"Chosebuz" is the traditional name of the city of Cottbus in the local
Sorbian (Wendish) language, a minority Slavic tongue which is now
unfortunately on the verge of extinction, but the culture of which survives
in various forms in this border region of East Germany. The Cottbus Film
Festival, now in its 16th edition was established in 1991 in order to
promote the films of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. This is
one international film festival (as opposed to single country film we...
"Chosebuz" is the traditional name of the city of Cottbus in the local Sorbian (Wendish) language, a minority Slavic tongue which is now unfortunately on the verge of extinction, but the culture of which survives in various forms in this border region of East Germany. The Cottbus Film Festival, now in its 16th edition was established in 1991 in order to promote the films of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. This is one international film festival (as opposed to single country film we...
Cardiff Film Festival officially opens at Cineworld, Cardiff on November 8th at 7.30pm with Art School Confidential. Directed by Terry Zwigoff (Bad Santa) and featuring a star studded cast with Max Minghella, Sophie Myles, John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Steve Buscemi and Angelica Huston, the film is shown as part of a black tie gala evening with all proceeds supporting the work of the Community Foundation in sustaining community causes throughout Wales.The night’s attractions, in addition to t...
The second Thursday of the 50th Times BFI London Film Festival began promisingly with my first if brief visit to the Film-makers' Breakfasts held some mornings in the festival hotel, the St James Sofitel. a converted bank in the heart of clubland.In the small oak- panelled bar, directors du jour were already seated at 9.30am for their 90-minute rounds of interviews, cheerily marshalled by perky PRs.I managed a short but pleasant interview(see it here later!) with Denmark's Pernille Fischer Chris...
Nursing a bit of a "resaca" (aka "jengober", or just plain hangover) ... after the JAMAN reception yesterday at the Hotel Londres, which has leapt to the fore as a hot contender for the unofficial "BDPW" Concha, or "Best Damn Party of the Week Award. The thing that characterized this reception -- which started at eight and went on until well after midnight -- was, understated class and a quality mix of people, exquisite "amuse-gueules" (bitey snacks or 'pintxos'), and an endless supply of tasty...
The critics may have not liked "The Da Vinci Code" but surely they have been able to handle complex material before. At least that is what they claim was the problem. After all, Fibonnaci numbers are only used to access a Swiss bank account.Todd McCarthy at Variety wrote a scanty review of little insight. Problem with pic is not the information but the potboiler approach by helmer Ron Howard. Second, there is NO chemistry between Hanks and Tatou. You can feel her warmth but Hanks is somewhere e...
Movie theater audiences have steadily shrunk over the past 50 years. This brings a very important concern to the forefront: will movie theaters continue to exist among all the new media and technology? With so many different ways to distribute a film, it is a matter of sociology as to why one would want to go into a dark movie theater and experience a film with a group of strangers or even alone in the dark.Several of these topics were addressed at a recent Sundance Film Festival panel I attende...
The Sheffield International Documentary Festival is delighted to announce the launch of its UK Tour at the NATIONAL FILM THEATRE from the 2nd – 5th February 2006. Returning for the seventh year, it features the ‘best of the fest’ from the Festival which took place in October 2005. The four day event marks the beginning of a three month UK tour visiting numerous towns and cities including Belfast, Bradford, Bristol, Brixton, Chichester, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hammersmith, Hereford, Lee...
Private investment is key to develop the UAE’s budding film industry, concludes expert panel on "providing finance to the film industry in the UAE" at DIFF 2005A panel discussion that brought together financial experts and film industry players was held at the 2nd Dubai International Film Festival yesterday. It concluded that private investment would be the single most significant source of funding to drive film industry development in the UAE. Other avenues that aspiring film makers could suc...
Shoot Me : takes place from 27 to 30 October, The Hague, The Netherlands Shoot Me is a new independent film festival in The Hague that offers a chance to young filmmakers, both local and international, to show their films to a large public. Because of the increased use of new technology such as the Internet, digital recording and editing, creating your own film is within the reach of a growing number of people. Everybody can tell his or her story. Unfortunately, these films often don’t reach ...
170 productions from 40 countries at the Inaugural Edition of the New Montreal Filmfest including 60 Feature-Length Films in World, International or North-American première!The New Montreal Filmfest has announced those films selected for the very first edition, set to take place from September 18th to 25th, 2005. And let the record show that Program Director Moritz de Hadeln and his team have managed to score a plethora of extraordinary productions to open Montreal’s newest world-class even...
Tango Odyssey Leads Filmmaker Back Home to Bay AreaWhen local filmmaker Joshua Dylan Mellars got the idea to film his first documentary Tango Illusions in Buenos Aires, he had no idea that it would take a seven-year journey to complete it. Like good wine, filmmaking can take time. Tango Illusions premieres at the Napa-Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival on Saturday, August 13 at 6 pm at the Nicholson Ranch Winery in Sonoma.“My desire to film Tango Illusions has taken me to some strange places. S...
Mike Miller's Ten and a Half Captures Prestigious ASA Top Honors John E. Johnson, Executive Director of the American Screenwriters Association (ASA), announced today that Mike Miller of Vista, CA has won the Grand Prize of the 8th Annual International Screenwriting Competition, sponsored by the American Screenwriters Association and Gotham Writers' Workshop. The award will be presented at the Actor's Ball & Awards Gala on September 24, 2005 as part of the San Diego Film Festival and ASA Internat...
