We here at IndieWire love watching films on actual film — and cities like New York and Los Angeles, where repertory cinema is thriving, provide no shortage of opportunities to do just that. Scoping out selections in both major metropolises, we’ve compiled a list of the best screening options for the upcoming month, which include retrospectives on beloved auteurs featuring multiple 35mm prints, as well as 4K restorations of classic films that shouldn’t be missed.
In keeping with our appreciation for the theatrical experience throughout the country and world, IndieWire also gives a special shoutout to The Brattle Theatre of Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as some of its stellar curation over the next month. Keep reading for our picks.
New York Film Forum ‘Blacula,’ William Marshall Courtesy Everett Collection
In anticipation of the new 4K restoration of Jean-Pierre Melville’s WWII French resistance drama “Army of Shadows,” which will...
In keeping with our appreciation for the theatrical experience throughout the country and world, IndieWire also gives a special shoutout to The Brattle Theatre of Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as some of its stellar curation over the next month. Keep reading for our picks.
New York Film Forum ‘Blacula,’ William Marshall Courtesy Everett Collection
In anticipation of the new 4K restoration of Jean-Pierre Melville’s WWII French resistance drama “Army of Shadows,” which will...
- 7/26/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
Deckert Distribution has announced that it has picked up world rights for feature-length documentary “Outside,” directed by the Ukrainian director Olha Zhurba. The film will premiere in the main competition section of the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival (Cph:Dox), which runs March 23-April 3.
Zhurba’s short fiction film “Dad’s Sneakers” had its premiere in the short competition at Locarno Film Festival last year, and later won the Ukrainian Short and Fipresci awards at Odessa Film Festival, and the National Film Critics Award, Kinokolo. “Outside” is Zhurba’s first feature-length documentary.
The film tells the story of the turbulent youth of Roma, a 13-year-old street boy neglected by his family and the state, who becomes a poster boy for the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014. His story traverses the years he spent on the streets of Kyiv and after his release from the orphanage, left to face the outside world with nothing.
Zhurba’s short fiction film “Dad’s Sneakers” had its premiere in the short competition at Locarno Film Festival last year, and later won the Ukrainian Short and Fipresci awards at Odessa Film Festival, and the National Film Critics Award, Kinokolo. “Outside” is Zhurba’s first feature-length documentary.
The film tells the story of the turbulent youth of Roma, a 13-year-old street boy neglected by his family and the state, who becomes a poster boy for the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014. His story traverses the years he spent on the streets of Kyiv and after his release from the orphanage, left to face the outside world with nothing.
- 3/4/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Germany-based documentary sales outfit Deckert Distribution has named Liselot Verbrugge as its new CEO.
The former Autlook Sales executive takes the reins of the company as founder Heino Deckert shifts gears to focus fully on production. Deckert has also further expanded with the hire of sales and acquisitions executive Patrizia Mancini.
Verbrugge, who previously oversaw TV and VOD sales for Autlook, joined Deckert in early 2019 as head of sales and acquisitions. In her career, she has been responsible for the roll-out of double Academy Award-nominated “Honeyland” and for acquiring Francesco Montagner’s “Brotherhood” and Ahmet Necdet Cupur’s “Les Enfants Terribles.” She started in film production and worked for festivals such as IDFA and Cinekid before switching to international film sales in 2014.
Deckert, who founded the sales agent in 2003, will remain a shareholder in the outfit, and also serve as an advisor. He said that after several years of managing various companies,...
The former Autlook Sales executive takes the reins of the company as founder Heino Deckert shifts gears to focus fully on production. Deckert has also further expanded with the hire of sales and acquisitions executive Patrizia Mancini.
Verbrugge, who previously oversaw TV and VOD sales for Autlook, joined Deckert in early 2019 as head of sales and acquisitions. In her career, she has been responsible for the roll-out of double Academy Award-nominated “Honeyland” and for acquiring Francesco Montagner’s “Brotherhood” and Ahmet Necdet Cupur’s “Les Enfants Terribles.” She started in film production and worked for festivals such as IDFA and Cinekid before switching to international film sales in 2014.
Deckert, who founded the sales agent in 2003, will remain a shareholder in the outfit, and also serve as an advisor. He said that after several years of managing various companies,...
- 11/18/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Films include Emerald Fennell’s ‘Promising Young Woman’ and Blerta Basholli’s ‘Hive’.
More films than ever before are eligible for this year’s European Film Awards’ feature film and documentary film selection, with 40 feature films and 15 documentary films, and further feature film titles to be revealed in September.
Titles in the feature film selection include Blerta Basholli’s Sundance hit Hive and Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman. The latter is eligible despite being listed as a film of US origin. The European Film Academy (Efa) told Screen this was because the film reaches the number of points in...
More films than ever before are eligible for this year’s European Film Awards’ feature film and documentary film selection, with 40 feature films and 15 documentary films, and further feature film titles to be revealed in September.
Titles in the feature film selection include Blerta Basholli’s Sundance hit Hive and Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman. The latter is eligible despite being listed as a film of US origin. The European Film Academy (Efa) told Screen this was because the film reaches the number of points in...
- 8/24/2021
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Other winners included the three lead actresses of ’The Hill Where Lionesses Roar’.
Sebastian Miese’s Austrian-German drama Great Freedom has won the Sarajevo Film Festival’s top prize, the Heart of Sarajevo for best feature film.
