Wiff Waff Wednesday: a monthly ping pong night for all ages, with music, drink and great food available to purchase at the Drill Hall Arts Cafe. 6-10.30pm, Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street. Free entry. ‘Friendship first, competition second’.
LGBT: The Media – Friend of Foe? The quarterly community discussion will tackle the often thorny and sensational issue of ‘The Media‘ and representations of LGBT people and their communities. A panel of media representatives, including Night Editor of The Times in Scotland Katherine O’Donnell, RBS Rainbow Network social media coordinator Steve O’Brien and other special guests, will share views on how various media respond to LGBT issues and portray LGBT+ identities. Questions for the panel may be submitted ahead, but there will be plenty of time for free-flowing questions on the night; you are invited to bring along an article, headline or story that you either love or hate for its representation of LGBT people or issues. 6.30-9.30pm, Serenity Cafe, The Tun, 8 Jackson’s Entry, Holyrood Road. Booking is essential and may be made online here (ie not just by joining the FB page – the form must be completed).
Black God, White Devil (12) (in Portugese with English subtitles). A special screening of the seminal film by Glauber Rocha, one of Brazil’s most revered directors. Black God, White Devil was a radical experiment in film form released during the early period of the military dictatorship that governed Brazil 1964-85; it ventures to the spiritual heart of the country, the arid backlands, to document the political, religious and social upheavals taking place in the country. “By turns surreal and brazenly realist, Black God, White Devil remains a compelling example of international political cinema and an illustration of Rocha’s manifesto for an ‘Aesthetic of Hunger'”. The film will be introduced by Dr Charlotte Gleghorn and followed by a panel discussion with Dr Raquel Ribeiro (both Hispanic Studies, University of Edinburgh). 2-5pm, Project Room (1.06), University of Edinburgh, 50 George Square. Free: all welcome – please book via eventbrite here. This event forms part of a conference Possibilities of Exchange: Experiments in Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art, which continues this evening and on Thursday 14th May 2015 (see listings). Possibilities of the Object continues at Fruitmarket until 25th May 2015.
Possibilities of the Object Panel Discussion: artist Rachel Adams, Dr Michael Asbury (University of the Arts, London) and Dr Isobel Whitelegg (LJMU/Tate Liverpool) consider the role of the object in Brazilian art from the 1950s to the present. Dr Catherine Spencer (University of St Andrews) will chair the discussion. 6-8pm, Fruitmarket Gallery, 45 Market Street. Free and open to all, but please book via eventbrite here. This event forms part of a conference Possibilities of Exchange: Experiments in Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art, which continues on Thursday 14th May 2015 (see listings). Possibilities of the Object continues at Fruitmarket until 25th May 2015.
Lunchtime Concert: Will Pickvance – Piano Speak. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.
Vera Chytilova Film Season: Vera Chytilova, the leading lady of 1960s Czech New Wave, died last year at the age of 85. A rebel, a feminist, a critic of contemporary society and an innovative filmmaker best known for her work Daisies, Chytilova focused on women rebelling against a male-dominated order, while consistently applying her own moral vision. She was banned from filming by the Czech government. Today’s film is Prefab Story/Panelstory aneb Jak se rodi sidliste (18) (in Czech with English subtitles). Chytilova’s multilevel portrayal of contemporary life is a blunt and aggressive confrontation with the ‘normalised’ society in which she lived. Set against the background of a high rise estate, it examines the nature of contemporary morality and the materialist preoccupations of its inhabitants. 6.15pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased online here or by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688. The next film in this series is Traps/Pasti, pasti, pasticky on Wednesday 20th May.
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents James Runcie: Sidney Chambers and the Forgiveness of Sins. The author and award-winning filmmaker launches the latest instalment in his Grantchester series, set in 1960s Cambridge and featuring full-time priest and part-time detective Sidney Chambers. 6.30-8pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets may be obtained from the store’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8218, by emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk or via eventbrite here.
Filmhouse Special Screening: Hinterland (15). When Harvey hears that his old friend Lola has been forced to return home after years abroad, he arranges to take her away to the seaside cottage where they spent much of their youth; what follows is a touching and beautiful story of an old friendship rekindled within a new context. Harry Macqueen’s debut film is ‘a poetic journey of self-discovery and heartbreak in contemporary Britain’. Today’s screening will be followed by a Q & A session with director and star Harry Macqueen. 6.10pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office on 0131 228 2688 or online here. Also showing at same time on Thursday 14th May 2015.
Dementia Information Evening: Pamela MacKay, Development Officer for Dementia Care at Crossreach, will talk about the different types of dementia and what can and is being done to tackle them. 7.30pm, Carlow Room, Annan House, 10 Palmerston Place. All welcome: for more information please contact Linda Cunningham on 0131 3321596.
Jammin’ at Voodoo: monthly live jamming session with some of Scotland’s leading musicians playing lounge grooves from many genres – blues, soul, funk, ska, rock and reggae, jazz and country. Musicians appear by invitation only to set a good standard. 9pm, Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street. Free admission.
Evenings of Enlightenment: join University of Edinburgh researchers on Wednesday evenings in May and June to celebrate the 2015 International Year of Light. Experts from various disciplines will explore this fascinating area – from historical discoveries to today’s cutting-edge research. Tonight Dr Chris Mowat (School of Chemistry) will talk on Illuminating the Invisible: The X-Ray Revolution. 6.30-7.30pm, Red Lecture Theatre, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall. Tickets are free and may be booked via eventbrite here.
