James Mottram, Author at Celluloid Junkie

By James Mott

WatchWord: Closed-caption Glasses Transform Cinema Experience for Deaf Community

Even with the advent of captions, a trip to the cinema for anyone who is part of the hearing-impaired community can be a very restrictive experience. Captions – which not only include all spoken dialogue, but written descriptions of sound effects, music and even emotions – can be delivered in two wa…

A montage of filmstars - Dwayne Johnson, Julia Robertson, George Clooney, Jim Jarmusch - sit against the Venice Film Festival sign

Venice Film Festival 2025: Streamers and Stars Own the Lido While Jarmusch Sneaks Off with the Golden Lion

Forget easing into the Lido with gondolas and red-carpet glitz — Venice 2025 (27th August to 6th September) came out swinging. Between George Clooney and Dwayne Johnson lighting up the premieres, MUBI and Netflix muscling into awards-season territory, and a record-breaking ovation for “The Voice of…

The Filmhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland sits proudly at 88 Lothian Road. The arthouse cinema was refurbished and reopened in June 2025 after being closed since 2022

The Resurrection of Filmhouse – An Edinburgh Success Story

This June, film fans in Edinburgh, Scotland, were treated to several sold-out screenings of Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1988 love letter to cinema, “Cinema Paradiso.” Nothing unusual there, you might think. Except that the venue was Filmhouse, the Scottish city’s beloved independent cinema, which had lain…

The stage at Mediterranean Film Festival is lit up in a dark room for the awards ceremony. The left side says We Are Malta and the right says We Are Film.

Mediterrane Film Festival Showcases Malta’s Popularity with Hollywood

Most film festivals are designed to bring together audiences with the latest movies from both established directors and rising stars. Now in its third year, the Mediterrane Film Festival (MFF) seemingly has a different mission. Hosted on the island of Malta during the last ten days of June, it’s as…

Headshots of the panelists from the Marché du Film Japanese cinema session (left to right): Eve Gabereau, Amel Lacombe, Nousha Saint-Martin, moderator Atsuko Ohno

Cannes 2025: Why Bet on Japanese Cinema

This year’s Cannes Film Festival proved to be a remarkable moment for Japanese cinema. Across the official selection, films from Japan dominated the festival’s various strands, including main competition effort “Renoir”, video game adaptation “Exit 8” which played in Midnight Screenings, and “A Pale…

The frontage of the new physical venue of The Nickel Cinema, Clerkenwell Road, London

The Nickel: From Pop-up Cinema to Putting Down Roots

Just a short walk from London’s Chancery Lane underground station, a new boutique movie theatre is taking shape. The Nickel Cinema (the Nickel) is the brainchild of Dominic Hicks, a British filmmaker with twenty years’ experience in the industry. At the Nickel, the emphasis is on screening cult film…

CJ Indie Cinema Showcase: Is the Garden Cinema London’s Best-kept Indie Secret?

Tucked away on Parker Street, a quiet road between Holborn and Covent Garden, the Garden Cinema could easily lay claim to being London’s best kept secret when it comes to independent movie theatres. Compared to the BFI Southbank or the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square, institutions that sim…

The organ stands centre stage in the Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square

DCM Upfronts: Cinema Offers Economic Edge to Advertisers

Cinema advertising company, Digital Cinema Media (DCM), held its annual Upfronts showcase at the flagship Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London, playing to a full house of agencies and brand representatives. Brought forward from its usual July slot to 27th March, the event was hosted as usual by CEO K…