Venice IFF Opens Today

The 66th Venice International Film Festival (VIFF) opens today with Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore's BAARIA, hyped as a Sicilian drama that includes Fascism, World War Two and Communism. Tornatore won an Oscar® for CINEMA PARADISO. The festival on the Lido waterfront runs through the 12th.

Because Italian movies have tended to disappoint in the past three years, and film festival attendance is down in general, festival director Marco Mueller is leaning more heavily on American movies that have stars and directors with international reputations.

Expected to walk the red carpet during the festival are Nicolas Cage, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Colin Firth, Tom Ford, Richard Gere, Werner Herzog, John Lasseter, Julianne Moore, Michael Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Eva Mendes, Omar Sharif, Todd Solondz, Sylvester Stallone, Oliver Stone, Charlize Theron, and others.

George Clooney, who has a home in Italy and is a local favorite, appears in the oddly titled movie, THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, directed by Grant Heslov, along with Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. The movie is about a reporter, a U.S. military unit in Iraq and the paranormal. The movie is not in competition. Neither are John Lasseter's TOY STORY, 3-D, and TOY STORY 2, 3-D.

Oliver Stone brings SOUTH OF THE BORDER about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and Tom Ford makes his feature debut with A SINGLE MAN, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore, about fashion. Stallone is there to receive a special award.

Nicolas Cage appears in Werner Herzog's BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS, a remake of the 1992 movie directed by Abel Ferrara, which may break the record for movies with long titles. Mortensen, Theron and Robert Duvall star in THE ROAD.

Venice has always had a global reach and this year is no exception. Who better to represent that than Omar Sharif in Egypt's THE TRAVELER. China, Austria, Israel, Japan, France, Hong Kong and Germany all have films representing their country.

SERIES: Upcoming Film Festivals - August III

VENICE (VIFF - Labiennale)

The 66th Venice International Film Festival, oldest of all, will run at Venice Lido from 2nd to 12th September 2009.The film program has been announced. The USA is well represented this year.

In the International Feature Competition, as mentioned earlier here, BAARÌA, written and directed by Italian Oscar-winner Giuseppe Tornatore (CINEMA PARADISO), will open the Festival. The film will screen in competition.

Some U.S. films in competition that caught my eye, featuring world premieres for all, are:

Director Werner Herzog's BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS, starring Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer and Michael Shannon; Tom Ford's A SINGLE MAN, Colin Firth, Julianne Moore and Matthew Goode; John Hillcoa's THE ROAD, Charlize Theron, Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce; and MICHAEL MOORE's new documentary - CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY.

Three interesting USA productions screening out of competition are:

Director Grant Heslov's THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, with George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey; John Lasseter's TOY STORY, 3-D, and TOY STORY 2, 3-D; and Antoine Fuqua's BROOKLYN’S FINEST, with Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes and Ellen Barkin, among Hollywood's finest.

American actor Sylvester Stallone will receive a special award. The retrospective section is on Italian cinema rediscovered, and there will be a new trends in world and Italian cinema section, plus an international short film competition.



TORONTO (TIFF)

Toronto International Film Festival, which runs 10 to 19 September will offer 21 Special Presentations. These will feature the works of Alejandro Amenábar, Miguel Arteta, Sylvain Chomet, Rodrigo Garcia, Werner Herzog, Grant Heslov, John Hillcoat, and Tom Ford's directorial debut.

They will include on-screen performances by international superstars Annette Bening, Jeff Bridges, Michael Cera, George Clooney, Willem Dafoe, Robert Duvall, Colin Firth, Zach Galifianakis, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Liotta, Ewan McGregor, Demi Moore, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Guy Pearce, Natalie Portman, Til Schweiger, Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz.

Canadian favorites include Christopher Plummer, Jay Baruchel, Atom Egoyan, Don McKellar, Dilip Mehta, Ruba Nadda, Sandra Oh, Saul Rubinek, Lisa Ray, Peter Stebbings and Jacob Tierney.

