Media Matters: Orchestras á la mode

 This feature can also be found at the South West Londoner, here.

This year's Proms are going to be taking an interesting turn, with the introduction of the Urban Classic Prom.

It stands out as a unique event for the Royal Albert Hall show, bringing the classical flavour of the BBC Symphony Orchestra with the grime, hip-hop and soul inclusions of Fazer (a former member of N-Dubz), Laura Mvula and Maverick Sabre.

But will the marriage of styles be well received by the general public? Not that I don't think it should, but because the Proms are often thought of as something of a musical sacred ground.

Last year's Prom was rather straight-laced, sticking almost entirely to orchestra and operatic work, though taking both vintage and modern pieces. To that end, infusing another genre, especially one that's often (unfairly) considered as non-compatible with high-class concerts, may be contentious.

This concern is shared by Jules Buckley, the concert conductor, but he remains confident that the audience can be as unified as the music. This has me more interested in the Prom than I have been in a long time.

There have been experimental acts in the past (Yo-Yo Ma's collaboration with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2011 is a good example), and there was a Bollywood number in 2009, but the Urban Classic Prom is a genre first for the event.

Experimentations with genre are some of the most fascinating things you can do with music. For a major event like the Proms, they have a perfect platform to introduce the idea that blurring the lines of genre can be something worthy of a high-class performance.

On the flipside, those who find the orchestra scene difficult to access can also become acquainted to new horizons - collisions of subculture genres with classical music have been tried before to some great effect.

G. Prokofiev/Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra is an album exactly like what it sounds. Released in 2010, turntablist DJ Yoda turns a performance from the Heritage Orchestra into a beat-juggled masterpiece, using the beat making sensibilities that have served high quality hip-hop for decades.

It's a fairly major part of the urban music scene to go to complex lengths to create music tracks - and the very best uses inventive source material.

As a classic example, the 'Amen Break' is an incredibly well-known sample used across all different genres and social scenes, and it all spawned from a funk/soul joint from 1969.

The current pop and hip-hop music industries have adopted the sounds of 'chiptune', the bleeps and boops that formed the soundtracks of games from the 70s to the 90s. We hear them now in tracks from Labrinth to Ke$ha to Crystal Castles. Many hip-hop tunes use direct samples, and an entire genre has recently formed from the marriage of rap and video game music.

A lot of this kind of sampling and genre experimenation happened back when hip-hop and electronic music was still 'underground', not garnering so much attention and money. These days we have Daft Punk and Kanye West – big names in sampling. Now, remixes and mash-ups are a major part of musical expression (although sometimes lawyers disagree.) 

With the Proms, we have a major musical event that heavily features a celebration of historically famous material. The Urban Classic Prom is more than sampling; it's a direct collaboration between styles, eras and cultures. It holds the potential for being just so... rich and interesting.

In fact, it's not the only musical mash-up that will appear at the Prom this year - The Stranglers, a punk band, will be playing with the London Sinfonietta on 12 August. My knowledge of Punk’s musical history is rather lacking, but I don’t doubt they’ll do it service.

Details and tickets for Urban Classical Prom are available here and information on The Stranglers performing with the Sinfonietta is available here.

Tech Talk: Pandora's Printer

This feature can also be found at the South West Londoner, here.

The printing press in the 1400s was one of the great innovations of humanity - allowing us to communicate with others, duplicate important texts, and, several hundred years of improvements later, drown beleaguered office staff under mountains of paperwork.

But now we've moved on to the next dimension with the 3D printer. It does exactly what the name suggests - creating copies of objects rather than text. Instead of being filled with ink cartridges, they take a feedstock of molten plastic (or even organic material if you want to print a hamburger), building up the finished product layer by layer.

The technology has been around for a few years, existing within construction and engineering industries. The age of commercialised 3D printers is inching closer, although it's still too pricey to show up in your Argos catalogue. Even the cheapest models these days will set you back around £5,000.

