13th Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Paris (January 13-17, 2011)(1/11/11)Unifrance is hosting its 2011 Rendez-Vous event in Paris from January 13 through 17.Over the four-day event, the Grand Hotel Intercontinental will welcome 450 international distributors who have traveled to Paris to discover French cinema's latest offerings presented by sales agents. 80 films, half of which have not yet been released, will be screened at the Film Market. Among titles presented are A Cat in Paris by Alain ...

        Last night, Thursday January 06, saw the open of the 2011 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Palm Springs mayor, Stephen Pougnet, the PSIFF chairman Harold Matzner and festival director Darryl Mac Donald opened with speeches thanking the volunteers who make the festival possible and the filmmakers of the 200 international films that will screen at the festival over the next 10 days from 70 countries.    Speech...

  Potiche France, 2010, 103 Minute Running Time US Premiere Topics: Comedy, Gay/Lesbian Language: French Catherine Deneuve commands the screen with a regal wink as Suzanne Bujol, a trophy wife ("potiche") whose mettle is tested when catastrophe strikes in her husband's umbrella factory. Under the assured direction of prolific French filmmaker François Ozon, this stylish French farce is an irresistible romp through 1970s kitsch, politics and female eman...

    Potiche France, 2010, 103 Minute Running Time US Premiere Topics: Comedy, Gay/Lesbian Language: French Catherine Deneuve commands the screen with a regal wink as Suzanne Bujol, a trophy wife (“potiche”) whose mettle is tested when catastrophe strikes in her husband’s umbrella factory. Under the assured direction of prolific French filmmaker François Ozon, this stylish French farce is an irresistible romp through 1970s kitsch, politics and fem...

Opening with Potiche (french film by François Ozon starring french icon Catherine Deneuve) just six days after New Years the Palm Springs Film Festival can probably lay claim to the honor of being the very first such festival of any size or signifigance on the annual international film festival calendar. While this is not a festival one hears too much about, being well off the beaten track and coming at a time when most of us are still recovering from year end Holidaze entertainment ove...

  Film Comment, the highly respected film magazine that is the publishing initiative of New York's Film Society of Lincoln Center, has thrown its hat into the ring of the current awards season with an announcement this week of its Top Ten Films of the Year. Since the film journal is known for its international and eclectic taste, the list is not a carbon copy of the ones that are the mainstay of the awards roundelay, but point to lesser known titles that are worthy of greater attention....

With films from 10 new film directors [first or second film] represented, MyFilmFestival.com (Jan 14 – 29) enables viewers around the world to view and vote in this inaugural online film festival under the auspices of UniFrance. Andrew L. Urban of www.urbancinefile.com.au (who will represent Australia on the jury of international critics) reports.Screenwriter Christopher Thompson’s assured debut feature, Bus Palladium, is one of the 10 films in competition in the inaugural MyFrenchFilmFestiv...

The more than 2,300 members of the European Film Academy, filmmakers from across Europe, have voted for this year's Europea Film Awards. At the awards ceremony in Tallinn, European Capital of Culture 2011, the following awards were presented: EUROPEAN FILM 2010 THE GHOST WRITER, France/Germany/UK directed by Roman Polanski written by Robert Harris & Roman Polanski produced by Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde & Roman Polanski EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2010 Roman Polanski for THE GHOST WRI...

It has been quite a year for director Roman Polanski…..house arrest in Switzerland, Silver Bear at the Berlinale, legal victory and return to his adopted home of Paris, and film adaptation of the international theatre sensation “God Of Carnage”. Now, Polanski caps a year full of ups and downs with a sixtuplet win at the European Film Awards, held this evening in the Nokia Concert Hall in the Estonian capital city of Tallinn. “The Ghost Writer”, Polanski’s adaptation of the Thomas Ha...

The Princess of Montpensier directed by Bertrand Tavernier is the Closing Film at the 41st IFFI tonight. Minister of state (Information & Broadcasting) Choudhury Mohan Jatua will  be the Chief Guest. Actor Saif Ali Khan will be the Guest Of Honour.   Ghost Writer directed by Roman Polanski  which was shown at the Press Club, Mumbai four weeks ago was the Mid-Fest film at IFFI.   Directorate of Film Festivals Head, S M Khan  has announced two more awards, increasing the award ...

