Baron Willem van Dedem’s bequest called ‘Christmas gift to the nation’, with four works on public display from Wednesday
Four old master paintings left to the National Gallery by a Dutch aristocrat who died in 2015 will this week go on public display.
The gallery described Baron Willem van Dedem’s bequest as a “Christmas present to the nation”. Not only are they beautiful works of art, but they fill gaps in the collection.
Continue reading...
Four old master paintings left to the National Gallery by a Dutch aristocrat who died in 2015 will this week go on public display.
The gallery described Baron Willem van Dedem’s bequest as a “Christmas present to the nation”. Not only are they beautiful works of art, but they fill gaps in the collection.
Continue reading...
- 12/12/2017
- by Mark Brown Arts correspondent
- The Guardian - Film News
The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, also known as the “Main Branch” of the New York Public Library, is located at 42nd Street and 5th Avenue, next to Bryant Park. Almost 150 years ago that was the setting of the Murray Hill Reservoir, which supplied drinking water for most of the city through the end of the 19th century. It’s perhaps no coincide that the Nypl’s headquarters are located there, since they have taken on the duty of supplying the city with knowledge and culture, elements which are as essential to New Yorkers as water. The iconic building is at the center of Frederick Wiseman’s Ex Libris, an enthralling documentary that chronicles the work the Nypl continues to do since its inception in 1911.
Wiseman’s enlightening, often quite moving film, explores the Nypl’s reach beyond 42nd Street, through its almost 90 branches, which provide courses, talks and, of course,...
Wiseman’s enlightening, often quite moving film, explores the Nypl’s reach beyond 42nd Street, through its almost 90 branches, which provide courses, talks and, of course,...
- 9/19/2017
- by Jose Solís
- The Film Stage
You probably haven’t been thinking about libraries a lot recently, what with all the politics and genocide and hurricanes. But then, you may not have been thinking about the University of California, Berkeley, or London’s National Gallery or the northwestern Queens neighborhood of Jackson Heights much either, unless you’re one of the small but growing number of devoted fans of documentarian Frederick Wiseman. His run of late-period docu-epics “At Berkeley,” “National Gallery” and “In Jackson Heights” continued in Venice last week with the premiere of his latest, “Ex Libris: New York Public Library,” which is already out in limited release.
Continue reading Frederick Wiseman’s Intensely Rewarding, Humane ‘Ex Libris: New York Public Library’ [Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading Frederick Wiseman’s Intensely Rewarding, Humane ‘Ex Libris: New York Public Library’ [Review] at The Playlist.
- 9/15/2017
- by Jessica Kiang
- The Playlist
Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Claire Simon's The Graduation (1936) is playing September 11 - October 11, 2017 in the United Kingdom and most countries around the world as part of We Don't Need No Education: A Back-to-School Series.The apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough.— Ezra Pound, “In a Station of the Metro” “I hope it’s not just the quantity that counts. I said what I have to say.”— Applicant exiting exam hall, The GraduationFilm school: who needs it? In The Graduation (2016), Claire Simon’s account of the protracted admissions process at France’s most prestigious film school, La Fémis, the question is implicit—and the myriad answers are potentially troubling. Writing about the film in the New Yorker earlier this year, Richard Brody remarked: “Seeing, in Simon’s documentary, the directing candidates forced to analyze a scene,...
- 9/12/2017
- MUBI
Beating our new films from Steven Spielberg, Alexander Payne, Guillermo del Toro, Rian Johnson, Denis Villeneuve, and more on our fall movie preview, clocking in at our number two most-anticipated of the season is the newest documentary from the legendary Frederick Wiseman. After exploring Queens’ Jackson Heights, London’s National Gallery, and California’s University of Berkeley, he sets his sights on the New York Public Library.
Aptly titled Ex Libris – The New York Public Library, the first trailer has now arrived via Indiewire ahead of a premiere at the Venice Film Festival and a theatrical release in mid-September. Clocking in at 200 minutes, it’ll screen at NYC’s Film Forum as part of their series The Complete Wiseman Part II, a retrospective of the filmmaker’s work from 1986-1996. Check out the trailer below and return for our review.
The legendary filmmaker brings his incisive vision behind the scenes...
Aptly titled Ex Libris – The New York Public Library, the first trailer has now arrived via Indiewire ahead of a premiere at the Venice Film Festival and a theatrical release in mid-September. Clocking in at 200 minutes, it’ll screen at NYC’s Film Forum as part of their series The Complete Wiseman Part II, a retrospective of the filmmaker’s work from 1986-1996. Check out the trailer below and return for our review.
The legendary filmmaker brings his incisive vision behind the scenes...
- 8/29/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The premiere of Loving Vincent, the fully painted animated feature starring Douglas Booth, Saoirse Ronan and directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, will be broadcast live from the National Gallery on Monday, October 9, to audiences in cinemas across the U.K. A Q&A with special guests will following the premiere. Tickets will go on sale from Wednesday August 23. The broadcast was announced by the 61st BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express…...
- 8/23/2017
- Deadline
Kayti Burt Jul 17, 2017
Jodie Whittaker will take over the role of the Doctor in the Christimas special. Here are five roles to watch while you wait.
You've no doubt heard the news. Jodie Whittaker will be playing the 13th Doctor in Season 11 of Doctor Who.
See related Baby Driver review Baby Driver 2 is tempting, admits Edgar Wright
If you're unfamiliar with her work, we recommend these five roles as a good place to start...
Video of Attack the Block - Exclusive Extended Clip! (HD) Attack the Block
If you've never seen Attack the Block, stop what you're doing now. The horror comedy flick about a South London council state that gets invaded by aliens is a fun, funny, and terrifying film in its own right. It's directed by Joe Cornish and starring a young John Boyega in his first on-screen role.
Whittaker plays Samantha, a 25-year-old nurse whose assumptions are...
Jodie Whittaker will take over the role of the Doctor in the Christimas special. Here are five roles to watch while you wait.
You've no doubt heard the news. Jodie Whittaker will be playing the 13th Doctor in Season 11 of Doctor Who.
See related Baby Driver review Baby Driver 2 is tempting, admits Edgar Wright
If you're unfamiliar with her work, we recommend these five roles as a good place to start...
Video of Attack the Block - Exclusive Extended Clip! (HD) Attack the Block
If you've never seen Attack the Block, stop what you're doing now. The horror comedy flick about a South London council state that gets invaded by aliens is a fun, funny, and terrifying film in its own right. It's directed by Joe Cornish and starring a young John Boyega in his first on-screen role.
Whittaker plays Samantha, a 25-year-old nurse whose assumptions are...
- 7/16/2017
- Den of Geek
Deadpool and Logan double feature, Deconstructing The Beatles and Peter Pan make our June events list!Deadpool and Logan double feature, Deconstructing The Beatles and Peter Pan make our June events list!Scott Goodyer6/2/2017 10:02:00 Am It's June and we've got some really awesome events coming up this month! Here are a few highlights for you: 1. Deconstructing The Beatles - June 6th The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of the most influential albums ever created. Rolling Stone described it as “the most important rock & roll album ever made, an unsurpassed adventure in concept, sound, songwriting, cover art and studio technology by the greatest rock & roll group of all time.” In Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, composer, musician, and Beatles expert Scott Freiman looks at Sgt. Pepper from multiple angles, exploring the history behind the music. Mr. Freiman conducts an educational journey...
- 6/2/2017
- by Scott Goodyer
- Cineplex
Dedication to your craft is admirable but how about taking some time out for a little fun? Luckily, it’s spring and you’re in London, one of the greatest cities in the world, so why not seize the day and take advantage of what the capital has to offer? “Angels in America” comes to London.Getting tickets to the hit production of “Angels in America” may be difficult, but on July 17 you can hear its stars Nathan Lane and Russell Tovey chat about the “challenges and rewards” of starring in the seven-hour Tony Kushner masterwork. A must for any actor. (Tickets: £6) There’s a mouse in the house.You’ve worked hard all week, you deserve a little relaxation (or a lot). On May 20, London institution the Prince Charles Cinema is holding an all night Disney Pyjama Party, which means you can watch seven animated classics in public, all while wearing your pyjamas.
- 5/12/2017
- backstage.com
Mark Harrison May 10, 2017
Over Doctor Who's long history, what prompted the decision to leave for those in the lead role?
All sorts of things have killed off the Doctor. In the last half century, Doctor Who's unique approach to recasting the lead character has seen him fettled by old age, as punishment, by radiation poisoning, falls big and small, dodgy operations and time itself. There are plenty of in-universe reasons for why the Doctor regenerates, and the outgoing Time Lord Peter Capaldi promises that his upcoming demise will be suitably timey-wimey, but what of the behind-the-scenes reasons that the Doctor has to go?
See related DC Comics movies: upcoming UK release dates calendar Batman V Superman: where does it leave the Justice League? Why cinema needs Batman: the world’s greatest detective Zack Snyder interview: Batman V Superman Deborah Snyder & Charles Roven interview: Man Of Steel
“While you're enjoying it,...
Over Doctor Who's long history, what prompted the decision to leave for those in the lead role?
All sorts of things have killed off the Doctor. In the last half century, Doctor Who's unique approach to recasting the lead character has seen him fettled by old age, as punishment, by radiation poisoning, falls big and small, dodgy operations and time itself. There are plenty of in-universe reasons for why the Doctor regenerates, and the outgoing Time Lord Peter Capaldi promises that his upcoming demise will be suitably timey-wimey, but what of the behind-the-scenes reasons that the Doctor has to go?
See related DC Comics movies: upcoming UK release dates calendar Batman V Superman: where does it leave the Justice League? Why cinema needs Batman: the world’s greatest detective Zack Snyder interview: Batman V Superman Deborah Snyder & Charles Roven interview: Man Of Steel
“While you're enjoying it,...
- 5/3/2017
- Den of Geek
The world of nonfiction filmmaking continues to evolve along with its increasingly affordable, professional, and portable equipment. It’s inspired more directors take on the challenging task of shooting a film by themselves — essentially, operating sound and camera while directing.
“I was still a student at Nyu when I started to shoot ‘Hooligan Sparrow,'” said Nanfu Wang about her Oscar-shortlist documentary about a Chinese activist fighting for women’s rights. “I couldn’t afford hiring anyone; the thought didn’t even occur to me. I checked out some equipment from the school and went back to China by myself.”
For a new generation of filmmakers, this freedom also shapes the subjects and type of films they make. In the case of “Hooligan Sparrow,” Wang became part of a small group of activists traveling the country while evading Chinese authorities. The film has an intimacy as the viewer, like Wang,...
“I was still a student at Nyu when I started to shoot ‘Hooligan Sparrow,'” said Nanfu Wang about her Oscar-shortlist documentary about a Chinese activist fighting for women’s rights. “I couldn’t afford hiring anyone; the thought didn’t even occur to me. I checked out some equipment from the school and went back to China by myself.”
