Part of reviewing films for trades like The Hollywood Reporter is to provide a clear and concise plot summary for the reader. But this task may prove particularly difficult for Black Tea — the first feature in nearly ten years from Mauritanian auteur Abderrahmane Sissako, whose powerful 2014 drama Timbuktu won several César awards and was nominated for a foreign-language Oscar.
Ostensibly, the story follows Aya (the graceful Nina Mélo), an African bride who dumps her groom at the wedding and flees to China, where she works in a tea shop and winds up having an affair with her seductive boss, Cai (Chang Han). But is that what really happens?
The trailer, as well as the official synopsis, would lead you to think so. In reality, though, this completely enigmatic drama never offers up a succinct plotline, skipping from one character and story to another, jumping back and forth between countries and time periods,...
Ostensibly, the story follows Aya (the graceful Nina Mélo), an African bride who dumps her groom at the wedding and flees to China, where she works in a tea shop and winds up having an affair with her seductive boss, Cai (Chang Han). But is that what really happens?
The trailer, as well as the official synopsis, would lead you to think so. In reality, though, this completely enigmatic drama never offers up a succinct plotline, skipping from one character and story to another, jumping back and forth between countries and time periods,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As a critic, especially if you cover the festival circuit, befriending filmmakers is both a pleasant matter of course and a recurring cause for minor ethical quandaries. When they release a new film, do you avoid writing about it? And if not, will you be able to remain critical even if you dislike it, potentially severing a friendship?It’s therefore with some trepidation that I approached Railway Sleepers by Sompot Chidgasornpongse, whom I’d met in 2014 on the set of Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Cemetery of Splendour, where he was the 1st Assistant Director (since starting out as an intern on The Adventure of Iron Pussy, Sompot has worked on the majority of Apichatpong’s films). He first told me about his film on the ride back from the shoot one day, during a discussion about the Dardennes’ Two Days, One Night. He wanted to see the Dardennes’ film to...
- 2/14/2017
- MUBI
Abderrahmane Sissako has a knack for taking weighty issues and saturating them with the every-day lives of a city’s ordinary people and, in the process, making the stories play out like vibrant, visually luscious soap operas. In his first feature film, "Bamako," Sissako looked at European/Western colonialism, capitalist neo-imperialism and their effects on Africa. The West, as represented by the Imf and World Bank, goes on trial in the courtyard of a humble compound in Mali’s capital city. In "Timbuktu," Sissako moves the action about 620 miles north-east, to the ancient city of learning and trade, to look at another form of cultural and ideological invasion, this time...
- 8/29/2015
- by Wendy Okoi-Obuli
- ShadowAndAct
Academy invitee Eddie Redmayne in 'The Theory of Everything.' Academy invites 322 new members: 'More diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before' The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has offered membership to 322 individuals "who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures." According to the Academy's press release, "those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2015." In case all 322 potential new members say an enthusiastic Yes, that means an injection of new blood representing about 5 percent of the Academy's current membership. In the words of Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs (as quoted in the press release), in 2015 "our branches have recognized a more diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before, and we look forward to adding their creativity, ideas and experience to our organization." In recent years, the Academy membership has...
- 7/1/2015
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
©Renzo Piano Building Workshop/©Studio Pali Fekete architects/©A.M.P.A.S.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that the Los Angeles City Council, in a unanimous vote, approved plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Construction will begin this summer, and ceremonial groundbreaking festivities will occur this fall.
“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum’s development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”
“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that the Los Angeles City Council, in a unanimous vote, approved plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Construction will begin this summer, and ceremonial groundbreaking festivities will occur this fall.
“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum’s development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”
“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy...
- 6/27/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Strangely dropping a press release on a historic day where the nation's attention is elsewhere, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their annual list of new member invitees this morning. For those who criticize the makeup of the Academy there was some good news and the stark realization the organization still has a long way to go. The Academy has spent the last eight to 10 years attempting to diversify its membership and this year's class mostly reflects that. There are significantly more invitees of Asian and African-American descent, but the male to female disparity is still depressing. Out of the 25 potential new members of the Actor's Branch only seven are women. And, no, there isn't really an acceptable way for the Academy to spin that sad fact. Additionally, It's important to realize the 322 people noted in the release have only been invited to join Hollywood's most exclusive club.
- 6/26/2015
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
Oscar-nominated Abderrahmane Sissako named president of the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury.
Abderrahmane Sissako, who was in competition at last year’s Cannes Film Festival with Timbuktu, is to return for the 68th edition of the festival (May 13-24) as the president of the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury.
The African filmmaker follows directors including Abbas Kiarostami, Jane Campion, Michel Gondry, Hou Hsiao-hsien and Martin Scorsese.
Born in Mauritania but brought up in Mali and trained in filmmaking in the Soviet Union – at the Moscow Vgik – Sissako’s films explore the complex relations between North and South of Africa.
The Game, directed by Sissako during his final year at film school, was presented at Cannes Critics’ Week in 1991, followed two years later by the medium-length Octobre, at Un Certain Regard.
