PRAGUE – ‘Men live in cities. Cities live in men too.’
This year Bombay filmmakers currently under post production with their feature film ‘PRAGUE’ (2012) are on a journey to visit the 65th Cannes Film Festival for this purple 'Prague' film’s first press bomb and their home production short titled-LEHENGA (The Skirt) being showcased at Short film corner.
This East (India) meets West (Czech Republic) story is a far cry from previous Indian/West hybrids of...
As the 65th Cannes Film Festival (May 16-27, 2012) approaches I am reminded of one of my all time favorite Palme d’Or winners, the French/Italian/Brazilian production of BLACK ORPHEUS (Orfeu Negro; 1959).
Directed by French director Marcel Camus, the film received worldwide critical acclaim. At home in Brazil, however, it received much criticism due to its cliché portrayal of Rio favela life; as if every day in such desperate poverty is solely a celebration of love and life. ...
'THE KILL HOLE'- An interview with Mischa, Chadwick and Tory.
‘The film begins with the title’, I always say, and in the case of the film THE KILL HOLE (2011), a better title could not have been chosen for this eccentric metaphysical drama by American director Mischa Webley. The film is about two diametrically opposed war veterans- Lt. Samuel Drake (played by Chadwick Boseman) and Sgt. Devin Carter (Tory Kittles)- who each experience their traumatic Iraq wa...
GENERATION P (2011)
One of the film's to screen at this year's GOEAST Film Festival in Wiesbaden, Germany is Russian film GENERATION P (2011) by Russian/American director Victor Ginzburg.
Based on the book by Russian writer Victor Pelevin, the film is directed by American/Russian director Victor Ginzburg. The film is about Babylen Tatarsky, a copywriter for a major advertising company in the late 90’s in Post-Soviet Russia. Babylen is put to the test by the advertising firm ...
The 12th annual 'GoEast' Film Festival begins today on April 18 and goes till April 24, 2012. The festival takes place in Wiesbaden, Germany and focuses on recent Central and Eastern European cinema. Filmmakers from all regions will attend to support their films and ten feature films and six documentaries will compete for prizes at goEast.
The festival will open with the film 'FOUR SUNS' (2011) by Bohdan Sláma from the Czech Republic.
**The filmmaker wh...
During the 14th Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, by far one of the most poignant films for me was the ensemble film: ‘5 Broken Cameras’ by Israeli director Guy Davidi and Palestinian director Emad Burnat. The story is about Palestinian farmer/filmmaker Emad Burnat who feels it his purpose in life to film the events taking place in his Palestinian village Bil’in while Israeli soldiers take over the village to build Israeli settlements.
What starts as peaceful d...
Victor Kossakovsky’s VIVAN LAS ANTIPODAS! (2011) –(LONG LIVE THE ANTIPODES!) premiered this year at the 68th Venice Film Festival and most recently screened to audiences at the 14th Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival. It is for me one of the most memorable documentaries since Ron Fricke’s BARAKA (1992), similar in form as a type of guided meditation which takes us ar...
The Hong Kong FILMART 2012 took place in the Convention & Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, Hong Kong from 19 - 22 March. The market's main focus is geared to focusing on Hong Kong as a crucial center for buying and selling of films and TV.
The overall feeling of this year's market outcome was very positive. Producers, sellers and buyers from all over the world attended the Filmart and most were pleasantly surprised by their success at Hong Kong’s young but rapidly growing in...
SHERIF MANDOUR, A Revolutionary Filmmaker in Revolutionary Egypt.
In the ancient land and rapidly transforming lifestyle of modern Egypt, producer Sherif Mandour is a man of his time. Apart from achieving worldwide acclaim, his last three films produced were predicting the revolution, a revolution from without and within.
Through his longtime career in cinema, Mandour had worn many hats as an actor, director, distributor, commercial voiceover, producer and most...
Middle East presence in Hong Kong during the 2012 HAF.
Alongside this year’s FILMART, Hong Kong’s key international TV and film market, HAF (Asia Film Financing Forum) Hong Kong took place from 19-21 March. HAF is an annual event where filmmakers from around the world are awarded prizes of up to HK$350K in development funds. This year eight awards were given to filmmakers for select projects that showed exceptional merit; these won prizes in money and an impetus for the advan...
Bladerunner at Fantasporto, 2012
What better film to be honored at a 'Fantastic' film festival than the classic Sci-Fi film Bladerunner (1982)! At the 32nd International Film Festival of Porto (Fantasporto), which took place February 20 to March 3, 2012, the film was screened as an homage to cinemas of the future.
Directed by Ridley Scott, the canonical film was based on the novel by Sci-Fi writer Philip K. Dick called: "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" about...
The 14th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (TDF); March 9 - 18, 2012.
For all news, press conferences, film reviews and interviews visit the official 14th TDF blog:
http://www.fest21.com/en/blog/thessaloniki
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The film DESERT RIDERS (2011) screened at the 14th Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival. Writer/Producer Noemi Weis attended the festival in support of the film.
