Filmfestivals.com articles http://www.filmfestivals.com/ ---lang_text--- Copyright (c) 1995-2002, Filmfestivals Entertainment Group Feb 5 2012 12:00AM <name>Talented Cinematographer to Discuss Creativity, Story and Back-to-Back Oscar Noms</name> News People Createasphere's Spring Entertainment Technology Expo - the top gathering of entertainment and media professionals, technical innovators, and content experts on the West Coast showcasing emerging media trends in production, post, animation, VFX, advertising, and streaming content - announced renowned cinematographer and Oscar nominee Jeff Cronenweth, ASC as the keynote, Visions of Oscar: Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, How Collaboration and Talent Gets The Story Told. The keynote will take place on March 1st at LA Center Studios.
 Createasphere's Spring Entertainment Technology Expo - the top gathering of entertainment and media professionals, technical innovators, and content experts on the West Coast showcasing emerging media trends in production, post, animation, VFX, advertising, and streaming content - announced renowned cinematographer and Oscar nominee Jeff Cronenweth, ASC as the keynote, Visions of Oscar: Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, How Collaboration and Talent Gets The Story Told. The keynote will take place on March 1st at LA Center Studios.

Cronenweth is nominated for an Academy Award in Cinematography for his work on David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. He is also nominated for an American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Award and a BAFTA. The Academy nomination is Cronenweth's second, following last year's The Social Network nod. Cronenweth's career launched at the dawn of music videos, gaining far-reaching acclaim for his work on groundbreaking videos for artists as diverse as U2, Michael Jackson, Nine Inch Nails, Shakira, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, No Doubt, Massive Attack, Moby and Macy Gray. He has won MTV, CLIO and MVPA cinematography awards. Cronenweth is known for utilizing dim-lit, close-up, long-shot filming of scenes, as exemplified in Fight Club as well as many of the music videos and commercials he has worked on. "Whether we were inside or outside, we always wanted to keep a shallow depth of field to keep the audience focused on what we wanted them to see," says Cronenweth of his Fight Club technique.

In addition to his feature work, which includes Down With Love, K-19: The Widowmaker and One Hour Photo, Cronenweth is an award-winning commercial director. He and his brother Tim founded The Cronenweths, working out of the production company Untitled. The pair collaborate on spots and music videos. Their spot work includes popular ads for Jeep, Adidas, Nike, Apple, Gatorade, Gap, Master Card, Verizon and Tommy Hilfiger.

In addition to collaborations with Fincher, Cronenweth has worked with such visionary directors as Kathryn Bigelow, Michel Gondry, Mark Romanek, Zack Snyder, Sophie Muller, Spike Jonze, Jake Scott, Phil Joanou and many more.

A Los Angeles native - and son of the legendary director of photography Jordan Cronenweth, ASC - Cronenweth is known for his ability to take new technologies into projects in service to the story. The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo were both shot with the RED Mysterium camera and he is equally adept in film and other formats. At the core of his artistic approach is a fierce dedication to the vision of the director and visually complementing the story.

Registration for the keynote discussions at Createasphere's Entertainment Technology Expo is required, as space is limited. This one-day event is designed as a technology summit with top-level presenters, offering a unique and engaging opportunity to explore the intersection of future technologies in service to creativity. &#8232;&#8232;For further information and registration visit www.createasphere.com/ete or call 818.842.6611.
 David Cronenberg http://www.filmfestivals.comhttp://www.filmfestivals.com/pixus/festivals/cahiers_cinema/cronenberg1.jpg Jan 25 2012 12:00AM <name>LA Fest appoints Stephanie Allain, producer with stellar track record</name> News People Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Spirit Awards, announced the selection of accomplished film producer Stephanie Allain as its new Los Angeles Film Festival Director, starting immediately.
She succeeds Rebecca Yeldham, who recently elected to step down for personal reasons. Stephanie will be working closely with Festival Managing Director Gloria Campbell and Festival Artistic Director David Ansen, as well as Associate Director of Programming Doug Jones, Senior Programmer Maggie Mackay and Programming Coordinator Jenn Wilson.


"Stephanie has served on the Film Independent Board of Directors since 2007 and been involved in many aspects of the organization. She's chaired the Spirit Awards Nominating Committee and been a huge supporter of Project Involve, as well as our year-round educational programs," said Co-President Sean Mc Manus. "Stephanie has a clear vision for the Festival, a stellar track record as a producer and a deep commitment to the Festival&#700;s filmmaker-centric focus."