For a new generation of filmmakers, this freedom also shapes the subjects and type of films they make. In the case of “Hooligan Sparrow,” Wang became part of a small group of activists traveling the country while evading Chinese authorities. The film has an intimacy as the viewer, like Wang,...
- 3/27/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Mourners came by the thousands to Central London on Thursday evening to pay tribute to the lives lost in the heinous terror attack outside of Parliament just one day earlier.
Gathered in Trafalgar Square, the crowd listened as the city’s leaders spoke about the three victims who died during the car and knife attack. The suspect – identified by Scotland Yard as U.K. native Khalid Masood – was also killed.
Addressing the crowd, U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd assured people that London would not live in fear of terrorists, stating “They will not win, we are all connected and...
Gathered in Trafalgar Square, the crowd listened as the city’s leaders spoke about the three victims who died during the car and knife attack. The suspect – identified by Scotland Yard as U.K. native Khalid Masood – was also killed.
Addressing the crowd, U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd assured people that London would not live in fear of terrorists, stating “They will not win, we are all connected and...
- 3/23/2017
- by Lindsay Kimble
- PEOPLE.com
The 27th Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff) is in full swing, and recently had a second showing of the new Indonesian musical, “Three Sassy Sisters.” Major players in the world of Indonesian cinema gathered at the Shaw Lido Theatre to have a chance to watch this strong piece. The film’s director, Nia Dinata, and starring actors, Tara Basro, Reuben Elishama, Richard Kyle, and Titek Puspa, were all the center of attention.
“Three Sassy Sisters” is a catchy musical, which honors the 1956 classic, “Tiga Dara.” Dinata uses this film to take a look at how modern women can change their roles from ordinary housewives, to career-oriented workingwomen. Dinata has been a powerhouse director for quite some time, with other work such as “The Courtesan” and “Love for Share” receiving Academy Award nominations for best foreign film.
Still from “Tiga Dara”
The Sgiff began on November 23, 2016 and will run until December...
“Three Sassy Sisters” is a catchy musical, which honors the 1956 classic, “Tiga Dara.” Dinata uses this film to take a look at how modern women can change their roles from ordinary housewives, to career-oriented workingwomen. Dinata has been a powerhouse director for quite some time, with other work such as “The Courtesan” and “Love for Share” receiving Academy Award nominations for best foreign film.
Still from “Tiga Dara”
The Sgiff began on November 23, 2016 and will run until December...
- 11/30/2016
- by Lydia Spanier
- AsianMoviePulse
“Mrs. K” rocked the 27th Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff) last November 27, 2016. Hitting the special presentation at Capitol Theater was Hong Kong martial arts super star and Mrs. K heroine herself Kara Wei. Fans couldn’t get enough of Kara Wei (known for her thrilling turns in “My Young Auntie” (1982), “Rain Dogs” (2006), “At The End of Daybreak” (2009), and “Rigor Mortis” (2014)) specially since this is the iconic actress’ farewell film. Mrs. K‘s Writer-director Ho Yuhang, Taiwanese rocker Wu Bai, and Malaysian newcomer Siow Li Xuan also graced the red carpet.
Kara Hui, Ho Yuhang, Wu Bai & Siow Li Xuan
Mrs. K follows a suburban housewife whose ordinary life is shaken up when an ex-cop—who knows about her criminal past—comes in to town to blackmail her. Mrs. K must battle against her former foes to protect her husband and daughter at all costs. It is a timeless tale of...
Kara Hui, Ho Yuhang, Wu Bai & Siow Li Xuan
Mrs. K follows a suburban housewife whose ordinary life is shaken up when an ex-cop—who knows about her criminal past—comes in to town to blackmail her. Mrs. K must battle against her former foes to protect her husband and daughter at all costs. It is a timeless tale of...
- 11/28/2016
- by Ella Palileo
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: Russian and Latin American rights sold for animation about the life and death of van Gogh.
Cinema Management Group (Cmg) has announced further key deals on the animated feature Loving Vincent after concluding talks prior to the market.
CD Land has picked up Russian rights and Swen has acquired pan-Latin pay-tv including Brazil in addition to more than 20 previously announced sales.
Cmg chief Edward Noeltner and vice-president of sales and operations Dené Anderberg are showing new footage on the fully painted animation about the life and death of Vincent van Gogh as told through his paintings and the characters that inhabit them.
Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman direct for BreakThru Films and Trademark Films and the cast includes Douglas Booth, Jerome Flynn, Chris O’Dowd, Saoirse Ronan and Eleanor Tomlinson.
Based on meticulous research and drawing from more than 800 of van Gogh’s letters, Loving Vincent is rendered in the style of the Dutch Master’s and comprises...
Cinema Management Group (Cmg) has announced further key deals on the animated feature Loving Vincent after concluding talks prior to the market.
CD Land has picked up Russian rights and Swen has acquired pan-Latin pay-tv including Brazil in addition to more than 20 previously announced sales.
Cmg chief Edward Noeltner and vice-president of sales and operations Dené Anderberg are showing new footage on the fully painted animation about the life and death of Vincent van Gogh as told through his paintings and the characters that inhabit them.
Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman direct for BreakThru Films and Trademark Films and the cast includes Douglas Booth, Jerome Flynn, Chris O’Dowd, Saoirse Ronan and Eleanor Tomlinson.
Based on meticulous research and drawing from more than 800 of van Gogh’s letters, Loving Vincent is rendered in the style of the Dutch Master’s and comprises...
- 11/4/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Acclaimed documentarian Frederick Wiseman has directed observational portraits of social institutions for almost fifty years, and at the age of 86, he shows no signs of stopping. His last film “In Jackson Heights,” which focuses on the diverse Queens neighborhood, garnered widespread acclaim for its humanistic depiction of cultural difference. Now, Wiseman has received a grant from the Sundance Institute to finish his next documentary “Ex Libris — New York Public Library,” which examines in depth how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution. Sundance funded Wiseman’s new film at the “post-production” stage.
Read More: Frederick Wiseman on ‘In Jackson Heights’ and Finding Meaning Through Editing
Wiseman has directed over 40 documentaries since 1967, including films about mental institutions, high schools, the American Ballet Theatre and the National Gallery. He has won multiple awards, such as three Primetime Emmys and a Peabody. This year,...
Read More: Frederick Wiseman on ‘In Jackson Heights’ and Finding Meaning Through Editing
Wiseman has directed over 40 documentaries since 1967, including films about mental institutions, high schools, the American Ballet Theatre and the National Gallery. He has won multiple awards, such as three Primetime Emmys and a Peabody. This year,...
- 11/1/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted Tuesday night (August 30) to present Honorary Awards to actor Jackie Chan, film editor Anne V. Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman. The four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 8th Annual Governors Awards on Saturday, November 12, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center.
“The Honorary Award was created for artists like Jackie Chan, Anne Coates, Lynn Stalmaster and Frederick Wiseman – true pioneers and legends in their crafts,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “The Board is proud to honor their extraordinary achievements, and we look forward to celebrating with them at the Governors Awards in November.”
After making his motion picture debut at the age of eight, Chan brought his childhood training with the Peking Opera to a distinctive international career. He starred in – and sometimes wrote,...
“The Honorary Award was created for artists like Jackie Chan, Anne Coates, Lynn Stalmaster and Frederick Wiseman – true pioneers and legends in their crafts,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “The Board is proud to honor their extraordinary achievements, and we look forward to celebrating with them at the Governors Awards in November.”
After making his motion picture debut at the age of eight, Chan brought his childhood training with the Peking Opera to a distinctive international career. He starred in – and sometimes wrote,...
- 9/2/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Every year, industry folks lobby the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with their candidates for honorary Oscar winners at the annual Governors Awards. And sometimes they get their way. Over the years Mike Kaplan, a publicists branch Academy member, has successfully lobbied for Lillian Gish, Robert Altman and John Ford’s favorite actress Maureen O’Hara, who happily collected her gold man the year before she died.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Board of Governors voted Tuesday night on the 2016 (un-televised) Governors Awards, which often including the coveted producer’s award, the Thalberg, and the Hersholt humanitarian award. You know what they’re looking for: someone who is still respected — if not revered. Francis Ford Coppola, John Calley and Dino DeLaurentiis have collected the Thalberg in recent years; Harry Belafonte, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie have accepted the Hersholt.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Board of Governors voted Tuesday night on the 2016 (un-televised) Governors Awards, which often including the coveted producer’s award, the Thalberg, and the Hersholt humanitarian award. You know what they’re looking for: someone who is still respected — if not revered. Francis Ford Coppola, John Calley and Dino DeLaurentiis have collected the Thalberg in recent years; Harry Belafonte, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie have accepted the Hersholt.
- 9/1/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Every year, industry folks lobby the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with their candidates for honorary Oscar winners at the annual Governors Awards. And sometimes they get their way. Over the years Mike Kaplan, a publicists branch Academy member, has successfully lobbied for Lillian Gish, Robert Altman and John Ford’s favorite actress Maureen O’Hara, who happily collected her gold man the year before she died.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Board of Governors voted Tuesday night on the 2016 (un-televised) Governors Awards, which often including the coveted producer’s award, the Thalberg, and the Hersholt humanitarian award. You know what they’re looking for: someone who is still respected — if not revered. Francis Ford Coppola, John Calley and Dino DeLaurentiis have collected the Thalberg in recent years; Harry Belafonte, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie have accepted the Hersholt.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Board of Governors voted Tuesday night on the 2016 (un-televised) Governors Awards, which often including the coveted producer’s award, the Thalberg, and the Hersholt humanitarian award. You know what they’re looking for: someone who is still respected — if not revered. Francis Ford Coppola, John Calley and Dino DeLaurentiis have collected the Thalberg in recent years; Harry Belafonte, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie have accepted the Hersholt.
- 9/1/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Well, this is a fine how-do-you-do. President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto had a little trouble pulling off a three-way handshake on Wednesday as they posed for a photo together at the National Gallery of Canada. The awkward moment came as the men met for the North American Leaders' Summit, nicknamed the "Three Amigos Summit," in Ottawa, Canada, where they discussed topics ranging from Brexit to Donald Trump to climate change, immigration and trade. It didn't take long for the trio's epic handshake fail to become a Gif that keeps on giving:...
- 6/30/2016
- by Tierney McAfee, @tierneymcafee
- PEOPLE.com
Well, this is a fine how-do-you-do. President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto had a little trouble pulling off a three-way handshake on Wednesday as they posed for a photo together at the National Gallery of Canada. The awkward moment came as the men met for the North American Leaders' Summit, nicknamed the "Three Amigos Summit," in Ottawa, Canada, where they discussed topics ranging from Brexit to Donald Trump to climate change, immigration and trade. It didn't take long for the trio's epic handshake fail to become a Gif that keeps on giving:...
- 6/30/2016
- by Tierney McAfee, @tierneymcafee
- PEOPLE.com
Last night, Wednesday 15 June, saw the Opening Night of Disney's new West End musical Aladdin at the Prince Edward Theatre, London. Footage is also available to download featuring the cast's curtain call bows, celebrity arrivals on the carpet and interviews with the Aladdin cast and creative team including Dean John Wilson Aladdin, Trevor Dion Nicholas Genie and Jade Ewen Jasmine, composer Alan Menken and director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw at the post-show party at the National Gallery.
