The Virginia Film Festival announced today that it is adding five of the most highly-anticipated films of the season to its 25th Anniversary program, putting the exclamation point on a remarkable collection of more than 120 films to be presented from November 1-4 in Charlottesville.
The Virginia Film Festival is presented by the University of Virginia and its College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.
VFF Director Jody Kielbasa announced that the David O. Russell...
Australian actress Greta Scacchi will preside over an international jury of film personalities from around the world.
Her fellow jurists:
Véra Belmont, one of France's top producers, began her career as an actress but quickly sensed that her talent lay not in front of the camera but behind it. In 1966 she produced Paul Vecchiali's The Devil's Tricks and over four decades...
Director: Elise Kermani.
In Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex" Jocasta hangs herself shortly after finding out that Oedipus is both her husband and son. In Euripides' play "The Phoenician Women", Jocasta stays alive a little bit longer to try and reconcile her sons but stabs herself shortly after they kill each other during the war at Thebes.
But in Kermani's film "Jocasta", Jocasta stays alive after her sons' mutual murders to perform a sacrifice to save Thebes, and to satiate Ares' ancient fury of Kadmos' slaying of the dragon. Jocasta chooses the creative act of writing over suicide. Her ritual act remembers that Body is Presence (Plato's 'ousia' and Heidegger's 'Ereignis') and Jocasta reminds us that she (also known as Iocasta) is related to Io, the Great Cow goddess of Egypt.
The origins of writing are sacred manifestations of ousia/hestia...esti/Being. She reverses the taboo of incest, and reestablishes the symbollic image of mother and son.
Jocasta's sacrifice was inspired by an ancient Persian ritual of ingesting the Word to cure illness.
www.elisekermani.com/jocasta.html
www.elisekermani.com/thejocastaproject.html
Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards and Los Angeles Film Festival has announced the filmmakers and projects selected for its 11th annual Producers Lab. Sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the seven-week program takes place in Los Angeles and is designed to help producers improve their craft, and move their current projects into production in a nurturing, yet challenging creative environment. Film Independent has also awarde...
11th Japanese Film Festival, Frankfurt am Main April 27 - May 1, 2011
There's only a few weeks left to the starting shot of the eleventh Nippon Connection Film Festival and the preparations are in full swing. From April 27 to May 1, 2011 more than 100 of the latest Japanese short and feature films will find their way to Frankfurt, among them many international premieres with the film makers in attendance. The biggest festival of Japanese film is topped off by a rich and sens...
The Virginia Film Festival has announced that Josh Radnor's happythankyoumoreplease has captured the Audience Favorite Award for Best Narrative Feature for the recently-wrapped, and record-setting, 2010 Festival.
The Virginia Film Festival, which smashed previous records for both attendance and box office sales by 25% this year, is presented by the University of Virginia and its College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.
Radnor's happythankyoumoreplea...
The Virginia Film Festival has announced that Josh Radnor’s happythankyoumoreplease has captured the Audience Favorite Award for Best Narrative Feature for the recently-wrapped, and record-setting, 2010 Festival.The Virginia Film Festival, which smashed previous records for both attendance and box office sales by 25% this year, is presented by the University of Virginia and its College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.Radnor’s happythankyoumoreplease, which played to a full house at th...
The capacity crowds suggested it. The enthusiasm around town supported it. And now the numbers prove it! The Virginia Film Festival, which wrapped up an extraordinary, jam-packed weekend featuring 132 films and events for the whole community to enjoy, has shattered its all-time records in both attendance and sales.The Virginia Film Festival is presented by the University of Virginia’s College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.By the time the final credits rolled on its last film late Sund...
Virginia Film Festival Director Jody Kielbasa today unveiled a new graphic identity for the festival during a special event at the Paramount Theater. Also at the event, Kielbasa announced that legendary film artist Peter Bogdanovich has accepted an invitation to become the 2010 Virginia Film Festival Fellow. In this role, the revered director, writer, actor, producer, film historian and critic will lead special film lectures for students at the University of Virginia in addition to participatin...
by Sandy Mandelberger, Online Dailies Editor One cannot contemplate the accomplishments of Polish cinema without acknowledging the singular contribution of Krzysztof Zanussi, who is the subject of a retrospective tribute at the ERA New Horizons International Film Festival, taking place in Wroclaw, Poland this week. Not only will the master director’s best-known films be screened, but the Festival programmers have unearthed early short films and television works that have not been seen i...
Dailies Editor One cannot contemplate the accomplishments of Polish cinema without acknowledging the singular contribution of Krzysztof Zanussi, who is the subject of a retrospective tribute at the ERA New Horizons International Film Festival, taking place in Wroclaw, Poland this week. Not only will the master director’s best-known films be screened, but the Festival programmers have unearthed early short films and television works that have not been seen in decades. Zanussi was born in Wars...
Celestial Pictures today announced the appointment of Mr. Ross Pollack to the position of Chief Executive Officer. Ross joins Celestial from Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), where he enjoyed a long and varied career. He has a B.A degree in International Business from Pace University, New York and has an MBA in International Finance and Japanese from Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management.Ross held a number of positions at SPE including SVP, Sales Planning for Son...
Eastman Kodak Company announced today that its Board of Directors has elected Kimberly Snyder as a Vice President of the company, effective immediately. Snyder, 45, was last week named President and General Manager of Kodak's Entertainment Imaging business in the Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group. She is responsible for all aspects of Kodak's business with the motion picture and television industry. This includes both the traditional film technologies used to capture and print moving ...
7 lsland International Film Festival opens with film “ Weapons of Mass Deception” 7 lsland International Film Festival starting from January 26, 2006, Republic day of India was open with a recorded message from Hon Abul Kalam, the president of India and & smt. Kiran Bedi. Veteran actor Shri A.K.Hangal was present and delivered a speech about importance of non violence & shared his experiences during freedom movement of India. Mr. Hangal was given a warm apologue for recent announcement of...
