Vary favorite son
Helmer Forman feted at fest's closer
Pic also named Discovery of the Year
10/7/08 7:56am
Spanish directors fake it in Sitges
Faux trailers compete for Teaserland prize
10/7/08 7:29am
Dubai film festival restructures
Programmers expand roles for upcoming event
10/6/08 5:48pm
Asian Film Market comes to halt
Event ends with few deals, no standouts
10/6/08 3:35pm
Hollywood festival honors Ben Stiller
Event begins Oct. 22 at the ArcLight
10/6/08 3:23pm
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Forman will be on hand for a retrospective of his work, as will Russian director Alexander Sokurov and Brit docu helmer Nick Broomfield.
Seventeen films have been selected for the main competition, including "The Brother" (Brat), the Russian film by Alexei Balabanov starring fellow helmer Sergei Bodrov. Also in the lineup are the U.S. entry "Private Parts," directed by Betty Thomas; Australia's "Children of the Revolution," directed by Peter Duncan; Fridrik Thor Fridiksson's "Devil's Island" from Iceland; and Alain Berlinel's "Ma Vie en Rose," a Belgian/French co-production.
The competition is heavy with Central European product, with seven films from the region.
To date the international jury includes directors Robert Wise (U.S.), Andr Delvaux (Belgium), Nana Djordjadze (Georgia) and Mariano Barosso (Spain), Czech author Pavel Kohout, Czech director of photography Miroslav Ondricek, Indian film journalist Aruna Vasudev, and Slovak actor Milan Lasica. The top awards include cash prizes of $20,000 and $10,000.
The documentary jury includes directors Errol Morris (U.S.) and Dusan Hanak (Slovakia), Berlinale's Hans-Joachim Schlegel, Czech producer Alena Muellerova and Lithuanian journalist Zivile Pipinyte. The documentary award carries a cash prize of $5,000.
Other fest guests look likely to include Jason Robards, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Pierre Richard.
The fest opens with "Shine," and includes out-of-competition screenings of David Lynch's "Lost Highway," Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet" and Clint Eastwood's "Absolute Power."
On the opposite end of the recognition spectrum, the East of West section features films from remote regions such as Albania, Mongolia, the Baltic states, and the Caucasian republics.
Special focus will be on Australian cinema, the 100th anniversary of the birth of French avant gardist Jean Epstein, Czech avant garde cinema and the Marx Brothers.
Associated events include an international seminar on the flavor of the year topic: European film distribution, and a Film Bazaar incorporating last year's Film Location Expo.
Jan Sverak directed the fest's trailer, a film noir parody.
When Abu Dhabi officials decided to launch their Middle East Intl. Film Festival last year, the focus was all about the finance.
Asian film financing is in a fog. For all its recent marching around, it is difficult to tell whether it is moving forwards, backwards or simply around in circles.
Although it's celebrating its 35th anniversary, the Ghent Intl. Film Festival wasn't always known as a unique and exotic showcase for film composers.
Alternately political and apolitical, pessimistic and optimistic -- but rarely, if ever, cinematic -- Sam Bozzo's "Blue Gold: World Water Wars" works best as a smallscreen educational docu that alerts its audience to the corporate raiding of dangerously diminishing H2O supplies worldwide.
The Lie of the Land
Letters From Death Row
The Firm Land