The useful potential for 3D printing is astounding - if your wardrobe, bicycle or washing machine broke and needed a small obscure part, you could just print it at home. Creative types could make anything from furniture to musical instruments to kitsch mantelpiece ornaments.

Or, if you're Defense Distributed, you could start a line of printable firearms. 

The arms manufacturing company had previously been designing components for existing guns, but their current project is for the "Liberator", a handgun made entirely from printable parts with the exception of a metal firing pin (an ordinary nail from any hardware store).

Blueprints for the Liberator were released on the internet earlier this week, and already over 100,000 people have downloaded it, according to Forbes.

The complete model looks like something from a shooting game made by Fisher Price, but its firing capability is definitely real.

Users have downloaded the plans from both the company's website, and through a torrent hosted on The Pirate Bay. The majority of the downloads were in the US, but large numbers of downloads also came from Spain, Brazil and the UK.

Understandably, authorities are sweating bullets over the idea that a firearm is so easily accessible. The Senator of California, Leland Yee, showed concern over a widely available gun that can't be picked up by metal detectors.

Over here, the Metropolitan Police have put out a statement, reminding that our gun control laws require a person to be a Registered Firearms Dealer to manufacture a gun. So while having the blueprint isn't illegal, printing out the parts will get you nicked.

The US State Department sent a letter to Cody Wilson, Defense Distributed's founder, with a demand that the online blueprints are taken down. Of course, now they've been made public, totally eradicating them is decidedly impossible. Still, Defense Distributed have removed the item from their servers.

The decision to release the blueprints publicly ties into Mr Wilson's stance on information censorship. An 'all information should be without regulation' stance similar to that of Julian Assange is partnered with Wilson's politics on gun control.

In my opinion, that's an evil scheme if I ever saw one. To tie freedom of information (which I mostly agree with as a journalist) with pro-firearms rhetoric really shoots holes in the credibility of the former. At least any anti-establishment sentiments he had fell by the wayside when he sheepishly removed the blueprints from his site when asked.

It feels like the age of domestic 3D printers will be postponed - I don't see HP and Epson wanting to make consumer models when the public see the technology as inherently dangerous or illegal.

I was looking forward to being printing new glasses frames, fashion accessories and miniature figurines of video game characters, but until the violence fetishists are out of the public focus, my 3D modelling hobby shall have to be put on hold.

There is some, hope, though. Chris Anderson, the CEO of 3D Robotics says that 3D printing is a bad method for gun manufacturing, as the plastic wouldn't be able to handle the tensile strength their metal brethren are capable of.

Film Review: Evil Dead

This review can also be found at the South West Londoner, here.

Despite my passion for the arts, there are gaps in my knowledge. The most salient ones are with film. I became interested in film after a lot of 'cult status' films made their rounds, and with my already huge backlog of films to see, a lot of them have gone unwatched.

So, although I know it was a major factor in forming its genre, I have not seen the original 1981 Evil Dead. Nor am I especially well-versed in the 'slasher' variant of horror films, aside from a regrettable evening where I was coaxed into watching all the Saw films back to back.

So I was entirely down for watching the 2013 reboot. The director is different – this new film is directed by Fede Alvarez instead of the longer-established Sam Raimi – but if it grabbed my attention, I was prepared to fall in love with a whole new genre.

Still, I hedged my bets; I made sure to not step into the screening alone (or sober). That decision turned out to be for the best, as Evil Dead thrives not on its own merit, but by bringing audiences closer through how shamelessly bloody and silly it is.

The plot, I am told, clings close to that of the original. Five teenagers stay in a run-down cabin in the woods, finding that it was used for Shady Things of a Mystical Nature. 

One of them finds a book made from flesh, has the complete lack of foresight to read magic words from it and things get real bloody real fast. Chainsaws, possession and vague sexual abuse metaphors follow.

Interestingly, a lot of this material was familiar to me without having even seen the source material – which says a lot for how well-worn the themes are. As a whole, Evil Dead goes over every standard horror convention with precision but without artistry.

