The Circuit

After the bumpy descent into Montrose, Colorado, Telluride Fest driver Peter quickly apologized in advance – “I just can’t get the guide out of me” he told the van, comprised Landmark Theater buyer Ruth Hayler, Criterion Collection producer Debra McClutchy, High Falls Film Festival director Catherine Wyler and Daniel Lopez, who was awarded a trip to the fest after his essay won a Telluride-sponsored competition.  Pete pointed to a knobby mountain, half a world away, and declared the festival to be on the other side, much to the chagrin of travel-weary passengers.  But along the way, his mountain-guide commentary kept the mood light and fun.  Passing Ralph Lauren’s 22,000 acre cattle ranch, the “Double RL,” Pete couldn’t help but admire the beautiful “designer cattle” as much as he admired the man - Ralph himself - whom Pete took on a ski tour years ago. “The man is only 4’ 11!”  That’s a low center of gravity!”

First impressions of this infamous fest and its die-hard devotees can get no better.  Telluride locals deeply appreciate the festival and they’re sympathetic to the bleary-eyed industryites that flood their city once a year.  Chuck Jones said of Telluride “it’s the most fun you can have without breathing.”  Whether it be the city’s thin air or the light headed confusion that soon sets in, Telluride works its mystery well.  True to form, to find something interesting, simply go to the circus sideshow-like signs around town that tease yet give nothing away.  

Tonight, the fest opened with an outdoor screening of the original “Thomas Crown Affair.”

In researching the Swerve Fest opener, I found this interesting extended trailer with choice Doc Paskowitz quotes:  

I want to die as I've lived. Even though it scares the shit out of me, I'd like to be bitten by a shark. When my back is turned he bites off one leg.  And I before I know it I sink back to where I came from. That would be the greatest thing.

Austin’s Fantastic Fest has opened a fun trailer competition, but only for filmmakers 16 and under. And it must have a superhero in it:

Youth filmmaking teams will embark on a mission to conceive, write, make the costumes, film and edit a short film featuring an original concept superhero. The film must explain the powers of the superhero and conclude with the aforementioned character turning to camera and saying "(Name of superhero) welcomes you to Fantastic Fest."

(Mike Jones)

Over 600 hours of movies. The full lineup includes 349 films from 55 countries -- 275 of which are features and "mid-length" films. 85% of them are premieres. Here's the complete list, in sections:

• Galas, Masters, Visions

• Contemporary World Cinema, Discovery

• Dialogues, Midnight Madness, Mavericks, Vanguard

• Real to Reel, Sprockets Family Zone, Installations

• Short Cuts Canada, Wavelengths, Canadian Retrospective

• Special Presentations, Canadian Open Vault, Canada First!

GALAS

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, 2007, Julie Taymor,, World Premiere  
L'ÂGE DES TÉNÈBRES, 2007, Denys Arcand, North American Premiere
BLOOD BROTHERS, 2007, Alexi Tan, North American Premiere
CARAMEL, 2007, Nadine Labaki, North American Premiere
CASSANDRA'S DREAM, 2007, Woody Allen, North American Premiere
CLEANER, 2007, Renny Harlin,, World Premiere  
CLOSING THE RING, 2006, Richard Attenborough,, World Premiere  
LE DEUXIÈME SOUFFLE, 2007, Alain Corneau, World Premiere 
EASTERN PROMISES, 2007, David Cronenberg, World Premiere 
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE, 2006, Shekhar Kapur, World Premiere 
EMOTIONAL ARITHMETIC, 2007, Paolo Barzman, World Premiere 
FUGITIVE PIECES, 2007, Jeremy Podeswa, World Premiere 
THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB, 2007, Robin Swicord, World Premiere 
THE LAST LEAR, 2007, Rituparno Ghosh, World Premiere 
MICHAEL CLAYTON, 2007, Tony Gilroy, North American Premiere
RENDITION, 2007, Gavin Hood, World Premiere 
RESERVATION ROAD, 2007, Terry George, World Premiere 
SLEUTH, 2007, Kenneth Branagh,, North American Premiere
TERRA, 2007, Aristomenis Tsirbas, World Premiere 
THE WALKER, 2007, Paul Schrader, North American Premiere


MASTERS

ALEXANDRA, 2007, Alexander Sokurov, North American Premiere
LES AMOURS D'ASTRÉE ET DE CÉLADON, 2007, Eric Rohmer, North American Premiere
BEYOND THE YEARS, 2007, Im Kwon-taek, North American Premiere
CHAOS, 2007, Youssef Chahine, Youssef Khaled, North American Premiere
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, THE ENIGMA, 2007, Manoel de Oliveira, North American Premiere
DISENGAGEMENT, 2007, Amos Gitai, North American Premiere
FADOS, 2007, Carlos Saura, World Premiere 
LA FILLE COUPÉE EN DEUX, 2007, Claude Chabrol, North American Premiere
FOUR WOMEN, 2007, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, World Premiere 
GLORY TO THE FILMMAKER!, 2007, Takeshi Kitano, North American Premiere
IT'S A FREE WORLD..., 2007, Ken Loach, North American Premiere
THE MAN FROM LONDON, 2007, Béla Tarr, North American Premiere
NE TOUCHEZ PAS LA HACHE, 2007, Jacques Rivette, North American Premiere
ONE HUNDRED NAILS, 2007, Ermanno Olmi, North American Premiere
THE PAST, 2006, Hector Babenco, World Premiere 
THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA, 2007, Wayne Wang, World Premiere 
A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS, 2007, Wayne Wang, World Premiere 
ULZHAN, 2007, Volker Schlöndorff, North American Premiere
LE VOYAGE DU BALLON ROUGE, 2007, Hou Hsiao-hsien, North American Premiere
THE VOYEURS, 2007, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, World Premiere 