Born in India and now Canadian citizens, siblings Deepah and Dilip Mehta wrote the latest Hinglish movie, COOKING WITH STELLA, and brother Dilip directed. The film will premiere 16 September at Toronto in the Roy Thompson Hall. Deepah is best known for her trilogy, FIRE, EARTH, WATER, and BOLLYWOOD / HOLLYWOOD.

The new film center, known as the Bell Lightbox, is now taking shape at the corner of King and John Streets in downtown Toronto. Bell Lightbox will not be ready for this year's festival, but promises to be spectacular.

The five-story complex will bring together the film-loving public, Canadian and international filmmakers, industry professionals, academia and visitors to Toronto from around the world to explore the power of cinema.

Toronto International Film Festival Will again offer a series of free outdoor events at Yonge-Dundas Square (YDS) taking place 10 - 19, and featuring special appearances by George A. Romero, Neil Young, Joan Baez, Jonathan Demme and more.

This year, the Festival is on Facebook. The full film list will be available 20 August, and the schedule goes live on Facebook 25 August, so sign up now. The current film list is posted, but it is not the full one, yet.

SERIES - upcoming, TCFF Guide Available

The Traverse City Film Festival Guide is now available. This year is the 5th TCFF, running from 28 July to 2 August. It is held mainly at the historic State Theatre in downtown Traverse City, Michigan.

With 71 features and 50 short films from over 30 different countries and five continents, the TCFF has something for everyone, including children. To get the film guide with everything you want to know about the festival, film selection, special programs, etc., download the pdf version: http://www.traversecityfilmfest.org/tcffguide09.pdf

Meanwhile, if I get any additional info before the opening, I shall post it here. Three highlights from the festival not mentioned in my previous post, but are in the Film Guide:

1. Greetings from Tehran/Palestine and Vine — Two sections of incredible films from the Middle East, a region that needs to have its unfiltered voice heard now more than ever.

2. ROGER AND ME - This is the 20th anniversary of Michael Moore’s groundbreaking documentary.

3. Woodstock 40th Anniversary — Celebrate the seminal cultural event of the 20th century with never-before-seen concert footage, and special guests who performed at Woodstock live on stage at the State Theatre.

SERIES - “Upcoming Film Festivals”

Traverse City, Michigan

The Traverse City Film Festival (TCFF) will turn five next month when it kicks off its annual celebration at the State Theatre, Tuesday, 28 July. It will run through Sunday, 2 August. Michael Moore reports he has watched over 300 movies in preparation for the programs.

The official program will be released 2 July, but here is a sneak preview. First, the legendary director Paul Mazursky and his family will be on hand for this year's TCFF Lifetime Achievement Award. Mazursky's filmography includes "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," "Moscow on the Hudson," "Harry and Tonto," "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," "Enemies: A Love Story," "An Unmarried Woman" and dozens of others. Mazursky will appear at screenings of three of his films and will speak on a panel as well.

TCFF Kids Fest will present award-winning independent children's films from around the world at 9:30 am Wednesday through Saturday of festival week at the State Theatre. Tickets will be reduced in price to $6 for these films, made for kids, which most young people never get the chance to see.

This year, the Festival is launching the TCFF Film School to offer students of all ages a chance to learn about the art of making movies. Five master classes will be taught for three hours each day of the festival from Tuesday through Saturday. This mini film camp will create an opportunity to meet with a different visiting filmmaker each day who will teach the craft of cinema to those interested.

Low-cost licensed child care, which I have never seen at film festivals, will be available Wednesday through Sunday.Interested parents should visit for more information, to offer comments, or make reservations.

This is only one of the services TCFF is offering this year to help everyone enjoy the festival despite the economic downturn that has hit Michigan exceptionally hard. They are holding ticket prices at the same price as last year, screening free movies outdoors each night, and foregoing some of the lavishness at parties.

