FORGET CANNES: CANARY WHARF’S FILM FESTIVAL IS COMING TO TOWN
CANARY Wharfers should dust off their finery: there’s a film festival coming to town.
OK, so it’s not quite Cannes – there’ll be no red carpet, much to the disappointment of preen-happy financiers, and designer dresses and tuxes are far from obligatory.
But the Canary Wharf Film Festival, taking place between 3 and 7 September, promises to be a film buff’s dream, with ten short film premieres and a diverse mix of international award-winning short films.
For those hoping to spot the Angelinas and Brads of the future, the bulk of the festival is being held at the Museum of London Docklands and Cineworld at West India Quay. There’ll also be a glitzy do to wrap up proceedings at the East Wintergarden on the final evening, where winners will be presented with awards which the organisers, in a flash of inspiration, have named the “Golden Canaries”. What better excuse to blow away those post-August cobwebs?
RICH LIST
A multi-million pound fortune, stunning property portfolio and exclusive diet of steak-and-caviar? It’s just another day in the life of the pet pooch who’s topped animal insurer Petplan’s Pet Rich List 2009.
Alsation Gunther IV inherited his fortune from his father, Gunther III, nine years ago, though the original wealth came courtesy of a German countess, Karlotta Libenstein. He is now the proud owner of £224m, along with a villa in the Bahamas and pop queen Madonna’s Miami mansion, and has his own butler.
Next on the list is Kalu the chimpanzee, with a £53m fortune to rival that of Apprentice star Sir Alan Sugar (sorry, Lord Sugar of Clapton in the Borough of Hackney, as we should now call him), while Keiko, the killer whale star of the Free Willy films, has £22.6m.
Is it wrong to be feeling faint pangs of jealousy?
LITERARY GREAT
Everyone has a book in them, so they say. And while The Capitalist is sceptical about the truth of that particular maxim when it comes to great works of literature, there’s one thing about which almost all of us could wax lyrical: learning from past mistakes.
Step forward Tom Moriarty, the founder and chief executive of City communications firm ICIS, who tells me he wrote a book a couple of years ago as a present for his little brother’s coming of age.
The tome in question, entitled simply “21”, is apparently “a little bit autobiographical – advice on what to do in any situation, like when you get stopped by the police…”
Intriguing. Still, City folk who are looking for just such words of wisdom might be in luck – I understand Moriarty is currently talking to publishers about getting the book in print. Fingers crossed.
CITY BEAST
Got an issue about the City and dying to get it off your chest? The Capitalist might have just the thing.
Ted Reilly, the champion of road safety in the Square Mile, who recently compiled a report comparing City road casualties with those in Westminster to present to Canada’s streets and walkways sub-committee, is encouraging others to have the courage to step up and make themselves heard.
Reilly tells me he is making good progress with the road safety issue but wants to open up a forum to others to put forward their concerns – which City workers can now do via the “post your thoughts” section on a new website, CityBeast.com. Truly a shining example of power to the people.
SUPPORT GROUP
Speaking of Web initiatives, word reaches me of a new service for jaded Square Milers at www.urbanmole.com – which claims it’s been launched as a kind of support group for City workers affected by the downturn.
The site, which is also donating 50p to cancer charity Macmillan for every new member registered before the end of August, provides advice on jobs, housing, services, parties and events, and even matchmaking, for those who are feeling a little low.
“Boiler down, cheating boyfriend, home up for sale and no social life can all be remedied under our roof,” says crusading founder Andrew Eames.
FISH FEEDER
The latest intrepid City iron men to be putting themselves through physical pain in the name of a good cause are Cazenove Capital fund manager Ed Coley and Mirabaud Securities’ chief operating officer Nicolas Tissot, who recently completed a trip kayaking around the Isle of Wight in aid of the CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) and Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation charities.
The pair, being used to the go-getting attitude of the City, assumed past experience in a kayak would not prove obligatory – though a lengthy bout of seasickness on the part of Coley put paid to that idea. Something tells me their next challenge will be on dry land…