The 2021 winners were announced at an awards ceremony last night (August 20). The film received its world premiere at Cannes last month, where it played in Un Certain Regard and won the jury prize.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The love story tracks the persecution of homosexuality in Germany over the decades following the Second World War. It is the Austrian director...
Sebastian Miese’s Austrian-German drama Great Freedom has won the Sarajevo Film Festival’s top prize, the Heart of Sarajevo for best feature film.
The 2021 winners were announced at an awards ceremony last night (August 20). The film received its world premiere at Cannes last month, where it played in Un Certain Regard and won the jury prize.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The love story tracks the persecution of homosexuality in Germany over the decades following the Second World War. It is the Austrian director...
- 8/20/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Will.i.am, Ashley Banjo, Charlene White to Headline ITV’s Black History Month Shows- Global Bulletin
Programming
Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am, “Britain’s Got Talent” judge Ashley Banjo, presenter Charlene White and actor Jimmy Akingbola (“In the Long Run”) will lead U.K. broadcaster ITV’s programming for Black History Month this October.
The programming includes “Will.i.am: The Blackprint,” a one-hour documentary that follows Will.i.am’s personal exploration of what it means to be Black and British, in the country he calls his second home.
In summer 2020, Banjo was thrust into the centre of the Black Lives Matter movement when the pro equality routine performed by his troupe Diversity became one of the most complained about moments in U.K. media regulator Ofcom’s history. A year on from then, “Ashley Banjo: Britain in Black and White” (working title), and having won a BAFTA as a recognition of the importance of his routine, Banjo goes on a journey into his own past...
Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am, “Britain’s Got Talent” judge Ashley Banjo, presenter Charlene White and actor Jimmy Akingbola (“In the Long Run”) will lead U.K. broadcaster ITV’s programming for Black History Month this October.
The programming includes “Will.i.am: The Blackprint,” a one-hour documentary that follows Will.i.am’s personal exploration of what it means to be Black and British, in the country he calls his second home.
In summer 2020, Banjo was thrust into the centre of the Black Lives Matter movement when the pro equality routine performed by his troupe Diversity became one of the most complained about moments in U.K. media regulator Ofcom’s history. A year on from then, “Ashley Banjo: Britain in Black and White” (working title), and having won a BAFTA as a recognition of the importance of his routine, Banjo goes on a journey into his own past...
- 7/22/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
10 feature world premieres in the selection.
Sarajevo Film Festival has selected 20 features in the competition programme for its 27th edition, which will run in-person from August 13-20.
Nine films have been chosen for the Feature Film section of the programme for fiction titles, including two world premieres – Dušan Kasalica’s Montenegrin-Serbian title The Elegy Of Laurel, and Cristina Grosan’s Hungarian film Things Worth Weeping For.
Other films in the Feature Film section include Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s Murina, which won the Camera d’Or for best debut film at Cannes Film Festival last week; and Norika Sefa’s Looking For Venera,...
Sarajevo Film Festival has selected 20 features in the competition programme for its 27th edition, which will run in-person from August 13-20.
Nine films have been chosen for the Feature Film section of the programme for fiction titles, including two world premieres – Dušan Kasalica’s Montenegrin-Serbian title The Elegy Of Laurel, and Cristina Grosan’s Hungarian film Things Worth Weeping For.
Other films in the Feature Film section include Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s Murina, which won the Camera d’Or for best debut film at Cannes Film Festival last week; and Norika Sefa’s Looking For Venera,...
- 7/22/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
10 feature world premieres in the selection.
Sarajevo Film Festival has selected 20 features in the competition programme for its 27th edition, which will run in-person from August 13-20.
Nine films have been chosen for the Feature Film section of the programme for fiction titles, including two world premieres – Dušan Kasalica’s Montenegrin-Serbian title The Elegy Of Laurel, and Cristina Grosan’s Hungarian film Things Worth Weeping For.
Other films in the Feature Film section include Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s Murina, which won the Camera d’Or for best debut film at Cannes Film Festival last week; and Norika Sefa’s Looking For Venera,...
Sarajevo Film Festival has selected 20 features in the competition programme for its 27th edition, which will run in-person from August 13-20.
Nine films have been chosen for the Feature Film section of the programme for fiction titles, including two world premieres – Dušan Kasalica’s Montenegrin-Serbian title The Elegy Of Laurel, and Cristina Grosan’s Hungarian film Things Worth Weeping For.
Other films in the Feature Film section include Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s Murina, which won the Camera d’Or for best debut film at Cannes Film Festival last week; and Norika Sefa’s Looking For Venera,...
- 7/22/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
A total of 47 films will compete at this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival across its four competitive sections. The event will feature 18 world premieres and three international premieres.
The program is open for films from Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbejan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey.
Awards on offer include the Heart of Sarajevo for Feature Film, for Best Director, Best Actress and Best Actor.
