THE INTERNATIONAL ROME FILM FESTIVAL October 27 - November 4 2011   The background behind the financial crisis in Too Big to Fail by Curtis Hanson The 2008 financial crisis and the collapse of Lehman Brothers are the main focus of Too Big to Fail, the film by Oscar® winner Curtis Hanson  to be  premiered in the Official Selection of the International Rome Film Festival (27 October - 4 November, Auditorium Parco della Musica). The TV-film produced b...

WE HAVE A POPE (HABEMUS PAPAM, Italy, 2011)This year at Cannes Nanni Moretti’s latest film, HEBEMUS PAPAM, screened in competition. It later went to screen at the Sarajevo Film Festival in July and now this week it makes its North American premier at TIFF 2011.  The film is about a new pope (played by Michel Piccoli) who decides he cannot take the colossal responsibility of his new public role and ends up seeking psychological help to come to terms with his private past. In the morning b...

WE HAVE A POPE (HABEMUS PAPAM, Italy, 2011) This year at Cannes Nanni Moretti’s latest film, HEBEMUS PAPAM, screened in competition. Tonight on July 26th, 2011, the film will screen at the 17th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF). Nanni Moretti arrived yesterday in Sarajevo to present his film.The film is about a new pope (played by Michel Piccoli) who decides he cannot take the colossal responsibility of his new public role and ends up seeking psychological help to come to terms with his private pas...

WE HAVE A POPE (HABEMUS PAPAM, Italy, 2011) This year at Cannes Nanni Moretti’s latest film, HEBEMUS PAPAM, screened in competition. The film is about a new pope (played by Michel Piccoli) who decides he cannot take the colossal responsibility of his new public role and ends up seeking psychological help to come to terms with his private past. In the morning before the film’s world premier at the Cannes press conference, a circus of press swarmed around the adored Italian director. While I d...

WE HAVE A POPE (HABEMUS PAPAM, Italy, 2011) This year at Cannes Nanni Moretti’s latest film, HEBEMUS PAPAM, screened in competition. The film is about a new pope (played by Michel Piccoli) who decides he cannot take the colossal responsibility of his new public role and ends up seeking psychological help to come to terms with his private past. In the morning before the film’s world premier at the Cannes press conference, a circus of press swarmed around the adored Italian director. While I d...

At the press conference on March 3 in preparation for the forthcoming 33rd International Film Festival for Women of Créteil and Val de Marne, we were informed about a rich festival program – with a special focus on southern European female filmmakers. We were also treated to a moving story: The Italian film Lo Spacio Bianco, directed by Francesca Comencini, is about a woman, Maria, finding new strength to live for her prematurely born daughter. Margherita Buy's moving performance as Mari...

Massy Tadjedin’s Last Night, starring Keira Knightley, a romantic tale of sexual attraction, betrayal, and jealousy, will open the next International Rome Film Festival, running from October 28 to November 5, 2010, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica. Directed by Iranian-American Massy Tadjedin, with a star-studded cast featuring Keira Knightley, Eva Mendes, Sam Worthington, and Guillaume Canet, the film is set to kick off the competition section of the Official Selection. Another hotly-await...

Presentation of Europe's best young actors at the 60th Berlinale         Jury member: Ana Geislerová The jury for SHOOTING STARS 2010 is now confirmed. At the end of November, Europe's 10 best up-and-coming actors will be chosen from the 21 nominations submitted by European Film Promotion's (EFP) member organisations. The SHOOTING STARS will be prese...

FATIH AKIN - SOUL KITCHEN Germany, 99' Adam Bousdoukos, Moritz Bleibtreu, Birol Uenel GIUSEPPE CAPOTONDI - LA DOPPIA ORA Italy, 95' Ksenia Rappoport, Filippo Timi, Giorgio Colangeli POU-SOI CHEANG - YI NGOI (ACCIDENT) China - Hong Kong, 89' Louis Koo, Richie Jen, Michelle Ye PATRICE CHÉREAU EAU - PERSÉCUTION France, 100' Romain Duris, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jean Hugues Anglade, Alex Descas FRANCESCA COMENCINI - LO SPAZIO BIANCO Italy, 96' Margherita Buy, Guid...

 Tuesday, October 23--------Having just been in Italy for the past 12 days (a week of vacation in Venice, mainly seeing art and sampling the food and wine, and 5 days in Rome to attend the Rome Film Festival), I've got Italy on the brain these days. Well, coming to London, there is still lots of Italian to appreciate, especially here at the London Film Festival. While it is not exactly an official section of the Festival, there are a good number of superb Italian films to be seen, mainly in the...

 Tuesday, October 23--------Having just been in Italy for the past 12 days (a week of vacation in Venice, mainly seeing art and sampling the food and wine, and 5 days in Rome to attend the Rome Film Festival), I've got Italy on the brain these days. Well, coming to London, there is still lots of Italian to appreciate, especially here at the London Film Festival. While it is not exactly an official section of the Festival, there are a good number of superb Italian films to be seen, mainly in the...

Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts and sponsored by AKBANK, the International Istanbul Film Festival celebrates its 26th year in 2007. The festival will be held March 30th-April 15th. As Turkey's primary film festival, the Istanbul Film Festival will unite outstanding films, movie stars and master directors with cinema-lovers in Istanbul, and as always, present a wide panorama of Turkish movies as well. Festival goers are promised a variety of novelties and surprises not t...

Premiers "Babel" and "Flanders" premier tonight at the Festival in the Lumiere Theater. Ledger to Play Dylan Heath Ledger and wife Michelle Williams have joined the star studded cast of Dylan biopic "Im Not There." Other cast members include Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Christian Bale and Ben Winshaw. The film is said to be a sure fire contender for next years film festival. The film is directed by Tod Haynes and the soundtrack will include songs by The White Stripes, PJ Harvey, and REMs Mic...

Premiers "Lights in the Dusks", "The Caimen", and "X-Men: The Last Stand" premiere today in the Lumiere Theatre of the Palais. Creativity in Question It is the midpoint of the festival and the artistry of some of the films are in question. Critics argue that there is little creative representation. "The Da Vinci Code" and "Southland Tales" were seen as disapontments. Others are rooting for "Volver", "Red Road", and "Ten Canoes" which have been said to save the artistry of the Festival. Go ...

Premiers Tonight both "Over the Hedge" and "Southland Tales" Premier in the Lu,iere theatre here in the Palais. Dreamgirls Launches Here in Cannes Yesterday a preview of "Dreamgirls" featuring Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, and Eddie Murphy was held in the Martinez. The films overseas success was in question due the musical nature with black stars. The film is said to be quite smart and not what you'd expect. The launch was a hit, and the worldwide premier is eagerly awaiting. "Summer Palace"...

Venice Festival competition August 31 September 10An international competition comprising of 20 feature films in 35mm and digital HD format Pupi AVATI La seconda notte di nozze Italy 103’Antonio Albanese, Katia Ricciarelli, Neri Marcorè João BOTELHO O Fatalista Portugal/France 99’Rogério Samora, André Gomes, Rita BlancoLaurent CANTET Vers le sud France/Canada 105’Charlotte Rampling, Karen Young, Louise PortalPatrice CHÉREAU Gabrielle France/Italy 90’Isabelle Huppert, Pascal Greggor...