What is the role of film in a world suffering from illiteracy and a steep decline in book-reading?
"This is a social issue that needs to be addressed in a wider context. Well publicized junk,usually from Hollywood,pushes out serious cinema and takes over the time that should be given to reading or visiting an art gallery.The best film-makers can do is to make good films. It is important to talk about truth and beauty in our films, rather than putting bums on ci...
Argentinian director Pablo Cesor, whose Argentine-Benin co-production Orillas delves into the subject of the people of African descent in Buenos Aires says Argentinians have for long been in denial about the African presence. I wanted to tackle the subject of social justice."
Next on the agenda is a film on Rabindranath Tagore and his Latin American connections.
Mr Cesor says he became interested in the subject after an interaction with the Indian Ambassador to Argentina, which Tago...
JAMAICA REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL, 17th-21st May 2012
The Jamaica Film Academy announces the Call for Entries in the 2012 Jamaica Reggae Film Festival, to be held 17th-21st May 2012 in Kingston, Jamaica.(Venue to be confirmed)
In keeping with the format initiated at the inaugural event in February 2008, the Festival will showcase films in which aspects of Jamaica's Reggae music culture are displayed, documented and memorialized in feature, documentary and short films, animation and music videos. In the five years since its inception, the Reggae Film Festival has included films made by Jamaicans, as well as global reggae researchers and fans from the Caribbean, UK, USA, Canada, Spain, Germany, Serbia, Italy, Japan, Iran, France and Ethiopia. The focus of many documentaries on the history of Jamaican music and music makers, ensures an archive of historical material on the genre that preserves the oral memories of a culture that has spread to and been honored by the world.
In 2012, in recognition of the 50th year of Jamaica's independence, the Jamaica Reggae Film Festival will be presented internationally in cities of the Jamaican Diaspora, with selected screenings of The Best of the Reggae Film Festival in Toronto, London, Birmingham and New York.
In keeping with the objective of the Jamaica Film Academy to increase and improve the output of Jamaican film making, the annual Make A Film In 24 Hours competition has inspired and produced new Jamaican film making talent, while the Festival has discovered a surprising wealth of Jamaican talent in digital animation. The acknowledged expertise and innovation of Jamaican music video makers exposing the talents of Jamaica's powerful musical artists, provides another area highlighted by the Reggae Film Festival.
Annual Awards are presented in several categories and and the international interest in the unique music and culture of Jamaica. has given prize-winning films further international awards and distribution. The Festival's identification of the genre of 'reggae films' creates a digital archive of films available for research into a variety of aspects of the Jamaican culture that emerged from the Rastafari movement and spread with the music of reggae legend Bob Marley.
The Jamaica Film Academy announces the Call for Entries in the 2012 Jamaica Reggae Film Festival, to be held May 2012 in Kingston, Jamaica.
In keeping with the format initiated at the inaugural event in February 2008, the Festival will showcase films in which aspects of Jamaica's Reggae music culture are displayed, documented and memorialized in feature, documentary and short films, animation and music videos. In the five years since its inception, the Reggae Film Festival has included f...
Not long after the debut of Jonathan Demme’s latest film, I’M CAROLYN PARKER: THE GOOD, THE MAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (2011), at the 68th Venice Film Festival, I interviewed Carolyn Parker’s daughter Kyrah Julian, who stars in the documentary and who attended Venice with Demme. Kyrah has been working with Demme since he started the documentary in 2006. Demme met the strong and outspoken Carolyn Parker in 2006 when she complained to the New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin about the neglect of the Nin...
Actress Kyrah Julian and producer Lindsay Jaeger Not long after the debut of Jonathan Demme’s latest film, I’M CAROLYN PARKER: THE GOOD, THE MAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (2011), at the 68th Venice Film Festival, I interviewed Carolyn Parker’s daughter Kyrah Julian, who stars in the documentary and who attended Venice with Demme. Kyrah has been working with Demme since he started the documentary in 2006. Demme met the strong and outspoken Carolyn Parker in 2006 when she complained to the New Orle...
