Monday, July 10----Most festivals, in their debut year, have a modest agenda and try to keep expectations at a low pitch. Not so the Rome Film Fest, which is approaching its inaugural session with the velocity of an unstoppable train.
It has always seemed curious to Americans why some of Europe’s largest cities have not had a major film festival attached to them. Why, we wonder, did it take decades for Paris, the most cinephile of cities, to launch its own film event? Why are there no major...
The 19th Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Film FestivalJune 2 - 10 at Cinestudio in Hartford, CTInfo: www.ctglff.org P: (860)586-1136The crowds will be milling, tongues will be wagging and cameras flashing. It can only mean one thing: the 19th Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Film Festival is happening! For 9 fabulous days, Cinestudio in Hartford, CT will be showcasing the latest and best in LGBT film. Every year people from all over New England come to this celebration of Pride on film. Enjoy LGBT films, doc...
2006 is onedotzero's tenth anniversary, and will be celebrated with very special events, projects and programming. onedotzero has grown from a pioneering weekend festival at the ICA in the mid-nineties, to become "the most crucial, groundbreaking festival of the early 21st century" [Guardian Film Unlimited], as well as being renowned as a DVD label and as a highly influential production company, producing programmes for Channel 4, and live tour visuals for The Rolling Stones, U2 and Little Brita...
FEATURES/DOCUMENTARIES2006 MIAMI GAY & LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL20 CENTIMETERS (Director Ramón Salazar)The musical journey of a lively narcoleptic transsexual who works the streets of Madrid for the money that she needs for her impending sexual reassignment (Spain – Florida Premiere)50 WAYS OF SAYING FABULOUS (Director Stewart Main)An overweight girly-boy and his tomboy best friend live out adventures from their favorite TV show Adventures In Space… with Billy playing the pony tailed heroine La...
New Hungarian features on view here range from the utterly ridiculous to the utterly sublime. At the ridiculous extreme is "TAXIDERMIA" by "Hukkle" director Pálfi György, while on the sublime side of the spectrum is the ethereally sensuous "The Bird Saviour, Clouds and Wind", by first time director István "Taikyo" Szaladják."Taxidermia" doesn't have much to do with the art of taxidermy (although a taxidermist does make a brief appearance toward the end), but everything to do with force feedi...
The 21st Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival has announced the winners of the 2006 festival competition. The festival, which ran from Feb. 2-12, attracted more than 50,000 visitors to the area, bringing attendance to well over 100,000 people.Winners were selected by the following jury members:American Independent Jury: Gabrielle Kelly, Michael Nozik and Shaun ToubSpanish and Latin American Film Jury: Ann Louise Bardach, Peter Griffiths and Mary Kay PlaceBest International Featur...
14TH PORTLAND JEWISH FILM FESTIVALSAT JAN 14 7 PM WHITSELL AUDITORIUMSUN JAN 15 4 PM GUILD THEATRELIVE AND BECOMEFRANCE/ISRAEL 2005DIRECTOR: RADU MILHAILEANUWinner of (cheering) Audience Awards at the Berlin and Vancouver International Film Festival, LIVE AND BECOME is an epic, emotional story of one boy's chance survival amidst the Ethiopian famine of the mid-1980s. A mother conspires to place her nine-year-old, non-Jewish son with a group of Falashas (Ethiopian Jews) bound for Israel as par...
From November 25th through December 12, the City of Pozuelo de Alarcón and the Council of Culture and Sport of the Community of Madrid will organize the 4th International Festival of the Animated Image of Pozuelo de Alarcón – Community of Madrid. As it does every year, the festival will feature an Official Section of high quality short films, full-length films, TV series, and short shorts as well as an Informative Section with retrospectives and film series aimed at bringing animated film cl...
After viewing Costa-Gavras' "Couperet" (Arcadia) screened at the opening ceremony as the festival curtain-raiser, (out of competition), I am still holding my breath trying to decide what to think of it. Yes, it did have certain Hitchcockian echoes of "black humor", and yes, it was a thriller of sorts, and yes, there were certain socio-political overtones, and the performances by Jose García (the harried serial killer) and Karin Viard (the harried wife of the harried serial killer) were good an...
The Valladolid Film Festival --"SEMINCI" -- ("Semana Internacional de Cine", or International Film Week), which was launched in 1956 and has been held every year since without interruption, this year celebrates its Golden half-century Anniversary. As usual the emphasis will be on non-mainstream features, auteur directors, and a wide variety of shorts and documentaries. The opening film tonight at the elegant Teatro Calderon will be the latest offering from Constantine Costa-Gavras, "Couperet",...
The Sunday morning festival reports in the Spanish papers, whose writers represent a cross-section of leading Spanish film critics, were nearly unanimous in denouncing the prizes dished out the day before by the Angelica Huston led official competition jury. The main prize, which went to the Czech film "Something Like Happiness", came in for the strongest condemnation. Three critics used the word "absurdo" (absurd) to describe the top award, one going so far as to say that there were at least e...
The Action/Cut Short Film Competition, based in Los Angeles, wrapped and announces its 2005 winners.This is a unique, industry-based competition with Hollywood players on its Juries. Action/Cut is committed to discover the most talented and promising filmmakers from around the world, and through our 100+ Awards including cash prizes, recognize their film work and assist in furthering their careers by opening industry doors.THE ACTION/CUT 2005 GRAND PRIZE SHORT FILM AWARD“WHEN JESSE WAS BORN...
Tango Odyssey Leads Filmmaker Back Home to Bay AreaWhen local filmmaker Joshua Dylan Mellars got the idea to film his first documentary Tango Illusions in Buenos Aires, he had no idea that it would take a seven-year journey to complete it. Like good wine, filmmaking can take time. Tango Illusions premieres at the Napa-Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival on Saturday, August 13 at 6 pm at the Nicholson Ranch Winery in Sonoma.“My desire to film Tango Illusions has taken me to some strange places. S...
