Inside the 5th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival
By Ron Gilbert
LA Greek Film Festival 2011This Greek Film festival reveals very personal views of Greece
with very exciting glimpse of places which we would never have the privilege to
see on a tour bus in films with very talented filmmakers. Ersi Danou co-founder
and head of programming has created an amazing combination of films.
Opening night gala at
the Laemmle's Sunset 5 theater located at 8000 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angel...
Read one on one interview with Romain Gavras on his film here:
http://www.fest21.com/en/blog/vanessa_mcmahon/interview_with_romain_gavras
interview by Vanessa McMahon, December 2010
CPHPIX press:
About the film
"Romain Gavras turned YouTube upside down with his hard-boiled and
controversial music video for M.I.A.'s 'Born Free', where a fascist
government detains the red-haired in concentration camps, and thereby
ind...
Visionary director Romain Gavras speaks passionately on his film about marginalized redheads in
Notre Jour Viendra
see my interview with him here:
http://www.fest21.com/en/blog/thessaloniki_international_film_festival/interview_with_romain_gavras
The new Thessaloniki International Film Festival side section Open Horizons represents a revival of the renowned New Horizons section, which Dimitris Eipides, the current TIFF Director, programmed from 1992 to 2005. Open Horizons will focus, as did their precursor, on works that represent the most contemporary trends in worldwide independent production, as well as thematically original, aesthetically remarkable and socially minded films. Amongst the approximately 20 films to be screened in the ...
La Cinematheque: New French Films is being presented by the Philadelphia Cinema Alliance, in partnership with the Embassy of France, DC, the French-American Cultural Foundation, TV 5 Monde and the Prince Music Theater. A very special event, as the Oscar-winning and Internationally-acclaimed, director Costa Gavras, will premiere his latest film, Eden is West, and be honored with an award, at his only appearance in the USA."Philadelphia Cinema Alliance (PCA), continues La Cinematheque: New French ...
These challenging times call for courage, determination and a selflessness that was woefully out of fashion in the Me-Me-Me Decade that preceded the worldwide economic collapse. That there is potential for the global community to learn from its mistakes is always a hopeful sign (although let us remember that the Great Depression was followed almost immediately by its antidote, World War II). When this moral courage needs to be inspired in each one of us, it helps that courageous filmmakers are d...
by Sandy Mandelberger, Film New York Editor
These challenging times call for courage, determination and a selflessness that was woefully out of fashion in the Me-Me-Me Decade that preceded the worldwide economic collapse. That there is potential for the global community to learn from its mistakes is always a hopeful sign (although let us remember that the Great Depression was followed almost immediately by its antidote, World War II). When this moral courage needs to be inspired i...
The Global Film Village: One on One sessions and Costa-Gavras talks about filmmaking- by Marla LewinOne on One Sessions and Costa-GavrasThis is our second year of participating in One on Ones at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, bringing together Indian talent with Hollywood industry professionals from both the studios and independent arenas for casual meetings to discuss both their current and future projects. Participating this year were John Nein of the Sundance film festival, Kimberl...
One on One Sessions and Costa-Gavras This is our second year of participating in One on Ones at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, bringing together Indian talent with Hollywood industry professionals from both the studios and independent arenas for casual meetings to discuss both their current and future projects. Participating this year were John Nein of the Sundance film festival, Kimberly Bialek of William Morris agency, Sandra Ruch of Cine Elixir, and Brian Avery of the Yar...
The Franco-American Cultural Fund announced today that celebrated filmmaker Costa-Gavras has been selected as the “Focus on a Filmmaker” honoree for the 13th annual City of Lights, City of Angels (COL•COA) Film Festival in Los Angeles. The film festival runs April 20-26, 2009, at the Directors Guild of America. Costa-Gavras’ film “Eden is West,” which was the closing night film at the Berlin International Film Festival, will have its West Coast premiere at the Directors Guild of Ame...
Z, Costa-Gavras’ Academy Award-winning political thriller, this year celebrating its 40th anniversary, will be shown in a new 35mm print at New York’s leading art house theater, the Film Forum, prior to a national tour.
Although it starred such iconic French actors as Yves Montand and Jean-Louis Trintingnant, the film was a politically sensitive hot potato for its French producers. Greek expatriate Costa-Gavras’ adaptation of Vassili Vassilikos’s novel of the real-life Lambrako...
Ten days have gone by like a flash and I'm sitting here in the press room on Saturday afternoon, Valentine's Day, mulling over the dull flicks I slept through, the one or two that kept me awake, and the handful that I really wanted to see but never got around to. ("John Rabe", Sean Penn's "Milk", a Persian film called "Barbareye Elly", the latest Wajda, and a few others). Of the half dozen competition films I did get to, not one was a real winner, and most were so...
It was announced today that the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) will present Oscar® winner Constantin Costa-Gavras with the Festival’s prestigious Golden Eye Award for his life work as a director, scriptwriter and producer. The announcement was made today by ZFF Director Karl Spoerri.Costa-Gavras will be the guest of honour for the Festival’s tribute (presented as Zurich Film Festival’s “A Tribute to”) and award ceremony on the evening of Friday, October 4. The Festival has also programmed...
