Pro Tools
FILMFESTIVALS | 24/7 world wide coverage
Welcome !
Enjoy the best of both worlds: Film & Festival News, exploring the best of the film festivals community.
Launched in 1995, relentlessly connecting films to festivals, documenting and promoting festivals worldwide.
Working on an upgrade soon.
For collaboration, editorial contributions, or publicity, please send us an email here.
|
Independent
(Mawusi Tulani, Agyei Augusto, © Hélène Louvart/Dezenove Som e Imagens)
Written by Victor Santana
In the act of telling a story, the process of narrative can influence and change how one relates and deals with the happenings in time. A great narrative has the power to overcome the circumstances of time and bridge the gap of space between the moment when someone is listening or telling a story and the timeless realm where a story is taking place.
...
(Georgis Grigorakis, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Vangelis Mourikis, Argyris Pandazaras © Berlinale 2020)
by Lindsay R. Bellinger
"I saw a poster in the train station here (Berlin) about the environmental crisis being the next Berlin Wall. And I think that this is what the film is about." ~ Georgis Grigorakis
The Greek film Digger from director Georgis Grigorakis won the Art Cinema Award on Saturday, the 29th of February, which was awarded by the Int...
Har Kisse Ke Hisse Kaamyaab, Review: Many parts, many holes, no whole, no soul
In one scene of Har Kisse Ke Hisse Kaamyaab, the protagonist, an actor who goes under the screen name of Sudheer, cannot get his lines right, because he has not had a swig of his favourite brew, and gives retake after retake. We see him do seven/eight retakes, after which, mercifully, the film-maker goes into a montage, with only music, after which it is revealed that he had given as many as 32 retakes. Mercifully,...
Guns of Banaras, Review: Where are the bullets?
When Nathalia Kaur, who was born Nathalia Pinheiro Felipe Martins, in Brazil, appears in the credit titles as the lead actress in probably her first Hindi heroine assignment, and Karann Nathh, son of producer and star-secretary ‘Rikku’ Rakeshnath, 37, who had worked in Yeh Dil Aashiqana, Ssshhh... and Tera Kya Hoga Johnny, makes a come-back after 12 years, your curiosity is aroused. It is further fuelled by the belief that this must ...
Thappad, Review: This slap is going to cost you dear
A simple, significant, timely and relevant story line might be too thin to stretch into a full-length movie. Having settled for such a plot, the options would include spreading the narrative thinly across the pages of a tight screenplay, or padding it up with sub-plots and characters that might not be vital to the theme. Thappad (Slap) opts for the latter choice, and, in the process, dilutes its impact. What emerges is a well-made film that...
Bhoot, the Haunted Ship-Part I, Review: Scares are scarce
Considering the negligible number of ghost stories being made in India, Bhoot, the Haunted Ship-Part I, made by names Dharma and ZEE, would have been a film to look forward to. It turns-up with a mixed bag, offering more mix than bag. Firstly, the title is a giveaway, for we already know that there is going to be a ship and that it will be haunted. Secondly, the film plays totally safe, in catering to both kinds of audiences—thos...
Shukranu-Hui Emotion ki Nasbandi, Review: Tale of forced sterilisations lacks potency
In modern Indian history, the Internal Emergency, proclaimed in 1975 and in place for about two years, is regarded as a highly controversial phase. During this period, buses and trains ran on time, attendance in government establishments increased astronomically, corruption was all but eliminated and prices of a host of essential commodities were controlled. But all this was accompanied by curbs on freedom o...
Love Aaj Kal 2020, Review: 141 minutes of messy, moronic, melodramatic mishmash
What do you do when that elusive commodity called plot decides to stay clear of your net? You dig into your archives and find a film that you think lends itself to building a sequel. You also pay a visit to the Hollywood classic which helped you spawn another set of two films, the first a charmer, the second that should have been much warmer. And so, from the stable that gave us Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal 2009 and J...
Malang, Review: Why knot when you cannot unknot?
Six cops, a serial cop killer, a wandering maiden, a Swedish female drug peddler and a sexually starved wife form the core dramatis personae of Malang, a crime-vendetta-whodunit tale that comes with a misleading title. Malang can mean many things, all of them associated with detached, saintly, carefree, Sufi and seer type individuals, often seen as wandering minstrels. You will have to test the elasticity of your imagination in order to co-rela...
MIFF 2020, Open Forum 2: “Viewers are willing to pay for docu content”
Documentaries rarely provide investment returns, let alone earning profits. But that is about to change, or has it changed already? This was discussed on Day 2 of the Open Forum, organised by the Indian Documentary Producers’ Association (IDPA), under the topic, ‘Generating Avenues and Creating Revenues.’ Moderated by Ravi Iyer (Executive Committee Member, IDPA), the panel consisted of Manika ...
MIFF 2020, Twin Press Conferences: Son Rise and Shevanti
Two film units held a joint press conference at MIFF on the 29th of January, representing the films Son Rise and Shevanti. Both films were the first two to be screened earlier in the National Competition Section.
Vibha Bakshi, director of Son Rise, described her film as dealing with social empowerment and about ordinary men doing extraordinary things. It is dedicated to the incredible people of Haryana and is not about men v/s women. R...
Kaanchli—Life in a Slough, Review: Slough and unsteady loses the race
Probably the only thing going for Kaanchli is the fact that it is based on a Vijaydan ‘Bijji’ Detha story. Detha inspired the films Duvidha (directed by Mani Kaul), which was remade as Paheli (Amol Palekar), Charandas Chor (Habeeb Tanveer), Lajwanti (Pushpendra Singh) and Parinati (Prakash Jha). The much decorated author died in 2013, after writing some 800 short stories, all in Rajasthani, often translate...