Competition Program – Feature Film
The Elegy Of Laurel, Dušan Kasalica – World premiere
Things Worth Weeping For, Cristina Grosan (Hungary) – World premiere
Bebia, À Mon Seul DÉSIR, Juja Dobrachkous – Regional premiere
Celts, Milica Tomović (Serbia) – Regional premiere
Great Freedom, Sebastian Meise – Regional premiere
Looking For Venera, Norika Sefa (Kosovo) – Regional premiere
Moon, 66 Questions, Jacqueline Lentzou – Regional premiere
Murina, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović – Regional premiere
The Hill Where Lionesses Roar, Luàna Bajrami – Regional premiere
Competition Program – Documentary Film
Bosnian Broadway, Jasmina Beširević (Croatia) – World premiere
Disturbed Earth, Kumjana Novakova, Guillermo Carreras-Candi – World premiere
Divas, Máté Kőrösi (Hungary) – World premiere
Every Sunday, Keti Papadema (Cyprus) – World premiere
Horizon, Tanja Deman (Croatia) – World premiere
The Same Dream (Romania) – World premiere
When We Were Them, Danis Tanović, Damir Šagolj (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – World premiere
ŽŽŽ (Journal About ŽELIMIR ŽILNIK), Janko Baljak (Serbia) – World premiere
Sunny, Keti Machavariani (Georgia) – European premiere
Factory To The Workers, Srđan Kovačević (Croatia) – Regional premiere
Les Enfants Terribles, Ahmet Necdet Çupur – Regional premiere
Looking For Horses, Stefan Pavlović – Regional premiere
Recipe For Hate, Filip Čolović (Serbia) – Regional premiere
Reconciliation, Marija Zidar – Regional premiere
Soldat Ahmet, Jannis Lenz (Austria) – Regional premiere
Landscapes Of Resistance, Marta Popivoda – B&h premiere...
The program is open for films from Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbejan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey.
Awards on offer include the Heart of Sarajevo for Feature Film, for Best Director, Best Actress and Best Actor.
Competition Program – Feature Film
The Elegy Of Laurel, Dušan Kasalica – World premiere
Things Worth Weeping For, Cristina Grosan (Hungary) – World premiere
Bebia, À Mon Seul DÉSIR, Juja Dobrachkous – Regional premiere
Celts, Milica Tomović (Serbia) – Regional premiere
Great Freedom, Sebastian Meise – Regional premiere
Looking For Venera, Norika Sefa (Kosovo) – Regional premiere
Moon, 66 Questions, Jacqueline Lentzou – Regional premiere
Murina, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović – Regional premiere
The Hill Where Lionesses Roar, Luàna Bajrami – Regional premiere
Competition Program – Documentary Film
Bosnian Broadway, Jasmina Beširević (Croatia) – World premiere
Disturbed Earth, Kumjana Novakova, Guillermo Carreras-Candi – World premiere
Divas, Máté Kőrösi (Hungary) – World premiere
Every Sunday, Keti Papadema (Cyprus) – World premiere
Horizon, Tanja Deman (Croatia) – World premiere
The Same Dream (Romania) – World premiere
When We Were Them, Danis Tanović, Damir Šagolj (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – World premiere
ŽŽŽ (Journal About ŽELIMIR ŽILNIK), Janko Baljak (Serbia) – World premiere
Sunny, Keti Machavariani (Georgia) – European premiere
Factory To The Workers, Srđan Kovačević (Croatia) – Regional premiere
Les Enfants Terribles, Ahmet Necdet Çupur – Regional premiere
Looking For Horses, Stefan Pavlović – Regional premiere
Recipe For Hate, Filip Čolović (Serbia) – Regional premiere
Reconciliation, Marija Zidar – Regional premiere
Soldat Ahmet, Jannis Lenz (Austria) – Regional premiere
Landscapes Of Resistance, Marta Popivoda – B&h premiere...
- 7/22/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
In one of the biggest deals on titles at this year’s Visions du Réel, Switzerland’s premier documentary festival, Radio Télévision Suisse (Rts), the public broadcasting organization for the French-speaking part of the country, has acquired eleven titles from Visions du Réel’s 2021 selection.
The deal is part of a longstanding partnership between the Swiss doc festival and Rts, which selects around a dozen VdR titles every year.
Some are co-productions under the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation’s pact with the audiovisual industry to increase subsidies for independent Swiss production, including “Radiograph of a Family” by Iranian director Firouzeh Khosrovani.
An IDFA best feature winner, it tells the story of Tayi, who, on her wedding day, marries the photo of Hossein. Joining him in Switzerland, the distance that separates them persists from one country to the other, deepening over the years, and invades the smallest corners of their home.
“The...
The deal is part of a longstanding partnership between the Swiss doc festival and Rts, which selects around a dozen VdR titles every year.
Some are co-productions under the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation’s pact with the audiovisual industry to increase subsidies for independent Swiss production, including “Radiograph of a Family” by Iranian director Firouzeh Khosrovani.
An IDFA best feature winner, it tells the story of Tayi, who, on her wedding day, marries the photo of Hossein. Joining him in Switzerland, the distance that separates them persists from one country to the other, deepening over the years, and invades the smallest corners of their home.
“The...
- 6/14/2021
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Faya Dayi Photo: Jessica Beshir Jessica Beshir's Faya Dayi won the Grand Jury prize at this year's Visions du Réel documentary film festival, which presented its online event from Switzerland.
The film, which also won the Fipresci award, given by film critics, considers a complex picture of modern Ethiopia and its relationship with the stimulant leaf khat.
The jury - comprised of filmmaker Thomas Imbach, Torino Film Lab artistic director Savina Neirotti and MoMA curator Josh Siegel - said: "Interweaving an ancient Sufi parable about the quest for the water of eternal life with a rigorous meditation on labour, exploitation, and exile, and moving freely among different levels of reality and consciousness, Jessica Beshir has created a dreamlike fable for our own uncertain times."