Gavras was here again in 2002 with the hard-hitting and under-rated “Amen” which tells the story of papal collusion in the German mass murder of the Jews. The poster for that film, showing a cross and a Swastika intertwined, was even more controversial than the film itself. In short, Costa-Gavras is no stranger to this long-running festival. An interesting sidelight on the this Grecian born director’s name: He was actually born in Greece in 1933 under the name of Konstantinos Gavras,...
The star-studded eight member international panel under the baton of celebrated Greco-French director Constantine Costa-Gavras was reduced to a Sextet when ace Danish director, Susan Bier, and top drawer French actress, Sandrine Bonnaire, both announced their enforced withdrawal from jury duty due to inescapable commitments elsewhere. In Bier's case it was a sudden need to visit the location of the next movie she’s shooting, while Bonnaire submitted her regrets due to "personal family re...
Saturday, February 9----------As the Competition Screenings at this year's Berlinale move into high gear, it is a good moment to comment on the credentials and the international mix of jurors who must view an impressive group of awards contenders, all vying for the prestigious Golden and Silver Bear Awards. Jury President Costa-Gavras (France) is one of the most renowned figures of dedicated, political filmmaking. His international breakthrough came in 1969 with the political thriller Z, whi...
The star-studded international competition judgment panel under the baton of celebrated Greco-French director Constantine Costa-Gavras was reduced to a Sextet when Danish ace director, Susan Bier, and top drawer French actress, Sandrine Bonnaire, both announced their enforced withdrawal from jury duty due to inescapable commitments elsewhere. In Bier's case it was a sudden need to visit the location of the next movie she’s shooting, while Bonnaire submitted her regrets due to "personal family ...
This year, eight international film experts and stars will decide who is to take home the Golden Bear and the Silver Bears. Jury President Costa-Gavras (France) is one of the most renowned figures of dedicated, political filmmaking. His international breakthrough came in 1969 with the political thriller Z, which won him two Academy Awards. In 1990 Costa-Gavras was awarded the Berlinale Golden Bear for his film Music Box (with Armin Mueller-Stahl and Jessica Lange). He last participated in the Be...
This year, eight international film experts and stars will decide who is to take home the Golden Bear and the Silver Bears.Jury President Costa-Gavras (France) is one of the most renowned figures of dedicated, political filmmaking. His international breakthrough came in 1969 with the political thriller Z, which won him two Academy Awards. In 1990 Costa-Gavras was awarded the Berlinale Golden Bear for his film Music Box (with Armin Mueller-Stahl and Jessica Lange). He last participated in the Ber...
The 2007 BIFF jury includes:New Vision Ryan Fleck– Writer/Director (winner of BIFF 2006 New Vision Award for “Half Nelson”)Ben Lyons– E! Entertainment’s resident film expert Lauren Craniotes- Vice President of Production at Warner Independent PicturesSpirit of Freedom: Dramatic Sharon Swart – Senior Editor of features at VarietyHarlan Jacobsen – USA Today Film Critic, Writer, DirectorAntonius Roberts – Bahamian Visual ArtistsSpirit of Freedom: Documentary Elliot Kotek- Ed...
The Greek-French director Costa-Gavras will be the President of the International Jury of the Berlinale 2008.The Greek-born director, now living in France, is one of the most renowned representatives of dedicated, political film. His works have received many awards; his film Z is widely considered one of the classics of political cinema. Costa-Gavras is also President of the French Cinemathèque.“I am very pleased that we have been able to win over such a great director as Costa-Gavras as Jury...
The Greek-French director Costa-Gavras will be the President of the International Jury of the Berlinale 2008. The Greek-born director, now living in France, is one of the most renowned representatives of dedicated, political film. His works have received many awards; his film Z is widely considered one of the classics of political cinema. Costa-Gavras is also President of the French Cinemathèque. “I am very pleased that we have been able to win over such a great director as Costa-Gavras as Ju...
Monday started out with a talk by Costa-Gavras, who was a surprise visitor at the all-day conference of Film Archivists and European Cinemateques. In private Mr. Gavras told me that he has a new film project in the works to be entitled "The Eden of the West" (not to be confused with "East of Eden"). This will probably turn out to be a Greek-French co-production (as was his 1971 masterpeice "Z") and will deal with "current social problems".At eleven AM the "master class" of hot Mexican director ...
The Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the distribution of the World Soundtrack Awards on 20 October. Theodorakis has written the music for Zorba The Greek, Z and Serpico. The Flemish Radio Orchestra conducted by Dirk Brossé will play music from Zorba The Greek . Mikis Theodorakis was born on the Greek island Chios on 29 July 1925. Still being a child he became acquainted with Greek folk music and after hearing Ludwig von Beethoven's Ninth Symphony he ...
After viewing Costa-Gavras' "Couperet" (Arcadia) screened at the opening ceremony as the festival curtain-raiser, (out of competition), I am still holding my breath trying to decide what to think of it. Yes, it did have certain Hitchcockian echoes of "black humor", and yes, it was a thriller of sorts, and yes, there were certain socio-political overtones, and the performances by Jose García (the harried serial killer) and Karin Viard (the harried wife of the harried serial killer) were good an...
