"Respect for life and human rights are  very important and I make movies addressing these issues because it is important for people as well as governments, not to repeat the errors of the past." Thus spake Francisco Manso, director of ‘The Consul of Bordeaux’ the 42nd IFFI's opening film which played to full houses at repeat screenings. Addressing  a crowded media meet at the Maquinez Palace on his birthday (the Lisbon born director turned 62 on November 28)  Man...

The 39th annual Hungarian Film Week (Magyar Film Szemle, 2008) got under way discretely this year on January 30 without the customary fanfare of a grand opening gala at the Budapest Convention Center. There was, consequently, no prestige opening film or the usual champagne banquet where one might rub elbows with some of the sacred cows of the local industry such as the Jancsos and the Szabos, or catch sight of a Hungarian movie star or two. Whether this is due to a drastic cutback in funding...