Some Major Film Festivals in June 2010

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

First, three events:

Number one. The Mountain Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado, opened 28 May and closed on the 31st. It began in 1979 as an opportunity for climbers and mountaineers to enjoy the rugged outdoors surrounding Telluride during the day, and watch mainly documentary films about mountains and mountain cultures at night. It has evolved over the intervening decades to embrace a much wider and more diverse audience and the programming now stretches to the leading edges of contemporary social, cultural and environmental issues. The orientation toward activism has not diminished. Watch for it next year. Here is the Festival's Official Site.

Second, the 12th Festival of German Films in Madrid, Spain, is in progress. It opened 1 June and will run through the 5th. Hey, I follow German and Spanish cinema, so I put it here for my own selfish benefit and for others who might like to know.

The Spaniards and Germans have had a surprisingly good relationship since World War II, which is odd since the German Junker airplanes attacked the Basque village of Gernica prior to the declaration of war and almost destroyed it as part of a sick experiment hatched by Franco and the Nazis to test the new German planes on real people. The German's helped finance Franco's overthrow of the elected Republican Government, based in Barcelona, which alas, was soon crushed just like the people of Gernica.

I frequently visited Spain and Germany, including Gernica, Madrid, Barcelona, Munich and Berlin, in the late 1970's and early 80's. I found the Spanish film community mesmerized by the then New German Film, and especially by director Werner Von Fassbinder, considered its Wunderkind. I was in Spain when he died suddenly and the film community in Madrid was devastated.

On the other hand, the German film industry in the 1970's quickly embraced the anti-Franco New Spanish Cinema directors such as Berlanga, Bardem, Borau, and especially Carlos Saura. It was at the 1966 Berlin Film Festival that Saura met Geraldine Chaplin shortly after her role in DOCTOR ZIVAGO. She became his greatest muse, star of nine of his films and mother of one of his sons, Geraldine Chaplin.

This is the 12th Festival of German Film in Madrid, and it will center at the Cine Palafox, Calle Luchana, 15. Tickets cost less than $5.00. The program is funded mainly by Lufthsansa Airlines and the Goethe Institute, with the participation of the Federal Republic of Germany and Kodak, and the Spanish cinema magazine, Fotogramas, which specializes, ironically, in movies extranjera (outside Spain).

Films will include THE TIN DRUM, THE WHITE RIBBON, THE CROCODILES, and the retrospective of the films of German director/ cinematographer Joseph Vilsmaier, whose first three films were HERBSTMILCH (Autumn Milk, 1989), RAMA DAMA (no English title, 1991) and STALINGRAD, 1991. He was the director and cinematographer on those as he is on his latest NANGA PARBAT (no English Title, 2010). German Film Festival in Madrid.

Third, the film Society of Lincoln Center is presenting their "Open Roads: New Italian Film” 3 - 10 June. Info and tickets.

The 64th Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), 16 - 27 June 2010, Edinburgh, Scotland.

The full Festival program was announced yesterday. The 2010 retrospective is 'After the Wave: Lost and Forgotten British Cinema 1967-1979'. There will be a special 3D Gala Screening of Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 3 on Saturday 19 June. Press registration is now open. The Festival will be on Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter.

There will be 133 features from 34 countries at the Festival. It will open 16 June with a gala screening of THE ILLUSIONIST, directed by from Sylvain Chomet.

The Closing Night Gala on 26 June will be the World Premiere of THIRD STAR, a British tragi-comedy buddy movie from first-time director Hattie Dalton, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Burke.

THE PEOPLE VS. GEORGE LUCAS will screen in competition. Any objections?

Also, if you see the video promo for the festival, the lady says Edinburgh is the oldest continuously running film festival. Technicality. This year will be the Venice Film Festival's 67th year. It is the oldest festival, ever, but not continuously because it had to be suspended when the Nazis occupied Italy during World War II. Hey, Edinburgh cut them some slack and make a true statement!

To see more films in the lineup, click title of this post, and read article in the EdinburghGuide.com.

Other festivals later this month:

The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival (17 - 27 June); AFI Silver Docs Documentary Festival, Silver Spring, Maryland (21 - 17 June); and screenings at the Tribeca Film Festival at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in West Hollywood, California, "Tribeca in Hollywood" (25 June - 8 July).  

Cannes Afterglow

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

 Joe the Director

By many accounts, the 63rd International Cannes Film Festival took place on the Croissette seemingly under a cloud of gloom. The Festival showed fewer films than last year, there were less Americans attending, the American movies they did screen were mostly disappointing, and the buyers at the film market were not buying as in previous years. They were carefully choosing only one, or perhaps two, films.

The economic downturn that hit the U.S. in October 2008 didn't impact the Festival much last year because many films for the festival were either finished or completely financed, but financing was dropping by this time last year, and productions in Hollywood began to decline sharply. Then, the Euro fell against the dollar this past fall and studio budgets around the world shrank. Generous funding for those "maybe hits," elaborate open-bar festival parties, and unlimited promotional trips took a beating.

Every festival this year has seen a decline in festival budgets, attendance and revenue, and why should Cannes be an exception? Of course, Cannes was also impacted by that unpronounceable Icelandic volcano. Many who may have attended didn't because of unpredictable travel plans. We must wait until the festivals of 2011 to see if this downward pattern continues.

This year, the films at Cannes seemed to mirror the gloomy mood. Roger Ebert's review of this year's Cannes International Festival on Roger Ebert's Journal is basically short and concise[film titles changed to match my style], "Of the first ANTICHRIST screening [last year], I wrote: "There's electricity in the air. Every seat is filled, even the little fold-down seats at the end of every row. This year, I saw some good films, but felt little electricity. The opening night fun of [last year's] UP was replaced by the drudgery of ROBIN HOOD. I was in awe of Mike Leigh's ANOTHER YEAR and the South African LIFE ABOVE ALL, but not much else."

I haven't read anyone who has captured the mood and the films of this year's Festival so concisely and straightforward as has Ebert. Many writing about the festival often used adjectives when referring to films at Cannes like, brooding, plodding, downer, dark, muddled, etc.

Some did not understand the Palm d'or winner, UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES, either. Of the film Ebert writes, "I felt affection and respect for it, but no passion." I shall not reveal his reasoning for that, but you can click the title of the post and read it for yourself. The movie is about a man as he is dying. Adjective? Morose?

I shall reveal that the Thai director, Apichatpong Weerasethak, asked festival goers to call him, "Joe." So, now, we have Joe the Plummer and Joe the Director.

The jury prize (second place) went to A SCREAMING MAN, a film from Chad directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun. It's about a man who was the swimming champ of central Africa years before the film begins, and who now rules in his handsome uniform over the swimming pool at a fancy hotel. When he is replaced by a younger man he loses his identity. Ebert compared it to Murnau's THE LAST LAUGH, and that says everything as to how he feels about this one.

Ebert did not care for Mathieu Amalric's TOURNEE (On Tour), the story of a failed TV producer touring France with a troupe of American burlesque performers, and not because the strippers were past the first blush of youth. Ebert feels there are flaws in the film which make him question Amalric's award for Best Director.

From the feedback I have received from people who were a Cannes, those who viewed TOURNEE thoroughly enjoyed it, but the critics who wrote about it were not as generous. Most would agree with Ebert that TOURNEE leaves loose ends that do not come together. However, Amalric's film strippers joined him on the stage to collect his award and the crowd loved it.

So, Cannes this year was not the sparkling jewel of past festivals, and neither have many festivals been this year. Even the Gulf Film Festival in Abu Dhabi slashed its budget. In this age of instant world-wide electronic communication (streaming video, pod casts, webcams, etc.), the day of the lavish film festivals may be drawing to a close. Something else may be evolving where the film community can come together. Skype, anyone?

