Tuesday, July 1----------With the American economy in the crapper and the dollar at near record lows, a trip to the Cannes Film Festival has become an inexpensive indulgence, even for the media professionals who “must” be there. For the general public, who may be curious about what goes on along the famed shores of the Riviera, the difficulty of being part of the Cannes action is doubly difficult. Well, for the past month, Cannes has been made affordable and surprisingly accessible, with t...

The selection of films for the 34th International Forum of New Cinema has now been completed. An extensive programme of works from 23 countries presents new focuses, little-known filmmaking countries and many debuts from around the globe. Thirty of the films – more than half of the programme – are world premieres.The Wolfgang Staudte Award Jury – which this year includes filmmakers Catherine Breillat (France) and Thomas Arslan (Germany) as well as Imruh Bakari (Tanzania), the director of t...