by Alex Deleon On the heels of the 2012 Berlinale, forming a kind of coda to the busy week preceding, four unusual pictures from Iran were presented in this extra special Persian package, one each evening starting Sunday, at the Babylon Theater in Rosa Luxemburg Square.  The Babylon located just west of Alexander Platz in what used to be Communist East Berlin, is one of the oldest movie theaters in Berlin and is now a protected architectural monument. It is also one of the regular Be...

by Alex Deleon-Sinha Although little known ourtside of the Indian Sub-Continent itself there are several so-called "regional" film industries in India  each of which produces as many or more feature films a year in the regional languages as are produced in the Hindi mainstream industry of Bombay (Whence the brand name known to the world as "Bolly-wood"). Of course, Bombay has now been officially rechristened Mumbai, but this doesn't change anything cinematically ...

By Maria Esteves – February 15, 2012 The 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards hosted by two-time GRAMMY winner LL COOL J was held at STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, California, Sunday, February 12, 2012, 8:00pm ET. Presented by The Recording Academy, produced by John Cossette Productions and AEG Ehrlich Ventures, GRAMMY Awards honored musical excellence in the recording arts and sciences to artists and technical professionals of 2011. This year’s GRAMMY sponsors were Delta Air Lines, Dial Global Radio,...

Mardi Gras Fair Day At Victoria Park; Sydney, Australia For many Sydney-siders Fair Day was a great way to kick off the official Mardi Gras season, with a fun and relaxed day at Sydney's Victoria Park. Estimates indicate that about 70,000 people came to enjoy Fair Day. The 2012 Fair Day featured a range of activities. The main music stage offered up Maxine Kauter, Brendan Maclean, Mary Kiani, Gen Chadwick,  Shimtastic, Kristy Apps...

  by Alex Deleon Wed. Feb.9, 2012                                   The 62nd Berlinale opened this afternoon for early arriving journalists even before the Opening Gala which will be held tonight with two special press screenings. First up was the rousing Bollywood actioner ¨DON 2, The King Is Back¨ starring The K...

  by Alex Deleon The 62nd Berlinale opened this afternoon for early arriving journalists even before the Opening Gala which will be held tonight  with two special press screenings. First up was the rousing Bollywood actioner ''DON 2, The King Is Back'' starring The King of  Bollywood himself, Shah Rukh Khan, and this was followed by the much anticipated Angela Jolie directed Bosnian War drama,  ''Land of Blood and Hone'' (Zemlja Krvi a Mjod),  in which the actress does not herself...

By Alex Deleon For the second time in three years a major Bollywood "blockbuster" starring top Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) will have a high profile opening at Berlin.  The title of the new film is "DON 2, The King is Back", and is directed by star director Farhan Akhtar. In 2012 Mr. Khan was here for the world's premier of "My Name Khan" --a combination political film and love strory set in the USA. The subject of that one was actually anti-Isla...

EVOKING ALAIN ROBBE-GRILLET     To most cinema lovers Robbe-Grillet is best known for the fantastic screenplay of  "Last Year in Marienbad," directed by Alain Resnais and the winner of the Golden Lion in Venice. A story about the the paths of memory, the game of Marienbad has become one of the most interesting mathematical challenges that subverts the very idea of ​​the game since the first one to play is the one that always wins. The film caused an uproar...

By Maria Esteves – January 29, 2012 The 21st New York Jewish Film Festival 2012 (NYJFF2012) closing night world premiere documentary of Welcome to Kutsher’s: The Last Catskills Resorts, directed by Caroline Laskow and Ian Rosenberg was held at the Walter Reade Theater, Thursday, January 26, 2012. Presented by the Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the sold out world premiere documentary of Kutsher’s Country Club included entertainer actor/comedian Jerry Stiller (Still...

  Actor in a Leading Role Demián Bichir in "A Better Life" George Clooney in "The Descendants" Jean Dujardin in "The Artist" Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Brad Pitt in "Moneyball" Actor in a Supporting Role Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn" Jonah Hill in "Moneyball" Nick Nolte in "Warrior" Christopher Plummer in "Beginners" Max von Sydow in "...

Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" and The Artist led the nominations for the 84th Academy Awards, which were announced in Los Angeles this morning. Hugo took 11 nominations and was followed closely by Michel Hazanavicius's "The Artist," with 10 nominations (in the the top 5 categories). Other contenders for best picture category include "The Descendants," "The Help," "Midnight in Paris," "Moneyball," "The Tree of Life," "War Horse" and one of the surprises "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close." Other...

23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards - January 21, 2012 One of the awards season’s marquee events, The Producers Guild Awards celebrates the finest producing work of the year, and gives the Guild an opportunity to honor some of the living legends who have shaped our profession. Considered a strong prognosticator for the Best Picture Oscar®, the announcement of the Guild’s Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures is one of the most eagerly-anticipated of the se...

  The world comes to the Sundance Film Festival from January 19 to 29. In the past several years, the Festival, which first made its reputation with American Indie cinema, has put as much emphasis on its World Cinema competitions, including sections for Dramatic Feature and Documentary Feature. By laying out a red carpet for international filmmakers and industry professionals, Sundance has been able to go mano-a-mano with such prestigious European-based film festivals as Berlin, Cannes a...

With seven more films, the Competition programme of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival is nearing completion. To date it includes 22 films, of which 17 are vying for the Golden and Silver Bears. 18 films will celebrate their world premieres in the Competition of the Berlinale 2012.     The productions in the Competition are from the following countries: Brazil, Canada, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Germany, the People's Republic of China, France...

Taviani, Petzold and Billy Bob Thornton: World Premieres in the Competition and Angelina Jolie's Directorial Debut in the New Cinema at the ‘Haus der Berliner Festspiele' An additional ten world premieres will be screening in the Competition programme of the Berlinale 2012. Directors Billy Bob Thornton, Christian Petzold, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Benedek Fliegauf, Hans-Christian Schmid, Matthias Glasner, Miguel Gomes, Alain Gomis, Ursula Meier and Spiros Stathoulopoulos will all be competin...

As in past years, the documentary sector appears to be consistently stabile, politically engaged and in its diversity well equipped for the cinema. Moreover, it's a treasure trove for themes that inspire fictional films.   On February 10, 2012, in Cinestar7, the Panorama Dokumente will open with The Reluctant Revolutionary by British director Sean McAllister. The film is about a Yemenite tourist guide who slowly abandons his professional distance towards the political "spring&...

Film Means Business is delighted to welcome a fantastic panel line-up, featuring some of the UK's leading Film industry Professionals. They will be discussing International Co-Production from a UK Producer's perspective. What is an official co-production? Which territories have signed official co-production treaties with the UK and what are the benefits to co-producing your film with them? What is the British Film Industry's role? We will hear from 2 of the UK's prominent, experienced Producti...

By Maria Esteves – January 16, 2012 The Body & SOUL Annual 2012 Martin Luther King (MLK) dance music celebration presented by JD Productions John Davis with world renown resident DJs Joaquin "Joe" Claussell, Francois “K” Kevorkian, and Danny Krivit was held at the historical Webster Hall ballroom, New York, Sunday, January 15, 6:00 PM. Attendees included artists, disk jockeys, industry professionals, and dance patrons. The power and importance of music, the universal...

As part of the Festival’s official programme, the Berlinale Special 2012 will be presenting recent works by contemporary filmmakers, film portraits of outstanding personalities, extraordinary formats and restored cinema masterpieces. In addition to the six films already announced (see press releases from Dec. 19, 2011, and Jan. 9, 2012), twelve more titles have been confirmed for this year’s Berlinale Special programme.In 2012 talks will be hosted following the screenings of a number of Berl...

By Maria Esteves – January 14, 2012 The 54th Annual Grammy Awards Nominations were announced by The Recording Academy on Friday, November 30, 2011. It is the year that marks a profound presence in the genre of electronic and dance music. Electronic dance music producer Skrillex (Sonny John Moore) received five Grammy nominations including Best New Artist. 14-time Grammy winner producer/singer Kanye West received seven Grammy nominations including Song of the Year. Adele, Bruno Mars, and Foo...