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Gillian MacGregor

After small roles in The Sick House and A Lonely Place To Die, plus a series of appearances in TV series Persona, Gillian McGregor had her first major leading role in Beyond, the story of a couple at war with one another as a large, unknown object hurtles toward the Earth. Her performance dominates the film and is sure to bring her to wider attention. As it’s released on DVD this week, I caught up with her to ask how she became involved with the film.

“Lizzie, the producer, contacted my agent,” she says. “Well, I went in for casting and I really thought I blew it. I tend to get a feeling for how it’s gone. But then I got called back.” She laughs, remembering her excitement; it’s odd to hear such a light-hearted sound after watching her fierce and unhappy creation in Beyond.

This Week’s Must Look At: The artist book Don’t Kill the Weatherman by Martha Colburn has an online photograph preview and it looks stunning! I love Martha’s animation, but it always moves so quickly that it’s tough to savor the actual art. But, now I can! The above borrowed image is from frames from the film Spiders in Love: An Arachnogasmic Musical, the first Colburn film I ever saw way back in 2000. (If you go to the photo set, you can find details on how to purchase this limited edition.)Craig Baldwin has published issue #22 of Otherzine. You can read the whole thing here. But, two highlights are: An interview with Dominic Gagnon, who is seeking to save “censored” online videos; and curator Brenda Contreras reviews Sylvia Schedelbauer’s found footage film, Sounding Glass.This one’s for Canyon Cinema members only: But if you are one,...

PARIS -- One of the most-anticipated South Korean films of the year is to receive its world premiere as part of the Directors' Fortnight sidebar during the Festival de Cannes. Sci-fi horror picture The Host, by Bong Joon-ho, is the tale of a mutant rising from the Han river in Seoul and is the long-awaited followup to Bong's Memories of Murder. "(I am) delighted to present this remarkable new work by one of the most-gifted contemporary directors, which boasts the spectacular qualities of the best fantasy cinema, treated with the directorial style, emotion, irony and political satire that we have come to expect from Bong Joon-ho," said the Fortnight's artistic director Olivier Pere in a statement. The full line-up for Directors' Fortnight, which runs May 18-28, will be unveiled May 2 in Paris.

PARIS -- One of the most-anticipated South Korean films of the year is to receive its world premiere as part of the Directors' Fortnight sidebar during the Festival de Cannes. Sci-fi horror picture The Host, by Bong Joon-ho, is the tale of a mutant rising from the Han river in Seoul and is the long-awaited followup to Bong's Memories of Murder. "(I am) delighted to present this remarkable new work by one of the most-gifted contemporary directors, which boasts the spectacular qualities of the best fantasy cinema, treated with the directorial style, emotion, irony and political satire that we have come to expect from Bong Joon-ho," said the Fortnight's artistic director Olivier Pere in a statement. The full line-up for Directors' Fortnight, which runs May 18-28, will be unveiled May 2 in Paris.