Friday, December 29-----In a last farewell nod to the best films of the past year, respected film website IndieWire has announced the results of its first annual Critics Poll. The Romanian drama THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU, an emotionally devastating meditation on the thin line between life and death, was the top choice of a group of 100 leading North American film critics. The film, the second feature of director Cristi Puiu, won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, wa...
Michel Hazanavicius's “OSS 117, Cairo Nest of Spies”took Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix at 19th Tokyo film festival.Michel Hazanavicius began his career in 1988 with the French TV station CANAL+ where he was involved with the writing and production of many TV dramas including 'Les Nuls,' the vey popular cult- comedy series. From 1999 through 2005, he also directed over forty CMs. In 1999, he directed his first feature-length film "Mes Amis." "OSS117, Cairo Nest of Spies" is his second film.Presiden...
In the fifth edition of the New Films, New Directors International Competition, the jury comprising Petr Zelenka, Ilya Khrzhanovsky, Alberto Fuguet, Ognjen Sviličić, and Piotr Szczepański awarded the Grand Prix NESCAFÉ and 5,000 euros to Ivan Vyrypaev for Euphoria (Russia).The Cinemax Award for Best Script went to Retrieval directed by Sławomir Fabicki (script: Sławomir Fabicki, Denijal Hasanović, Marek Pruchniewski).The same picture also received a Special Jury Pr...
The Sydney Film Festival wrapped up a memorable two weeks of international and Australian films this weekend with the presentation of the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Film, the Urban Cinefile Audience Awards, as well as the FIPRESCI Award for Best Documentary. The awards were followed by the slick closing night film Thanks for Not Smoking, starring Aaron Eckhart as spin doctor Nick Naylor who works for the Academy of Tobacco Studies. Spiked with black humour (Nick dines every week with the ...
With this his second (and last) Festival, Artistic Director Lynden Barber has again shown an astute ability to mix the provocative with the seductive, the challenging with the entertaining, giving patrons a snapshot of the concerns and amusements of filmmakers from around the world. Andrew L. Urban samples the menu.In a world troubled by violence, defeated by poverty, racked by intolerance and engulfed in conflict, it’s appropriate that a major film festival such as Sydney’s should gather fi...
Madeinusa/ClaudiaLlosa Madeinusa is a sweet girl who lives in an isolated religiously zealous village in mountainous Peru. Everything changes when a geologist from Lima arrives and unknowingly reshapes Madeinusa's destiny. Kinky Boots/Julian JarroldIn an effort to save his father's small town shoe factory, a man finds an unlikely ally in Lola, a brassy cabaret singer. DeNADIE/Tin DirdamalThe story of Maria, a Central American immigrant forced to leave her family in search of a better life. O...