To access Roger Ebert's Journal and see more about films at Cannes this year, click title of this post.

Surprise Best Picture Winner at Cannes

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

A film from Thailand received the top Best Picture Palm d'or (golden palm) at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival's gala awards ceremony today in France. UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (Lung Boonmee Raluek Chat) took the top honor for director Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Remember that, if you can. Needless to say, the win took many by surprise. The director won the third-place jury prize at Cannes with TROPICAL MALADY (2004).

UNCLE BOONMEE deals with the final days of a man, a father, dying of kidney failure as the ghost of his dead wife returns to tend him, and his long-lost son comes home in the form of a furry jungle spirit.

Academy Award winners, French actress Juliette Binoche and Spanish actor Javier Bardem, received best-actor honors. However, Bardem shared his award with Italian actor Elio Germano who received the honor for his role in Italian filmmaker Daniele Luchetti's OUR LIFE, a drama about a father, a widower, with three sons.

Binoche, who is featured on this year's Festival Official Poster [above], won her best-actress Oscar for THE ENGLISH PATIENT, and won the Festival award for her role in CERTIFIED COPY, directed by past Palme d'or winner Abbas Kiarostami.

The second-place grand prize (Grand Prix) in the best film category went to French director Xavier Beauvois' solemn drama OF GODS AND MEN, based on the true story of seven French monks beheaded during Algeria's civil war in 1996, received the second-place grand prize. They were monks, so they probably weren't fathers.

Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's film A SCREAMING MAN received the third-place Jury Prize. Again, it's a tragic father. This father loses his cherished job as a swimming pool attendant to his son amid his country's civil war, which brings on tragic consequences.

French filmmaker and actor Mathieu Amalric won the directing award for ON TOUR, in which he plays the manager of a troupe of American burlesque strippers performing around France. His five stripper stars joined him onstage, at his request, as he accepted his award.

South Korean director Lee Chang-dong, won the best screenplay award for POETRY. A grandmother (Yun Junghee) struggles to write a poem as she copes with the onset of Alzheimer's and her troublesome grandson.

The Festival's Camera d'or award for a first-time filmmaker went to Michael Rowe's LEAP YEAR (Año bisiesto), a raunchy romance set in Mexico City. Rowe is an Australian-born transplant to Mexico. The jury that awarded the Camera d'or was headed by Gael García Bernal who happened to have been born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Just saying.

As reported in the previous post, South Korean filmmaker Hong Songsoo's HA, HA, HA, a drama of alternating memories shared by two friends over drinks, won the Un Certain Regard Section.

The Festival closed with the premiere of French Director Julie Bertuccelli's THE TREE, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, a mother-daughter drama.

To see the list of all winners in all section, with links to each film, click title of this post.

American Director Tim Burton was President of the Jury, and the 19 movies in the feature competition were:

ANOTHER YEAR directed by Mike LEIGH
BIUTIFUL (BEAUTIFUL) directed by Alejandro GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU
COPIE CONFORME (CERTIFIED COPY) directed by Abbas KIAROSTAMI
DES HOMMES ET DES DIEUX (OF GODS AND MEN) directed by Xavier BEAUVOIS
FAIR GAME directed by Doug LIMAN
HORS LA LOI (OUTSIDE OF THE LAW) directed by Rachid BOUCHAREB
LA NOSTRA VITA (OUR LIFE) directed by Daniele LUCHETTI
LA PRINCESSE DE MONTPENSIER (THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER) directed by Bertrand TAVERNIER
LUNG BOONMEE RALUEK CHAT (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) directed by Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL
OUTRAGE directed by Takeshi KITANO
POETRY directed by LEE Chang-dong
RIZHAO CHONGQING (CHONGQING BLUES) directed by WANG Xiaoshuai
ROUTE IRISH directed by Ken LOACH
SCHASTYE MOE (MY JOY) directed by Sergei LOZNITSA
SZELÍD TEREMTÉS - A FRANKENSTEIN TERV (TENDER SON - The Frankenstein Project) directed by Kornél MUNDRUCZÓ
THE HOUSEMAID directed by IM Sangsoo
TOURNÉE (ON TOUR) directed by Mathieu AMALRIC
UN HOMME QUI CRIE (A screaming man) directed by Mahamat-Saleh HAROUN
UTOMLYONNYE SOLNTSEM 2: PREDSTOYANIE (THE EXODUS - Burnt by the sun 2) directed by Nikita MIKHALKOV

To access the Web Site Page with links to each film in competition, CLICK.

Some Cannes Winners Announced

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

63rd Cannes International Film Festival, 12 - 23 May 2010

This weekend the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival (CIFF) begins the announcement of winners in various competitions. The first award was given Thursday. The Critics Week top award, Grand Prix Semaine de la Critique, went to a documentary from Denmark about the war in Afghanistan. ARMADILLO, directed by Janus Metz is the first documentary to screen in competition since the section became competitive twenty years ago, and the first announced award at the Festival.

Today, in Salle Debussy, nine films and two hours of screening will culminate in the Palme d’or for short films. The Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury, presided over by Atom Egoyan, will announce its Cinéfondation Prixes of 2010 tomorrow, Sunday evening, during the Festival's gala awards ceremony. There is no U.S. short film in this competition, and only one in the feature film competition.

The jury members are film directors Carlos Diegues and Marc Recha, and actresses Emmanuelle Devos and Dinara Droukarova. The films in competition are:

Estaçao (Station), by Portuguese Marcia Faria;
Blokes (Blocks), the short film by Chilean Marialy Rivas;
Chienne d’histoire (Barking Island) directed by Serge Avedikian, an Armenian born in the Soviet Union, now from France;
Micky Bader, the short film by Swedish Frieda Kempff;
Muscles, Australian director Edward Housden;
Maya, Cuban director Pedro Pio Martin Perez;
Ezra Rishona (First Aid) by Israeli director Yarden Karmin;
To Swallow a Toad is a short animated film by Latvian director Jurğis Krāsons; and
Rosa, which is both the title of the short film by Argentinean director Monica Lairana and the name of the main character in her film.
Read more about the films in the short film competition.

Other Cinéfondation prizes to be awarded at the awards ceremony:

First Prize Cinéfondation - TAULUKAUPPIAAT (The Painting Sellers) directed by Juho Kuosmanen;
Second Prize - Cinéfondation - COUCOU-LES-NUAGES (Anywhere out of the world) directed by Vincent Cardona;
Third Prize - Cinéfondation Ex-aequo - HINKERORT ZORASUNE (The Fifth Column) directed by Vatche Boulghourjian;
Mention - JA VEC JESAM SVE ONO ŠTO ŽELIM DA IMAM (I Already Am Everything I want to have) directed by Dane KOMLJEN.

Director Claire Denis is head of the jury for Un Certain Regard section, and joining her are: Patrick FERLA, Journalist - Radio Télévision Suisse; KIM Dong-Ho, Director of Pusan Film Festival; Helena LINDBLAD, Critic - Dagens Nyheter, and Serge TOUBIANA, General Director of the Cinémathèque Française.

Un Certain Regard Prize - Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema - HAHAHA, directed by HONG Sangsoo.
Jury Prize - Un Certain Regard - OCTUBRE (OCTOBER) directed by Daniel VEGA.

All juries. Click title of post to visit the Official Web Site.

Critics Week Winners, and Possible Palm d'or Winners, at Cannes

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

63rd Cannes International Film Festival, 12 - 23 May 2010

A documentary about the Afghanistan war from Denmark won the top Grand Prix Semaine de la Critique, as the Critics Week section came to a close in Cannes. ARMADILLO, directed by Janus Metz, is the first documentary to screen in competition since the section became competitive twenty years ago.

