The specialty theatrical scene in New York City is about to get a new jolt with the highly anticipated expansion by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, among the city's most prestigious film institutions. The long-awaited Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center is a gloriously modern 17,500 square-foot venue, will house two theaters, an amphitheater and a café, adding a potential for 4 different screens at the same time (including the Walter Reade Theater, the Film Society's current showca...
OK......let me set up the scene. You and your slacker roommate are living in a cheap rent apartment in one of San Francisco's less tony neighborhoods. One night, you hear an argument of torrential rage coming from behind the paper-thin walls from the apartment next door. Night after night, you are captivated by the hilarious and insidious darkness of the epithets being thrown from one person to the other, and then the bright idea strikes you.......record the madhouse melee for your fr...
While this year's 40th edition of New Directors/New Films, the showcase of debut directors co-presented by New York's Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art, is certainly international in scope, several of the films on tap have a decidedly Spanish accent. For a festival that has in the past 40 years uncovered a strong array of Spanish and Latin American talents, this year's Spanish-accented films are among the strongest in the program.
Films from Pe...
678 (Mohamed Diab, Egypt)
There is no doubt that we are living in historic times. The political and social upheaval in the Middle East and northern Africa are among the most stunning events of the new millennium, and it still remains unclear whether this will herald a period of unprecedented stability and its complete opposite. Helping us to understand the turmoil and the inner lives of those cultures, four films in the New Directors/New Film series, entering its first weekend...
New Directors/New Films, the program of film discoveries co-presented by New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, has been a strong launching pad for debut directors over the past four decades. In its 40 years, the event has introduced such leading international cinema auteurs as Chantal Akerman, Pedro Almodóvar, Guillermo Del Toro, Agnieszka Holland, Wong Kar Wai, George Miller and Christopher Nolan, as well as such important American film talen...
It has been a long accepted article of faith that music can transcend time and space and jog the mind to realizations and awakenings. Music therapy has become one of tools used by professionals to treat those with memory loss due to disease, braiin tumors or simply old age. The power of music to heal is at the core of the new American indie film THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED, the directorial debut of producer-turned-director Jim Kohlberg. The film made its local premiere last Thursday as a...
It has been a long accepted article of faith that music can transcend time and space and jog the mind to realizations and awakenings. Music therapy has become one of tools used by professionals to treat those with memory loss due to disease, braiin tumors or simply old age. The power of music to heal is at the core of the new American indie film THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED, the directorial debut of producer-turned-director Jim Kohlberg. The film made its local premiere last Thursday as a special scr...
Austin, Texas, the state capitol and the venue for the South By Southwest Film, Music and Interactive Festival (SXSW), is an island of liberalism in a sea of conservative attitudes. While Texas is the definite "red" state, characterized by its conservative politics and rigid social attitudes, SXSW is by design and nature a progressive affair. This slightly schizophrenic relationship has created some interesting moments at SXSW in the past week, with a film that uncovers the hidden secrets behind...
While Hollywood films are the last thing on the minds of the Japanese people as they confront the most challenging period in their modern history since the end of World War II, the effect and response from the US entertainment industry has been swift. Japan represents a huge chunk of the international dollars made mainly by Hollywood films and animation projects. As much as 20% of international revenues for Disney comes from the island nation, and the major studios all have large pres...
Austin, Texas, the state capitol and the venue for the South By Southwest Film, Music and Interactive Festival (SXSW), is an island of liberalism in a sea of conservative attitudes. While Texas is the definite "red" state, characterized by its conservative politics and rigid social attitudes, SXSW is by design and nature a progressive affair. This slightly schizophrenic relationship has created some interesting moments at SXSW in the past week, with a film that uncovers the ...
When cold weather descends on New York City, our local meterologists generally lay the blame at the door of our massive neighbor to the north. They refer to a cold air mass as a "Canadian front" and when it is in the forecast, be prepared for your bones to chill.
Well, another Canadian front is on the horizon, but this one is much more benign, in fact it is downright welcome. Canadian Front 2011 is the yearly showcase of new Canadian cinema that starts tomorrow at New ...
Despite intense economic challenges and a precipitous cut in cultural funding, the Palm Beach International Film Festival, one of the best regional festivals on the circuit, is persevering with an exciting program planned for later this month. Longtime Festival honcho Randi Emerman continues to push on for quality and diversity for local audiences in Palm Beach County, an area on Florida's southeast coast that perhaps has the greatest disparity between wealth and poverty in the nation...
