world we live in today.
We also had the pleasure of speaking to Tom Fishenden from The Jurassic Park Podcast, who chatted with us about everything that makes the movie so magic. We discuss the malfunctioning T. Rex animatronic, the reception the fan community gave to the new sequels and whose story Jurassic Park really is.
LINKS:
Tom Fishenden - @tom_jurassic on Twitter and InstagramDr. David Button - @itsDavidButton on TwitterThe Jurassic Park Podcast on SpotifyFollow @TSMovieClub on TwitterFollow @TSMovieClub on InstagramTravellingSymphony.com -
Welcome...to Jurassic Park.
We're looking forward to our live watch-along of Jurassic Park this Friday (8th May) at 7:45pm. In this preview we chat to Tom Fishenden (@tom_jurassic on both Twitter and Instagram) - he's a contributor to The Jurassic Park Podcast, as well as a number of other Jurassic Park fan sites and channels.
It was great to hear Tom's thoughts on why he loves the original film and the wider franchise as a whole - from the story structure and characters, to the incredible blending of visual and practical effects, to the themes that are still relevant today. We'll be sharing the rest of our conversation in this week's companion pod.
We also play our second game of Movie Chicken, where Jon and Katie face-off (but not like Nicholas Cage and John Travolta).
Make sure you head to our Instagram @TSMovieClub at 7:45pm on Friday evening to join us for Jurassic Park.
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We had the privilege of speaking to Searching For Sugar Man producer Simon Chinn, one of the key figures in helping take the movie from director Malik Bendjelloul’s kitchen table all the way to Oscars success.
Simon gave us fantastic insights - from how a last-minute conference call decided the movie’s name, to how a special appearance from Rodriguez helped create the buzz around the film at Sundance Film Festival.
He also spoke with great eloquence about Malik Bendjelloul himself, who tragically took his own life the year after his Oscars win. Simon explained how Malik’s infectious personality and amazing creative spirit made Searching For Sugar Man special, as well as his memories from working with such a dedicated and unique mind.
We have another great interview as well this week as we chatted to South African music expert Tecla Ciolfi. Tecla is the editor and curator of TexxAndTheCity.com and has also recently launched the podcast TexxTalks - she told us about Rodriguez’s ongoing cultural influence in South Africa, as well as the difficulties in being a politically-motivated artist today.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on this week’s episode, so please send us any feedback to [email protected], or drop us a DM on our Twitter (@TSMovieClub) or Instagram (also @TSMovieClub).
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We look forward to this week's live watch-along of Searching For Sugar Man, an extraordinary documentary that uncovers one of the most unbelievable stories in 20th Century music.The film follows the journey of two South Africans as they try to find out what happened to the most influential artist of their generation - Sixto Rodriguez.Rodriguez, a folk singer from humble beginnings in Detroit, became a symbol for the anti-apartheid movement yet remained completely unknown anywhere else in the world.
We chat about the film with our friend Rob Parrett, a huge fan of Rodriguez's music and of the documentary itself.
Look forward to seeing you all for the watch-along on Friday 1 May!
Links on how to join in are all available on linktr.ee/TSMovieClub
Follow us on Instagram @TSMovieClub
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For this week's companion podcast we had the chance to speak to professor, historian, author and broadcaster Peter Caddick-Adams, a man with a wealth of knowledge and fantastic insights into military history.
Peter told us about the events that led to the evacuation of Dunkirk, which bits of Christopher Nolan's film were based on reality and which were artistic license, and how significant Britain's evacuation effort was in the course of the rest of the war.
It was an absolutely fascinating conversation and adds a lot of really important context to the 2017 movie.
LINKS:
Peter has a wealth of books available - check out his Amazon page for more infoFollow Peter on TwitterAll of Travelling Symphony Movie Club's important links are now in one place - click here for more -
Travelling Symphony Movie Club's sixth live watch-along is Dunkirk - we'll be on Instagram Live with our weekly intro on Friday 24th April at 7:45pm, before we all press play on the film at 8pm sharp (it's available on Netflix in the UK).
On this week's preview pod we talk about our first time watching Dunkirk at the Science Museum, how incredible Christopher Nolan is at building tension and the brilliance of the movie's writing, structure and cinematography.
We also intro our first attempt at the new quiz, that's a bit like Wipeout (if you can remember Bob Monkhouse's vintage 90s TV quiz show).
If you'd like to join us tomorrow, make sure you head to our Instagram Live @TSMovieClub, as well as joining our Discord text chat service by visiting bitly.com/tslivechat
See you then!
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We were so lucky this week to have the chance to speak to Gurinder Chadha, director of Blinded By The Light. The acclaimed filmmaker joined us on Friday for our live watch-along, as well as speaking to us on Instagram Live both before and after the movie to chat and answer questions.
Gurinder gave us amazing insights into the way the film came to life, what it was like to watch Bruce Springsteen watching it for the first time, how her messages of hope and humanity resonate so strongly right now and her favourite sections from the movie.
We also spoke to Meera Ganatra, who played Javed's mother Noor in the film - she told us how she was selected, what it was like to work on a major feature film for the first time and how it felt to see the finished product.
Don't forget to rate and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @TSMovieClub for all the latest updates!
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We look forward to tonight's live watch-along of Blinded By The Light and discuss what we love about the film - its universality and message, as well as how well it captures the feeling of being a teenager discovering great music for the first time.
We also, of course, have our weekly parish notices.
If you'd like to watch along tonight, the movie is available on Amazon Prime in the UK, or you can rent it from Amazon, Apple, Sky Player or wherever you usually get your movies.