A lot of it was funny, but not often intentionally. While the acting isn't exactly bad, they have a rather weak script to work with, and no performances stand out enough to make it worth recalling actor names. 

Once the evil entity in the house possesses one of the characters, almost every line they utter is hilariously filthy, Exorcist style.

The copious amount of blood thrown around is also worth a giggle (the credits scene has props plunging into endless pools of the stuff), but to Alvarez's credit, all the effects are practical. A worthy mention in an industry filled with computer generated scenery, effects and costumes.

The soundtrack is also one to bring up, if only because it starts blaring loud sirens whenever someone suffers a grievous injury, like ambulances are going to burst in from off camera.
I came out of the cinema feeling entertained, but not especially satisfied, and definitely not scared.

Watch It: If you have a horror movie night arranged with lots of booze, you want a textbook example of the slasher genre (...for whatever reason), you take knowing amusement when 'the black character dies first'.

Skip It: If the sight of blood makes you queasy, you absolutely cannot handle jump scares, you roll your eyes when 'the black character dies first'.

Want more? Actually watching the original film is a safe bet (though I'm not sure if it's necessarily better than this one). Cabin in the Woods makes a perfect companion piece to this film, though I find it notably flawed.

Full speed ahead for Northern Line extension from Kennington to Battersea Power Station

This news item can also be found at the South West Londoner, here.

Plans to extend the Northern Line from Kennington to Battersea Power Station have moved a step closer after TFL finalised their budget for the work.

The ‘NLE’ project, which will also include an intermediary stop at Nine Elms, has been in planning since 2009, and aims to be completed by 2015.

When the project started, an allotted budget of £1bn was set and present cost projections are around £998m.
A public survey found that around three quarters of the responses to this were positive or neutral, many approving of the increased public transport accessibility.

A report from TfL states that key issues to come out of the survey relate to possible noise and vibrations for buildings above the route. Around 1000 property owners and occupiers may be directly affected.

The London Borough of Southwark is calling for Kennington to be re-designated as a Zone 1 station once the extension is complete.

Since carrying out the survey, TfL have consulted with community groups and heritage experts in Kennington on how to proceed with any above-ground construction.
Alongside the preparations for the rail extension, Battersea Power Station has had £400m invested to turn it into a leisure hub for the area.

SP Setia, the largest property group in Malaysia, purchased the land alongside other company partners.
The structure has had various renovation plans in the past (including becoming a football stadium and a hotel), but they all succumbed to funding problems.

The completed complex is aiming to include a block of luxury flats, shops, eateries, a gym, and a revitalised public park.

Work on the Power Station is scheduled to start this autumn, concluding in 2016, although preliminary preparations have already started.

The success of the Power Station's reopening is likely to depend heavily on the increased accessibility from the rail extension.

Feminist comedian to take centre stage at Wandsworth Arts Festival

This feature can also be found on the South West Londoner, here.

Rosie Wilby has been putting in an appreciated queer feminist angle into stand-up, music and filmmaking since she was at university, and her experiences are coming together in her new performance at the Wandsworth Arts Festival this Thursday.

Called Nineties Woman, she talks about her self-identification as a feminist and the newspaper she worked on at university, in a mash up of live performance and documentary.

Studying at the University of York, the campus fostered a wide range of student publications, and started working on Matrix, a 'zine' for women.

Zine culture (short for 'fanzine') revolves around amateur production magazines dedicated to specific interests. Because of the low barrier to entry, it meant that people who felt that their demographic or interests weren't reflected in professional media could still get their voices heard.

"It was very much put together in a lo-fi DIY style which seems appropriate, as there was a huge fanzine scene at the time which has now come back," she said.

Matrix featured a mixture of heavy topics of body image and sexual harassment, but also had cartoons.

At the time, the riot grrrl movement was popular in the feminist scene and heavily related to zine culture. Taking a harder, punk rock edge, riot grrrl media focused heavily on sexuality and empowerment in a counter to the endless reams of boy band pop at the time.

