The second Dubai International Film Festival begins on Sunday, December 11, and will feature 98 films including features, retrospectives and short films until Saturday, December 17The award-winning films are from a variety of genres and traditions, from American independent to African contemporary, Chinese drama to German-Lebanese documentary. An additional seven films are also on the short-list for next year’s Academy Award (Oscar) nominations. The Festival’s Opening Gala film, Paradise Now...
The second annual Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) will debut two major Hollywood films. Opening night, December 8, 2005 will feature Jim Jarmusch’s “Broken Flowers”, and the final night of the festival, December 11, 2005, will feature Richard Sheppard’s “The Matador”. The Bahamas International Film Festival will be held at The Atlantis Hotel on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.The opening film, “Broken Flowers”, is a heartfelt story of how perennial bachelor Don Johnst...
The third Zagreb Film Festival, from 17 to 22. October 2005, hosted by the City of Zagreb, presents films by studio or independent filmmakers, is devoted to the exhibition of three-category feature film, short film and documentary film, as well as other aspects of the film and multimedia projects. The premises of this center had a sort of artistic dynamics and beside students, it is primarily intended for other generations as a meeting place for contemplating new creative potentials. Besides the...
The Donostia-San Sebastian film festival on the incredibly picturesque North Spanish coast, ("NAZIOARTEKO ZINEMALDIA" in the exotic Basque language of the region), has opened heavily "front loaded" as the saying goes these days, which means that many of the big guns, films with high prize potential, have already been fired off in the first few days. The festival opener was, appropriately, "Obaba", one of the most eagerly awaited Spanish films of the year based on a Basque language best seller b...
53RD SAN SEBASTIAN FILM FESTIVAL OPENS WITH SEVERAL BANGSby Alex Deleon, San SebastianThe Donostia-San Sebastian film festival on the incredibly picturesque North Spanish coast, ("NAZIOARTEKO ZINEMALDIA" in the exotic Basque language of the region), has opened heavily "front loaded" as the saying goes these days, which means that many of the big guns, films with high prize potential, have already been fired off in the first few days. The festival opener was, appropriately, "Obaba", one of the m...
Oldenburg International Film FestivalSeptember 7th to 11th 2005Luke, Andrew and Owen Wilson present their latest production “The Wendell Baker Story” in Oldenburg as an International PremiereLuke, Andrew and Owen Wilson made names for themselves as actors, writers and producers over the last years. Filmfest Oldenburg showcases a selection of their creative output with this year’s tribute. The first directorial work of Luke and Andrew “The Wendell Baker Story”, starring Luke and Owen, i...
The 31st Annual Seattle International Film FestivalThe 31st Annual Seattle International Film Festival announces award winners and concludes its 25-day run on Sunday June 12 with the North American premiere of award winning director Gus Van Sant’s film Last Days. Van Sant will be in attendance for the screening, which will be followed by the Closing Night Gala. SIFF 2005 was a great year and brought many eminent Seattleites together—from Microsoft’s Bill Gates to Eddie Vedder of Pearl Ja...
The current busy film festival season has harvested a bonanza of awards for worthy films at a number of film festival events. The Provincetown International Film Festival, which held its ninth and most successful session from June 14 to 19, announced a host of awards at its Gala Closing Night Party at the Boatslip Resort overlooking beautiful Cape Cod Bay.The Best Dramatic Feature prize was won by HEIGHTS, the multi-character drama starring Glenn Close and James Marsden. The film, directed by Ch...
IN THE CITY OF ANGELS, THE LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL FLIES AGAINThe Los Angeles Film Festival took wing with an ideal opener, the North American premiere of David Jacobson’s Down In The Valley at the Cinerama Dome, Hollywood on Thursday, June 16. With an excellent cast and strong performances, the film captures the valley’s famous slackness with an apt tobacco-stained tanginess. Nocturnal images of snaking highways act as rivers of light isolating valley dwellers from the world and, as in th...
FULL PROGRAM LINE-UPDirector of Programming Rachel Rosen joined Festival Director Rich Raddon in announcing the full program line-up for the 2005 Los Angeles Film Festival (June 16-26), including the Centerpiece Premiere, the Guest Director, the Artist in Residence, and the Closing Night Film. The Festival also announced that Don Cheadle, Lisa Kudrow, and Elijah Wood will serve as Honorary Festival Chairs for the 2005 Los Angeles Film Festival. “We are thrilled to be highlighting two films ...
Despite some grumbling on the subject of Manderley Lars Von Trier's film is one of the favorites of the critics -- then along came Broken Flowers by Jim Jarmusch--now a frontrunner. David Cronenberg's A History of Violence is also a favorite. Hidden by Michael Haneke seems by and large the most esteemed film to date. In Jarmusch's latest, Bill Murray plays private eye and tries to a boy who claims to be his son, while confronted by old flames--Jessica Lange, Frances Conroy, Sharon Stone, and Ti...
Questions and Answers with Thierry Frémaux Cannes Festival Managing Director and Artistic Director.Cannes May 11-21, 2005 - What makes up the Official Selection?As it does every year, the Official Selection of the Festival de Cannes 2005 comprises the Compétition, Un Certain Regard, Hors Compétition screenings, special screenings and midnight screenings. It also offers a short film competition and a film school competition (Cinéfondation). Cannes Classics is a selection of heritage films, sh...
