Sheffield

The Sensoria Festival of Music & Film’ (in conjunction with Caught by the River) is delighted to welcome special guests British Sea Power to perform their live soundtrack to Man of Aran for the festival’s closing night celebrations on Thursday April the 29th. Man of Aran is a powerful and provocative dramatised documentary from the late American filmmaker Robert J Flaherty. In a series of startling black-and-white sequences the film presents daily life on the inhospitable Aran islands on the west coast of Ireland. But Man Of Aran isn’t a straightforward documentary, it provides a blend of reality and staged elements.The fishing expedition for basking sharks, which forms the film’s dramatic heart, was based around methods that hadn’t been employed on the Aran Islands for decades. Pauline Kael described it as, “The greatest film tribute to man’s struggle against a hostile nature.”

“It’s a wonderful film,” says BSP guitarist Noble. “The images vary between huge drama and a brilliant kind of ridiculousness – check out the amazing foot-wide bobbled berets that the fishermen wear. It’s a great look, like a 1930s Irish version of Jack White or Kraftwerk. It’s a film that’s also relevant to the current era – a time when the idea of living a simpler life is in the air. The film shows something I’d like to think I could do, but know I never will.”

Tickets available ONLINE or from Showroom Box Office 0114 275 7727

London

Our friends at The Quietus (in conjunction with Branchage Film Festival) have organised a performance of ‘Man of Aran’ in London on Tuesday, April 27th. British Sea Power will be bringing their score to the 18th Century church of St.Anne’s Limehouse (exterior view here, interior here). You can buy tickets here.