Though based on Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s 1958 crime novella The Pledge (which was also the source for Sean Penn’s 2001 film of the same name), György Fehér’s Twilight plays more like an existential horror film than a noir or police procedural. Indeed, the ins and outs of the investigation into the mysterious murder of a child are of little concern to Fehér, who crafts a mood piece that’s keyed to the aura of dread and despair that grips a community in the wake of this and other similar murders.
Set in a small, remote Hungarian town surrounded by vast hills and dense thickets of trees, Twilight exists in a sort of metaphorical purgatory. Throughout, the film’s spare black-and-white images, deliberate pacing, and glacial camera movements, coupled with the near-constant rumbling ambiance that dominates the soundtrack, brilliantly conjure how an unseen but ubiquitous evil haunts the townsfolk. Long tracking...
Set in a small, remote Hungarian town surrounded by vast hills and dense thickets of trees, Twilight exists in a sort of metaphorical purgatory. Throughout, the film’s spare black-and-white images, deliberate pacing, and glacial camera movements, coupled with the near-constant rumbling ambiance that dominates the soundtrack, brilliantly conjure how an unseen but ubiquitous evil haunts the townsfolk. Long tracking...
- 6/20/2023
- by Derek Smith
- Slant Magazine
Noriaki Tsuchimoto (right).When asked about his profession, the Japanese documentarian Noriaki Tsuchimoto would declare himself “a partisan revolutionary first, a filmmaker second.” This radical and humanist approach to filmmaking practice, in which people’s struggles are always centered, and political concerns take precedence over everything else, is central to the filmmaker’s later, better known films, but it is also present in the less widely seen works he made in the 1960s. Diverse in form, style, and subject matter, each disparate film from this period contains fragments of ideas that the filmmaker would return to, and also clear indications of what would come to preoccupy him and emblematize his approach.Born in 1928, Noriaki Tsuchimoto grew up in Tokyo, studying at Waseda University until he was expelled in 1953 due to his involvement with the Japanese Communist Party. After his expulsion, a period spent as a communist guerilla in what the...
- 11/11/2022
- MUBI
Kurosawa Kiyoshi's Cure is one of the very few movies that made me stop breathing. I was in the middle of a full house for a screening at Asian Film Festival of Dallas. My blood ran cold. I started breathing again, but just thinking about it now freaks me out. The Criterion Collection will release Cure on Blu-ray in October 2022, featuring a "4K digital restoration, supervised by cinematographer Tokusho Kikumura, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack," per the official verbiage, as well as a "new conversation between director Kiyoshi Kurosawa and filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi, interviews with actors Masato Hagiwara and Koji Yakusho, interview from 2003 with Kurosawa, trailers and teaser, plus an essay by critic Chris Fujiwara." Jayro Bustamante's horror film from Guatemala, La Llorona, "repurposes...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 7/18/2022
- Screen Anarchy
Japan’s newly-instaled Prime Minister Kishida Fumio sent a video message on Saturday to the opening ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival.
“I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for your ingenuity and dedication in organizing this new type of film festival, a hybrid of the real and online,” Kishida said.
Where previous Japanese premiers have trod the red carpet, Kishida’s careful social distancing was in keeping with a low-key ceremony and prevailing anti-covid conditions. But the unflashy presentation also masked several key changes.
The festival, in its 34th edition, runs Oct. 30-Nov.8, 2021 and has this year shifted from the Roppongi district to the nearby Hibiya district. The opening ceremony was held for the first time at Yurakucho’s Tokyo International Forum Hall, part of a multipurpose complex that is only a few minutes from the new Tokyo Midtown Hibiya festival hub.
For the second time,...
“I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for your ingenuity and dedication in organizing this new type of film festival, a hybrid of the real and online,” Kishida said.
Where previous Japanese premiers have trod the red carpet, Kishida’s careful social distancing was in keeping with a low-key ceremony and prevailing anti-covid conditions. But the unflashy presentation also masked several key changes.
The festival, in its 34th edition, runs Oct. 30-Nov.8, 2021 and has this year shifted from the Roppongi district to the nearby Hibiya district. The opening ceremony was held for the first time at Yurakucho’s Tokyo International Forum Hall, part of a multipurpose complex that is only a few minutes from the new Tokyo Midtown Hibiya festival hub.
For the second time,...
- 10/30/2021
- by Mark Schilling and Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
World premieres include debut from Happy Hour co-writer Tadashi Nohara and new works from Brillante Mendoza and Mikhail Red.
Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced the full line-up for its 34th edition, including the main competition section of 15 films, among which 10 titles are world premieres. Other sections include Asian Future, Gala Selection, World Focus, Nippon Cinema Now and Japanese Animation.
The competition section includes the world premieres of two Japanese films – Third Time Lucky, the debut feature of Tadashi Nohara, who co-wrote Happy Hour and Wife Of A Spy; and Just Remembering from Daigo Matsui (Ice Cream And The...
Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced the full line-up for its 34th edition, including the main competition section of 15 films, among which 10 titles are world premieres. Other sections include Asian Future, Gala Selection, World Focus, Nippon Cinema Now and Japanese Animation.
The competition section includes the world premieres of two Japanese films – Third Time Lucky, the debut feature of Tadashi Nohara, who co-wrote Happy Hour and Wife Of A Spy; and Just Remembering from Daigo Matsui (Ice Cream And The...
- 9/28/2021
- by Matt Schley
- ScreenDaily
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Kelly Reichardt and Michelle Williams on the set of Meek's Cutoff (2010). Kelly Reichardt and Michelle Williams will be working on a fourth project together, entitled Showing Up. The film, which goes into production this summer, follows an artist ahead of a career-changing exhibition. The Berlin Film Festival is unveiling its plans for this year's festival, beginning with its selection of six titles to premiere at the Berlinale Series that follow this year's theme: Toxic Antiheroes, Utopias of Freedom. Italian director, screenwriter, and producer Alberto Lattatuda will be the subject of the Locarno Film Festival's annual retrospective, to be held August 4-14. Following his biopic of Siegfried Sassoon, Terence Davies is set to direct an adaptation of Stefan Zweig’s post-wwi-set novel The Post Office Girl. Recommended VIEWINGThe official trailer for Beginning, the striking...
- 1/27/2021
- MUBI
Other winners included Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili for ’Beginning’.
Ivan Ayr’s Milestone was named best film at the Silver Screen Awards, which closed the 31st Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff) on Sunday (December 6).
The Indian drama, which premiered in Venice Horizons in September, also won the best performance award for Suvinder Vicky’s turn as an ageing Punjabi trucker who must keep his life’s work from falling apart.
It marks Ayr’s second feature after Delhi crime drama Soni, which also debuted in Horizons in 2018. Milestone has also played Pingyao and Stockholm film festivals.
The jury included filmmakers João Pedro Rodrigues,...
Ivan Ayr’s Milestone was named best film at the Silver Screen Awards, which closed the 31st Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff) on Sunday (December 6).
The Indian drama, which premiered in Venice Horizons in September, also won the best performance award for Suvinder Vicky’s turn as an ageing Punjabi trucker who must keep his life’s work from falling apart.
It marks Ayr’s second feature after Delhi crime drama Soni, which also debuted in Horizons in 2018. Milestone has also played Pingyao and Stockholm film festivals.
The jury included filmmakers João Pedro Rodrigues,...
- 12/7/2020
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
Some classic Russian films are impressive, others are interesting — and this one takes our heads off, as if we were seeing great moviemaking for the first time. Soviet filmmaking under Stalin was locked in the grip of stifling bureaucratic sameness; Mikhail Kalatazov waited until the passing of Joe Stalin to direct with a degree of freedom. This show about lovers separated by war won prizes around the world, giving Soviet films new life internationally — its bravura montages and fluid camera set pieces still astound.
The Cranes are Flying
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 146
1957 / B&w / 1:37 flat full frame / 97 min. / Letjat zhuravli / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 24, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Tatyana Samojlova, Aleksey Batalov, Vasily Merkuryev, Aleksandr Shvorin, Svetalana Kharitonova.
Cinematography: Sergey Urusevsky
Film Editor: Mariya Timofeyeva
Original Music: Moisej Vajnberg
Written by Viktor Rozov from his play
Produced and Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
Yes, we saw a lot of pictures in film school,...