Life on Earth and Waiting for Happiness, both featured in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in 1998 and Un Certain Regard in 2002.
Bamako, a political...
Abderrahmane Sissako, who was in competition at last year’s Cannes Film Festival with Timbuktu, is to return for the 68th edition of the festival (May 13-24) as the president of the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury.
The African filmmaker follows directors including Abbas Kiarostami, Jane Campion, Michel Gondry, Hou Hsiao-hsien and Martin Scorsese.
Born in Mauritania but brought up in Mali and trained in filmmaking in the Soviet Union – at the Moscow Vgik – Sissako’s films explore the complex relations between North and South of Africa.
The Game, directed by Sissako during his final year at film school, was presented at Cannes Critics’ Week in 1991, followed two years later by the medium-length Octobre, at Un Certain Regard.
Life on Earth and Waiting for Happiness, both featured in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in 1998 and Un Certain Regard in 2002.
Bamako, a political...
- 2/17/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Cohen Media Group opens the film theatrically, starting this Wednesday, January 28, 2015. Check your local listings Abderrahmane Sissako has a knack for taking weighty issues and saturating them with the every-day lives of a city’s ordinary people and, in the process, making the stories play out like vibrant, visually luscious soap operas. In his first feature film, "Bamako," Sissako looked at European/Western colonialism, capitalist neo-imperialism and their effects on Africa. The West, as represented by the Imf and World Bank, goes on trial in the courtyard of a humble compound in Mali’s capital city. In "Timbuktu," Sissako moves the action about 620 miles north-east,...
- 1/26/2015
- by Wendy Okoi-Obuli
- ShadowAndAct
Danny Glover is one of America’s most beloved actors, but few know about his equally impressive accomplishments as a producer. He’s served as executive producer on multiple films to help see them through to completion, and with Joslyn Barnes he created his own company, Louverture Films, in order to give voice to underrepresented filmmakers. Their first project, Abderrahmane Sissako’s award-winning 2006 Bamako, was followed by an incredibly rich slate of films, including Tia Lessin and Carl Deal’s Trouble the Water, Eugene Jarecki’s The House I Live In, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Palme d’Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. They recently released […]...
- 1/5/2015
- by Ariston Anderson
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Danny Glover is one of America’s most beloved actors, but few know about his equally impressive accomplishments as a producer. He’s served as executive producer on multiple films to help see them through to completion, and with Joslyn Barnes he created his own company, Louverture Films, in order to give voice to underrepresented filmmakers. Their first project, Abderrahmane Sissako’s award-winning 2006 Bamako, was followed by an incredibly rich slate of films, including Tia Lessin and Carl Deal’s Trouble the Water, Eugene Jarecki’s The House I Live In, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Palme d’Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. They recently released […]...
- 1/5/2015
- by Ariston Anderson
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Here’s the final entry in my annual assessment of movies that have a chance to pass the first stage of the Foreign Language Oscar race. We expect the shortlist to come out tomorrow and I’m expecting a number of the films I’ve profiled below, and here and here, will make the grade. I spoke with the directors of the films about their inspirations and expectations and I also checked in with the U.S. distributors about why they bought the movies. Below is a look at the final five titles that have generated serious buzz over the past several weeks of screenings, Q&As and consulate lunches (and there are also a handful of special mentions). The films are in no particular order:
Wild Tales (Argentina), U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
A runaway success at home in Argentina, Wild Tales is director Damián Szifrón’s third feature.
Wild Tales (Argentina), U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
A runaway success at home in Argentina, Wild Tales is director Damián Szifrón’s third feature.
- 12/18/2014
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline
Abderrahmane Sissako has a knack for taking weighty issues and saturating them with the every-day lives of a city’s ordinary people and, in the process, making the stories play out like vibrant, visually luscious soap operas. In his first feature film, "Bamako," Sissako looked at European/Western colonialism, capitalist neo-imperialism and their effects on Africa. The West, as represented by the Imf and World Bank, goes on trial in the courtyard of a humble compound in Mali’s capital city. In "Timbuktu," Sissako moves the action about 620 miles north-east, to the ancient city of learning and trade, to look at another form of cultural and ideological invasion, this time...
- 11/18/2014
- by Wendy Okoi-Obuli
- ShadowAndAct
Abderrahmane Sissako has a knack for taking weighty issues and saturating them with the every-day lives of a city’s ordinary people and, in the process, making the stories play out like vibrant, visually luscious soap operas. In his first feature film, "Bamako," Sissako looked at European/Western colonialism, capitalist neo-imperialism and their effects on Africa. The West, as represented by the Imf and World Bank, goes on trial in the courtyard of a humble compound in Mali’s capital city. In "Timbuktu," Sissako moves the action about 620 miles north-east, to the ancient city of learning and trade, to look at another form of cultural and ideological invasion, this time...