VISIONS

BUDDHA COLLAPSED OUT OF SHAME, 2007, Hana Makhmalbaf, World Premiere 
DANS LA VILLE DE SYLVIA, 2007, José Luis Guerín, North American Premiere
DEATH IN THE LAND OF ENCANTOS, 2007, Lav Diaz, North American Premiere
DR. PLONK, 2007, Rolf de Heer, International Premiere
EAT, FOR THIS IS MY BODY, 2007, Michelange Quay, World Premiere 
ENCARNACIÓN, 2007, Anahí Berneri, World Premiere 
HAPPY NEW LIFE 7 Árpád Bogdán, North American Premiere
IMPORT EXPORT, 2006, Ulrich Seidl, North American Premiere
L'AMOUR CACHÉ, 2007, Alessandro Capone, World Premiere 
M, 2007, Lee Myung-Se, World Premiere 
NIGHT, 2007, Lawrence Johnston, International Premiere
PINK, 2006, Alexander Voulgaris,, Canadian Premiere
PLOY, 2007, Pen-ek Ratanaruang, North American Premiere
SILENT LIGHT, 2007, Carlos Reygadas, North American Premiere
SILENT RESIDENT, 2007, Christian Frosch, World Premiere 
SOUS LES TOITS DE PARIS, 2007, Hiner Saleem, North American Premiere
TIME TO DIE, 2007, Dorota Kedzierzawska, World Premiere 
THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS, 2007, Bruce McDonald, North American Premiere
YOU, THE LIVING, 2007, Roy Andersson, North American Premiere


(Mike Jones)

CONTEMPORARY WOLRD CINEMA

ALL HAT, 2007, Leonard Farlinger, World Premiere 
AMERICAN VENUS, 2007, Bruce Sweeney, World Premiere 
AND ALONG COME TOURISTS, 2007, Robert Thalheim, North American Premiere
AVANT QUE J'OUBLIE, 2007, Jacques Nolot,, International Premiere
THE BAND'S VISIT, 2007, Eran Kolirin, North American Premiere
THE BANISHMENT, 2007, Andrey Zvyagintsev, North American Premiere
BARCELONA (A MAP), 2007, Ventura Pons, World Premiere 
BATTLE FOR HADITHA, 2007, Nick Broomfield, World Premiere 
BREAKFAST WITH SCOT, 2007, Laurie Lynd, World Premiere 
BRICK LANE, 2007, Sarah Gavron, World Premiere 
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' (ENDLESS), 2007, Cristian Nemescu, North American Premiere
CHOP SHOP, 2007, Ramin Bahrani, North American Premiere
CONTRE TOUTE ESPÉRANCE, 2007, Bernard Émond, North American Premiere
THE COUNTERFEITERS, 2007, Stefan Ruzowitzky, North American Premiere
DANS LA VIE, 2007, Philippe Faucon, World Premiere
DAYS AND CLOUDS, 2007, Silvio Soldini, World Premiere 
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN, 2007, Fatih Akin, North American Premiere 
EMPTIES, 2007, Jan Sverák,, International Premiere
L'ENNEMI INTIME, 2007, Florent-Emilio Siri, World Premiere 
ERIK NIETZSCHE THE EARLY YEARS, 2007, Jacob Thuesen, World Premiere 
FARO, LA REINE DES EAUX, 2007, Salif Traoré, North American Premiere
FOREVER NEVER ANYWHERE, 2007, Antonin Svoboda, North American Premiere
GARAGE, 2007, Lenny Abrahamson, North American Premiere
A GENTLE BREEZE IN THE VILLAGE, 2007, Nobuhiro Yamashita, International Premiere
GONE WITH THE WOMAN, 2007, Petter Næss, International Premiere
HAPPINESS, 2007, Hur Jin-ho, World Premiere 
THE HOME SONG STORIES, 2007, Tony Ayres, North American Premiere
IN MEMORY OF MYSELF, 2007, Saverio Costanzo, Canadian Premiere
ISKA'S JOURNEY, 2007, Csaba Bollók, North American Premiere
JAR CITY, 2006, Baltasar Kormákur, North American Premiere
JELLYFISH, 2007, Shira Geffen, Etgar Keret, North American Premiere
JUST LIKE HOME, 2007, Lone Scherfig, International Premiere
KING OF CALIFORNIA, 2007, Mike Cahill, Canadian Premiere
KINGS, 2007, Tom Collins, North American Premiere
L'ORA DI PUNTA, 2007, Vincenzo Marra, International Premiere
THE MOURNING FOREST, 2007, Naomi Kawase, North American Premiere
MUNYURANGABO, 2007, Lee Isaac Chung, North American Premiere
MUTUM, 2007, Sandra Kogut, North American Premiere
MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD, 2007, Daniele Luchetti, North American Premiere
NEW YORK CITY SERENADE, 2007, Frank Whaley, World Premiere 
NORMAL, 2007, Carl Bessai, World Premiere 
NOS VIES PRIVÉES, 2007, Denis Côté, Canadian Premiere
ON THE WINGS OF DREAMS, 2007, Golam Rabbany Biplob, North American Premiere
PHILIPPINE SCIENCE, 2007, Auraeus Solito, International Premiere
THE POPE'S TOILET, 2007, Enrique Fernandes, César Charlone, North American Premiere
RUN, FAT BOY, RUN, 2007, David Schwimmer, International Premiere
SECRET SUNSHINE, 2007, Lee Chang-dong, North American Premiere
THE SECRETS, 2007, Avi Nesher, International Premiere
THE SHOCK DOCTRINE, 2007, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón, Naomi Klein
SLINGSHOT, 2007, Brillante Mendoza, World Premiere 
STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING, 2007, Andrew Wagner, Canadian Premiere
THE STONE ANGEL, 2007, Kari Skogland, World Premiere 
A STRAY GIRLFRIEND, 2007, Ana Katz, North American Premiere
TO LOVE SOMEONE, 2007, Åke Sandgren, World Premiere 
THE TRAP, 2007, Srdan Golubovic, North American Premiere
UNDER THE SAME MOON, 2007, Patricia Riggen, Canadian Premiere
UNFINISHED SKY, 2007, Peter Duncan, International Premiere
UNFINISHED STORIES, 2007, Pourya Azarbayjani, International Premiere
UNE VIEILLE MAÎTRESSE, 2007, Catherine Breillat, North American Premiere
WEIRDSVILLE, 2007, Allan Moyle, Canadian Premiere
WOLFSBERGEN, 2007, Nanouk Leopold, North American Premiere