"We weren't really listening to riot grrl bands when we put [Matrix] together," said Rosie. "It was more folk lesbian acts like the Indigo Girls.

"When I got to London after graduating, I realised that some really exciting challenging musical things were going on."

Beyond Nineties Woman, Rosie Wilby works in her self-identity into most of her stand up. She said that, coming from a generation where being gay defined who you were and the company you kept, it featuring in her comedy was inevitable.

She noted that things have changed and sexuality isn't so much of a core identity issue these days which, in her opinion, is both a good and bad thing. Still, she wants to keep her stand-up accessible to everyone, regardless of sexuality and gender.

"Love is universal, after all," she said.

Outside of her performances, Rosie is still heavily involved in queer media. Back in 2011, she co-wrote and co-stared in The Bride and Bride, shown at the BFI Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Her radio show, Out in South London, was one of the sponsors for this year's festival.

She said: “I enjoyed it, particularly the widening focus to include more trans and gender queer work. Though this may mean they need to change the name of the festival.”

In the future, Rosie looks forward to a resurgence of queer voices in media, both from zines and larger-scale publications. She said that a mixture of both in-depth writing was needed among more lifestyle and entertainment publications, though they still have their place.

Out in South London airs on Resonance 104.4FM every Tuesday at 6.30pm

High Street Blues: Balham residents voice concern over rise of betting shops

This feature can also be found on the South West Londoner, here.

“Balham is my 'village' and I use it daily for shopping, dining and community engagement,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick of Fieldhouse Road, Balham.

“The addition of yet another betting shop will add nothing positive.”

He's talking about a planning application submitted by Coral Bookmakers on May 2. The proposed location is on Balham Station Road, replacing a dry cleaners and directly next to The Moon Under Water pub.

What's more, a gambling arcade, Cashino, is just down the road. The close proximity of these businesses is giving both shop owners and residents a cause for concern.

Have you recently noticed an increase in certain types of stores on your high road? Odds are, you’ve seen new charity shops, betting shops and chicken take-aways sprouting everywhere. It’s no coincidence, it’s happening all across Britain.

In a report made by PricewaterhouseCoopers, between December 2012 and February 2013, 77 new betting shops opened across Britain - and presently there are almost 9,000 in total.

It’s got to the point where betting shop companies are apparently fighting between themselves to take high street shop fronts. However, aside from the owners of these businesses and their landlords, very few people are pleased to see new bookmakers appearing.

Deborah Suggate filed a complaint about the planning notice. "It already feels like running a gauntlet of drunks when passing by," she wrote.

She added that the placement of the Coral Bookmakers is deliberate, to prey on vulnerable people who frequent the pub and the gambling arcade.

However, there’s little any of those who disagree can do about it – and it all comes down to how planning works.

A Class Act

All buildings in the UK have a Use Class dictating the use of the building. Retail is in one class, restaurants and cafes are in another, and so on. You require planning permission to change land from one class to another, which can be denied, if the local authority feels it’s a bad idea.

However, you can convert a building to anything in the same class without having to ask permission. The problem is, betting shops are categorised so they’re in the same class as a lot of different business types – so anything from restaurants to estate agents to banks can be turned into a betting shop.

Fortunately, the Balham dry cleaners that Coral wants to convert is of a different Use Class, forcing the company to go through the Wandsworth Council planning department. Still, many councils are looking into possible solutions to stop betting shops (and other overly common businesses) from going out of control.

An On-going Fight

The Greater London Authority put out a report in March showing concern for the increased rate of shops closing on high roads. It cites shop diversity as a requirement for good high street growth, and suggests that borough councils gain stronger planning powers to limit too many of the same kind of business from appearing.

The only defence councils have against betting shops is something called the ‘Article 4 direction’. The rough idea is arranging a zone under special circumstances, where certain types of building changes are required to submit a planning application, even if they wouldn’t otherwise.

