Miguel Gomes’ feature film ‘Tabu’ has won the Grand Prix for Best Film at the 39th Ghent Film Festival. The international festival jury, chaired by Joan Dupont, announced the results of the jury’s deliberations at Ghent’s town hall. The other films that received awards are Olivier Assayas’ feature film, ‘Après Mai’ (Best Music and Sound Design) and the short films ‘As Ondas’ by Miguel Fonseca (Best European Short Film) an...

  Being a juror for the Competition Section of the Cannes Film Festival is quite the honor. It is perhaps second only to an Oscar nomination in terms of industry prestige and clout. But let’s remember that it is not simply red carpet appearances and having one too many glasses of French champagne at all-night beach orgies. Jurors must view all the films in the Shorts and Features competition titles, which run to more than 30 films total. And then there is the inevitable debate to deter...

The Jury of the Competition, presided over by Robert De Niro (actor, director, producer) welcomes to its ranks: Martina GUSMAN (actress and producer, Argentina) Nansun SHI (producer, Hong Kong/China) Uma THURMAN (actress, scriptwriter, producer, USA) Linn ULLMANN (writer,literary critic, Norway) Olivier ASSAYAS (director, France) Jude LAW (actor, producer, UK) Mahamat Saleh HAROUN (director, Chad) Johnnie TO (director, producer, Hong Kong/China) Martina Gusman stud...

  Film Comment, the highly respected film magazine that is the publishing initiative of New York's Film Society of Lincoln Center, has thrown its hat into the ring of the current awards season with an announcement this week of its Top Ten Films of the Year. Since the film journal is known for its international and eclectic taste, the list is not a carbon copy of the ones that are the mainstay of the awards roundelay, but point to lesser known titles that are worthy of greater attention....

  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...

THE PLEASURE OF BEING ROBBED You've heard of the Warner brothers and the Baldwin brothers.....well, make way for the Safdie brothers, the directorial team of Benny and Josh Safdie, American indie's dynamic duo. The BAMcinématek located at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York has turned the asylum over to the inmates for the eclectic film series titled Emotional Sloppy Manic Cinema: Films Directed and Selected by Benny and Josh Safdie. The series, a collection of 19...

Fifteen films from seventeen countries to participate in Zabaltegi-New Directors All will contend for the Kutxa-New Directors Award, carrying €90,000 The two Spanish movies included in the Section are 'Blog', by Elena Trapé, and 'Izarren Argia', by Mikel Rueda Fifteen films from seventeen countries will participate in the Zabaltegi-New Directors Section at the 58th San Sebastian Festival. They will compete for the Kutxa-New Directors Award alongside another two ti...

Official Selection Poetry by Lee Chang-dong 8.30 19.00 Synopsis Mija lives with her middle-schooler grandson in a small suburban city located along the Han River. She is a dandy old lady who likes to dress up in flower-decorated hats and fashionable outfits, but she is also an unpredictable character with an inquisitive mind. By chance she takes a ‘poetry’ class at a neighborhood cultural center and is challenged to write a poem for the first time in her life. Her quest for poetic inspi...

The ERA New Horizons International Film Festival has a reverence for “film as art”. This is indeed the focus of the FILMS ABOUT ART International Competition, which will present 14 feature documentaries from around the world. An international jury will award a prize of 10,000 euros, with a guarantee of distribution in Poland. Peter Greenaway, who will be at the Festival tomorrow to deliver a lecture on film and art, will present his latest film REMBRANDT’S J’ACCUSE, which uses the famed...

  by Sandy Mandelberger, Online Dailies Editor The ERA New Horizons International Film Festival has a reverence for “film as art”. This is indeed the focus of the FILMS ABOUT ART International Competition, which will present 14 feature documentaries from around the world. An international jury will award a prize of 10,000 euros, with a guarantee of distribution in Poland.  Peter Greenaway, who will be at the Festival tomorrow to deliver a lecture on film and...

  by Sandy Mandelberger, Film New York Editor Summer is the traditional time at movie multiplexes for blockbuster films from the Hollywood studios that tend to focus more on explosions and special effects than effective storylines. While there is no denying the box office clout of such films as TRANSFORMERS, TERMINATOR SALVATION and WOLVERINE, there are some less deafening art films that are also being released on American screens. Call it counter-programming, a strategy of offering a breather ...