DISCOVERY

THE BABYSITTERS, 2007, David Ross, World Premiere 
BLIND, 2007, Tamar van den Dop, World Premiere
COCHOCHI, 2007, Israel Cárdenas, Laura Amelia Guzmán, North American Premiere
CORROBOREE, 2007, Ben Hackworth, International Premiere
FROZEN, 2007, Shivajee Chandrabhushan, International Premiere
I AM FROM TITOV VELES, 2007, Teona Strugar Mitevska, North American Premiere
KING OF THE HILL, 2007, Gonzalo López-Gallego, World Premiere 
THE PASSAGE, 2007, Mark Heller, World Premiere 
ROMING, 2007, Jirí Vejdelek, North American Premiere
SEPTEMBER, 2007, Peter Carstairs, International Premiere
THOSE THREE, 2007, Naghi Nemati, North American Premiere
WITH YOUR PERMISSION, 2007, Paprika Steen, World Premiere 
THE WORLD UNSEEN, 2007, Shamim Sarif, World Premiere 
LA ZONA, 2007, Rodrigo Plá, North American Premiere

(Mike Jones)

DIALOGUES

ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE 1974 Martin Scorsese
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (SIDNEY LUMET PRESENTS...) 1946 William Wyler
BUCKING BROADWAY 1917 John Ford
CLOSELY OBSERVED TRAINS (KEN LOACH PRESENTS...) 1966 Jirí Menzel
FLOWER DRUM SONG 1961 Henry Koster
LA JETÉE 1962 Chris Marker
OH! WHAT A LOVELY WAR (LORD RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH PRESENTS...) 1969 Richard Attenborough
THE VIRGIN SPRING (MAX VON SYDOW PRESENTS...) 1960 Ingmar Bergman


MIDNIGHT MADNESS

DAINIPPONJIN, 2007, Hitoshi Matsumoto, North American Premiere
THE DEVIL'S CHAIR, 2007, Adam Mason, World Premiere 
FLASH POINT, 2007, Wilson Yip, North American Premiere
FRONTIÈRE(S), 2007, Xavier Gens, World Premiere
GEORGE A. ROMERO'S DIARY OF THE DEAD, 2007, George A. Romero, World Premiere 
À L'INTÉRIEUR, 2007, Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo, North American Premiere
THE MOTHER OF TEARS, 2007, Dario Argento, World Premiere 
STUCK, 2007, Stuart Gordon, North American Premiere
SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO, 2007, Takashi Miike, North American Premiere
VEXILLE, 2007, Sori, North American Premiere


MAVERICKS

EVERYTHING TO GAIN: A CONVERSATION WITH JIMMY AND ROSALYNN CARTER
MIRA NAIR PRESENTS FOUR VIEWS ON AIDS IN INDIA
RELIGULOUS: A CONVERSATION WITH BILL MAHER AND LARRY CHARLES
THE TIME IS NOW: A CONVERSATION ABOUT DARFUR


VANGUARD

BOY A, 2007, John Crowley, World Premiere 
LES CHANSONS D'AMOUR, 2007, Christophe Honoré, North American Premiere
CHRYSALIS, 2007, Julien Leclercq, World Premiere 
CONTROL, 2007, Anton Corbijn, North American Premiere
DÉFICIT, 2007, Gael García Bernal, North American Premiere
EX DRUMMER, 2007, Koen Mortier, North American Premiere
THE EXODUS, 2007, Pang Ho-cheung, World Premiere 
HELP ME EROS, 2007, Lee Kang Sheng, North American Premiere
ME, 2007, Rafa Cortés, North American Premiere
MISTER LONELY, 2007, Harmony Korine, North American Premiere
NAISSANCE DES PIEUVRES, 2007, Céline Sciamma, International Premiere
THE ORPHANAGE, 2007, Juan Antonio Bayona, North American Premiere
PARANOID PARK, 2007, Gus Van Sant, North American Premiere
PING PONG PLAYA', 2007, Jessica Yu, World Premiere 
SAD VACATION, 2007, Shinji Aoyama, North American Premiere
SMILEY FACE, 2007, Gregg Araki, Canadian Premiere
WHITE LIES, BLACK SHEEP, 2007, James Spooner, World Premiere 
XXY, 2007, Lucía Puenzo, North American Premiere

(Mike Jones)