Johnny Depp Starrer “The Rum Diary” and Sports Dramedy “Breakaway” To Bookend Festival as Opening And Closing Night Films, Respectively Festival Founder and Executive Director Leslie Vanderpool today announced the final program details for the 8th edition of the Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), which takes place December 1-4, 2011 in Nassau. GK Films’ “The Rum Diary” starring Johnny Depp (BIFF’s 2009 Career Achievement tributee and Bahamian home owner) will open the fe...
52nd THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ran November 4 -13, 2011.Our festival ambassador vanessa Mcmahon reporting from the festival shared her diaries with our audience.LOVERBOY at 52nd TIFF Interview with Daniel MitulescuLOVERBOY (2011) is the newest film by the Mitulescu brothers, Catalin and Daniel. LOVERBOY opened at Cannes 2011 in ‘Un Certain Regard’ and has screened in competition in several festivals since, including Sarajevo at the 17th Sarajevo Film Festival where the stunnin...
FAUST
film still of 'Faust' (2011)
Russian director Aleksandr Sokurov's FAUST (2011) held its world premier in Venice at the 68th Venice Film Festival this year taking the coveted Golden Lion prize for best picture. It then went on to screen its North American premier at TIFF in Toronto and has now continued its most recent festival round at the 52nd Thessaloniki Film Festival (TIF...
TWILIGHT PORTRAIT
Sergei Borisov (Andrei)
Olga Dykhovichnaya (Marina)
The proud winner of the 52nd Thessaloniki Film Festival Golden Alexander Award is the film that is taking the international festival world by storm this year, the Russian micro-budget indie film TWILIGHT PORTRAIT (2011) by newcomer Director/Writer/Producer Angelina Nikonova and Writer/Producer/Actress Olga Dykhovichnaya (Marina).
When I met Angelina and Olga at a dinner in Iceland, I had not...
Ulrich Seidl Press Conference at 52ND TIFF
TIFF PRESS RELEASE!
52nd TIFF: Ulrich Seidl Press Conference (11/11/2011)
ULRICH SEIDL PRESS CONFERENCE
Austrian director Ulrich Zeidl gave a Press Conference on Friday, November 11 at Warehouse C, during the 52nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival and in the presence of Festival Director Dimitri Eipides. This year’s edition is holding a broad tribute to Seidl’s work, screening documentaries and features that are repre...
Alexander Payne at TIFF 2011 TIFF PRESS RELEASE!52nd TIFF: Alexander Payne Press Conference (11/5/2011)ALEXANDER PAYNE PRESS CONFERENCE On Saturday, November 5th, a Press Conference was given by the Greek-American director Alexander Payne during the 52nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival, at Warehouse C. Present were the Festival’s Director, Dimitri Eipides and Mr. Payne’s director of photography Phedon Papamichael, also a Greek-American. Alexander Payne’s new film The Descendants ...
Coming to an end with today's screening of the closing film The Ides of March by George Clooney, the Viennale 2011 continues on its path of success. With an attendance of 96,700 at the 2011 festival as compared to last year's 96,300, the Viennale saw a slight increase in the number of visitors, less so than in previous years but at the same time an important and wonderful confirmation of the Viennale's steadily growing popularity. The festival's overall attendance figures also rose slightly fr...
Hello folks! I’m back from a couple trips out of town
(family stuff, without my computer) so I could not blog for a while. But now
that I’m back in town, I can catch the second half of the AFI Festival in Los
Angeles, which runs through Nov. 10. Screenings are free! – though of course
you still need a ticket, available at http://www.afi.com/AFIFEST/.
For more on AFI, check out today’s article in the LA
Times, “Finding Passion for Film,” featuring an interview with...
"A.L.I.C.E." will have its Hollywood premiere (after playing in 30 film fests on 6 continents) on November 20th, 2011 at 6pm at DIM MAK Studios (formerly Cinespace) on Hollywood Blvd.
Admission is free.
"A.L.I.C.E." was shot in Los Angeles and Joshua Tree, CA with the generous support of Canon USA, Inc. because director Dawn Westlake is a Canon Platinum Filmmaker. The film stars Los Angeles-based actors Joey D'Auria, Aketza Lopez, Dawn Westlake and David Razows...
We will be covering the festival with dailies...stay tuned
52nd THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL will run November 4 - 13, 2011
With less than a week to go before the start of the event, we have the pleasure to contact you with the latest news from this year's 52ND Thessaloniki International Film Festival, which kicks off Friday, November 4th.