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY (Catherine Breillat)
Kathryn Bigelow may have broken through the glass ceiling with her historic Best Director Oscar win last year for THE HURT LOCKER, but the door was not pushed wide open for women directors in the American film industry. Despite strong work by such American indie stalwarts as Lisa Cholodenko (THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT) and Nicole Holofcener (PLEASE GIVE), and the emergence of a number of debut directors (chief among them Debra Granik with WIN...
Even in a year where indie films made considerable noise during the just-concluded awards season, the odds have never been as difficult for quality American indies to reach the big screen as they are now. While distributors are certainly on the lookout for the next WINTER’S BONE or THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, many films simply disappear after an anemic theatrical opening or never make it to first base at all.
This comes to mind with the opening this month of one of the stronger fi...
It is a longstanding amour fou......the crazy love New Yorkers have for all things French, and the French appreciation of New York as its cultural cousin. For both sides, the yearly Rendez-Vous With French Cinema program, which is now running in several venues around New York City, is both an erotic embrace and a dazzling dance. For francophiles and film buffs, it is a film feast.
Presented by the Film Society at Lincoln Center and Unifrance, the 16th edition offers its customary ho...
Brooklyn…..get ready for some true glamour. Catherine Deneuve, the grande dame of French cinema will receive a career retrospective starting on Friday, March 4 at the BAMcinématek, Brooklyn’s leading art house cinema. In the month-long tribute, 25 films from the great actress’ varied career over five decades will be showcased. The program is co-presented by Unifrance, in collaboration with Music Box Films, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, and Institut Français. BAM...
When your movie defies the odds and sweeps the major categories at both the Oscars and the British Academy Awards (as in Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay), there is no question that as a producer you see your stock rise. For the trio of producers of THE KING'S SPEECH, a decidedly indie film with a budget of less than $15 million, the gates to Hollywood are now open, and they are stepping through.
Iain Canning is a 31-year-old Londoner who has mainly made low ...
At a film festival that totals more than 250 feature films (not to mention an additional 250 features in the accompanying European Film Market), one can only skim the surface of an event as wide-ranging as the Berlinale. Film choices are often based on schedule availability....grabbing a screening in between meetings or making sure one is awake to catch the early morning press screenings of the Competition program. In a sense, one only gets a random taste of the very far-flung program...
Berlin Film In Focus: NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPERATION The Iranian film NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPERATION (terrible title, that) was the big winner at the 61st edition of the Berlinale, winning the Golden Bear as Best Film and Best Actor and Best Actress Silver Bears for its ensemble cast of men and women. The film, directed by Asghar Farhadi, who won a Silver Bear as Best Dierctor in 2009 for DARBAREYE, will certainly be one of the most talked about international films of the year. With the current a...
The Iranian film NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPERATION (terrible title, that) was the big winner at the 61st edition of the Berlinale, winning the Golden Bear as Best Film and Best Actor and Best Actress Silver Bears for its ensemble cast of men and women. The film, directed by Asghar Farhadi, who won a Silver Bear as Best Dierctor in 2009 for DARBAREYE, will certainly be one of the most talked about international films of the year. With the current attention of the world on the emerging democ...
It was without a doubt the hottest ticket and the coolest party in town. On Friday evening, tout Berlin was partying at the former Templehof Airport to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Teddy Awards, also known as the "gay Oscars". The Teddys are voted on by specific juries for the best gay-themed films screening in all sections of the Berlinale. The Teddy jury is comprised of queer festival programmers from around the world.
Winning the top award was German...
............. NEWSLETTER N° 497: february 18, 2011 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly Contact the Editor, Advertise with us This weekly newsletter reaches 90 931 film professionnals. ...
............. NEWSLETTER N° 497: february 18, 2011 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly Contact the Editor, Advertise with us This weekly newsletter reaches 90 931 film professionnals. ...
The Berlinale cherishes its reputation as the pre-eminent film festival for international LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender) cinema. The Berlinale, particularly the Panorama section, has had a pink streak for decades. In recent years, it has also helped launch many gay-themed films to significant box office success and international distribution. In addition, Berlin is the place where over 150 gay film festival programmers and film buyers from around the world congregate t...
IRANIAN FILM TAKES LEAD IN CRITICS POLL
Trade magazine Screen International has been conducting a poll among leading international critics to predict the film that will win the Golden Bear award, the Berlinale's top prize. Each day in the trade's dailies, seven internationally respected critics are polled to get their response and to (possibly) handicap the winner, which will be announced on Sunday. The critics include Scott Foundas (Film Comment, USA), Derek Malcolm (London Even...