 



Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Spirit Awards, announced the selection of accomplished film producer Stephanie Allain as its new Los Angeles Film Festival Director, starting immediately.

She succeeds Rebecca Yeldham, who recently elected to step down for personal reasons. Stephanie will be working closely with Festival Managing Director Gloria Campbell and Festival Artistic Director David Ansen, as well as Associate Director of Programming Doug Jones, Senior Programmer Maggie Mackay and Programming Coordinator Jenn Wilson.





"Stephanie has served on the Film Independent Board of Directors since 2007 and been involved in many aspects of the organization. She's chaired the Spirit Awards Nominating Committee and been a huge supporter of Project Involve, as well as our year-round educational programs," said Co-President Sean Mc Manus. "Stephanie has a clear vision for the Festival, a stellar track record as a producer and a deep commitment to the Festival&#700;s filmmaker-centric focus."





"We so appreciate all that Rebecca has done to grow the Los Angeles Film Festival into what it is today, and usher it into its new, vibrant home downtown. Rebecca&#700;s creativity, taste, and warmth attracted top-notch filmmakers to the Festival, and she departs with a world-class curatorial team in place," said Co-President Josh Welsh. "To have Stephanie carry on Rebecca&#700;s great work and build upon it is a dream come true."





"My passion for Film Independent has only grown over the years, and I couldn&#700;t be happier to become even more involved in an organization that puts filmmakers first and supports them in specific and tangible ways," said Stephanie. "The Los Angeles Film Festival is a unique celebration of cinema and a hub for filmmakers and film lovers, especially for those of us who live and work in the film industry. I can&#700;t wait to dive in and develop creative ways in which we can expand the Festival and its programs." Stephanie Allain is a film producer and former studio executive who has been an advocate for visionary filmmakers for more than two decades. As a Columbia Pictures executive, she was instrumental in the making of John Singleton&#700;s Boyz n The Hood, which garnered him two Academy AwardŽ nominations and set the bar for contemporary urban dramas. She spent a decade at the studio launching the careers of first-time filmmakers including Singleton, Robert Rodriguez and Darnell Martin. Several of the films she supervised, including Desperado and I Like It Like That, garnered awards at the Cannes, Telluride and Sundance film festivals. During her tenure at Columbia Pictures, she rose through the ranks to become Senior Vice President of Production-the highest creative production position for an African-American for over a decade.






 



From 1996-2000, Allain served as President of Jim Henson Pictures, where she produced Muppets From Space, Elmo In Grouchland and Caroline Thompson&#700;s Buddy. In 2000, she headed production at 3 Arts Entertainment, producing Biker Boyz and Good Boy! In 2004, she formed her own production company, Homegrown Pictures, and produced Craig Brewer&#700;s Hustle & Flow, which won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, an Academy AwardŽ for Best Original Song and earned a Film Independent Spirit Award and Academy AwardŽ Best Actor nomination for Terrence Howard.



In 2005, she produced Sanaa Hamri&#700;s directorial debut, Something New, for Focus Features, with the film earning two nominations for the NAACP Awards. She also produced Brewer&#700;s Black Snake Moan, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci. In 2008, Allain traveled to her native New Orleans to produce Hurricane Season, starring Forest Whitaker and Taraji P. Henson, for The Weinstein Company. Most recently, she produced Tina Gordon Chism&#700;s directorial debut, We The Peeples, starring Craig Robinson and Kerry Washington, which will be released by Lionsgate in 2013.



Allain is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America. She recently sat on the Board of Film Independent and currently serves on the Board of Women In Film. She has chaired the Spirit Awards Nominating Committee, juried numerous festivals and has taught at USC&#700;s Peter Stark Program and the Entertainment Studies Division of UCLA. She lives in Los Angeles with her composer husband, Stephen Bray, and their fast emptying nest.


