Archive for April, 2008

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Sivan's debut Hollywood film to hit US theatres - Hindustan Times

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

Hindustan Times - Before the Rains, the English language debut film by acclaimed Indian director-cinematographer Santosh Sivan, will be released in Los Angels and New York on May 9, followed by a national release May 16.

In an email to IANS, Sivan said Roadside Attractions, a movie distribution company based in Los Angeles; and Merchant Ivory Production, would release the film. Written by the late Cathy Rabin, the film is set in southern India in the late 1930’s against the backdrop of a growing nationalist movement.

The film explores the turmoil of a man, divided between two worlds and the choices he makes to gain his freedom and embrace his true identity.

T.K. Neelan, played by Rahul Bose, a Western-educated idealistic young Indian man, finds himself torn between his ambitions for the future and his loyalty to the past when the local villagers learn of an adulterous affair between his boss, Henry Moores (Linus Roache), a British colonialist striving to build a road to expand his spice harvesting business, and Moores’ married Indian housemaid Sajani, played by Nandita Das… [Full Story]

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Mister Lonely - GreenCine Daily

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

GreenCine Daily - ”As a filmmaker, [Harmony] Korine - who made an instant sensation 13 years ago as the teenage author of the Kids screenplay, and earned the undying enmity of the entertainment press with his subsequent Andy Kaufman-esque mindfuck antics - combines an installation artist’s eye with a Catskills comic’s affection for the threadbare fringes of showbiz,” writes Jim Ridley in the Voice. “Co-written with his brother Avi, Mister Lonely is startlingly straightforward compared to his earlier work. But, like that work, it stands or falls on each single, self-contained scene. And it falls, often…. But letting a movie keep its intimations of chaos… sometimes yields moments of wonder.”

“Mister Lonely reveals that the punk abrasiveness of Korine’s youth has been replaced by a lyrical self-pity - the apparent upshot of a decade on the skids,” writes New York’s David Edelstein. “I’m glad he has pulled himself together, but the film is pretty ramshackle, full of obvious group improvisations that fail to spark and an overdose of bathos.”

“While the film falls short in comparison to his other films, Korine remains one of the most innovative and surprising new voices in American cinema,” writes Jeremiah Kipp in Slant. “As a champion for the beautiful and the strange, I’ll take bottom-shelf Korine over just about anything else currently playing in theaters.”

“What to make of it all?” asks Premiere’s Glenn Kenny. “Hard to say. Just to take in the fact that its soundtrack is made up of music by both J Spaceman and Sun City Girls is to understand that this is a picture that’s divided against itself in a way that’s perhaps too hermetic to be comprehended.”… [Full Story]

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Flashback to an opening night disaster - Toronto Star

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

Toronto Star - Toronto’s movie film folk are abuzz with joy because the Cannes Film Festival has selected one of ours – the $25 million dark epic Blindness – for its haute opening night.

But before we start dancing in the streets, take a chilling glimpse through a cinematic glass darkly at the forgotten fiasco Fantastica.

Some may assume this is the first time Canada has had this spotlight. They may be too young to remember Fantastica, or prefer to forget the only other Canadian movie ever to open Cannes.

It happened in 1980. The Quebec-made movie (co-produced with France) had singing and dancing, and it starred Carole Laure and Lewis Furey, then pop stars… [Full Story]

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TRIBECA PROFILE | “My Winnipeg” Director Guy Maddin - indieWIRE

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008

indieWIRE - ”I was going in the direction that all indie directors go,” said filmmaker Guy Maddin, reflecting on his career. “It was fun to do a U-turn and go in the opposite direction. Ironically, if I go to Hollywood, I’d be happier going this way. I’ll get there on my own strengths, if I get there at all.” Maddin, talking to a moderator Dennis Lim in front of a crowd that gathered at the Apple Store SoHo Sunday night (co-hosted with indieWIRE), is referring to the primitive nature of his recent films, most particularly “My Winnipeg,” which is making its U.S. debut at the Tribeca Film Festival this week.

“My Winnipeg,” described by Maddin as a “docufantasia,” is a portrait of Maddin’s hometown. Following a character named Guy Maddin (though played by Darcy Fehr), the film reinvents Maddin’s life, with actors hired to play his siblings and mother at the actual apartment he grew up in used as part of the setting. Partly based in reality, partly based in myth, the often hilarious (and surprisingly accessible) film is a unique exploration of self, family, and community through more of a poetic truth than anything else.