They also awarded a Special Jury prize, ex aequo to Tomasz Wolski's 1970, about a watershed moment in Poland and Ahmet Necdet Cupur's Les Enfants Terribles,...
The film, which also won the Fipresci award, given by film critics, considers a complex picture of modern Ethiopia and its relationship with the stimulant leaf khat.
The jury - comprised of filmmaker Thomas Imbach, Torino Film Lab artistic director Savina Neirotti and MoMA curator Josh Siegel - said: "Interweaving an ancient Sufi parable about the quest for the water of eternal life with a rigorous meditation on labour, exploitation, and exile, and moving freely among different levels of reality and consciousness, Jessica Beshir has created a dreamlike fable for our own uncertain times."
They also awarded a Special Jury prize, ex aequo to Tomasz Wolski's 1970, about a watershed moment in Poland and Ahmet Necdet Cupur's Les Enfants Terribles,...
- 4/25/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Germany’s Deckert Distribution, a world sales agent on two-time Oscar nominee “Honeyland,” has confirmed first deals on “The Bubble,” “Bellum – Daemon of War” and “Les Enfants terribles,” three world premiere standouts in International Competition at Nyon Switzerland’s Visions du Réel.
“Les Enfants terribles” shared the prestige Swiss doc fest’s Special Jury Prize, announced at a prize ceremony on Saturday night.
The deals, with more in negotiation, prove the commercial fire power of the biggest new world premieres at Visions du Réel. Added to sales on Venice pre-opening film “Molecules,” the accords also confirm the strength of Leipzig-based Deckert’ Distribution’s current sales slate which includes six features at Visions du Réel and three at Cph:dox. Sales details:
“The Bubble,” (Valerie Blankenbyl, Switzerland, Austria)
A measured portrait of the world’s biggest retirement community, Florida’s The Villages, “The Bubble” has confirmed its potential as one of the festival’s biggest commercial plays,...
“Les Enfants terribles” shared the prestige Swiss doc fest’s Special Jury Prize, announced at a prize ceremony on Saturday night.
The deals, with more in negotiation, prove the commercial fire power of the biggest new world premieres at Visions du Réel. Added to sales on Venice pre-opening film “Molecules,” the accords also confirm the strength of Leipzig-based Deckert’ Distribution’s current sales slate which includes six features at Visions du Réel and three at Cph:dox. Sales details:
“The Bubble,” (Valerie Blankenbyl, Switzerland, Austria)
A measured portrait of the world’s biggest retirement community, Florida’s The Villages, “The Bubble” has confirmed its potential as one of the festival’s biggest commercial plays,...
- 4/25/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Jessica Beshir’s mesmeric Sundance hit “Faya Dayi” won big at Visions du Réel on Saturday, scooping both its top Grand Jury Prize as well as a Fipresci International Critics Award.
The prize – and Beshir’s surprised but ecstatic acceptance via Zoom from New York – brought to a climax a festival which, as director Emile Bujes pointed out at the closing ceremony, was one of the first to go completely online in 2020. This year, she noted, it became one of the first to open up an on-site component after third-wave Covid-19 launching second-half-of-the festival cinema screenings and welcoming 200 industry members. The initiative came after the Swiss government announced, one day before the festival began, that theaters could re-open in Switzerland.
Tomasz Wolski’s “1970” and Ahmet Necdet Cupur’s “Les Enfants terribles” shared the prestige Swiss doc fest’s Special Jury Prize, an effective runner’s up plaudit.
The prize split...
The prize – and Beshir’s surprised but ecstatic acceptance via Zoom from New York – brought to a climax a festival which, as director Emile Bujes pointed out at the closing ceremony, was one of the first to go completely online in 2020. This year, she noted, it became one of the first to open up an on-site component after third-wave Covid-19 launching second-half-of-the festival cinema screenings and welcoming 200 industry members. The initiative came after the Swiss government announced, one day before the festival began, that theaters could re-open in Switzerland.
Tomasz Wolski’s “1970” and Ahmet Necdet Cupur’s “Les Enfants terribles” shared the prestige Swiss doc fest’s Special Jury Prize, an effective runner’s up plaudit.
The prize split...
- 4/24/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Ahmet Necdet Cupur’s feature debut is an intimate story of clashes between generations, and between the past and the present. In a village in the south-east of Turkey, Mahmut wants to divorce his wife, whom he married only recently. At the same time, his sister Zeynep enrols in high school and takes on a job in a factory. Against her father’s wishes, she wants to leave the village and ultimately go to university. The siblings’ demands become the centre of a conflict in their conservative family and community, who are not used to what Mahmut and Zeynep are striving for. Said conflict is intimately captured by their elder brother Ahmet Necdet Cupur, who left the village 20 years ago to pursue his studies, in Les Enfants Terribles, which is set to world-premiere in the international feature competition of this year’s Visions du Réel and promises to be “a story of.
Documentaries include ‘The Bubble’, a portrait of the world’s largest retirement community.
German sales agent Deckert Distribution has boarded a hat-trick of documentaries set to world premiere in competition at Switzerland’s Visions du Réel.
The features include Bellum - The Daemon Of War by Swedish directors David Herdies and Georg Götmark; Les Enfants Terribles by Turkish filmmaker Ahmet Necdet Çupur; and The Bubble by Austria’s Valerie Blankenbyl.
