‘Taste of Music’ received a standing ovation at the Norwegian Ravenheart film festival in Oslo. The promise of this short directed by the brilliant and talented Kyle Sevenoaks is about a man (played by the maverick Chris Wiborg) for is facing his music keyboard turned evil after a cosmic storm hitting the Earth. The question is, “what would you do if your keyboard became alive and ready to attack you”? I was lucky to connect with Kyle and Chris and to explore a little m...
Ali Samadi Ahadi was born in Tabriz, Iran, and is now based in Cologne, Germany. He’s an award-winning filmmaker, with directorial credits including Lost Children (05) and The Green Wave (10). Seven Days (24) is his latest film.
Interview by Emmanuel Itier
https://tiff.net/events/seven-days
TIFF invited an amazing director, Mr. Ali Samadi Ahadi, to showcase his very moving new film: Seven Days. You will have tears in your eyes whil...
DISNEYLAND PARIS September 2024
by Emmanuel Itier
“The Magic Kingdom” is indeed the perfect name for “Disneyland Paris” ( https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-usd/ ). From the first minutes we reached out to our destination via the bullet train TGV we were transported, at once, into an enchanting land unlocking the child within and ready for the adventures of a lifetime. And adventures we had through the many and various Disney theme sections of the two parks: Di...
TAKING BACK THE GROOVE
SBIFF 2024
With Director: Celia Aniskovich
More from SBIFF coverage on SBIFF blog
Taking Back the Groove reintroduces the world to Bronx-born ’80s disco superstar Richie Weeks. A writer, singer, and producer who was compared to Quincy Jones at his height, Richie created quintessential New York Disco and performed in the likes of Studio 54 and Paradise Garage, all while maintaining day jobs as a postal worker and bricklayer. His mega-hit Rock Your World made it ...
Nathalie Dubois (https://dpagroup.org ) did it again! The DPA gift suite, to celebrate the movie and tv Awards season, is back in full force at the iconic Luxe hotel on Sunset boulevard (https://www.luxehotels.com ). Once again nominees and special guests have access to a spectacular worldwide gifting lounge full of special treats and surprises.
The list of special gifts and offerings is long. One of the highlights of the suite was the NOWATCH (https://nowatch.com ) to measure s...
A UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD HAPPY HOLIDAYS SEASON!
“Papa, the mushroom soup, of the Toadstool café, is such a delight!”, and so we are, after 16 years, still coming to celebrate the end of the year Holidays at Universal Studios Hollywood !
Just because we love it and because it feels like a real Christmas celebration with the Grinchmas set up, with all your favorite characters including Mr. Grinch himself!
As we got to the park, and I recommend getting ther...
EPIC BILL
Nature Track film festival 2023
With director: Quinnolyn Benson-Yates.
Epic Bill is truly about re-inventing yourself and finding your true self. Meet Bill Bradley, a self-made millionaire who collapsed into bankruptcy and how he found himself, again, by entering the world of extreme endurance racing. Maverick director Quinnolyn Benson-Yates truly captured the spirit of what is defining “Epic Bill” through amazing sequences in the wilderness and hones...
OUT THERE: A National Parks Story.
Director: Brendan Hall
It took seven years for maverick director Brendan Hall to complete ‘Out there: A National Parks story’. It was worth the struggle, the resilience, the hard work, and the courage as this majestic film is a true “tour de force” and it will amaze you by its beauty and its spirituality. Watch Brendan and, his best friend, take a tour of various the National Parks across the USA. 10,000 miles and an amazing ...
AURORA’S SUNRISE
From Director Inna Shakyan
Thanks to my dear friend Louisa Sharamatyan (https://www.instagram.com/louisasharamatyan/?hl=en ) I found out about Amenia’s official selection for the 95th Oscar: ‘Aurora’s Sunrise’. Such a mesmerizing movie that Cher, the iconic singer, showed up at one Los Angeles screening to congratulate fellow Armenian sister, director Inna Shakyan.
This inspiring movie is based on the true life of Aurora Mardiga...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HASBRO!
100 YEARS AND ROCKING THE MARKETPLACE.
This year the legendary bands maker, HASBRO, has turned 100! 100 years to rock the marketplace and create iconic game such as Monopoly, Scrabble, Risk or Battleship! Hasbro has also expanded his “movie star” status by creating some insane lines of toys such as with ‘Transformers’, ‘G.I Joe’, ‘Dungesons & Dragons’ and lately adding premier collaborations brands with Star Wars, I...
IT’S A FUNKO WILD WILD WORLD!!!
This summer it seems like FUNKO is everywhere on the planet, and especially in the USA with a mega appearance at the worldwide legendary Comic Convention of San Diego.
We went to the convention with our three boys who are mega fan of FUNKO. What a surprise when we discovered the ‘FUNKOVILLE’ built by the hard-working team of FUNKO. This year, they doubled the footprint of their booths and it felt like a complete immersive expe...
LEGOLAND CALIFORNIA: AN AWESOME ENDLESS SUMMER!
This summer, again, my boys and I decided to head down to Carlsbad, California for an extravaganza full of fun adventures at Legoland California ( www.Legoland.com/california ). I had prebooked a theme room at the iconic Legoland hotel (https://www.legoland.com/california/places-to-stay/legoland-hotel/ ) and I highly recommend to make a reservation at least 1 month before heading to the park as, both the Legoland Hotel and the Castle Hot...
ROCK THE SUMMER AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS: HOLLYWOOD!!!!!
