Well, the weather held and so did the quality of the films as the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival wound up, rather than down ,towards its 59th Awards Ceremony.Audiences seemed to increase in number and enthusiasm during these unusually  balmy November days and the nightly drinks receptions for lucky invitees saw sparkling German wines and beer pouring as if there was no tomorrow well into tomorrow, with  on one occasion-well past 2am local time-most of the Festival Direction ...

Into each life some volcano ash must fall....and that is why, dear disinterested readers, you did not bump into me on the Croisette last month but may have seen me on the Ginza as the rains fell on Cannes. We have a lot of catching up to do since L annee derniere a Carlsbad ....via many European Smiles at the last Mlada Boleslav Festival of Smiches, as the Czechs so charmingly call it when humour illuminates the human face,then across to merry Moravia for the Znojmo Festival of Media and Gastr...