Stephanie Allain http://www.filmfestivals.com/pixus/festivals/generic/StephanieAllain.jpg Jan 20 2012 12:00AM <name>Nanni Moretti to preside the Jury of the 65th Festival de Cannes</name> News People "As a director, I was always very moved when my films were presented at the Festival de Cannes. I also have very happy memories of my experience as a jury member during the fiftieth anniversary season, and of the attentiveness and passion that went into the jury's viewing and discussion of all the films.
As a spectator, fortunately I still have the same curiosity that I had in my youth and so it is a great privilege for me to embark on this voyage into the world of contemporary international film." Nanni Moretti will be President of the Jury of the 65th Festival de Cannes to be held from May 16 to 27, 2012.

When accepting the invitation, the Italian actor and director said: "This is a real joy, an honour and a tremendous responsibility to preside over the jury of the most prestigious festival of cinematography in the world, a festival that is held in a country where film has always been treated with interest and respect.
As a director, I was always very moved when my films were presented at the Festival de Cannes. I also have very happy memories of my experience as a jury member during the fiftieth anniversary season, and of the attentiveness and passion that went into the jury's viewing and discussion of all the films.
As a spectator, fortunately I still have the same curiosity that I had in my youth and so it is a great privilege for me to embark on this voyage into the world of contemporary international film."

Nanni Moretti was born in 1953 in Brunico, Italy. After several short films, he signed his first feature, Io Sono un Autarchico (I am Self Sufficient) in 1976, and in 1978, he was selected in Competition in Cannes, with Ecce Bombo.

International film critics were quick to pick up on this young director whose corrosive wit was directed toward a subtle and political analysis of contemporary society. His films were frequent prize winners in festivals around the world: in 1981, the Special Jury Prize in Venice was awarded to Sogni d'Oro (Golden Dreams) and La Messa č finita (The Mass is Ended) won the Silver Bear in Berlin in 1986.
A director in constant evolution, a auteur with a personal touch, and an accomplished artist, Nanni Moretti has continued to surprise, with Caro Diario (Dear Diary) presented in Competition at the Festival de Cannes in 1994 (where it won the Prize for Best Director) and with La Stanza del figlio (The Son's Room), which won the Palme d'Or in 2001 and was a box office hit. Then came Il Caimano (The Caiman) (2006), a film that harshly criticizes the aberrations of Italian political life in the era of Silvio Berlusconi.

An iconic actor in most of his own films, Moretti has also played in the Taviani brothers' Padre Padrone (Father and Master) (1977), and worked with Luchetti, Mazzacurati and Calopresti. A director but also a producer and distributor, he founded the production company Sacher Film in 1986. In 1991, he opened the Nuovo Sacher cinema in Rome, a cinema dedicated to the release of films from around the world. Since 1996, he has directed the "Sacher Festival" devoted to short films.

He has presented six films at the Festival de Cannes, including last year's highly praised Habemus Papam (We Have a Pope).

Gilles Jacob received the new president's acceptance with the words: "When we decided to put Ecce Bombo-a super 8 film!-into Competition when I first arrived in 1978, it was because I had a premonition that Nanni Moretti would soon become NANNI MORETTI. This is what happened and I am so gratified to have had this long and affectionate collaboration."

Thierry Frémaux, for his part, said: "The Festival wanted to celebrate its 65th season with a European jury President. High-spirited and marked by his modernity and intelligence, Nanni Moretti's films are the incarnation of all the best in cinema over the past thirty years. His work is always evolving and continues to carry the promise of film that engages with the world and with our times."
 Nanni Moretti 200 150 http://www.filmfestivals.com/pixus/festivals/venice/2001/nannimoretti2.jpg Jan 12 2012 12:00AM <name>IFFR to honor Finnish film maker Peter von Bagh</name> News People IFFR to honor Finnish film maker, film historian and festival director Peter von Bagh

The International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012 will pay tribute to Peter von Bagh by presenting a selection of his films, as well as showing three rare classics from Finnish cinema history that have been essential in his oeuvre. The tribute program, with Peter von Bagh in attendance, will be part of IFFR's main Signals section.
 IFFR to honor Finnish film maker, film historian and festival director Peter von Bagh