“What I tried to do with the film is present facts as facts, then I certainly expressed many opinions because the city’s broken my heart so many times,” Maddin said. “And then there are many legends about the city that are either held to be true or are popular stories many Winnipegers. It’s a mixture of those things. And then it’s sort of held together by a grout of feelings that are sort of turned into poetic facts. It’s really important that the feelings be spot-on. I mean, whose really keeping track of Winnipeg’s statistics.”… [Full Story]

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indieWIRE INTERVIEW | "Mister Lonely" Director Harmony Korine - indieWIRE

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008

indieWIRE - Much time has passed since Larry Clark discovered Harmony Korine skateboarding in Washington Square Park and hired him to write “Kids.” In its wake, Korine exploded into the mainstream as a radical artist with a bad boy streak. His first two features, “Gummo” and the Dogme ‘95 entry “Julian Donkey-boy,” divided critics and furthered his reputation as a fiercely independent figure. Just when his world seemed to be moving too fast, Korine left New York City for his native home in Nashville, got married and made a new movie to reflect his comparatively happier state of mind.

“Mister Lonely” stars Diego Luna as a disillusioned Michael Jackson impersonator whisked off by a faux Marilyn Monroe (Samantha Morton) to a strangely fascinating commune of like-minded characters. In a separate storyline, Werner Herzog plays a priest whose team of nuns inexplicably learns how to fly. In e-mail exchanges over several months and during an interview last week in New York City (where “Mister Lonely” is screening at the Tribeca Film Festival prior to its May 2 release), Korine discussed the themes of the movie, his general filmmaking philosophies, and the dubious case of the Malingerers. IFC First Take opens “Mister Lonely” in limited release Friday… [Full Story]

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iW NEWS | “Amal” Takes Indian Film Festival - indieWIRE

Monday, April 28th, 2008

Globe and Mail - The 6th Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles announced its winners, with Richie Mehta’s “Amal” winning the Grand Jury Prize for best narrative feature. Yunus Vally’s “The Glow of White Women” was given the jury’s best documentary prize, while special mentions were awarded to Shivajee Chandrabhushan’s “Frozen” (in narrative) and Liz Mermin’s “Shot in Bombay” (in documentary). Atul Sabharwal’s “Midnight Lost and Found” won for best short. Audience awards were given to Manish Acharya’s “Loins of Punjaab Presents in narrative and Christopher Mitchell’s “Super 30.”… [Full Story]

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Hot Docs Review: Be Like Others - Cinematical

Monday, April 28th, 2008

Cinematical - There is one moment in Tanaz Eshaghian’s Be Like Others that starts by plucking at our insistent hopes for happiness. Hungry for love and affection from his family, Ali Askar tells a story about being thrilled when his father insisted that Ali have breakfast with him. While it was such a simple action, it was one with insistence that Ali had never seen before. This act seemed full of the loving camaraderie and acceptance that the young man had dreamed of. His father poured them tea, but Ali refused to drink it; he realized that this wasn’t a warm act of fatherly love. This wasn’t a breakthrough moment in their relationship. Ali’s father was trying to kill him with rat poison. His father would rather kill his son than allow him to get the sex change that he yearns for.

But it is more complicated than a transsexual wanting a sex change. In Iran, this matter is complicated because homosexuality is punishable by death, and transgendered lifestyles are not an option. However, sex changes are not only permitted legally — they are also subsidized by the government. It is this strange path of religious, political, and social ruling that Eshaghian focuses on in Be Like Others. She does not argue the particulars of this strange rationale, but rather shows the life and world of those who live it — lives that reveal a flawed and chilling system for dealing with differing gender preferences and sexuality… [Full Story]

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We don't need a cabinet minister censoring movies - Times Colonist

Sunday, April 27th, 2008

Globe and Mail - I haven’t seen the film Young People F—-ing, but from what I’ve read, I suspect the most offensive thing is its name.

The Christian right, though, holds it up as an example of pornography funded by Canadian taxpayers. They say it’s proof the federal government must pass controversial Bill C-10, which has nothing to do with arts funding but is a tax bill before a Senate committee on banking.

Where better than a boring tax bill to bury a censorship clause on Canadian film and television? Subsection 120 has risen from beneath the radar, rightly causing a flap. It puts far too much discretion in the hands of the heritage minister to determine what films are “contrary to public policy” — a term not even yet defined. Those deemed offensive by the minister could lose eligibility for publicly funded support.

Amending the Income Tax Act to remove credits for salaries in the film industry will deliver a devastating blow to Canadian film and television. Meanwhile, foreign films made in Canada get to play by different rules. They’re exempt from the clause and will continue to be eligible for income-tax credits, regardless of content.

Just what our culture needs, a cabinet minister with the power to judge films by their title, even when the title is a marketing ploy designed to attract attention. Young People F—-ing is a comedy about relationships and the search for love and sex, not necessarily in that order.

The Toronto International Film Festival rated it one of the top 10 Canadian films for 2007. “Driven by smart, charming performances and a very sharp script … it’s painfully, hysterically accurate.” The panel describes it as “emerging Canadian cinema at its best.” Not if the proponents of the bill have their way… [Full Story]

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'Heaven,' an Ascendant Moment for German Director Fatih Akin - Washington Post

Sunday, April 27th, 2008

Washington Post - If you stay in this business long enough, eventually you get to discover someone.

