The Algerian film “The Outlaws” by director Rachid Bouchareb won the Gold Award and the Best Arab Film Award at the 18th edition of Damascus International Film Festival. The Silver Award went to the Iranian film “Please Do Not Disturb”, directed by Mohsen Abdolvahab and the Bronze to the Syrian film “September Rain”, by director Abdellatif Abdelhamid. Turkish director Reha Irdem received the Mustafa al-Akkad Award for Direction for his film Cosmos. The Jury Award […]
In a Samson and Goliath tale, the gritty crime drama Animal Kingdom shares the lead in nominations with box-office hit Mao’s Last Dancer despite the latter pulling in almost three times the box office numbers making over $15 million locally. Both films are up for seven awards at the Australian Inside Film IF Awards ceremony in November. Animal Kingdom, which has received international critical acclaim and received the prestigious World Cinema Jury Prize at the […]
Director, Luis Garcia Berlanga of Spain, passed away on Saturday at his home in Madrid, Spain’s film academy announced via the BBC. He was 89 years. Berlanga was best known for the 1952 satirical comedy Bienvenido, Mr Marshall! (Welcome, Mr Marshall!). He was nominated three times for the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or award; and his film, Placido, was nominated in 1961 for the Academy Award for best foreign language film.
Ethiopia has its first contender for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with (Ateltu) “The Athlete’. Co-directed by Davey Frankel and Rasselas Lakew, the low budget independent film is about Ethiopian barefoot marathon runner, Abeba Bikila who became the first black African to win an Olympic gold medal. Rasselas Lakew, who also wrote the screenplay, plays Abeba Bikila. Running the streets of Rome in 1960, an unknown, barefoot Ethiopian man stunned the world by […]
The San Francisco Film Society announced today the finalists and honorable mention for the second SFFS/Hearst Screenwriting Grant. The grant of $15,000 will be awarded to a mid-career screenwriter who has been a practicing writer for at least five years and who has previously written a minimum of one feature screenplay. The grant is open to writers residing in the United States whose project expresses both a unique personal perspective and an artistic approach to […]
JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, a documentary on the life and career of Joan Rivers, made as the comedienne turns 75 years old, is one of the films screening this weekend as part of the West Virginia International film festival. The festival kicks off Thursday night at the West Virginia State University Capitol Center Theater on Summers Street with a screening of the documentary Papers, the story of undocumented youth and the challenges they […]
Mexican film, “On Childhood”, from director Carlos Carerra bested “Uninhabited” and “Monsters” to take home the Audience Award for Best International Feature Film at the 2010 Canberra International Film Festival in Canberra, Australia. The festival described the film as “A visual masterpiece set in the slums of Mexico, this crime thriller sees a ghost help a young boy deal with the violent father he worships and fears.” Ten-year-old Francisco is no innocent boy, growing up […]
Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis died on Wednesday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 91. Mr. De Laurentiis produced more than 500 films over six decades covering a wide range of styles and genres. His long filmography includes several major titles of the early Italian New Wave, including the “Bitter Rice” (1949); two important films by Fellini (“La Strada,” 1954, and “Nights of Cabiria,” 1957); and David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet,” (1986). The […]
Of the hundreds of film festivals held each year in the U.S., Cinema Arts Festival Houston, held November 10-14, 2010, is the only festival specifically programmed to celebrate films by and about visual, performing, and literary artists. With support from city leaders, enthusiastic patrons and a highly developed network of arts organizations, the festival is a truly civic project, conceived to highlight one the most vibrant and diverse arts communities on earth. Joining for the […]
The seventh annual Wavescape Surf Film Festival kickstarts the 2010 summer season in Cape Town with a bumper crop of adrenaline-charged surf movies. Presented by the Save Our Seas Foundation, the festival (from December 1 to 19) focuses on the critical plight of the world’s oceans, and surfing development in South Africa. The festival begins with the Wavescape Surfboard Art Exhibition from December 1 to 7 at the trendy Cape Town restaurant Depasco Cafe. Twelve […]
Festival Founder and Executive Director Leslie Vanderpool today announced the final program details for the 7th edition of the Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), which takes place December 1-5, 2010 in Nassau. The Weinstein Company’s highly acclaimed period drama “The King’s Speech” has been selected as this year’s closing night film. Based on the true story of the Queen of England’s father and his remarkable friendship with maverick Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue “The King’s […]
The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), announced that Sony Pictures Classics’ acclaimed comedy “Tamara Drewe” will be the opening film at this year’s festival, which takes place December 1-5 in Nassau. The special event screening will take place on Wednesday, December 1s at the Atlantis Theatre on Paradise Island. The announcement was made by BIFF Founder and Executive Director Leslie Vanderpool. Directed by two time Academy Award® nominee Stephen Frears (“High Fidelity,” “The Queen,” “Dangerous […]