In other Critics Week Awards, both the SACD Prize and ACID/CCAS Support went to BI, DUNG SO! (Bi, Don't be Afraid!), directed by Vietnamese Phan Dang Di (or Dang Di Phan); the Young Critic Award (OFAJ) went to directors Ola Simonsson & Johannes Stjaerne Nilsson for SOUND OF NOISE; the Canal+ Award for Best Short Film went to BERIK, directed by Daniel Joseph Borgman; and Kodak Discovery Award for Best Short Film was awarded to DEEPER THAN YESTERDAY, directed by Ariel Kleiman.

Two films screened in competition last night at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival. FAIR GAME, the only American film in competition, and Ken Loach's ROUTE IRISH (see previous post).

FAIR GAME (USA), directed by Doug Liman (THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM), starring Naomi Watts (Valerie Plame Wilson) and Sean Penn (Joe Wilson) is considered a possible contender for a Palm d'Or. It is based on the saga of illegally "outed" CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson.

No one connected with the Bush White House has been charged with betraying Plame Wilson. However, her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, alleged that unnamed and never charged White House officials were out to discredit him after he wrote a 2003 New York Times op-ed piece saying that the Bush administration had manipulated intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion of Iraq.

From the Europeans I know, and from what I have read about many there, it's highly unlikely that the voters at Cannes will have any warm and fuzzy feelings for G.W. Bush or Dick Cheney. Therefore, barring this being a terrible film, I'm putting my chip in the win column for it.

Director Ken Loach is working with his regular screenwriter, Paul Laverty in ROUTE IRISH (see previous post for more. The film stars John Bishop, Mark Womack and Geoff Bell. The cinematographer is Chris Menges (THE KILLING FIELDS).The movie examines the difficulties experienced by British men working as contractors.

In light of the success of last year's THE HURT LOCKER, ROUTE IRISH (UK / France), cannot escape some comparison to HURT LOCKER. THE HURT LOCKER simply alluded to the problem of adjustment for returnees from Iraqi combat and Loach digs deeper. Yet, there is no doubt that Bigelow's film will be used for comparison. It is timely and topical but is it a good movie? Critics seem to be split on that.

Romania's "New Wave" at Cannes, Reviews, Plus

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

First, Ken Loach's ROUTE IRISH, a last minute addition to films in competition at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival (CIFF) brings the number to 19. Loach's THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY won the Palme d'Or in 2006.

The title ROUTE IRISH is from the infamous, dangerous road that links Baghdad’s international ‘Green Zone’ with the city’s airport, and it marks the 73-year-old director’s first attempt to grapple with the Iraq War of the past six years. But ROUTE IRISH doesn’t deal with high politics. Instead, it explores the murky world of British ex-soldiers who work for private contractors in Iraq.

Trailers of all films in the Special Selection Competition.

Reviews from Cannes IFF: ROUTE IRISH / Iñárritu's BIUTIFUL

Now, Romanian films at Cannes. Romania's Cristi Puiu returns to competition at Cannes with what he describes as a "mind-blowing" crime story, AURORA screened Friday night at the Festival. Puiu, winner in 2005 of the Cannes section showcasing new talent, "Un Certain Regard," for THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU, is the leading figure of the tiny country's "New Wave" school, which seemingly came out of nowhere about that time.

It did not take long for the world film community to take notice. Since then, the Romanians have won a number of top world awards. Among them are Corneliu Porumboiu, Catalin Mitulescu, and Cristian Mungiu, who won the 2007 Cannes Palme d'Or for 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS.

Mungiu won best European Director and the film won best European Film at the 2007 European Film Awards. Romania submitted it for Oscar® consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category for 2007 for the 80th Academy Awards.

To the amazement of many, myself included, the film was not nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Some suggested that the Academy members did not nominate it because it dealt with a woman having an abortion. Others, because they felt the production values were below par. The Austrian film, THE COUNTERFIETERS, directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky won the Oscar, which it richly deserved among those nominated. However, Mungiu's film deserved a nomination.

Puiu's THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU is the story of a man who dies, a victim of an uncaring health-care system. His latest, AURORO, is the story of a man who kills. Puiu has explained that the title AURORO, refers to the precise moment when day breaks and nature awakes.

In the movie, 42-year-old Viorel, an engineer, drives around Bucharest determined to put an end to the insecurity that has dominated his life since his divorce. He decides to make justice as he understands it, brutally intervening in other people's destinies. His actions throw him into a new life, a new day.

AURORA is the second installment of a planned "Six Stories from the Outskirts of Bucharest." In this installment, Puiu decided to play the lead character himself. Meanwhile, Cristian Mungiu has no directorial projects in the works at the moment.

Review of AURORO and then some.

Cannes Notes: ROBIN HOOD, no big whoop

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

Cannes has a multilingual Web site in eight languages. Take a look.

Also, have you been wondering who the person is in poster above? Keep reading . . . . .

A last minute addition to films in competition is Ken Loach's ROUTE IRISH, which brings the number to 19. Loach's film THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY won the Palme d'Or in 2006. The film tells the story of two Liverpudlian ex-soldiers who go to Iraq to work as private contractors, and will screen 20 May.

Julie Bertucelli's, THE TREE, with Charlotte Gainsbourg, Marton Csokas and Aden Young, will be presented at the Festival's Closing Ceremony. Her first feature film SINCE OTAR LEFT won the Grand Jury Prize of the Critic's week at Cannes in 2003. She is the daughter of French director Jean-Louis Bertucelli.

ROBIN HOOD, the epic by British director Ridley Scott starring Russell Crowe as Robin Longstride and Cate Blanchett as Marion Loxley, screened out of competition on Opening Night of the 63rd Festival de Cannes, Wednesday, May 12th, 2010. It was the world premiere for the film, which was presented out of competition. It is in release in the U.S. now.

Other notables in the cast are Max Von Sydow, Lea Seydoux and William Hurt. In the movie, King Richard (Danny Huston) and his soldiers pause on their way home from Palestine to attack a French castle. I haven't seen it, but I have heard the French were routed. And, as it turns out, the response to the movie at Cannes was less than stellar. Hmmmm.

I came across three excellent reviews. The first is an audio review by National Public Radio's Kenneth Turan, and he is spot on when he says, sort of, that Scott's movie is about Robin before he was forced to take up residence in Sherwood Forest's hood with his merry men, but there is little that is merry about this movie. Listen.

A. O. Scott's review in The New York Times, 14 May, is more in-depth for those of you who wish to read deeper.

Owen Gleiberman in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly sums up Crowe's Robin Hood and the movie, "[Crowe's] so grimly possessed with purpose that he's a bore, and so is the movie."

The world premiere of Oliver Stone's WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS. was Friday, 14th, screening out of competition. It is a sequel of Stone's WALL STREET ( 1987), starring Michael Douglas, who is back as Gordon Gekko.

Appearing with Douglas is an a-list cast, including Josh Brolin, Shia LaBeouf, Carey Mulligan, Charlie Sheen, Susan Sarandon and Frank Langella. Compared to ROBIN HOOD's lukewarm reception, Stone's new movie can be labeled a critical success at Cannes.

Woody Allen's latest, YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER, will screen out of competition next week. This Allen movie has a large and diverse cast, including Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin (he's been busy this year), Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto and Lucy Punch. It's U.S. release is scheduled for September.

As I reported in a previous post, there is only one U.S. film in competition, FAIR GAME, based on the true story of CIA agent Valerie Plame, starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts (another busy one), and directed by Doug Liman (THE BOURNE IDENTITY).