"U-CARMEN eKHYELITSHA" is an extremely unusual version of the opera Carmen set in a squalid shanty-town "Township", Khyelitsha, near Capetown, South Africa --and sung entirely by African singers in the "click language", Khosa! This black Carmen is a light year beyond the light brown "Carmen Jones" of 1954 which starred Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge and seemed so sucy and racy at the time. For one thing, Pauline Malefane (Carmen) is not a slender Hollywood mannekin type like Dandridge ...
German director Roland Emmerich will be president of the International Jury of the Berlinale 2005. Emmerich’s international career began with the film Das Arche Noah Prinzip (The Noah’s Ark Principle) which screened at the Berlinale in 1984 and attracted worldwide attention. Hollywood discovered this great talent, who then went on to make Independence Day, Godzilla and The Patriot, all Oscar-crowned works. In 2004, with The Day After Tomorrow, Emmerich contributed to the ongoing debate on th...
Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2005 (February 11-20, 2005)Announces Early Programme Highlights:Planning for the 3rd Jameson Dublin International Film Festival is now entering an advanced stage, and the event will present over 90 feature films from all over the world, along with retrospectives and special seasons. Once again, the festival will be running films at all four cinema sites in Dublin city centre - at the Screen, Savoy and UGC and IFI. Among the titles already confirmed for ...
47th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 15-29) April 15th is tax day. But all the stress of income tax preparations and
payments evaporated when the rousing theme song from San Francisco,
the 1936 movie starring Jeannette MacDonald and Clark Gable, blasted from
the pipes of the Castro Theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer organ. Everyone in the
1400-seat movie palace clapped along. As Wu-Tang Clan producer and Kill
Bill composer RZA proclaimed about the 1922 historic landmark: ...
Oscar ceremony serves up a clean sweep and a long nap February 29, 2004Sean Penn picked the wrong year to attend the Oscars. Hollywood’s favorite rebel – and four-time best actor nominee – famously snubbed Academy Awards ceremonies in the past. Though he threatened, yet again, to bypass this year’s awards show, he turned up Sunday night in a sleek tux with wife Robin by his side. Penn went on to win the best actor gold for his Mystic River turn – but he also had to sit through one of t...
47th SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL TO OPEN WITH JIM JARMUSCH’S COFFEE AND CIGARETTES:Comic Vignettes from a Pioneer of American Independent Film The 47th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 15–29) is set to open on Thursday, April 15, 7 pm, at the historic Castro Theatre with Jim Jarmusch’s COFFEE AND CIGARETTES, a humorous collection of café conversations on various offbeat topics.COFFEE AND CIGARETTES stars an assortment of beloved performers including Bill Murr...
Sean Penn picked the wrong year to attend the Oscars. Hollywood’s favorite rebel – and four-time best actor nominee – famously snubbed Academy Awards ceremonies in the past. Though he threatened, yet again, to bypass this year’s awards show, he turned up Sunday night in a sleek tux with wife Robin by his side. Penn went on to win the best actor gold for his Mystic River turn – but he also had to sit through one of the most lackluster awards ceremonies in years.Billy Crystal’s cracked...
Sean Penn picked the wrong year to attend the Oscars. Hollywood’s favorite rebel – and four-time best actor nominee – famously snubbed Academy Awards ceremonies in the past. Though he threatened, yet again, to bypass this year’s awards show, he turned up Sunday night in a sleek tux with wife Robin by his side. Penn went on to win the best actor gold for his Mystic River turn – but he also had to sit through one of the most lackluster awards ceremonies in years.Billy Crystal’s cracked...
Billy Murray and Scarlet Johansson both picked up best acting awards at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), Return of the Kings, best film and best director to Peter Weir for Master and Commander. Cold Mountain won for Zelleweger and best music.The BAFTA awards were announced on February 15 with Bill Murray and Scarlet Johanson winning the best acting awards and five awards for The Return of the King. Bafta awards 2004:Best filmLord of the Rings: The Return of the KingBest British film(Alex...
NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY - 76TH AWARDS -“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” 11 nominations“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” 10 nominations“Cold Mountain” 7 nominations“Seabiscuit” 7 nominations“Mystic River” 6 nominations“Lost in Translation” 4 nominations“Finding Nemo” 4 nominations“City of God” 4 nominationsBest motion picture of the year«The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”(New Line) A Wingnut Films Production Barrie M. O...
Director’s View Set to Open Fifth Year;DVFF scoops film fest circuit and lands "Stranger Than Love" for world premiere -- but it is all contingent on secrecy clause. (What could be stranger?)In a spectacular coup, Robert Kesten, director of the DVFF, which runs from February 12-16, is to be congratulated for beating out all other U.S. festivals to bring to roost the much-talked-about secret film "Stranger Than Love" and present it in competition as a world premiere in our community...maybe.....
Cold Mountain has received 13 nominations and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King has received 12 nominations for the forthcoming Orange British Academy Film Awards. Scarlett Johansson received two nominations in the category Actress in a Leading Role for her roles in Girl With A Pearl Earring and Lost In Translation . Sean Penn has received two nominations in the Actor In A Leading Role category for his roles in 21 Grams and Mystic River . Cold Mountain has been nominated in the categ...
THE SOUTHEASTERN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES PICKS FOR BESTFILMMAKING ACHIEVEMENTS OF 2003"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" wins best film, director"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" has been named best filmand its helmer, Peter Jackson, best director in the 2003 awards of theSoutheastern Film Critics Association."City of God" from Brazil was chosen as best foreign-language film in the12th annual awards held by SEFCA. President Betsy Pickle of the KnoxvilleNews ...