The International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012 will pay tribute to Peter von Bagh by presenting a selection of his films, as well as showing three rare classics from Finnish cinema history that have been essential in his oeuvre. The tribute program, with Peter von Bagh in attendance, will be part of IFFR's main Signals section.
With over fifty film titles under his belt, Peter von Bagh may still be the better known in his other persona: as writer of more than twenty books, as television presenter, as artistic director of the Midnight Sun Festival in Sodankyla, which he co-founded in 1986 with the Kaurismäki brothers and as well Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna, since 2001. He also is editor-in-chief, since 1971, of the 'Filmihullu' magazine, and a professor of film history in the Helsinki University of Arts.
Never simple history lessons, his films usually draw on Finnish history. IFFR will present eleven feature length films and four short films by Peter von Bagh, including KREIVI (THE COUNT, 1971), his first feature film - and his only fictional work to date - and his latest work, LASTUJA - TAITEILIJASUVUN VUOSISATA (SPLINTERS - A CENTURY OF AN ARTISTIC FAMILY, 2011) that shows a family like a nation. Finland's painful path to independence, its development from a poor rural backwater to a prime example of progress and liberalism as seen through three generations of the Ahos family consisting of pioneering artist in cinema, literature, painting and more.
The selection also includes the other production that Von Bagh finshed this year, being MIKKO NISKANEN - OHJAAJA MATKALLA IHMISEKSI (THE STORY OF MIKKO NISKANEN, 2010), his portrait of the legendary Finnish filmmaker, a too-little-known master of world cinema and a sketch of a typical 20th century person's struggles and doubts.
IFFR is also very glad to present in this context, the international premiere of the original version of Mikko Niskanen's masterpiece KAHDEKSAN SURMANLUOTIA (EIGHT DEADLY SHOTS, 1972), originally produced as a TV series, based on a certain Tauno Veikko Pasanen who shot four police officers, in which Niskanen himself plays the main role.
The program Signals: Peter von Bagh has been curated by Olaf Möller.
The IFFR's festival program consists of three main sections: Bright Future - idiosyncratic and adventurous new work by novice makers, including the Tiger Awards Competitions -, Spectrum - new and recent work by experienced film makers and artists who provide, in the opinion of the IFFR, an essential contribution to international film culture -, and Signals, a series of thematic programs and retrospectives offering insight in topical as well as timeless ideas within cinema.
Thursday January 19 the full IFFR 2012 lineup will be published as a supplement to Dutch national newspaper de Volkskrant and online on www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com.

Signals: Peter von Bagh, line-up of films:
Feature films

LASTUJA - TAITEILIJASUVUN VUOSISATA (SPLINTERS - A CENTURY OF AN ARTISTIC FAMILY)
Finland, 2011, 74'
A century of development, starting in the era of Finland's nascent nationalism, when the country still belonged to Tsarist Russia, ending in the heydays of post-WWII liberalism, when it was hip to be Scandinavian among the moderate Euro-left. A meditation on memory and heritage.

MIKKO NISKANEN - OHJAAJA MATKALLA IHMISEKSI (THE STORY OF MIKKO NISKANEN)
Finland, 2010, 178'
Portrait of a genius as a troubled human being trying his best to find a way through life. A documentary about a too- little- known master of world cinema; an epic sketch of the typical 20th century person's struggles and doubts. Within Signals:Peter von Bagh, IFFR screens Niskanen's EIGHT DEADLY SHOTS.

SODANKYLÄ IKUISESTI. ELOKUVAN VUOSISATA (SODANKYLÄ FOREVER: THE CENTURY OF CINEMA)
Finland, 2010, 90'
Since 1969, masters of cinema have shown their films at the legendary Midnight Sun Film Festival and talked about their art. With choice moments from several hundred hours of these talks, Von Bagh created a heavenly symposium on cinema as the most decent way to walk the earth.

HELSINKI, IKUISESTI (HELSINKI FOREVER)
Finland, 2008, 74'
Helsinki vu par Peter von Bagh: a vision of Finland's capital through the ages, created with pictures and sounds from myriads of films, newsreels and songs. A stunning achievement - an epic of time regained and lost again.

MIES VARJOSSA (MAN IN THE SHADOWS)
Co-Directors: Elina Katainen & Iikka Vehkalahti)
Finland, 1994, 165'
Otto Wille Kuusinen - communist, traitor, political survivor, is one of the most disputed characters of Finnish history. Von Bagh's most journalistic work: a study of common corruption, the smashing of one human being's soul.

VUOSI 1939 (THE YEAR 1939)
Finland, 1993, 107'
In 1939, Finland was preparing for a 1940 Helsinki Olympics that wouldn't happen, as well as for a war that indeed would. A collage of a moment in time filled with nothing but extremes. A profound meditation on doubt, sorrow and hope against all odds.