REAL TO REEL

ALGÉRIE, HISTOIRES À NE PAS DIRE, 2007, Jean-Pierre Lledo, World Premiere 
AMAZING JOURNEY: THE STORY OF THE WHO, 2007, Paul Crowder, Murray Lerner, World Premiere 
BODY OF WAR, 2007, Ellen Spiro, Phil Donahue, World Premiere 
CALLAS ASSOLUTA, 2007, Philippe Kohly, World Premiere 
CHILDREN OF THE SUN, 2007, Ran Tal, International Premiere
DARFUR NOW, 2007, Ted Braun, World Premiere 
THE DICTATOR HUNTER, 2007, Klaartje Quirijns, World Premiere 
DINNER WITH THE PRESIDENT: A NATION'S JOURNEY, 2007, Sabiha Sumar, Sachithanandam Sathananthan, World Premiere 
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE, 2007, Werner Herzog, World Premiere
FENGMING, A CHINESE MEMOIR, 2007, Wang Bing, North American Premiere
GLASS: A PORTRAIT OF PHILIP IN TWELVE PARTS, 2007, Scott Hicks, World Premiere 
HEAVY METAL IN BAGHDAD, 2007, Eddy Moretti, Suroosh Alvi, World Premiere 
HOLLYWOOD CHINESE, 2007, Arthur Dong, Canadian Premiere
IRON LADIES OF LIBERIA, 2007, Daniel Junge, Siatta Scott Johnson, World Premiere 
A JIHAD FOR LOVE, 2007, Parvez Sharma, World Premiere 
JOY DIVISION, 2006, Grant Gee, World Premiere 
LOU REED'S BERLIN, 2007, Julian Schnabel, North American Premiere
MAN OF CINEMA: PIERRE RISSIENT, 2007, Todd McCarthy, North American Premiere
THE MOSQUITO PROBLEM AND OTHER STORIES, 2007, Andrey Paounov, North American Premiere
MY ENEMY'S ENEMY, 2007, Kevin Macdonald, World Premiere 
MY KID COULD PAINT THAT, 2007, Amir Bar-Lev, North American Premiere
OBSCENE, 2007, Neil Ortenberg, Daniel O'Connor, World Premiere 
OPERATION FILMMAKER, 2007, Nina Davenport, World Premiere 
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME, 2007, Weijun Chen, Canadian Premiere
A PROMISE TO THE DEAD: THE EXILE JOURNEY OF ARIEL DORFMAN, 2007, Peter Raymont, World Premiere 
REBELLION: THE LITVINENKO CASE, 2007, Andrei Nekrasov, North American Premiere
SURFWISE, 2007, Doug Pray, World Premiere 
TERROR'S ADVOCATE, 2007, Barbet Schroeder, International Premiere
TRUMBO, 2007, Peter Askin, World Premiere
USELESS, 2007, Jia Zhang-Ke, North American Premiere
VERY YOUNG GIRLS, 2007, David Schisgall, World Premiere 
THE WILD HORSE REDEMPTION, 2007, John Zaritsky, World Premiere 



SPROCKETS FAMILY ZONE

LA CITADELLE ASSIÉGÉE, 2006, Philippe Calderon, World Premiere 
MAX & CO., 2007, Frédéric Guillaume, Samuel Guillaume, International Premiere
MID ROAD GANG, 2007, Pantham Thongsang, Somkiat Vithuranich, North American Premiere
NOCTURNA, 2007, Víctor Maldonado, Adrián García, North American Premiere
THE SUBSTITUTE, 2007, Ole Bornedal, North American Premiere


INSTALLATIONS

BEST MINDS, PART ONE, 2007, Jeremy Shaw
DARFUR DARFUR
DEATH IN THE LAND OF ENCANTOS
INTO THE PIXEL
LATE FRAGMENT Anita Doron, Daryl Cloran and Mathieu Guez
SOFT REVOLUTION Brian Johnson, Anthony Roberts
TYRANNY, 2006, Ryan Sluggett
WILDFLOWERS OF MANITOBA, 2007, Noam Gonick, Luis Jacob

(Mike Jones)

SHORT CUTS CANADA

AUTOMOTO, 2007, Neil McInnes, Cathy McInnes
BLOOD WILL TELL, 2007, Andrew McPhillips
BOAR ATTACK, 2006, Jay White
BUMBLEBEE, 2006, Jonathan van Tulleken
BURGEON AND FADE, 2007, Audrey Cummings
CAN YOU WAVE BYE BYE?, 2007, Sarah Galea-Davis
THE CANADIAN SHIELD, 2007, Simon Ennis
CODE 13, 2007, Mathieu L. Denis
THE COLONY, 2007, Jeff Barnaby
CONGRATULATIONS DAISY GRAHAM, 2007, Cassandra Nicolaou
A CURE FOR TERMINAL LONELINESS, 2007, Samir Rehem
CURSING HANLEY, 2007, Kelly Harms
DADA DUM, 2007, Britt Randle
DIAMONDS IN A BUCKET, 2007, Sherry White
DUST BOWL HA! HA!, 2007, Sébastien Pilote
FARMER'S REQUIEM, 2007, Ramses Madina
FOUND OBJECTS, 2007, David Birnbaum
FOUR WALLS, 2007, Raha Shirazi
FRACAS, 2007, Eduardo Menz
GENE BOY CAME HOME, 2007, Alanis Obomsawin
GOD PROVIDES, 2007, Brian M. Cassidy, Melanie Shatzky
LES GRANDS, 2007, Chloé Leriche
HASTINGS STREET, 2007, Larry Kent
HIRSUTE, 2007, A.J. Bond
HYMN TO PAN, 2007, François Miron
I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE, 2007, Cam Christiansen
SCC Canada/Australia I'VE NEVER HAD SEX..., 2007, Robert Kennedy
KNIGHTS OF ATOMIKARON, 2007, Adam Brodie, Dave Derewlany
THE LAST MOMENT, 2007, Deco Dawson
LATCHKEY'S LAMENT, 2007, Troy Nixey
LOUDLY, DEATH UNTIES, 2007, Sheila Pye, Nicholas Pye
MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI, 2007, Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski
NO BIKINI, 2007, Claudia Morgado Escanilla
PARADISE, 2007, Jesse Rosensweet
REORDER, 2007, Sean Garrity
SHOOTING GERONIMO, 2007, Kent Monkman
A SHORT FILM ABOUT FALLING, 2007, Peter Lynch, Max Dean
SMILE, 2007, Julia Kwan
TEENAGE GIRL, 2007, Greg Atkins
TERMINUS, 2007, Trevor Cawood
TERRY SOUTHERN'S PLUMS AND PRUNES, 2007, Dev Khanna
THREE BEANS FOR GEORGE, 2007, Sean Anicic
TIC TAC TOE, 2006, Matthew Swanson
THE WHOLE DAY THROUGH, 2007, Adam Budd


