Film Festival Page Updated

My new updates include the about-to-wrap San Diego Latino and the just-wrapped South by Southwest (SXSW) Festivals. There is new information on the upcoming Memphis (TN), River Run (NC), Canadian Hot Docs Documentary (Toronto), Ebertfest (IL), Tribeca (NYC), San Francisco (CA), and the festival most festival-watchers consider the world's most prestigious film festival, Cannes (France).

You can read about those already completed this year, which included Berlin (Germany), Santa Barbara and Palm Springs (CA), Sundance (UT), Miami (FL), and the Mexican sister-festivals, Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta (MX). That's just Part I of Mimi Film Festivals 2008.

Part II, which will include festivals from June through September 2008, will go online sometime in April. The festivals highlighted will begin with Jackson Hole (WY) and probably conclude with San Sebastián (Spain) or San Diego (CA), but new ones are always cropping up, so there are no guarantees at this point.

In between, there will be the world's oldest festival, Venice (Italy), and the world's bravest, Sarajevo (Bosnia). Major festivals in the USA include Los Angeles (CA) and Telluride (CO). Foreign ones, other than San Sebastián, include Montreal and Toronto (Canada), Deauville (France), and Edinburgh (UK), plus any new ones that may spring up during this time frame.

Film Festival Page Updated

Anjelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at the Santa Barbara Festival earlier this year.
There is new information on my Mimi's Film Festivals Page about the film festivals now playing: Miami International, San Diego Latino, Austin's South by Southwest, and the sister festivals in Mexico: Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta in conjunction with the University of Guadalajara.

Check the happenings at these festivals, and start preparing for the other upcoming international festivals: Memphis, River Run, Canadian Hot-Docs, San Francisco, and the biggest of the internationals - - the 61st in Cannes, France.

Oh, I haven't forgotten NYC's Tribeca, or the Ebertfest, as in Roger Ebert. This will be the 10th in Champaign, IL. As always, there are links to the festival's official Web sites.

All the above, and it is only Part I this year of my Mimi's Film Festivals Page 2008! This year's previous festivals are included, and I update the page about every week, but don't always post an update notice here, so visit often. There is a permanent link on the right sidebar of this blog.

My Film Festival Page News

Counted today and found there is information and links for 34 film festivals so far this year on my Film Festival Page, including some that are difficult to find information about such as the Festival of New Latin American Cinema held each December in Havana, Cuba. Ten are upcoming, or going on now, with the rest already completed this year. Altogether, there's a wealth of info. Here is the list of the 34:

AFIFEST, Berlin, Boston, Times BFI London, Canadian Hot Docs, Cannes, Deauville, Edinburgh, Guadalajara, Huelva, Havana, Jackson Hole, Los Angeles Independents, Memphis, Miami, Montreal, New York, Palm Sprngs, Puerto Valarta, River Run, Rome, San Diego, San Sebatian, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Sarajevo, Sitges, Sundance, SXSW, Telluride, Toronto, Tribeca, Vancouver, and Venice.

This weekend, I installed quick links to help you find the festivals in which you are interested. Just find the name of the festival you want, click, and you are there. Click the title of this post, which will take you to my Film Festival Page, and near the top you will find the links for the festivals going on now, or upcoming through December, including the one in Havana. There is a separate set of links for those already completed. Remember, there is always a link to my Film Festival Page on the right sidebar of this blog as well.

George Clooney and Jerry Weintraub at a recent Boston Film Festival gala.

MORE ABOUT TOP MOVIES AT CANNES

In the previous post I forgot to mention that Geraldine Chaplin is appearing in THE ORPHANAGE (El Orfanato, Spain-Mexico). Her character's name is Aurora, and the director is Juan Antonio Bayona.

Also, I failed to mention Michael Moore's latest documentary, SICKO. This is the "Inconvenient Truth" about the ailing American health care system but, overall, much less entertaining than "Truth," or Moore's previous films. One thing it is - - a powerful wakeup call!

SOME TOP MOVIES AT CANNES

According to many critics, there were more top-rate movies at Cannes than were expected. The first thing that caught my eye was the Mexico-Spain co-production THE ORPHANAGE (El Orfanato), produced by director Guillermo del Toro (PAN'S LABYRINTH). It's a Spanish ghost story that has been described as, "terrifying and enthralling." I suggest you watch for it.

Others you might want to put on your must-see list:

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (French) that won best director at Cannes for Julian Schnabel, and A MIGHTY HEART, produced by Brad Pitt and starring Angelina Jolie as reporter Daniel Pearl's widow, were both extremely well received.

The Coen brother's NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN starring Javier Bardem, Kelly Macdonald and Josh Brolin, didn't win any awards but it received great buzz. It arrived with distribution from Miramax, which acquired DIVING BELL at the market.

Sony Pictures Classics purchased rights to the Israeli comedy THE BAND'S VISIT, while IFC bought the Palme d'Or winner, the Romanian drama 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS & 2 DAYS (now mostly referred to as 4 MONTHS). IFC also acquired FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON (Le Voyage du ballon rouge, France) starring Juliette Binoche.

It's almost summer, and I'm going on a short hiatus. Of course, if anything happens that I think is interesting, movie-wise, I'll probably post it.

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!

GUADALAJARA FESTIVAL OF CINEMA

The 22nd Guadalajara International Festival of Cinema will run 22 - 30 March 2007, in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Mexican director Guillermo del Toro (PAN'S LABYRINTH) will receive the first Guadalajara Award. This new award is for outstanding personalities of the Ibero-American cinematographic community who have distinguished themselves at the international level.

American Actress Elizabeth Peña will present the movie, ADRIFT IN MANHATTAN, directed by Alfredo de Villa. It will screen in a new event at the Festival: From the Other Side (Desde el Otro Lado).

Spanish actor/director Antonio Banderas will present his movie SUMMER RAIN (El Camino de los Ingleses). RAIN will screen Saturday, 24 March. Several films from Mexico will also screen. The 5th Guadalajara Film Market will run concurrently with the festival.

For more about this festival and many others, see Mimi's Film Festival Page. Link also on right sidebar.