Despite an industry-wide strike that’s made the promotion of films feel impossible, the Venice Film Festival has given a chance for some stars of independent features to shine a light on their upcoming projects — with a few of those artists taking home prizes from the fest. The 80th Venice International Film Festival awards gala on Saturday evening celebrated the films competing for various categories, including the Golden and Silver Lion, voted on by the jury, which includes directors Jane Campion and Martin McDonagh. Taking home the grand prize of the Golden Lion was The Favorite’s Yorgos Lanthimos for his follow-up film, Poor Things, starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, and…
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The 2023 Sundance Film Festival Asia officially opened at the SPOT Huashan Cinema in Taipei City on August 18, 2023, and announced the winner of the Sundance Film Festival Asia Short Film Competition. The award went to “Tuo Tuo” directed by An Chu. Many Hollywood and local celebrities walked the red carpet including Justin Lin (Director of the “Fast and Furious” franchise), Todd Makurath (Executive Producer of “Everything Everywhere All At Once”), Joachim Zell (Color Scientist from “Blade Runner 2049”), Dan Lin (Producer of “The Lego Movie”), Tzi Ma (Actor from “Rush Hour” series), Caitlin Fang (Actress from “American Girl”), Patty Lee (Actress from…
In terms of the rising French actors making a big impression on global cinema, there are few stars with as high a promise as Adèle Exarchopoulos. The actor is perhaps best known so far for her role in Abdullatif Kechiche’s 2013 romantic drama Blue Is The Warmest Colour, also starring Lea Seydoux. Exarchopoulos’ performance drew widespread critical acclaim and became the youngest person in the history of the Cannes Film Festival to be awarded the Palme d’Or. Elsewhere, Exarchopoulos has featured in the likes of Sibyl, Zero Fucks Given and the widely-praised Passages. With the spotlight firmly on the French actor, it’s interesting to know Exarchopoulos’ favourite films…
Tehran Times: Iranian cinematography director Morteza Pursamadi died on Saturday while working on a project. He was 70. The artist was in the midst of filming “Angelic Sin” directed by Hamed Anqa when he began experiencing symptoms consistent with a stroke, leading to his hospitalization and eventual passing on Saturday morning, Honaronline reported on Sunday. Pursamadi was the cinematography director of several cinema and television projects such as “Gilaneh” by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, “Tambourine” by Parisa Bakhtavar, “Hush! Girls Don’t Scream” by Puran Derakhshandeh as well as the TV series “Zero Degree Orbit” by Hassan Fat’hi. He was also one of…
We’ve already shared some news in our favourite non-acting Oscar category. The most exciting thing at the moment is the Danish finalists which include a film called either Promised Land or Bastard (depending on where its playing). Elisa tells us that its going to be a major contender and could even bag Mads Mikkelsen the Best Actor win in Venice. Other recent Oscar updates for this category involved submissions from Estonia, South Korea and Uruguay and a finalist list from Netherlands, and news from Switzerland, Chile, and Tajikstan. We now have 13 submissions. The charts have been updated. The latest exciting news is the finalist lists from two important…
This year’s Telluride Film Festival will be missing its beloved co-founder, Tom Luddy, who died this year. Thus, the 2023 festival is dedicated to Luddy (1943-2023), as well as co-founders Bill Pence (1940-2022), James Card (1915-2000), and Stella Pence. Executive Director Julie Huntsinger, whose role expanded in the years since she joined the festival as managing director in 2007, is running the show solo for the first time. Per usual, the 50th anniversary TFF edition covers a range of over eighty feature films, new features, shorts, and classic programs representing twenty-nine countries, along with filmmaker tributes, conversations, seminars, and student programs. Huntsinger is carrying on the…
The fourth edition of the Amman International Film Festival (AIFF) was held from 15 to 23 August, highlighting Jordan’s and the wider region’s filmmaking endeavors through a cinematic extravaganza that celebrated diversity, artistic expression, and intercultural dialogue. AIFF brought together filmmakers, cinephiles, and industry professionals to explore the artistic medium. With an impressive program of 56 narrative features, documentaries, and short films from 19 countries, Jordan presented a mosaic of perspectives and narratives. Eleven films made their Arab world debut, while five had their world premiere. The AIFF saw films from Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt secure several awards.…
Originally premiering at this year’s Canne Film Festival, the new 4k restoration of Jean Grémillon’s Lady Killer (1937), aka Gueule d’amour (1937), is headed for the US, opening August 4th at Metrograph NYC where it will screen for a one-week engagement alongside the film The Strange Mister Victor (1938), a lesser-known film from Grémillon showing off its 4k restoration. Set in 1936, the film follows Lucien Bourrache (Jean Gabin, (Grand Illusion, Port of Shadows)), a handsome non-commissioned officer in the French Spahi. His looks, loose speech, and womanizing habits have earned him the roughish local nickname, “Gueule d’amour,” the “Mouth…
Sure we are about two weeks away from the official announcements for the films that will premiere on the Lido, but we are very much in the eleventh hour now with film teams making plans for waterways and gondola rides or… considering a different path that takes them to Toronto, Donostia-San Sebastian or they play the waiting game for Rotterdam, Sundance and the Berlinale. Artistic Directors in International Critics’ Week’s Beatrice Fiorentino (most likely 9 selections) and Giornate degli Autori’s Gaia Furrer (around 10 feature film selections) will have carved out their line-ups and will likely announce not too much…
Of Iran’s many problems, Western viewers may be most familiar with issues surrounding violence against women — most recently with the Woman, Life, Freedom movement and slogan following the death of Mahsa Amini — and freedom of speech, with the films of Jafar Pahani and the travel bans and imprisonment of thinkers and artists like him. Empty Nets [+], the debut feature by German-Iranian filmmaker Behrooz Karamizade, premiering in the Crystal Globe Competition of this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, shows that life in Iran can be difficult even when looking at more ordinary situations, away from the more extreme examples of oppression…