The person on the poster? It is a photograph of French actress Juliette Binoche (THREE COLORS: BLUE, WHITE, RED) by Brigitte Lacombe, graphic design by Annick Durban. To access the Cannes IFF Official Site click title of this post.

Here Comes Cannes 2!

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

63rd Cannes International Film Festival, 12 - 23 May 2010

Latest news from The Hollywood Reporter is that director Ridley Scott will not attend the Festival and will miss the opening night premiere of ROBIN HOOD. Scott is recovering from knee surgery. However, Universal is flying in a major delegation to support the film, including producer Brian Grazer and virtually the entire cast including Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Mark Strong, Oscar Isaac and Max Von Sydow.

As mentioned in the previous post, American director Tim Burton is President of the Feature Film Jury this year. Those joining him on the jury, which will award the Best Feature Film Palm d'Or are:

Kate Beckinsale, actress, UK (Whiteout);
Alberto Barbera, Director of the National Museum of Cinema, Italy;
Emmanuel Carrere, (author, screenwriter, director), France;
Benicio Del Toro, Oscar-winning actor, Puerto Rico (Traffic and 21 Grams);
Alexandre Desplat, Oscar-winning composer, France (Julie and Julia, Fantastic Mr. Fox);
Victor Erice, director, Spain (The Spirit of the Beehive);
Shekhar Kapur, (director, actor, producer), India; and
Giovanna Mezzogiorno, actress, Italy.

Feature films are the main emphasis of the Festival. However, there are other sections:

Short Films, featuring nine films running between 15 -20 minutes. A Palm d'Or will be awarded, Sunday May 23rd. None from the U.S.;

Cinéma de la Plage (Cinema on the Beach), begins showing Thursday the 13th, and includes FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, director Fred Zinnemann's 1953 classic;

Cannes Classics, accompanies contemporary films from the Official Selection with a program of restored films and lost films that have been found again, as part of their release on DVD, or re-release in theaters;

Cinéfondation will present 13 films selected from 1600 entries submitted by film schools from all over the world;

And, in addition, Marco Bellocchio will give the Cinema Masterclass, Wednesday the 19th in the Buñuel Theatre.

Download the Official Selection Screening Schedule. Click title of this post for link to the Festival's Official Website.

Here Comes Cannes!

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

63rd Cannes International Film Festival, 12 - 23 May 2010

In May, there is only one major international film festival and that is Cannes. Unfortunately, this year the Festival is literally opening under a cloud.

Travelers to the French Riviera must dodge the volcanic ash still spewing from the Icelandic volcano as the resort hurriedly cleans up the debris from a recent Mediterranean storm. Those are natural crises that pale under the economic cloud of failed economies such as Greece, and possible failures in Spain, Portugal and other European economies. Meanwhile, the U.S. economy tries to toddle back to stability.

Nonetheless, the Festival will open Wednesday with it's usual grandiose flourish, featuring the world premiere of Ridley Scott's ROBIN HOOD, starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett. Then, for 11 days, both the famous and not-so-famous will walk and watch the red carpet, attend party after party, stand in line to view movies in crowded screening rooms, and distributors will scout the film market for potential blockbusters as well as second-string bargains.

The promoters of the Festival bring in the International glitz and glamour to attract attendees, but they also provide showcases for smaller grittier films which fuel the Cannes marketing machine. In today's weakened world economy, the Cannes film market brings vital financial sustenance not only to the Festival but, also, to various economies around the world.

However, neither ROBIN HOOD, WALL STREET: Money Never Sleeps, in which Michael Douglas reprises his role as ruthless corporate raider Gordon Gekko, and Woody Allen's latest, YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER, will be among the 18 feature films in competition to be judged by the jury headed by director Tim Burton.

The only U.S. entry for competition is FAIR GAME, based on the true story of CIA agent Valerie Plame, starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts, and directed by Doug Liman (THE BOURNE IDENTITY). The Festival's publicity makes a point that the emphasis will not be on glitz but on substance and the films selected support it.

More on this blog about the Cannes Festival will follow during the next two weeks. Please, come back daily to follow the Festival where you should find information not always included in posts elsewhere. Please leave comments, ask questions, or offer information you would like to see in this series. Click the title of this post to access the Festival's Official Site.

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April Film Festival Awards and Wraps

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

As April comes to a close, only two major film festivals that opened in April are still in progress: (1) Tribeca (TFF), which opened the 21st and will close May 2nd, and (2) San Francisco (SFIFF), which opened April 22nd and will close May 6th.Tribeca announced its film awards last night at W Union Square in New York City.

In the 2010 World Narrative Feature Competition, the Founders Award for Best Film went to WHEN WE LEAVE (Die Fremde, Germany), directed and written by Feo Aladag. Actress Sibel Kekilli won Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film for he role as Umay in the movie. Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film went to Eric Elmosnino as Serge Gainsbourg in GAINSBOURG, I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ME (Je t’Aime… Moi Non Plus, France), directed and written by Joann Sfar.

LOOSE CANNONS (Mine Vaganti, Italy) received a Special Jury Mention. It was directed by Ferzan Ozpetek. It was written by Ozpetek and Ivan Cotroneo. Kim Chapiron of France was named Best New Narrative Filmmaker for DOG POUND. Chapiron wrote the screenplay with Jeremie Delon.

In the Documentary World Competition, MONICA & DAVID, directed by Alexandra Codina, USA, was named Best Documentary Feature, and BUDRUS (USA, Palestine, Israel), directed by Julia Bacha, received a Special Jury Mention. Click the title of this post for all the awards, including New York and Short Film competitions, the monetary prizes, pictures and more. Also, see previous post for more about the Tribeca IFF.

On the West Coast, the San Francisco International Film Festival is also handing out awards. Tonight, Roger Ebert will receive the San Francisco International Film Festival's annual Mel Novikoff Award, and he'll be in attendance for "An Evening with Roger Ebert and Friends." His friends for the celebration include filmmakers Philip Kaufman, Errol Morris, Jason Reitman and Terry Zwigoff. A screening of Ebert's chosen film, Erick Zonca's uncompromising 2008 genre-buster JULIA, starring Festival favorite Tilda Swinton will follow.

The Kanbar Award for excellence in screenwriting will go to James Schamus, who will be on hand today for a retrospective clip reel and onstage interview with critic and cultural theorist B. Ruby Rich. Schamus' RIDE WITH THE DEVIL (director's cut), directed by his frequent collaborator, Ang Lee, will follow. SFIFF Official Site. Also see previous post for more about the SFIFF.

The regional festivals, covered in the previous post have now wrapped. The Florida Film Festival (FFF) in Orlando reports a successful and fun festival. I am pleased to report that WINTER'S BONE, the first motion picture I picked to do well this year based on the response it received at Sundance, won the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature. There is more about this movie, directed by Debra Granik, in the previous post. It is definitely one to follow this year.

Other narrative feature winners were:

Special Jury Award for Narrative Filmmaking, HOMEWRECKER, directed by Brad and Todd Barnes; Nestle® Cranberry Raisinets® Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, DON’T LET ME DROWN, directed by Cruz Angeles; and Nestle® Cranberry Raisinets ® Audience Award for Best International Feature, THE TOPP TWINS: UNTOUCHABLE GIRLS, directed by Leanne Pooley. To see all the award winners, including documentary and short films, go here.

RiverRun in Winston-Salem, NC (RRFF), had a very good film schedule, but gave no awards, and the same for Ebertfest, Champaign, IL. On Location: Memphis, TN (MIFMF), gave awards but, frankly, I never heard of any of the films. Will report later if I lean the festival's picks scored at any other festival. Here is the Memphis list. For more about any of these regional festivals, see the previous post.