- 11/12/2014
- by Wendy Okoi-Obuli
- ShadowAndAct
Abderrahmane Sissako has a knack for taking weighty issues and saturating them with the every-day lives of a city’s ordinary people and, in the process, making the stories play out like vibrant, visually luscious soap operas. In his first feature film, "Bamako," Sissako looked at European/Western colonialism, capitalist neo-imperialism and their effects on Africa. The West, as represented by the Imf and World Bank, goes on trial in the courtyard of a humble compound in Mali’s capital city. In "Timbuktu," Sissako moves the action about 620 miles north-east, to the ancient city of learning and trade, to look at another form of cultural and ideological invasion, this time...
- 10/10/2014
- by Wendy Okoi-Obuli
- ShadowAndAct
Timbuktu, Abderrahmane Sissako's "first feature since 2007’s Bamako is a fleet, forceful response to the brief but traumatic few months in 2013 when foreign jihadists seized control of the northern Malian city and imposed Sharia law," writes Tom Charity in Cinema Scope. At the Av Club, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky notes that Sissako's "central point—that the militants are unreasonable, capricious, and cruel—is hardly new, but it’s bolstered by the fact that he frames his argument using a community of religious Muslims." At Filmmaker, Howard Feinstein adds that Sissako is "well served by Dp Sofiane El Fani, who captures the desert’s peculiar emptiness all the way through with brilliant use of widescreen." » - David Hudson...
- 10/1/2014
- Keyframe
Timbuktu, Abderrahmane Sissako's "first feature since 2007’s Bamako is a fleet, forceful response to the brief but traumatic few months in 2013 when foreign jihadists seized control of the northern Malian city and imposed Sharia law," writes Tom Charity in Cinema Scope. At the Av Club, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky notes that Sissako's "central point—that the militants are unreasonable, capricious, and cruel—is hardly new, but it’s bolstered by the fact that he frames his argument using a community of religious Muslims." At Filmmaker, Howard Feinstein adds that Sissako is "well served by Dp Sofiane El Fani, who captures the desert’s peculiar emptiness all the way through with brilliant use of widescreen." » - David Hudson...
- 10/1/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
Fury (David Ayer)
[via the BFI]
The programme for the 58th BFI London Film Festival launched today, with Festival Director Clare Stewart presenting this year’s rich and diverse selection of films and events. The lineup includes highly anticipated fall titles including David Ayer’s Fury, Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher, the Sundance smash Whiplash, Jean-Luc Godard’s Goodbye to Language 3D, The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, Jason Reitman’s Men, Women and Children and Jean-Marc Vallee’s Wild.
As Britain’s leading film event and one of the world’s oldest film festivals, it introduces the finest new British and international films to an expanding London and UK-wide audience, offering a compelling combination of red carpet glamour, engaged audiences and vibrant exchange. The Festival provides an essential profiling opportunity for films seeking global success at the start of the Awards season, promotes the careers of British and...
[via the BFI]
The programme for the 58th BFI London Film Festival launched today, with Festival Director Clare Stewart presenting this year’s rich and diverse selection of films and events. The lineup includes highly anticipated fall titles including David Ayer’s Fury, Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher, the Sundance smash Whiplash, Jean-Luc Godard’s Goodbye to Language 3D, The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, Jason Reitman’s Men, Women and Children and Jean-Marc Vallee’s Wild.
As Britain’s leading film event and one of the world’s oldest film festivals, it introduces the finest new British and international films to an expanding London and UK-wide audience, offering a compelling combination of red carpet glamour, engaged audiences and vibrant exchange. The Festival provides an essential profiling opportunity for films seeking global success at the start of the Awards season, promotes the careers of British and...
- 9/3/2014
- by John
- SoundOnSight
If one can expect anything from Michel Gondry, it is that along with the whimsy and touch of the bizarre inherent in his work is an element of truth. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind uses erasure imagery to illustrate the pain of heartbreak. Be Kind Rewind has friendly video store employees creating their own versions of Hollywood hits for their neighborhood. Gondry's latest film, love story Mood Indigo, however, is utterly drowning in whimsy and lacking any figment of truth.
Debonair and bearded Romain Duris (Populaire, The Beat That My Heart Skipped) stars as Colin, living off family money in a spacious Paris apartment. Audrey Tautou (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement) plays cute Chloe, whom Colin meets at a party. The plot goes something like this: guy meets girl, guy and girl fall in love and marry, flower grows in girl's lung.
There's also a B-plot, involving a friend (Gad Elmaleh,...
Debonair and bearded Romain Duris (Populaire, The Beat That My Heart Skipped) stars as Colin, living off family money in a spacious Paris apartment. Audrey Tautou (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement) plays cute Chloe, whom Colin meets at a party. The plot goes something like this: guy meets girl, guy and girl fall in love and marry, flower grows in girl's lung.
There's also a B-plot, involving a friend (Gad Elmaleh,...
- 8/16/2014
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
Exclusive: Film inspired by real-life stoning of young Mali couple draws buyers.
Paris-based Le Pacte has secured a slew of deals on Abderrahmane Sissako’s competition title Timbuktu capturing the reign of terror of Islamic fundamentalists in Northern Mali.
The company has sold the film to Benelux (Cineart), Switzerland (Trigon), Italy (Academy Two), Spain (Golem), Portugal (Midas), Greece (Weird Wave), Canada (Axia), Sweden (Folkets Bio), Norway (As Fidalgo), Brazil (Imovision) and ex-Yugoslavia (McF).