WAVELENGTHS

THE ACROBAT, 2007, Chris Kennedy
ALL THAT RISES, 2007, Daïchi Saïto S
THE ANTHEM, 2006, Apichatpong Weerasethakul
AT SEA, 2007, Peter Hutton F
BOUQUET, 2006, Karø Goldt
THE BUTTERFLY IN WINTER, 2006, Ute Aurand, Maria Lang
CAPITALISM: SLAVERY, 2006, Ken Jacobs
CROSS WORLDS, 2006, Cécile Fontaine
DISCOVERIES ON THE FOREST FLOOR 1-3, 2007, Charlotte Pryce
ECHO, 2007, Izabella Pruska-Oldenhof
ECP 2D: SUN, 2007, John Price
ERZÄHLUNG, 2007, Hannes Schüpbach
EUROPA 2005, 27 OCTOBRE, 2006, Jean-Marie Straub, Danièle Huillet
EVERTWO CIRCUMFLICKSRENT...PAGE 298, 2007, Bruce McClure
FAUX MOUVEMENTS, 2007, Pip Chodorov
GONE, 2007, Karoe Goldt
MONICA, 2006, Enrico Mandirola
PAPILLON, 2006, Olivier Fouchard
POOL, 2007, Chris Chong Chan Fui
POUR VOS BEAUX YEUX 1929 Henri Storck
PROFIT MOTIVE AND THE WHISPERING WIND, 2007, John Gianvito, North American Premiere
QUARTET, 2007, Nicky Hamlyn
SCHINDLER'S HOUSES (PHOTOGRAPHY AND BEYOND PART 12), 2007, Heinz Emigholz F
TAPE FILM, 2007, Chris Kennedy
WHAT THE WATER SAID, NOS. 4-6, 2007, David Gatten


CANADIAN RETROSPECTIVE

L'ACADIE, L'ACADIE?!,? 1971, Michel Brault, Pierre Perrault
CDNR France CHRONIQUE D'UN ÉTÉ, 1961, Jean Rouch, Edgar Morin
ENTRE LA MER ET L'EAU DOUCE, 1967, Michel Brault
GENEVIÈVE, 1964, Michel Brault
LA LUTTE, 1961, Claude Fournier, Marcel Carrière, Claude Jutra, Michel Brault
LES NOCES DE PAPIER, 1989, Michel Brault
LES ORDRES, 1974, Michel Brault
POUR LA SUITE DU MONDE, 1963, Pierre Perrault, Michel Brault
LES RAQUETTEURS, 1958, Gilles Groulx, Michel Brault

(Mike Jones)

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS, 2007, Cristian Mungiu, North American Premiere
ANGEL, 2007, François Ozon, North American Premiere
THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD, 2007, Andrew Dominik, North American Premiere
ATONEMENT, 2007, Joe Wright, North American Premiere
BATTLE IN SEATTLE, 2007, Stuart Townsend, World Premiere 
BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD, 2007, Sidney Lumet, North American Premiere
BEFORE THE RAINS, 2007, Santosh Sivan, World Premiere 
BILL, 2007, Melisa Wallack, Bernie Goldmann, World Premiere 
THE BRAVE ONE, 2007, Neil Jordan, World Premiere 
CAPTAIN MIKE ACROSS AMERICA, 2007, Michael Moore, World Premiere 
CHACUN SON CINÉMA, 2007, Youssef Chahine, Theodoros Angelopoulos, Olivier Assayas, Bille August, Jane Campion, Chen Kaige, David Cronenberg, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Aki Kaurismäki, David Lynch,, International Premiere
CHAOTIC ANA, 2007, Julio Medem, International Premiere
DEATH DEFYING ACTS, 2007, Gillian Armstrong, World Premiere 
THE GIRL IN THE PARK, 2007, David Auburn, World Premiere 
LA GRAND ILLUSION, 1937, Jean Renoir F
HERE IS WHAT IS, 2007, Adam Vollick, Daniel Lanois, Adam
Samuels, World Premiere 
HONEYDRIPPER, 2007, John Sayles, World Premiere 
I'M NOT THERE, 2007, Todd Haynes, North American Premiere
IN BLOOM, 2007, Vadim Perelman, World Premiere 
IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, 2007, Paul Haggis, North American Premiere
INTO THE WILD, 2007, Sean Penn, World Premiere 
JUNO, 2007, Jason Reitman, World Premiere 
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, 2007, Craig Gillespie, World Premiere 
LOVE COMES LATELY, 2007, Jan Schütte, World Premiere 
LUST, CAUTION, 2007, Ang Lee, North American Premiere
Hong Kong, China MAD DETECTIVE, 2007, Johnnie To, Wai Ka Fai, North American Premiere
MAN FROM PLAINS, 2007, Jonathan Demme, North American Premiere
MARGOT AT THE WEDDING, 2007, Noah Baumbach, Canadian Premiere
MARRIED LIFE, 2007, Ira Sachs, World Premiere 
MONGOL, 2007, Sergei Bodrov, World Premiere 
MY WINNIPEG, 2007, Guy Maddin, World Premiere  
NIGHTWATCHING, 2007, Peter Greenaway, North American Premiere
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, 2007, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, North American Premiere
NOTHING IS PRIVATE, 2007, Alan Ball, World Premiere 
PERSEPOLIS, 2007, Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi, North American Premiere
POOR BOY'S GAME, 2007, Clement Virgo, North American Premiere
RAILS & TIES, 2007, Alison Eastwood, World Premiere 
RECLAIM YOUR BRAIN, 2007, Hans Weingartner, World Premiere 
REDACTED, 2007, Brian De Palma, North American Premiere
ROMULUS, MY FATHER, 2007, Richard Roxburgh, International Premiere
THE SAVAGES, 2006, Tamara Jenkins, International Premiere
LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLON, 2007, Julian Schnabel, International Premiere
SHADOWS, 2007, Milcho Manchevski, World Premiere 
SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL, 2007, Roger Spottiswoode, World Premiere 
SILK, 2007, François Girard, World Premiere 
THE SUN ALSO RISES, 2007, Jiang Wen, North American Premiere
THE TAKE, 2007, Brad Furman, World Premiere 
THEN SHE FOUND ME, 2007, Helen Hunt, World Premiere 
THE VISITOR, 2007, Thomas McCarthy, World Premiere
WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER?, 2007, Anand Tucker, Canadian Premiere