All three will play in the main competition of Swiss documentary festival Visions du Réel, which revealed its full line up today and is set to take place from April...
German sales agent Deckert Distribution has boarded a hat-trick of documentaries set to world premiere in competition at Switzerland’s Visions du Réel.
The features include Bellum - The Daemon Of War by Swedish directors David Herdies and Georg Götmark; Les Enfants Terribles by Turkish filmmaker Ahmet Necdet Çupur; and The Bubble by Austria’s Valerie Blankenbyl.
All three will play in the main competition of Swiss documentary festival Visions du Réel, which revealed its full line up today and is set to take place from April...
- 3/25/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Documentary festival aims to host physical as well as online events.
Swiss documentary festival Visions du Réel (VdR) has revealed the line-up of competition titles for its 2021 edition, which it aims to host as a hybrid event from April 15-25.
A total of 142 films from 58 countries have been selected, including 82 world premieres.
Scroll down for competition titles
The 13-strong international feature film competition includes the world premiere of Tomasz Wolski’s documentary 1970, which uses stop motion animation and archive footage to recount what happened when striking workers in communist Poland demonstrated against price increases. Poland’s Wolski won the jury...
Swiss documentary festival Visions du Réel (VdR) has revealed the line-up of competition titles for its 2021 edition, which it aims to host as a hybrid event from April 15-25.
A total of 142 films from 58 countries have been selected, including 82 world premieres.
Scroll down for competition titles
The 13-strong international feature film competition includes the world premiere of Tomasz Wolski’s documentary 1970, which uses stop motion animation and archive footage to recount what happened when striking workers in communist Poland demonstrated against price increases. Poland’s Wolski won the jury...
- 3/25/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel (VdR) has revealed the full lineup for its 52nd edition, which, for the second year running, will screen as a online event, this round round over April 15-25.
The program, which comprises of 142 films originating from 58 countries, was revealed live in a Zoom press conference this morning, broadcast from the Cinéma Capitole in the festival’s host town of Nyon, Switzerland.
Among the 13 titles competing in VdR’s main, a doc feature exploring a health system in the throes of change. The zeigeisty debut feature of Swiss filmmaker Marie-Eve Hildbrand will also open the festival on 15 April.
The festival also announced 37 medium-to-short films from first-time directors. In a statement Emilie Bujès, artistic director of Visions du Réel praised this year’s “powerful and eclectic” selection.
“It will once again enable us to take into account the independence and the emancipation of contemporary documentary filmmaking,...
The program, which comprises of 142 films originating from 58 countries, was revealed live in a Zoom press conference this morning, broadcast from the Cinéma Capitole in the festival’s host town of Nyon, Switzerland.
Among the 13 titles competing in VdR’s main, a doc feature exploring a health system in the throes of change. The zeigeisty debut feature of Swiss filmmaker Marie-Eve Hildbrand will also open the festival on 15 April.
The festival also announced 37 medium-to-short films from first-time directors. In a statement Emilie Bujès, artistic director of Visions du Réel praised this year’s “powerful and eclectic” selection.
“It will once again enable us to take into account the independence and the emancipation of contemporary documentary filmmaking,...
- 3/25/2021
- by Ann-Marie Corvin
- Variety Film + TV
Funding sees a 50% boost on previous round to support projects “in times of crisis”.
The Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund (Wcf) has awarded a combined €592,000 to 12 projects in its latest funding round.
The level of funding allocated is up nearly 50% on the previous round in July. Organisers said it intended to “support independent cinema even more strongly in times of crisis”.
Projects receiving support hail from Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Mozambique, Senegal and Turkey.
Selected directors that previously participated in Berlinale Talents include Melisa Önel (Aniden), Nelson Makengo (Rising Up At Night), Edwin,...
The Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund (Wcf) has awarded a combined €592,000 to 12 projects in its latest funding round.
The level of funding allocated is up nearly 50% on the previous round in July. Organisers said it intended to “support independent cinema even more strongly in times of crisis”.
Projects receiving support hail from Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Mozambique, Senegal and Turkey.
Selected directors that previously participated in Berlinale Talents include Melisa Önel (Aniden), Nelson Makengo (Rising Up At Night), Edwin,...
- 12/11/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
After delivering two of the highest-grossing French films of last year, Alain Attal’s Paris-based production company Tresor Films is kicking off 2020 with its most ambitious project yet, Guillaume Canet’s “Asterix & Obelix: The Silk Road.”
Co-produced and financed by Jerome Seydoux’s Pathé, “Asterix & Obelix” is budgeted at $72.4 million, an exceptionally high budget by French standards. Attal, who is also producing the film with the banner Les Enfants Terribles, said the price tag was on a par with previous instalments of “Asterix,” and reflected the scope of the film and commercial potential of the comicbook franchise.
“It’s a costume film set 2,000 years ago, so we’ll be building a village, filming gigantic battles and that will require plenty of extras, and we’ll also need a lot of visual effects and of course a high-profile cast with some cameos,” said Attal. The most successful opus, “Asterix and Obelix Meet Cleopatra,...
Co-produced and financed by Jerome Seydoux’s Pathé, “Asterix & Obelix” is budgeted at $72.4 million, an exceptionally high budget by French standards. Attal, who is also producing the film with the banner Les Enfants Terribles, said the price tag was on a par with previous instalments of “Asterix,” and reflected the scope of the film and commercial potential of the comicbook franchise.
