Ali Catterall
@alicatterall.bsky.social
Hello! Writer & filmmaker - roughly in that order ADHD Cat lover My co-directed debut 'Scala!!! Or the incredibly strange rise & fall of the world’s wildest cinema & how it influenced a mixed-up generation of weirdos & misfits' is now on BFI Player/Blu-ray
www.dignityindying.org.uk/news/tribute...
Tributes flow for Elise Burns, the campaigner who challenged Peers to “look me in the eye” and justify denying her a dignified death - Dignity in Dying
Dignity in Dying is devastated by the death of Elise Burns, a courageous, formidable and much-loved campaigner for assisted dying, who died in hospice with her mum and sister by her side on Wednesday ...
dignityindying.org.uk
Incredibly sad to let you know my girlfriend, bezzie, co-author, and rock, Elise Burns has died. One of the kindest, most vital and spirited people I've ever known, her tireless campaigning with Dignity in Dying will literally be changing the world, for years to come. I love you so much, my darling.
Incredibly sad to let you know my girlfriend, bezzie, co-author, and rock, Elise Burns has died. One of the kindest, most vital and spirited people I've ever known, her tireless campaigning with Dignity in Dying will literally be changing the world, for years to come. I love you so much, my darling.
I know it's a standing joke among my mates that I'm not a football person, and ironically, my current catsit residence backs onto Wembley Stadium, but I assure you, I'm absolutely fucking bricking it too from 8pm onwards.
Just waking up this morning to discover John Waters calling our SCALA!!! movie great. 😮❤️🙏 Thank you John! Full interview link here, to mark the paperback release of ReFocus: The Films of John Waters. youtu.be/Py6epI3PsdA
Just waking up this morning to discover John Waters calling our SCALA!!! movie great. 😮❤️🙏 Thank you John! Full interview link here, to mark the paperback release of ReFocus: The Films of John Waters. youtu.be/Py6epI3PsdA
Took my sunglasses off very shakily when I learned about Sam Neill's sad passing.
A personal record reached today. Two stone (28 pounds) lost in 43 days. Achieved through a triple-whammy of Keto, fasting, and strength training. No jabs needed! (I can't afford them.) Impetus: dragging myself out of high-pre-diabetes asap. And I guess I've almost certainly done that by now. Yay.
HEY JUDE DON'T MAKE IT BAD TAKE A SAD SONG AND MAKE IT BETTER!!!!!
When I was a little kid, a pre-fame Philip Glass sometimes visited our Boho artists' squat off the King's Road when he was in London. He may have even babysat me. This is a pared-down version of 'Opening', one of Uncle Phil's early bangers.
Happy Birthday Ringo Starr. (Watch how Sophie literally closes her eyes when I sing "Close your eyes".)
This has got me right *there* this morning. Tearducts spilling over like a fucked Thames Barrier. youtu.be/WS3Lkc6Gzlk?...
Rainbow Connection by Kermit the Frog from The Muppet Movie
YouTube video by infinite echoes
youtu.be
Honoured to be included among this list of essential movies for Pride Month. epicureanvagabonds.substack.com/p/our-big-qu...
Our Big Queer List of Essential LGBTQIA+ Films! (2026 Update!)
Celebrating Pride Month with Queer Film History!
epicureanvagabonds.substack.com
By a strictly scientific ratio, I deduce the sound of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra to be equivalent to roughly 23-27° (with a light breeze.). Today, it's officially hotter than the PCO, so I'm looking forward to the end of next week, when it's a bit more Penguin. youtu.be/NPpRJoYISSQ?...
Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Perpetuum Mobile
YouTube video by itsfredholmestoyou
youtu.be
The incredible heat led me to dream an entire 1972 movie this morning, in vivid detail. Immediately wrote it all down on waking. Here's more about "Petty Fit", written produced and directed by Roy Scheider. Thanks, subconscious.
MISSING PERSON: RICHARD LUCK: Last seen near Earls Court /Collingham Place/Kensington last Thursday. 6'0", heavy build, pale complexion, dark hair, dressed in black. Police consider him "voluntarily homeless" rather than a missing person, but he is highly vulnerable. If you see him, contact me.
I've huge affection for this festival - and Bologna - as this is where SCALA!!! had its world premiere. Jane and I sat at the front row, trembling. And then, when it ended, from behind us, the sound of applause. It seemed to go on forever. I'll never forget it. www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ju...
Bologna’s niche festival of forgotten films captures the streaming generation
Over 40 years, Italy’s Il Cinema Ritrovato – or ‘rediscovered cinema’ – has evolved into an influential international gathering
theguardian.com
One from the vaults. Just cos it's been on my mind, and what a gorgeous thing it is.
Tiny tribute to the late Abdullah Ibrahim / Dollar Brand, who composed some of the most exquisite music I've ever heard. This is an imperfect but heartfelt (and quick, so as not to take up your time) intro to Water from an Ancient Well.
Tiny tribute to the late Abdullah Ibrahim / Dollar Brand, who composed some of the most exquisite music I've ever heard. This is an imperfect but heartfelt (and quick, so as not to take up your time) intro to Water from an Ancient Well.
So proud of my ladyfriend Elise, who has terminal cancer (as she says, "Extra time, not borrowed time"), and who Rankin has filmed as part of the @dignityindying.org.uk campaign. Heroes, all. www.instagram.com/reel/DZfGK-Z...
Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.
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Particularly brilliant line from one of Julia's routinely brilliant reviews: Tip Toe is "...a single, low drone note of destiny played on a harmonium, persistent in the background while the melody trips and dances over the top."
Julia Raeside@jnraeside.bsky.social · 2mo agoMy spoiler-free is up now on Womansplaining and it won't cost you a penny read. TLDR: Like being hit by a truck. 5 stars.
Particularly brilliant line from one of Julia's routinely brilliant reviews: Tip Toe is "...a single, low drone note of destiny played on a harmonium, persistent in the background while the melody trips and dances over the top."
Julia Raeside@jnraeside.bsky.social · 2mo agoMy spoiler-free is up now on Womansplaining and it won't cost you a penny read. TLDR: Like being hit by a truck. 5 stars.
I saw Scala!!!, a thrillingly hilarious documentary about the wild story of London's Scala cinema, and loved it so much that I had to write my own love letter to my own much-missed offbeat arthouse cultural and spiritual home... timworthington.org/2024/01/08/t...
There Was Always Something Different
You might not have been to the Scala Cinema – but you will almost certainly have been somewhere that made you feel the same way,,,
timworthington.org
Thank you so, so much to everyone who's sharing this today. SCALA!!! was a massive labour of love made on a microbudget, and turned down by everybody, until the BFI, thank God, picked it up. As it's not widely available, it's fantastic to be able to share it for free with potential new audiences. x
Ali Catterall@alicatterall.bsky.social · 3mo agoMy and Jane's little film SCALA!!! is now FREE to watch for 14 days via this link, thanks to our lovely distributors, the BFI. And it has a terrific intro by Kermode too. player.bfi.org.uk/subscription... But do consider taking out a BFI player subscription too!