- 6/16/2016
- by BroadwayWorld TV
- BroadwayWorld.com
The five award-winning directors will each make a short film inspired by a piece of art from their region.
National Gallery Singapore has announced an unprecedented collaboration with five award-winning Southeast Asian filmmakers – Apichatpong Weerasethakul [pictured] (Thailand), Brilliante Mendoza (Philippines), Eric Khoo (Singapore), Ho Yuhang (Malaysia) and Joko Anwar (Indonesia).
The five directors will create Art Through Our Eyes, an omnibus for which the directors each pick a masterpiece from the region to inspire their short films.
Initiated by Khoo with the Gallery, the project of dramatized interpretations aims to connect with audiences worldwide to deepen their appreciation for Southeast Asian art.
The directors are all festival favorites. Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives won the Palme d’Or in 2010 in Cannes while his Tropical Malady won a jury prize in 2004.
Mendoza won the Best Director at Cannes in 2009 for Kinatay; Khoo’s My Magic was in Cannes competition in 2008 and his Be With Me opened...
National Gallery Singapore has announced an unprecedented collaboration with five award-winning Southeast Asian filmmakers – Apichatpong Weerasethakul [pictured] (Thailand), Brilliante Mendoza (Philippines), Eric Khoo (Singapore), Ho Yuhang (Malaysia) and Joko Anwar (Indonesia).
The five directors will create Art Through Our Eyes, an omnibus for which the directors each pick a masterpiece from the region to inspire their short films.
Initiated by Khoo with the Gallery, the project of dramatized interpretations aims to connect with audiences worldwide to deepen their appreciation for Southeast Asian art.
The directors are all festival favorites. Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives won the Palme d’Or in 2010 in Cannes while his Tropical Malady won a jury prize in 2004.
Mendoza won the Best Director at Cannes in 2009 for Kinatay; Khoo’s My Magic was in Cannes competition in 2008 and his Be With Me opened...
- 5/17/2016
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Following in the vein of last year’s excellent Ballet 422, First Monday In May offers another process-heavy view into the preparation of a prestigious event. This time, it’s the 2015 Met Ball and exhibition, China: Through the Looking Glass. But while Andrew Rossi’s documentary offers a sizable window into the production period by curator Andrew Bolton and his army of helpers, and equally surprising access into fashion icon Anna Wintour’s inner sanctum, First Monday In May is disappointingly shallow despite rich subject matter.
Fawning above all else, the Tribeca 2016 opener is handsomely crafted, but there’s a total lack of focus, let alone a visual identity. And it’s certainly not for lack of material. A gorgeous short film could have been made through a gliding tour of the finished exhibition, but as a full feature, Rossi never punctures the surface, leaving a sour taste of self-importance.
Fawning above all else, the Tribeca 2016 opener is handsomely crafted, but there’s a total lack of focus, let alone a visual identity. And it’s certainly not for lack of material. A gorgeous short film could have been made through a gliding tour of the finished exhibition, but as a full feature, Rossi never punctures the surface, leaving a sour taste of self-importance.
- 4/15/2016
- by Michael Snydel
- The Film Stage
This spring, David Domingo, one of Spain’s most important underground filmmakers, embarks on his first U.S. tour, organized by Los Angeles Filmforum. He is presenting his unique super-8 films in super-8mm. Domingo, aka Stanley Sunday lets his imagination run wild and exposes his own fantastic universe through a highly iconoclast and hilarious associative cascade. His personal imagery includes a series of popular artifacts and icons such as Disney films, Michael Jackson, picture-card albums, comic-book superheroes, and cassette.
There is also a homoerotic imagery and a series of recurring motifs with an explicit sexual symbology, such as the phallic Frankfurt Weiner, which has become his trademark. By combining footage taken from classic films or B-movies with his own shootings, and abstract moments with life-action scenes played by his own “star-system”, David Domingo deconstructs normal hierarchies and cause-effect approaches in order to generate a continuous flow of images which create surprising and enigmatic associations.
Here are the details:
What: David Domingo: A Super 8 Odyssey. David Domingo in person from Spain!
When: Sunday April 24, 2016, 7:30 pm.
Where: At the Spielberg Theatre at the Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90028
Tickets: $10 general; $6 students/seniors; free for Filmforum members.
Available in advance from Brown Paper Tickets at http://daviddomingo.bpt.me or at the door.
Screening:
A Super 8 Odyssey: A program of David Domingo’s splendorous Super 8 films
- "Súper 8" (Super 8) (1996, color, sound, 7:44)
-"La mansión acelerada" (The Speedy Mansion) (1997, b&w, sound, 10 min.)
-"Desayunos y meriendas" (Breakfast and Snacks) (2002, color, sound, 7 min.)
-"Rayos y centellas" (What the…!) (2004, color, sound, 3:52)
-"Película sudorosa" (Sweaty Movie) (2009, color/b&w, sound, 18 min.)
-"A Movie that Portrays the Wonders of the World as Seen Through the Eyes of a Cat" (Disney Attraction Highlights Nº 1) (2009, color/b&w, sound, 5 min.)
David Domingo (aka Stanley Sunday, aka Davidson) was born in Valencia in 1973. He is currently based in Barcelona. Through 18 short films, 3 feature-length videos (including his personal vision of Disney´s "Bambi and The Exorcist. The Musical"), plenty of music videos for independent bands, crazy live performances of Super 8 and 16 mm screenings, and his quinquennial fanzine “One day in the life of Jonas Mekas”, he has become one of the main underground film makers in Spain. In his early days he just used a VHS camera and player to make remakes, found footage films and homemade short films starred by his sister and grandmother. However, he soon turned to Super8, the format most of his work is filmed on. He shows a deep knowledge of avant-garde and experimental film tradition, paying homage to the films by Bruce Conner, Andy Warhol, Iván Zulueta, Kenneth Anger or the Kuchar Brothers through quotations and references.
After broadening his horizons through the incursion in 16 mm filmmaking, more recently he has started to use digital technology, which has enabled him to go beyond by finding new textures and possibilities.
David Domingo’s films have been screened and exhibited in some of the main museums, art centers and film festivals in Spain, such as Xcèntric (the cinema of the Center for Contemporary Culture in Barcelona), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo and La Casa Encendida in Madrid, Centro Galego de Artes da Imaxe and S(8) Mostra de cine periférico in Coruña, Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia or Valencia´s Festival Cinema Jove.
The program “A Super 8 Odyssey” shows his most emblematic Super 8 films, starting with his acclaimed first short film, Super 8 (1996), which was chosen as part of the traveling film program “From ecstasy to rapture. 50 years of the other Spanish cinema”, curated by the Contemporary Culture Center from Barcelona (Cccb), and screened at the Acmi (Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne, Australia), Anthology Film Archives (NYC, USA), National Gallery of Art (Washington DC, USA), Tiff Cinematheque (Toronto, Canada), Pacific Cinematheque (Vancouver, Canada), Národní filmový archiv in Prague (Czech Republic), Jeu de Paume (Paris, France), Tate Modern (London, UK), Wro Art Center (Wroclaw, Poland), or National Gallery of Art (Vilnius, Lituania), amongst many other venues.
There is also a homoerotic imagery and a series of recurring motifs with an explicit sexual symbology, such as the phallic Frankfurt Weiner, which has become his trademark. By combining footage taken from classic films or B-movies with his own shootings, and abstract moments with life-action scenes played by his own “star-system”, David Domingo deconstructs normal hierarchies and cause-effect approaches in order to generate a continuous flow of images which create surprising and enigmatic associations.
Here are the details:
What: David Domingo: A Super 8 Odyssey. David Domingo in person from Spain!
When: Sunday April 24, 2016, 7:30 pm.
Where: At the Spielberg Theatre at the Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90028
Tickets: $10 general; $6 students/seniors; free for Filmforum members.
Available in advance from Brown Paper Tickets at http://daviddomingo.bpt.me or at the door.
Screening:
A Super 8 Odyssey: A program of David Domingo’s splendorous Super 8 films
- "Súper 8" (Super 8) (1996, color, sound, 7:44)
-"La mansión acelerada" (The Speedy Mansion) (1997, b&w, sound, 10 min.)
-"Desayunos y meriendas" (Breakfast and Snacks) (2002, color, sound, 7 min.)
-"Rayos y centellas" (What the…!) (2004, color, sound, 3:52)
-"Película sudorosa" (Sweaty Movie) (2009, color/b&w, sound, 18 min.)
-"A Movie that Portrays the Wonders of the World as Seen Through the Eyes of a Cat" (Disney Attraction Highlights Nº 1) (2009, color/b&w, sound, 5 min.)
David Domingo (aka Stanley Sunday, aka Davidson) was born in Valencia in 1973. He is currently based in Barcelona. Through 18 short films, 3 feature-length videos (including his personal vision of Disney´s "Bambi and The Exorcist. The Musical"), plenty of music videos for independent bands, crazy live performances of Super 8 and 16 mm screenings, and his quinquennial fanzine “One day in the life of Jonas Mekas”, he has become one of the main underground film makers in Spain. In his early days he just used a VHS camera and player to make remakes, found footage films and homemade short films starred by his sister and grandmother. However, he soon turned to Super8, the format most of his work is filmed on. He shows a deep knowledge of avant-garde and experimental film tradition, paying homage to the films by Bruce Conner, Andy Warhol, Iván Zulueta, Kenneth Anger or the Kuchar Brothers through quotations and references.
After broadening his horizons through the incursion in 16 mm filmmaking, more recently he has started to use digital technology, which has enabled him to go beyond by finding new textures and possibilities.
David Domingo’s films have been screened and exhibited in some of the main museums, art centers and film festivals in Spain, such as Xcèntric (the cinema of the Center for Contemporary Culture in Barcelona), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo and La Casa Encendida in Madrid, Centro Galego de Artes da Imaxe and S(8) Mostra de cine periférico in Coruña, Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia or Valencia´s Festival Cinema Jove.
The program “A Super 8 Odyssey” shows his most emblematic Super 8 films, starting with his acclaimed first short film, Super 8 (1996), which was chosen as part of the traveling film program “From ecstasy to rapture. 50 years of the other Spanish cinema”, curated by the Contemporary Culture Center from Barcelona (Cccb), and screened at the Acmi (Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne, Australia), Anthology Film Archives (NYC, USA), National Gallery of Art (Washington DC, USA), Tiff Cinematheque (Toronto, Canada), Pacific Cinematheque (Vancouver, Canada), Národní filmový archiv in Prague (Czech Republic), Jeu de Paume (Paris, France), Tate Modern (London, UK), Wro Art Center (Wroclaw, Poland), or National Gallery of Art (Vilnius, Lituania), amongst many other venues.