It won’t surprise you that getting clearance for an Article 4 is lengthy, expensive and fraught with headaches.

In another borough of London, Merton Council did research into how severely betting shops were affecting them. Funnily enough, Merton has one of the lowest concentrations of betting shops in London.

"It's important to have a diverse high street,” said Councillor Andrew Judge, a cabinet member for environmental sustainability and regeneration.

 “It's equally important that Merton's town centres meet the needs of our residents and visitors.”

But councils are starting to fight back against the seemingly unstoppable surge of unfavourable businesses. Multiple borough councils across London have backed the idea of giving betting shops their own Use Class, forcing them to go through the planning committee and giving councils and the public a chance to refuse.

Mayor Boris Johnson is even trying to haul in the reins of betting shop proliferation by demanding a change to the Gambling Act 2005, which presently does nothing to prevent clustering of gambling establishments.

With Concerns Elsewhere

However, Wandsworth Council seem to be less concerned about the subject.

“From a planning perspective, it hasn’t appeared to be an issue,” said Sarah Dixey, of Wandsworth Council planning department.

“Take-aways are more of a concern.”

Similar to Merton Council, Ms Dixey considered Wandsworth to have a low concentration of betting shops, though a precise figure wasn’t given. As such, they have no present interest in backing the lobby to have the law for the betting shop Use Class changed.

“Our town centres are reasonable successful, with low numbers of vacancies,” she added.

They do use the Article 4 direction, but for something entirely other than high street management – the direction allows for them to conserve designs on older houses.

So will the voices of the public be heard? Possibly. For standard planning applications, Wandsworth has an average turnaround of eight weeks. At time of writing, that means there are another four weeks for concerned locals to have their say.

Fulham pub closes after feeling unfairly targeted by police

The full page for this story is available here. (Quark will only export as a .pdf, apologies.)

A pub on Goldhawk Road has closed after being met with heavy licensing restrictions, despite members of staff feeling they have been unfairly targeted.

The Raving Buddha, specialising in live DJ and open mic nights, held their last event, a ragga and dancehall night, on Saturday 25 May.

The pub, had a ruling on from the Hammersmith & Fulham Council Licensing Sub-Committee. They said that it was ‘associated with serious crime and disorder’; due to police picking up on three separate instances in one month.

The recent incidents included an arrest of a customer wanted for assault who was carrying seven rocks of crack cocaine; two men arrested on a separate incident with Class A drugs; and three arrests in one evening for GBH.

However, one of the bar staff the Raving Buddha feels that the business was unfairly targeted by the police, when there are other pubs on the road which may also suffer from crime.

Natalia Eagle, 21, said "The police bullied us!"

Taking issue with the first incident - the man wanted for assault - she said that the police were at the Raving Buddha by chance, and happened to see their target inside; as opposed to police chasing the man to the pub (which, she claims, the council statement and local news coverage implied).

The man was on a list of people the staff know to throw out on sight, but he was let in by the bar security. The pub has since switched security companies.

Ms Eagle felt that since the Raving Buddha is has fewer resources to defend itself; the police are making an example of them, when there are instances of pub-related problems in other areas.

"They think that this pub is the reason that people do drugs," said Ms. Eagle. "It's really stupid and deluded."

In light of having their License suspended, the Raving Buddha was given strict guidelines to follow in regards to CCTV usage and customer entrance numbers.

While the council do uphold that venues in the borough should follow key licensing objectives, the scrutiny that Raving Buddha was put under is a unique instance.

Nearby pub, the Walkabout Inn on Shepherds Bush Road, is also known by the police to have violent customers and now does not open on Sundays, following a policy change in February imposed by the police.

Other pubs on Goldhawk Road have been closed down over the last year. The Goldhawk Tavern was closed last November, and was reportedly sold to a developer to become offices; though no change has yet been made.

The Grand Union pub at the end of Goldhawk Road has been closed for the last year after relocating to a new venue in Wandsworth. The land has since been bought, and there are plans to turn the venue into a European gastropub, to open in late May. There is little visible sign of refurbishment on the site.

