Conversations Archives - Page 2 of 51 - Cinema Without Borders

The Shadow on the wall, a conversation with directors

By CWB News Department on 04/29/2022 Conversations, Videos

The Shadow on the wall, directed by Mehregan Pezeshki and Arash Kamali Sarvestani, is a surreal journey of an Iranian American artist, who is dealing with sexual trauma in her past. She tries to deal with post trauma through her art. This is a surreal story about an artist who moved from east to west. She is dealing with her memories from the past. Her dreams, memories, conscience and unconscious are all intertwined to each other and it seems impossible to differentiate these worlds from each other. In her story, she is dealing with the multi cultural paradoxes of the…

When Pomegranates Howl, a conversation with Granaz Moussavi

By Bijan Tehrani on 03/20/2022 Conversations, Videos

When Pomegranates Howl written and directed by Granaz Moussavi tells a story of Hewad, a nine-year-old boy who lives on the streets in the capital of Afghanistan – Kabul. Following the loss of both his father and brother, Hewad decides to create a business by working as a cart pusher, which he enjoys doing every day. By working as such, and loading the carts with goods, he travels throughout Kabul in hope to raise enough money for his family. Hewad’s dream of becoming a movie star comes to live when he stumbles on an Australian photographer. Here is our video…

Playground, Belgium’s Oscar Entry, Shortlisted

By Bijan Tehrani on 01/21/2022 Conversations, Videos

In Playground, Belgium’s Oscar Entry in the Shortlist by writer-director Laura Wandel , the everyday reality of grade school is seen from a child’s-eye-view as an obstacle course of degradation and abuse. Following 7-year-old Nora and her big brother Abel, we see Nora struggling to fit in before finding her place on the schoolyard. One day, she notices Abel being bullied by other kids, and though she rushes to protect him by warning their father, Abel forces her to remain silent, while he endures more humiliation and harassment by his peers. Transposing the gritty realism of such filmmakers as Jacques…

A conversation with Juho Kuosmanen about Compartment No. 6, Finland’s Oscar Entry (Shortlisted)

By Bijan Tehrani on 01/16/2022 Conversations, Videos

In Compartment No. 6, Finland’s Oscar entry , shortlisted by Academy Awards for the Best International Film Oscar, a young Finnish woman escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a Russian miner, the unexpected encounter leads the occupants of compartment no. 6 to face the truth about their own yearning for human connection. To learn more about making of Compartment No. 6 we had an interview with its director Juho Kuosmanen: https://vimeo.com/666612504 JUHO KUOSMANEN (director, co-screenwriter) Juho Kuosmanen…

Péter Bergendy talks about POST MORTEM, Hungarian Oscar Entry

By Bijan Tehrani on 12/19/2021 Conversations, Videos

Post Mortem is Hungarian Oscar Entry directed by Péter Bergendy. In order to learn more about making of the Post Mortem, we had a video interview with Péter Bergendy, director of the film: https://vimeo.com/658371185 In 1918, towards the end of the First World War, on a battlefield, the German soldier Thomas is left for dead after an artillery explosion, being thrown into the mass grave; however, an older soldier sees him still breathing in the pile of corpses and pulls him out of a flooded trench, where in a semi-conscious state due to the explosion, he had a strange vision:…

Plaza Catedral, Panama’s Oscar Entry

By Bijan Tehrani on 12/12/2021 Conversations, Videos

Panama’s Abner Benaim’s sophomore narrative feature Plaza Catedral is a dramatic thriller featuring actress Ilse Salas (The Good Girls, Güeros, Cantinflas) and Manolo Cardona (Narcos). Newcomer Fernando de Casta, who was chosen from over 250 kids who came in for open casting, is also amongst the principal cast. Benaim’s first narrative feature was the 2009 comedy Chance, but has since become a notable documentarian, with 2018’s Ruben Blades Is Not My Name won the Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival in the 24 Beats Per Second category and was Panama’s submission for the 91st Academy Awards. Plaza Catedral is…

Tereza37, Croatia’s Oscar Entry

By Bijan Tehrani on 11/23/2021 Conversations, Videos

Tereza 37 , Croatia’s Oscar entry, is the story of a 37 years old Tereza that has been married for a very long time. She lives in Split, city on Croatia’s Adriatic coastline. After several miscarriages, her gynecologist, in attempt to cheer her up, jokes she should try to conceive with a different partner. This remark will shake up her monotonous life and make Tereza start questioning her marriage. She decides to steer things in a new direction. To learn more about making of Tereza 37, we had an interview with Lana Barić , writer and lead actress of the…

THE MACALUSO SISTERS, an interview with Emma Dante

By Bijan Tehrani on 08/12/2021 Conversations, Videos

The story of THE MACALUSO SISTERS begins in 1985. The Macaluso sisters (Maria, Pinuccia, Lia, Katia and Antonella) are five young, orphaned siblings who live in and work from a shabby rooftop apartment in Palermo, Sicily. They make a living by renting doves out for ceremonies of all manner. Following each gig, the doves return home on their own, by air, naturally. One hot summer, a rare beach outing is planned on a day off from work. Near the close of a day full of enchantment, reverie, and close encounters with secret lovers, a shocking catastrophe transpires. That single event…

The Man Who Sold His Skin, Oscar nominee

By CWB News Department on 04/09/2021 Conversations, Videos

In The Man Who Sold His Skin, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, Tunisian film nominated for Best International Film Oscar, Sam Ali, is a young sensitive and impulsive Syrian, who has left his country for Lebanon to escape the war. To be able to travel to Europe and live with the love of his life, he accepts to have his back tattooed by one of by the World’s most sulfurous contemporary artist. Turning his own body into a prestigious piece of art, Sam will however come to realize that his decision might actually mean anything but freedom. We had the…

TOVE, Finland’s Oscar Entry at SFFLA

By Bijan Tehrani on 01/15/2021 Conversations, Videos

Tove directed by Zaida Bergroth , is Finland’s 2021 Oscar entry. Tove is also screened online this weekend at the Scandinavian Film Festival LA. In the midst of her artistic struggles and unconventional personal life, Tove Jansson found worldwide success from an unexpected side project: the creation of the beloved world of the Moomins. Helsinki, 1945. The end of the war brings a new sense of artistic and social freedom for painter Tove Jansson. Tove’s desire for liberty is put to the test when she meets theatre director Vivica Bandler. Her love for Vivica is electric and all-consuming. As she…

Browsing: Conversations