TORONTO—Despite persistent foreign aggression against their country, Iran still has a flourishing cultural environment. Its films are recognized the world over for their deep humanism and artistic accomplishment. When Asghar Farhahi won his second Oscar Award for Best Foreign Language Film this year for his brilliant drama The Salesman (the first was A Separation), he refused to attend because of Trump’s cruelly imposed “Muslim ban.” His powerful statement was read onstage: “I’m sorry I am not with you tonight,” the letter read. “My absence is out of respect for those in my country and those in the six nations who have been disrespected by…
Browsing: Feature Story
THE DIVINE ORDER, a film by Petra Volpe is Switzerland’s submission for the 2018 Academy Awards – Best Foreign Language Film, and winner of the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and Best Fiction Film at the 2017 Traverse City Film Festival, THE DIVINE ORDER will open at the Laemmle Royal and Playhouse 7 in Los Angeles on November 17. A national release will follow. We had the opportunity of having a video interview with Petra Volpe, director of the DIVINE ORDER. https://vimeo.com/243164293 THE DIVINE ORDER is set in Switzerland in 1971 where, despite the worldwide…
The Square, directed by Ruben Östlund, is the Swedish selection for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Here at Cinema Without Borders we agree with most of the world cinema film critics that The Square has a good chance to be among the final five nominees for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. The Square tells the story of Christian, a respected curator of a contemporary art museum, a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His next show is “The Square”, an installation which invites passersby to altruism, reminding them of their role…
Burbank, CA- October 19 – Last night at the opening and award ceremony of the 18th Polish Film Festival, Los Angeles that was held in Hollywood’s Egyptian Theater Cinema Without Borders received Friend of Festival Award for its 10th anniversary. https://youtu.be/z7HYmcv7Xak Also Susan Morgan Cooper and Bijan Tehrani announced the winners of 2017 Bridging The Borders Award for the Best Polish Short Film at the Polish Film Festival Los Angeles First Bijan Tehrani announced the winner of CWB’s Honorable Mention award: “A married woman picks up one and then another male hitchhiker on her journey. The outcome is very different from…
I knew Houman Seyyedi as a very talented actor until I learned about him as a film director and then came the big suprise. After watching the four movies that has been released from Houman as a filmmaker, I was amazed by the freshness of his approach to filmmaking and new ideas and his great use of language of cinema in telling his stories. https://vimeo.com/238507045 Cinema Without Borders: Do you see the images of your film, before you write your screenplay? Houman Seyyedi: Sometimes people may think that loving some images inspires me to make a movie but this really…
Karestan Documentary Film Series made in Iran, are based on lives and works of people whose outlook on life is to build a better world. Women and men whose life stories can provide inspiration, beyond geographical and cultural boundaries, for anyone in the world. The diversity of these personalities due to gender, type of activity and various places of abode, provides a fascinating rainbow of Iranian society that perhaps has not been seen till now, not just in international societies but also in Iran. Praiseworthy people who, without any government connections, have managed to be influential in improving the conditions…
Agnes Varda, the 89-year-old Belgian-born filmmaking legend, emerges from her hotel room having dressed up for an evening event at Lincoln Center. She holds out the large silver heart-shaped medallion strung around her neck. “I have a big heart,” she says with a smil A truer thing has never been said. Since her 1962 New Wave breakthrough, the real-time masterwork “Cléo From 5 to 7,” and running up until her latest, the richly ennobling road trip documentary “Faces Places,” Varda’s much-distinguished career has been defined by a soul-searching warmth, an abiding, compassionate curiosity, and a deep desire, above all, to…
2017 Polish Film Festival Los Angeles will open on October 18th and will go on until October 26th. Here is the complete program of the festival. (All films with English subtitles.) OPENING NIGHT GALA (by invitation only) Wednesday, October 18, 2017 Egyptian Theatre , 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA. 90028 6:00 PM RECEPTION (Catering by Turek) 8:00 PM OPENING OF THE FESTIVAL– Zbigniew Banas (MC) Screening of THE ART OF LOVING. STORY OF MICHALINA WISLOCKA (Sztuka kochania. Historia Michaliny Wislockiej) by Maria Sadowska – (in person: Maria Sadowska, Piotr Adamczyk, Justyna Wasilewsk, Arkadiusz Jakubik, Michal Sobocinski) Laemmle’s NoHo7 Theatre, 5240 Lankershim Blvd., North…
HP Workstation Department is the partner and sponsor of Bridging the Borders Award at the Palm Spring International Film Festival and Palm Springs ShortFest Film Festival. To learn more about what HP Workstation offers for filmmakers and editors and involvement of HP by supporting cultural activities we spoke with Josh Peterson. Josh Peterson is currently Head of Product Management for HP’s Workstation and Immersive Computing business. He has worldwide product portfolio responsibility for desktop workstations, mobile workstations, immersive computing, and all related accessories. Josh has spent over 16 years at HP and has led product management, strategic alliances, and fostering…
Based on a list issued recently by Indiwire Website, a famous daily news site of the independent film community, the performance of renowned Iranian actress Leila Hatami in the movie ‘A Separation’ has been placed among the 25 best female performances of the 21st century. “Much has been made about the dearth of strong female roles in contemporary cinema, and the problematic depictions of women in many recent movies, but the past two decades have provided plenty of counterexamples. While the onus is on writers and directors to craft strong female characters, the actresses themselves bring these figures to life,…