By LINDSAY R. BELLINGER
"Unforgiven", the new film from Armenian-Russian director Sarik Andreasyan was the the opening film of Oldenburg International Film Festival this year. We had a packed house for this affecting Russian production that surely left its mark. The story is based on the tragic and true events surrounding the life of Vitaly Kaloyev and his family before and after the disastrous Überlingen mid-air collision. It was an emotional journey,...
By LINDSAY R. BELLINGER
20 countries and nearly 50 films will be shown this year at the landmark 25th anniversary of the Oldenburg International Film Festival, which began last night in the quaint and picturesque city of Oldenburg, in Northwest Germany. It runs from September 12-16 at various venues throughout the city. The festival first began as an alternative film festival with a focus on independent and out of the ordinary cinema from the United Sta...
By LINDSAY R. BELLINGER
Well, the second day of the Fantasy Filmfest came and went. It had its ups and its downs. Let's start with the good even though it was at times a tad confusing. Irish director-writer Anthony Byrne co-wrote "In Darkness" with his fiancé, the formidable actress Natalie Dormer. Technically, the film is stylish and keeps one's attention, especially in the first act although some plot points become a bit perplexing later...
The Fantasy Filmfest started out with a bang this year! Panos Cosmatos' German premiere of "Mandy" was the opening film and it sold out. Many sad festival-goers were turned away left and right, me being one of them. Luckily, a lovely festival worker put me on the guest list for the next screening, the New Zealand adventure comedy "Mega Time Squad". Boy was I glad she did! Plus that gave me some time to reply to emails regarding my coverage of the Internationa...
Ramón Salazar arrived at Berlinale 2018 with his spectacular fourth feature "La enfermedad del domingo" (Sunday’s Illness), starring the fierce Spanish actresses Susi Sánchez – as uptight wealthy mother Anabel who left her daughter 35 years before – and Bárbara Lennie – who vividly paints a picture of the pain the adult Chiara carries after having been abandoned at a young age. It's a bit of a surprise and a shame that "...
(Courtesy of Berlin International Film Festival)
Filipino auteur Lav Diaz may not be a household name, but among the film festival circuit he is held in high regard. This was clear at the first two press screenings at Berlinale 2018 that were so packed they turned away quite a few journalists. His rock opera "Ang panahon ng halimaw" (Season of the Devil) clocks in at almost four hours, but hardly feels that long, although those who left mid-screening m...
Somehow Chloé Zhao's all-too-real film The Rider has remained somewhat under the radar, when compared to the many mediocre or even god-awful films that stay in the cinemas for months on end. Although it hailed high praise at Cannes in 2017, sadly it remains under-seen. The Chinese director/writer/producer uses a feminist approach to portray the vulnerable side of a modern day cowboy, Brady Jandreau playing a fictionalized version of himself, whose fateful head injury took ...