The Cranes are Flying
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 146
1957 / B&w / 1:37 flat full frame / 97 min. / Letjat zhuravli / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 24, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Tatyana Samojlova, Aleksey Batalov, Vasily Merkuryev, Aleksandr Shvorin, Svetalana Kharitonova.
Cinematography: Sergey Urusevsky
Film Editor: Mariya Timofeyeva
Original Music: Moisej Vajnberg
Written by Viktor Rozov from his play
Produced and Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
Yes, we saw a lot of pictures in film school,...
- 3/7/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
As Disney quietly disappears huge swathes of film history into its vaults, I'm going to spend 2020 celebrating Twentieth Century Fox and the Fox Film Corporation's films, what one might call their output if only someone were putting it out.And now they've quietly disappeared William Fox's name from the company: guilty by association with Rupert Murdoch, even though he never associated with him.***Twentieth Century Fox is now to be called Twentieth Century, the name of a company that ceased to be back in 1935 when it swallowed the beleaguered Fox Picture Company. Zanuck's pre-merger studio is actually rather well-represented on home video, considering it existed for less than four years: Zanuck's story instinct, which had served him so well at Warners/First National, may not have fired so consistently, but it gave us punchy entertainments like The Bowery, Blood Money, and The Call of the Wild.The studio's tastes were more eclectic than Warners,...
- 2/24/2020
- MUBI
This August, Arrow Video presents a special edition of one of the key films by a giant of cinema, a Korean masterwork in a highly-collectible three-disc edition. As well as featuring a pristine restoration and unmissable extras, the release is beautifully packaged with new artwork and specially commissioned writing.
Park Chan-wook’s brutal, lyrical modern classic of the revenge genre, Oldboy, is often cited as one of the best films of the 2000s and possibly the definitive example of extreme Asian cinema. The masterpiece has been newly mastered in 4K and is presented here in a stunning limited edition three-disc set with a massive array of extras including the feature-length documentary Old Days, three hours of bonus interviews, and a 100 page hardbound book and a fold-out poster; there is also a two-disc set bursting at the seams with extras, and a standard DVD version.
Based on the...
Park Chan-wook’s brutal, lyrical modern classic of the revenge genre, Oldboy, is often cited as one of the best films of the 2000s and possibly the definitive example of extreme Asian cinema. The masterpiece has been newly mastered in 4K and is presented here in a stunning limited edition three-disc set with a massive array of extras including the feature-length documentary Old Days, three hours of bonus interviews, and a 100 page hardbound book and a fold-out poster; there is also a two-disc set bursting at the seams with extras, and a standard DVD version.
Based on the...
- 6/5/2019
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
The following text is an excerpt from an essay commissioned by the specialist publishing house Hatori Press (Japan) for a tribute to the great critic, scholar and teacher Shigehiko Hasumi on the occasion of his 80th birthday (29 April 2016). Other contributors to this book (slated to appear in both Japanese and English editions) include Pedro Costa, Chris Fujiwara and Richard I. Suchenski. Beyond Prof. Hasumi’s many achievements in criticism and education (he was President of the University of Tokyo between 1997 and 2001), his ‘method,’ his unique way of seeing and speaking about films, has served as an immense inspiration for a generation of directors in Japan including Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Shinji Aoyama. The online magazines Rouge (www.rouge.com.au) and Lola (www.lolajournal.com), co-edited by Martin, provide the best access to Hasumi’s work in English (see references in the notes below).Leos Carax and Shigehiko Hasumi. Photo by Michiko Yoshitake.
- 3/30/2016
- by Adrian Martin
- MUBI
More than one feature film looks at the making of this picture, focusing on its author, Truman Capote. Criterion's disc returns the discussion to Richard Brooks, the director that dared adapt an unfilmable novel of lurid, unthinkable crime on the Kansas prairie. It's also a last gasp of artistic B&W cinematography from Hollywood, thanks to the indelible images of Conrad Hall. In Cold Blood Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 781 1967 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date November 20, 2015 / 39.95 Starring Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsythe, Paul Stewart, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Jeff Corey, John Gallaudet, James Flavin, John Collins, Charles McGraw, Will Geer. Cinematography Conrad L. Hall Production Designer Robert F. Boyle Film Editor Peter Zinner Original Music Quincy Jones Written by Richard Brooks from the novel by Truman Capote Produced and Directed by Richard Brooks
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Some directors just want to work. Others...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Some directors just want to work. Others...
- 11/21/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“A Study Of Darkness”
By Raymond Benson
One of the more controversial motion pictures to emerge out of what film historians call “New Hollywood” was In Cold Blood, which was released to theaters “for mature audiences only.” The New Hollywood movement began around 1966, when the Production Code finally started to collapse (and before the movie ratings were instituted) and studios commenced allowing auteur filmmakers to do whatever the hell they wanted. The year 1967 was especially a groundbreaking one with the release of such “adult” fare as Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, and In Cold Blood.
In Cold Blood is based on the “non-fiction novel” by Truman Capote about the true crime of 1959 in which an innocent family of four in Kansas were murdered by two ex-cons who believed there was $10,000 hidden in a safe in the house (there wasn’t). Capote spent several years writing the book,...
By Raymond Benson
One of the more controversial motion pictures to emerge out of what film historians call “New Hollywood” was In Cold Blood, which was released to theaters “for mature audiences only.” The New Hollywood movement began around 1966, when the Production Code finally started to collapse (and before the movie ratings were instituted) and studios commenced allowing auteur filmmakers to do whatever the hell they wanted. The year 1967 was especially a groundbreaking one with the release of such “adult” fare as Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, and In Cold Blood.
In Cold Blood is based on the “non-fiction novel” by Truman Capote about the true crime of 1959 in which an innocent family of four in Kansas were murdered by two ex-cons who believed there was $10,000 hidden in a safe in the house (there wasn’t). Capote spent several years writing the book,...
- 11/20/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The inaugural London East Asia Film Festival (Leaff) will be taking place from the 23rd to the 25th October 2015.
Leaff’s festival director, Hye-Jung Jeon (former director of the London Korean Film Festival) and Chris Fujiwara, former artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival are launching this ‘0th’ edition of Leaff 2015.
Films from Korea, China, Japan and East Asia in general will be shown and the festival’s mission will aim to take UK audiences on a continuously unfolding adventure of cinematic discovery.
Covering a wide variety of genres, a carefully curated selection of titles that represent remarkable artistic achievement in independent cinema will be presented.
The festival will begin with Ryoo Seung-wan‘s (City of Violence, The Unjust, The Berlin File) blockbuster ‘Veteran’ at
Odeon’s Leicester Square cinema on the evening of Friday 23 October. Click here to purchase tickets
After the film, Chief Programmer Chris Fujiwara will...
Leaff’s festival director, Hye-Jung Jeon (former director of the London Korean Film Festival) and Chris Fujiwara, former artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival are launching this ‘0th’ edition of Leaff 2015.
Films from Korea, China, Japan and East Asia in general will be shown and the festival’s mission will aim to take UK audiences on a continuously unfolding adventure of cinematic discovery.
Covering a wide variety of genres, a carefully curated selection of titles that represent remarkable artistic achievement in independent cinema will be presented.
The festival will begin with Ryoo Seung-wan‘s (City of Violence, The Unjust, The Berlin File) blockbuster ‘Veteran’ at
Odeon’s Leicester Square cinema on the evening of Friday 23 October. Click here to purchase tickets
After the film, Chief Programmer Chris Fujiwara will...
- 10/22/2015
- by Adrian Bronic
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: New festival plans launch in 2016; preview event this month will open with the European premiere of Korean box office hit Veteran.
Plans have been revealed to launch a new annual event in London dedicated to East Asian film.
The inaugural London East Asia Film Festival (Leaff) will launch in 2016 with a programme of titles from emerging and established directors, attended by filmmakers and stars.
The new festival - founded by former London Korean Film Festival director Hye-jung Jeon – has recruited Chris Fujiwara as chief programmer.
Fujiwara stepped down as artistic director of Edinburgh International Film Festival after three festivals in September 2014. An independent film critic and programmer, Fujiwara had previously developed film festival programmes for Jeonju, Sydney and Mar del Plata among others.