Tech Talk: The ghost of Myspace past

This feature can also be found at the South West Londoner, here.

Every so often, I remember something embarrassing I did as a teenager and feel such intense shame that I am slightly more welcoming to the idea of being struck by lightning. Or a nuclear warhead.

How lucky I am that nearly all of the message boards and social networking I did in high school has since been consigned to the annals of internet history. To that end, I feel just a touch of sympathy (though not much) for the teenagers of the last decade, who aren’t going to have their Facebook and Twitter exploits fade any time soon.

Indeed, Paris Brown, the 17-year-old adviser to the Kent police commissioner had her career grind to a screeching halt, because she forgot (and her detractors chose to not forgive) that teenagers will say some impressively stupid things when left to their own devices.

The racist and homophobic tweets that were plastered all over newspapers last week apparently were dredged from years ago, and Ms Brown had probably forgotten all about them.

That’s not to say that they aren’t awful (my goodness, I never realised casual racism could sound so inane) but it’s a useful parable for all of us. If someone doesn’t like you, it’s the easiest thing for them to put your name into Google and browse through the various terrible thoughts you’ve had.

For most it will be incredibly boring things, but to potential employers who need to whittle down applicants – or dissenters looking to do a little character assassination – they’ll take any excuse.

Even if you’re already comfortably set in a job, you’re not safe. Here’s a story from last year that struck a chord with me personally.

Lauren Wainwright is a games journalist who was called out in October last year over something she had posted on Twitter. She expressed a lot of excitement for the newest Tomb Raider game (which is actually released now). However, it was picked up that Ms Wainwright had worked for the publishers for Tomb Raider in the past – it said as much on her LinkedIn profile.

This lead to suspicion over whether the opinions she was expressing were actually genuine. Articles were written, fingers were pointed, and other journalists were threatened with Libel. Members of the public, looking for journalists (not to mention a woman) to vilify, took to threatening Wainwright personally. It was a huge mess.

I was lucky enough to meet her in person, and was told that her excitement for Tomb Raider was, perhaps obviously, entirely genuine and unrelated to her previous employers.

While I feel there could have been a little more attention paid to what people could infer from the tweets of professional figures, it would be wholly unfair to blame Ms Wainwright for what had happened to her.

The lesson to be learned here is that we could all do with taking a step back and looking at just what we’re posting in public spaces, and how it could affect us professionally.

The simplest solution is to isolate anything that could reflect badly on you to somewhere more private. Either by limiting viewer access, or better yet using a pseudonym. Many people run two Twitter accounts – one for professional discourse, and one for general purpose. The people it will matter to will still know it’s you, but Google won’t.

Speaking of which, it may do you well to search your own name. Especially if you have a distinctive one (like me, I guess). If you had a Myspace in the distant past, now would be a good time to shut it down.

On a closing note, if you have a free afternoon, I strongly recommend you check out dont take it personally, babe, it just aint your story – a visual novel written by Christine Love. The name is ridiculous, but it explores the themes of a future where accessing the messages and profiles of someone online is commonplace. Would your judgements of people be clouded by things you're not meant to know? See for yourself.

A Jazz Interlude: Interview with George Simmonds of The Squintet

This article can also be found at the South West Londoner, here.

It's difficult being 22. For most of us, it's the point where we struggle to balance adulthood with the aftermath of university. But for George Simmonds there's a jazz quintet to lead and a music agency to run. And astoundingly, both things are rapidly gaining momentum.

A Londoner through and through and presently based in Tottenham, George has taken his love of jazz music from a young age and formed his band, The Squintet, with childhood friends and other budding artists.

George himself leads on trombone and vocals, his old high school friend Jamie Hone on saxophone, Mike Cuthbert on keyboard, and Jack Polley on bass guitar.