Tickets to regular movies are $9. Opening and closing night films are $25, with opening and closing night parties ticketed separately at $50. Friends of the Traverse City Film Festival get half off opening and closing night party tickets, according to their benefit level. Tickets are available in advance and during the festival.

All tickets go on sale at the Front Street Cybercafe box office to Friends of the Film Festival on Sunday,12 July, 12 noon on a walk-up basis only. At 6 p.m. that day, Friends may also begin purchasing tickets by phone and online. Public ticket sales begin Saturday, 18 July.

Madonna Warmly Received at Traverse City FF - WRAP

AWARDS PRESENTED!
Find them all on my Film Festivals Page (direct link to full list).

Sorry, haven't found out which ball cap Michael is wearing today. Too much partying, I guess!

Actress Christine Lahti, New Board Member

Madonna, and her documentary, I AM BECAUSE WE ARE, were warmly received this evening at a screening at the Traverse City (MI) Film Festival, accoring to the AP. The movie concerns orphans in Malawi, the African country where she and her husband Guy Ritchie adopted a son. Proceeds from the screening will go to a foundation that helps Malawian orphans.

Madonna was accompanied by the movie's director Nathan Rissman and her daughter Lourdes, 11. Michael Moore shared the stage with Madonna before the screening, and it was a mutual admiration society between the two Michigan natives. Read a full AP article by clicking the title of this post.

Last week, Michael sent an e-mail proclaiming this year's festival's opening night the best one ever, even though there were thunder storms. He reported the on-stage introduction of two new board members for the TCFF - - Oscar-winning actress and Michigan native Christine Lahti, and acclaimed Italian director and TCFF-fave Sabina Guzzanti.

Rumors are flying again that Spanish actors Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz (see previous post) will soon announce an engagement. They co-star in Woody Allen's latest movie, and Festival opener, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (official site). The couple first met on the set of Bigas Luna's 1992 movie JAMON JAMON (Ham, Ham), but only began dating after reuniting onscreen for Allen's movie, which opens in the U.S. 15 August. Trivia: Did you know the working title was "Midnight in Barcelona?"

According to Michael, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, "was a huge hit - - smart, funny, sexy, and intended for an adult audience that is rarely served these days with smart, funny, and sexy films. What a joy! Ok, who wants to go to Barcelona?!"

Answer - - I do, Michael. I haven't been there since 1998, and I am really home sick for that wonderful city, which really gets going about midnight, and my friends who live there and one, the aforementioned Bigas Luna, who has since moved. Most of them are in the Spanish movie business - - producers, writers, directors, actors, etc. I always try to include a visit to Madrid to see my other cinephile friends. How about it, Michael, are you game? Click.

Back to the Festival, there is a bidding war going on to determine which ball cap Michael will wear this year - - Michigan State University or the University of Michigan? He reports that at the end of the opening night festivities, MSU offered the most for the night. Which one will ultimately prevail? I will update this post with the festival wrap. So, y'all come back now, and y'all will know.

For previous posts about Traverse City FF, click the Traverse City label at bottom of this post.

Michigan Filmmaker Award Today

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem in Traverse City Festival's Opening Movie

Michael Moore, founder and Grand Puba of the Traverse City Film Festival, will present the Michigan Filmmaker Award to Oscar-winning screenwriter Kurt Luedtke (OUT OF AFRICA and ABSENCE OF MALICE ) at the official opening of the Traverse City Film Festival this afternoon (2:00 pm).

Tonight's opening-night party has been moved to Building 50 as rain is expected. GHOSTBUSTERS is due to be shown outdoors tonight, and should it get rained out, it will be shown on Sunday night. The opening movie, VICKI CRISTINA BARCELONA starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, will be shown as scheduled.

Moore reports that Luedtke, "wrote OUT OF AFRICA on Glen Lake! How cool is that?!" Luedtke was born in Grand Rapids.