Le Pacte will distribute the film in France.
“Le Pacte is really proud to work with all these distributors who fell in love as we did with Timbuktu,” said sales company chief Camille Neel.
Set against the backdrop of a small town just outside of Timbuktu, the film is inspired the real-life stoning to death of a couple accused of having children out of marriage in 2012.
It is co-produced by Les Films du Worso and Orange Studio.
Sissako was last...
Paris-based Le Pacte has secured a slew of deals on Abderrahmane Sissako’s competition title Timbuktu capturing the reign of terror of Islamic fundamentalists in Northern Mali.
The company has sold the film to Benelux (Cineart), Switzerland (Trigon), Italy (Academy Two), Spain (Golem), Portugal (Midas), Greece (Weird Wave), Canada (Axia), Sweden (Folkets Bio), Norway (As Fidalgo), Brazil (Imovision) and ex-Yugoslavia (McF).
Le Pacte will distribute the film in France.
“Le Pacte is really proud to work with all these distributors who fell in love as we did with Timbuktu,” said sales company chief Camille Neel.
Set against the backdrop of a small town just outside of Timbuktu, the film is inspired the real-life stoning to death of a couple accused of having children out of marriage in 2012.
It is co-produced by Les Films du Worso and Orange Studio.
Sissako was last...
- 5/20/2014
- ScreenDaily
According to our Cannes Critics’ Panel, it may not top Topsy Turvy, but Mike Leigh’s 2 plus hour portrait starring Timothy Stall paints a strong portrait of a tortured artist with his fifth trip to the festival and our set of critics responded favorably. Prior to Mr.Turner, his previous entries include, Naked (award for Best Director in ’93), Secrets and Lies (Palme d’Or in ’96), 2002′s All or Nothing and 2010′s Another Year.
Having premiered yesterday and receiving its official red carpet screening today, Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu is arresting for its combination of humor and deep sorrow. The still very fresh true events, saw the Maurinania born filmmaker broke down during the press conference. While this was his first trip in the Main Comp, the filmmaker has also been to Cannes on four separate visits dating back to Octobre (Un Certain Regard – 1993), La Vie Sur Terre (1998), Heremakono (Un Certain...
Having premiered yesterday and receiving its official red carpet screening today, Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu is arresting for its combination of humor and deep sorrow. The still very fresh true events, saw the Maurinania born filmmaker broke down during the press conference. While this was his first trip in the Main Comp, the filmmaker has also been to Cannes on four separate visits dating back to Octobre (Un Certain Regard – 1993), La Vie Sur Terre (1998), Heremakono (Un Certain...
- 5/16/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Cannes - It is the very nature of film festival scheduling to turn up odd juxtapositions, but even by the usual standards, the first two premieres of this year's Cannes Film Festival couldn't have been more gauchely incompatible. As if "Grace of Monaco's" fretting over the political liberties of a gilded tax-haven state weren't silly enough in isolation, its vapidity only intensifies when considered back-to-back with Abderrahmane Sissako's "Timbuktu" -- a breathing, bleeding response to a genuine human rights crisis that doesn't view tragedy as a zone exempt from beauty or humor. You'd probably have guessed that between the two films, "Timbuktu" would be the one containing more human suffering; less obvious was that it'd feature rather more joy too. Mauritanian-born, Mali-raised director Sissako is perhaps best known to arthouse audiences for "Bamako," an impassioned essay film of sorts that parsed Africa's social and economic imbalances with elegant complexity,...
- 5/15/2014
- by Guy Lodge
- Hitfix
Welcome back to Cannes Check, In Contention's annual preview of the films in Competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off on May 14. Taking on different selections every day, we'll be examining what they're about, who's involved and what their chances are of snagging an award from Jane Campion's jury. Next up, the Competition's only African entry: Abderrahmane Sissako's "Timbuktu." The director: Abderrahmane Sissako (Mauritanian/French, 52 years old). Another of this year's five newcomers, Sissako has established himself as one of Africa's premier auteurs, though he's been based in France since the early 1990s -- a background that complements his favored themes of globalization and outsider identity. Born in Mauritania, he moved with his family at an early age to Mali, where he completed his schooling, before studying film at Russia's Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow -- an institution that also boasts Aleksandr Sokurov and Andrei Tarkovsky among its alumni.
- 5/12/2014
- by Guy Lodge
- Hitfix
With only hours ago before the official selection for the Main Competition is announced, we’ve narrowed our final predictions to the following titles that we’re crystal-balling as the films that will be included on Thierry Fremaux’s highly anticipated list. Despite an obvious drought of Asian auteurs (we’re thinking the rumored frontrunner Takashi Miike won’t be included in tomorrow’s list) who’s to say there won’t be some definite surprises, like Jia Zhang-ke’s A Touch of Sin last year.
Several hopefuls appear not to be ready in time, including Malick, Hsou-hsien, Cristi Puiu, and Innarritu, to name a few. But there does appear to be a high quantity of exciting titles from some of cinema’s leading auteurs. We’re still a bit tentative about whether Xavier Dolan’s latest, Mommy, will get a main competition slot—instead, we’re predicting another surprise,...