CANADIAN OPEN VAULT

LES BONS DÉBARRAS, 1980, Francis Mankiewicz


CANADA FIRST!

AMAL, 2007, Richie Mehta, World Premiere 
LE CÈDRE PENCHÉ, 2007, Rafaël Ouellet, North American Premiere
CONTINENTAL, UN FILM SANS FUSIL, 2007, Stéphane Lafleur, North American Premiere
JUST BURIED, 2007, Chaz Thorne, World Premiere 
THEY WAIT, 2007, Ernie Barbarash, World Premiere 
THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY, 2007, Ed Gass-Donnelly, World Premiere 
WALK ALL OVER ME, 2007, Robert Cuffley, World Premiere 
YOUNG PEOPLE FUCKING, 2007, Martin Gero, World Premiere

(Mike Jones)

Eddie Vedder will perform the original songs he wrote for Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue's "Body of War" at Toronto, after the doc's premiere on 9/11. On the film's homepage, check out the conversation between Vedder and the doc's subject, Tomas Young, a Iraq War vet and anti-war activist.  (Mike Jones)

Ali Jaafar’s story on the crowded field of world film festivals ends with some concern for the Beirut International Film Festival, who’s upcoming dates might be in jeopardy:

• An interesting article by Susan Wright on Sundance's Geoff Gilmore's keynote speech in Edinburgh: "The world of cinema is changing more dramatically now than at any time in the past 50 years..."

• Also, Filmmaker's Nick Dawson continues to post from the fest, including this one from the Writing Comedy panel with Judd Apatow and Mike White. I hope "EIFF TV" caught it on video, like they did with Mike White talking "Year of the Dog."

• And a feature I haven't yet seen at a film festival -- a daily, updated leader-list of films up for the audience award.

(Mike Jones)

Underneath all the NYFF press about Baumbach, De Palma, Anderson and Van Sant, two "comedies" caught my eye. Abel Ferrara’s “Go Go Tales” is described as a “comic fantasy” -- Willem Defoe as a down-on-his-luck club owner struggling to keep his place afloat. Ferrara’s career is a wonderful mystery. Now close to 60 years old, his body of work is bizarre and disjointed. If you’ve ever met Abel frantically checking pay phones for quarters on the Lower East Side, it’s not hard to see why. Some of his stuff has yet to find US theaters – even with Forest Whittaker and Juliette Binoche his last film “Mary” hasn’t yet found a brave distrib. But when he hits, he hits hard and unforgettably – “Ms. 45,” “Bad Lieutenant,” and still his most respected work, “King of New York.”  (Abel at the 2005 Venice fest screening of "Mary", photo by George Pimentel/WireImage.com)

The other comedy comes from another unlikely source: Ira Sachs, director of indie dramas “The Delta” and “Forty Shades of Blue” brings “Married Life.” Set in the 1940s, Chris Cooper is a cheating husband who’d rather plan his wife’s death than put her through a divorce. When I asked him about the jump to comedy, Ira replied the film is more like "'Rules of the Game,' 'Shadow of a Doubt,' 'The Earrings of Madame D,' 'The Trouble with Harry'... The drama of life told with lightness. As opposed to the last time I went to Toronto, in '96 with 'The Delta,'  when I just wanted to be Fassbinder." "Married Life" will also be at Toronto. (Ira at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, photo by Rebecca Sapp/WireImage.com)   (Mike Jones)

Thom Powers, doc programmer for Toronto, has been collecting fest picks from various industry people for his blog, including Matt Dentler, Anthony Kaufman, and Agnes Varnum.  One doc on most everyone’s list – Werner Herzog’s “Encounters at the End of the World.”  Herzog readily admits that he sees little difference between his docs and his fiction features. “Rescue Dawn” is Herzog’s fiction adaptation of his own doc about Vietnam POW Dieter Dengler in “Little Dieter Needs to Fly.” Years before he directed Christian Bale running through the Vietamese jungle, he “directed” Dieter running through the jungle, trying to get the Veitnam vet to relive his war experience by chasing him with the camera. In his other docs, namely “Grizzly Man” and his Klaus Kinski tribute “My Best Fiend”, Herzog’s subjects are dead, but the great German director still works to direct the image and narrative through extensive, personalized voice-overs. Most of "Grizzly Man" is video that a lonely and socially awkward grizzly bear activist shot of himself, and we need Herzog's voice to bring us back from dismissing him. In the process, as with his perspectives on Kinski's death threats in "Fiend", Herzog makes it clear this is his movie, and his story. It’s the polar opposite of the Fredrick Wiseman approach; almost a different genre of filmmaking entirely. (Mike Jones)

Toronto announced a new batch of films today.  Anne put up the full list here.  Here are ten that I want to see:

"Mister Lonely" - Finally something new from Harmony Korine. Though it got tepid reviews at Cannes, its slug is irresistable. Diego Luna is a Michael Jackson impersonator who falls for Samantha Morton as a Marilyn Monroe. She invites him to her commune in Scotland (run by Werner Herzog), where she lives with Charlie Chaplin (Denis Lavant) and her daughter, Shirley Temple.