For those of you who, like me, are not Michiganders, Glen Lake is in Northern Michigan (Leelanau County) next to Lake Michigan. It is separated by a small strip of land, known as Leelanau Peninsular, upon which some quaint towns and a number of resorts reside.

Traverse City, is located at the base of Lake Michigan's western arm of Grand Traverse Bay. When counting its micropolitan area, which it does in order to be a city (an official city has a population of 50,000 or more), is the largest city in a 21-county area of Northern Michigan, with over 142,000. Within the actual city limits of Traverse City, the population is about 15,000. See MAP.

For previous posts about the TCFF on this blog click:(1) (2).

To everyone working at, and attending, the festival - - Happy Festival!

Traverse City prepares for Film Festival

State Theater in downtown Traverse City, MI.

Today, I received an e-mail from Michael Moore asking that I make it clear that there are many films at the Traverse City Film Festival (29 July - 3 August) not sold out. Since documentary is his passion, he wants to recommend the section, "Movies from People Who Want to Kill Us." They are from Muslim countries and half of the directors are women. Surprised? However, Michael tells me he is concerned about the title of the section, because the people involved in these films definitely do not want to kill us. They want us to see their movies.

Chief among them is BUDDHA COLLAPSED OUT OF SHAME, a powerful documentary screening at the festival, and the debut of 18-year-old Iranian director Hana Makhmalbaf. The movie is set in Bamian, a small town in Afghanistan where the Taliban destroyed giant Buddha statues in 2001. Michael says about this film, "A wonderful celebration of the human spirit. My second-favorite film of the festival." Hmmmm. Is he going to tell me his favorite?

Two others in the section are: BAGHDAD HIGH - A group of kids secretly record their life at a Baghdad high school; MY DINNER WITH THE PRESIDENT - A [Pakistani] woman decides to invite a dictator to dinner. He accepts. She asks to film it. He agrees.

Michael is also concerned that people will stay away from the documentary ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL, "because it is about a heavy metal band [Anvil], and perhaps there aren't that many metalheads among you. You do NOT need to like heavy metal to love this film. Anvil is the band that essentially invented heavy metal -- but they were a couple years too soon. . . . ANVIL is at times is hilarious (these guys are the real life Spinal Tap)."

ANVIL, the movie, directed by Sacha Gervasi, features Steven "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner, not the same as Rob Reiner, the actor known as "Meathead" from TV's All in the Family, director of the movie THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984), and son of the legendary Carl. After the movie on Friday and Saturday night, Anvil [the band] will take the stage and play a set live for the audience.

The historic State theatre in downtown Traverse City, MI, will be dark this weekend (July 25-28) in order to upgrade the already excellent sound system, install a bigger screen, and to permanently install the theater organ in time for the Traverse City Film Festival, mostly thanks to an anonymous donor. Yes, sir, the folks in Traverse City have reason to be excited.

There are some films sold out for the festival, which opens 29 July and runs through 3 August, but dozens are still available. They are available at the walk-up box office located downtown at 300 E Front Street in the Art Center, online, and by phone.
Among the exciting events, Singer / actress / and producer Madonna who, like Michael Moore, is a Michigan native, will appear during the festival for a screening of her documentary, I AM BECAUSE WE ARE, on 2 August. See previous post on this blog for more detail. The event is oversold, but they are trying to add additional screenings of the movie.

The opening movie, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, directed by Woody Allen, is sold out, and the party afterward may be as well. There are still some tickets for writer-director Andrew Fleming's closing movie, HAMLET.

You can read more, and view some video about the Traverse City Film Festival, a.k.a. Michael Moore's Film Festival, and order available tickets online by clicking the title of this post. There is more about the film in this post on my Film Festivals Page II (link on the right sidebar). On that page you will find more information about this festival, and many others. There is always a link to the official Web site for each festival covered on my Film Festivals Page, and you might find it a handy page to bookmark (favorite) for quick reference.

