Oscar-winning director Istvan Szabo will be attending this year's Zlin Film Festival, the first major film event after Cannes. The Festival, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a number of special events, takes place in the UNESCO heritage city of Zlin in eastern Czech Republic from May 30 to June 6. Website: www.zlinfest.cz/en Szabo was born in Budapest in 1938 to an upper middle class Jewish family. His family were hidden by family friends during the Holo...

The feature competition winner for Best Picture was a film called “Delta” by a young director, Kornél Mundruczó, which was also awarded the traditional Gene Moskowitz prize by the foreign press delegation. However, due to my unfortunately vast degree of geographical separation from the festival grounds I didn’t get to see it, and therefore am not in a position to comment critically one way or another. This year’s Best Director Prize went to Elemer Ragalyi, for the film “Nincs Kegye...

Budapest is a big city and on my current visit I was forced to find lodging quite far from the center. As a consequence of the long commute in and out of town I had to pass up many of the competition and other films scheduled, but still managed to meet many interesting people in the evening social gatherings at the Millenaris complex which has now become the nerve center of the annual film gathering. Below some comments on the "selling points" of a number of films I would like to have seen but w...

 Monday, June 11-------Acclaimed novelists and screenwriters Michael Cunningham and Susan Minot will appear at a special advanced screening of the film EVENING tomorrow evening at the Walter Reade Theater, the flagship of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. The writers will join Film Society of Lincoln Center Associate Director of Programming Kent Jones onstage for the special preview screening and to discuss their screenwriting partnership. EVENING, which is based on Minot’s bestsellin...

SZABO FLAP FLUSTERS FIRST-NIGHTERS IN BUDAPEST AT MAGYAR FILMSZEMLE February 6, 2006 The opening night of the Hungarian film week at the Budapest Congress Centre turned out to be more of a political than a cinematic event. "Rokonok" (Relatives), the eagerly awaited new film by Hungary's leading filmmaker, Istvan Szabo -- his first Hungarian language film since 1992 -- was scheduled to open the festivities, but just a few days prior to the opening an article appeared in a prestigious literary mag...

The opening night of the Hungarian film week at the Budapest Congress centre turned out to be more of a political than a cinematic event. "Rokoknok" (Relatives), the eagerly awaited new film by Hungary's leading filmmaker, Istvan Szabo -- his first Hungarian language film since 1992 -- was scheduled to open the festivities, but just a few days prior to the opening an article appeared in a prestigious literary magazine casting serious doubts upon director Szabo's past political integrity. To put ...

17th ANNUAL BOSTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVALNovember 2 – 13, 2005Opening November 2 and continuing through November 13, The Boston Jewish Film Festival increases its reach with offerings targeted toward viewers in their 20s and 30s. This 17th annual Festival presents the best contemporary films from around the world on Jewish themes, punctuated by panel discussions; visits by film directors, actors, and subjects; and musical events.The Festival is New England’s largest Jewish cultural event, with...

Hollywood World Awards list of nomineesHollywood Beverly Hills Hilton: October 24This year's nominees for The Hollywood World Awards® are:"4" (Russia) directed by Ilya Khrzhanovsky; "Battle in Heaven" (Mexico) directed by Carlos Reygadas;"The Beat That My Heart Skipped" (France) directed by Jacques Audiard; "Cache" ("Hidden") (France/Austria) directed by Michael Haneke; "Death of Mr. Lazarescu" (Romania) directed by Cristi Puiu;"Fateless" (Hungary) directed by Lajos Koltai; "L'Enfant" (Belgium)...

Each Labor Day weekend, the tiny mountain village of Telluride, Colorado triples in size. Swells of passionate film enthusiasts flood the town for four days of total cinematic immersion, embarking on a viewing odyssey, blissfully spending entire days in flickering dark rooms. With only an appreciation of celluloid to guide them, these devotees flock to the show, year after year.Before the event unfolds nobody knows what’s playing, or who’s being honored at Telluride, before the event unfolds...

The VIFF Turns its Focus to New American Indies and Eastern Europe The Vancouver International Film Festival today announced two areas of regional focus within the Festival’s program for its 24th annual edition, which will take place September 29 to October 14th at ten venues, including the VIFF’s own brand new Vancity Theatre in downtown Vancouver. American Independence focuses on the best of the new indie scene, while The New World presents a selection of compelling narratives and incisive...

The 55th Berlin International Film Festival is pleased to announce that the Hungarian-German-British co-production Fateless will screen in this year’s Competition. The film is based on Hungarian Nobel Prize winner Imre Kertész’s book of the same title, which depicts the Holocaust from the perspective of an adolescent boy. Kertész also wrote the screenplay for Fateless. Renowned cinematographer Lájos Koltai’s (Oscar nomination for Malena) directorial debut portrays the fate of Budapest�...