"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">  .............                                                                                                                                                          NEWSLETTER N° 491: January 7, 2011 Season's greeting to all our friends on the festival circuit! Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly ...

 .............                                                                                                                                                          NEWSLETTER N° 491: January 7, 2011 Season's greeting to all our friends on the festival circuit! Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly Contact the Editor, Advertise with us  Thi...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival, January 27 – February 6, will open the 2011 Festival with the film SARAH’S KEY. Already receiving critical acclaim across the world, the French film will make its U.S. premiere at the Santa Barbara Festival’s opening night event. The filmstarsKristin Scott Thomas and is directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner, both of whom are scheduled to be in attendance. Opening night will take place at the Arlington Theatre on Thursday, January 27, 2011.Remarked...

 By Liza Forman Tokyo International Film Festival Winners 2010/TIFFCOM WrapAt this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival (October 23-31, 2010),Intimate Grammar took home the $50,000 Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix -- the second time Israeli director Nir Bergman has won the main award.Bergman’sBroken Wings also took the mainprize at TIFF in 2002, making him the only director to win it twice. 98-year-old Japanese director, Kaneto Shindo won the special jury prize, for POST CARD, a film about the...

Tokyo International Film Festival Winners 2010/TIFFCOM WrapAt this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival (October 23-31, 2010),Intimate Grammar took home the $50,000 Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix -- the second time Israeli director Nir Bergman has won the main award.Bergman’s Broken Wings also took the mainprize at TIFF in 2002, making him the only director to win it twice. 98-year-old Japanese director, Kaneto Shindo won the special jury prize, for POST CARD, a film about the effects of WWII o...

By Liza Foreman  Catherine Deneuve, Jesse Eisenberg and The Social Network scribe Aaron Sorkin all made the trek tothe Japanese capital to join Asian glitterati on the Tokyo International FilmFestival’s green carpet, which snaked through a mass of neon-clad high-rises in Downtown Tokyo  to celebrate opening night.After speeches from the festival head Tom Yoda and top Japanese politicos, including the country’sminister for economics, industry and culture, who spoke about the country’s ...

BUDDHA MOUNTAIN now completes the competition line-up of the 23rd edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival ((東京国際映画祭) which will take place from the 23rd to 31st of October. BUDDHA MOUNTAIN is Li Yu's already nominated feature in Taiwan; set in the mountainous region around Chengdu, it tells the story of a retired opera singer and her boarding tenants, a rock singer and a student who has run away from home after a fight with his father. Tokyo Competition LineupAnd Peace o...

BUDDHA MOUNTAIN (dir Li Yu) To Complete The 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival Competition Line-UpBUDDHA MOUNTAIN now completes the competition line-up of the 23rd edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival ((東京国際映画祭) which will take place from the 23rd to 31st of October. BUDDHA MOUNTAIN is Li Yu's already nominated feature in Taiwan; set in the mountainous region around Chengdu, it tells the story of a retired opera singer and her boar...

By Liza ForemanThe 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced another eight films for the competition section.The films in the competition section will be competing for six awards, including the prestigious “Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix.” The winners will be announced at the festival's Closing Ceremony on October 31st.The Competition So Far -“Beautiful Boy” - U.S.ADirectors: Shawn KuA shooting massacres in a college. Parents fear their son's safety, but the news they receive ...

 Manoel De Oliveira (Portugal) The Toronto International Film Festival has always had a love affair with European cinema and this year, in its 35th anniversary year, is no different. Nearly half of the films presented here this week are European or have European co-production partners. The European Film Promotion organization is assisting nearly 50 European sales companies with their presence here in order to assist the films in finding North American distribution here. More in ...

''Chicogrande'', by Felipe Cazals, opening film of San Sebastian Film Festival 58th Edition ''Elle s'appelait Sarah (Sarah’s Key)'', by the French filmmaker Gilles Paquet-Brenner, will close the 58th San Sebastian Festival   The actress Yun Junghee will open Zabaltegi-Pearls with Poetry while Richard J. Lewis, Paul Giamatti and Rosamund Pike will present Barney’s Version, the film closing Zabaltegi-Pearls in San Sebastian. For his part, Diego Luna will open the Horizo...

For the 6th year in a row, European Film Promotion (EFP) is assisting the marketing campaigns of European films through its Film Sales Support scheme (FSS) at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) which runs September 9 - 19. Backed by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union, 25 different European sales agents and two production companies are benefitting from the financial help for the promotion of 47 films this year. With an annual programme of close on 120 European fil...

Choke (Directors week) Goooooood, that was dirty fun, Sundance folks loved it the audience here loved it a lot Another story of the America of today. A former medical student, Victor, has found a way of paying for his Alzheimer afflicted mother's illness: he pretends to choke when dining in expensive reataurants. And there is always someone who feels responsible for his life and sends a cheque. Victor also goes to centers where he treats his addiction to sex while working in a thema...

Marion Cotillard will receive the Hollywood Film Festival's "Hollywood Breakthrough Actress of the Year Award" at the Festival's October 22 awards ceremony.Marion Cotillard's selection was determined due to her distinguished performance in Olivier Dahan's "La Vie en Rose," a biography of the famous French chanteuse Edith Piaf. From the slums of Paris to the limelight of New York, Edith Piaf's life was a battle to sing and survive, to live and love. Raised in poverty, Edith's magical voice and he...