Film Festivals and Awards in June Wrap

Sir Sean Connery presented the awards in Edinburgh.

All the film festivals that I follow in June have wrapped, Edinburgh (Scotland) and Los Angeles (USA) this past weekend. For information about these, and others held this month: Jackson Hole (USA), AFI SILVERDOCS (D.C.), and Shanghai (China), click the link on the right sidebar for my Film Festivals Page II. There is also a link for Part I, which began in January with Palm Springs and ended with Cannes.

Next up: Michael Moore's Traverse City (fellow Michigander Madonna will be there with her new film) and then, Sarajevo (Bosnia). Festivals in August and September are also in Part II.

The Daytime Emmy and Broadway's Tony Awards wrapped in June, too. The Emmys had three awards sessions: the sports awards, daytime creative arts and entertainment awards, and the 35th daytime Emmy gala hosted by ABC's Cameron Masterson (All My Children) and Sherri Shepherd (The View). Regis Philbin (Live With Regis and Kelly) took home the lifetime achievement Emmy.

For more on these awards and many more for this year, click the link on the right sidebar for my Awards Page.

People Already Queuing for Madonna Tickets at TCFF

[See previous post for more detail about this event.]

Tickets for Madonna's visit to the Traverse City (Michigan) Film Festival August 2nd will go on sale tomorrow morning (Saturday, June 7th) at 11 a.m. at the downtown State Theatre. However, Deb Lake, Executive Director of the Festival reported at 8:00 p.m. tonight that a line for tickets began forming at the State Theatre sometime in the wee hours Wednesday night. By last night, three tents had been erected on the sidewalk.

She characterized the crowd as resembling an unofficial Friday Night Live with "vogue-ing" on Front Street. She also admonishes not to fear, because arrangements have been made to accommodate the demand for TC's Madonna Night.

Madonna has agreed to a simultaneous showing of her movie in another venue, and her remarks at the State will be beamed "live" to this other yet-to-be-named location as well. Tickets to this "overflow theater" will be $15, and again, all the proceeds will go to the Raising Malawi Foundation. This way, hundreds more people will have a chance to participate in "Madonna in TC."

Tickets for the alternate event will be split 50-50 between the public and Friends of the TC Festival, as originally announced. So, if you are a Friend and have already sent your Post Card, you are in the lottery pool for both.

She thanks everyone for their overwhelming support and wishes each, "Good luck!" tomorrow.

Madonna in Traverse City, MI, 2 August - get tickets now!

Yes, that's correct. Singer / Actress / Writer / Producer Madonna will appear in person at the Traverse City Film Festival (TCFF), 2 August, for a screening of her documentary, I AM BECAUSE WE ARE. The feature documentary, directed by Nathan Rissman, had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.

The tickets will be available to the general public, ONLY at the historic State Theatre box office in downtown Traverse City, Michigan, and will go on sale this Saturday, 7 June. NO tickets will be sold online or by phone. Tickets are $25. To see Madonna in person? Wow!

The screening is part of the program for the Traverse City Film Festival, which will run from 29 July - 3 August at the downtown State Theatre. It was co-founded by filmmaker Michael Moore and others. He, like Madonna, is a native of Michigan, and the festival is often referred to as Michael Moore's Film Festival.

Michael Moore in SICKO
I AM BECAUSE WE ARE is Madonna's personal journey and meditation about the African country of Malawi, a nation devastated by poverty and disease but filled with a desire to overcome all that it faces. The documentary has been described as "searing," "thoughtful," and "powerful."

The film features Bishop Desmund Tutu, President Bill Clinton, and author/activist Jeffrey Sachs. All proceeds from the event will go to the Raising Malawi Foundation, a project of Madonna's that helps orphans in one of the world's poorest countries.

For more about the festival, and relevant links, click title of this post, or HERE. Also, you might like to read Madonna's remarks at the screening of the documentary in Cannes last month.