That’s the feeling I had last year at the Toronto International Film Festival, watching “The Edge of Heaven,” by the German filmmaker Fatih Akin. When I say “discover,” I mean it only in the most personal sense: Akin, whose first American-released film came out in 2001, has been on the radar of countless critics and discerning viewers for years.

So I’m surely not alone when I recall watching “The Edge of Heaven” as a singularly triumphant experience, wherein a filmmaker I and several colleagues once called promising came into his own as a mature, fully realized artist.

“The Edge of Heaven” is a sprawling, multi-character tale that spans continents and addresses such of-the-moment issues as immigration, cultural tradition, identity and global politics. If that sounds familiar, it may be because “The Edge of Heaven” is the film that “Babel” wanted so desperately to be — rich, textured, urgent, profound.

Most important to Akin’s fans, “The Edge of Heaven,” which screens at Filmfest DC on May 2 and opens in Washington theaters on June 20, marks a watershed in the career of a young director who with every film seems to work at a progressively higher level of fluency and assurance. (”The Edge of Heaven” is Akin’s fifth fiction film, the third to be released in the United States.)… [Full Story]

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Hot Docs Awards Announced

Saturday, April 26th, 2008

Hot Docs - Hosted by the CBC’s Jian Ghomeshi, the Hot Docs Awards Presentation, held Friday, April 25, at the Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto, saw ten awards and $30,000 in cash and prizes presented.

The jury for international features, consisting of film critic Elvis Mitchell, journalist Johanna Schneller and Iikka Vehkalahti, Commissioning Editor, YLE TV 2 Documentaries, granted three awards to films in the competitive International Spectrum programme. The Best International Feature Documentary Award, sponsored by A&E, went to THE ENGLISH SURGEON (D: Geoffrey Smith; P: Geoffrey Smith, Rachel Wexler; UK), the story of renowned British brain surgeon Henry Marsh who offers desperately needed hope to those suffering from life-threatening tumors in the Ukraine. The jury said of the film: “Polished and shameless, in the best sense of combining two seemingly contradictory elements and shaping them into a satisfying and penetrating whole…as one juror noted, this film has everything.” The winner received a $5000 cash prize, courtesy of Hot Docs.

The Special Jury Prize for international feature documentary, sponsored by the OMDC, was awarded to TO SEE IF I’M SMILING (D&P: Tamar Yarom; Israel), which offers frank testimonials of female Israeli soldiers that illustrate how the trauma of war temporarily alters personalities, morals and values. The jury said of the film: “The Special Jury Prize is given to a film that makes all of us face the question: could this be me? Would I behave this way? The director and protagonists share memories of a different and painful existence in a way that touches and challenges us and is relevant everywhere in the world.”

The new HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award was presented to Boris Despodov for CORRIDOR #8 (P: Martichka Bozhilova; Bulgaria), an absurdly funny and fascinating portrait of a misguided infrastructure project in southeastern Europe. The jury said of the film: “For the Emerging Artist Award, our jury must have set a new record for consensus - it was pretty much immediate. We agreed right away. This film is gorgeous, hilarious, enlightening and irresistible.”

The jury for Canadian features, consisting of filmmaker Massoud Bakhshi, producer Michael Burns and IDFA programmer Rada Sesic, granted two awards to films in the competitive Canadian Spectrum programme. The Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award, sponsored by Documentary and the Documentary Organisation of Canada, was presented to JUNIOR (D: Isabelle Lavigne, Stéphane Thibault; P: Johanne Bergeron, Yves Bisaillon (NFB)), a behind-the-scenes look at the pressures facing junior hockey players. The jury said of the film: “With unanimous enthusiasm, the jury wants to cite an original view of small town Quebec life. Its cinéma vérité approach gives the audience a truly authentic drama that penetrates the lives of small town icons.” The winner received a $5000 cash prize, courtesy of Documentary.

The Special Jury Prize for Canadian feature documentary, sponsored by the NFB and the Directors Guild of Canada, was awarded to FLICKER (D: Nik Sheehan; P: Maureen Judge, Anita Lee (NFB)) the story of pop culture icon Brion Gysin, his hypnotic dream machine and his influence on his generation. The jury said of the film: “This cinematically refined portrait of the self-destructive artist, remembered by his friends and compatriots uses interesting visuals and creative sound design to bring us into the world of an almost forgotten mid-century innovator.” The winner received a $5000 FAP (Filmmaker Assistance Program) prize, courtesy of the NFB.

The Best Short Documentary Award (up to 29 min), sponsored by Playback, was awarded to THE APOLOGY LINE (D&P: James Lees; UK). The film, which documents a telephone service set up to offer the public the opportunity to make anonymous confessions, was commended by the jury for its formal innovation and poetic exploration of the paradox