At mid point of the 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival, the oldest in North America, films from European directors have been making the most impact. With its cosmopolitan air and its distinctive European ex-pat communities, San Francisco is not only a destination for European artists but also a place to sample the best of the new European cinema. Most of the European films on display are congregated in the World Cinema section. Among the highlights from European talents: BULLET IN TH...

 TROUBLED WATER  At mid point of the 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival, the oldest in North America, films from European directors have been making the most impact. With its cosmopolitan air and its distinctive European ex-pat communities, San Francisco is not only a destination for European artists but also a place to sample the best of the new European cinema. Most of the European films on display are congregated in the World Cinema section. ...

Saturday, September 27-----As newspapers drop local film critics and rely on syndicated national opionionmakers, what is the role of the film critic in today's go-go film culture? Can film critics help a more specialized film find its audience? Is the existence of film critics online and the notion that anyone with a blog receives instant critical entitlement dilute the discerning talents of the critical establishment?   These and other issues will be examined at the first of...

 Wednesday, March 21------Despite soggy weather and a rather unenthusiastic response to most films at the Cannes Film Festival, there are a number of deals to announce for European films that have found homes with U.S. distributors. The films, all screening in either the official sections of the Festival or in the Cannes Film Market, will all be released theatrically in the United States in the next few months.IFC Films has been among the busiest companies on the Croisette. The company has acqu...

Only six weeks before the opening of the 6th Sacramento French Film Festival, on Friday July 20.Have a taste of the SFFF right now. Join us at the Crest this Saturday, June 9, for the 8:15pm screening of PARIS, JE T’AIME, the much-discussed homage to Paris the “City of Lights.”Eighteen different directors and a slew of indie actors came together for PARIS, JE T'AIME, a cinematic homage to the City of Lights. Each director presents his or her own short story set in a different Parisian quar...

LESLIE SHATZ WINS PRIX VULCAIN AT THE 58THCANNES FILM FESTIVALAt the closing ceremonies for the 58th Cannes Film Festival Saturday, May 21, 2005 the Commission Superieure Technique de l’Image et du Son (CST) decided unanimously to bestow it’s prestigious Prix Vulcain de l'Artiste-Technicien, to Leslie Shatz for his sublimely minimalist sound design on Gus Van Sant’s LAST DAYS. Shatz shared the award with Robert Rodriguez for his visual treatment on SIN CITY. >From 1951 to 2000, a jury comp...

Films, Day 10In compétitionCLEAN by Olivier ASSAYAS THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS by Stephen HOPKINS Out of compétitionBREAKING NEWS by Johnnie TOHENRI LANGLOIS THE PHANTOM OF THE CINEMATHEQUE by Jacques RICHARD I DIED IN CHILDHOOD... by Georgiy PARADJANOV NOTRE MUSIQUE by Jean-Luc GODARD Un certain regardALEXANDRIE... NEW YORK by Youssef CHAHINE SCHIZO by Guka OMAROVACannes ClassicsTHE BIG RED ONE by Samuel FULLER...

Films Day 10In compétitionCLEAN Olivier ASSAYAS THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS Out of compétitionBREAKING NEWS Johnnie TOI DIED IN CHILDHOOD... Georgiy PARADJANOVHENRI LANGLOIS THE PHANTOM OF THE CINEMATHEQUE Jacques RICHARDUn certain regardSCHIZO Guka OMAROVA SCHIZO ALEXANDRIE... NEW YORK Youssef CHAHINECannes Classics THE BIG RED ONE Samuel FULLER ...