LONG LIVE THE KNIGHTS! (Karel Janák, Czech Republic)   At the heart of the Zlin Film Festival, which had its official opening this morning at the Grand Cinema, the 2500+ seat movie palace that is the largest in the Czech Republic, are films made for the children's and youth market. While the Hollywood studios package big budget fantasy films for the enthusiastic base of young cinemagoers, the films being showcased this week here are of a different stripe. Whle their stories va...

  It seems amazing, especially in the context of a film festival, that there might be a time in the not so distant future when young people will think of films as something they can download onto their mobile devices and view on their mini screens. Films as big screen events may never completely die, but clearly the trend towards miniaturization has made the wide screen epics of yesteryear seem quaintly anachronistic. Well, as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, th...

JOURNEY TO THE BEGINNING OF TIME (1955, Karel Zeman) The eyes of the film industry are pointing east this week as the Zlin Film Festival kicks off its 50th anniversary celebrations in the UNESCO heritage city in the Moravia district of eastern Czech Republic. A mix of filmmmakers, programmers, distributors, critics and journalists have come from Europe, North America, Asia and beyond to participate in this year's event, the largest devoted to children and youth cinema (with many ad...

As he packs his bags for the Czech Republic to attend the Opening Night Gala screening of his film THE PERFECT AGE OF ROCK N ROLL as the kick-off event for the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Zlin Film Festival on Monday evening, I had a chance to talk with the film's director Scott Rosenbaum about his American indie rock n roll drama. Rosenbaum, who also is serving on the jury for the Official Competition, is primed for his Zlin adventure. Sandy Mandelberger (SM): When did the idea of maki...

As he packs his bags for the Czech Republic to attend the Opening Night Gala screening of his film THE PERFECT AGE OF ROCK N ROLL as the kick-off event for the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Zlin Film Festival on Monday evening, I had a chance to talk with the film's director Scott Rosenbaum about his American indie rock n roll drama. Rosenbaum, who also is serving on the jury for the Official Competition, is primed for his Zlin adventure. Sandy Mandelberger (SM): When did...

  On the eve of the Zlin Film Festival, which kicks off its 50th anniversary celebrations on Sunday, May 30, I spoke with the very busy Petr Koliha, the Festival's Artistic Director. As the first major film event following Cannes, the Zlin Film Festival takes up the mantle of film appreciation, with a particular focus to film and media projects produced for the children and youth market. As all eyes turn east to the UNESCO heritage city of Zlin in eastern Czech Republic, Petr Koliha sha...

On the eve of the Zlin Film Festival, which kicks off its 50th anniversary celebrations on Sunday, May 30, I spoke with the very busy Petr Koliha, the Festival's Artistic Director. As the first major film event following Cannes, the Zlin Film Festival takes up the mantle of film appreciation, with a particular focus to film and media projects produced for the children and youth market. As all eyes turn east to the UNESCO heritage city of Zlin in eastern Czech Republic, Petr Koliha shares his tho...

.............                                                      WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER N° 466: may 24, 2010 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly The Future of Cinema Salon in Cannes gave a toast to Future of Festivals Filmfestivals.com and Xomo gathered 100 festival directors attending Cannes for a wine tasting reception. Our Cannes...

  THE PERFECT AGE OF ROCK N ROLL, an award-winning American Independent drama directed by Scott Rosenbaum and featuring a stellar cast that includes Peter Fonda, Kevin Zegers, Jason Ritter, Lukas Haas, Kelly Lynch, Ruby Dee, Lauren Holly and Taryn Manning, will be the Opening Night Gala presentation of the Zlin Film Festival. The film, which is making its Eastern European Premiere at the Festival, kicks off the 50th anniversary celebrations on Monday evening, May 31, as one of Eur...

  As the Cannes Film Festival winds down and media professionals leave en masse for home (if their airplanes are not delayed by volcanic ash or French airline strikes), 500 miles to the northeast in the Czech Republic, the Zlin Film Festival is revving up for its 50th anniversary celebrations that begin next weekend. In the world of film festivals, the celebration of film never seems to end. The Zlin Film Festival, one of the oldest film events in the world, has been planning its 50...

  In preparation for the launch of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Zlin Film Festival, which officially opens on Sunday, May 30th, the Festival organization is displaying an art exhibit by one of its most famous native sons, Peter Sis, the Czech-born author, illustrator and filmmaker. To be technical, Sis was born in Brno, which is less than 50 miles away, but Zlin has many right to claim him as one of their own. As the major film event devoted to children and young adul...

  With less than 2 weeks to go until the 50th anniversary celebrations begin for the ZLIN FILM FESTIVAL, the first major film  event following CANNES, the question I am hearing from associates is: where and what is Zlin? Well, let me answer that with some relevant information on a city both historic and modern. Zlin is a city situated in the southeastern Moravian district of what is now the Czech Republic. The city is a natural metropolis, a city of statues, a university seat and ...

.............                                                      WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER N° 465: may 13, 2010 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly The Future of Cinema Salon returns to Cannes Filmfestivals.com and Xomo present the Future of Festivals...its Digital...toast !  Mingle Talk and Wine tasting at the Spa des Stars  May ...

.............                                                      WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER N° 464: may 6, 2010 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly The Future of Cinema Salon returns to Cannes Filmfestivals.com and Xomo present the Future of Festivals...its Digital...toast !  Mingle Talk and Wine tasting at the Spa des Stars (next t...

  So, you may be saying.....what exactly is a film clapperboard? Well, since the beginning of films, the clapperboard has  been used to visually introduce scenes so that a director and editor can organize their shots. While some prefer the new digital clapperboards, many filmmakers prefer the traditional wooden ones. Not only are a kind of nostalgia for the classic period of cinema but the loud "thwack" they make when they are closed is a sound that technicians, actors and di...

  British actress Jodie Whittaker is the first of many international guests to be announced who will be coming to the Zlin Film Festival in the Czech Republic later this month to help fete the Festival on its 50th anniverary. Whittaker has previously been seen at the Zlin Film Festival before, albeit only on the big screen. Two years ago, the Festival screened the screen comedy ST. TRINIAN'S in its Competition Section. This year, Whittaker appears in two films screening at the ...

    The Zlin Film Festival, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary from May 30 to June 6, is a chance to not only discover cinema from the past and the present, but also an introduction to the city's unique status as a UNESCO Heritage Site. For those who know their modernist architectural history, Zlin is indeed a utopia of modernity. Situated in the Moravian district in the eastern corner of what is now the Czech Republic, Zlin was a planned city that espoused modernis...

  2010 is a special year in the history of Czech cinema. Not only is it the 50th anniversary of the Zlin Film Festival (which runs from May 30 to June 6 in the UNESCO heritage city in the Czech Republic) but the Festival will honor milestones in Czech cinema, both old and new.         The Festival is marking the centenary of the birth of one of the cofounders of Zlín’s film...

 Wednesday, June 25------European Film Promotion (EFP), the pan-European association of governmental promotion agencies that represent the film industries of 25 European countries, continues its New York Industry Screenings as a way of targeting New York-based distributors, programmers and press. Over the past two days, EFP presented a program of 4 critically acclaimed European feature films with special screenings and receptions at the Tribeca Cinemas in lower Manhattan.   Films Distribution ...

ZLÍN 2005 – INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTHMay 29 – June 4, 2005The 45th International Film Festival for Children and Youth, which will last until Saturday, June 4, was started in Zlín on Sunday, May 29, 2005.Every year, the Zlín film festival brings its viewers dozens of films from all over the world. The main pillars of the festival are international competitions of feature and animated films for children and youth. Within the framework of support for young filmmakers...