Author: CWB News Department

CWB News Department, collects and republishes most important news and stories about International and Independent cinema, by noting the original source of the articles

For the occasion of the Vincente Minnelli Retrospective, Locarno Film Festival has invited the French actress Leslie Caron, one of the stars of An American in Paris (1951) and Gigi (1958) to appear on the Piazza Grande stage for the introduction to the Retrospective On Thursday August 4. Next day at 14.00 at the Magnolia – Spazio RSI, she will participate in an open discussion about her autobiography with the public. Retrospective 2011: Vincente Minnelli Born in Chicago in 1903, Vincente Minnelli made his full-length directing debut in 1943 with Cabin in the Sky. His next picture, Meet Me in…

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Indian cinema will be the focus at the 64th Locarno International Film Festival, which is scheduled to begin tomorrow, with a showing of classics and a retrospective of Satyajit Ray.The section called “Open Doors” will embark on discovering new talent as well as screening a panorama of Indian films. The Film Federation of India, which has initiated this focus, had earlier participated in Cannes Film Festival, FFI Secretary General Supran Sen told indiantelevision.com.Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, documentary filmmaker Gargi Sen, actor Kabir Bedi, and producer Bhuvan Lall will be present. Critic Indu Srikent is chairing the jury for the short film…

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On August 14, 17, 24 & 31, 2011, American Cinematheque will screen a selection of films by Czeck director Frantisek Vlacil. The Wall Street Journal recently described Frantisek Vlacil (1924 – 1999) as “a director whose work should be world-renowned,” acknowledging the inescapable fact that he is a filmmaker whose substantial body of work is barely known outside of the Czech Republic. Vlacil’s early short “Glass Skies” was awarded a prize at the 1957 Venice Film Festival; his powerfully evocative medieval dramas THE DEVIL’S TRAP and THE VALLEY OF THE BEES earned him comparisons with Bergman and Tarkovsky. MARKETA LAZAROVA,…

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The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) concluded its 2011 edition with a star studded red carpet, the award ceremony and a special presentation of one of this summer’s most anticipated films, Cowboys & Aliens on Monday, July 25, at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. Directed by blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau, the action-thriller was co-written and co-produced by Mexican-born Roberto Orci. The evening served as the closing event of the nine-day festival celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2011. See www.latinofilm.org for more information.LALIFF announced the award winners at its Closing Night Awards Ceremony sponsored by AT&T with Chile’s POST…

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Hennie returns to Toronto, this time in Headhunters: Norwegian actor Aksel Hennie’s latest film selected for a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival between September 8-18. Norwegian director Morten Tyldum’s Headhunters (Hodejegerne), from Jo Nesbø’s best-selling crime novel with Aksel Hennie in the lead, will have its North American premiere as a special presentation in the 36th Toronto International Film Festival, which takes place between September 8-18.It will be Hennie’s third appearance in the official progamme of the festival, after his own directorial debut, Uno (2004), and Joachim Roenning-Espen Sandberg’s Max Manus (2009). Headhunters, which will be launched…

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New York, NY– The Economist Film Project, which presents documentary films that reflect the types of hard-hitting issues The Economist is known for covering, announced today that the documentary Mugabe and the White African has been selected as part of The Economist Film Project. Directed by Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson and produced by Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock and David Pearson, Mugabe and the White African is an intimate account of the struggles for justice that Michael Campbell, one of the few hundred white farmers left in Zimbabwe after President Robert Mugabe began his violent “Land Reform” program in 2000, went…

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“Seventeen years ago more than 1,050,000 people were killed over a 100 day period during the bloody Rwandan Genocide. As one of the most gruesome, horrific mass murders in modern history, it is also regarded as a dark period where the world community failed to act- and many across the globe failed to take notice. To coincide with the seventeenth anniversary of the mass murders in the African country, Explore.org, a non profit created to champion the selfless acts of others, is launching the Raindrops Over Rwanda Facebook page- a hub of learning, interaction and multi-media maintained by survivor and young…

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Over the past two decades, Belgian cinema, be it from Flanders or from the French speaking part of the country, has risen to prominence in the international filmmaking arena, boasting richly diverse films that consistently garner critical praise and worldwide anticipation. From the unsettling but still urgently relevant MAN BITES DOG which rocked the Cannes Film Festival in 1992 and the quirky and vibrant tale of identity mix-up in TOTO THE HERO, to the monumental saga of DAENS or the Oscar nominated EVERYBODY FAMOUS, the outstanding thrillers MEMORY OF A KILLER and DOSSIER K, and the string of critically-lauded dramatic…

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Woody Allen announced today the full cast for “The Bop Decameron,” his latest film in pre-production. Starring, in alphabetical order, are: Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig and Ellen Page. Co-stars include Antonio Albanese, Fabio Armiliata, Alessandra Mastronardi, Ornella Muti, Flavio Parenti, Alison Pill, Riccardo Scamarcio and Alessandro Tiberi. “The Bop Decameron” is a Gravier Productions film produced by Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum. This is Allen’s first film to be financed by the Italian production and distribution company, Medusa Film. “The Bop Decameron” begins production on July 11 and marks Allen’s…

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Freestyle Production Team Set To Open Fest with Showcase of Top Projects and Industry Super Panel at Arclight Hollywood Cinerama Dome Thursday, August 11, 2011 Showcase to Include: Kristen Kiwi Smith’s “The Spleendectomy,” starring Anna Faris, Jennifer Aniston and Andrea Buchanan’s “Room 10;” Jennifer Aniston’s “Free Burma,” starring Woody Harrelson; Kate Hudson’s “Cutlass,” starring Dakota Fanning, Virgina Madsen, Kurt Russell, and Kirsten Stewart; and Sean Baker, Spencer Chinoy and Dan Milano’s hit “Greg The Bunny” Hollywood June 13, 2011-The organizers of HollyShorts (www.hollyshorts.com) announced today that the 7th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival will kick off by honoring the award-winning production…

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