For 14 Days, the Festival Presents 259 Features, Documentaries, Animated Films and Shorts from 42 Countries, including 31 World or US PremieresAwards go to Malcolm McDowell and Steve Buscemi; New Festival Award Named for Archie Perlmutter 2005 Programs Demonstrate Festival’s International Flair and Philadelphia Roots New Films from Araki, Miike, Ozon, Solondz, Wenders and Van Gogh -- his last film; 46 First-time Directors include Actors David Duchovny, Peter Riegert(Philadelphia—March 22, 20...
The jury for the 52th edition of San Sebastian Festival: 17-25 September is headed by MARIO VARGAS LLOSA (President) other members include:YAMINA BENGUIGUI TOM DiCILLO MARTA ESTEBAN LAURA MORANTE EDUARDO SERRA DITO TSINTSADZE Donostia Awards will be given to Woody Allen, Annette Bennings, Jeff Bridges.About Mario Vargas Llosa He was born in Arequipa (Peru) in 1936. In 1953 he entered San Marcos University in Lima, where he studied Arts and Law. In 1959 he moved to Europe, and lived for several y...
MONTRÉAL WORLD FILM FESTIVALWorld CompetitionDÍAS DE CAMPO (DÍAS DE CAMPO) (COMP) (World Premiere)Chile - France / 2004 / 35 mm / Colour / 89 min / Dir.: Raoul RuizIn a bar in Santiago, two old-timers converse over a few drinks. It seems that one of them is writing a novel. It is a weird discussion; they speak of themselves as if they were already dead. Don Federico, the would-be novelist, gathers matches in his wine glass. The ambience is eerie. Where are we? In the kingdom of the dead? Well...
Over 6,000 film fans attended the 35 performances of the sixth Festival of German Cinema in Madrid (8-12 June, 2004). The extensive programme was enthusiastically received by the Spanish audience and press. Compared to last year, the attendances increased by a third.The event was opened by Eric Till's LUTHER in the presence of producer Alexander Thies. LUTHER generated great interest among the audience, press and distributors in Catholic Spain. Rosenstrasse by Margarethe von Trotta won the Audie...
The 26th MIFF Competition Films program will include: ANGULIMALADirector: Sutape Tunnirut, Thailand, 2003Cast: Nopachai Jayanama, Stella Malucchi, John Rattanaveroj, Caterina Grosse A parable based on the code of Buddhist morality. The story allegedly happened in India more than 2,500 years ago. Ahimsaka was born of Brahmin parents, the social group of high virtue in the Hindu caste system. Despite his noble birth, Ahimsaka was predestined to become a murderous bandit killing those people to who...
The Cannes International Film Festival is officially open. Protesters from the french shobiz industry were invited to walk up the stairs, which they did rather peacefuly, without disturbing the festival protocole, (Gilles Jacob's baby).It was Pedro Almodovar and his film crew representing Bad Education (La Mala educación) who had the honors of being the first to do the red carpet walk for this 57th edition. Despite the raindrops, the celebrities arriving for the opening ceremony did not cower, ...
The Cannes International Film Festival is officially open. Protesters from the french shobiz industry were invited to walk up the stairs, which they did rather peacefuly, without disturbing the festival protocole, (Gilles Jacob's baby).It was Pedro Almodovar and his film crew representing Bad Education (La Mala educación) who had the honors of being the first to do the red carpet walk for this 57th edition. Despite the raindrops, the celebrities arriving for the opening ceremony did not cower, ...
Laura Morante was stagestruck and elegant, as the hostess with the mostest to introduce for the Cannes extravaganza of opening night. "Anthropologists claim that man is the only living being interested in images--other animals see them only as illusions and look away", said the Italian actress. "It's the love of cinema that brings us here", she explained. And that was doubly reinforced by president of the jury Quentin Tarantino, who strode onto the stage, and seemingly with a loss for words at...
Today was the long awaited debut of the 57th Cannes Opening Film, Pedro Almodóvar's new film Bad Education. Fele Martinez and Gael Garcia Bernal, tackle the subject of sexual child abuse, set at a religious school in the 1960's and the free Madrid of the 1980's, the Spanish Mystic River at Cannes this year. Almodóvar, Martinez and Garcia Bernal were all present at the press conference on opening day. The gender bending Spanish director that has liberated film in his country after Franco explai...
NEXT GENERATION 2004This year will be the seventh time that the Export-Union of German Cinema is presenting a selection of short films by German film students under the banner of "Next Generation" at the Cannes Film Festival.The 2004 edition of the "Next Generation" short film programme will be shown to an audience of industry professionals on Sunday, May 16, at 8.00 p.m. in the STAR Cinema. The programme comprises nine productions from eight academies and was compiled as usual by an expert jury...
From Cannes comes the fabulous news that Pedro Almodóvar will open the 57th Festival de Cannes with his new film La Mala educaciòn (Bad Education) on May 12.Bad Education is the story of two young boys, Zahara and Paca who discover love, film and fear in the 1960's in a religious school run by Father Manolo (Lluís Homar). The three characters meet again at the end of the 1970's and during the 1980's.Written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, the leads are Gael Garcìa Bernal, Fele Martinez ...
From Cannes comes the fabulous news that Pedro Almodóvar will open the 57th Festival de Cannes with his new film La Mala educaciòn (Bad Education) on May 12.Bad Education is the story of two young boys, Zahara and Paca who discover love, film and fear in the 1960's in a religious school run by Father Manolo (Lluís Homar). The three characters meet again at the end of the 1970's and during the 1980's.Written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, the leads are Gael Garcìa Bernal, Fele Martinez ...