- 4/14/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Silence
Martin Scorsese's anticipated new missionary drama "Silence" is aiming for a November release through Paramount Pictures according to Screen Daily. Scorsese's film, an adaptation of the Shusaku Endo novel, is not expected to be done in time for Cannes next month, but the date suggests a Venice or Tiff premiere could well be on the cards.
Digital Retouching
The same technology that was used to render Brad Pitt at various ages in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" has expanded and improved exponentially to the point that digital 'retouching' has become a major thing.
Vulture has done a feature piece on the technology where the surprise is how prevalently the technology is employed - not just to smooth out wrinkles but to add muscle definition, adjust shape, change performances, change actors body structure, replace whole actors and editing together elements of different takes. It's a must read piece.
Martin Scorsese's anticipated new missionary drama "Silence" is aiming for a November release through Paramount Pictures according to Screen Daily. Scorsese's film, an adaptation of the Shusaku Endo novel, is not expected to be done in time for Cannes next month, but the date suggests a Venice or Tiff premiere could well be on the cards.
Digital Retouching
The same technology that was used to render Brad Pitt at various ages in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" has expanded and improved exponentially to the point that digital 'retouching' has become a major thing.
Vulture has done a feature piece on the technology where the surprise is how prevalently the technology is employed - not just to smooth out wrinkles but to add muscle definition, adjust shape, change performances, change actors body structure, replace whole actors and editing together elements of different takes. It's a must read piece.
- 4/5/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Pathe announces a feature based on the true story of a retired bus driver who supposedly stole a famous painting and held the British Government to ransom.
Nicholas Martin, writer of Stephen Frears’ upcoming Florence Foster Jenkins starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, is to pen the screenplay for another extraordinary true story titled The Duke.
Announcing the feature, Pathe also stated that the film would be produced by Nicky Bentham (The Silent Storm) of Neon Films.
Set in the early 1960s, The Duke centres on the true story of Kempton Bunton, a retired bus driver who claimed to have stolen Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from London’s National Gallery.
Bunton was enraged when the British government paid a large sum to keep the painting out of the hands of a Us art collector when so many in the UK were suffering financial hardship. He sent a ransom note saying he would return...
Nicholas Martin, writer of Stephen Frears’ upcoming Florence Foster Jenkins starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, is to pen the screenplay for another extraordinary true story titled The Duke.
Announcing the feature, Pathe also stated that the film would be produced by Nicky Bentham (The Silent Storm) of Neon Films.
Set in the early 1960s, The Duke centres on the true story of Kempton Bunton, a retired bus driver who claimed to have stolen Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from London’s National Gallery.
Bunton was enraged when the British government paid a large sum to keep the painting out of the hands of a Us art collector when so many in the UK were suffering financial hardship. He sent a ransom note saying he would return...
- 4/5/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
As cinema progresses as an art, more and more filmmakers are jettisoning normal ideas of narrative and pushing what boundaries there may appear to be on the definition of “cinema.” Even looking at this year’s Portland International Film Festival, you have filmmakers like Ben Rivers and Peter Greenaway who have no interest in classical narrative tropes. And then there is one of world cinema’s foremost boundary-pushers, Alexander Sokurov, who is back with one of his most entrancing and yet oddly accessible experiments to date.
Entitled Francofonia, Sokurov’s latest finds him delving back into the world of art and a nation’s history, but this time leaving Russia as seen in Russian Ark and arriving in Paris, focusing his lens on The Louvre. In a similar vein to a film like Frederick Wiseman’s National Gallery, Sokurov takes what sounds like well tread ground and brings to it...
Entitled Francofonia, Sokurov’s latest finds him delving back into the world of art and a nation’s history, but this time leaving Russia as seen in Russian Ark and arriving in Paris, focusing his lens on The Louvre. In a similar vein to a film like Frederick Wiseman’s National Gallery, Sokurov takes what sounds like well tread ground and brings to it...
- 2/15/2016
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
Now in its 26th year, Washington Jewish Film Festival (February 24 – March 6) explores gender, migration, the supernatural, Arab citizens of Israel, artists’ lives, and Lgbtq themes. In addition to the groundbreaking lineup of films, the Festival will host talkbacks and panel discussions with over 50 domestic and international filmmaker guests. The Festival is one of the region’s preeminent showcases for international and independent cinema.
A project of the Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center (Dcjcc), the Washington Jewish Film Festival (Wjff) is the largest Jewish cultural event in the greater Washington, D.C. area. This year’s Festival includes 69 films and over 150 screenings at the AFI Silver Theatre, the Avalon Theatre, Bethesda Row Cinema, E Street Cinema, the Jcc of Greater Washington, the National Gallery of Art, West End Cinema, and the Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater at the Dcjcc.
“We are excited to present our most ambitious Festival yet,” said Ilya Tovbis, Director of the Washington Jewish Film Festival. “The Washington Jewish Film Festival is a highlight on our city’s cultural calendar. This has been a banner year for original cinematic visions hitting the screen. It is a genuine pleasure to share this crop of bold, independent, film voices that have been garnering praise at Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and elsewhere, with DC audiences. This year’s Festival simultaneously challenges and expands on our understanding of Jewish identity.”
The lineup includes new and classic films, encompassing a wide range of Jewish perspectives from the United States, Israel, Europe, Asia, and Africa. While the Festival touches a broad set of themes, this year’s lineup offers two programmatic focuses – one on the lives of artists (“Re-framing the Artists”) and the other on Lgbtq individuals (“Rated Lgbtq”). “Reframing the Artist” features an in-depth exploration of artists’ lives, accomplishments, and inspiration. The seven-film “Rated Lgbtq” series explores sexuality, gender, and identity on screen.
The Festival will also engage attendees with off-screen programming including “Story District Presents: God Loves You? True Stories about Faith and Sexuality,” an evening of true stories presented in partnership with Story District, and the 6th Annual Community Education Day on Arab Citizens of Israel. Kicked off by a screening of "Women in Sink," this day features in-depth conversations with Reem Younis, co-founder of Nazareth-based global high-tech company Alpha Omega, and Tziona Koenig-Yair, Israel’s first Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner.
A full Festival schedule can be found at www.wjff.org . Select highlights are included below:
Opening Night: "Baba Joon"
Opening Night features Israel’s submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award®, "Baba Joon," a tender tale of a generational divide and the immigrant experience. Yitzhak (Navid Negahban of Showtime’s Emmy Award-winning original series “Homeland”) runs the turkey farm his father built after they emigrated from Iran to Israel.
When his son Moti turns 13, Yitzhak teaches him the trade in hopes that he will take over the family business — but Moti’s dreams lie elsewhere. The arrival of an uncle from America further ratchets up the tension and the family’s tight bonds are put to the test. Opening Night will be held at the AFI Silver Theatre on Wednesday, February 24 at 6:30 p.m. The Opening Night Party, with DirectorYuval Delshad, will be held at the Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza immediately following the screening.
Closing Night : "A Tale of Love and Darkness"
Closing Night centers on Academy Award®-winning actress Natalie Portman in her debut as a director (and screenwriter) in a hauntingly beautiful adaptation of Amos Oz’s best-selling memoir, "A Tale of Love and Darkness." In this dream-like tale, Portman inhabits Fania—Oz’s mother—who brings up her son in Jerusalem during the end of the British Mandate for Palestine and the early years of the State of Israel. Dissatisfied with her marriage, and disoriented by the foreign land surrounding her, Fania escapes into elaborate, fanciful stories of make-believe — bringing her adoring, wide-eyed son along. Closing Night will be held at the Dcjcc on Sunday, March 6 at 6:45 p.m. Followed by a Closing Night Reception and the Audience Award Ceremony.
Wjff Visionary Award Presented to Armin Mueller-Stahl
The Wjff’s Annual Visionary Award recognizes creativity and insight in presenting the full diversity of the Jewish experience through moving image. The 2016 honoree is Armin Mueller-Stahl, who will join us for a special extended Q&A and the presentation of the Wjff Visionary Award. The award will be presented alongside a screening of Barry Levinson’s 1990 film "Avalon," an evocative, nostalgic film that celebrates the virtues of family life. “Avalon” begins with Jewish immigrant Sam Krichinsky (portrayed by Armin Mueller-Stahl) arriving in America on July 4th. He settles in Baltimore with his brothers and raises a family. Director Barry Levinson traces various transitions within the Krichinsky family and conveys his appreciation for the anxieties that afflict the suburban middle-class – and multiple generations of immigrants in particular.
Armin Mueller-Stahl is a German actor, painter, writer and musician. He began acting in East Berlin in 1950, winning the Gdr State Prize for his film work. By 1977, however, he was blacklisted by the communist regime due to his persistent activism in protesting government suppression of the arts. After relocating to the West in 1980, he starred in groundbreaking independent European films, such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “Lola” and “Veronika Voss” and Agnieszka Holland’s “Angry Harvest.” He gained major recognition stateside with two radically different characterizations: an aging Nazi war criminal in Costa-Gavras’ “The Music Box” and Jewish grandpa Sam Krischinsky in Barry Levinson’s “Avalon.” He went on to earn an Oscar® nomination for his role in Scott Hicks’ Shine and appeared in such varied work as “Eastern Promises,” “The Game,” “The West Wing,” “The X Files” and “Knight of Cups.”
The Wjff Visionary Award program will take place at the AFI Silver Theatre on Thursday, March 3 at 6:45 p.m.
Spotlight Evening:
Compared to What? The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank
A polarizing, revolutionary, effective and a most-singular figure in American politics, Barney Frank shaped the debate around progressive values and gay rights in the U.S. Congress for over 40 years. A fresh and contemporary political drama with unparalleled access to one of Congress’ first openly gay Representatives and easily one of the most captivating public figures in recent memory.
Born Jewish, and a longtime friend to the Jewish community and supporter of Israel, Frank is refreshingly honest, likeable and passionate – a beacon of statesmanship that politicians and citizens alike, can look to for inspiration.
Screenings will take place on Tuesday, March 1st at the Avalon Theatre at 6:15 p.m. and Wednesday, March 2 at the Dcjcc at 6:15 p.m. Both screenings followed by a discussion with Barney Frank, husband Jim Ready and filmmakers Sheila Canavan and Michael Chandler.
Spotlight Evening:
Gary Lucas’ Fleischerei: Music From Max Fleischer Cartoons
Celebrating the release of the titular album—on Silver Spring-based label Cuneiform—legendary guitarist Gary Lucas joins forces with Tony®-nominated singer and actress Sarah Stiles (Q Street,Hand to God) for a loving musical tribute to the swinging, jazzy soundtracks that adorned master animator Max Fleischer’s surreal, wacky and Yiddish-inflected "Betty Boop" and "Popeye" cartoons of the 1930’s.
Backed by the cartoons themselves, and the cream of NYC’s jazz performers (Jeff Lederer on reeds, Michael Bates on bass, Rob Garcia on drums and Mingus Big Band’s Joe Fiedler on trombone), Lucas and Stiles have a rare evening in store. Get ready for a swirling melting-pot of jungle-band jazz, Tin Pan Alley torch songs, raucous vaudeville turns, and Dixieland mixed with a pinch of Klezmer.
