DER FILM - the festival of German-language films will be held in Prague for the first time from October 4 - 8. Prague's AERO and SVĚTOZOR program cinemas will be showing a total of 22 feature films and documentaries from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The festival is being organised by the Goethe Institut, the Austrian Culture Forum and the Swiss Embassy in Prague.The festival will be opened with the most successful German film of this year, THE LIVES OF OTHERS (DAS LEBEN DER ANDEREN) by...

"Alles auf Zucker" (Go for Zucker: An Unorthodox Comedy), the first Jewish comedy made in Germany since World War II, won "Lola" awards for best film, best director and best actor, as well as top honors for screenwriting, costume and music.The film, which cost just 1.5 million euros has been a surprise box office hit, beat the blockbuster "Der Untergang" (Downfall), about Hitler's final days, which went home empty-handed."I just beat Hitler!...It's just great that a little Communist guy of Jewis...

NOMINATIONS FOR THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS 2004:EUROPEAN FILM 2004ETT HÅL I MITT HJÄRTA (A Hole In My Heart), Sweden/Denmarkdirected by Lukas Moodyssonproduced by Memfis Film, Zentropa, Film I Väst, SVT, Nordic Film- & TV FundGEGEN DIE WAND (Head-On), Germanydirected by Fatih Akinproduced by Wüste Filmproduktion /Corazon International /NDR /ARTELA MALA EDUCACIÓN (Bad Education), Spaindirected by Pedro Almodóvarproduced by El Deseo D.A., S.L.U.LES CHORISTES (The Chorus), France/Switzerlanddir...

THE SANTA FE FILM FESTIVAL 2004 December 1 – December 5 The Santa Fe Film Festival, which opens Wednesday, is preserving its reputation as an Oscar bellwether.Seven titles that played in last year’s Santa Fe Film Festival subsequently netted Oscar honors, collecting a grand total of 16 nominations among them.This season’s Oscar finalists won’t be announced until Jan. 25, 2005, with the awards ceremony following on Feb. 27.But two documentary features in this week’s Santa Fe Film Festiv...

There are documentaries and documentaries! The festival of Leipzig was an example that today, more than ever; the interest of the public in documentaries is growing. In Germany, as in the rest of Europe, more than 10 documentaries are being shown this year in ordinary cinemas.. The festival illustrated this interest very well. The public was young and the cinemas were (over) crowded. In one of the workshops it was stated that these documentaries are a response to the mainstream productions see...

The International Festival for Documentary and Animated Films has awarded an Honorary Golden Dove to Fred Gehler for his life work.Fred Gehler, the festival’s artistic director since 1994, has ensured that the festival gained great international reputation and reached new records as regards the number of visitors. Moreover, in his capacity as a film journalist and cinema director as well as through his own cineastic work, he has had considerable influence on the genre’s further development.I...

Stars Shine at Toronto’s 29th International Film FestivalThe Toronto International Film Festival now in its 29th year, brings the biggest and brightest stars of Hollywood, the film industry and the world to this prestigious Film Festival. TIFF takes place from September 9th to the 18th and is known and the largest and best Film Festival worldwide. The list of visitors who will be on hand in Toronto will be meeting greeting and highlighting there newest films and projects to best promote the m...

This year, a total of 28 German films and German-international co-productions are being presented at the 29th Toronto International Film Festival (9-18 September 2004), DOWNFALL (DER UNTERGANG) by Oliver Hirschbiegel will have its international premiere in Toronto as a Gala Screening. This section will also feature the co-productions BEYOND THE SEA by Kevin Spacey, IMAGINARY HEROES by Dan Harris and MODIGLIANI by Mick Davis. Two German Oscar prize-winners will present their new films in Toront...

International competition highlights from Leipzig: "Touch the Sound" is this year’s opening film at the festivalThe new film of Thomas Riedelsheimer (Two German Film Awards for "Rivers and Tides") will celebrate its first German screening as the opening film of the 47th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Films on October 19, 2004. "Touch the Sound" has recently been awarded the Main Prize of the "Semaine de la Critique" at the International Locarno Film Festival. The f...

Toronto festival (Sept. 9-18) has revealed its full line upGALA PRESENTATIONSWorld PremiereARSÈNE LUPIN (F)Jean-Paul Salomé, France / United Kingdom / Spain / Italy, 2004World PremiereBEING JULIA (F)István Szabó, Canada / United Kingdom / Hungary, 2004World PremiereBEYOND THE SEA (F)Kevin Spacey, United Kingdom / Germany, 2004North American PremiereCLEAN (F)Olivier Assayas, France / United Kingdom / Canada, 2004World PremiereDOWNFALL (F)Oliver Hirschbiegel, Germany, 2004World PremiereFIVE CH...

The 2004 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival will be held at the recently-restored Roxy Theater in downtown Missoula February 20-25, 2004. The festival will showcase 75 non-fiction films from all styles, formats and production dates, from the most innovative and timely new films to classics and rare historic works. "We are honored to show some of the best non-fiction films from around the world," said festival director Doug Hawes-Davis. "With over 500 entries, it was no easy task to choose this ye...