“It’s a costume film set 2,000 years ago, so we’ll be building a village, filming gigantic battles and that will require plenty of extras, and we’ll also need a lot of visual effects and of course a high-profile cast with some cameos,” said Attal. The most successful opus, “Asterix and Obelix Meet Cleopatra,...
- 1/18/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Guillaume Canet, one of France’s most successful actors and filmmakers, is set to star in and direct “Asterix & Obelix, the Silk Road,” a live-action film that will mark the next installment of the blockbuster French comic book franchise.
Pathé is co-producing the film, budgeted at $60 million, with Les Enfants Terribles and Tresor Films. Pathé will also distribute the film in France and will represent it in international markets.
Now in development, “Asterix & Obelix, the Silk Road” is an original story penned by Philippe Mechelen and Julien Hervé, based on the comicbook collection created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo and published by Les Editions Albert-René.
Canet, who also collaborated on the script, will star as Asterix alongside Gilles Lellouche (“Little White Lies”) who will play Obelix. Set to start shooting in the Spring, “Asterix & Obelix, the Silk Road” will follow the protagonists on a journey to China.
“Asterix and...
Pathé is co-producing the film, budgeted at $60 million, with Les Enfants Terribles and Tresor Films. Pathé will also distribute the film in France and will represent it in international markets.
Now in development, “Asterix & Obelix, the Silk Road” is an original story penned by Philippe Mechelen and Julien Hervé, based on the comicbook collection created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo and published by Les Editions Albert-René.
Canet, who also collaborated on the script, will star as Asterix alongside Gilles Lellouche (“Little White Lies”) who will play Obelix. Set to start shooting in the Spring, “Asterix & Obelix, the Silk Road” will follow the protagonists on a journey to China.
“Asterix and...
- 10/28/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Above: French poster for Le silence de la mer (Jean-Pierre Melville, France, 1949). Design by Raymond Gid.Many great filmmakers never got the posters their films deserved. Some of my favorite filmmakers—I'm thinking Yasujiro Ozu, Jacques Rivette, Mike Leigh, and Jean-Marie Straub, to name just a few—for one reason or another, whether it be the vagaries of distribution, the particulars of time and the place, or just the fact that what is so extraordinary about their filmmaking doesn’t translate to still images, have very few posters worthy of their reputation. Jean-Pierre Melville is not one of those. Undoubtedly, the archetype of Melville’s cinema—the trench-coat and fedora sporting, pistol touting tough guy—lends himself beautifully to graphic invention. But Melville made other kinds of films too, and somehow the posters for his entire 13-film oeuvre are an embarrassment of riches. It didn’t hurt that the great French poster artist,...
- 5/6/2017
- MUBI
Aux quatre coinsOrigins in art are forever in doubt. Popular culture seems to imagine that what we now call the French New Wave emerged from thin air with François Truffaut's The 400 Blows (1959) and Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960), but that blinkered narrative ignores features ranging from Agnès Varda’s Le pointe courte (1955) and Claude Chabrol’s Le beau Serge (1958) to Alain Resnais and Marguerite Duras’s Hiroshima, mon amour (1959). Even before these, the filmmakers we associate—through later fame, scandal, obscurity, venerability, and legend—with the New Wave made short films, a medium encouraged by the theatrical practice, now long gone in France, of regularly exhibiting dramatic and documentary short films in cinemas. Early shorts by Jacques Demy, Chris Marker, Truffaut, Godard, and others reach back into the mid-50s, but only two of the New Wave’s anointed truly began their filmmaking at the halfway point of the 20th century: Eric Rohmer,...
- 10/17/2016
- MUBI
Into the InfernoThe lineup for the 2016 Telluride Film Festival (September 2nd - 5th) have been announced:Arrival (Denis Villeneuve, Us)The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography (Errol Morris, Us)Bleed For This (Ben Younger, Us)California Typewriter (Doug Nichol, Us)Chasing Trane (John Scheinfeld, Us)The End of Eden (Angus Macqueen, UK)Finding Oscar (Ryan Suffern, Us)Fire at Sea (Gianfranco Rosi, Italy/France)Frantz (François Ozon, France)Gentleman Rissient (Benoît Jacquot, Pascal Mérigeau, Guy Seligmann, France)Graduation (Cristian Mungiu, Romania/France/Belgium)Into the Inferno (Werner Herzog, UK/Austria)The Ivory Game (Kief Davidson, Richard Ladkani, Austria/Us)La La Land (Damien Chazelle, Us)Lost in Paris (d. Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel, France/Belgium)Manchester by the Sea (Kenneth Lonergan, Us)Maudie (Aisling Walsh, Canada/Ireland)Men: A Love Story (Mimi Chakarova, Us)Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, Us)My Journey through French Cinema (Bertrand Tavernier, France)Neruda (Pablo Larraín,...