Three film festival advisors, Ji-seok Kim from Busan International Film Festival, Roger Garcia from Hong Kong International Film Festival, and Simon Ward from Independent Cinema Office (Ico), have advised Leaff on its vision...
Plans have been revealed to launch a new annual event in London dedicated to East Asian film.
The inaugural London East Asia Film Festival (Leaff) will launch in 2016 with a programme of titles from emerging and established directors, attended by filmmakers and stars.
The new festival - founded by former London Korean Film Festival director Hye-jung Jeon – has recruited Chris Fujiwara as chief programmer.
Fujiwara stepped down as artistic director of Edinburgh International Film Festival after three festivals in September 2014. An independent film critic and programmer, Fujiwara had previously developed film festival programmes for Jeonju, Sydney and Mar del Plata among others.
Three film festival advisors, Ji-seok Kim from Busan International Film Festival, Roger Garcia from Hong Kong International Film Festival, and Simon Ward from Independent Cinema Office (Ico), have advised Leaff on its vision...
- 10/1/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Even when based on actual events, classical Hollywood movies never strive for painstaking factual accuracy. This is best exemplified by the ever-present legal disclaimer “The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used in this work are fictitious, and any resemblance to the name, character and history of any real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental,” which appears not only in horror, sci-fi or musical extravaganzas, but also in biopics and historical reconstructions. In the latter two cases, the contradiction is only apparent. While using the above disclaimer (or variations thereof) to protect themselves from defamation lawsuits, the studios openly acknowledge what any person of common sense knows already: in the filmmaking business, dramatization and other poetic licenses are essential to tell and sell exciting stories to an audience, since reality is too boring and complex for an evening's entertainment. In other words, a commercial film is not a...
- 7/9/2015
- by Michael Guarneri
- MUBI
Move comes less than two weeks before the start of the festival.
Bob Last, the chair of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has stepped down less than two weeks before the start of this year’s event, which runs June 17-28.
The chairman of the Centre for the Moving Image, which oversees the operation of Eiff, will stand down with immediate effect.
The recruitment process for a new chair has now begun.
Last’s resignation comes just three months after Mark Adams began his role as Eiff artistic director, replacing Chris Fujiwara who stood down in September.
Last, a producer who has worked on films including Terence Davies’ Sunset Song and Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist, had been in the post since November 2012.
He said: “It’s been an honour and a pleasure to chair the Cmi. We have made huge strides in developing the business, including raising the profile and standing of Eiff. I wish Ken Hay...
Bob Last, the chair of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has stepped down less than two weeks before the start of this year’s event, which runs June 17-28.
The chairman of the Centre for the Moving Image, which oversees the operation of Eiff, will stand down with immediate effect.
The recruitment process for a new chair has now begun.
Last’s resignation comes just three months after Mark Adams began his role as Eiff artistic director, replacing Chris Fujiwara who stood down in September.
Last, a producer who has worked on films including Terence Davies’ Sunset Song and Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist, had been in the post since November 2012.
He said: “It’s been an honour and a pleasure to chair the Cmi. We have made huge strides in developing the business, including raising the profile and standing of Eiff. I wish Ken Hay...
- 6/6/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Welcome to another horror/thriller round-up! This time around we have details on Backstreet Boy Nick Carter’s in-the-works zombie western movie, release details for Arrow Video’s UK Blu-ray / DVD of the Vincent Price-starring The Comedy of Terrors, and an update on Warner Bros.’ and Team Downey’s in-development film based on the real-life sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the subsequent shark attacks on the surviving crew members.
In an interview with Noisey, Backstreet Boy Nick Carter revealed that he will be directing and starring in a zombie western called Dead West (not to be confused with Joe R. Lansdale’s 1986 zombie western novel, Dead in the West) for Asylum this March. Carter also co-wrote the script and has a couple of potential cast members in mind (excerpts from Noisey via Shock Till You Drop):
“It’s called Dead West. [Laughs.] It’s a zombie horror western movie.
In an interview with Noisey, Backstreet Boy Nick Carter revealed that he will be directing and starring in a zombie western called Dead West (not to be confused with Joe R. Lansdale’s 1986 zombie western novel, Dead in the West) for Asylum this March. Carter also co-wrote the script and has a couple of potential cast members in mind (excerpts from Noisey via Shock Till You Drop):
“It’s called Dead West. [Laughs.] It’s a zombie horror western movie.
- 2/1/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Adams will step down as Screen International reviews editor at end of February.
Mark Adams, Screen International’s chief film critic and reviews editor, has been appointed as artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Adams will step down from his post at Screen at the end of February, and he starts the artistic director role in March. He will continue as the chief film critic for The Sunday Mirror.
Before joining Screen four years ago, Adams was Head of Programming at the National Film Theatre in London, and was Director of Cinema at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (Ica) in London, and has programmed for numerous film festivals around the world. He has also written for Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Moving Pictures International.
He replaces Chris Fujiwara, who stepped down from Eiff in September.
Adams said; “I have had a wonderful time working with Screen and its amazing group of critics and journalists. Now I...
Mark Adams, Screen International’s chief film critic and reviews editor, has been appointed as artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Adams will step down from his post at Screen at the end of February, and he starts the artistic director role in March. He will continue as the chief film critic for The Sunday Mirror.
Before joining Screen four years ago, Adams was Head of Programming at the National Film Theatre in London, and was Director of Cinema at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (Ica) in London, and has programmed for numerous film festivals around the world. He has also written for Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Moving Pictures International.
He replaces Chris Fujiwara, who stepped down from Eiff in September.
Adams said; “I have had a wonderful time working with Screen and its amazing group of critics and journalists. Now I...
- 12/16/2014
- ScreenDaily
After serving as artistic director of Edinburgh International Film Festival for three festivals, Chris Fujiwara is stepping down from his role.
Recruitment for a new artistic director for Eiff is commencing immediately and it is intended to have a replacement in place for the 2015 edition (June 17-28, 2015).
In the interim, the existing programming team, led by deputy artistic director, Diane Henderson, will have responsibility for programming the 2015 festival.
During Fujiwara’s tenure at Eiff admissions increased by 33%, reaching 46,000 in 2014. The Audience Award was reinstated, along with the Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film and the Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
Fujiwara said: “It’s been a genuine honour to work with the team in Edinburgh and contribute to the rebirth of Eiff over the last three years.
“However, I have decided to step down from my role at the festival to pursue other activities.”
Ken Hay, chief executive...
Recruitment for a new artistic director for Eiff is commencing immediately and it is intended to have a replacement in place for the 2015 edition (June 17-28, 2015).
In the interim, the existing programming team, led by deputy artistic director, Diane Henderson, will have responsibility for programming the 2015 festival.
During Fujiwara’s tenure at Eiff admissions increased by 33%, reaching 46,000 in 2014. The Audience Award was reinstated, along with the Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film and the Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
Fujiwara said: “It’s been a genuine honour to work with the team in Edinburgh and contribute to the rebirth of Eiff over the last three years.
“However, I have decided to step down from my role at the festival to pursue other activities.”
Ken Hay, chief executive...
- 9/16/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Chris Fujiwara has resigned from his role as artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival with one year on his four-year contract. The news was announced Tuesday, with the film critic and lecturer saying in a statement that he was departing to "pursue other activities." "It’s been a genuine honor to work with the team in Edinburgh and contribute to the rebirth of Eiff over the last three years," he added. Fujiwara joined the festival in 2011 and over his three-event tenure saw Eiff admissions increase by 33 percent, hitting 46,000 at this year’s
read more...
read more...
- 9/16/2014
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Edinburgh International Film Festival has announced that Chris Fujiwara is stepping down as artistic director after three editions of the festival. He signed a three-year contract with Eiff in 2012.
Fujiwara came to the helm in 2011 after a turbulent year at the festival and the festival say admissions increased by 33 per cent reaching 46,000 in 2014 during his tenure, which also saw the reinstatement of the Audience Award, Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film and the Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
Recruitment for a new Artistic Director for Eiff is commencing immediately and it is intended that they will be in place for the 2015 edition (June 17 to 28). In the interim, the existing programming team, led by long-standing deputy artistic director, Diane Henderson, will have responsibility for programming the 2015 Festival.