Rob Hervais is the newest member of the band, on the drums, replacing Bryan Taylor who left.
With them, he's shared his jazz passion all over London (including Soho, Islington and the famous The Rivoli Ballroom in Lewisham) and also abroad in Istanbul and Norway.

Over time their sound has changed - starting out with a strong swing feeling, before moving to a more funk-focused, New Orleans-style sound in recent months. The change was sparked by the drummer Rob, and George says that the band has definitely become more comfortable since.

At the start of performances with The Squintet, George likes to open with 'Honeysuckle Rose' by Fats Wallop, a piece played to him by his grandfather as a child. The version he was familiar with was performed by Acker Bilk, and the memory has always stuck with him. 

His musical influences include J.J. Johnson, Jimmy Knepper (both trombonists), and Charlie Parker. More recently he's been taking on the funk-based influences of James Brown and Fred Wesley.
During a period of taking an interest in composing, Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus' jazz orchestras were a major factor.

For the last two months, George has also plunged into the world of business with the Maxwell Barrett Music Agency. Christened after his middle names, he uses it to both set up his own gigs and those of his steadily increasing client list.

After playing music professionally for three years, he felt that to go into conventional employment and have less time for his music was not an option.

Running a business in your early 20s is a fairly daunting task, so he co-runs it with his father.
New gigs are being planned all the time, and George is definitely looking to perform more in the South West London area.

You can find out about future gigs at www.maxwellbarrett.com or on his Facebook page.

Film Review: Out in the Dark

This review can also be found on Shadowlocked, here.

The BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival is something I truly appreciate. It warms my heart to know that there are actually plenty of films out there that star more than just straight white men as protagonists; and it's a shame that they end up relegated to a single, yearly event.

There were a huge number of films showing this year, almost guaranteeing a wide range of experiences on offer - but I only got to watch one in particular. Out in the Dark, filmed in 2012 and directed by Michael Mayer.

The plot is something rather simple. Nimer (Nicholas Jacob) is a Palestinian student who, on a risky night out to an Israeli nightclub meets Roy (Michael Aloni), an Israeli lawyer. Their love blossoms rapidly, but severe social standards (and gun-happy police) get in the way. More on the plot later.

From a technical perspective, the film is incredibly solid. Film production norms differ from country to country, so one of the fun things about foreign film is seeing the different stylistic rules they go by.

The cinematography was nothing to hugely fawn over, but the wide shots of the skyline and city streets did wonders for a loser like me who is obsessively urban. The dialogue style definitely stood out - lengthy chats pierced with succinct one word sentences, in a blend of Hebrew and Arabic that's sadly lost on my monolingual self.

The decision to have the plot heavily focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a harrowing, but well-researched one. It assumes you know the basics of the issue, and although you can understand all of the story without prior knowledge, being aware of the background definitely helps add context.

What it also adds is a marginally fresher angle on what would otherwise be a tired love story. Straight romances in films are rather rote, but gay (male) ones are more so in a slightly different way.

Star crossed lovers, one humble and sexually introverted, the other metropolitan and liberated have their love halted by the grim face of systemic oppression (feel free to imagine those two words in a 72pt font and on fire). It's a valid story, but it's one told a little too often.

As such, the racial conflict adds some flavour to the proceedings; juxtaposing cute intimate moments and longing stares with border crossers getting shot in the head.

It's all a very well-produced reminder of the social injustices in the world, both sexual and racial - but we know this all already. That is, the people who would be inclined to see Out in the Dark in the first place. Dudebro McHomophobe would definitely benefit from watching something so well made (and with such impact, too), but you'd have a better chance of actually ending oppression than getting him into the cinema.

It's all very 'preaching to the choir', really. That's not the end of the world - we all like to have our political opinions re-enforced, but in the end I ended up not enjoying Out in the Dark as much as I could have done – I was holding out for something more experimental.

I continue to wait for the action blockbuster where Jake Gyllenhaal saves Ben Whishaw from an exploding building, and they make out to the sound of helicopter blades and gunfire. Now that would be progressive.