Jury announce their decision for presentation at the forthcoming Berlin International Film Festival from 13 to 15 February 2010 SHOOTING STARS AWARDS donated by Studio Babelsberg European Film Promotion (EFP) announced today the ten SHOOTING STARS of 2010, who will be introduced at its annual presentation of new acting talent at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). This group of prominent young actors who come from...

Homage Berlinale 2010: Hanna Schygulla and Wolfgang Kohlhaase to Receive Honorary Golden Bears for Their Lifetime Achievements In 2010, the festival's 60th anniversary, the Berlinale is dedicating its Homage to two film artists who have decisively shaped post-war German cinema in different ways. "Hanna Schygulla and Wolfgang Kohlhaase both stand for renewal and departure - in West and East Germany. Hanna Schygulla's name is inseparably connected with Rainer Werner Fassbinder's ...

Harmonica blues legend Sugar Blue, a protege of the iconic Muddy Waters, rocked the house on Tuesday night in a wall-shaking concert held at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival to support the film THE PERFECT AGE OF ROCK N ROLL, an American indie musical drama that is making its European Premiere here. The film, written and directed by musician-turned-director Scott Rosenbaum, features a dynamic cast led by the twin leads, Kevin Zegers (of TRANSAMERICA fame) and Jason Ritter, who was...

Exclusive video interview with FAVEX CEO             FAVEX CEO Petra Theman from Tallinn Black Nights FF on Vimeo. ...

by Marla LewinHelen Mirren Photo taken by Stephan Rabold, Courtesy of Sony Pictures ClassicsThe 21st Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Academy Award winner Helen Mirren with the Career Achievement Award. Presented by Cartier, the Awards Gala will kick off the 2010 awards season on Tuesday, January 5 at the Palm Springs Convention Center and will be hosted by "Entertainment Tonight's" Mary Hart. The Festival runs January 5-18, 2010.Mirren will join pre...

With the appointment of Cecilia Lidin as Head of EDN follows also a reorganisation of the EDN office and of the way EDN will be functioning. The daily running and strategic planning will be done in shared management between Lidin and EDN Network Manager Hanne Skjødt. Together they will be responsible for both the short and long term developments of EDN and will be referring to the EDN Executive Committee. Besides these changes at the EDN office Cecilia Lidin also plans to re-struct...

  While Amsterdam certainly boasts its own unique cast of characters that one can observe on the streets, in the stores and the coffee shops, some of the most intriguing people I met during my stay at IDFA were on the film screen. When you immerse yourself in as many films as I did (an average of four per day), one comes away with a contact high from the encounters with unique individuals with unique stories and circumstances that stay with you (with me, at least). And while I am already...

by Marla Lewin image copyright Robert J. Saferstein  I first met David Mamet in Chicago, at his St. Nicholas Theatre. I was the guest of actor Robert Strom, and I sat between him and David, it was American Buffalo.  Bob was planning to do a one man show on Charlie Chaplin, and I was to write my first script for him. Bob was a member of the St. Nicholas company.  David wanted to know if I was an actress?  He offered to assist us with the play. David was not yet inter...

by Marla Lewin Francis Ford Coppola at Torino Film Festival photo by Marc Halperin     Another in our series on the Future of Cinema.   We were attending the Torino Film Lab and I had the opportunity to interview Francis Ford Coppola. I mentioned we are working on a series about the Future of Cinema, and Francis said he has his own theory, but it would take some time to explain and would use up all of our time. He doesn’t think ...

  The Berlinale Talent Campus (February 13-18, 2010) has secured its financing thanks to the project funding of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media(BKM). Minister of State for Culture and the Media Bernd Neumann has said: "Dieter Kosslick's idea to establish a platform for aspiring film talents during the Berlinale has proved very valuable. Not only the Festival - which has successfully presented a number of films by former Campus participants - b...

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation - RWFF-President Juliane Lorenz and Hanna Schygulla in Cuba`s capital Two events will highlight the film activities of Hanna Schygulla and Juliane Lorenz in the Caribbean this fall. Hanna Schygulla successfully finished her documentary. After an acclaimed start at the Filmfest Braunschweig, her first film - a portrait of the legendary Cuban director and actress Alicia Bustamente - has now been invited to be presented in Havana, its place of origin.   J...

by Marla LewinFriday night I saw The Royal Family on Broadway. It was all one would imagine of a grand old dynasty, like the Barrymores.  A family with an entourage, men falling in love with their own images, women unable to embrace love for fear of missing an opportunity for a good part. Shakespeare said “all the world is a stage”, and still today everyone likes to take a peek at the lives of those who actually get paid to act. The play is about the drama the characters create in their o...

  The 13th edition of POFF, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival held in the Estonian capital, kicked off a 10-day marathon of film premieres, special events and industry meetings with the premiere of the American indie hit (500) DAYS OF SUMMER last night. Today, Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Thai film director and jury member of the EurAsia Competition program, will hold a press conference prior to the presentation tomorrow evening of his latest film NYMPH. The director has been on...

The Franco-German Youth Office (FGYO), official partner of the Berlinale, is calling for applications to enter the jury for the "Dialogue en perspective" award in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino section. Young filmlovers can apply from now on to become a jury member for the independent Berlinale award "Dialogue en perspective". The prize is donated by the FGYO, and will be awarded atthe 60th Berlin International Film Festival (February 11 - 21, 2010) ...

39th International Film Festival Rotterdam 27 January - 7 February, 2010  As part of its main Signals section, the International Film Festival Rotterdam honors Japanese filmmaker Sai Yoichi with a tribute program that includes many of his works including his latest, brilliant ninja action movie Kamui. Furthermore, Signals presents the thematic program ‘After Victory' with recent war films as well as seven works by legendary master of the postwar Japanese cinema Yoshida Kiju.   T...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival will honor Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Stanley Tucci and Christoph Waltz with the Cinema Vanguard Award at the 25th edition of the Fest, which runs February 4-February 14, 2010, it was announced today by SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling.  The Tribute will take place on Friday, February 12, 2010.   The Cinema Vanguard Award was created in recognition of an actor who has forged his/her own path - taking artistic risks and making a signific...

    Israeli filmmaker Eyal Sivan has been asked by IDFA to program a personal Top Ten List of his favorite films for this year's event. Sivan is in Amsterdam for the premiere of his latest film Jaffa, The Orange Clockwork, which screens in the IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentaries. During the festival, Sivan will also present a masterclass in which he will explain his choices for his list.   Eyal Sivan grew up in Jerusalem and worked as a photograp...

Werner Herzog, one of the most important filmmakers of Auteur Cinema, will be the President of the International Jury at the Berlinale 2010. As one of the most significant personalities of New German Cinema, he has influenced an entire generation of filmmakers. In his almost 50-year career, Herzog has made over 50 films, which include not only his well-known feature films, but an array of impressive documentary films as well. He has also made a name for himself as an opera director...

    In what has to be a first, the prestigious Museum of Modern Art in New York is  devoting considerable museum space to a working Hollywood filmmaker. Just opening this weekend is Tim Burton, a major retrospective exploring the full scale of Tim Burton’s career, both as a director and concept artist for live-action and animated films, and as an artist, illustrator, photographer, and writer. On view through April 26, 2010, the exhibition brings together over 700 examples ...

  Veteran documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman was honored at IDFA's Opening Night ceremonies last evening with a Living Legends Award. There is much truth in the name of the award......Wiseman is a true living legend who continues his 50-year streak of creating intriguing, involving and sometimes shocking documentaries at the tender age of 79. He shows no signs of slowing down. His lastest project, LA DANSE, a portrait of the Ballet Company of the French National Opera. Freder...