Hello.  This is my first blog entry anywhere, ever.  Our musuem is holding a film competition, awards ceremony to be held Septemeber 29, 2007.  It is for silent film 18 minutes or shorter --no synchronized sound.  We are doing this to promote the history of film making in our area.  DW Griffith, Mack Sennett, James Kirkwood, Mary Pickford, the Gish sisters and many others came here in 1909 before they ever went to Los Angeles.Edwin Thanhouser will be giving a talk about film preservation an...

 Wednesday, March 14----Austin, Texas was the focus for the cutting-edge in cinema and music, as the South By Southwest Festival (SXSW) presented its parallel film festival and music conference to a record audience of filmmakers, musicians, industry suits and buffs of all stripes. The Festival, directed by Matt Dentler, is growing in influence and scope as a place for discovering new talents. The Festival came to a climax with its Gala Awards Ceremony held last evening at the Austin Conventi...

No one seems better suited to transform Jhumpa Lahiri’s touching prose into film than Mira Nair. Both the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of INTERPRETER OF MALADIES and the director of SALAAM BOMBAY and MONSOON WEDDING know firsthand about the Indian-American immigrant experience, the clash of cultures, and the search for identity that informs their art. Adapted from Lahiri’s eponymous first novel, published in 2003, the deeply felt family drama doesn’t disappoint.The narrative unfolds diffe...

Saturday, March 3---Stewart Copeland makes his entrance with a bang. Whether bounding onto the California Theatre stage before a packed house of 1,100 people or striding into a small room for a press conference, the founder of the newly reunited The Police radiates high energy. He flings his arms in the air, and his voice booms all the way to the last row of the balcony and back. Never has anyone been so enthusiastic about receiving a Cinequest Maverick Spirit Award. Just a 50-year-old suburban ...

For its 2007 edition, the Oriental Film Festival has selected a few movies in English or with English subtitles. Asia and society, Nadia Naffa, documentary, Jordan, 5’, DVD. A disabled woman fights for recognition in Jordan. Being Osama, Mahmoud Kaabour and Tim Schwab, documentary, Canada/Emirates, 2004, 42’, DVD. An intimate portrait of six men with different personal histories, interrests and personalities, but which have two things in common: their Arab origin, and a first name, Osama. Wh...

Le Festival du Film Oriental a choisi pour 2007 de mettre en avant le dynamisme des femmes d’Orient, réalisatrices ou actrices sociales. De nombreux films sélectionnés ont ainsi été réalisés par des femmes. Farida Benlyazid, figure emblématique du cinéma marocain, sera ainsi présente pour présenter plusieurs de ses films : La Chienne de Vie de Juanita Narboni, ou encore Ruses de Femmes. Salma Beccar, réalisatrice tunisienne, sera quant à elle présente pour la projection de son fi...

The FestivalIt all started in 1985 entitled No Budget Festival as a small festival that mainly screened super 8 films. It grew larger and larger over the years and now is one of the most important short film festivals in Europe. It lures nearly 15,000 spectators into the world of short film every summer. The festival is hosted by the KurzFilmAgentur Hamburg. The Festival directors are Jürgen Kittel and Karsten Stempel. From June 3 to June 10 the 9th Mo&Friese Children's Short Film Fest...

It is Monday, March 12th, and Cinequest has come to an end. This is a bitter-sweet moment; on the one hand I am already missing the frenetic buzz of running from film to forum and back to film, stopping to chat with filmmakers and attendees along the way and getting another caffeine dose in order to do it all over again. On the other hand, this now frees me up to actually get to the blog entries I have been meaning to assail you with, covering everything from my favorite festival films, to my fi...

In the moments before the press conference kicked off on Saturday, Jens Hussey spoke a little about the term 'maverick'. He explained that the word originated from a Texas cattleman named Sam Maverick, who refused to brand his cattle, preferring instead to let them roam free, not 'following the herd'. This is the main principle of the Cinequest Film Festival, to embrace the maverick filmmaker, to promote new innovations and artistry in film and to present the visions of filmmaker...