I love that phrase, “It won’t leave the island.” I never understood it until it was explained to me that that is what producers, etc, call a British film that doesn’t stand a chance of achieving success (or whatever) anywhere but here – ‘on the island’. So, what the heck do the BIFA awards – British Independent Film Awards – have to do with anything? They’re not the Oscars, are they? They’re... 

At its Telluride festival showing, the sheer intensity of Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours worked its magic, causing two people to be carted away by ambulance from the Galaxy screening room. Some commentators have said that Telluride is not big on horror, with one saying that the typical festival crowd there a made up of ‘weenies’, people who would probably faint during Bambi. The festival screenings are first outings for Boyle’s take on the...