Some breaking news from Montreal. Above is the official poster of the 2010 Montreal World Film Festival (MWFF), 26 August - 6 September, unveiled yesterday. The poster was selected by public votes from among three finalists, all students in graphic arts at UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal). Their professor, Philippe Béha, who designed the official MWFF poster in 1986, assigned his students the task of designing a poster for the 2010 Festival. The winner is Hubert Samson. Official Site.

COMING IN MAY: Cannes International Film Festival (CIFF), 12 - 23 May 2010; Mountain Film in Telluride, 28 - 31 May 2010.

Major Film Festivals in April 2010

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

9th Tribeca International Film Festival 21 April - 2 May 2010, New York City. (TIFF)

The Festival, sponsored again by its founding partner American Express, is more highly interactive this year. Their slogan is, "Here comes the neighborhood." Also, the Festival Web site is nominated for a Webby Award (The "Oscar®" of Web Awards).

Since there is so much happening at the Festival this year, here are only some of the highlights - -

Big green news! The premiere of DreamWorks Animation's SHREK FOREVER AFTER is opening night of the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express—the first 3D movie for both Shrek and TIFF!

Among those serving on one of the six juries are: Jessica Alba, Justin Bartha, Selma Blair, Marshall Curry, Hope Davis, Aaron Eckhart, Aidan Quinn, America Ferrera, Whoopi Goldberg and Brooke Shield.

Tribeca Film Festival Virtual will kick off its opening night on April 23 with NICE GUY JOHNNY, the latest NY story from Edward Burns. How can YOU see it, even if you are not in NYC?

With a TIFF Virtual Premium Pass, some of the movies screened at the Festival will be available online. This brand new pass, available for $45.00 to a limited number of U.S. residents, 18 years or older, will allow fans to participate fully in Tribeca Film Festival Virtual. Want it? Better get it now

The closing night gala will be the documentary FREAKONOMICS, based on the book by journalist Stephen Dubner and economist Steven Levitt. The doc, directed by Alex Gibney with a host of other doc-making luminaries, is less about economics than about the strange connections between seemingly disparate topics—for instance, how drug dealing is like working at McDonald’s or why good parenting methods don’t really matter in the long run. It has been acquired by Magnolia Pictures.

Gibney, who received an Oscar for Best Documentary Film with his TAXIE TO THE DARK SIDE is also bringing his latest, MY TRIP TO AL-QAEDA, which HBO has bought, as well as a work-in-progress, ELIOT SPITZER.

Go to the Official Web site for much more by clicking the title of this blog post, and don't forget to vote for the Webby Award.

19th Annual Florida Film Festival, 9 - 18 April 2010, Enzian Theater, Orlando, Florida. (FFF)

Watch video about Florida FF on YouTube (too wide to embed in this blog).

The Florida Film Festival is currently underway in Orlando screening 162 films from 25 countries. In competition, there are 20 feature films, 10 narrative and 10 documentary. Among them, three East Coast premieres were selected, with 11 filmmakers making their feature directorial debuts, including eight female directors.

One feature film among them is the female director Debra Granik’s WINTER'S BONE, co-written with Anne Rosellini, and based on the novel by Missouri-based author Daniel Woodrell. In this movie, "An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact." It will have its U.S. East Coast premiere in Orlando.

BONE made it first festival appearance, and had its U.S. West Coast Premiere, at the Sundance IFF this January where it won the two top awards, Grand Jury Prize and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. The next month in Berlin it won the prestigious C.I.C.A.E. (Confédération Internationnale des Cinémas d'Art et d'Essai), and the Festival's Der Tagesspiegel Award (The Daily Mirror), sponsored by the Berlin-based newspaper of the same name.

Michael Paul Stephenson’s documentary BEST WORST MOVIE won a Crystal Bear at Berlin this year and has won a number of awards at various other film festivals. It will screen along with Marshall Curry’s RACING DREAMS, which won Best Documentary at the 2009 Tribecca Film Festival.

All 20 films will be eligible for various awards such as the Grand Jury award for best film, a Special Jury award, given at the jury’s discretion for exceptional achievements, and an audience choice award.

In addition there is a fabulous retro section. The opening party theme, "No Grits, No Glory."

Another film festival currently underway is the 12th annual RiverRun International Film Festival (RRIF) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 15 - 25 April 2010.

RiverRun is one of the outstanding film festivals in the Southeastern U.S. North Carolina ranks third in movie and television production in U.S., only behind Los Angeles and New York City, respectively. The festival gets its name from the French Broad River near Brevard, NC, where the festival was originally held. In 2003, Dale Pollock, a former film producer and then-Dean of the School of Filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, moved RiverRun to Winston-Salem, where it resides today as an independent arts organization dedicated to showcasing the best new films from independent, international and student filmmakers.

This festival screens only independent films. RiverRun is an eco-friendly festival, and has an Environmental Sidebar. Read about it. The opening night film is THE EXTRA MAN, directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini.

The Festival also has a side-bar showing films from a foreign country, mostly films that have critical credibility. This year, the side-bar is Mexico and they made excellent choices with Louis Buñuel's classic LOS OLVIDADOS (The Forgotten Ones), Alfonso Curaon's Y Tu Mama Tambien (And Your Mother Too), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Amores Perros (Amorous Dogs), and Alfonso Alrau's LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE, plus two others.

Filmmaker David Gordon Green will attend the screenings of two of his films, GEORGE WASHINGTON and PINAPPLE EXPRESS, and - - gasp - - Peter Bogdanovich will be there for PAPER MOON. Bogdonovich will receive the Festival's Master of Cinema award, a real crystal ball. For children under 12 there is a Saturday morning cartoon show.

In keeping with the Festival's Environmental Film Focus and Eco-Initiative, their partner, Whole Foods Market, for a party on the eve (21st) of Earth Day Thursday, 22nd. party on Thursday, 22nd. This party will feature all-natural beverages and hors d’oeuvres provided by Whole Foods Market Winston-Salem, while the music and visuals will be created by students from UNCSA. The festivities will begin immediately following the screening of Disney's documentary OCEANS. There will also be a cash bar for beer and wine.

As the Festival winds down, they are spicing things up with a Mad Hot Mambo party at the Millennium Center, featuring live Salsa music by the renowned band, West End Mambo. The festivities will begin immediately following the Saturday Night screening of Werner Herzog's MY SON, MY SON WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? at the Steven’s Center. There are two other parties. After all, it isn't a true film festival without the parties.

12th Roger Ebert's Film Festival, 21 - 25 April 2010, Virginia Theater, Champaign, Illinois. (Ebertfest, REFF)

All films are selected from those Mr. Ebert sees during his normal viewing and reviewing. The festival stressed, "Do not send films."

The Illinois Champaign County Anti-Stigma Alliance, is pleased to announce that they will have a special showing of THE SOLOIST immediately following the close of Ebertfest (April 25). The Alliance was formed to challenge disability discrimination and promote education and awareness. This screening will be at the Virginia Theatre at 4:30 pm, and it will free to the public. The screening will be followed by a panel of guest speakers.

Contact: Mary Susan Britt , 217-244-0552.

11th On Location: Memphis International Film and Music Festival, 22 - 25 April 2010, Malco's Ridgeway Four, Memphis, Tennessee. (MIFMF)

Formerly known as the Memphis Film Festival the festival has now added music to the program to increase its influence in the region, but its emphasis is still on film, especially that of regional filmmakers. It has morphed into a full-grown film organization that is active year-round.

The Festival is also now more "family friendly." Last year, they added a Kids First Film Festival, and it will take place Saturday, April 24th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 pm, featuring a compilation of short films to entertain and educate. It's free. Here's the information and films that will be shown.