This event will take place at AFI Silver Theatre on Saturday, March 5 at 8:30 p.m.
Additional Films of Note
The Wjff will present the mid-Atlantic premiere of "Barash." In the film, seventeen-year-old Naama Barash enjoys drugs, alcohol and hanging out with like-minded friends. Her activities are an escape from a strained home life where her parents fight and her rebellious, army-enrolled sister wreaks havoc by dating a Palestinian before going Awol all together. As her parents fret about their older daughter’s disappearance, Naama meets a wild girl in school and discovers the intoxicating rush of first love. “Barash” will be screened three times during the festival, on February 27 at 8:45 p.m. at E Street Cinema, on March 2 at 8:45 p.m. at the Avalon Theatre and on March 3 at 6:15 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema.
"Black Jews: The Roots of the Olive Tree" will have its World Premiere at Wjff. The documentary offers a fascinating exploration of African tribes with Jewish roots – in Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon. Some claim to be descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes; others believe their ancestors were Jews who immigrated from Judea to Yemen. Far from a dry archaeological account, the film focuses on the modern-day personal and institutional practice of Judaism throughout Africa, as well as of recent African immigrants in Israel. This film will be screened on March 2 at 6:45 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema and on March 3 at 6:30 p.m. at E Street Cinema.
The mid-Atlantic premiere of "Demon," from director Marcin Wrona, features a chilling, modern interpretation of the Dybbuk legend. Piotr’s joy at visiting his bride-to-be at her Polish home is quickly upended by his discovery of human bones on the property. Since his future father-in-law plans to gift the newlyweds the land, Piotr at first overlooks this ominous find. The disturbed spirit inhabiting these remains isn’t willing to let him off so easily however. Marcin Wrona’s wickedly sharp and creepy story of possession is set against a bacchanal celebration of blissful union. “Demon” will be screened on February 25th at 8:45 p.m. at E Street Cinema and on March 1 at 9:15 p.m. at AFI Silver Theatre.
From Spain, the mid-Atlantic premiere of "Dirty Wolves" is a WWII thriller imbued with notes of magical realism. Director Simón Casal works in the Wolfram (aka tungsten) mines in rural Galicia. A ruthless Nazi brigade, intent on harvesting the rare metal to feed the Third Reich’s war machine, has captured the mines. When Manuela’s sister helps a Jewish prisoner cross the border to Portugal, they are unwittingly forced into a desperate test, which puts their survival squarely at odds with their sense of justice. “Dirty Wolves” will be screened on February 27 at 6:15 p.m. at West End Cinema, on March 1 at 8:45 p.m. at the Avalon Theatre and on March 2 at 6:45 p.m. at AFI Silver Theatre.
In "The Hebrew Superhero," directors Saul Betser and Asaf Galay examine how Israelis long shunned comics as something on the cultural fringe – they were deemed childish, trivial and, perhaps most cuttingly, un-Israeli. Shaul Betser and Asaf Galay (“The Muses of Isaac Bashevis Singer”) outline the medium’s origins, tracing its evolution from quirky upstart to an indelible reflection on the various forms of Israeli heroes. Featuring gorgeous animation and interviews with Daniella London Dekel, Etgar Keret and Dudu Geva, Wjff is presenting the mid-Atlantic premiere of this documentary, which will be screened on February 25 at 7:15 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre, March 1 at 6:30 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema and March 3 at 8:30 p.m. at E Street Cinema.
Simone Veil’s intrepid fight to legalize abortion in France is brilliantly brought to life in "The Law." In 1974, Veil was charged with decriminalizing abortion and easing access to contraceptives. Facing strong opposition from politicians, an enraged public and the Catholic Church, Veil— an Auschwitz survivor—refused to give up. Fighting for justice amidst a swirl of anti-Semitic sentiment, sexism and personal attacks, her perseverance struck at the heart of national bigotry in a rallying cry for a woman’s right to choose. Wjff will present the D.C. premiere of this French film. It will be screened on February 25 at 8:15 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema, on February 29 at 8:45 p.m. at E Street Cinema and on March 5 at 4:45 p.m. at the Dcjcc.
At 90, Miriam Beerman is a survivor. This groundbreaking artist and Potomac, Maryland resident has overcome personal tragedy to inspire friends, family, peers, patrons and students about how to remain defiant, creative and strong. Miriam has struggled with her artistic demons to create haunting images that evoke the suffering of generations of victims. "Miriam Beerman: Expressing the Chaosis" a memorable profile of an artist who has elevated her empathy for the plight of the world’s cast-offs into powerful portrayals of dignity. The Wjff is hosting the mid-Atlantic premiere of this documentary. Screenings will take place on March 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema and March 3 at 6:15 p.m. at the Dcjcc.
Author and director David Bezmozgis brings his film "Natasha" to Wjff for its D.C. premiere. Adapting his prize-winning story collection,Natasha and Other Stories, to screen, Bezmogis delivers a tragic story of young love. Sixteen-year-old Mark Berman, the son of Latvian-Jewish immigrants, wiles away his hours reading Nietzsche, smoking pot and watching porn. His slacker lifestyle is upended when a 14-year-old hurricane, named Natasha, enters the picture. Drawn to her reckless ways and whispers of her promiscuous past, Mark enters an illicit romance with calamitous consequences. Screenings will take place on February 28 at 5:00 p.m. at West End Cinema, March 3 at 8:30 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema and March 5 at 6:15 p.m. at AFI Silver Theatre.
If you believe the fastest way to the heart is through the stomach, "In Search of Israeli Cuisine" offers a delectable, eye-popping culinary journey through Israel is your personal valentine. Weaving through bustling markets, restaurants, kitchens and farms, we meet cooks, vintners and cheese makers drawn from the wide gamut of cultures making up Israel today — Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian and Druze. With James Beard award-winning chef Michael Solomonov as your guide, get ready for a cinematic buffet that’s humorous, heady, and of course, delicious! Wjff will be showing the mid-Atlantic premiere of this new documentary. Screenings will take place on February 28 at 5:15 p.m. at E Street Cinema, March 1 at 8:15 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema and March 4 at 12:30 p.m. at the Dcjcc.
A complete festival schedule can be found online at www.wjff.org...
A project of the Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center (Dcjcc), the Washington Jewish Film Festival (Wjff) is the largest Jewish cultural event in the greater Washington, D.C. area. This year’s Festival includes 69 films and over 150 screenings at the AFI Silver Theatre, the Avalon Theatre, Bethesda Row Cinema, E Street Cinema, the Jcc of Greater Washington, the National Gallery of Art, West End Cinema, and the Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater at the Dcjcc.
“We are excited to present our most ambitious Festival yet,” said Ilya Tovbis, Director of the Washington Jewish Film Festival. “The Washington Jewish Film Festival is a highlight on our city’s cultural calendar. This has been a banner year for original cinematic visions hitting the screen. It is a genuine pleasure to share this crop of bold, independent, film voices that have been garnering praise at Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and elsewhere, with DC audiences. This year’s Festival simultaneously challenges and expands on our understanding of Jewish identity.”
The lineup includes new and classic films, encompassing a wide range of Jewish perspectives from the United States, Israel, Europe, Asia, and Africa. While the Festival touches a broad set of themes, this year’s lineup offers two programmatic focuses – one on the lives of artists (“Re-framing the Artists”) and the other on Lgbtq individuals (“Rated Lgbtq”). “Reframing the Artist” features an in-depth exploration of artists’ lives, accomplishments, and inspiration. The seven-film “Rated Lgbtq” series explores sexuality, gender, and identity on screen.
The Festival will also engage attendees with off-screen programming including “Story District Presents: God Loves You? True Stories about Faith and Sexuality,” an evening of true stories presented in partnership with Story District, and the 6th Annual Community Education Day on Arab Citizens of Israel. Kicked off by a screening of "Women in Sink," this day features in-depth conversations with Reem Younis, co-founder of Nazareth-based global high-tech company Alpha Omega, and Tziona Koenig-Yair, Israel’s first Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner.
A full Festival schedule can be found at www.wjff.org . Select highlights are included below:
Opening Night: "Baba Joon"
Opening Night features Israel’s submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award®, "Baba Joon," a tender tale of a generational divide and the immigrant experience. Yitzhak (Navid Negahban of Showtime’s Emmy Award-winning original series “Homeland”) runs the turkey farm his father built after they emigrated from Iran to Israel.
When his son Moti turns 13, Yitzhak teaches him the trade in hopes that he will take over the family business — but Moti’s dreams lie elsewhere. The arrival of an uncle from America further ratchets up the tension and the family’s tight bonds are put to the test. Opening Night will be held at the AFI Silver Theatre on Wednesday, February 24 at 6:30 p.m. The Opening Night Party, with DirectorYuval Delshad, will be held at the Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza immediately following the screening.
Closing Night : "A Tale of Love and Darkness"
Closing Night centers on Academy Award®-winning actress Natalie Portman in her debut as a director (and screenwriter) in a hauntingly beautiful adaptation of Amos Oz’s best-selling memoir, "A Tale of Love and Darkness." In this dream-like tale, Portman inhabits Fania—Oz’s mother—who brings up her son in Jerusalem during the end of the British Mandate for Palestine and the early years of the State of Israel. Dissatisfied with her marriage, and disoriented by the foreign land surrounding her, Fania escapes into elaborate, fanciful stories of make-believe — bringing her adoring, wide-eyed son along. Closing Night will be held at the Dcjcc on Sunday, March 6 at 6:45 p.m. Followed by a Closing Night Reception and the Audience Award Ceremony.
Wjff Visionary Award Presented to Armin Mueller-Stahl
The Wjff’s Annual Visionary Award recognizes creativity and insight in presenting the full diversity of the Jewish experience through moving image. The 2016 honoree is Armin Mueller-Stahl, who will join us for a special extended Q&A and the presentation of the Wjff Visionary Award. The award will be presented alongside a screening of Barry Levinson’s 1990 film "Avalon," an evocative, nostalgic film that celebrates the virtues of family life. “Avalon” begins with Jewish immigrant Sam Krichinsky (portrayed by Armin Mueller-Stahl) arriving in America on July 4th. He settles in Baltimore with his brothers and raises a family. Director Barry Levinson traces various transitions within the Krichinsky family and conveys his appreciation for the anxieties that afflict the suburban middle-class – and multiple generations of immigrants in particular.
Armin Mueller-Stahl is a German actor, painter, writer and musician. He began acting in East Berlin in 1950, winning the Gdr State Prize for his film work. By 1977, however, he was blacklisted by the communist regime due to his persistent activism in protesting government suppression of the arts. After relocating to the West in 1980, he starred in groundbreaking independent European films, such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “Lola” and “Veronika Voss” and Agnieszka Holland’s “Angry Harvest.” He gained major recognition stateside with two radically different characterizations: an aging Nazi war criminal in Costa-Gavras’ “The Music Box” and Jewish grandpa Sam Krischinsky in Barry Levinson’s “Avalon.” He went on to earn an Oscar® nomination for his role in Scott Hicks’ Shine and appeared in such varied work as “Eastern Promises,” “The Game,” “The West Wing,” “The X Files” and “Knight of Cups.”
