Marina Abramovic, Laetitia Casta, Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Ari Folman, Matteo Garrone, Ursula Meier, Samantha Morton, Pablo Trapero to form the Venezia 69 International Jury chaired by Michael Mann The selection has been made for the members of the International Jury for the Competition at the 69th Venice International Film Festival (29 August – 8 September 2012), with American director Michael Mann as president. The decision was made by the Boa...

The saga of early Israeli cinema is the saga of selfless heroes building a nation, both onscreen and off. Glimpse these mythical creatures in A History of Israeli Cinema, a look back at the country’s 70 plus years of moviemaking. Raphaël Nadjari’s two-part documentary will have its American premiere at the Israel Film Festival (December 5-13 in New York), which has overlapped with 24 of those years.As if to underscore how far the national film culture has come from since its birth, 2009 IFF...

  The horrors of war and the toll that it takes on both civilians and the soldiers themselves are film topics that, unfortunately, never go out of style. While it can be argued that audiences tend to stay away from such strong fare, a film that brings the audience to the center of the action and that involves it emotionally has a better chance to transcend the grimness of the material and make an impact with what is often a reluctant public. LEBANON, the new Israeli film by Samuel M...

CELEBRATING THE BEST OF ISRAELI CINEMA June 3 – 18, 2009 The 24th Israel Film Festival, the largest showcase of Israeli films in the United States, announced today its most dynamic program since its founding. Encompassing over 30 movies, including award winning features, documentaries and student films, the Festival runs from June 3rd – June 18th, 2009 in Los Angeles. The gala Opening Night festivities will include the West Coast premiere of Lost Islands, the highest grossing and most hon...

Breaking with the antiquated rituals of the Oscars, the Asia Pacific Screen Awards produced a presentation that generated interest in the nominated films – many of which have not had much exposure outside their home countries – and put the filmmakers and their work the focus, while also delivering glamour and buzz, reports Andrew L. Urban from the Gold Coast.Double in size whichever you measure it since last year’s inaugural presentation, this year’s APSA event catered for almost 700 gue...

Like other festivals, the Lincoln Center Film Society’s 46th New York Film Festival experienced a steady increase in films submitted amounting to about 1500 productions this year, far below the 8500 which the Sundance program coordinator Zakheim is quoted as having received for the 2008 edition, even less than the 1600 productions send now to the four year old Dubai festival. Yet the importance of the NYFF and of the 2008 main selection of 28 titles is not measured by competitive numbers, rat...

We will be reporting live from the festival Currently one of the most fertile, creative and productive forms in cinema and television, animation occupies a pressure point between artistic, experimental, commercial and industrial media. It ranges from the latest visual FX-based arthouse films to family-friendly cartoons. The four-day San Francisco International Animation Festival celebrates San Francisco’s preeminence as a hub for one of the most creative form...

The San Francisco Film Society presents the third annual San Francisco International Animation Festival (SFIAF), a four-day event celebrating one of the most fertile, creative and productive forms of artistic, experimental, commercial and industrial media. The International Animation Festival ranges from the latest award-winning features to family-friendly short cartoons and celebrates San Francisco's preeminence as a hub for one of the most vital forms in cinema today. SFIAF will screen Novembe...

Lucretia Martel (THE HEADLESS WOMAN)Matteo Garone (GOMORRAH)Clint Eastwood (The Changeling)Mike Leigh (Happy Go Lucky)Oliver Assayas (Summer Hours)Ari Folman (WALTZ WITH BASHIR)Benicio del Toro and Steven Soderbergh (CHE)Kiyoshi Kurosawa (TOKYO SONATA) ...

Wednesday, October 1------The effects of combat take on an added dimension, caught somewhere between nightmares and surrealism, in the celebrated Israeli animated epic Waltz With Bashir. The film, which had its US Premiere at the New York Film Festival tonight, brings the viewer in the furtive and fervent imagination of director Ari Folman.   Beginning with the startling image of wild dogs running straight towards the camera, the film exists between psychological turmoil and exi...

 Wednesday, March 21------Despite soggy weather and a rather unenthusiastic response to most films at the Cannes Film Festival, there are a number of deals to announce for European films that have found homes with U.S. distributors. The films, all screening in either the official sections of the Festival or in the Cannes Film Market, will all be released theatrically in the United States in the next few months.IFC Films has been among the busiest companies on the Croisette. The company has acqu...

The film:Last year in Competition was "Persépolis", a new style of animated film dealing with certain Middle East topics which won the Jury Prize. This year there is another animated film up for the Palme d’Or which also explores themes in the Middle East based on personal experiences: Waltz with Bashir by Israeli director Ari Folman, who is making a first appearance in Cannes. A sort of autobiography, the film puts Folman into this animation focusing on the Lebanon War in the early...

Competition : "Waltz with Bashir" by Ari Folman Screenings of the animated film, "Waltz with Bashir" open today in Cannes, on the second day of the Festival. Last year in Competition was "Persépolis", a new style of animated film dealing with certain Middle East topics which won the Jury Prize. This year there is another animated film up for the Palme d’Or which also explores themes in the Middle East based on perso...