The festivities begin at 1:00 pm on Thursday, 22nd, and will run until late Saturday night. The opening film is HOMETOWN GLORY, written, directed and produced by Hollywood entertainment manager/publicist Ray Costa. As a teenager, Costa was among the ranks of Germantown, TN, teenage volunteers who risked their lives to protect their town fighting fires in the 1970's.

The screening is the official premiere of HOMETOWN GLORY, 7:30 pm, at the Malco Ridgeway Four. Attending the event will be Ray Costa, composer George S. Clinton and the firefighters chronicled in the film. Tickets are $10 and will go on sale April 18. The Festival After Party will follow at the Blues City Café Bandbox.

The closing party follows at Ernestine and Hazel's.

There are two documentaries screening on Saturday afternoon that should not be missed. The first at 1:30 pm is THE COVE. It is about the dolphin slaughter in Japan and what drives it, and it won the Academy Award® this year for Best Documentary Film of 2009. The other one is TIBET IN SONG, which follows THE COVE at 4:00 pm.

This Festival still has a public relations handicap due to its amateurish Web site and always being late getting out the publicity.

53rd San Francisco International Film Festival, 22 April - 6 May 2010, Castro Theatre and other venues, San Francisco, California. (SFIFF)

Opening Night is Thursday, 22 April, and the opening film is MICMACS (Micmacs à tire-larigot), by French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie), which screens at the Castro Theatre, 7:00 pm, followed by a party at The Regency Center, 9:30 pm.

Saturday, May 1, the Centerpiece Film will screen at he Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, 6:30 pm. HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE is the debut film for Ohio native Josh Radnor, who also wrote the screenplay. This being San Francisco, it will be followed by a party at Manor West.

The gala awards night is Thursday, 29 April in the Westin St. Francis Hotel, Grand Ballroom, beginning with a VIP cocktail reception with celebrity guests. This star-studded occasion honors this year’s directing, acting and screenwriting award recipients with a glamorous black-tie evening featuring onstage celebrity appearances and gourmet dining.

Here are only two of a number of special awards to be given to celebrity guests at the festival this year, and each guest will have a special day which includes a screening of an associated film:

Robert Duvall will be the recipient of the Peter J. Owens Award to be presented at the 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival. The onstage tribute to Duvall at the Castro Theatre will feature a clip reel of career highlights, an onstage interview and a screening of his most recent film GET LOW.

This year's Novikoff Award for an individual or institution whose work has enhanced the filmgoing public’s knowledge and appreciation of world cinema goes to film critic Roger Ebert. A screening will follow of Erick Zonca's JULIA.

Closing Night is Thursday, 6 May and the film is JOAN RIVERS -- A PIECE OF WORK, screen at the Castro Theatre, 7:00 pm. The party follows at Folsom.

COMING IN MAY: Cannes International Film Festival, 12 - 23 May 2010; Mountain Film in Telluride, 28 - 31 May 2010.

March Film Festival Winners

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

First, a special award announcement.

The 24th American Cinematheque Award was presented to actor Matt Damon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA, Saturday, 27 March. He was not only honored for his acting and humanitarian efforts, he was roasted by some of his friends.

There were no awards at the Environmental Film Festival in Washington, D.C., as the festival is mainly for education. If you would like to know more, go here.

The most prominent film festival this month was 17th SXSW (South by Southwest), which included a music festival and an interactive conference, held in Austin, Texas. The festivities began 12 March and ran through the 21st.

There was the film conference and festival, the music conference and festival, and the interactive media conference. Here, we only follow the film festival.

As I write every year, the film awards have been presented at SWSW, not that you may hear about any of the winners this year. In case you really want to see, click the title of this post for the list.

MIAMI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, 5-14 March 2010, Miami, Florida

On awards night, Saturday, 13 March, at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, the festival was forced to turn away more than 250 film lovers clamoring for tickets to the sold-out, post-awards-ceremony screening of surprise Oscar® winner THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES (El secreto de sus ojos, Argentina). You can read about that night and view the complete list of winners on the "Daily Wrap" blog by clicking here.

Some of the major awards were:

WORLD COMPETITION

Grand Jury Prize:
LOLA, directed by Brillante Mendoza (France/Philippines, 2009)
(A $25,000 USD cash prize awarded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation)

Special Jury Mention 1:
MEDAL OF HONOR (Medalia de Onoare), directed by Calin Peter Netzer (Germany/Romania, 2009)

Special Jury Mention 2, and Audience Award:
NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS (Kasi az gorbehaye irani khabar nadareh), directed by Bahman Ghobadi (Iran, 2009)

IBERO-AMERICAN COMPETITION

Grand Jury Prize:
TO THE SEA (Alamar), directed by Pedro González-Rubio (Mexico, 2009)
(A $25,000 USD cash prize awarded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation)

Audience Award:
UNDERTOW (Contracorriente) by Javier Fuentes-León (Peru/ Colombia/ France/ Germany, 2009)

THE CINEUROPA PRIZE FOR BEST EUROPEAN FILM

ORDINARY PEOPLE, directed by Vladimir Perisic (France/ Switzerland/ Serbia/ Netherlands, 2009)

Special Mention:
MEDAL OF HONOR (Medalia de Onoare), directed by Calin Peter Netzer (Germany/Romania, 2009)

25th Guadalajara International Film Festival, 12-19 March 2010, Guadalajara, Mexico

The festival folks had taken down the English portion of the Website even before I could get there. Therefore, you can access the Spanish-only site here and use Google Translate (comes ready-to-use with the Mozilla Firefox Browser).

All prizes were awarded during the closing ceremony held at the Auditorio Telmex (Telmex Auditorium). The Colombian film PORTRAITS OF A SEA OF LIES, directed by Carlos Gaviria, and the Mexican film PERPETUUM MOBILE, directed by Nicolas Pereda, received the award for Best Feature Latin American Fiction Film and Best Fiction Feature Film, respectively.

The Rigobeto Mora Award for Best Mexican Documentary Animation went to MOON (Luna), directed by Raul and Rafael Cardenas. This was the first year for the award.

Also, the Latinofusión Prize for Distribution was given for the first time this year. The prizewinners were, PORTRAITS OF A SEA OF LIES in the Latin American category, and in the Mexican category, GOOD HERBS, directed by Maria Novaro.

Four of the Major Film Festivals in April are: Florida FF, Orlando, FL; Tribeca FF, NYC; On Location Memphis IFF, TN, and the San Francisco Film Festival. There will be information on Cannes in this series and in stand-alone posts beginning soon. Cannes opens 12 May and runs through the 23rd.

Berlin Film Festival Winners 2010

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

60th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) awards their Bears at annual gala.

The second major international film festival of 2010, the 60th Anniversary edition of the Berlin International Film Festival (BIFF) closed last night with the presentation of their Gold and Silver Bears, and other awards. The Berlinale, as it is known in Europe, begins the annual official 2010 award season for Europe, as did last month's Sundance (SFF) in the U.S.

Berlin, held in what was known as West Germany, was originally known for screening films that otherwise would not have been shown anywhere outside of the former West and East Germany, the USSR, Yugoslavia, etc. They hold to their basic tradition today in the united Germany, primarily showing German film, but also showing films from Russia and other Eastern Europe countries.

Honorary Golden Bears for lifetime achievement in cinema went to actress Hanna Schygulla and the screenwriter and director Wolfgang Kohlhaase. Schygulla’s name is inseparably connected with the late West German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s films. Wolfgang Kohlhaase adopted a course that was new for DEFA (the publicly-owned film studio in the German Democratic Republic, the former East Germany). Motion pictures in which Schygulla or Kohlhaase had a part were shown in separate programs during the festival. For German cinema, finally a meeting of West and East.