The Wjff Visionary Award program will take place at the AFI Silver Theatre on Thursday, March 3 at 6:45 p.m.
Spotlight Evening:
Compared to What? The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank
A polarizing, revolutionary, effective and a most-singular figure in American politics, Barney Frank shaped the debate around progressive values and gay rights in the U.S. Congress for over 40 years. A fresh and contemporary political drama with unparalleled access to one of Congress’ first openly gay Representatives and easily one of the most captivating public figures in recent memory.
Born Jewish, and a longtime friend to the Jewish community and supporter of Israel, Frank is refreshingly honest, likeable and passionate – a beacon of statesmanship that politicians and citizens alike, can look to for inspiration.
Screenings will take place on Tuesday, March 1st at the Avalon Theatre at 6:15 p.m. and Wednesday, March 2 at the Dcjcc at 6:15 p.m. Both screenings followed by a discussion with Barney Frank, husband Jim Ready and filmmakers Sheila Canavan and Michael Chandler.
Spotlight Evening:
Gary Lucas’ Fleischerei: Music From Max Fleischer Cartoons
Celebrating the release of the titular album—on Silver Spring-based label Cuneiform—legendary guitarist Gary Lucas joins forces with Tony®-nominated singer and actress Sarah Stiles (Q Street,Hand to God) for a loving musical tribute to the swinging, jazzy soundtracks that adorned master animator Max Fleischer’s surreal, wacky and Yiddish-inflected "Betty Boop" and "Popeye" cartoons of the 1930’s.
Backed by the cartoons themselves, and the cream of NYC’s jazz performers (Jeff Lederer on reeds, Michael Bates on bass, Rob Garcia on drums and Mingus Big Band’s Joe Fiedler on trombone), Lucas and Stiles have a rare evening in store. Get ready for a swirling melting-pot of jungle-band jazz, Tin Pan Alley torch songs, raucous vaudeville turns, and Dixieland mixed with a pinch of Klezmer.
This event will take place at AFI Silver Theatre on Saturday, March 5 at 8:30 p.m.
Additional Films of Note
The Wjff will present the mid-Atlantic premiere of "Barash." In the film, seventeen-year-old Naama Barash enjoys drugs, alcohol and hanging out with like-minded friends. Her activities are an escape from a strained home life where her parents fight and her rebellious, army-enrolled sister wreaks havoc by dating a Palestinian before going Awol all together. As her parents fret about their older daughter’s disappearance, Naama meets a wild girl in school and discovers the intoxicating rush of first love. “Barash” will be screened three times during the festival, on February 27 at 8:45 p.m. at E Street Cinema, on March 2 at 8:45 p.m. at the Avalon Theatre and on March 3 at 6:15 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema.
"Black Jews: The Roots of the Olive Tree" will have its World Premiere at Wjff. The documentary offers a fascinating exploration of African tribes with Jewish roots – in Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon. Some claim to be descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes; others believe their ancestors were Jews who immigrated from Judea to Yemen. Far from a dry archaeological account, the film focuses on the modern-day personal and institutional practice of Judaism throughout Africa, as well as of recent African immigrants in Israel. This film will be screened on March 2 at 6:45 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema and on March 3 at 6:30 p.m. at E Street Cinema.
The mid-Atlantic premiere of "Demon," from director Marcin Wrona, features a chilling, modern interpretation of the Dybbuk legend. Piotr’s joy at visiting his bride-to-be at her Polish home is quickly upended by his discovery of human bones on the property. Since his future father-in-law plans to gift the newlyweds the land, Piotr at first overlooks this ominous find. The disturbed spirit inhabiting these remains isn’t willing to let him off so easily however. Marcin Wrona’s wickedly sharp and creepy story of possession is set against a bacchanal celebration of blissful union. “Demon” will be screened on February 25th at 8:45 p.m. at E Street Cinema and on March 1 at 9:15 p.m. at AFI Silver Theatre.
From Spain, the mid-Atlantic premiere of "Dirty Wolves" is a WWII thriller imbued with notes of magical realism. Director Simón Casal works in the Wolfram (aka tungsten) mines in rural Galicia. A ruthless Nazi brigade, intent on harvesting the rare metal to feed the Third Reich’s war machine, has captured the mines. When Manuela’s sister helps a Jewish prisoner cross the border to Portugal, they are unwittingly forced into a desperate test, which puts their survival squarely at odds with their sense of justice. “Dirty Wolves” will be screened on February 27 at 6:15 p.m. at West End Cinema, on March 1 at 8:45 p.m. at the Avalon Theatre and on March 2 at 6:45 p.m. at AFI Silver Theatre.
In "The Hebrew Superhero," directors Saul Betser and Asaf Galay examine how Israelis long shunned comics as something on the cultural fringe – they were deemed childish, trivial and, perhaps most cuttingly, un-Israeli. Shaul Betser and Asaf Galay (“The Muses of Isaac Bashevis Singer”) outline the medium’s origins, tracing its evolution from quirky upstart to an indelible reflection on the various forms of Israeli heroes. Featuring gorgeous animation and interviews with Daniella London Dekel, Etgar Keret and Dudu Geva, Wjff is presenting the mid-Atlantic premiere of this documentary, which will be screened on February 25 at 7:15 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre, March 1 at 6:30 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema and March 3 at 8:30 p.m. at E Street Cinema.
Simone Veil’s intrepid fight to legalize abortion in France is brilliantly brought to life in "The Law." In 1974, Veil was charged with decriminalizing abortion and easing access to contraceptives. Facing strong opposition from politicians, an enraged public and the Catholic Church, Veil— an Auschwitz survivor—refused to give up. Fighting for justice amidst a swirl of anti-Semitic sentiment, sexism and personal attacks, her perseverance struck at the heart of national bigotry in a rallying cry for a woman’s right to choose. Wjff will present the D.C. premiere of this French film. It will be screened on February 25 at 8:15 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema, on February 29 at 8:45 p.m. at E Street Cinema and on March 5 at 4:45 p.m. at the Dcjcc.
At 90, Miriam Beerman is a survivor. This groundbreaking artist and Potomac, Maryland resident has overcome personal tragedy to inspire friends, family, peers, patrons and students about how to remain defiant, creative and strong. Miriam has struggled with her artistic demons to create haunting images that evoke the suffering of generations of victims. "Miriam Beerman: Expressing the Chaosis" a memorable profile of an artist who has elevated her empathy for the plight of the world’s cast-offs into powerful portrayals of dignity. The Wjff is hosting the mid-Atlantic premiere of this documentary. Screenings will take place on March 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema and March 3 at 6:15 p.m. at the Dcjcc.
Author and director David Bezmozgis brings his film "Natasha" to Wjff for its D.C. premiere. Adapting his prize-winning story collection,Natasha and Other Stories, to screen, Bezmogis delivers a tragic story of young love. Sixteen-year-old Mark Berman, the son of Latvian-Jewish immigrants, wiles away his hours reading Nietzsche, smoking pot and watching porn. His slacker lifestyle is upended when a 14-year-old hurricane, named Natasha, enters the picture. Drawn to her reckless ways and whispers of her promiscuous past, Mark enters an illicit romance with calamitous consequences. Screenings will take place on February 28 at 5:00 p.m. at West End Cinema, March 3 at 8:30 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema and March 5 at 6:15 p.m. at AFI Silver Theatre.
If you believe the fastest way to the heart is through the stomach, "In Search of Israeli Cuisine" offers a delectable, eye-popping culinary journey through Israel is your personal valentine. Weaving through bustling markets, restaurants, kitchens and farms, we meet cooks, vintners and cheese makers drawn from the wide gamut of cultures making up Israel today — Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian and Druze. With James Beard award-winning chef Michael Solomonov as your guide, get ready for a cinematic buffet that’s humorous, heady, and of course, delicious! Wjff will be showing the mid-Atlantic premiere of this new documentary. Screenings will take place on February 28 at 5:15 p.m. at E Street Cinema, March 1 at 8:15 p.m. at Bethesda Row Cinema and March 4 at 12:30 p.m. at the Dcjcc.
A complete festival schedule can be found online at www.wjff.org...
- 1/15/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
This podcast focuses on Criterion’s Eclipse Series of DVDs. Hosts David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett give an overview of each box and offer their perspectives on the unique treasures they find inside. In this episode, David and Trevor discuss Eclipse Series 18: Dušan Makavejev Free Radical.
About the films:
There’s never been another filmmaker quite like Dušan Makavejev. Even in the 1960s, when all of cinema’s rules seemed to be breaking down and artists such as Godard, Cassavetes, and Marker were dissolving the boundary between fiction and documentary, Yugoslavia’s Makavejev stood alone. His films about political and sexual liberation were revolutionary, raucous, and ribald. Across these, his wild, collagelike first three films, Makavejev investigates—with a tonic mix of earnestness and whimsy—love, death, and work; the legacy of war and the absurdity of daily life in a Communist state; criminology and hypnosis; strudels and strongmen.
About the films:
There’s never been another filmmaker quite like Dušan Makavejev. Even in the 1960s, when all of cinema’s rules seemed to be breaking down and artists such as Godard, Cassavetes, and Marker were dissolving the boundary between fiction and documentary, Yugoslavia’s Makavejev stood alone. His films about political and sexual liberation were revolutionary, raucous, and ribald. Across these, his wild, collagelike first three films, Makavejev investigates—with a tonic mix of earnestness and whimsy—love, death, and work; the legacy of war and the absurdity of daily life in a Communist state; criminology and hypnosis; strudels and strongmen.
- 12/16/2015
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
This documentary about the celebrated painter is a well rounded assessment of the man and his work
An enjoyable, lucid profile of the celebrated Spanish artist that is very much a companion piece/guide to the current exhibition of Goya’s portraits at the National Gallery in London. That being the case, its biographical detail and curatorial insight lean heavily towards one aspect of Goya’s life and work: how he hacked through the layers of patronage to become court painter to the Bourbons on the eve of the Naploeonic wars. However, there is enough of the unignorable remainder – Disasters of War, Black Paintings etc – to ensure this emerges a rounded, intelligent assessment.
Continue reading...
An enjoyable, lucid profile of the celebrated Spanish artist that is very much a companion piece/guide to the current exhibition of Goya’s portraits at the National Gallery in London. That being the case, its biographical detail and curatorial insight lean heavily towards one aspect of Goya’s life and work: how he hacked through the layers of patronage to become court painter to the Bourbons on the eve of the Naploeonic wars. However, there is enough of the unignorable remainder – Disasters of War, Black Paintings etc – to ensure this emerges a rounded, intelligent assessment.
Continue reading...