Several hopefuls appear not to be ready in time, including Malick, Hsou-hsien, Cristi Puiu, and Innarritu, to name a few. But there does appear to be a high quantity of exciting titles from some of cinema’s leading auteurs. We’re still a bit tentative about whether Xavier Dolan’s latest, Mommy, will get a main competition slot—instead, we’re predicting another surprise,...
- 4/17/2014
- by IONCINEMA.com Contributing Writers
- IONCINEMA.com
W hite Sun is one of the twenty-three films selected for the co- production market of Film Bazaar 2013.
Deepak Rauniyar
Project description. Language.
White Sun is a dark comedy about life in a Nepali village in the wake of the decade-long conflict that ended in 2006. Little Pooja lives with her mother Durga and grandfather Chitra in a remote mountain village. She has never met her father, Agni, who joined the Maoist guerrillas and left their village years ago to fight the government. The devastating war is over, and Agni’s rebel Maoist party now heads the government.
Agni returns to the village for the first time in 10 years for Chitra’s funeral. Pooja watches her father and mother readjust to each other’s presence and her father fight with the family’s closest friend, Suraj – who fought on the government side during the war. When Suraj leaves, Agni cannot find...
Deepak Rauniyar
Project description. Language.
White Sun is a dark comedy about life in a Nepali village in the wake of the decade-long conflict that ended in 2006. Little Pooja lives with her mother Durga and grandfather Chitra in a remote mountain village. She has never met her father, Agni, who joined the Maoist guerrillas and left their village years ago to fight the government. The devastating war is over, and Agni’s rebel Maoist party now heads the government.
Agni returns to the village for the first time in 10 years for Chitra’s funeral. Pooja watches her father and mother readjust to each other’s presence and her father fight with the family’s closest friend, Suraj – who fought on the government side during the war. When Suraj leaves, Agni cannot find...
- 11/19/2013
- by Editorial Team
- DearCinema.com
Craig here with Take Three. Today: Danny Glover
Over the last decade Glover hasn’t seen the prolonged exposure that he once enjoyed, yet mostly still deserves. But he’s been doing good work in a vast array of projects, both mainstream and arthouse none the less. In a quintet of artful independents The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Manderlay (2005), Bamako (2006), Honeydripper (2007) and Blindness (2008) he gave strong, varied turns. Barnyard, The Shaggy Dog (both 2006) and Alpha and Omega added family fare to his résumé. A couple of pay-the-rent Saws (first and fifth) and a thankless turn in Death at a Funeral (2010) didn’t harm his career. A couple of presidential engagements, Battle for Terra (2006) and 2012 (2009), kept him afloat. And finally some bona fide solid gold support in Dreamgirls (2006) and Shooter (2007) reminded multiplex audiences just how good he is.
Take One: Be Kind Rewind (2008)
But the most recent role in which he’s perhaps...
Over the last decade Glover hasn’t seen the prolonged exposure that he once enjoyed, yet mostly still deserves. But he’s been doing good work in a vast array of projects, both mainstream and arthouse none the less. In a quintet of artful independents The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Manderlay (2005), Bamako (2006), Honeydripper (2007) and Blindness (2008) he gave strong, varied turns. Barnyard, The Shaggy Dog (both 2006) and Alpha and Omega added family fare to his résumé. A couple of pay-the-rent Saws (first and fifth) and a thankless turn in Death at a Funeral (2010) didn’t harm his career. A couple of presidential engagements, Battle for Terra (2006) and 2012 (2009), kept him afloat. And finally some bona fide solid gold support in Dreamgirls (2006) and Shooter (2007) reminded multiplex audiences just how good he is.
Take One: Be Kind Rewind (2008)
But the most recent role in which he’s perhaps...
- 5/23/2011
- by Craig Bloomfield
- FilmExperience
Tambay posted a couple days ago on the upcoming documentary When China Met Africa (review coming soon) and I started to think about films that show some sort of connection between Africa and China; Let the cinephile game begin!
I remembered seeing this film last year called Waiting for Happiness by Abderrahmane Sissako.
Sissako has been mentioned on this site, specifically about his 2006 treasure Bamako. Waiting for Happiness, which was in the Un Certain Regard section for the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, is about Abdallah, a young man traveling through his coastal village in the West African country of Mauritania, while on his way to Europe. He has a hard time readjusting in his village, because he does not speak his native dialect, and he wears “Western” clothes.
Throughout the film, we meet characters in the village, including a Chinese man selling watches, and wants to woo one of the local...
I remembered seeing this film last year called Waiting for Happiness by Abderrahmane Sissako.
Sissako has been mentioned on this site, specifically about his 2006 treasure Bamako. Waiting for Happiness, which was in the Un Certain Regard section for the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, is about Abdallah, a young man traveling through his coastal village in the West African country of Mauritania, while on his way to Europe. He has a hard time readjusting in his village, because he does not speak his native dialect, and he wears “Western” clothes.