DESERT RIDERS is about the trafficking of poor children to Middle Eastern countries who are forced into slavery as camel jockeys for the extremely lucrative business of camel racing. Many of the children have died during the races or suffered from malnutrition and are scarred for life. Due to pressure from me...
The Audience Award for a film over 45’ in the International Selection goes to:
ITALY, LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT by Gustav Hofer and Luca Ragazzi, Italy/Germany, 2011
14th TDF AWARDS!!!
The 14th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (TDF) took place from March 9 - 18, 2012.
The award ceremony took place on March 17th.
AUDIENCE AWARDS
The Audience Award for a film over 45’ in the International Selection goes to:
ITALY, LOVE IT...
One of the most eccentric films I have seen of late was the Japanese film GUILTY OF ROMANCE (恋の罪 Koi no Tsumi?, 2011) by auteur director Sono Shion. Reflecting the genre Japanese ‘pink cinema’, the film is about three women who find sexual freedom in unconventional ways through pink paint balloon tossing, prostitution and poetry. From the director of the films COLD FISH (2010) and HIMIZU (2011), Shion is not only a prolific director but one who shocks and pushes the envelope...
For news on Fantasporto 2012 - interviews, film reviews and festival reviews- read here:
http://www.fest21.com/en/blog/fantasporto
...
As another Oscar season has passed us by and three-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep has won yet another Academy Award for Best Actress, I think it's time to mention one of my favorite films of all time, one I must admit I watch once a month- OUT OF AFRICA (1985).
Why people so often refer to it as a ‘chick flick’ is beyond me when it is a Sydney Pollack film and one of Hollywood’s greatest canonic triumphs. Universal’s “Out of Africa”, which won the Oscar for B...
photo still from MIGHTY FINE (2011). Andie MacDowell and Chazz Palminteri
A few weeks ago during the 27th Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) I had the pleasure of sitting with the cast from Debbie Goodstein’s film MIGHTY FINE (2011) where the film held its North American premier. What started as an interview turned into a fascinating discussion about rage from the microcosm of American domestic life to the macrocosm of rage in the world at large. Here...
Beki Probst is the head of the EFM, European Film Market, for Berlinale since 1988.
Before this position, she worked for the Berlinale as the film festival’s delegate for Turkey and Greece for seven years. Beki was born in Istanbul, Turkey where as a student she studied law and journalism and wrote for Turkish newspapers ‘Tercuman’ and ‘Hayat’. It was when she moved in Switzerland in 1960 that her career in cinema began where she managed the ...
THE ARTIST (2011) wins Oscar gold for 'Best Picture' (producer Thomas Langmann), Michel Hazanavicius for Best Director, Jean Dujardin for Best Actor at the 84th Academy Awards!!!
Since the film’s Cannes premiere in 2011, it has received worldwide acclaim and most recently a Golden Globe for Best Picture by a musical/comedy, Best Actor for Jean Dujardiin, a nomination for Best Picture for the upcoming Academy Awards, 2012, and has most recently cleaned the award sl...
SAMSARA (2011) by filmmakers Ron Fricke and producer Mark Magidson is the follow-up to the epic non-narrative film BARAKA (1992), which made cinematic history twenty years ago with its arresting 70mm Panavision System images filmed in 24 countries. Described by director Ron Fricke as a ‘guided meditation’ BARAKA still has people dropping their jaw at the astonishing innovative camera work and intercutting of the haunting musical score. Now, the filmmakers bring the same camera and ...
Saili is a small man with a big heart who lives happily with his beautiful wife Vaaiga and her daughter Litia. Sadly however, the whole family is somewhat of an outcast; Saili because he has been denied his title and Vaaiga because, although her family wants her back, they cast her out years ago. In trying to stay peaceful and to themselves they only aggravate everyone else in the village and their lives as they know it become threatened unless they, namely Saili, speaks up to the powe...
The Artist (2011)…"It’s a love story and there’s a cute dog!"
French auteur Michel Hazanavicius of the film ‘The Artist’ (2011) was born 29 March 1967, and although few can pronounce his name correctly, everyone is talking about this tres talented French director. French actor Jean Dujardin calls the director ‘Michel Hazana-genius’; due to the film’s explosive worldwide success, it would appear that most agree to his work as ‘genius’ ind...
Martin Scorsese wins The American Riviera Award at the 27th Santa Barbara Film Festival.. “We have to keep this wonderful life-sustaining conversation going with cinema”.
On the night of January 30, 2012, the legendary director Martin Scorsese, whose latest film HUGO (2012) is nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, was awarded The American Riviera Award at the 27th Santa Barbara Film Festival (SBIFF) by celebrated actor Ben Kingsley. Before receiving the award, M...
Algerian director Fatma Zohra Zamoum (‘How Big is Your Love’, 2011); speaks.
The film ‘How Big is Your Love’
(Kedach ethabni, 2011) by writer/director/producer Fatma Zohra Zamoum is set in modern Algiers, Algeria. It is a touching tale about a young eight year-old boy, Adel, whose parents are in the midst of an irreconcilable separation, during which time Adel stays with his grandmother. To cope with the emotionally challenging situation, Adel finds an escape with...
McMahon Vanessa 