I have had the privilege of seeing many of the films from DEFA and UFA made before unification. For anyone interested in German films made at DEFA, the DEFA Film Library is now at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It is the only archive and study center outside Europe devoted to the study of a broad spectrum of films by East German filmmakers or related to East Germany from 1946 to the present. Here's the UMASS link.

But, you came here to see the winners. Roman Polanski won the Silver Bear for Best Director for his latest film, THE GHOST WRITER. He did not attend. The major movie winners are, HONEY; IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE; HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER; and APART TOGETHER. Here are the major winners by award, name of film, and director (where appropriate):

GOLDEN BEAR FOR THE BEST FILM - HONEY (Bal, Turkey) directed by Semih Kaplanoglu;

JURY GRAND PRIX SILVER BEAR - IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE (Eu cand vreau sa fluier, fluier, Romania) by Florin Serban;

SILVER BEAR FOR BEST DIRECTOR - Roman Polanski for THE GHOST WRITER (France, Germany, UK), based on the novel The Ghost by Robert Harris, who adapted the screenplay;

SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTRESS Shinobu Terajima in CATEPILLAR (Kyatapirâ, Japan) by Koji Wakamatsu;

SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTOR - Sergei Puskepalis for HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER (Kak ya provel etim letom, Russia) by Alexei Popogrebsky;

SILVER BEAR FOR AN OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT IN THE CATEGORY CAMERA - Pavel Kostomarov for the camera in HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER by Alexei Popogrebsky;

SILVER BEAR FOR THE BEST SCRIPT - Wang Quan'an and Na Jin for APART TOGETHER (Tuan Yuan, China) by Wang Quan'an;

ALFRED BAUER PRIZE, awarded in memory of the Festival founder, for a work of particular innovation - IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE by Florin Serban.

For all awards, download the .pdf file here. Click the title of this post to link to the Official Festival Site. To find out more about individual films at a glance, visit the IMDb.

Santa Barbara Film Festival Winners

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE wins Best Documentary Film and another major award.

The winners of the 25th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) were announced yesterday. The festival, which celebrated its Silver Anniversary beginning 4 February, announced the winners of the 2010 festival competition at a Press Conference and Sunday morning brunch at the famed Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort, Sunday, 14 February.

The winning films are as follows:


The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema, given to a unique independent feature that has been made outside mainstream Hollywood, went to EXAM (US Premiere), directed by Stuart Hazeldine, and starring Luke Mably, Nathalie Cox.

The Best International Film Award went to LETTERS to FATHER JACOB (Postia pappi Jaakobille) from Finland, and directed by Klaus Härö. [Submitted for Oscar® consideration for Best Foreign Language Film (BFLF), but not nominated. It is, however, receiving praises for cinematography such as, "If you want to see cinematographic art at its finest, see this movie."]

The Nueva [New] Vision Award for the best Spanish/Latin American film was awarded to THE WIND JOURNEYS (Los viajes del viento, Columbia, US Premiere), directed by Ciro Guerra and starring Marciano Martínez, Yull Núñez. [Submitted for Oscar consideration for BFLF, but not nominated.]

Best East Meets West Cinema Award went to South Korea’s MOTHER (Madeo), directed by Joon-ho Bong, about a mother who desperately searches for the killer that framed her son for a horrific murder. [Submitted for Oscar consideration for BFLF, but not nominated.]

Best Eastern Bloc Award went to KATALIN VARGA (Romania/UK, US Premiere), directed by Peter Strickland.

Best Documentary Film Award went to ENEMIES of the PEOPLE from UK/Cambodia and directed by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath. The film is about the Khmer Rouge slaughter of nearly two million people in the late 1970s, yet the killing fields of Cambodia remain unexplained.

Bruce Corwin Award for Best Live Action Short Film Under 30 Minutes went to ANA'S PLAYGROUND, directed by Eric D. Howell. Film depicts just another day for children surrounded by armed conflict.

Bruce Corwin Award for Best Animation Short Film went to UTS, directed by Moritz Mayerhofer.

The Fund for Santa Barbara Social Justice Award Sponsored by The Fund for Santa Barbara for a documentary film that addresses social justice issues also went to ENEMIES of the PEOPLE, the Best Documentary winner.

The festival closed tonight with the World Premiere of MIDDLE MEN,” directed by George Gallo. Starrin Giovanni Ribisi, Luke Wilson, James Caan, Kelsey Grammer and Kevin Pollack, the film chronicles Jack Harris, one of the pioneers of internet commerce, as he wrestles with his morals and struggles not to drown in a sea of conmen, mobsters, drug addicts, and pornstars.

Read more about the winners by clicking this title of this post. For honorary awards at the SBIFF, scroll down to previous post under the title, " Major Film Festivals in February 2010".

Major Film Festivals in February 2010

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

1. 60th Berlin IFF Opens Today - - 2. 25th Santa Barbara IFF Ready for Awards.

2. 60th BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Berlinale), Berlin, Germany 11 - 21 February 2010.

APART TOGETHER (Tuan Yuan)

The Berlinale (BIFF) is the first major European film festival on the calendar each year, as Sundance is the first major U.S. Festival. The BIFF is considered second only to Cannes as a prestigious film showcase in world cinema along with Venice, the oldest film festival. The first BIFF I attended was in July, and many events were held outside under the stars or in tents. Now, it takes place in February. Brrrrr!

The International Jury, presided over by Werner Herzog, will decide who will take home the Golden Bear and the Silver Bears, as well as the Alfred Bauer Prize in the Competition Section of the Berlinale 2010. Texas-born Oscar-winning actress Renée Zellweger will join President Herzog and other members of the Jury.

The Jury for the Best First Feature Award will be headed by Michael Verhoeven, one of the formative personalities in what is known as New German Film. He presented his feature film debut, THE DANCE OF DEATH, at the 1967 Festival. Debut feature films from the sections Competition, Panorama, Generation Kplus and 14plus as well as debut films from the Forum will compete for the award. The winners will be announced at the official award ceremony in the Berlinale Palast on 30 February.

American actor Ben Foster (X-MEN: The Last Stand, 3:10 TO YUMA and ALPHA DOG) will join Verhoeven and other Jury members. He was a guest at the 2009 Berlinale Competition with his lead role in the acclaimed drama THE MESSENGER.

The winner of the Golden Bear 2009, MILK OF SORROW (La Teta Asustada) by Claudia Llosa from Peru, and AJAMI by Yaron Shani and Scandar Copti (Israel) were both funded by the Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund, and they are both nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category for 2009.

Opening Movie: The World Premiere of APART TOGETHER (Tuan Yuan, People's Republic of China, 2009) director, Wang Quan'an, in Shanghainese and Mandarin. Section: Competition. Cast: Lisa Lu, Ling Feng, Xu Caigen, Monica Mo, Ma Xiaoqing. Wang's TUYA'S MARRIAGE won the Golden Bear in 2007.

Closing Movie: The Festival's award winning feature film will be screened 20 February in the Zoo Palast 1, at 3:00 p.m., with the awards gala beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the CinemaxX 3.

The Festival is a sponsor of the second edition of the Talent Campus Guadalajara for up-and-coming filmmakers and professionals from Central America and the Caribbean, which will take place from 11-15 March 2010. New this year in Guadalajara: a brand new hands-on training program for film critics, the Talent Press. Sorry, the applications have closed./b>

Also, the full screening schedule for Berlin is available for download, but only in German. For more information, click the title of this post to access the Festival's Official Website

1. 25th SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Santa Barbara, California. Thursday, 4 February - Sunday, 14 February 2010.

Santa Barbara's festival has all the glitz and glam of Palm Springs while, at the same time, offering a roster of films worthy of following Sundance. This year is SBIFF's silver anniversary, and they deserve hearty congratulations for offering an exhilarating festival year after year. I know because I have attended a number of them.