- 9/1/2016
- MUBI
On the Return to Montauk set with Volker Schlöndorff, Nina Hoss (his Barefoot Contessa), and Bronagh Gallagher at Lincoln Center Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Konrad Wolf’s I Was Nineteen (Ich War Neunzehn) co-written with Wolfgang Kohlhaase; Marlen Khutsiev’s It Was In May (Byl Mesyats May) starring Pyotr Todorovskiy; Louis Malle's The Fire Within (Le Feu Follet) based on the novel by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle with Maurice Ronet, Jeanne Moreau and Alexandra Stewart; Joseph Mankiewicz’s The Barefoot Contessa starring Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart; Jean-Pierre Melville's Les Enfants Terribles, adapted from Jean Cocteau’s novel with Nicole Stéphane and Édouard Dermit; and Fritz Lang's Spies (Spione) featuring Rudolf Klein-Rogge and Gerda Maurus, are the six films selected by Volker Schlöndorff as Guest Director of the 43rd Telluride Film Festival.
Michael Curtiz's The Breaking Point was one of Alexander Payne's picks in 2009 Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Alexander Payne,...
Konrad Wolf’s I Was Nineteen (Ich War Neunzehn) co-written with Wolfgang Kohlhaase; Marlen Khutsiev’s It Was In May (Byl Mesyats May) starring Pyotr Todorovskiy; Louis Malle's The Fire Within (Le Feu Follet) based on the novel by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle with Maurice Ronet, Jeanne Moreau and Alexandra Stewart; Joseph Mankiewicz’s The Barefoot Contessa starring Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart; Jean-Pierre Melville's Les Enfants Terribles, adapted from Jean Cocteau’s novel with Nicole Stéphane and Édouard Dermit; and Fritz Lang's Spies (Spione) featuring Rudolf Klein-Rogge and Gerda Maurus, are the six films selected by Volker Schlöndorff as Guest Director of the 43rd Telluride Film Festival.
Michael Curtiz's The Breaking Point was one of Alexander Payne's picks in 2009 Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Alexander Payne,...
- 9/1/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Kenneth Lonergan’s Sundance hit, Denis Villeneuve’s Venice selection, and Pablo Larrain’s acclaimed Chilean biopic are among select titles heading to Colorado this weekend.
The 43rd edition of the Telluride Film Festival includes Clint Eastwood’s Tom Hanks starrer Sully, Barry Jenkins’ anticipated triptych Moonlight and Maren Ade’s Cannes triumph Toni Erdmann.
Joining them are Aisling Walsh’s Maudie, Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea, Damien Chazelle’s Venice opener La La Land and also from the Lido, Rama Burshtein’s Through The Wall.
Telluride runs from September 2-5. The main slate line-up appears below.
Arrival (Denis Villeneuve, Us, 2016)The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography (Errol Morris, Us 2016)Bleed For This (Ben Younger, Us, 2016)California Typewriter (Doug Nichol, Us, 2016)Chasing Trane (John Scheinfeld, Us, 2016)The End Of Eden (Angus Macqueen, UK, 2016)Finding Oscar (Ryan Suffern, Us, 2016)Fire At Sea (Gianfranco Rosi, Italy-France, 2016)Frantz ([link...
The 43rd edition of the Telluride Film Festival includes Clint Eastwood’s Tom Hanks starrer Sully, Barry Jenkins’ anticipated triptych Moonlight and Maren Ade’s Cannes triumph Toni Erdmann.
Joining them are Aisling Walsh’s Maudie, Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea, Damien Chazelle’s Venice opener La La Land and also from the Lido, Rama Burshtein’s Through The Wall.
Telluride runs from September 2-5. The main slate line-up appears below.
Arrival (Denis Villeneuve, Us, 2016)The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography (Errol Morris, Us 2016)Bleed For This (Ben Younger, Us, 2016)California Typewriter (Doug Nichol, Us, 2016)Chasing Trane (John Scheinfeld, Us, 2016)The End Of Eden (Angus Macqueen, UK, 2016)Finding Oscar (Ryan Suffern, Us, 2016)Fire At Sea (Gianfranco Rosi, Italy-France, 2016)Frantz ([link...
- 9/1/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Buoyed by its worldwide premiere at the ongoing Venice Film Festival – early reviews are praising the musical as an audacious, deeply romantic feature – Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash follow-up La La Land has booked its place at Telluride 2016.
The picture, one that stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in central roles, is one of the many soon-to-be-released features to be locked in for the imminent film festival, joining the ranks alongside Manchester By the Sea, Moonlight, Things to Come, Bleed For This and Clint Eastwood’s airborne thriller Sully. It is, without question, a fairly stacked lineup, which only has us all the more excited for the onset of the Toronto International Film Festival later this month.
But over the coming weekend, it is Telluride that will take center stage. Similar to La La Land, today’s unveiling confirms a second festival appearance for Denis Villeneuve’s intriguing sci-fi pic Arrival.
The picture, one that stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in central roles, is one of the many soon-to-be-released features to be locked in for the imminent film festival, joining the ranks alongside Manchester By the Sea, Moonlight, Things to Come, Bleed For This and Clint Eastwood’s airborne thriller Sully. It is, without question, a fairly stacked lineup, which only has us all the more excited for the onset of the Toronto International Film Festival later this month.
But over the coming weekend, it is Telluride that will take center stage. Similar to La La Land, today’s unveiling confirms a second festival appearance for Denis Villeneuve’s intriguing sci-fi pic Arrival.
- 9/1/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
One of the last question marks of the early fall film festival onslaught was Telluride Film Festival, who announces their line-up just a day before the event kicks off. Today now brings the slate for the 43rd edition of the festival, which runs from Friday through Monday.
