Nik Powell, Margi Clarke and Letter to Brezhnev
Monday 19th April 2010, 7pm at Picturehouse@FACT
Clapperboard Presents... Nik Powell, Margi Clarke and Letter to Brezhnev made in 1985, a story Two Soviet sailors, Peter and Sergei, go ashore in Liverpool to spend one night on the town. Peter can speak a minimal amount of English but it's enough to make contact with two Liverpudlian natives, Elaine and Theresa. Elaine and Peter immediately fall in love with each other, but the night is short and they must leave with the ship. Elaine can't forget him and writes a letter to Leonid Brezhnev, asking him to make it possible for them to reunite. Directed by Chris Bernard. Cast, Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke, Peter Firth, Molina, Alfred.
Nik Powell was one of the co founders of Virgin records in the early 70’s, which saw him and Richard Branson turn a mail order record operation into a multi million pound conglomerate in ten years. He then went on to work with Stephen Woolley, the proprietor of Scala Cinema, in 1982 to form Palace Videos, Palace Pictures and Palace Productions. Nik acted as executive producer on all Palace’s productions and to date has a long list of successful work including Company of Wolves, Mona Lisa and The Crying Game which was nominated for 6 Oscars in 1992 and was one of the biggest British independent films at the box office taking over 65 million at the U.S box office alone.
After the collapse of Palace Productions Nik re established himself with Scala Productions and went on to produce Fever Pitch, TwentyFourSeven, Last orders and Lavender Girls. He also produced the 1994 hit film Backbeat based on the early lives of the Beatles starring Sheryl Lee, Stephen Dorff and Ian Hart.
Nik has been Director of the National Film and Television School since 2005 and is still the non - executive chairman of Scala Productions and co-chair of BAFTA.
Nik Powell has a long association with Liverpool films and said “I am delighted to be involved in a small way with Clapperboard, a project which clearly enables people’s lives in a big way”.
Nik will participate in a Question and Answer session after the screening of Letter to Brezhnev, which will be Chaired by Roger Shannon, Professor of Film in the Department of Media at Edge Hill University.
Professor Roger Shannon said “Clapperboard’s events and master classes provide a rich seam of industry insight and knowledge, helping young people gain a greater understanding of the media industries. I’m delighted to be on board, Chairing these exciting events.”
Clapperboard Presents… is a new initiative by Maureen Sinclair to raise funds for the Clapperboard Youth Project. It is also an excellent opportunity for new and established media and creative players to network ideas and support for the benefit of all.
Income raised from Clapperboard Presents... will go toward the Clapperboard Youth Project. Tickets are £10 each, Concessions £7.00 from FACT box office now. Tickets include a complimentary after show drink sponsored by Alma de Cuba.