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...

The seventh AniFest, International Festival of Animated Films, is successfully over. According to latest data, around 35,000 visitors came to see the festival programs in 14 different venues around Třeboň. AniFest has brought the traditional mixture of good mood, beautiful setting, and what is most important, animation. AniFest Grand Prix was awarded to the French feature-length film “Persepolis” directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud.The winner of the International Comp...

AFP The Wednesday evening opening ceremonies for the 61st Cannes Festival featured the In-Competition screening of Blindness, in the presence of director Fernando Meirelles and actors Danny Glover, Julianne Moore, and Gael García Bernal. A number of celebrities were spotted on the red-carpeted steps to the palace, including Un Certain Regard jury president Fatih Akin, Claude Lelouch, and Faye Dunaway. Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for Information Society and Media, also attended the...

The French film PERSEPOLIS has won the Audience Award of the 37th International Film Festival Rotterdam. Earlier in the festival, PERSEPOLIS was also honoured with the young people jury’s MovieSquad Award. The festival counted 355,000 visits to its 250 feature films, 450 short films, exhibitions, live performances and events. Sunday February 3, the festival closes with the ‘Volkskrantdag’, a pre-booked screening day of festival favorites. The 38th International Film Festival Rotterdam will...

The MovieSquad Award of the young people’s jury at the International Film Festival Rotterdam has been given to French animated film PERSEPOLIS on January 31, 2008. The five jury members, aged between 16 and 19 years, voted PERSEPOLIS by Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud as best out of the twenty-two festival films they considered for the prize. Dutch youngsters Ms. Giulia Bijvoet (17), Mr. Wouter Booij (19), Mr. Sander Kersten (16), Ms. Katia Truijen (17) and Mr. Glenn Vergoossen (17) judg...

Yesterday, the Starz Denver Film Festival wrapped its 30th year of bringing international film and filmmakers to Denver. The 11-day event was a huge success, seeing a 16 percent increase in attendance with 45,136 people attending the films and events. There were more than 375 screenings, of which 125 were sell-outs! The films were diverse, the parties were fabulous, the red carpet events were star-studded and the award ceremonies were memorable. The Closing Night celebration was one to remember....

By Maria Esteves - October 19, 2007 The 45th New York Film Festival (NYFF) 2007, Closing Night Premiere film, PERSEPOLIS a Sony Pictures Classics, directed/written by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, was held at Avery Fisher Hall, Sunday, October 14, 8:30pm. The festival presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center was sponsored by SARDEGNA and The New York Times. Winner of the Special Jury Award, 2007 Cannes Film Festival, Oscar Nominee for Best Foreign Language in France, ...

Girls On The Run by SHANNON DUNN for AFI oline Dailies When Dorothy admitted to Toto they weren't in Kansas anymore, she knew quite certainly she was in for a bumpy ride. It may be almost 70 years since audiences embraced the Wizard of Oz and that young girl on the run, but little has changed on the cinematic scene when it comes to women - young and old - who face and embrace turmoil to find an inner strength they didn't know they had. From female screenwriters who tell a real-life tale through...

 Friday, November 2---------At the Closing Gala of the 51st Times bfi London Film Festival, held last evening at the close of the 14-day festival marathon, a host of awards were announced. While the Festival does not have a Competition Section per se, films screening in its various sections are eligible for some special awards.The Sutherland Trophy is awarded to the director of the most original and imaginative first feature film screened at Festival. The winners were the French directing team ...

 Thursday, November 1---------At the Closing Gala of the 51st Times bfi London Film Festival, a host of awards were announced. While the Festival does not have a Competition Section per se, films screening in its various sections are eligible for some special awards.The Sutherland Trophy is awarded to the director of the most original and imaginative first feature film screened at Festival. The winners were the French directing team of Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud for the animated film...

Tonight, The Times BFI 51st London Film Festival rounded off a record-breaking year with THE DARJEELING LIMITED. This year’s 51st Festival hosted 185 feature films and 133 short films from 43 countries, 412 screenings and 515 visiting international filmmakers, over 1000 industry professionals including a record 191 buyers and sellers, and the highest ever audience attendance. International glamour on the red carpet featured throughout the Festival’s 16 days. Wes Anderson was joined by Jason ...

 Friday, October 12--------As the New York Film Festival enters its final weekend, there are still ample opportunities to sample a very tasty smorgasboard of international film offerings. The mix of titles includes modern film noir, an instant animation classic, a contemporary American farce, and some intriguing films from Asia and south of the border. If you've been delaying getting to Lincoln Center for this year's event, it is now last call.Don't be daunted by the 163 minute running time o...

This is a year of many firsts for Persepolis co-directors Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud. Their first feature-length film has won them their first In-Competition selection at the Cannes Festival. The team has come to the Croisette with an animated film which, as a first feature, is also in the running for a Golden Camera award. Adapted from the Satrapi's original graphic novel, based on her own life, the action in this animated  feature begins in Tehran in 1978, on the eve of the Isl...