"Glory to the Filmmaker!" - Takeshi Kitano directs and stars, playing himself as a famous director of gangster films who declares he won't do them anymore.

"It's a Free World..." - the latest from Ken Loach is about a woman who starts her own re-cruitment agency for immigrants desperate for work.

"The Past" - "Kiss of the Spiderwoman" director Hector Babenco film stars Gael Garcia Bernal as a man who's life is in the gutter after he loses his job and custody of his children.

"Chop Shop" - new from producers Lisa Muskat ("George Washington") and Peter Saraf, Jeb Brody ("Little Miss Sunshine").  Directed by Ramin Bahrani ("Man Pushcart") it follows a tough Latino street orphan who lives in an auto-body repair shop in a huge junkyard in Queens, New York. 

"Erik Nietzsche the Early Years" - directed by Jacob Thuesen and written by Lars von Trier under the nom-de-plume Erik Nietzsche.  It's a "semi-autobiographical film follows an intelligent, inexperienced and shy young man who, convinced that he wants to be a film director, enrolls in the Danish National Film School."

"Jellyfish" - Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen multi-thread story won the 2007 Cannes' Camera d'Or where Alissa Simon gave it a rave review. (pictured)

"King of California" - many of Michael Douglas's best roles are about a men who lose their minds in the tangle of modern America ("Falling Down", "Wonder Boys").  Here he heads out on an obsessive quest to uncover an ancient Spanish treasure buried under a Costco.  Directed by Mike Cahill, it's produced by Alexander Payne and Michael London.

"New York City Serenade" - "Joe the King" director Frank Whaley's new film is about two best friends crashing a small film festival in Kansas. 

"Boy A" - John Crowley's film, previously announced, follows a young man's transition from a long life in juvenile institutions, where he's been since he was a child serving time for the murder of another boy.  The fantastic Peter Mullen is his case worker.

(Mike Jones)

“The Darjeeling Limited” will close the Times BFI 51^st London Film Festival, running October 17 – November 1. Wes Anderson will also give a career interview as part of the fest’s TCM Screen Talks series. (Mike Jones)

Though it already had an Oscar-qualifying run in June, “EGOISTE – Lotti Latrous” will have its “festival” premiere at the 53rd Montreal World Film Festival. Latrous left a life of privilege to help HIV/AIDS victims on the Ivory Coast. The doc follows her difficulties in opening her own clinic called “Centre of Hope.”  (Mike Jones)

SXSW is putting more of their 2007 panels up.  Anne Thompson blogged about the Loneygirl15 case study panel.  Here's another -- "The Future of DVDs," moderated by Jonathan Marlow of GreenCine (pictured), and featuring Scott Shooman of Sony Pictures, Joe Amodei of Arts Alliance America, Microsoft HD DVD "Evangelist" Kevin Collins, Brent Hoff of Wholphin, among others.  The SXSW site has more media available, including video of Robert Rodriguez talking Grindhouse and Morgan Spurlock on "What Would Jesus Buy?"  (Mike Jones)

 

Austin's Fantastic Fest will announce a bunch of "cool stuff" later this week, though the program for the third annual event is already impressive. Fantastic will run September 20-27 featuring the best in "new science-fiction, fantasy, horror, animation, crime, Asian, and all around badass cinema," all from the collective programming brain of SXSW's Matt Dentler, Harry Knowles, Tim League and Kier-La Janisse (The Alamo Drafthouse), Todd Brown (Twitch), and Tim McCanlies (screenwriter of "Iron Giant"). Recently, Dentler scored Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury's "Inside" (pictured) for Fantastic, about a very pregnant woman stalked by a deranged, aspiring mother with a knife. Check out the review here. "Inside" will also screen in Toronto's upcoming Midnight section. The Weinstein Company picked up the film in Berlin.  (Mike Jones)

 

The Evening News of Edinburgh reports of some growing local criticism of film fest artistic director Hannah McGill's decision to move Edinburgh's dates to June. I'm sure it was expected since the film festival is a major part of the city-wide arts celebration in August. In the article, Richard Mowe, who runs the Edinburgh-based French and Italian film festivals, says removing the festival from August "downgrades the festival city at this time of year..." He continues: "It seems to be a move imposed by bureaucrats and strategists rather than those with a real passion for the arts in general, and film in particular." 