Chris Fujiwara said: “It’s been a genuine honour to work with the...
Fujiwara came to the helm in 2011 after a turbulent year at the festival and the festival say admissions increased by 33 per cent reaching 46,000 in 2014 during his tenure, which also saw the reinstatement of the Audience Award, Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film and the Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
Recruitment for a new Artistic Director for Eiff is commencing immediately and it is intended that they will be in place for the 2015 edition (June 17 to 28). In the interim, the existing programming team, led by long-standing deputy artistic director, Diane Henderson, will have responsibility for programming the 2015 Festival.
Chris Fujiwara said: “It’s been a genuine honour to work with the...
- 9/16/2014
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Richard Linklater’s 12-year project beats Ida, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Winter Sleep.
Richard Linklater’s Boyhood has been named the best film of the past year by the members of the International Federation of Film Critics, Fipresci.
The poll for the Fipresci Grand Prix 2014 - Best Film of the Year gathered votes from 553 members throughout the world.
In the first phase, participants nominated feature-length films that received their world premiere no earlier than July 1, 2013. This led to a final round between the four finalists: Boyhood by Richard Linklater, Ida by Pawel Pawlikowski, The Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson, and Winter Sleep by Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
This is the first Linklater has won the prize, which has previously gone to Michael Haneke, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jafar Panahi, Pedro Almodóvar, Jean-Luc Godard and Nuri Bilge Ceylan, among others, since its establishment in 1999.
Boyhood will have a special screening at the San Sebastián Film Festival on Sept...
Richard Linklater’s Boyhood has been named the best film of the past year by the members of the International Federation of Film Critics, Fipresci.
The poll for the Fipresci Grand Prix 2014 - Best Film of the Year gathered votes from 553 members throughout the world.
In the first phase, participants nominated feature-length films that received their world premiere no earlier than July 1, 2013. This led to a final round between the four finalists: Boyhood by Richard Linklater, Ida by Pawel Pawlikowski, The Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson, and Winter Sleep by Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
This is the first Linklater has won the prize, which has previously gone to Michael Haneke, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jafar Panahi, Pedro Almodóvar, Jean-Luc Godard and Nuri Bilge Ceylan, among others, since its establishment in 1999.
Boyhood will have a special screening at the San Sebastián Film Festival on Sept...
- 9/5/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Leading figures from film festivals in Cannes, London, Edinburgh and Hong Kong revealed their top tips for standing out from the rest when gaining selection to festivals.
The panel discussion at the Bogota Audiovisual Market (Bam) in Colombia included Charles Tesson, artistic director of Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival; Maria Delgado, programmer and advisor on Spanish and Spanish-American cinema for the BFI London Film Festival; Chris Fujiwara, artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival; and Raymond Phathanavirangoon, programme consultant for the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Here are the tips shared by the panel…
Charles Tesson, Cannes Critics’ Week
Do not show a rough cut of your film because the first impression is the strongest.
Do not show us the film too late. The idea that we will forget previous films and only remember the ones we received last is wrong.
If you’re at Cannes, it’s useful to get a press agent for...
The panel discussion at the Bogota Audiovisual Market (Bam) in Colombia included Charles Tesson, artistic director of Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival; Maria Delgado, programmer and advisor on Spanish and Spanish-American cinema for the BFI London Film Festival; Chris Fujiwara, artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival; and Raymond Phathanavirangoon, programme consultant for the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Here are the tips shared by the panel…
Charles Tesson, Cannes Critics’ Week
Do not show a rough cut of your film because the first impression is the strongest.
Do not show us the film too late. The idea that we will forget previous films and only remember the ones we received last is wrong.
If you’re at Cannes, it’s useful to get a press agent for...
- 7/17/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The British film industry is to send its biggest ever delegation to the Bogota Audiovisual Market (Bam).
Producers, distributors and festival execs are among a 29-strong British delegation that will arrive in Colombia on Monday for the fifth Bogota Audiovisual Market (Bam) (July 14-18).
The UK is the guest country at this year’s Bam, attended by more than 1,000 delegates including 250 buyers from 20 countries, as Colombia aims to increase collaboration with the British film industry.
The ambition follows rapid growth within the Colombian film sector as a result of increased government support and incentives, with the country positioning itself as a production centre in the region that is keen to attract foreign shoots.
One of the delegation is Isabel Davis, head of international at the BFI, who said: “As Colombia steps up support for its local film industry, I’m looking forward to finding out what makes Colombian filmmakers and audiences tick, and what the...
Producers, distributors and festival execs are among a 29-strong British delegation that will arrive in Colombia on Monday for the fifth Bogota Audiovisual Market (Bam) (July 14-18).
The UK is the guest country at this year’s Bam, attended by more than 1,000 delegates including 250 buyers from 20 countries, as Colombia aims to increase collaboration with the British film industry.
The ambition follows rapid growth within the Colombian film sector as a result of increased government support and incentives, with the country positioning itself as a production centre in the region that is keen to attract foreign shoots.
One of the delegation is Isabel Davis, head of international at the BFI, who said: “As Colombia steps up support for its local film industry, I’m looking forward to finding out what makes Colombian filmmakers and audiences tick, and what the...
- 7/11/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Blu-ray Release Date: Sept. 30, 2014
Price: Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Brigitte Mira and El Hedi ben Salem star in Fassbinder's Ali: Fears Eats the Soul.
The wildly prolific German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder (World on a Wire) paid homage to his cinematic hero Douglas Sirk with the 1974 drama Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, an update of Sirk’s 1955 All That Heaven Allows.
A lonely widow (Brigitte Mira) meets a much younger Arab worker (El Hedi ben Salem) in a bar during a rainstorm. They fall in love, to their own surprise—and to the outright shock of their families, colleagues, and drinking buddies.
In the movie Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Fassbinder expertly uses the emotional power of classic Hollywood melodrama to expose the racial tensions underlying contemporary German culture.
Criterion issued a DVD edition of Ali: Fear Eats the Soul back in 2003. This new Blu-ray version includes the following features, all...
Price: Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Brigitte Mira and El Hedi ben Salem star in Fassbinder's Ali: Fears Eats the Soul.
The wildly prolific German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder (World on a Wire) paid homage to his cinematic hero Douglas Sirk with the 1974 drama Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, an update of Sirk’s 1955 All That Heaven Allows.
A lonely widow (Brigitte Mira) meets a much younger Arab worker (El Hedi ben Salem) in a bar during a rainstorm. They fall in love, to their own surprise—and to the outright shock of their families, colleagues, and drinking buddies.
In the movie Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Fassbinder expertly uses the emotional power of classic Hollywood melodrama to expose the racial tensions underlying contemporary German culture.
Criterion issued a DVD edition of Ali: Fear Eats the Soul back in 2003. This new Blu-ray version includes the following features, all...
- 6/24/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Edinburgh Film Festival Artistic Director Chris Fujiwara has announced the full programme for this year's 68th incarnation. Boasting 156 features from 47 countries, highlights include the UK premiere of Control and The American director Anton Corbijn's A Most Wanted Man (featuring one of Philip Seymour Hoffman's final performances), Gia Coppola's James Franco-starring Palo Alto and, fresh from its debut in Cannes, Abel Ferrara's Dominique Strauss-Kahn-inspired Welcome to New York. From closer to home comes Gillies MacKinnon's Castles in the Sky, the story of the Scottish engineer and developer of radar Robert Watson-Watt (Eddie Izzard) as well as Andy Goddard's Set Fire to the Stars, a semi-biographical drama depicting the life of Dylan Thomas.
- 6/16/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Amos Gitai [pictured], Michael Smiley and Lenora Crichlow among the judges at this year’s festival.
Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has announced this year’s juries.
Amos Gitai will chair the jury for the Michael Powell Award Competition for Best British Feature Film, with Nina Hoss and Michael Smiley also on the jury. The award carries a cash prize of £20,000 and the jury will also select the award for Best Performance in a British feature film.
The jury for Best International Feature Film Competition (£10,000) includes Niki Karimi (chair), Michael Fitzgerald and Mark Rabinowitz, while the Best Documentary Feature Film Competition (£10,000 and supported by Al Jazeera) will be chaired by Cynthia Beatt alongside Dominique Auvray and Sunmin Park.
