The Durban International Film Festival has announced that it will co-present, with the South African Embassy in Iran, the 1st South African Film Festival in Tehran, from 4 to 7 December 2006. The films selected for the festival are Yesterday directed by Darrell James Roodt, Forgiveness by Ian Gabriel, Conversations On A Sunday Afternoon by Khalo Matabane, The Mother's House by Francois Verster and Tamat by Munier Parker. These directors will travel to Iran to present their films and engage with ...
The 2006 HIGH FALLS FILM FESTIVAL celebrates its sixth wonderful year of honoring the cinematic achievements of women around the world. This unique and exciting festival will take place in Rochester, New York, November 8-13, 2006. The Festival has grown exponentially to become one of the vital cultural assets in Western New York. This international festival of films made with women taking an integral place behind the camera draws people from around the country and globe to this stimulating eve...
IRANINANS ARE AT IT AGAIN!! The Iranian film Towards the Sunset, by Iraj Emami, wins the award for the best feature film in Marbella International Film Festival; this is another film from Iran which has won a major award in International film festivals in recent weeks.This comes in the same time as another Iranian film directed by Bahman Ghobadi scored a big victory at San Sebastian film festival. The Story, opens at night in Tehran. A man conceals a large amount of money in a purpose built com...
October 1, 2006
Saturday Afternoon in the press room where the Concha prizes have been
announced, and, the Main Winners were -- -- -- (pause for bated breath) -- -- -
Kurd-Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi scored another big victory here with two of the most important awards, the Golden Concha, or Grand Prix for Best Film, “NIEMANG/HALF MOON, and the International Film Critics FIPRESCI prize as well. This was Ghobadi’ second Golden Concha best film prize here in
Donostia, where his “Turtl...
Saturday Afternoon in the press room where the Concha prizes have been announced, and, the Main Winners were -- -- -- (pause for bated breath) -- -- -Kurd-Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi scored another big victory here with two of the most important awards, the Golden Concha, or Grand Prix for Best Film, “NIEMANG/HALF MOON, and the International Film Critics FIPRESCI prize as well. This was Ghobadi’ second Golden Concha best film prize here in Donostia, where his “Turtles Can Fly” reall...
- International Competition Documentary Film | Traditions, Families, Political IssuesA total of 19 films from 15 countries have made it into this year’s International Competition Documentary Film. Productions come also from countries rather exceptional for documentary film-making, such as Myanmar or Thailand ("Buddha's Lost Children", "The Longest Day"). Just as in 2005, the selection committee for the category documentary film was made up of festival director Claas Danielsen, film-maker Matt...
Saturday, September 16---For several decades, the American government has successfully demonized the country of Iran, referring to it as an "evil empire" as a member of the "axis of evil". The rhetoric has ratcheted up in recent months, as Iran attempts to take hold of its own destiny by producing nuclear power, and possibly nuclear weapons.
But what do we really know about this ancient culture that is one of the most influential nations in the Middle East? What more can we know without trave...
Sixteen films will compete in the Official Selection of the San Sebastian International Film Festival from 21st-30th September.John Boorman, Bahman Ghobadi, Carlos Sorin, Tom DiCillo, Agnieszka Holland, Marion Hänsel, Nick Broomfield and Hirozaku Kore-eda are some of the accomplished directors whose new movies will compete for the Golden Shell and other official awards at San Sebastian.The Official Selection will be rounded off with two out-of-competition screenings: the latest creation by Lars...
The 27 the Durban International Film Festival has come to an end and the curator, Nashen Moodley, is extremely proud of the festival.According to Nashen, the festival is the biggest of its kind in South Africa with the most films and is an integral part of the sunny city on the South Coast."We had a very successful festival with the most filmmakers ever and the diversity was excellent," he said.Nashen's personal highlight was the Iranian films and directors present at the festival. He is also v...
The Tribeca Film Festival has rapidly evolved since its founding in 2002 into the biggest U.S. film festival. In 2006 the Tribeca fest lasted thirteen days and served 465 thousand individuals including 203 thousand who purchased tickets for film screenings and panels. About 4200 productions were submitted coming close to the 4350 entered for the different Berlinale sections (excluding market films). Tribeca has retained its successful eclectic programming approach ranging this year from Holly...
The 27th Durban International Film Festival - 14 to 25 June 2006 A selection of the best in current world cinema, most of which are premiere showings on the continent, will be on offer during the 27th Durban International Film Festival which takes place from 14 to 25 June. An extensive programme of over 300 screenings at 25 different venues across the Durban district will be augmented by free workshops and seminars to inspire young filmmakers and stimulate the film industry in KwaZulu-Natal. Wit...
Istanbul International Film Festival assistant director, Ms Asize Tan, talks to Jeremy Colson on the occasion of the 25th edition of one of Asia’s biggest festivals where the audience this year is forecast to reach 140,000. Have you ever been involved in film-making yourself? I’ve been involved in short films and commercials and I’ve been in film circles since forever. I started work with the festival in 1994, worked in several different departments, became assistant director in 2003 and I...
And the Winners were...Golden Bear, the big one for best feature film in competition, "GRBAVICA" directed by Jasmila Zbanic of Bosnia. Zbanic has received fairly wide recognition for her documentary films, among them '"Do you remember Sarajevo?". This her feature film debut and the picture focuses on the traumas of the Yugoslavian wars and their current aftermath. This is basically a study of the relationship between a young mother and her twelve year old daughter. The child wants to believe t...