Hannah McGill defends the move in an op-ed piece here: "The analogy I keep using about Edinburgh's festivals is that of a child that has its birthday on Christmas Day. It loses out on celebrations and presents because everything happens at once."  (Mike Jones)

John Pierson (right, in Fiji with Steve James), who teaches the film department's Master Class at the University of Texas, was quick to point out that the Cinematexas post kinda knocks his department, and he's got a point. Pierson brings all sorts of filmmakers into his class to mingle with students -- Spike Lee, Fred Wiseman, Gus Van Sant, Mike Judge, Joe Dante, Ross McElwee, Mark Cuban, Kevin Smith, Steve James and even Chuck Norris. I still miss the festival. A lot of good people helped build it. But UT’s film program remains one of the best. And while Burnt Orange is over, the UT Film Institute’s new initiatives will keep alive the concept of giving on-set experience to students. Check it out here.  (Mike Jones)

A hundred miles south of that other super-endowed festival in Dubai, the Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi is starting to ramp up for their October debut. The city prides itself as “the richest in the world” and the fest will fly in and house filmmakers in the Emirates Palace (pictured), a $3 billion luxury hotel, where all fest screening and panels will happen. MEIFF hired Jon Fitzgerald as their programmer. Fest regulars know Jon as the co-founder Slamdance and he programmed AFI and Santa Barbara film fests.  (Mike Jones)

At Toronto, there’s the polished New Line production of Gavin Hood’s “Rendition”, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a CIA agent who doubts the guilt of man they’ve squirreled away to another country to torture. Across the pond comes the UK version, James Threapleton’s decidedly indie, and recently re-named, “Extraordinary Rendition”, which will screen at Edinburgh this month. This story follows a man trying to piece his life back together after being squirreled away. While New Line’s official “Rendition” site is what you'd expect from a Hollywood marketing department, the “Extraordinary Rendition” site is more of a blog, including a mini making-of video and entries about the stack of lawsuits building around the illegal program.  (Mike Jones)

Oliver Stone will receive the Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award at the upcoming Austin Film Festival. Stone will get the award along with screenwriter John Milius (Distinguished Screenwriter Award) at the Awards Luncheon on October 13. AFF is worth the travel for screenwriters. Don’t be fooled by the title. The best action is at the conference panels, which take over the beautiful Driskill Hotel in downtown Austin.  Among those confirmed this year: William Broyles Jr., Scott Alexander ("1408"), Terry George, Jon Hurwitz (of "Harold and Kumar" fame), Aline Brosh McKenna, Terry Rossio, and Bill Wittliff.

Check out this good one-on-one with Scott Alexander: "We came on 1408 as a 3-week rewrite, and stayed for almost 2 years!"  (Mike Jones)

Continuing its slow build, Toronto announced their Discovery program.  The two US entries are good reads. David Ross, screenwriter of “The Woods”, brings his directorial debut, “The Babysitters”, concerning a babysitting business that morphs into a prostitution ring.  In Mark Heller’s "The Passage", Stephen Dorff stars as an American in Morocco who falls in love with the right girl in the wrong culture. In fact, forbidden relationships seem to be a trend this year. Australian Peter Carstairs’ "September" is the story of a frowned-upon friendship between a white boy and an Aboriginal boy. “The World Unseen” by Shamim Sarif follows a love affair in 1950's apartheid South Africa. And Tamar van den Dop’s “Blind” is about a self-conscious albino woman who finds love with a blind man. Check out the full line-up here.  (Mike Jones)

September is packed with fests, yet I always looked forward to UT Austin’s Cinematexas, one of the very best film events in the State. It was the smartest way to put on a student film festival – blending their program with screenings and guest lectures of established filmmakers and artists. One year, Terrence Malick programmed his own section entitled Silence, which featured four of his favorite silent short films. Cinematexas also provided the best kind of access. Where else could film students have michillindas at the San Jose Hotel with Werner Herzog, just after an electric screening of his “science fiction” film Lessons of Darkness?  So I was heartbroken to read programming director Ivan Lozano’s sad announcement, posted on the site: “Due to the loss of support from our biggest contributor, and the loss of our office space, we are financially unable to continue...”

If by the loss of a major contributor they mean the University of Texas, and the loss of office space means whatever basement classroom they were probably given, then I hope UT reconsiders.  Burnt Orange, the University’s initiative to put students to work on feature film productions, seems burnt - no longer making movies.  To lose such a respected festival that celebrated film as art within its students’ work is major loss.  (Mike Jones)

Why is the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival still in business?  No festival has a worse reputation that I know of.  How can they get away with charging 300 to 400 bucks per entry fee? Are there that many filmmakers out there desperate to have a New York screening? Apparently so – 273 of them, according to the fest.  Recently, The Reeler slammed it, adding to the mountain of negative press from The Village Voice, indieWIRE, and Filmmaker Mag. It all says the same thing, every year.  And they must know it’s coming.  One journalist I know of was threatened if his coverage wasn’t rosy.  And it wasn’t.

Has anyone out there had experiences – good and bad – with the NYIIFVF?  (Mike Jones)

As a ten-year-old, I didn’t sleep for days after watching the Patterson-Gimlin film of Bigfoot on “In Search Of...” It’s good to hear Bigfoot research hasn’t diminished, because according to the doc “Bigfoot Lives”, which won the Best Doc at (where else) the Poconos Film Festival on Saturday, there are literally thousands of them roaming North America. Producer Tom Biscardi has spent his life researching the Bigfoot population explosion. He claims to have encountered seven of them. He even screened never-before-seen footage of a Bigfoot in Paris, Texas. In addition to the doc, Biscardi and his Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. team are “in the process of planning a Bigfoot museum, a restaurant, Bigfoot books, and various Bigfoot film and television projects based on their expeditions and discoveries.”  (Mike Jones)

It’s no small thing for a fest to move their dates, and Variety’s Adam Dawtrey writes why.  The Edinburgh International Film Festival announced they’re moving from August to June starting next year -- from Toronto and Venice’s cramped apartment to a roomy flat overlooking the end of Karlovy Vary.  "June will give us the breathing space to expand and create our own distinct identity," says artistic director Hannah McGill.  But as Dawtrey writes, the film festival’s desire to separate itself from the month-long Edinburgh Festival could affect everything from film selection to celeb attendance.  (Mike Jones)