In continuation of my tribute to Persian cinema (previous article) I am still long overdue to review this stellar film of 2009 that I watched months ago and again recently with the intention to interview actor Navid Akhavan; but alas, our schedules rarely coincide to make the time to meet up so in the interim I will take this time to say a few words about ‘For A Moment, Freedom'.   Directed by Arash T. Riahi, ‘For A Moment Freedom' features an ensem...

Shirin Ebadi   DIALOGUE WITH SHIRIN EBADI 2003 Noble Prize Winner, Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer and human rights advocate talked with famous screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière at the DAY IN TEHRAN event, organized, June 13th, in Paris, France on the grounds of the Cinémathèque Française. Shirin Ebadi is one of the very first female judges in Iran. Her constant and unfailing efforts in fostering  Human Rights for the weak and needy, in particular, women's rights, ch...

FESTIVAL DO RIO 2009 : 24 September to 8 October, 2009 Across 15 days, commencing September 24, the city of Rio de Janeiro once again becomes the official capital of cinema. Festival do Rio, the Rio de Janeiro Film Festival, will present more than 300 films from more than 60 countries, shown in around 40 locations, distributed between cinemas and sites around Rio.  This year's programme will include for the first time public events staged in 10 of the city's squares. Festival do...

Today, under the auspices of the 66th Mostra, the European Parliament unveiled the three contending films for the LUX Prize 2009: Eastern Plays (Kamen Kalev), Sturm (Hans-Christian Schmid) and Welcome (Philippe Lioret) will compete for the film prize that has been awarded by the European Parliament to a European co-production for the last two years. For the winner, the LUX Prize 2009 (lux is the Latin word for light), worth about 87,000 Euros, will finance subtitling in the EU's...

Today, under the auspices of the 66th Mostra, the European Parliament unveiled the three contending films for the LUX Prize 2009: Eastern Plays (Kamen Kalev), Sturm (Hans-Christian Schmid) and Welcome (Philippe Lioret) will compete for the film prize that has been awarded by the European Parliament to a European co-production for the last two years.For the winner, the LUX Prize 2009 (lux is the Latin word for light), worth about 87,000 Euros, will finance subtitling in the EU’s 23 official lan...

The Viennale 2008, which will come to an end with today’s screening of the closing film Waltz With Bashir, is proud to present a successful outcome.With a total of 92,100 Viennale-goers the 2008 festival has scored a slight increase in the number of visitors.Last year’s record was 91,700.Due to a larger number of screenings, the capacity sank from 79.20% in 2007 to 76.80% at the Viennale 2008.Out of a total of 332 film screenings, 116, i.e., approximately a third, were sold out.The capacity ...

EFP sets up extended umbrella office and supports filmmakers and sales companies from across Europe at PIFF (October 2 - 10, 2008) European films on the rise at South Korea's Pusan International Film Festival European Cinema is on the rise at the Pusan's International Film Festival (PIFF) which will be held from October 2 - 10, 2008. This year, PIFF is screening 85 European films - out of a total of 271 films from 64 countries - making an increase of one third compared to last year. With the sup...

Peter Fonda is Jury President at the 4th Zurich Film FestivalFestival Programme announcement: 2 World Premieres in the International CompetitionThe festival administration announced the programme and the members of this year’s jury at their press conference on September 11, 2008. The 4th Zurich Film Festival will present selected films by young filmmakers from around the world in the cinemas corso and Le Paris. In order to encourage the creation of new films, The Zurich Film Festival will pres...

Monday, September 1-------After a 10 day marathon of world cinema, the Montreal World Film Festival concluded this evening with its gala Awards Ceremony and a screening of the French/Swiss/Belgian film Home, starring Isabelle Huppert. While French-language films are de rigeur in this French speaking city, the Festival’s highest honor went to a Japanese film. The Grand Prix des Ameriques, announced from the stage of the Theater Maisonneuve by Jury President (and Oscar nominated American directo...

After a 10 day marathon of world cinema, the Montreal World Film Festival concluded this evening with its gala Awards Ceremony and a screening of the French/Swiss/Belgian film Home, starring Isabelle Huppert. While French-language films are de rigeur in this French speaking city, the Festival’s highest honor went to a Japanese film. The Grand Prix des Ameriques, announced from the stage of the Theater Maisonneuve by Jury President (and Oscar nominated American director) Mark Rydell, was awarde...

Themes of Relationship Prove Strong Motive at This Year's best MIFF Shorts AwardsAttracting an incredible 1,100 entries from all corners of the globe, the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is delighted to announce the winners of the best MIFF short awards. Now in its 45th year, the best MIFF shorts competition is the most prestigious short film competition in the Asia Pacific Region.This year, the 91 short films competing for AUD$35,000 in prizes were judged by the official best MIFF ...

The prizes of the 48th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film were awarded on Saturday evening in Leipzig. The main prizes of the festival went to "Before Flying Back to the Earth" by Arunas Matelis, Lithuania (Golden Dove for the best long documentary); "For a Miracle" by Jarek Sztandera, Poland (Golden Dove for the best short documentary); "Mississippi" by Arash T. Riahi, Austria (Golden Dove for the best animated film); "The North Star" by Erkko Lyytinen, Finland (Ta...