Another interesting film festival destination in Europe would be of course Spain and since I am in the FIPRESCI Jury of Gijon International Festival right now I wouldn’t be allowed to talk about film selection just yet, then I would just stress out that Gijon International Film Festival 2012 www.gijonfilmfestival.com in spite of the recent difficulties due to a dismissed previous director of the festival and his petitioned support by Almodovar, Egoyan, Solonz etc… of a world cinema,...
“Spanish Dracula” by Gary Lucas is a project comprising solo guitar compositions as accompaniment to the famous Spanish film “Dracula” made in 1931.
The project's premiere took place during the 31st Havana Film Festival, where it was named a spectacular hit. It was also presented during the London Jazz Festival at the Queen Elisabeth Hall and turned into a success, crowned with a 4-star review in “The Guardian”. The performance was also appreciated in other places in t...
In CARLOS, the riveting and expansive 5 1/2-hour biopic of the charismatic 1970s terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, writer/director Olivier Assayas relies on a dizzying cinematic style that is also punctuated by the punk music that characterized the rebellion of the age in which he lived. Music and visuals are among the many pallettes that Assayas has used with great fidelity and skill throughout his diverse and diverting 25-year career. As an added panache to the theatrical release o...
Mugabe and the White African, one of the films in this year's Soundtrack International Film and Music Festival (Nov 18-22 http://www.soundtrackfilmfestival.com/) has been shortlisted for an Oscar, adding more prestige to a festival described by Danny Boyle as "crucial".
The powerful and intimate feature-length documentary about the Mugabe regime is amongst the 15 Documentary Features shortlisted for an Academy Award, hoping to make it onto the final five list ready for t...
"The exploding role of music in the soundtrack of our digital lives means a festival like this is crucial." These are the words of Slumdog Millionaire Oscar winning Director Danny Boyle who showcased his much acclaimed Mumbai spectacular at last year's first Soundtrack International Film and Music Festival. The programme for this year's Soundtrack (Nov 18-22 soundtrackfilmfestival.com) was announced this week with another strong playlist of live music performances, exclusive screenin...
The 55th San Sebastian International Film Festival, to take place from 20-29 September, will present a retrospective of work by the French director, Philippe Garrel. One of the most independent figures on the French movie scene, direct descendent of the nouvelle vague, but also of Robert Bresson and Jean Eustache, Philippe Garrel has woven a career started in 1964 ranging from isolationist cinema to portraying important fragments of recent history, while reflecting on couples, drugs and the maki...
The second time was twice as nice - it's raining prizes at the conclusion of the Berlinale Talent Campus"This is one of the most important initiatives for the future of the Berlinale" - commented Director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, Cold Mountain) about the second Berlinale Talent Campus. Yesterday the Campus concluded with a large Farewell Party at which two prizes were awarded: The Argentinian Martin Romanella won the Talent Movie of the Week with his film Funeral Etiquette. The w...
The International Film Festival has created a new series in its Official Programme: the Berlinale Special. In it the latest works of great filmmakers will be screened as well as reshowings of important film works, and productions related to the Festival’s special focuses or to particularly explosive political topics.This year’s series includes three reshowings, the most recent films of master directors Peter Greenaway and Ermanno Olmi, two productions examining the political past, and three ...