The new Thessaloniki International Film Festival side section Open Horizons represents a revival of the renowned New Horizons section, which Dimitris Eipides, the current TIFF Director, programmed from 1992 to 2005. Open Horizons will focus, as did their precursor, on works that represent the most contemporary trends in worldwide independent production, as well as thematically original, aesthetically remarkable and socially minded films. Amongst the approximately 20 films to be screened in the ...

  One can see that the French Revolution never really ended in the 18th century…..it continues into our own, in terms of style, fashion and the arts. French film is continually re-inventing itself and finding new ways of expression in a 100-year-old art form. At this year’s London Film Festival, a section appropriately entitled French Revolutions showcases some of the cinematic trend-setters of the year.   With the obvious exception of the American and the ...

One can see that the French Revolution never really ended in the 18th century…..it continues into our own, in terms of style, fashion and the arts. French film is continually re-inventing itself and finding new ways of expression in a 100-year-old art form. At this year’s London Film Festival, a section appropriately entitled French Revolutions showcases some of the cinematic trend-setters of the year. With the obvious exception of the American and the British, the French have been one of th...

What is it about French actresses, that they grow even more beautiful and, arguably, more talented with age. Jeanne Moreau and Catherine Deneuve are but two examples of this gorgeous gallic phenomenon, where their later roles take on even greater gravitas as the subtle lines of their face change, their voices lowers a register and their once all-too-fragile beauty slightly hardens and becomes as enduring as a Greek sculpture. But blood courses through their veins and passion, if not only...

In a previous post, we mentioned that we were going with a French New Wave theme this year -- it just felt right! And look, we have a Jean-Luc Godard-esque concept. Compare it to the iconic photograph and tell us what you think. We're still working out the kinks but we kind of like it. See the pictures and read the blog here: http://valleyfilmfest.blogspot.com/2010/10/countdown-to-vff10t-minus-21-days-aka.html ...

  In CARLOS, the riveting and expansive 5 1/2-hour biopic of the charismatic 1970s terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, writer/director Olivier Assayas relies on a dizzying cinematic style that is also punctuated by the punk music that characterized the rebellion of the age in which he lived. Music and visuals are among the many pallettes that Assayas has used with great fidelity and skill throughout his diverse and diverting 25-year career. As an added panache to the theatrical release o...

The Oscar nominated Kristin Scott Thomas who has won BAFTA, Cesar Awards and many other awards at film festivals has also been receiving Lifetime Achievement Awards but her career is still going very strong. I had first seen her in Prince’s directorial debut film, Under the Cherry Moon”, and later in “Four Weddings and a Funeral”,” The English Patient”, Philippe Claudel's “I've Loved You So Long” and many more. She is one of the finest actresses who have ever existed an...

The Oscar nominated Kristin Scott Thomas who has won BAFTA, Cesar Awards and many other awards at film festivals has also been receiving Lifetime Achievement Awards but her career is still going very strong. I had first seen her in Prince’s directorial debut film, Under the Cherry Moon”, and later in “Four Weddings and a Funeral”,” The English Patient”, Philippe Claudel's “I've Loved You So Long” and many more. She is one of the finest actresses who have ever existed and has an ...

The first NY/SF International Children's Film Festival, presented by the San Francisco Film Society and the New York International Children's Film Festival, wrapped a very successful three-day celebration of diverse, enlightening, inspiring and entertaining films for kids ages 3 - 18 and their families on Sunday, and announced the winners of the best feature film and the best short film, as selected by the weekend's audiences."We were thrilled to present the Film Society's first International C...

By Liza Foreman The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced that “The Social Network,” by the director, David Fincher, has been selected as the opening film for the 23rd TIFF. The film tells the story of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the world's biggest social-networking website, "Facebook," and stars Jessy Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake. The closing film, “The Town,” the second directorial feature by Ben Affleck, is a compelling and powerf...