Linda Ruth Williams will chair the jury for the Short Film Competition (supported by Virgin Atlantic) along with Lenora Crichlow and Nicole Gerhards.
Now in its third year, the Student Critics Jury programme will see seven aspiring film critics work under...
Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has announced this year’s juries.
Amos Gitai will chair the jury for the Michael Powell Award Competition for Best British Feature Film, with Nina Hoss and Michael Smiley also on the jury. The award carries a cash prize of £20,000 and the jury will also select the award for Best Performance in a British feature film.
The jury for Best International Feature Film Competition (£10,000) includes Niki Karimi (chair), Michael Fitzgerald and Mark Rabinowitz, while the Best Documentary Feature Film Competition (£10,000 and supported by Al Jazeera) will be chaired by Cynthia Beatt alongside Dominique Auvray and Sunmin Park.
Linda Ruth Williams will chair the jury for the Short Film Competition (supported by Virgin Atlantic) along with Lenora Crichlow and Nicole Gerhards.
Now in its third year, the Student Critics Jury programme will see seven aspiring film critics work under...
- 6/10/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
Edinburgh Filmhouse gears up for the 68th edition of the film festival. Photo: Amber Wilkinson The full details of the 68th edition of Edinburgh International Film Festival were announced by artistic director Chris Fujiwara this morning. Events at the festival - which runs from June 18 to 29 - will include a series of Hero Hangouts, which will feature Cold In July's Don Johnson, Elijah Wood - in town for Dylan Thomas biopic Set Fire To The Stars - Noel Clarke, who is bringing The Anomaly and We Are Monster (which he produced) to the festival and husband and wife team Simon Helberg and Jocelyn Towne, whose semi-autobiographical We'll Never Have Paris is the closing night film. X/Y star America Ferrera - previously on the jury at the festival - is also expected to attend.
The festival will show 156 features from 47 countries, including 11 world premieres, eight international premieres, seven European premieres and 96 UK premieres.
The festival will show 156 features from 47 countries, including 11 world premieres, eight international premieres, seven European premieres and 96 UK premieres.
- 5/28/2014
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The full line-up for the 68th Edinburgh International Film Festival was announced this morning at a press conference with artistic director Chris Fujiwara.
This year’s instalment, which takes place at various venues across the Capital from June 18th to the 29th, will showcase 156 features including the previously announced opening and closing night films Hyena and We’ll Never Have Paris.
Highlights elsewhere in the festival include: Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer; Life After Beth, starring Dane DeHaan and Aubrey Plaza; Cold in July, directed by Jim Mickle; animated adventure The Nut Job; and Nicolas Cage’s bleak star vehicle Joe.
There will also be three competition strands this year. The Michael Powell Award returns with UK premieres of Set Fire to the Stars, We Are Monster, Still Life and many more, while International Feature Film will include screenings of X/Y, To Kill a Man and Club Sandwich, amongst others.
This year’s instalment, which takes place at various venues across the Capital from June 18th to the 29th, will showcase 156 features including the previously announced opening and closing night films Hyena and We’ll Never Have Paris.
Highlights elsewhere in the festival include: Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer; Life After Beth, starring Dane DeHaan and Aubrey Plaza; Cold in July, directed by Jim Mickle; animated adventure The Nut Job; and Nicolas Cage’s bleak star vehicle Joe.
There will also be three competition strands this year. The Michael Powell Award returns with UK premieres of Set Fire to the Stars, We Are Monster, Still Life and many more, while International Feature Film will include screenings of X/Y, To Kill a Man and Club Sandwich, amongst others.
- 5/28/2014
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Highlights include Anton Corbijn’s A Most Wanted Man, starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Abel Ferrara’s controversial Dsk feature Welcome To New York.
The full line-up of the 68th Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has been revealed this morning by artistic director Chris Fujiwara at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse.
This year’s festival, which runs from June 18-29, will comprise 156 features from 47 countries, including 11 world premieres, eight international premieres, seven European premieres and 95 UK premieres.
New titles announced today include Anton Corbijn’s A Most Wanted Man, starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his final performances that was first shown at Sundance in January.
Straight from its lively premiere in Cannes is Abel Ferrara’s controversial title Welcome To New York, inspired by the case of former Imf managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, starring Gérard Depardieu, which will receive its UK premiere at Eiff.
Other new titles added to the line-up include [link=nm...
The full line-up of the 68th Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has been revealed this morning by artistic director Chris Fujiwara at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse.
This year’s festival, which runs from June 18-29, will comprise 156 features from 47 countries, including 11 world premieres, eight international premieres, seven European premieres and 95 UK premieres.
New titles announced today include Anton Corbijn’s A Most Wanted Man, starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his final performances that was first shown at Sundance in January.
Straight from its lively premiere in Cannes is Abel Ferrara’s controversial title Welcome To New York, inspired by the case of former Imf managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, starring Gérard Depardieu, which will receive its UK premiere at Eiff.
Other new titles added to the line-up include [link=nm...
- 5/28/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
British crime thriller Hyena will have its world premiere as the opening night gala of the 68th Edinburgh Film Festival on Wednesday, June 18.
It will join eight other British films in competition for the Michael Powell Award - six of which are world premieres.
The film reunites director Gerard Johnson with Peter Ferdinando, who played the lead in his debut feature Tony which received its world premiere at Eiff in 2009.
Ferdinando plays Michael Logan in the film - which has already been picked up by Metrodome in the UK - as an anti-hero for our times: a natural predator and a complex mix of high-functioning addict and corrupt police officer. But his dark world is evolving thanks to a recent influx of ruthless Albanian gangsters.
The film also stars Stephen Graham, MyAnna Buring, Neil Maskell, Elisa Lasowski and Richard Dormer.
Eiff artistic director Chris Fujiwara said: “We’re excited to be opening.
It will join eight other British films in competition for the Michael Powell Award - six of which are world premieres.
The film reunites director Gerard Johnson with Peter Ferdinando, who played the lead in his debut feature Tony which received its world premiere at Eiff in 2009.
Ferdinando plays Michael Logan in the film - which has already been picked up by Metrodome in the UK - as an anti-hero for our times: a natural predator and a complex mix of high-functioning addict and corrupt police officer. But his dark world is evolving thanks to a recent influx of ruthless Albanian gangsters.
The film also stars Stephen Graham, MyAnna Buring, Neil Maskell, Elisa Lasowski and Richard Dormer.
Eiff artistic director Chris Fujiwara said: “We’re excited to be opening.
- 5/12/2014
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Gerard Johnson’s follow-up to Tony to receive world premiere as opening film; contenders for Michael Powell Award also revealed, including six world premieres.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has revealed that corrupt cop drama Hyena will open the 68th edition of the festival on June 18.
The film reunites director Gerard Johnson with Peter Ferdinando, who played the lead in his debut feature Tony which received its world premiere at Eiff in 2009.
Producers include Stephen Woolley (Made in Dagenham, The Crying Game, Mona Lisa), Elizabeth Karlsen (Great Expectations, Ladies in Lavender) and Joanna Laurie. Hyena was developed by Film4. Sam Lavender and Katherine Butler exec produced the film for Film4 which was co-financed by Film4, BFI, Ingenious and Lipsync and will be released by Metrodome in the UK and distributed internationally by Independent.
Set in London, Hyena revolves around corrupt police officer Michael Logan (Ferdinando) who has to deal with an influx of ruthless Albanian gangsters...
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has revealed that corrupt cop drama Hyena will open the 68th edition of the festival on June 18.
The film reunites director Gerard Johnson with Peter Ferdinando, who played the lead in his debut feature Tony which received its world premiere at Eiff in 2009.
Producers include Stephen Woolley (Made in Dagenham, The Crying Game, Mona Lisa), Elizabeth Karlsen (Great Expectations, Ladies in Lavender) and Joanna Laurie. Hyena was developed by Film4. Sam Lavender and Katherine Butler exec produced the film for Film4 which was co-financed by Film4, BFI, Ingenious and Lipsync and will be released by Metrodome in the UK and distributed internationally by Independent.
Set in London, Hyena revolves around corrupt police officer Michael Logan (Ferdinando) who has to deal with an influx of ruthless Albanian gangsters...