VIIMEINEN KESÄ 1944 (LAST SUMMER 1944)
Finland, 1992, 105'
A plunge into the last months of Finland's WWII in all its tired gruesomeness. A fugue of dour, sad, doubt-ridden, sorrow-filled faces, confessions and oratorical detours, an in memoriam of a time and people gone by. A masterpiece of AV oral history.

VUOSI 1952 (THE YEAR 1952)
Finland, 1980, 120'
In 1952, Helsinki finally hosted the Summer Olympics, which marked the beginning of the nation's postwar regeneration. It was a good year for many things. A masterpiece of cinematic collage, with a surprising flow and cheerfulness.

SINITAIVAS - MATKA MUISTOJEN MAISEMAAN (BLUE SKY - JOURNEY INTO THE LAND OF MEMORIES)
Finland, 1978, 71'
The dance pavilion considered as the centre of social life, with the Finnish tango as the key to the collective unconscious - the dream life of the nation. One of the few honest monuments to popular culture. Simply lovely, and genuinely moving.

PAAVO NURMI - MIES JA AIKA (PAAVO NURMI - THE MAN AND HIS TIMES)
Co-Director: Markku Koski
Finland, 1978, 61'
Paavo Nurmi is a sports legend, a name people know to this day. For Finland, Nurmi was an ideal, an axiom of the nation's spirit - which includes his failings as well. A rigorously composed high mass for an icon maudit.

KREIVI (THE COUNT)
Finland, 1971, 92'
Portrait of a real-life swindler - played by himself! Von Bagh's feature debut: a weird 'n wild mix of fact and fiction, documentary scenes and exuberant reconstructions of purportedly true-life events, full of lewd humour and driven by a good-natured humanism. A true discovery!


Short films
AJAN DRAMA (DRAMA OF TIME)
Finland, 1986, 15'
A brief essay on time triggered by a hostage crisis drowned in blood. A fine cinematic exercise in philosophy. Screened before A Time of Roses.

FAARAOIDEN MAA (LAND OF THE PHARAOHS)
Finland, 1988, 29'
Sights and tunes from postwar Finland interspersed with quotes from Mika Waltari's classic Sinuhe egyptiläinen (1945). An astonishing exercise in reading history - in more than one sense.

PÄIVÄ KARL MARXIN HAUDALLA (A DAY AT KARL MARX'S GRAVE)
Finland, 1983, 16'
A hundred years after the great 19th-century German philosopher's demise, ordinary people from some 20 nations talk about his legacy. To the people, Marx is still alive.

OLAVI VIRTA
Finland, 1972, 30'
Olavi Virta, Finnish tango's greatest voice, as an old, lost and lonely man. Time as the great leveller in all its morose unforgivingness.

POCKPICKET ELI KATKELMIA HELSINKILAISEN PORVARISNUOREN ELÄMÄSTÄ (POCKPICKET - RECOLLECTIONS OF A HELSINKI BOURGEOIS YOUTH)
Co-Director: Pertti Maisala
Finland, 1968, 18'
Bresson topsy-turvy: the desolate rich put money into the pockets of the needy. Hilarious, and politically perversely poignant.

Films by other filmmakers:

KAHDEKSAN SURMANLUOTIA (EIGHT DEADLY SHOTS) by Mikko Niskanen
Finland, 1972, 316'
A poor farmer tries to get by, but fails. Blood is shed, not out of malice, but simple desperation. A raw exposé on human degradation and deprivation. A work of Zola-esque violence and grandeur, shown here in its ultra-rare, 5h+ original version. The greatest Finnish film ever.

SF- PARAATI by Yrjö Norta
Finland, 1939, 86'
A musical comedy about a singing cabby and a singing tourist guide in Helsinki which, if viewed with discernment, presents all of Finland's contradictions and problems in its most troubled moment. An X-ray of an era - and a true Von Bagh favourite.

RUUSUJEN AIKA (A TIME OF ROSES) by Risto Jarva
Finland, 1969, 108'
In 2012, a historian/artist tries to recreate the life of a loose woman from the 1970s - and gets lost in a hall of mirrors of his own creation. Quite frightening to see this film now: back in 1969, it was a dystopia - now, it's daily life as we know it. An under-appreciated gem!
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