Here at ÉCU we wish to celebrate the most adroit talents in indie cinema today and seek out the finest actors who display passion, intensity and ingenuity in their work. This week’s spotlight is on Dublin born actor Emmett Scanlan who starred as Charlie Barnum in the dark Irish film Charlie Casanova (2010), a part which won him Best Actor at the ÉCU 2011 awards. Scanlan was carefully chosen for this award out of the all the actors who featured in the 77 films from 26 different countrie...

Fellini’s Il Casanova and the competition film Sympathy for Lady Vengeance by Park Chan-wook brought world class art cinema to the screens of Venezia 62 yesterday. There is Casanova, and there is Il Casanova. Fellini’s Il Casanova is required viewing before or after the popular success of Lasse Hallström’s Casanova. The restoration of Fellini’s 1976 print began in 2001 and was supervised by Giuseppe Rotunna, the photographer of the film present at the press conference at Venice today a...

Lasse Hallström’s out of competition film Casanova is the story of Casanova, a man searching for way out of being condemned to death for his amorous adventures. He needs a wife or maybe a new perspective. Soon he meets Francesca (Sienna Miller),a young Venetian who writes under the name of Bruno Guardia. Jeremy Irons plays the inquisitor Pucci who searches for both Guardia and Casanova (Heath Ledger). Lisa Olin, Hallström’s real life wife plays Francesca’s mother, and Oliver Platt, a lar...