- 12/3/2015
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
"Fear is a wonderful motor." Given Frederick Wiseman's extensive and prolific life in the documentary film world, he's more than qualified to make that pronouncement. This week sees the theatrical opening of "In Jackson Heights," his latest film in a career that's spanned almost a half-century. Indiewire Editor in Chief Dana Harris spoke with Wiseman at this year's Toronto International Film Festival about his new release and the directorial philosophies that have sustained him through some mammoth feats of documentary filmmaking. From the seminal "Titicut Follies" to the more recent "National Gallery," Wiseman love to capture the daily workings of various institutions. "During the shooting, I don't even think about the structure," Wiseman said. "The job during the shooting is to accumulate as many interesting sequences as I can." For his latest film, which looks at a variety of cultural...
- 11/3/2015
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
Patricia Cronin's work has been exhibited in solo shows at the Venice Biennale; Musei Capitolini, Centrale Montemartini Museo; Newcomb Art Gallery, Tulane University; Brooklyn Museum; and the American Academy in Rome Art Gallery. Her work has been included in group shows NYC 1993: Experimental, Jet Set, Trash and No Star, New Museum; Watch Your Step, Flag Art Foundation; and Sh(out): Contemporary Art and Human Rights, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, Scotland. Cronin is the recipient of the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome and two Pollock Krasner Foundation Grants. She has also received support from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, and Anonymous Was A Woman. Cronin's works are in numerous collections including National Gallery of Art, Washington; Perez Art Museum Miami; and the Gallery of Modern Art and Kelvingrove Art Galleries and Museum in Glasgow. She is the author...
- 10/14/2015
- by bradleyrubenstein
- www.culturecatch.com
There’s the general idea in cinema that a director learns something with each new film, with his or her new work hopefully being more accomplished than the last. Frederick Wiseman, while still putting out great work, arrived on the scene fully formed with classics such as the controversial Titicut Follies and High School. At the age of 85, he returns this year with a new documentary, In Jackson Heights, which we named one of the best of Venice Film Festival.
We said in our review, “How amazing it is that a human being one century from now can fire up their wind-powered neuro-image-emitter, put on Frederick Wiseman’s In Jackson Heights, and really get a grasp of what it felt like for these people to live? The great documentarian’s latest film — screening out-of-competition this week at the Venice Film Festival — is neither a snapshot nor a love letter of some static environment,...
We said in our review, “How amazing it is that a human being one century from now can fire up their wind-powered neuro-image-emitter, put on Frederick Wiseman’s In Jackson Heights, and really get a grasp of what it felt like for these people to live? The great documentarian’s latest film — screening out-of-competition this week at the Venice Film Festival — is neither a snapshot nor a love letter of some static environment,...
- 10/14/2015
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Bold and confident film from Aleksandr Sokurov roams the corridors of the Paris museum to reflect on its history from the Renaissance to the present
With this sophisticated, complex and thoroughly absorbing film, Aleksandr Sokurov has had another night at the museum reverie, a cine-prose poem or animated installation tableau, weaving newsreel footage with eerie floating images above the streets of contemporary Paris – presumably filmed with a drone – and dramatised fantasy scenes.
Thirteen years after Russian Ark, that renowned single-take movie journey through the Hermitage museum in St Petersburg, Sokurov has now alighted on the Louvre in Paris. Francofonia has all sorts of wayward digressions and perambulations around the idea of French and European culture, and the role of the museum in conserving art and promoting the idea of what it means to be human. I suspect, incidentally, that it was Russian Ark back in 2002 that planted a seed for other film-makers’ thoughts on museums,...
With this sophisticated, complex and thoroughly absorbing film, Aleksandr Sokurov has had another night at the museum reverie, a cine-prose poem or animated installation tableau, weaving newsreel footage with eerie floating images above the streets of contemporary Paris – presumably filmed with a drone – and dramatised fantasy scenes.
Thirteen years after Russian Ark, that renowned single-take movie journey through the Hermitage museum in St Petersburg, Sokurov has now alighted on the Louvre in Paris. Francofonia has all sorts of wayward digressions and perambulations around the idea of French and European culture, and the role of the museum in conserving art and promoting the idea of what it means to be human. I suspect, incidentally, that it was Russian Ark back in 2002 that planted a seed for other film-makers’ thoughts on museums,...
- 9/4/2015
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Famed documentarian Frederick Wiseman may be 85-years-old, but he's working a clip worthy of a filmmaker half his age. He's been busy knocking out documentaries at nearly one per year since 2009 (he did miss delivering something in 2012), and he continues to be in top form. His last two efforts, "National Gallery" (review here) and "At Berkeley" (our review), got some very good notices, and now he's at the Venice Film Festival, where he'll debut his next film, "In Jackson Heights." Read More: Watch The Trailer For Frederick Wiseman's Art Documentary 'National Gallery' Once again, Wiseman is taking a deep, immersive look, this time bringing his camera to the titular New York City neighborhood, chronicling the diverse, multi-ethnic citizens, in a picture that runs over three-hours-long. Here's the official synopsis: In Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, live many immigrants coming from South America, Mexico, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan,...
- 9/3/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Daniel Craig is back at James Bond 007 in Spectre. And the new trailer gives some clues as to what to expect. Here's our detailed look...
Blimey, it's hard to beat a good James Bond trailer these days. Mirroring the memorable marketing campaign for Skyfall, the new trailer for Sam Mendes' second Bond movie gives us far more to chew on than March's teaser. Our analysis of that one is here.
It also gives us an idea of how the film will go back to the basics of the series while simultaneously tying up loose ends from the previous three films starring Daniel Craig, by bringing back the titular criminal organisation from the original run. If you haven't watched the trailer yet, take a look at the embedded video below and then read on for some potentially spoilery analysis of what's going on...
Looks good, right? Planes, trains, automobiles and...
Blimey, it's hard to beat a good James Bond trailer these days. Mirroring the memorable marketing campaign for Skyfall, the new trailer for Sam Mendes' second Bond movie gives us far more to chew on than March's teaser. Our analysis of that one is here.
It also gives us an idea of how the film will go back to the basics of the series while simultaneously tying up loose ends from the previous three films starring Daniel Craig, by bringing back the titular criminal organisation from the original run. If you haven't watched the trailer yet, take a look at the embedded video below and then read on for some potentially spoilery analysis of what's going on...
Looks good, right? Planes, trains, automobiles and...
- 7/22/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Enter here for your chance to win passes to the Exhibition on Screen presentation of The Impressionists from Fathom Events.
For your chance to receive two (2) complimentary passes to see The Impressionists exhibit on the big screen at the AMC Forum 30 with IMAX Theater in Sterling Heights, Michigan on Tuesday, July 14th at 7:00Pm, just look for the “Enter the Contest” box further down on this page. But, hurry because the contest ends Friday night at midnight!
About The Event
Date: Tuesday, July 14
Time: 7:00 p.m. (local time)
Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes (approximate)
Special Fathom Features: Enjoy unique access to some of the most beloved works of all time including exclusive access to the blockbuster exhibition from the Musée du Luxembourg, the Musée D’Orsay Paris, The National Gallery London and The Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Fathom Events, Arts Alliance, and Seventh Art Productions are elated to bring...
For your chance to receive two (2) complimentary passes to see The Impressionists exhibit on the big screen at the AMC Forum 30 with IMAX Theater in Sterling Heights, Michigan on Tuesday, July 14th at 7:00Pm, just look for the “Enter the Contest” box further down on this page. But, hurry because the contest ends Friday night at midnight!
About The Event
Date: Tuesday, July 14
Time: 7:00 p.m. (local time)
Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes (approximate)
Special Fathom Features: Enjoy unique access to some of the most beloved works of all time including exclusive access to the blockbuster exhibition from the Musée du Luxembourg, the Musée D’Orsay Paris, The National Gallery London and The Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Fathom Events, Arts Alliance, and Seventh Art Productions are elated to bring...
- 7/8/2015
- by Administrator
- CinemaNerdz
It’s been a surprisingly interesting month of moving and shaking in terms of doc development. Just a month after making his first public funding pitch at Toronto’s Hot Docs Forum, legendary doc filmmaker Frederick Wiseman took to Kickstarter to help cover the remaining expenses for his 40th feature film In Jackson Heights (see the film’s first trailer below). Unrelentingly rigorous in his determination to capture the American institutional landscape on film, his latest continues down this thematic rabbit hole, taking on the immensely diverse New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights as his latest subject. According to the Kickstarter page, Wiseman is currently editing the 120 hours of rushes he shot with hopes of having the film ready for a fall festival premiere (my guess would be Tiff, where both National Gallery and At Berkeley made their North American debut), though he’s currently quite a ways away from his $75,000 goal.
- 7/6/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
VOD service Dendy Direct has strengthened its film and TV content after signing deals with two major Us companies and three Australian distributors.
Although none of the arrangements is exclusive, Dendy Direct gets a wide range of titles including Mad Men, the first two seasons of Orange is the New Black, documentary Finding Vivien Maier and Us comedies Inside Amy Schumer and Workaholics.
The agreement with Viacom International Media Networks spans 30 seasons of programming from Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.
Lionsgate Entertainment is supplying Mad Men, Orange in the New Black, Nurse Jackie, Nashville and more than 70 library films.
Among the titles from Aussie independents are Accent Films. Little Accidents, Old Joy and Computer Chess, and Sc Movies. An Invisible Sign, Maladies, Stephen King's A Good Marriage and Turkey Shoot.
From Vendetta Films comes National Gallery, Supermensch, Palo Alto, Finding Vivien Maier and The Last Diamond.
Dendy...
Although none of the arrangements is exclusive, Dendy Direct gets a wide range of titles including Mad Men, the first two seasons of Orange is the New Black, documentary Finding Vivien Maier and Us comedies Inside Amy Schumer and Workaholics.
The agreement with Viacom International Media Networks spans 30 seasons of programming from Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.
Lionsgate Entertainment is supplying Mad Men, Orange in the New Black, Nurse Jackie, Nashville and more than 70 library films.
Among the titles from Aussie independents are Accent Films. Little Accidents, Old Joy and Computer Chess, and Sc Movies. An Invisible Sign, Maladies, Stephen King's A Good Marriage and Turkey Shoot.
From Vendetta Films comes National Gallery, Supermensch, Palo Alto, Finding Vivien Maier and The Last Diamond.
Dendy...
- 6/3/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Anti-Nazi satire from Stations of the Cross director Dietrich Bruggemann and a new documentary from Mark Cousins among titles.Scroll down for competition line-ups
The 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 3-11) has unveiled the competition titles in its Official Selection, East of the West, Forum of Independents and Documentary sections.
The main competition will comprise seven world premieres and six international premieres, including the new film from Stations of the Cross director Dietrich Brüggemann, Heil, a satirical comedy centred on neo-Nazis.
Polish documentary director Marcin Koszałkaʼs will present his feature debut, The Red Spider, a psychological thriller inspired by true events from the 1950s that delves into the mechanisms that give rise to a mass murderer.
Danish documentary maker Daniel Dencik will present his first feature, Gold Coast, about a young anti-colonial idealist who sets out for Danish Guinea to set up a coffee plantation - but not everything goes to plan. The music is...