- 5/12/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
We’ll Never Have Paris has been chosen to close the 68th Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Written by Big Bang Theory star Simon Helberg, who also co-directed with Jocelyn Towne, We’ll Never Have Paris centres on a man who suffers a midlife when he receives a sudden declaration of love from an attractive co-worker moments before he is about to propose to his girlfriend.
The film, which premiered earlier this year at the South by Southwest Film Festival to positive reviews, stars Helberg, Melanie Lynskey, Maggie Grace, Alfred Molina, Zachary Quinto and Jason Ritter.
Artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival Chris Fujiwara said, “With We’ll Never Have Paris, a funny and very personal romantic comedy, we’ll be able to close this year’s festival on a real high note.”
Helberg is expected to attend the festival, which runs from June 18 – 29. The full line-up, meanwhile, will...
Written by Big Bang Theory star Simon Helberg, who also co-directed with Jocelyn Towne, We’ll Never Have Paris centres on a man who suffers a midlife when he receives a sudden declaration of love from an attractive co-worker moments before he is about to propose to his girlfriend.
The film, which premiered earlier this year at the South by Southwest Film Festival to positive reviews, stars Helberg, Melanie Lynskey, Maggie Grace, Alfred Molina, Zachary Quinto and Jason Ritter.
Artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival Chris Fujiwara said, “With We’ll Never Have Paris, a funny and very personal romantic comedy, we’ll be able to close this year’s festival on a real high note.”
Helberg is expected to attend the festival, which runs from June 18 – 29. The full line-up, meanwhile, will...
- 4/30/2014
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
We’ll Never Have Paris, from Big Bang Theory star Simon Helberg, to close the festival, which has also revealed details of its Germany focus.
Simon Helberg’s romantic comedy We’ll Never Have Paris has been named as the closing night film of the 68th Edinburgh International Film Festival (June 18-29).
Helberg, who plays Howard Wolowitz in Us sitcom The Big Bang Theory, wrote, co-directed with Jocelyn Towne and stars in the film, based on the co-directors’ real life romantic history. Zachary Quinto, Alfred Molina, Melanie Lynskey, Jason Ritter and Maggie Grace co-star.
The film follows a neurotic young man (Helberg) rattled by a sudden declaration of love from an attractive co-worker (Grace) moments before he is about to propose to his girlfriend (Lynskey). Heartbroken, she flees to Paris, and he must race across the Atlantic to win her back.
Released in the UK by Metrodome, the film is produced by Robert Ogden Barnum (All is Lost) and Katie Mustard...
Simon Helberg’s romantic comedy We’ll Never Have Paris has been named as the closing night film of the 68th Edinburgh International Film Festival (June 18-29).
Helberg, who plays Howard Wolowitz in Us sitcom The Big Bang Theory, wrote, co-directed with Jocelyn Towne and stars in the film, based on the co-directors’ real life romantic history. Zachary Quinto, Alfred Molina, Melanie Lynskey, Jason Ritter and Maggie Grace co-star.
The film follows a neurotic young man (Helberg) rattled by a sudden declaration of love from an attractive co-worker (Grace) moments before he is about to propose to his girlfriend (Lynskey). Heartbroken, she flees to Paris, and he must race across the Atlantic to win her back.
Released in the UK by Metrodome, the film is produced by Robert Ogden Barnum (All is Lost) and Katie Mustard...
- 4/29/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Blu-ray/DVD Review
“Riot In Cell Block 11” (Don Siegel)
“The 400 Blows” (Francois Truffaut)
(The Criterion Collection)
Two Gems From The 50s
By Raymond Benson
Two new releases from The Criterion Collection spotlight low-budget filmmaking in the 1950s—American and European—and couldn’t be more stylistically and thematically diverse. And yet, there is a personal stamp on the pictures that is very similar. Both films also tackle social problems with brutal frankness and feature anti-heroes as protagonists.
Riot in Cell Block 11 was produced by longtime Hollywood independent producer Walter Wanger (he was also responsible for two earlier Criterion releases, Stagecoach and Foreign Correspondent) as a hard-hitting, gritty, realistic picture depicting the inequities and maltreatment prisoners receive in American prisons. Wanger had a personal reason to make a film like that. He had barely missed spending some time in one. He’d caught his wife with another man,...
“Riot In Cell Block 11” (Don Siegel)
“The 400 Blows” (Francois Truffaut)
(The Criterion Collection)
Two Gems From The 50s
By Raymond Benson
Two new releases from The Criterion Collection spotlight low-budget filmmaking in the 1950s—American and European—and couldn’t be more stylistically and thematically diverse. And yet, there is a personal stamp on the pictures that is very similar. Both films also tackle social problems with brutal frankness and feature anti-heroes as protagonists.
Riot in Cell Block 11 was produced by longtime Hollywood independent producer Walter Wanger (he was also responsible for two earlier Criterion releases, Stagecoach and Foreign Correspondent) as a hard-hitting, gritty, realistic picture depicting the inequities and maltreatment prisoners receive in American prisons. Wanger had a personal reason to make a film like that. He had barely missed spending some time in one. He’d caught his wife with another man,...
- 4/13/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Exclusive: Call for directors, producers and sales agents to give their films for free to festivals in troubled Ukraine.
Cannes’ Thierry Fremaux, the Berlinale’s Christoph Terhechte and Venice chief Alberto Barbera are among 92 people working at 60 festivals in 38 countries to have answered a call to show solidarity with their Ukrainian festival colleagues.
Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily, the initiative’s coordinator, Warsaw Film Festival director Stefan Laudyn, explained: “When we heard the news from Ukraine, after a quick email and SMS exchange with Sara [Norberg of Helsinki Iff ¨Love & Anarchy¨], Tiina [Lokk of Black Nights F], Tudor [Giurgiu of Tiff/Cluj] and the Stefans [Uhrik and Kitanov of Febiofest and Sofia Iff], we decided to prepare a letter of support and sent it to our friends at film festivals worldwide.”
In the letter, the six festival chiefs called on directors, producers and sales agents to give their films “willingly and for free to all film festivals in Ukraine” and also not to charge any screening fees from Ukrainian festivals this year.
In addition, they asked national...
Cannes’ Thierry Fremaux, the Berlinale’s Christoph Terhechte and Venice chief Alberto Barbera are among 92 people working at 60 festivals in 38 countries to have answered a call to show solidarity with their Ukrainian festival colleagues.
Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily, the initiative’s coordinator, Warsaw Film Festival director Stefan Laudyn, explained: “When we heard the news from Ukraine, after a quick email and SMS exchange with Sara [Norberg of Helsinki Iff ¨Love & Anarchy¨], Tiina [Lokk of Black Nights F], Tudor [Giurgiu of Tiff/Cluj] and the Stefans [Uhrik and Kitanov of Febiofest and Sofia Iff], we decided to prepare a letter of support and sent it to our friends at film festivals worldwide.”
In the letter, the six festival chiefs called on directors, producers and sales agents to give their films “willingly and for free to all film festivals in Ukraine” and also not to charge any screening fees from Ukrainian festivals this year.
In addition, they asked national...
- 3/14/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: April 22, 2014
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Prison justice is dispensed in Riot in Cell Block 11.
Early in his career, Don Siegel (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Private Hell 36) made his mark with 1954’s Riot in Cell Block 11, a sensational and high-octane low-budget film noir crime drama set in a maximum-security penitentiary.
The brainchild of producer extraordinaire Walter Wanger (Foreign Correspondent), the hard-hitting film is a ripped-from-the-headlines social-problem picture about prisoners’ rights that was inspired by a recent spate of uprisings in American prisons.
In Siegel’s hands, the movie is at once brash and humane, showcasing the hard-boiled visual flair and bold storytelling for which the director would become known and shot on location at Folsom State Prison, with real inmates and guards as extras.
Criterion’s Blu-ray/DVD Combo edition of the film contains the following features:
• New high-definition digital restoration,...
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Prison justice is dispensed in Riot in Cell Block 11.
Early in his career, Don Siegel (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Private Hell 36) made his mark with 1954’s Riot in Cell Block 11, a sensational and high-octane low-budget film noir crime drama set in a maximum-security penitentiary.