Throughout the film, we meet characters in the village, including a Chinese man selling watches, and wants to woo one of the local...
- 4/4/2011
- by Alece Oxendine
- ShadowAndAct
35-year old Senegalese-born Aïssa Maïga made Vanity Fair’s list of The Top 10 Most Stunning French Actresses.
Most will probably recognize her from the 2007 Malian film Bamako, a film for which she won the Most Promising Actress award at the 2007 César Awards – essentially the French equivalent of the Oscars.
The first thing I thought of when I saw the Vanity Fair piece was whether the magazine’s editors were at all influenced by the indignation that accompanied their last “actresses” list – specifically, their March 2010 Hollywood issue, which featured a list of the new/next generation of young Hollywood starlets; a list that was made up entirely of young, rather frail-looking, white actresses. I wonder if they worked a little harder to this time, and searched beyond their purview to find an actress of color Aïssa is the only one by the way; the rest of the actresses listed are white…...
Most will probably recognize her from the 2007 Malian film Bamako, a film for which she won the Most Promising Actress award at the 2007 César Awards – essentially the French equivalent of the Oscars.
The first thing I thought of when I saw the Vanity Fair piece was whether the magazine’s editors were at all influenced by the indignation that accompanied their last “actresses” list – specifically, their March 2010 Hollywood issue, which featured a list of the new/next generation of young Hollywood starlets; a list that was made up entirely of young, rather frail-looking, white actresses. I wonder if they worked a little harder to this time, and searched beyond their purview to find an actress of color Aïssa is the only one by the way; the rest of the actresses listed are white…...
- 6/4/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
By Michael Atkinson
Malian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako may have made the one African film everybody needs to see . at least for its disarming fugue of frank political awareness and state-of-the-quotidian African life. In most other ways, though, "Bamako" (2006) is a challenge to orthodoxy, because it's not driven by its narrative, and hardly even provides an establishing context for itself. Before we know it, we're in a sun-dappled Mali courtyard (Sissako's family home, as it turns out), in which a kind of tribunal is going on, complete with black-robed jurists, waiting witnesses, anxious journalists and stacks of documentation. This is, we slowly realize, a fantasy trial in which the African people have taken civil proceedings against the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and American-led global capitalism in general, for the crime of exploiting and loan-sharking the continent and its peoples. The testimony is not from actors, but from real African citizens,...
Malian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako may have made the one African film everybody needs to see . at least for its disarming fugue of frank political awareness and state-of-the-quotidian African life. In most other ways, though, "Bamako" (2006) is a challenge to orthodoxy, because it's not driven by its narrative, and hardly even provides an establishing context for itself. Before we know it, we're in a sun-dappled Mali courtyard (Sissako's family home, as it turns out), in which a kind of tribunal is going on, complete with black-robed jurists, waiting witnesses, anxious journalists and stacks of documentation. This is, we slowly realize, a fantasy trial in which the African people have taken civil proceedings against the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and American-led global capitalism in general, for the crime of exploiting and loan-sharking the continent and its peoples. The testimony is not from actors, but from real African citizens,...
- 5/6/2008
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
ROME -- Two years after her Oscar nomination for "Don't Tell," Cristina Comencini has opted for humor rather than melodrama in examining modern problems in her native Italy. Black and White, her ninth film (and first since the death of her father, Luigi, a beacon of Italian cinema), is a social comedy being referred to as a kind of contemporary, Italian "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" Italy is only now dealing with racial issues that have been present for decades in many other European countries (most notably, France and Great Britain) and beyond.
The film should strike a chord with self-declared progressives and liberals of all cultures, who should recognize that we have far to go in dismantling deeply rooted bigotry.
All married couple Elena (Ambra Angiolini) and Carlo (actor/writer/television personality Fabio Volo) have in common is the color of their skin (white) and their 6-year-old daughter. Elena comes from a wealthy family and is dedicated to her job at an African aid organization. Carlo comes from a more modest background and is a computer engineer sick and tired of campaigns against world hunger.
Then Carlo meets Nadine (Aissa Maiga of Bamako), the dissatisfied wife of one of Elena's colleagues (Eriq Ebouaney of Hitman). Their love at first sight wreaks havoc upon their marriages and, more importantly, brings to light a series of prejudices and cliches from the betrayed spouses. (Maiga and Ebouaney are originally from Senegal and Cameroon, respectively, and are respected actors in their adopted country, France.)
Defying political correctness, the film written by Comencini, Giulia Calenda and Maddalena Ravagli chooses not to focus on Italy's poorest (and most numerous) immigrants but on the underlying racism in wealthier, more progressive circles. Here the deepest cut comes not so much from betrayal but the color of one's rival -- in other words, not adultery but sexuality shared with the "other."
However, the writers don't seem to know where their characters' destinies are ultimately headed: Will tradition and cultural pressure win over desire? Thus, they have created a double ending that apparently was rewritten and re-shot several times. Although somewhat confused, the second ending drives home the point that disrupted lives can't be remade as easily as a hotel bed after a night of passion (a scene that serves as a spot-on metaphor in a film that otherwise relies too heavily on dialogue).