A complete list of this year's line-up can be found at the end of this pres...
Focusing on the challenges of being a working director in Toronto and abroad, Warren will pragmatically breakdown key elements of film directing through anecdotes discussion and video clips. Intensive teaching capsules loosely based on the "Ten Things" Warren found out film schools don't teach you, will be followed by inclusive and exhaustive question and answer periods by one of this country's most talented young directors.During this intensive day-long Saturday master class, Warren w...
The focus for the 35th Göteborg International Film Festival is the Arabic-speaking region. The idea for an Arabic focus was already born at the festival in 2011, during which the demonstrations at Tahrir Square in Cairo proceeded at full throttle. Eight films within this theme are currently ready for the coming festival in 2012.
Since December 2010, country after country in the Arab world has undergone political upheaval. International observers agree that the Arab Spring is...
This powerful information-packed day will give you the tools and information you need to establish yourself as a screenwriter, director or filmmaker. Elliot Grove, founder of Raindance, British Independent Film Awards and Raindance tv will be in Toronto to deliver his acclaimed Filmmaking Course, which has been given to over 4000 people internationally.Course Outline:Part 1 - Writing the ScreenplayPart 2 - Making the MoviePart 3 - So you want to Direct?Part 4 - Breaking into the Film Industry...
And the winner is: · I Don’t Want To Go Back Alone (directed by Daniel Ribeiro, Brazil) - Iris Prize And the other winners are: · The Red Bike (directed by Andrew Steggall) – Best UK Short · August (directed by Eldar Rapaport)- Iris Prize Best Feature Award · Murray Bartlett (Troy in August) Best Actor in a Feature · Allison Lane (Candy in Going Down In La-La Land) Best Actress in a Feature A short film about ...
Olga Dykhovichnaya (Marina) Sergei Borisov (Andrei)This was indeed the welcome surprise of the Reykjavik International Film Festival (RIFF) this year. Newcomer Director/Writer/Producer Angelina Nikonova and Writer/Producer/Actress Olga Dykhovichnaya (Marina) graced the festival with their presence in its final days to attend the Q and A screening of their film TWILIGHT PORTRAIT (‘Portret V Sumerkakh’, 2011) and the award ceremony at the end. Little did these passionate Russian Indie filmmak...
At the 68th Venice Film Festival, Belgian director Nicolas Provost held his world premier for his first feature film THE INVADER (2011). He immediately after traveled to Toronto for TIFF 2011 where he held his North American premier and where we held our interview.
THE INVADER is an intense and arresting arthouse dramatic thriller about an African immigrant, AMADOU (played hauntingly by actor Isaka Sawadogo) who travels to Belgium for a new and hopefully better life. While finding himself at ...
Olga Dykhovichnaya (Marina) Sergei Borisov (Andrei)TWILIGHT PORTRAIT (2011) held its world premier at 68th La Biennale in Venice, North American premier at TIFF in Toronto, Nordic premier in Reykjavik at RIFF and now travels next to BFI London. This was indeed the welcome surprise of the Reykjavik International Film Festival (RIFF) this year. Newcomer Director/Writer/Producer Angelina Nikonova and Writer/Producer/Actress Olga Dykhovichnaya (Marina) graced the festival with their presence in it...
Olga Dykhovichnaya (Marina) Sergei Borisov (Andrei)This was indeed the welcome surprise of the Reykjavik International Film Festival (RIFF) this year. Newcomer Director/Writer/Producer Angelina Nikonova and Writer/Producer/Actress Olga Dykhovichnaya (Marina) graced the festival with their presence in its final days to attend the Q and A screening of their film TWILIGHT PORTRAIT (‘Portret V Sumerkakh’, 2011) and the award ceremony at the end. Little did these passionate Russian Indie filmm...
The 49th edition of the New York Film Festival, a sure sign of the Fall season, is underway, and in its substantially expanded format, there is literally something for everyone at this year’s event. The Festival, which has prided itself on being a boutique as opposed to the bazaar offered at such events in Toronto, Cannes and Berlin (and at New York’s own Tribeca Film Festival) still offers the cream of the crop from those other festival celebrations, with a sprinkling of highbrow c...