The 25th edition features 200 films including 18 World Premieres, 28 U.S. Premieres and a vast selection of films representing 45 countries. The motto this year is "11 Amazing Days, 10 Starry Nights".

The Festival opened with a gala screening at the downtown historic Arlington Theatre featuring the world premiere screening of FLYING LESSONS, directed by Derek Magyar, in his directorial debut. The movie stars Christine Lahti, Maggie Grace, Jonathan Tucker, Cary Elwes, Joanna Cassidy and Hal Holbrook. The gala evening concluded with a party at Paseo Nuevo in downtown Santa Barbara.

Closing Night will feature the world premiere screening of MIDDLE MEN, directed by George Gallo and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Luke Wilson, James Caan, Kelsey Grammar and Kevin Pollack. The director and cast will attend. Closing Night festivities also take place at the Arlington Theatre.

Actress Emily Blunt received the Chopin Virtuoso Award - in recognition of this years emerging film talent - Sunday, 7 February. Also, receiving the Chopin Virtuosos 2010 Award were Carey Mulligan (AN EDUCATION), Saoirse Ronan (THE LOVELY BONES) and Michael Stuhlbarg (A SERIOUS MAN).

Actress Sandra Bullok received The American Riviera Award, 5 February, and director James Cameron received the esteemed Lucky Brand™ Modern Master Award 6 February.

Continuing the annual tradition of highlighting a guest director, SBIFF selected Kathryn Bigelow as the Outstanding Director of the Year. Monday, 8 February the Festival began the day with a retrospective of Bigelow’s films: NEAR DARK, POINT BREAK, and STRANGE DAYS. Following a conversation with the director, there was a special screening of her latest movie, the Oscar nominated, THE HURT LOCKER, and Bigelow is nominated for an Oscar for directing the movie.

David Attenborough Award for Excellence in Nature Filmmaking will be awarded to THE COVE, Wednesday, 10 February, at the Lobero Theatre. The award-winning documentary is one of he favorites in the Oscar's Best Documentary Feature of 2009 category.

Actor Colin Firth will receive the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award for his role as 'George' in A SINGLE MAN, Thursday, 11 February at the Arlington Theatre. Also, Actress Julianne Moore will receive the Montecito Award. The evening will be moderated by SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling.

Friday, 12 February, at the Lobero Theatre, Durling will moderate the evening when the Cinema Vanguard Awards will be presented to Vera Farmiga (UP IN THE AIR), Peter Sarsgaard (AN EDUCATION), Stanley Tucci (THE LOVELY BONES) and Christoph Waltz (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS) in recognition of artists who have forged their own path by taking artistic risks.Also, actress Gabourey Sidibe, (PRECIOUS) will receive the Chopin Virtuoso Award.

Santa Barbara celebrates one of their own with Jeff Bridges Day. Sunday, 14 February, will start early with screenings of Bridges’ Oscar-nominated films: THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, THUNDERBOLT and LIGHTFOOT, STARMAN, and THE CONTENDER. Bridges will appear for a Conversation, followed by a screening of CRAZY HEART. Bridges is nominated for best actor in the leading role for his role in the movie as Bad Blake, a broken-down hard-living former country singer.

Link for the Festival's Official Website.

Coming up first in March is the Miami International Film Festival, presented by the Miami Film Society and Miami Dade College, followed by SXSW, and the 25th Guadalajara International Film Festival, 12 - 19 March. More on those and others later.

This week, I received information from the Venice IFF and the San Sebastián IFF. Neither will open until much later this year, but I will be adding newsflashes to the bottom of these posts to incorporate the latest from the best film festivals when I receive information that I think is "hot".

Sundance Festival Winners

SERIES: Major Film Festivals





The 2010 Sundance Film Festival (SFF) awards were presented Saturday, 30 January, by actor David Hyde Pierce. Yes, I know that was a week ago, but so many awards are being given at one time it is very hard on my staff - - me, myself, and I.



WINTER'S BONE

Debra Granik's WINTER'S BONE was the big winner in Park City, as it won both the dramatic competition Grand Jury prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in Park City. Earlier in the day, the gritty drama secured North American distribution through Roadside Attractions for release later this year.

The movie, about an unflinching Ozark Mountain girl trudging through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her missing father, was adapted from the Missouri-based author Daniel Woodrell's novel by Granik and Anne Rosellini. Rosellini and Alix Madigan, produced. Jonathan Scheuer and Shawn Simon executive produced. Granik's previous film, the 2004 Sundance entry DOWN TO THE BONE, won her a dramatic directing award

Here are the winners this year:



AUDIENCE AWARDS ~ ~

U.S. Dramatic – Josh Radnor, happythankyoumoreplease;
U.S. Documentary – Davis Guggenheim, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN;
World Cinema: Documentary – Lucy Walker, WASTE LAND;
World Cinema: Dramatic – Javier Fuentes-León (Peru), CONTRACORRIENTE.



JURY AWARDS ~ ~

Grand Jury Prize: U. S. Dramatic – Debra Granik, WINTER'S BONE;
Grand Jury Prize: U. S. Documentary - Sebastien Junger and Tim Hetherington, RESTREPO;

Jury Prize: World Cinema Dramatic – David Michôd, ANIMAL KINGDOM;
Jury Prize: World Cinema Documentary – Mads Brügger, THE RED CHAPEL.



SPECIAL JURY AWARDS ~ ~

U.S. Dramatic – Mark Ruffalo, SYMPATHY FOR DELICIOUS;
U.S. Documentary – Josh Fox, GASLAND;
World Cinema Documentary – Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE;
World Dramatic Breakout Performance – Tatiana Maslany in GROWN UP MOVIE STAR.



OTHER SPECIAL ~ ~

Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize – Diane Bell, OBSELIDIA;
Best of NEXT – Todd Barnes and Brad Barnes, HOMEWRECKER.



RECOGNITION AWARDS ~ ~

U.S. Directing: Dramatic – Eric Mendelsohn, 3 BACKYARDS;

U.S. Directing: Documentary – Leon Gast, SMASH HIS CAMERA;
U.S. Waldo Salt Screenwriting – Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, WINTER'S BONE;
U.S. Documentary Editing– Penelope Falk, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK;
U.S. Excellence in Cinematography - Dramatic – Zak Mulligan, OBSELIDIA;
U.S. Excellence in Cinematography - Documentary – Kirsten Johnson, Laura Poitras, THE OATH;
World Cinema Directing: Dramatic – Juan Carlos Valdivia, SOUTHERN DISTRICT;
World Cinema Directing: Documentary – Christian Frei, SPACE TOURISTS;
World Cinema Screenwriting – Juan Carlos Valdivia, SOUTHERN DISTRICT;
World Cinema Documentary Editing– Joëlle Alexis, A FILM UNFINISHED;
World Cinema Cinematography - Dramatic – Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, THE MAN NEXT DOOR;

World Cinema Cinematography - Documentary – Kate McCullough and Michael Lavelle, HIS & HERS.

SHORT FILMS (announced earlier) ~ ~

Jury Prize in U.S. – DRUNK HISTORY;
International Jury Prize – THE SIX DOLLAR FIFTY MAN;
Honorable Mention – QUADRANGLE; DOCK ELLIS & THE LSD NO - NO;
ROB and VALENTYNA in SCOTLAND; YOUNG LOVE; BORN SWEET, and CAN WE TALK?

Also announced earlier, Slamdance Festival Awards, where the Grand Jury awards went to, Charles-Olivier Michaud's narrative film SNOW and ASHES, and Mark Claywell's documentary AMERICAN JIHADIST, plus the Sundance / NHK International Filmmakers Awards.

Read more about the awards. To visit the Festival's Website and read more there, plus access videos, click the title of this post.