The 12th edition of Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema (Haute-Saône, Franche-Comté region) will be held from 31st January till 7th February 2006. This is the oldest film festival in Europe entirely dedicated to Asian cinema, from the Near East to the Far East. 72 films will be screened, out of which 37 are unreleased and about 20 are French, European or world premières. Faithful to India : International Jury’s Chairman will be famous Indian director Buddhadeb Dasgupta (...
RICHARD PENA ON HIS WORK III Do you think that the continued expansion of film festivals is indication of the growing cinematic interest by the audience?I wish it were that. I don’t know. It is probably an indication of more people looking for ways of having jobs that are more glamorous. I am not sure how much it helps films. The vast majority of the festivals have no impact on the films at all. In the best possible of all worlds it is a nice cultural activity, but they do not really affec...
Richard Peña, Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Chairman of the Selection Committee of the New York Film Festival, is a film curator and scholar whose wide-ranging knowledge of the medium includes a special expertise and interest in Latin American, Asian, and Arab cinemas.Program Director of the Film Society and Festival Selection Committee Chair since 1988, Mr. Peña has brought a visionary zeal and enthusiasm and a remarkable variety of programs both to the Festival a...
This is the first of a three part interview for filmfestivals.com by Claus MuellerRichard Peña on his WorkRichard Peña, noted film curator and scholar, is in charge of the New York Film Festival and the programs of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Since his appointment in 1988, Mr. Peña has enhanced festival standing as the most selective and influential cinema event in North America, and extended the Film Society’s programs to cover in depth year-round retrospectives of influential film...
Danish film "Adam's Apples" by Anders Thomas Jensen won the Audience Award at the 21st Warsaw International Film Festival, October 7-16, 2005.The Top Five films of the festival, according to the Warsaw audience, were: 1. "Adam's Apples" by Anders Thomas Jensen 2. "A Driver for Vera" by Pavel Chukhray 3. "Live and Become" by Radu Mihaileanu 4. "As It Is In Heaven" by Kay Pollak 5. "Corpse Bride" by Tim Burton & Mike Johnson.The first Audience Award at WIFF went in 1987 to "Birdy" by Alan Pa...
Central Asian Film Festival at the Pacific Film ArchiveThe notion of 'new wave' is probably one of the most meaningless concepts used in film criticism. Since the French nouvelle vague of the sixties, each time a nation produces two or three talented directors, the critics start to talk about a new wave. If this term had existed in the twenties, German expressionism and French impressionism would surely have been described as such. In the last four decades, however, there are few new waves that ...
The 10th PUSAN Int'l Film Festival, which will celebrate its 10th year anniversary edition from October 6th through 14th, has confirmed its official jury members. For the New Currents, the only competitive section dedicated to discovering new talents of Asian cinema, world’s renowned Abbas KIAROSTAMI will be serving as president of the jury with a group of 4 distinguished film professionals as follow: Christian JEUNE (Head of Films Department at the Festival de Cannes), Eric KHOO (director/pro...
The XXVII Moscow International Film Festival is to a certain extent a transitional one. Its aim is to set new landmarks for the development not so much of the festival movement but rather of the world cinematic process. The past year saw radical changes in home cinema. Film production gained momentum and strengthened its bonds with the audience. The number of movies being made for theatrical release grew, the practice of distribution also changed. It became more structured, more benign to home m...
The San Francisco International Film FestivalBence NanayFor decades, the San Francisco Film Festival has been probably the most unusual film festival in the United States. It has been unusual because very few American films have been on display here. American film festivals tend to pitch themselves either as independent film festivals of the Sundance ilk or as Hollywood showcases with lots of special guests one could see at the Oscars gala. In either way, American film festivals are about Americ...
BERMUDA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2005 LINEUP“THE UPSIDE OF ANGER” and “MAD HOT BALLROOM” OPEN and CLOSE MICHAEL WINTERBOTTOM TO BE “FILMAKER IN FOCUS” Showcasing a film line-up as rich and eclectic as the culture of the island itself, the Bermuda International Film Festival will welcome visitors for the 8th annual Fest, March 18-24. . The Bermuda International Film Festival invites influences from around the world with films that will compete for Best Feature from the ...
34th International Film Festival RotterdamJanuary 26 - February 6, 2005Ghobadi's TURTLES CAN FLY grabs Tiscali Audience AwardThe International Film Festival Rotterdam 2005 concludes February 6, 2005 with a slightly increased attendance of 358.000 visits to its films, exhibitions, debates, talk shows and other festival events. The IFFR welcomed more (inter)national festival guests, reaching a number of 2,586. During the festival the Russian, Southeast Asian and Iraqi films and their filmmakers we...
Somewhere between a case of the butterflies and fourteen sucks In its second year, the Berlinale’s youth film competition 14plus is again heading for a great start with a fantastic programme. “The success of the new competition was awesome“, section head Thomas Hailer exclaimed, “and we’re eager to put all our energies into making this one even better.” As well as the Children’s Jury and the Youth Jury, the 28th Kinderfilmfest’s International Jury has also been appointed: Sayoko ...
