One of the films to screen on opening night at AIFF 2011 was HERMANO (Venezuela, 2011). Marcel Rasquin's film, 'Hermano' (2010) conjures up reminiscence to the Brazilian hit film, 'City of God' (2002), not because it is similar, but because it is THAT GOOD! We start with a baby boy (Daniel) left to die in a dumpster. A mother picks the baby out of the dumpster and takes him home with her young son, Julio. Then we jump to years later when both boys- Daniel and Julio- are grown up to young me...

  Ajami (2009) is a film about the living situation between Muslims and Christians living side by side with each other in Tel Aviv and their everyday struggles in this political/religious contentious hot spot. Ajami writers/directors Scandar Copti (Palestinian) and Yaron Shani (Israeli) sat on panel on January 10, 2010 and spoke with audiences about their seven year journey making their controversial film. When I asked about the details of their film’s production, Scandar r...

London’s leading Latin American film festival will open its door to the public for the 6th time in 2007, featuring internationally acclaimed films, documentaries, and directors to celebrate ethnic diversity and help projects to tackle poverty in Latin America. The Festival will take place between 22nd November and 2nd December, in four of London’s main venues, Odeon Covent Garden, Odeon Panton Street, Ritzy and Tate Modern. The public will have the opportunity to see recent productions, some...

6th Discovering Latin America Film Festival22 Nov – 2 Dec 2007London’s leading Latin American film festival will open its door to the public for the 6th time in 2007, featuring internationally acclaimed films, documentaries, and directors to celebrate ethnic diversity and help projects to tackle poverty in Latin America. The Festival will take place between 22nd November and 2nd December, in four of London’s main venues, Odeon Covent Garden, Odeon Panton Street, Ritzy and Tate Modern. The ...

Foreign Films – and Denys Arcand -- Invade HollywoodThough fewer and fewer foreign films flicker on America’s screens every year, foreign films – and foreigners -- enjoyed a strong showing at Sunday night’s Academy awards. Nominations went to Brazilian’s City of God, New Zealand’s Whale Rider, France’s The Triplets of Belleville and Germany’s Die Rote Jacke, to name a few. Not one of these films walked away with the gold Sunday night, but plenty of New Zealander from the Lord of ...