The brainchild of producer extraordinaire Walter Wanger (Foreign Correspondent), the hard-hitting film is a ripped-from-the-headlines social-problem picture about prisoners’ rights that was inspired by a recent spate of uprisings in American prisons.
In Siegel’s hands, the movie is at once brash and humane, showcasing the hard-boiled visual flair and bold storytelling for which the director would become known and shot on location at Folsom State Prison, with real inmates and guards as extras.
Criterion’s Blu-ray/DVD Combo edition of the film contains the following features:
• New high-definition digital restoration,...
- 1/22/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Exclusive: Eiff to significantly boost prize money, introduce a documentary award and double the number of galas.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) is to give a significant boost to its cash prizes and double the number of gala screenings for the 68th edition as it continues to reclaim its position in the festival hierarchy.
The Michael Powell Award, previously worth £5,000, will now come with a cash prize of £20,000. It will also be open to all British fiction features at the 2014 festival, which runs June 18-29, having previously been limited to a specific strand.
Documentaries will no longer be in the running for the Michael Powell Award but given their own prize, currently known as the Eiff Documentary Award. This will be worth £10,000.
The Best International Film award will remain but will see its prize money doubled from £5,000 to £10,000.
Bob Last, chairman of Eiff parent organisation Centre for the Moving Image, told ScreenDaily...
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) is to give a significant boost to its cash prizes and double the number of gala screenings for the 68th edition as it continues to reclaim its position in the festival hierarchy.
The Michael Powell Award, previously worth £5,000, will now come with a cash prize of £20,000. It will also be open to all British fiction features at the 2014 festival, which runs June 18-29, having previously been limited to a specific strand.
Documentaries will no longer be in the running for the Michael Powell Award but given their own prize, currently known as the Eiff Documentary Award. This will be worth £10,000.
The Best International Film award will remain but will see its prize money doubled from £5,000 to £10,000.
Bob Last, chairman of Eiff parent organisation Centre for the Moving Image, told ScreenDaily...
- 12/12/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Infinite Anticipation
Here at the Vienna International Film Festival there are no multiplexes devoted to the festival. Every cinema is a single screen—all quite beautiful and some, like the Urania, Metro, Künstlerhaus, and Austrian Film Museum, very special indeed—and, scattered at a bit of a distance from one another, they trace a lopsided kind of ellipsis, a loop of cinema if you plan your itinerary right.
Above: Out 1, noli me tangere.
I came anticipating this particular suggestion of cinematic infinity, not just because of my memories of the last two years of repeatedly treading this touring path around the constrained city center of Vienna, but because of the promise of a much desired (by Jonathan Rosenbaum since 1996, and thereafter by an untold multitude of tantalized cinephiles) festival pairing of Jacques Rivette and Suzanne Schiffman's improvised serial intended for television, Out 1, noli me tangere (1971), and Louis Feuillade's...
Here at the Vienna International Film Festival there are no multiplexes devoted to the festival. Every cinema is a single screen—all quite beautiful and some, like the Urania, Metro, Künstlerhaus, and Austrian Film Museum, very special indeed—and, scattered at a bit of a distance from one another, they trace a lopsided kind of ellipsis, a loop of cinema if you plan your itinerary right.
Above: Out 1, noli me tangere.
I came anticipating this particular suggestion of cinematic infinity, not just because of my memories of the last two years of repeatedly treading this touring path around the constrained city center of Vienna, but because of the promise of a much desired (by Jonathan Rosenbaum since 1996, and thereafter by an untold multitude of tantalized cinephiles) festival pairing of Jacques Rivette and Suzanne Schiffman's improvised serial intended for television, Out 1, noli me tangere (1971), and Louis Feuillade's...
- 11/3/2013
- by Daniel Kasman
- MUBI
A new Gala strand is designed to present major UK premieres.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (June 18-29) is to introduce number of new strands will be added to the 2014 programme, including a focus on German cinema, as submissions open today.
The new sections will include a Gala strand, which aims to present major UK premieres of both British and international films, and a strand of family films entitled For the Family.
Genre films and edgy fare from around the world will be featured in “an even more adventurous and farther-reaching strand than the previous ‘Night Moves’”, according to the festival.
In addition, a New Perspectives strand will showcase new fiction and documentary filmmaking that raises challenging questions about the medium.
Strands continued from 2013 include American Dreams, Director’s Showcase, Films on Film and the continuation of Eiff’s strand of films programmed by teenagers aged 16-19 for their peers.
The [link=nm...
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (June 18-29) is to introduce number of new strands will be added to the 2014 programme, including a focus on German cinema, as submissions open today.
The new sections will include a Gala strand, which aims to present major UK premieres of both British and international films, and a strand of family films entitled For the Family.
Genre films and edgy fare from around the world will be featured in “an even more adventurous and farther-reaching strand than the previous ‘Night Moves’”, according to the festival.
In addition, a New Perspectives strand will showcase new fiction and documentary filmmaking that raises challenging questions about the medium.
Strands continued from 2013 include American Dreams, Director’s Showcase, Films on Film and the continuation of Eiff’s strand of films programmed by teenagers aged 16-19 for their peers.
The [link=nm...
- 11/1/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Above: L'amour d'une femme.
Edinburgh International Film Festival, under the direction of Chris Fujiwara, has ended for the year, and with it the Jean Grémillon retrospective, Symphonies of Life. Gathering most of the features (saving a few for-hire assignments) and all the surviving shorts, the season afforded an overview rarely possible with this neglected filmmaker.
Though the shorts were not my favorite Grémillons, they do illuminate the rest of his body of work. Documentaries on alchemy and astrology expose the filmmaker's fascination with the esoteric sciences, a major part of his life, which informs the tarot scenes in Lumière d'été and Maldone, where the cards indeed know all. Grémillon's sonorous, dreamy tones probably make him the greatest director-narrator outside of Orson Welles, and his self-penned music may be the finest outside of Chaplin's. The festival also played, at a fascinating symposium, the player piano score Grémillon wrote for a lost silent short,...
Edinburgh International Film Festival, under the direction of Chris Fujiwara, has ended for the year, and with it the Jean Grémillon retrospective, Symphonies of Life. Gathering most of the features (saving a few for-hire assignments) and all the surviving shorts, the season afforded an overview rarely possible with this neglected filmmaker.
Though the shorts were not my favorite Grémillons, they do illuminate the rest of his body of work. Documentaries on alchemy and astrology expose the filmmaker's fascination with the esoteric sciences, a major part of his life, which informs the tarot scenes in Lumière d'été and Maldone, where the cards indeed know all. Grémillon's sonorous, dreamy tones probably make him the greatest director-narrator outside of Orson Welles, and his self-penned music may be the finest outside of Chaplin's. The festival also played, at a fascinating symposium, the player piano score Grémillon wrote for a lost silent short,...
- 7/8/2013
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Having arrived from Glasgow the night before, and fresh from an early morning cast and crew screening of his latest movie, John McKay was set for a day of interviews when we met him in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket.
The film in question, Not Another Happy Ending, was due to close the 67th Edinburgh International Film Festival the following night with a star-studded closing gala at the city’s Festival Theatre.
Shot primarily in Glasgow, McKay’s film tells the story of a writer struggling to complete her second novel. Literally haunted by her impatient heroine, Jane Lockhart (Karen Gillan) is desperate to escape the two-book contract with her publisher, as she is still smarting from his decision to change the title of her debut behind her back.
Conceived almost five years ago by David Solomons, the original script was passed on to John McKay by the agent they shared. Alongside...
The film in question, Not Another Happy Ending, was due to close the 67th Edinburgh International Film Festival the following night with a star-studded closing gala at the city’s Festival Theatre.
Shot primarily in Glasgow, McKay’s film tells the story of a writer struggling to complete her second novel. Literally haunted by her impatient heroine, Jane Lockhart (Karen Gillan) is desperate to escape the two-book contract with her publisher, as she is still smarting from his decision to change the title of her debut behind her back.
Conceived almost five years ago by David Solomons, the original script was passed on to John McKay by the agent they shared. Alongside...