There might be a strike giving you the appearance that Hollywood has shut down. But this is not the case at the full of life, full of fun Universal Studios Hollywood! To celebrate the summer and get ready for the fall, my sons and I headed back for the magic of Universal Studios Hollywood.
Of course, the usual iconic rides, such as Jurassic World and Transformers were the first stop of our boys. Nearby the lower lot...
"Caralique is a determined, young fashion designer looking to bring color to the people around her. Constantly being told no, Caralique must learn to stick to her instincts and continually try again in order to achieve her childhood dreams."
CARALIQUE is a new amazing and inspiring movie starring well known actress Helene Cardona. Caralique is a very emotional movie that is sure to gather lost of praise and sales during the Cannes film market occurring in the French Riviera this mon...
By Emmanuel Itier and Roxanna Bina
You should have seen the beasty faces of our three sons, Felix (18), Max (11) and Rex (9) when my sweet wife, Roxanna, decided to book a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge for their birthday. Our sons had heard plenty about this amazing, totally immersive, unique world that is the Great Wolf Lodge ( www.GreatWolf.com ).
Great Wolf Lodge began as a small indoor water park resort in 1997 in Wiscon...
By Emmanuel Itier and Roxanna Bina.
After almost a decade in the making, Universal Studios Hollywood (www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com), in partnership with the iconic video game brand Nintendo, just opened, with a huge success, the long awaited ‘Super Mario World’.
Like in the game, you will enter this fantastic new land with the iconic green warp pipe. Be ready to experience some fun like never before and in the company of your favorite characters from the best sell...
By Emmanuel ITIER
To celebrate the successful release of ‘Shazam!: Fury of The Gods’, which I had the honor to cover at the press junket, FUNKO created a limited signature style lineup of new Pop! Figurines. The fans will be able to get their own Shazam, Eugene, Mary, Hespera, Freddy, Anthea, Kalyps, Unicorn, Darla or Pedro for a generous suggested retail price of $US 12 (https://funko.com/search/?q=shazam&search-button= ). Such a deal and so much fun to ...
GETAWAY
PanAfrican Film Festival.
With Director Stephanie Malson
By Emmanuel Itier and Roxanna Bina
In GETAWAY on the backdrop of a summer of civil unrest in the United States, a Jamaican immigrant gives her bullied young son and herself a reprieve with his first trip to her homeland. As they ease into the change of pace, Mom gets shocking news that forces her to make a life-changing decision. This short film from writer / producer Malaika Paquiot and directo...
REMEMBER YESTERDAY
OPENING ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS ON FEBRUARY 14
Interview by Emmanuel Itier
When diner owner Jenny Hill's childhood sweetheart returns home to direct a new film project, her once stable life is turned upside down. She finds herself face to face with the possibility of a second chance at the life she had once longed for; performing on stage and being in love. But is that what's been missing in her life? Confusion, misdirection and an old...
THE LEGEND OF MEXMAN is an extraordinary Documentary about Obsession, Filmmaking and Mental Health Struggles
Emmanuel Itier in conversation with director Josh Polon:
Q: What was the inspiration and what was the ambition?
Josh: German Alonso was truly an inspiration for this film. He has such a creative light within him. He is a fascinating character. He is constantly working with his mind and with his hands. We met in 2008 and then he invited me to his art stud...
THE DPA 2023 GOLDEN GLOBES NOMINEES GIFT BAG: A WORLD OF WONDERS!
It’s again Christmas in January as Ms. Nathalie Dubois, from DPA entertainment strategist company, made the tour de force of putting together an impressive number of glamourous brands in a hand delivered gift bag worth $3,500! Golden Globes nominees can celebrate as if they had already won. Some of this year’s gift bag recipients were Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, Angela Basset, Austin Butler, Colin Farrell, Di...
A review by Emmanuel ITIER and Roxanna BINA.
Here comes the magical season, here comes your time to enter the movieland of Universal Studios Hollywood (https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us ).
To immerge yourself in the spirit of the holidays the first stop at Universal Studios Hollywood is to visit the “Grinchmas” plaza, at the beginning of the park. Make sure to take a family picture while drinking a yummy hot chocolate under the 65 foot-tall “Grinch...
DPA GIFT SUITE – EMMYS 2022
Photos by: Clair Painchaud.
It’s a clear Sunday morning at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard hotel, just one day before the legendary Emmys celebration. Everyone is on the deck to set up the Emmys 2022 DPA Gift suite. Nathalie Dubois with a firm smile is leading her crew to set up all the booths with various brands to be offered to the many guests, actors, writers, producers, directors who will grace her kingdom of goodies.
We are lucky to be ...
LEGOLAND – SUMMER 2022
BUILD YOUR SUMMER HAPPINESS…ONE BRICK AT A TIME
By Emmanuel Itier and Roxanna Bina
If there is one necessary stop for the summer in order to build yourself a little more happiness, it is the land of the bricks as known as Legoland California . Make sure you block one, or ideally two days, with a complete park hopping ticket in order to partake the many rides and activities at the theme park, the water park and the not so well know aq...
THIS SUMMER: BECOME THE MOVIES!!!!
You started the summer by enjoying the Universal blockbusters, ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ and ‘Minions: Rise of Gru’, now is your time to become the movies you loved to watch and to indulge into the ultimate live action film experience: Universal Studios Hollywood (https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us ).
Fasten your seat belts and let’s jump into this summer promised land!
The first impression while pa...
Itier Emmanuel 