Jai Mummy Di, Review: Absence of substance
Two middle-aged women hate each other for reasons unknown to their spouses and their children. One of them as two sons and the other has a daughter. In a modern day, pretentious comic re-working of Romeo and Juliet, the elder son of one of them and the daughter of the other are madly in love with each other, a fact that they have kept secret from their parents. Jai Mummy Di is for audiences who find this premise and its manifestations really funny, a...
Bunker, Review: Half-baked war debunker
You have to concede that the premise is brave. The makers describe Bunker as India’s first anti-war film, and it is being released at a time when war mongers are itching for all out military action against Pakistan. Laudable and lofty ambitions, however, seldom translate into cinematic excellence, and we have one more case in point. Skeletal and simplistic, Bunker fails to grow beyond its own line of control.
Lieutenant Vikram Singh is the lone s...
Tanhaji-The Unsung Warrior, Review: Leap of faith
High on spectacle and CGI, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior is a 3D extravaganza that taps nationalistic fervour, digging into history, and re-tracing a glorious chapter from the life and times of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Patriotism is not a recent ideal, and the 17th century is fairly recent for a country that was home to the Indus Valley Civilisation. Generous liberties are taken with the story, as is the norm in biopics, either to fill...
Chhapaak, Review: Aesthetic and prosthetic
Laxmi Agarwal had acid thrown on her face and body in 2005. She survived, and lived to identify the attackers. What’s more, she succeeded in getting amendments made in the Indian Penal Code that recognise acid attacks as a separate category, and increasing the maximum penalty for the crime from seven years to ten years. India’s Supreme Court also ruled that the sale of acid should be regulated. So why has Meghna Gulzar made a film on her ...
New Amazon Prime series remembers The Forgotten Army
While Mahatma Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was leading a non-violent agitation against India’s British rulers, Netaji Subhashchandra Bose headed an army, the Indian National Army (INA/Azad Hind Fauj) outside India, an army that battled colonial forces on the Singapore-Thailand-Myanmar route and reached India’s North-Eastern Border, near Imphal, before being pushed back and defeated. Bose himself is reported to have died in an air...
Malang’s action-packed trailer released
An action-packed trailer of the forthcoming film Malang was released at PVR multiplex, Juhu, Mumbai, today, exactly one month before the scheduled release of the film. The film stars Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani and Kunal Khemu, and is directed by Mohit Suri, who helmed Ek Villain and Aashiqui 2. It is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Kishan Kumar (of the T-Series banner), Luv Ranjan, Ankur Garg and Jay Shewakramani.
Speaking on the occa...
Chhapaak song released with a splash bash
Exactly a week before the film’s release, the makers of Chhapaak released the title track at a media get-together held on Friday afternoon, at the JW Marriott Hotel, Juhu, Mumbai. Present on the occasion were Gulzar, Meghna Gulzar, Deepika Padukone, Vikrant Massey, Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonca.
Chhapaak, the word, means the sound created when a liquid is splashed, is a film about a woman who had acid splashed on her face, ...
Sab Kushal Mangal, Review: Well, well!
Marriages at gunpoint are something of a norm in Bihar and Jharkhand, the latter having been a part of Bihar. On the movie screen too, such marriages have provided fodder for a few ventures, very recently in Jabariya Jodi. It is a burning societal problem that joins usually unwilling grooms in married unity, with a girl they have never seen or met before. The practice prevails because parents of educated grooms-to-be demand dowry that runs into seven fig...
Shimla Mirchi, Review: Chilly? Don't be silly!
Several highs dot the career graph of director Ramesh Sippy, right from his debut in 1971 as a 24 year-old, with the remake of A Man and a Woman (Claude Lelouch, France, 1966) under the title, Andaz. Crests include Seeta Aur Geeta, Sholay and Buniyaad (TV series), relative high points were reached with Saagar and Shakti, and troughs bogged him down when he attempted Shaan, Bhrashtachar, Akayla and Zamaana Diwana. Completed 19 years after Zama...
With screenings in the heart of Hollywood, the Los Angeles Crime and Horror Film Festival's prior season ended with a sold out screening and multiple filmmakers approached by distributors. From zombies and vampires to slashers and mobsters, LACHFF showcases the many sub-genres of crime and horror in independent film from around the world with an event in the entertainment capital of the world.
Award winners are officially recognized with verified awards listings on IMDb. And the best of eac...
Good Newwz, Review: Madame Ovary
Apologies to Gustave Flaubert, whose French novel, Madame Bovary, lends itself to the headline for this review. The title was too punny to escape, what with his famous trial of 1857, on charges of obscenity, and the subsequent classification of the work as a classic of modern realism. Among those who made films on this subject are Jean Renoir, Vincente Minnelli, Claude Chabrol and David Lean, not to mention our own Ketan Mehta’s Maya Memsaab. Good Newwz ...
Relive Association
Zadbone 16
51551 Veli Losinj
APOX Film Festival Press Release
The cultural event APOX Film Festival, which is being held for the first time on the island of Lošinj, wishes to thank everyone who will participate in such a great event in this area. The goal is to bring culture and media together, connect young people and film enthusiasts to participate in this project. The...
|
Poll
Dear filmfestivals.com Visitor: can you please tell us which is your profession? Thanks
I am filmmaker
41%
A festival organizer
19%
A journalist
5%
A film professionnal (neither filmmaker, nor festival staff or media)
7%
A film student
12%
Just a film fan
16%
Total votes: 3978
|