Press conference with Emily Watson and Peter Medak on Dubrovnik International Film Festival 2005 Q&A with Emily Watson and Peter Medak“-Tell us your impressions of Dubrovnik”Emily Watson: “ Its completely stunning. Blows your mind away. It’s absolutely beautiful. We should make films here, its perfect. And the fact you have managed to do not have cars. It’s amazing, it’s really beautiful. ”“-About Dubrovnik impressions?”Peter Medak: “Just magical, absolutely! We just walked a...
NEWFEST KICKS OFF GAY PRIDE MONTHJune is, among other things, Gay Pride Month, a time for the gay and lesbian communities around the US to celebrate their hard-won rights and freedoms. Celebrations range from street fairs to parades to fashion shows and music concerts. And film festivals. In June alone, gay and lesbian film festivals will be held in such gay strongholds as New York, Provincetown and San Francisco. In the coming months, more than 40 such events will be held around the US. These f...
2ND WARSAW JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL (MAY 19 -- 25, 2005)A ROUSING SUCCESSBy Alex Deleon-PevnyThe second convening of the new International Jewish Film Festival in Warsaw proved to be an even bigger success than the first edition a year ago. The official Polish designation, directly translated, comes out as "The Warsaw International Film Festival on Jewish Motifs" which seems to leave room for a broad interpretation of just what it is that counts as a "Jewish film". Indeed, as we shall see, some of ...
FIPRESCI Prize: PRIVATE (Saverio Costanzo, Italy, 2004)Jury Statement – Marcelo Janot, Henry Sheehan and Zlatko Vidackovic We found that PRIVATE combined creative ingenuity and passion in ways that would be unusual for a seasoned director, never mind for someone making a debut feature. Saverio Costanzo has created a dramatic situation that could easily have lent itself to sloganeering: A self-confident and educated Palestinian family suddenly finds its house occupied by an Israeli army platoon...
Danny Boyle’s ‘Millions’ to open The 4th RAINDANCE EAST FILM FESTIVALEast London, April 21 -28, 2005The 4th annual Raindance East Film Festival today announces that the new film from acclaimed Trainspotting director Danny Boyle will open the festival on April 21 at the Genesis Mile End cinema. The hotly anticipated Millions is the story of two young boys who come across the loot from a bank robbery but need to spend it within a week before the UK converts to the Euro.East End resident Dan...
World Premiere of “When Do We Eat?” opens the fest U.S. Premiere of “Checking Out” to closeOver 150 films headline fest with 11 World PremieresOver a 150 diverse films will screen at the Palm Beach International Film Festival event, including features, documentaries and shorts. The eight-day Fest will introduce 11 world premieres, 6 U.S. premieres and 43 Florida premieres, including 30 international films.“This is an exciting year for us--we have reached the milestone of our 10th anni...
The Directors Guild of Great Britain celebrated its second Directors Guild Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Film and Television with a gala ceremony at the Curzon Mayfair in London on the 20th of March 2005.The DGGB Awards honoured, amongst others, director Sam Mendes with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in theatre and film and director Simon McBurney with an Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatre. The evening was compered by Michael Winner. Kevin S...
PAFF Panels and Workshops Word Up: Marketing & PromotionWhat does it take to get the attention of the public? Catchy phrases, lots of press, flashy t-shirts? Our panelists are veteran film marketers who will share their wealth of experience with the audience. Position yourself in the right circles. Confirmed panelists: Roz Stevenson, Publicist for "RAY", Eva Davis, VP of Warner Home Video, Lynn Jeter, Artist Manager and Publicist and Jasmyne Cannick, producer and publicist for the upcoming cabl...
After months of receiving and reviewing submissions, the South by Southwest Film Conference & Festival (SXSW Film) announces the lineup of feature films for this year's event. The lineup includes over 40 world and U.S. premieres, set to be unveiled March 11-19, 2005 in venues throughout Austin, TX.The following is the lineup of features for SXSW 2005. NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION:CAVITEDir: Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana; Cast: Ian Gamazon, Dominique Gonzalez.An American citizen visiting his ...
Greetings from the quiet space below main street known as the digital center. It's peaceful here at 10:00 a.m. but once the sun sets, the v.i.p. lines form , the alcohol flows and the ego's engage it's total carnage.details so far:Emporer's Journey: this 84 minute french documentary follows the life cycle (in all it's romance and drama) of the emperor penguin. Filmaker Luc Jaquet spent 14 months on an antarctic iceberg shooting 140 hours of footage (including underwater scenes) with a crew of tw...
The Regal Entertainment Group7th Annual Sarasota Film FestivalJanuary 28 – February 6, 2005It’s time to leave the daily hum-drum of life and enter the world of flickering lights, fantasy dreams, tall tales, romance, reel life, fabulous parties, rock ‘n roll, educational journeys and so much more as the 7th Annual SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL gets underway. The 10-day event will take place in the Gulf Coast resort city of Sarasota, Florida January 28 thru February 6, 2005. The Regal Entertainme...
The third Discovering Latin America Film Festival in LondonThe third edition of the ‘Discovering Latin America Film Festival’ closed in London on December 5th amid great satisfaction among the organizers. Although the event had grown considerably since last year, with a larger number of films and, for the first time, master classes, they had managed to make it run smoothly. This is an unusual film festival, run by a group of enthusiastic amateurs. The artistic director personally introduced ...
