Friday, December 29-----In a last farewell nod to the best films of the past year, respected film website IndieWire has announced the results of its first annual Critics Poll. The Romanian drama THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU, an emotionally devastating meditation on the thin line between life and death, was the top choice of a group of 100 leading North American film critics. The film, the second feature of director Cristi Puiu, won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, wa...
Monday, November 27----Three of the fifteen documentary feature films selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as contenders for this year's Best Documentary Oscar are associated with the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA). The 79th Academy Awards will be given out on Sunday, February 27, 2007 in Los Angeles.
SISTERS IN LAW, co-directed by Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi, opened last year's Festival and also copped the prestigious IDFA Audi...
Wednesday, September 13----The French can be credited for many things....romantic love, opulent architecture, delicious (and fattening) foods, and most of the "isms" of the last few centuries. In the middle of the 20th century, the "ism de jour" was existentialism, a world view that was both personal and communal in describing the human condition and man's place in the universe. With the help of such seminal figures as Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, existentialism became a major liter...
Most festivals, in their debut year, have a modest agenda and try to keep expectations at a low pitch. Not so the Rome Film Fest, which is approaching its inaugural session with the velocity of an unstoppable train.It has always seemed curious to Americans why some of Europe’s largest cities have not had a major film festival attached to them. Why, we wonder, did it take decades for Paris, the most cinephile of cities, to launch its own film event? Why are there no major film festivals in such...
Friday, June 9---One of the most consistently popular sections at the annual Troia International Film Festival is devoted to American Independents. This year, six films, most having their European premieres at the event, will compete for the Dolphin Award.
The films are quite diverse in their genres, directorial styles and use of their regional base. In Anthony Ng’s 212, which had its world premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, a diverse group of twenty-something New Yorkers grasp for...
One of the most consistently popular sections at the annual Troia International Film Festival is devoted to American Independents. This year, six films, most having their European premieres at the event, will compete for the Dolphin Award. The films are quite diverse in their genres, directorial styles and use of their regional base. In Anthony Ng’s 212, which had its world premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, a diverse group of twenty-something New Yorkers grasp for love and intimacy ...
Friday, June 2, Setubal---The 22nd edition of the TROIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Portugal's oldest and most prestigious film event, had a gala Opening this evening in the beautiful coastal town of Setubal.
The Opening Night festivities began with the screening of a rare silent film by director Victor Sjostrom. TERGE VIGEN, produced in 1917, is a film of rare beauty and quality from one of Scandanavia's earliest film giants. The film has been restored by the Norwegian Film Institute, with...
The 2005 Melbourne International Film Festival takes place from july 20 to August 7. EDGY EUROPE, CHAN FROM CHINA – NOTHING LIKE SYDNEYFrom Lukas Moodysson’s provocative A Hole in My Heart to Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s confronting 4, this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival explores edgy European cinema, as well as films direct from Cannes, and takes a look at Chinese cinema, with a focus on the revealing and entertaining director, Fruit Chan – among many other things, as Executive D...
