“PhD student Matt Barlow has taken his love of extreme mountain-biking to a whole new level. Twenty-seven year old Matt, who is currently studying sports psychology at Bangor University, has teamed up with local production company Bamboo Chicken TV to create a film about his biking endeavours. Aptly named ‘Short Cut,’ the film follows Matt as he takes an unusual route home from the office one day…”

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN GETTING SOME JOURNALISTIC EXPERIENCE? LOOKING TO BUILD YOUR WRITING PORTFOLIO? B-Side Empire are looking for student writers to write about student arts events, profile inspirational student artists, review student performances, and much more. If you’re interested, drop us a line.

this is a true story. at least im telling it how it was told to me by someone who claims the story is true. i think its true. some parts might seem a little farfetched but you can judge well enough for yourself i guess.
before i joined the force my partner jones worked with a guy named cookie. weird name not sure if that was his real name or a nickname or what. something cook could be the original version. i dont know. anyway according to jones cookie was a …

Oscar nominated back in 2004, it seemed to be a good idea to delve further into the work of Mikael Håfström, best known for recently directing the horror 1408 in 2007 and thriller Derailed back in 2005. With a blunt title filled to the brim with terror and loathing, Evil is exactly about what it proclaims to be. Yet the film is concerned with much more than just acts of pure malevolence – rather is explores ideas of control, manipulation and, most importantly, intense suffering. 
Håfström introduces us to Erik …

“I’m a 2nd Year Film & Literature student and I recently started reviewing the odd film or two for fun. Now I seem to want to get my opinion down all the time. I like to think I’m open to all the new flicks but if its not worth the price of the ticket, I’ll be sure to tell you.”

“Originally achieving some sort of semblance of fame as the singer-guitarist of ’80s alternative band Pop Will Eat Itself, Clint Mansell is today the man I will happily and enthusiastically call the best film score composer working today. Born in Coventry in 1963, Mansell’s work as an indie musician revealed a spirit keen to explore new ground, encompassing pop, hip-hop, electronica and rock over their 10 year existence from from ’86 to ’96…”

It is difficult to anticipate how a director whose past achievements range from the comedic School of Rock to the sharp animation A Scanner Darkly will handle an almost biographical insight into the volatile personality of the legendary Orson Welles. Cue the inclusion of Zac Efron, renowned all-singing, all-dancing teenage heartthrob, whose fame sprang from the undoubtedly cheesy High School Musical saga and we think we know what to expect from Linklater – the ‘Me’(Zac Efron) overshadowing the ‘Orson Welles’(Christian McKay), and let’s face it, we did not come to …

“I got into writing when I was very young, because I found it the best medium by which to express myself. I was always a very imaginative kid, who loved to talk and tell stories, so this is something which is just part of me. And I absolutely love writing. I write mostly when I am in the ‘creative’ mood. I don’t have any particular topic. I like to try different forms and topics.”

“Envy is the answer to trauma,/and when all else fails, try lying./Mind that you haven’t told the truth elsewhere./Send your regards, empathy,/but don’t/try to sympathise…”

“Mirror images reflected,/With glints of the tainted plastic moulding,/Uniformed carvings shape the formula,/Calculating the extent of the shimmer…”

This season: ‘A Serious Man’, ‘Avatar 3D’, ‘Awaken the Dead’, ‘Bottle Rocket’, ‘The Cake Eaters’, ‘Choke’, ‘Ghost Town’, ‘Grosse Point Blank’, ‘Kissing Jessica Stein’, ‘Saved!’, ‘Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas’, ‘Thank You for Smoking’ and ‘Up in the Air’.

“I am not a tall person, but I seem shorter than I am because I tend to slouch. A chav once told me I was the prettiest girl he had seen that day, but he was probably just being nice. I worry about things and daydream excessively.”

“SPRING OFFENSIVE are an Oxford band. Their mini-album ‘Pull Us Apart’, released in March 2010, is the follow-up to their debut EP, which sold out and received much critical acclaim…”

There were moments.
I was slipping in and out of moments.
I was hazed by the stacks of lights that swung above me
and my eyes were forced to re-align themselves.
The air was worn out, ragged, heavy air,
it was the kind of air you found on planes;
Re-cycled and reverberating through your lungs,
the capillaries in my chest stretching in an attempt to push it round my body.
There was white noise coming from straight a head
but eventually I managed to focus and begin to read the autocue.
The message was simple.
The message was translated through years …