ÉCU's top 5 things to do in Paris in November Although the beginning of November is another milestone on the way to the deep midwinter, don’t despair! ÉCU has come up with a calendar of great things to do in and around Paris in the world of cinema. Even though the arrival of autumn spells the end of our Indian summer, thanks to the Festival d’Automne there will be lots to keep everyone’s mind off the gloom outside. Since 1972, the festival has offered challenging contemporary cul...

Suddenly, Paris has become a lot colder and it’s fair to say that autumn is definitely here to stay. Luckily though ÉCU hasn’t been spending much time in Paris at all this month! The first adventure abroad was when ÉCU went to Raindance in London in October to check out what is going on with Independent cinema on the other side of the channel. Almost straight away, the team was off again to host “ÉCU in Georgia”, which was a huge success. ÉCU was very proud to take some of its f...

“Charles Thompson is a Godsend. I’m fortunate to have started out in media under the tutelage of Charles almost a decade ago now. I was there when Screen Nation was in its infancy and I’m privileged to still be a part of it all albeit as a supporter of this year’s event where another of my mentors (Menelik Shabazz) will be rightly honoured also. I have a lot of time for Charles who in turn has shown a lot of time for me and for so many people in the film industry who would’ve taken g...

Silhouette Film Festival - Parc de Buttes Chaumont, Paris.   By Ed Millar and Jen Wallace An intrepid gang of ÉCUers made their way to the beautiful Parc de Buttes Chaumont to watch one night of the Silhouette Film Festival. The film festival is in its 10th year and is an outdoor event with films from all over the world projected onto an inflatable screen next to the lake. Here, ÉCU writers Jen and Ed, share their opinions on the festival and the films. Jen: ...

As the month of October starts in Paris and the hot heat of our long Indian summer continues, it’s strange to think that winter must be on its way. To make the most of this last flash of hot weather, ÉCU has found some of the best things to do in Paris this month, including some things based outdoors for the sunny days, but also some things indoors for the cold front which will probably hit us by the end of the month…   “Le festival Pariscience” is taking place from 7th...

 BELA TARR receives Lifetime Achievement Award at RIFF, 2011  The legendary, exemplary, unconventional and inspiring filmmaker Bela Tarr traveled from his native Hungary to Reykjavik, Iceland last week during the 8th annual Reykjavik International Film Festival (RIFF) to receive the honorary award for Lifetime Achievement for greatness in filmmaking. The president of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, awarded a statue of the nation's symbolic puffin to an emotionally touched Bela. The ce...

  BELA TARR receives Lifetime Achievement Award at RIFF, 2011    The legendary, exemplary, unconventional and inspiring filmmaker Bela Tarr traveled from his native Hungary to Reykjavik, Iceland last week during the 8th annual Reykjavik International Film Festival (RIFF) to receive the honorary award for Lifetime Achievement for greatness in filmmaking. The president of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, awarded a statue of the nation's symbolic puffin to an emotionally ...

ÉCU- The European Independent Film Festival is very excited to bring a selection of it’s award winning films from the past six years to Romania. The ÉCU Retrospective will be taking place between October 17th-22nd in Bucharest. ÉCU and Romania have a long history which began in 2006 with the director Catalin Leescu’s film being selected for the competition, and this was later followed by the film Tarantyno which won the award Best Actor at ÉCU 2010. The independent spirit in those fi...

Now that the ‘rentrée’ has officially begun and the whole of Paris is back at work, it is no surprise that ÉCU has been as busy as ever this month! As the days get shorter and the nights get longer and colder, it’s clear that the lazy summer is over and its time to start the build-up to our 2012 edition in earnest. The rain outside has given our judges a good opportunity to go through more and more of the fantastic films we are receiving from around the globe Away from the beginni...

http://www.festival-nachalo.ru/eng The last week of summer 2011 in St. Petersburg was marked by a very special event, a festival of short and animated films called "Open Cinema", which took place on 20th-28th August. More than 100 films from 30 countries were shown during more than thirty screenings in two cinemas and two open-air opening nights on the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress - one of the most beautiful places in St. Petersburg and in the very heart of the city Tamara La...

By Ed Millar September – the month of the rentrée, the end of the congés annuelles and the end of sheer self indulgence, right? Not necessarily. If you have a little bit of free time to spare, why not prolong your summer by enjoying yourself with ÉCU’s recommendations for September? Even if you haven’t read the quirky, best-selling book of the same name, you’re bound to love Freakonomics’, one of this month’s most remarkable documentaries. Released on September 14th, the f...

THE SKIN I LIVE IN is, more than anything, an Almodovar tribute to Almodovar. Utilizing his own colour schemes, offbeat interweaving narrative and shooting technique, THE SKIN I LIVE IN will easily become one of the main works by this long-standing Spanish director.   It tells the story of Robert Ledgard, portrayed by Antonio Banderas - on a much awaited return to the silver screen and in his native language - a brilliant plastic surgeon obsessed with creating a pain-resistant arti...