I was cornered in an alley in Beijing some time ago by a University Masters degree student who asked in broken english “What is your philosophy?” I responded “What do you mean: My life philosophy?” He replied “No. Your film. Your short film that just screened.” What a strange question, I thought to myself. My reply, seeing as it was a comedy short film, was “Uh… to make people laugh.” This upset him. You see he had spent like a year...

It's red carpet season and the stars are getting ready for the Golden Globes and the Oscars. Some movie stars are more loved than others and this year, America's favorite movie star is Captain Jack himself, Johnny Depp who moves up from being number 2 last year. Denzel Washington also moves up one notch this year from number 3 to number 2. And the Duke, John Wayne, moves from number 7 to number 3. John Wayne also has the distinction of being the only actor to be on this list every year since 1...

Winners and nominees In the lists below, the winner of the award for each year is shown first, followed by the other nominees. Except for the early years (when the Academy used a non-calendar year), the year shown is the one in which the film first premiered in Los Angeles County, California; normally this is also the year of first release, but it may be the year after first release (as with Casablanca and, if the film-festival premiere is considered, Crash). This is the year before the ceremony...

In what way is this year’s KolKota festival, the 11th, different from previous years? We have continued with the same components within the previous structure but regarding film selection we have become more serious, we are looking at more cerebral films, giving better cerebral exercise to our audiences. Our Pedro Almodovar retrospective is an example of this. And in the international section there are several lesser known directors but we have given preference to them because of their crea...

Q & A with Mr Ansu Sur, Festival Director, Kolkata Film Festival.By Jeremy ColsonIn what way is this year’s KolKota festival, the 11th, different from previous years?We have continued with the same components within the previous structure but regarding film selection we have become more serious, we are looking at more cerebral films, giving better cerebral exercise to our audiences. Our Pedro Almodovar retrospective is an example of this. And in the international section there are several less...

Just 15 more days till the 2005 Sundance Film Festival!Sundance Festival has its the Digital Center as every year.A resource center for independent filmmakers to experiment with cutting edge technologies, the Digital Center presents hands-on displays of new equipment, and provides a forum for filmmakers to talk individually with industry leaders about their specific needs. Panel discussions provide expert insights into current technology trends. Thanks to Hewlett-Packard, in this completely wire...

This year, the Sundance Festival is presenting 57 films that are DIRECTED BY WOMEN. The works created by these talented women span all manner of genre and style, and truly offer viewpoints that are sorely needed today.Melissa Painter Steal MeAdrienne Weiss Love, LudlowAlice Wu Saving FaceMarion Lipschutz, Rose Rosenblatt The Education of Shelby KnoxHeather Rae TrudellEllen Perry The Fall of FujimoriEric Black, Frauke Sandig Frozen AngelsJessica Sanders After InnocenceHenry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam...

12th Stuttgart International Festival of Animated FilmFrom 1st – 6th April 2004 Stuttgart will once again be the Mecca of animated film. The International Festival of Animated Film, which was founded in 1982, is now entering its twelfth year. With over 40,000 visitors, the world’s second largest festival for animated film is the most important event of its kindin Germany.Over 1,200 film entries means that a new record has been set compared with the last Festival (932 entries). Concentrated a...