Rising screen star Angiolini (the singer-turned-actress of Saturno Contro) is given the most complex role in Elena, who, according to Nadine, feels a burden of guilt. Nadine presumes correctly: Elena grew up in a household with a black maid forced to wear a white apron. Yet Elena's legacy is that of an upper-class family to whom, as in the case of her womanizing father (Franco Branciaroli), loving Africa means collecting trophies, such as objects from endless safaris and in one instance a black lover.
The entire cast is strong and tight and the Italian spoken by French actors Maiga and Ebouaney is impressive indeed, yet it is Anna Bonaiuto who stands out for her temperament and comic timing. The veteran screen and stage star plays Elena's mother, Adua, herself a betrayed wife and a woman full of stereotypes. "They really do have rhythm in their blood," she says while watching Nadine's daughter dance.
And it would be nice to think that her name was no coincidence: the Battle of Adua in the 19th century was the harshest colonial defeat in Italian history.
BLACK AND WHITE
Cattleya, RAI Cinema
Credits:
Director: Cristina Comencini
Screenwriters: Cristina Comencini, Giulia Calenda, Maddalena Ravagli
Producers: Riccardo Tozzi, Giovanni Stabilini, Marco Chimenz
Director of photography: Fabio Cianchetti
Production designer: Paola Comencini
Costume designer: Antonella Berardi
Editor: Cecilia Zanuso
Cast:
Carlo: Fabio Volo
Elena: Ambra Angiolini
Nadine: Aissa Maiga
Bertrand: Eriq Ebouaney
Adua: Anna Bonaiuto
Alfonso: Franco Branciaroli
Olga: Katia Ricciarelli
Esmeralda: Teresa Saponangelo
Running time -- 102 minutes
No MPAA rating...
The film should strike a chord with self-declared progressives and liberals of all cultures, who should recognize that we have far to go in dismantling deeply rooted bigotry.
All married couple Elena (Ambra Angiolini) and Carlo (actor/writer/television personality Fabio Volo) have in common is the color of their skin (white) and their 6-year-old daughter. Elena comes from a wealthy family and is dedicated to her job at an African aid organization. Carlo comes from a more modest background and is a computer engineer sick and tired of campaigns against world hunger.
Then Carlo meets Nadine (Aissa Maiga of Bamako), the dissatisfied wife of one of Elena's colleagues (Eriq Ebouaney of Hitman). Their love at first sight wreaks havoc upon their marriages and, more importantly, brings to light a series of prejudices and cliches from the betrayed spouses. (Maiga and Ebouaney are originally from Senegal and Cameroon, respectively, and are respected actors in their adopted country, France.)
Defying political correctness, the film written by Comencini, Giulia Calenda and Maddalena Ravagli chooses not to focus on Italy's poorest (and most numerous) immigrants but on the underlying racism in wealthier, more progressive circles. Here the deepest cut comes not so much from betrayal but the color of one's rival -- in other words, not adultery but sexuality shared with the "other."
However, the writers don't seem to know where their characters' destinies are ultimately headed: Will tradition and cultural pressure win over desire? Thus, they have created a double ending that apparently was rewritten and re-shot several times. Although somewhat confused, the second ending drives home the point that disrupted lives can't be remade as easily as a hotel bed after a night of passion (a scene that serves as a spot-on metaphor in a film that otherwise relies too heavily on dialogue).
Rising screen star Angiolini (the singer-turned-actress of Saturno Contro) is given the most complex role in Elena, who, according to Nadine, feels a burden of guilt. Nadine presumes correctly: Elena grew up in a household with a black maid forced to wear a white apron. Yet Elena's legacy is that of an upper-class family to whom, as in the case of her womanizing father (Franco Branciaroli), loving Africa means collecting trophies, such as objects from endless safaris and in one instance a black lover.
The entire cast is strong and tight and the Italian spoken by French actors Maiga and Ebouaney is impressive indeed, yet it is Anna Bonaiuto who stands out for her temperament and comic timing. The veteran screen and stage star plays Elena's mother, Adua, herself a betrayed wife and a woman full of stereotypes. "They really do have rhythm in their blood," she says while watching Nadine's daughter dance.
And it would be nice to think that her name was no coincidence: the Battle of Adua in the 19th century was the harshest colonial defeat in Italian history.
BLACK AND WHITE
Cattleya, RAI Cinema
Credits:
Director: Cristina Comencini
Screenwriters: Cristina Comencini, Giulia Calenda, Maddalena Ravagli
Producers: Riccardo Tozzi, Giovanni Stabilini, Marco Chimenz
Director of photography: Fabio Cianchetti
Production designer: Paola Comencini
Costume designer: Antonella Berardi
Editor: Cecilia Zanuso
Cast:
Carlo: Fabio Volo
Elena: Ambra Angiolini
Nadine: Aissa Maiga
Bertrand: Eriq Ebouaney
Adua: Anna Bonaiuto
Alfonso: Franco Branciaroli
Olga: Katia Ricciarelli
Esmeralda: Teresa Saponangelo
Running time -- 102 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/16/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Industry veteran Rebeca Conget has been named vp theatrical distribution of the new created division at distribution company Film Movement.