The 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 3-11) has unveiled the competition titles in its Official Selection, East of the West, Forum of Independents and Documentary sections.
The main competition will comprise seven world premieres and six international premieres, including the new film from Stations of the Cross director Dietrich Brüggemann, Heil, a satirical comedy centred on neo-Nazis.
Polish documentary director Marcin Koszałkaʼs will present his feature debut, The Red Spider, a psychological thriller inspired by true events from the 1950s that delves into the mechanisms that give rise to a mass murderer.
Danish documentary maker Daniel Dencik will present his first feature, Gold Coast, about a young anti-colonial idealist who sets out for Danish Guinea to set up a coffee plantation - but not everything goes to plan. The music is...
- 6/2/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
These past few weeks, Seen has bounced between Venice, Detroit, Randalls Island, and downtown, circa 1981, So why not Washington, D.C.? This month, the National Gallery of Art commemorates the 25th anniversary of its photography program with an exhibit called “The Memory of Time.” With a focus on contemporary photography, it explores how photographs have evolved from a recorder of (supposedly) unbiased truths, to a multifaceted medium where image, time, memory, and history are all manipulated. The exhibit opened on May 3 and runs until September 13.
- 5/22/2015
- by Marcus Jones
- Vulture
★★★★☆ Painting has only "the speed of light to tell its story," explains one tour guide in pro documentarian Frederick Wiseman's National Gallery (2014), a study of the Trafalgar Square institution. Wiseman's film is nearly three hours in length (still an hour shorter than his previous effort, 2013's At Berkeley), but every frame seems to illuminate some distinctive element of the ethereal nature of the place, and even at the speed of light his portrait of an institution in motion has questions that ruminate afterwards. In his signature style, without talking heads, narration or explanatory context, Wiseman takes us straight into the London gallery itself and the inhabitants inside - both human and paint-form.
- 5/12/2015
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The Toronto International Film Festival is in its 40th year, and the Tiff CEO and Artistic Director this morning announced the programmers for 2015’s festival.
Tiff runs from September 10 to September 20. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a reveal of the full film lineups. Read the press-release for this year’s festival programmers below:
****
40th Toronto International Film Festival Announces Its Programmers
Toronto — Piers Handling, Director and CEO of Tiff, and Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival, reveal the team of 22 programmers who will make the selections for the 40th Toronto International Film Festival®, which runs Thursday, September 10 through Sunday, September 20, 2015.
Piers Handling
Europe, City to City: London, Special Presentations, Gala Presentations
Handling is the Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tiff. He has held this position since 1994, and is responsible for leading both the operational and artistic growth of the organization. Under Handling’s direction,...
Tiff runs from September 10 to September 20. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a reveal of the full film lineups. Read the press-release for this year’s festival programmers below:
****
40th Toronto International Film Festival Announces Its Programmers
Toronto — Piers Handling, Director and CEO of Tiff, and Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival, reveal the team of 22 programmers who will make the selections for the 40th Toronto International Film Festival®, which runs Thursday, September 10 through Sunday, September 20, 2015.
Piers Handling
Europe, City to City: London, Special Presentations, Gala Presentations
Handling is the Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tiff. He has held this position since 1994, and is responsible for leading both the operational and artistic growth of the organization. Under Handling’s direction,...
- 5/11/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Oftentimes resembling a mosaic of pandering moments rather than an actual film, the most interesting cliché Woman in Gold employs is the Mona Lisa of speech writing crutches. It’s around the midpoint of the film that star Helen Mirren is addressing an Austrian assembly about the restitution of Nazi-confiscated art. As such, it’s the perfect time for her character, and screenwriter Alexi Kaye Campbell to tell us the dictionary definition of restitution: the return of something to its original state. That there’s little original about Woman in Gold, beyond its remarkable true story, is a nuisance, but it does help to elucidate the often-cagey relationship between film and fine art.
The movies, an organic medium, imitate life using the motion and sound that make up most of our everyday experiences. Paintings, Woman in Gold’s subject of interest, are no less powerful in their imagery, but that power comes from a singular,...
The movies, an organic medium, imitate life using the motion and sound that make up most of our everyday experiences. Paintings, Woman in Gold’s subject of interest, are no less powerful in their imagery, but that power comes from a singular,...
- 4/2/2015
- by Sam Woolf
- We Got This Covered
On My Skin: Barraud Explores the Essence of Monstrosity
There are moments within Antoine Barraud’s sophomore feature Portrait of the Artist that tend to feel enlivened with an arresting strangeness. There is the peripherally entertaining notion of provocative body horror shadowing us while we follow a filmmaker creating his latest project, simultaneously losing his grip on reality. But more often than not, the film feels like a thriller version of Frederick Wiseman’s National Gallery. Barraud’s French language title, Le Dos Rouge (basically The Red Back) was perhaps too literal of a title, and the allusion to Joyce’s classic text (though this is really more ‘as a middle aged man’) gives it a certain extra textual density since Joyce’s novel is an allusion to Daedalus, the man responsible for constructing the Labyrinth which entombed the deadly Minotaur in Greek Mythology.
Bertrand (Bertrand Bonello) is a filmmaker...
There are moments within Antoine Barraud’s sophomore feature Portrait of the Artist that tend to feel enlivened with an arresting strangeness. There is the peripherally entertaining notion of provocative body horror shadowing us while we follow a filmmaker creating his latest project, simultaneously losing his grip on reality. But more often than not, the film feels like a thriller version of Frederick Wiseman’s National Gallery. Barraud’s French language title, Le Dos Rouge (basically The Red Back) was perhaps too literal of a title, and the allusion to Joyce’s classic text (though this is really more ‘as a middle aged man’) gives it a certain extra textual density since Joyce’s novel is an allusion to Daedalus, the man responsible for constructing the Labyrinth which entombed the deadly Minotaur in Greek Mythology.
Bertrand (Bertrand Bonello) is a filmmaker...
- 3/15/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
BBC Four has announced a series of relaxing programmes that will be shot in real time.
The BBC Four Goes Slow series will be inspired by the concept of 'slow TV', where events are filmed in real time, and will include three unrushed programmes.
The Canal will be an uninterrupted canal boat journey down a historic British waterway, taking in the sights and sounds of the countryside.
Make will be a series of three half-hour shows about traditional craftsmanship, looking at the making of different simple objects, with no voiceover.
Finally, National Gallery will see Frederick Wiseman going behind the scenes of the museum for three hours with no voiceover, no score and no added sound effects.
Cassian Harrison, channel editor of BBC Four, says: "BBC Four Goes Slow is another brilliant example of something only BBC Four would do.
"This surprising selection of programmes is the antithesis to the...
The BBC Four Goes Slow series will be inspired by the concept of 'slow TV', where events are filmed in real time, and will include three unrushed programmes.
The Canal will be an uninterrupted canal boat journey down a historic British waterway, taking in the sights and sounds of the countryside.
Make will be a series of three half-hour shows about traditional craftsmanship, looking at the making of different simple objects, with no voiceover.
Finally, National Gallery will see Frederick Wiseman going behind the scenes of the museum for three hours with no voiceover, no score and no added sound effects.
Cassian Harrison, channel editor of BBC Four, says: "BBC Four Goes Slow is another brilliant example of something only BBC Four would do.
"This surprising selection of programmes is the antithesis to the...
- 3/2/2015
- Digital Spy
Occasionally something drops in your inbox that you simply cannot ignore.
When we heard that Joe Pasquale had been inspired by the great Renaissance artists And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to make some pizza-inspired paintings, we were all over it.
Pasquale has painted his own takes on da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, Donatello's David, Raphael's Sistine Chapel Cherubim and Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, for display on the walls of outside the National Gallery.
If there's a better way to promote the new season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nicktoons (Saturdays at 9.30am) than having Joe Pasquale use the phrase "Turtle iconography", I can't imagine it.
"The last one is the hand of god - The Creation of Adam. We had the creation of pizza," Pasquale explains patiently.
"It was deep pan, and it was also stuffed crust. I really love stuffed crust, but I can't have it 'cos I'm gluten free.
When we heard that Joe Pasquale had been inspired by the great Renaissance artists And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to make some pizza-inspired paintings, we were all over it.
Pasquale has painted his own takes on da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, Donatello's David, Raphael's Sistine Chapel Cherubim and Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, for display on the walls of outside the National Gallery.
If there's a better way to promote the new season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nicktoons (Saturdays at 9.30am) than having Joe Pasquale use the phrase "Turtle iconography", I can't imagine it.
"The last one is the hand of god - The Creation of Adam. We had the creation of pizza," Pasquale explains patiently.
"It was deep pan, and it was also stuffed crust. I really love stuffed crust, but I can't have it 'cos I'm gluten free.
- 2/12/2015
- Digital Spy
J.M.W. Turner biopic "Mr. Turner" has been praised for its recreation of the world Turner's world manner that only director Mike Leigh could pull off. And of course instrumental in fabricating that universe was costume designer Jacqueline Durran and production designer Suzie Davies, each of them Oscar-nominated for their work on the film. A common starting place was trying to envision the world of an individual so famous, but whose actual appearance is not very well known. "We had a researcher, an academic, who researched every known piece of information about Turner before we started," Durran says. "There aren’t that many portraits of him — about 10 — and she put those together and found books that were most succinct. We didn't have a script [because Leigh eschews the norm in this regard], so we knew a lot would depend on the relationship between Mike and the actor and how they chose to approach Turner." Davies started with Turner’s art work,...
- 2/8/2015
- by Gerard Kennedy
- Hitfix
Alain Guiraudie’s Stranger by the Lake leads the pack in this year’s International Cinephile Society Awards with nine nominations, while Xavier Dolan’s Mommy (a film considered a 2014 release but landed theatrically last month) places 2nd, with eight total noms. The Grand Budapest Hotel, Under the Skin and Boyhood all placed well and should effectively land wins in the multiple categories below. The winners of the 12th Ics Awards will be announced on the 20th. Here are the noms:
Picture
• Boyhood
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Goodbye to Language
• The Immigrant
• Inherent Vice
• Mommy
• Mr. Turner
• Only Lovers Left Alive
• Stranger by the Lake
• Two Days, One Night
• Under the Skin
Director
• Xavier Dolan – Mommy
• Jonathan Glazer – Under the Skin
• Jean-Luc Godard – Goodbye to Language
• Alain Guiraudie – Stranger by the Lake
• Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Film Not In The English Language
• Force Majeure
• A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night...
Picture
• Boyhood
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Goodbye to Language
• The Immigrant
• Inherent Vice
• Mommy
• Mr. Turner
• Only Lovers Left Alive
• Stranger by the Lake
• Two Days, One Night
• Under the Skin
Director
• Xavier Dolan – Mommy
• Jonathan Glazer – Under the Skin
• Jean-Luc Godard – Goodbye to Language
• Alain Guiraudie – Stranger by the Lake
• Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Film Not In The English Language
• Force Majeure
• A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night...
- 2/3/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.