Browsing: Festivals

A cross-country journey in search of a mysterious treasure puts the nature of faith to the test in “The Great Yawn of History,” the feature debut of Iranian director Aliyar Rasti, which premieres Feb. 22 in the competitive Encounters section of the Berlin Film Festival. The film tells the story of a man of wavering religious conviction who dreams of a box of gold hidden in a cave. Convinced he’s forbidden by Islamic law to claim the treasure himself, he turns to a non-believer to assist him, setting into motion an arduous journey of both physical and spiritual dimensions as the…

Read More

“Slow,”  Marija Kavtaradze’s delicate romance, won the Crystal Arrow at the 15th edition of Les Arcs Film Festival from a jury presided over by Oscar-nominated Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (“A Separation”). Kavtaradze’s sophomore outing, “Slow” world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it won best director. The film revolves around the bond between Elena (Greta Grinevičiūtė), a contemporary dancer teaching to deaf youth, and Dovydas (Kęstutis Cicėnas), a sign language interpreter class. “The Teachers’ Lounge,” meanwhile, won the jury prize. The satirical movie, directed Ilker Çatak, world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, in the Panorama section, and was just shortlisted…

Read More

If last year’s quintet of Oscar-nominated feature documentaries reflected a voting branch with an appetite for international stories, then it is one that is being well-served by the crop of films on offer this year. Last year, nominated international stories came from directors hailing from North America (Navalny, Fire Of Love), Denmark (A House Made Of Splinters) and India (All That Breathes), competing alongside a sole US story, All The Beauty And The Bloodshed. Navalny won the Oscar. This time around, leading contenders for the documentary Oscar include a diverse group of films that, as well as dealing with international subjects, come from international…

Read More

In BAD LIVING, Portuguese Oscar entry directed by João Canijo in a family-run hotel, by the Portuguese northern shore, lives a group of women from different generations of the same family, whose relationships with each other have grown poisoned by bitterness. They try to survive in the declining hotel, as the unexpected arrival of a granddaughter to this oppressive space stirs trouble, reviving latent hatred and piled-up resentments. https://vimeo.com/876337272 Cinema Without Borders: What motivated you to make BAD LIVING? João Canijo: Mostly the need to expose something about my deeper concerns. I had to stop wandering around themes disguising my…

Read More

“Representation matters” is a guiding principle of the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival, and it’s the reason the film screenings, which showcase the perspectives of Indigenous people, return Nov. 17-19. According to the festival’s director, Brad Brown, the event is the largest Indigenous film festival on the East Coast. Now in its seventh year, Pocahontas Reframed is designed to raise awareness surrounding Native American languages, cultures and societies through film. Held at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture’s Robins Family Forum, new this year is a marketplace dedicated to Native American and Indigenous peoples’ crafts, artwork and jewelry. Food trucks will also…

Read More

Winner of 2023 Bridging The Borders Award for 21th edition of Polish Film Festival, LA has been announced today. 2023 Polish Film Festival, LA was held at El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. Cinema Without Borders jury picked “Big Little Words” Directed by Mariusz Brozekfor the Honorary Mention and “Stagnant,” Directed by Konrad Kultys as the winner of the MOZAIK Bridging The Borders Award., Offered by Cinema Without Borders and sponsored by MOZAIK Philantropy. MOZAIK Bridging The Borders Award Jury Statement: ” As jurors for the esteemed Polish Film Festival, we have had the privilege of viewing a remarkable selection of…

Read More

21th Hungarian Film Festival , LA will be held from October 27th to November 2nd 2023 at Laemmle Monica Film Center, 1332 2nd Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Four Souls of Coyote 2023, feature, animation, 104 minutes Set in the present day, Native American teenagers confront the crew of an oil pipeline project, just down the hill from the land of their ancestors. The grandfather evokes the ancient tale of their Creation myth, reminding all of us that the challenges facing humanity are universal, and that we need to find our place in the great circle of creatures. Director: Áron…

Read More

Last week at the 2023 Lucas International Festival for Young Film Lovers in Germany, the Cinema Without Borders jury announced the winners of the MOZAIK Bridging The Borders Award, as well as their Honorable Mention . TOTEM from Netherlands / Luxemburg / Germany, directed by Sander Burger won 2023 MOZAIK Bridging The Borders Award and THE WORST ONES – (Les Pires) from France, directed by Lise Akoka and  Romane Gueret received jury’s Honorable Mention. MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Award is offered by Cinema Without Borders Foundation and sponsored by MOZAIK Philanthropy. Chale Nafus, one of the jury members announced the winner…

Read More

Filmmaker Jasmin Mozaffari ended the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sunday with her short film Motherland named the best Canadian film in the festival’s Short Cuts program. Motherland is a captivating story set around the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, when a man named Babak (Behtash Fazlali) goes to meet his fiancée’s parents and must face the harsh reality of what it means to be an Iranian immigrant. https://youtu.be/cYXPOjWDVmc?si=PwWvmctXUd_J1Jsl The idea for Motherland came from a personal place, based on the story of her parents. “My dad came from Iran in late ’78, ’79 to the U.S.,” Mozaffari explained to Yahoo Canada. “So it was…

Read More

The Toronto Film Festival began September 7 in Ontario with opening-night movie The Boy and the Heron, from Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. It kicks off a lineup for the fest’s 48th edition that includes world premieres of GameStop pic Dumb Money, Netflix’s Pain Hustlers, Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, Kristin Scott Thomas’ Scarlett Johansson pic North Star, Chris Pine’s Poolman, Michael Keaton-directed Knox Goes Away, Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour, Atom Egoyan’s Seven Veils, Michael Winterbottom’s Shoshana, Grant Singer’s Reptile, Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Lee Tamahori’s The Convert and Alex Gibney’s doc In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon. The fest also features new films from such celebrated directors as Alexander Payne, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Alice…

Read More