- 7/5/2013
- by Steven Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The Festival was over, and the boys were all planning for the Fall…
Due to circumstances outside of my control my intended 12 movies this year was reduced to 10, meaning that I saw less of this year’s Festival than any Edinburgh Film Festival in years. So you are welcome to take my conviction that it wasn’t a great year with a pinch of salt; I am not in a position to say it with any authority. And still, I suspect I am correct; there was a time when almost every public screening at the Festival would be sold-out, while this year 2-for-1 and free tickets seemed to be offered on a daily basis to get bums on seats. There were empty seats, once again, for the closing night film (Not Another Happy Ending and, judging by the film, there may have been more empty seats at the end than...
Due to circumstances outside of my control my intended 12 movies this year was reduced to 10, meaning that I saw less of this year’s Festival than any Edinburgh Film Festival in years. So you are welcome to take my conviction that it wasn’t a great year with a pinch of salt; I am not in a position to say it with any authority. And still, I suspect I am correct; there was a time when almost every public screening at the Festival would be sold-out, while this year 2-for-1 and free tickets seemed to be offered on a daily basis to get bums on seats. There were empty seats, once again, for the closing night film (Not Another Happy Ending and, judging by the film, there may have been more empty seats at the end than...
- 7/3/2013
- by Adam Whyte
- Obsessed with Film
Over 44,000 tickets were sold for the festival’s 67th edition
Admissions were up by 10% for the 67th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff), which closed June 30 with the world premiere of Not Another Happy Ending.
More than 44,000 tickets were issued across the 12 day festival, as opposed to 40,000 last year.
Eiff introduced two new venues this year, The Dominion and Odeon Wester Hailes.
Ken Hay, CEO of the Eiff said “We are delighted with how audiences have engaged with this year’s festival. As well as the increase in the number of admissions, there have been unprecedented levels of online interaction across multiple digital platforms.
Meanwhile, Chris Fujiwara is confirmed as Eiff’s artistic director until at least 2015.
Fujiwara took over from James Mulligan after the much maligned edition of the festival in 2011.
Admissions were up by 10% for the 67th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff), which closed June 30 with the world premiere of Not Another Happy Ending.
More than 44,000 tickets were issued across the 12 day festival, as opposed to 40,000 last year.
Eiff introduced two new venues this year, The Dominion and Odeon Wester Hailes.
Ken Hay, CEO of the Eiff said “We are delighted with how audiences have engaged with this year’s festival. As well as the increase in the number of admissions, there have been unprecedented levels of online interaction across multiple digital platforms.
Meanwhile, Chris Fujiwara is confirmed as Eiff’s artistic director until at least 2015.
Fujiwara took over from James Mulligan after the much maligned edition of the festival in 2011.
- 7/3/2013
- by sarah.cooper@screendaily.com (Sarah Cooper)
- ScreenDaily
Edinburgh - This year's trip to the Edinburgh Film Festival has been a brief, last-minute one. After three days of attempting to distil the highlights of artistic director Chris Fujiwara's defiantly independent-minded programming -- ranging from "The Conjuring" to "Leviathan" --, I'm heading home this evening, my festival experience over before it's even begun. (Tomorrow: off to Karlovy Vary.) Still, I'll be sharing the standouts with you in a couple of paired review pieces. First up: "This Is Martin Bonner," which begins its staggered release tomorrow, and "Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction" -- which, it was announced yesterday, will be released...
- 6/27/2013
- by Guy Lodge
- Hitfix
I stumble into this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival like a startled deer, this being the first year in living memory in which I’ve missed a substantial part of the Festival. Having only returned to bonnie Scotland on Sunday, I have missed the first week and many of the headlining films. These include this year’s opening film, Breathe In, as well as Sofia Coppola’s much-talked-about The Bling Ring and Monsters University, the new Pixar (last year’s Festival closed with Brave, a movie at least as Scottish as Brigadoon).
So my blogs and reviews this year will necessarily give only a hint of what has been on offer, but so it always goes with a Film Festival; even the most astute attendee is likely to miss many gems, and endure both high-profile twaddle and films that will vanish, post-festival time, into the abyss of arthouse hooey.
So my blogs and reviews this year will necessarily give only a hint of what has been on offer, but so it always goes with a Film Festival; even the most astute attendee is likely to miss many gems, and endure both high-profile twaddle and films that will vanish, post-festival time, into the abyss of arthouse hooey.
- 6/26/2013
- by Adam Whyte
- Obsessed with Film
The 67th Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) is hosting a Focus on Korea and held a special reception, screening and dinner last night (June 24).
These included Eiff artistic director Chris Fujiwara, director/producer couple Ryoo Seung-wan and Kang Hye-jung of The Berlin File, director Kang Yi-kwan of Juvenile Offender, Eiff chief executive Ken Hay, Korean Cultural Centre UK director Kab Soo Kim and London Korean Film Festival director Hye-jung Jeon.
Korean director Bong Joon-ho was also on hand, multitasking between post-production for his highly anticipated Snowpiercer and heading the International Competition jury here.
Robert Dunn, directorate for Culture, External Affairs and Constitution of the Scottish Government, delighted guests by handing out lapel pins with little Scottish and South Korean flags crossed on them.
The Focus on Korea comprises The Berlin File, Jiseul, National Security, Pluto and The Virgin Forest.
Fujiwara said of his programming for the Focus: “I wanted to show the range of what’s out there...
These included Eiff artistic director Chris Fujiwara, director/producer couple Ryoo Seung-wan and Kang Hye-jung of The Berlin File, director Kang Yi-kwan of Juvenile Offender, Eiff chief executive Ken Hay, Korean Cultural Centre UK director Kab Soo Kim and London Korean Film Festival director Hye-jung Jeon.
Korean director Bong Joon-ho was also on hand, multitasking between post-production for his highly anticipated Snowpiercer and heading the International Competition jury here.
Robert Dunn, directorate for Culture, External Affairs and Constitution of the Scottish Government, delighted guests by handing out lapel pins with little Scottish and South Korean flags crossed on them.
The Focus on Korea comprises The Berlin File, Jiseul, National Security, Pluto and The Virgin Forest.
Fujiwara said of his programming for the Focus: “I wanted to show the range of what’s out there...
- 6/25/2013
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
The 67th Edinburgh International Film Festival kicks off this evening with the European premiere of Breathe In, Drake Doremus’ dark family drama starring Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce, and then continues for a further eleven days until it draws to a close with the world premiere of John McKay’s romantic comedy Not Another Happy Ending.
The programme, which has been lovingly put together by Artistic Director Chris Fujiwara and his trusted team, contains all the necessary ingredients to appease both die-hard cinema fans and those simply looking to catch the next big thing a few weeks before anyone else. To find the films worth seeing though is a tricky task – something that this article could help with.
I’ve scoured the jam-packed programme and come up with ten films (included below with brief descriptions and screening details) that should not be missed:
Monsters University
The long awaited prequel to...
The programme, which has been lovingly put together by Artistic Director Chris Fujiwara and his trusted team, contains all the necessary ingredients to appease both die-hard cinema fans and those simply looking to catch the next big thing a few weeks before anyone else. To find the films worth seeing though is a tricky task – something that this article could help with.
I’ve scoured the jam-packed programme and come up with ten films (included below with brief descriptions and screening details) that should not be missed:
Monsters University
The long awaited prequel to...
- 6/19/2013
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Last month saw the release of the full lineup for the 67th Edinburgh International Film Festival. In his second year as artistic director, Chris Fujiwara will be hoping to build on the success of 2012's resurgent incarnation of the festival. Whilst boasting eye-catching heavyweights such as opening night drama Breathe In, Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring and the long-awaiting sequel to Monster Inc., Monsters University, the festival has always prided itself on nurturing new talent and this year's selection looks no different. The Michael Powell Award, dedicated to promoting and celebrating British cinema, is back once again and looking stronger than ever. Out of the eleven films in competition, two initially stand out.
The first is Sundance hit Leviathan, a striking, ambitious documentary about an Atlantic fishing trawler that's been described as an enthralling visual journey that's both hallucinatory and disorientating, yet gorgeously abstract. Joining Leviathan as an early...
The first is Sundance hit Leviathan, a striking, ambitious documentary about an Atlantic fishing trawler that's been described as an enthralling visual journey that's both hallucinatory and disorientating, yet gorgeously abstract. Joining Leviathan as an early...
- 6/19/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
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