In her new post, Conget will be responsible for expanding and running the division. She will report to company president Adley Gartenstein.
"We are so pleased that Rebeca has decided to join our team," said Film Movement CEO Stuart Litman. "Her experience will be invaluable to Film Movement during this period of intense growth."
Conget was previously vp of theatrical distribution for New Yorker Films where she was responsible for the national campaigns of Trembling Before God, To Be and to Have, My Architect, Bamako and other titles. Conget also served as a consultant for Cinema Tropical, a non-profit organization that supports Latin American cinema in the U.S.
In her new post, Conget will be responsible for expanding and running the division. She will report to company president Adley Gartenstein.
"We are so pleased that Rebeca has decided to join our team," said Film Movement CEO Stuart Litman. "Her experience will be invaluable to Film Movement during this period of intense growth."
Conget was previously vp of theatrical distribution for New Yorker Films where she was responsible for the national campaigns of Trembling Before God, To Be and to Have, My Architect, Bamako and other titles. Conget also served as a consultant for Cinema Tropical, a non-profit organization that supports Latin American cinema in the U.S.
- 5/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARIS --Gallic product is off to a quick start in 2007, with French films doing strong numbers in foreign territories, according to state-run film promotion organization Unifrance.
Luc Besson's Arthur and the Minimoys spearheaded the country's exports for the first two months of this year, with $14 million in U.S. boxoffice receipts, 7 million ($9.2 million) in the U.K., 3.7 million ($4.8 million) in Spain, 3 million ($3.9 million) in Germany and 1.6 million ($2.1 million) in Italy.
Michel Gondry's offbeat The Science of Sleep took in 600,000 ($786,926) in Italy, 32,000 ($41,969) in the U.K. and 20,000 ($26,230) in Spain.
Denis Dercourt's The Page Turner drew a surprisingly large audience in the U.K. with 250,000 ($327,886) and also proved to be a crowd-pleaser in Italy with 180,000 ($236,077) and Denmark with 50,000 ($65,577).
U.S. audiences enjoyed a trip to Daniele Thompson's Avenue Montaigne, which took in $70,000 during its first two weeks of release on just two screens. Rachid Bouchareb's World War II drama Days of Glory, fresh off its Oscar nomination, already has amassed more than $100,000 in ticket sales and Abderrahmane Sissako's smaller-budgeted African drama Bamako also drew a nicely-sized Anglophone art house crowd with $30,000 in the U.S.
Luc Besson's Arthur and the Minimoys spearheaded the country's exports for the first two months of this year, with $14 million in U.S. boxoffice receipts, 7 million ($9.2 million) in the U.K., 3.7 million ($4.8 million) in Spain, 3 million ($3.9 million) in Germany and 1.6 million ($2.1 million) in Italy.
Michel Gondry's offbeat The Science of Sleep took in 600,000 ($786,926) in Italy, 32,000 ($41,969) in the U.K. and 20,000 ($26,230) in Spain.
Denis Dercourt's The Page Turner drew a surprisingly large audience in the U.K. with 250,000 ($327,886) and also proved to be a crowd-pleaser in Italy with 180,000 ($236,077) and Denmark with 50,000 ($65,577).
U.S. audiences enjoyed a trip to Daniele Thompson's Avenue Montaigne, which took in $70,000 during its first two weeks of release on just two screens. Rachid Bouchareb's World War II drama Days of Glory, fresh off its Oscar nomination, already has amassed more than $100,000 in ticket sales and Abderrahmane Sissako's smaller-budgeted African drama Bamako also drew a nicely-sized Anglophone art house crowd with $30,000 in the U.S.
- 3/13/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Quick Links > Bamako > New Yorker Films A quick weekend announcement before showcasing the film at the 44th annual New York Film Festival, New Yorker Films announced they picked up the dramedy. Featured at the Cannes film fest and the Toronto International Film Festival, Bamako this revolves around a couple in the process of breaking up and several people who testify in a court located outside their home in the city of Bamako, the capital of the West African country of Mali. Melé is a bar singer, her husband Chaka is out of work and the couple is on the verge of breaking up… In the courtyard of the house they share with other families, a trial court has been set up. African civil society spokesmen have taken proceeding against the World Bank and the Imf whom they blame for Africa’s woes… Amidst the pleas and the testimonies, life goes on in the courtyard.
- 10/2/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
NEW YORK -- New Yorker Films has acquired all U.S. rights to writer-director Abderrahmane Sissako's political comedy-drama Bamako, featuring co-star and executive producer Danny Glover. The film screens Monday at the 44th annual New York Film Festival. A panel discussion will be held on Tuesday that features Sissako, Harry Belafonte, economist Jeffrey David Sachs, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Mahmood Mamdani, president of the Council for Development of Social Research in Africa. The feature, which also was selected for May's Festival de Cannes and last month's Toronto International Film Festival, revolves around a couple in the process of breaking up and several people who testify in a court located outside their home in the city of Bamako, the capital of the West African country of Mali.
- 9/29/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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