LINKS:
Instagram: @TSMovieClub
Live Text Chat: Join Here
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We've got a sensational episode for this week's Imitation Game companion, with two brilliant guests to shed some light on the true stories behind the movie.
First, we speak to Professor Chris Grey, an expert in Organisational Theory and author of Decoding Organisation - a book detailing the inner workings of Bletchley Park during World War Two.
In our chat we discuss some of the key bones of contention about the accuracy of the film, including Alastair Denniston's portrayal as someone opposed to Alan Turing's work, whether MI6 were involved with the passing of information to the USSR through Soviet spies, the complexity of the Enigma, the role of women at Bletchley and whether Turing was as difficult a character as is made out in the movie.
We also cover loads of bits that weren't mentioned in The Imitation Game, like the role of Polish codebreakers before the war, and how decoded messages were passed securely to military commanders and politicians in London.
It's such a fascinating chat and adds so much more detail to the events of the film.
We also talk with John Leech, a Lib Dem Councillor and former MP who was one of the key figures behind the Alan Turing Bill, which secured pardons not only for Turing but for tens of thousands of men convicted of gross indecency because of their sexuality.
He tells us how he and his colleagues managed to get the bill through Parliament and how it felt to have a key role in such a significant law.
LINKS:
Prof. Chris Grey's book Decoding Organisation: https://amzn.to/2RiO26cTravelling Symphony on Instagram: @TSMovieClub
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We look forward to Friday's live watch-along of The Imitation Game - it's available to watch for free as part of your Amazon Prime subscription (if you have one).
In this week's preview, we discuss not only how the film caused a bit of controversy over its historical accuracy, but also what the balance is between highlighting a specific issue and remaining faithful to the facts.
We're also joined by Philippa Lawley-Barrett, who nominated the movie for our community - she tells us what she enjoyed most about The Imitation Game and what she looks for in a great film.
Don't forget to follow us on Instagram and join for the live watch-along this Friday at 7:45pm.
LINKS:
Instagram: @TSMovieClubWebsite: TravellingSymphony.com
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We're so excited for this week's Paddington 2 companion podcast as we got the chance to chat to actor, writer and overall cinema fan Sanjeev Bhaskar. Sanjeev played Dr. Jafri in the film and has a fantastic career across film, television and radio - he broke new ground with his TV shows Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at Number 42.
We covered all manner of subjects: immigration and representation, changing the notion of "their stories" to "our stories", his love of films and which ones he showed his son growing up and, of course, some of his best memories from making Paddington 2.
Also on the pod this week is Josh Hallam from Help Refugees, who brought Paddington's themes of integrating immigrants and refugees to life through his real-world examples and experiences working to assist those searching for a better life in a new place.
LINKS:
Riz Ahmed's "Where You From" conversation with Guz Khan and Hasan Minhaj: https://bit.ly/3dBRS3RRiz Ahmed's short film "The Long Goodbye": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzz50xENH4gHelp Refugees: https://helprefugees.org/uk/Follow Travelling Symphony:
Instagram @TSMovieClubTwitter @TSMovieClub -
We can't wait for our live watch-along of Paddington 2 on Friday evening, so we're chatting about some of the things that we think helped make this film the best-reviewed of all time on Rotten Tomatoes.
Storybook cinema, the positive influence of immigration on society and Hugh Grant's movie-stealing performance all feature as we preview one of the most beautiful movies in recent years.
There's also time for a quick peek at our interview with Josh Hallam from Help Refugees and our first look at Katie's Parish Notices, which may or may not be reflective of your own time in isolation.
Don't forget - our second Travelling Symphony is on Friday 27th March and starts with the Instagram Live pre-film show on @TSMovieClub at 7:45pm, before our live text chat on Discord at 8:00 and the after-film conversation back on Instagram Live at 9:45.
Instagram: @TSMovieClubDiscord: Join our chat group
See you on Friday!
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It's our first companion podcast! We'll be aiming to release one of these to go with every movie to explore its themes, ideas and concepts.
This week, we're talking I, Tonya with the fantastic Sarah Marshall - a native of Tonya Harding's home city of Portland, Oregon and the author of the 2014 essay that redefined the skater's reputation.
Read Sarah's essay 'Remote Control' here: https://believermag.com/remote-control/
We discuss how Tonya was discriminated against by the ice skating community, her ongoing legacy, the triple axel's impact on her career and whether anyone can be trusted to remember things they lived through correctly.
Sarah also co-hosts the podcast 'You're Wrong About' which analyses commonly misremembered events in recent history. Listen to their show on Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan here: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/michael-hobbes/youre-wrong-about/e/62653599
There's also a bit of chat about what else you can be expecting from us in the next week or so. We'll speak to you soon to talk our next movie choice!
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Hi-De-Hi team! This is our intro to Travelling Symphony, the free stay-at-home movie club.
We introduce ourselves (and Biggie the dog), along with all the info on where and how to get involved. Plus, an explainer on the name if you were ever curious.
Make sure to follow us on Instagram @TSMovieClub for the latest info, or you can sign up to our mailing list on https://travellingsymphony.com/join
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We’re a stay-at-home movie club, set up by UK-based Jon Naylor and Katie Hobbs, specifically created now that we’re all going to be spending a lot more time inside than we might have expected this year!
Our goal is to use film to bring people together, create a community and give us all a sense of togetherness in a time when most of us will be feeling very far apart from our loved ones.
We’ll be having regular (hopefully more than weekly) live watch-alongs, followed by a podcast with experts, thought leaders and interesting people to discuss not just the subject of the film, but the themes it covers and the ideas it brings forward.