Featuring the world premiere of Clint Eastwood‘s Sully, there’s also the Venice favorites La La Land and Arrival, as well as past festival highlights and some highly-anticipated dramas headed to Tiff, including Manchester By the Sea, Moonlight, Things to Come, Bleed For This, Toni Erdmann, Una, Neruda, and more. Check out the line-up below, along with links to our reviews where available.
Line-Up
Arrival (d. Denis Villeneuve, U.S., 2016)
The B-side: Elsa Dorfman’S Portrait Photography (d. Errol Morris, U.S., 2016)
Bleed For This (d. Ben Younger, U.S., 2016)
California Typewriter (d. Doug Nichol, U.S., 2016)
Chasing Trane (d. John Scheinfeld,...
Featuring the world premiere of Clint Eastwood‘s Sully, there’s also the Venice favorites La La Land and Arrival, as well as past festival highlights and some highly-anticipated dramas headed to Tiff, including Manchester By the Sea, Moonlight, Things to Come, Bleed For This, Toni Erdmann, Una, Neruda, and more. Check out the line-up below, along with links to our reviews where available.
Line-Up
Arrival (d. Denis Villeneuve, U.S., 2016)
The B-side: Elsa Dorfman’S Portrait Photography (d. Errol Morris, U.S., 2016)
Bleed For This (d. Ben Younger, U.S., 2016)
California Typewriter (d. Doug Nichol, U.S., 2016)
Chasing Trane (d. John Scheinfeld,...
- 9/1/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Telluride Film Festival has announced its lineup for the 2016 edition, which begins Friday. As usual, the exclusive Labor Day weekend gathering of industry insiders and midwestern movie buffs will offer a sneak peak at highly anticipated fall films, including several awards season hopefuls, alongside several favorites from the festival circuit, smaller discoveries and classic films.
Damien Chazelle’s vibrant ode to musicals of the past, “La La Land,” will head to Telluride fresh from the Lionsgate release’s successful opening night slot at the Venice Film Festival, while another Venice premiere, Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi “Arrival,” comes to Telluride courtesy of Paramount alongside a special tribute to star Amy Adams. Another tributee, Casey Affleck, will be in town with Sundance hit “Manchester By the Sea,” which Amazon famously acquired at the Park City gathering for a hefty price tag.
Read More: ‘Manchester By The Sea’ Trailer: Discover Why Kenneth Lonergan...
Damien Chazelle’s vibrant ode to musicals of the past, “La La Land,” will head to Telluride fresh from the Lionsgate release’s successful opening night slot at the Venice Film Festival, while another Venice premiere, Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi “Arrival,” comes to Telluride courtesy of Paramount alongside a special tribute to star Amy Adams. Another tributee, Casey Affleck, will be in town with Sundance hit “Manchester By the Sea,” which Amazon famously acquired at the Park City gathering for a hefty price tag.
Read More: ‘Manchester By The Sea’ Trailer: Discover Why Kenneth Lonergan...
- 9/1/2016
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The already-incredible line-up for the 2016 New York Film Festival just got even more promising. Ang Lee‘s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk will hold its world premiere at the festival on October 14th, the NY Times confirmed today. The adaptation of Ben Fountain‘s Iraq War novel, with a script by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire), follows a teenage soldier who survives a battle in Iraq and then is brought home for a victory lap before returning.
Lee has shot the film at 120 frames per second in 4K and native 3D, giving it unprecedented clarity for a feature film, which also means the screening will be held in a relatively small 300-seat theater at AMC Lincoln Square, one of the few with the technology to present it that way. While it’s expected that this Lincoln Square theater will play the film when it arrives in theaters, it may be...
Lee has shot the film at 120 frames per second in 4K and native 3D, giving it unprecedented clarity for a feature film, which also means the screening will be held in a relatively small 300-seat theater at AMC Lincoln Square, one of the few with the technology to present it that way. While it’s expected that this Lincoln Square theater will play the film when it arrives in theaters, it may be...
- 8/22/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced the Retrospective section of the 54th New York Film Festival, an ambitious two-part lineup that is both headlined and directly inspired by Bertrand Tavernier’s documentary “My Journey Through French Cinema.” Nyff will screen Tavernier’s doc — which clocks in at a hefty and informative 190 minutes — along with a selection of French classics that feature prominently in the film. Additionally, Nyff will play home to a 12-film exploration of the films of Henry Hathaway, one of Tavernier’s favorite American directors. What follows is a feast of French cinema and a crash course in the works of Hathaway.
Read More: New York Film Festival Announces James Gray’s ‘The Lost City of Z’ As Closing Night Selection
Highlights of the “A Brief Journey Through French Cinema” section, as it’s being quite charmingly billed, include Jean Renoir’s revolutionary epic “La Marsellaise,...
Read More: New York Film Festival Announces James Gray’s ‘The Lost City of Z’ As Closing Night Selection
Highlights of the “A Brief Journey Through French Cinema” section, as it’s being quite charmingly billed, include Jean Renoir’s revolutionary epic “La Marsellaise,...
- 8/19/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Le silence de la mer
Written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
France, 1949
Nearly every mention of Jean-Pierre Melville’s cinema inevitably alludes to his crime films, and for good reason. Of his 13 features, nine fall under this general heading, and for the most part, they are his best and most admired. Amongst the rest of his filmography, slightly varying and further distinguishing his career, are his occasional forays into the war film—or, more precisely, the wartime film, for typical battleground scenarios are negligible. This is the case with Léon Morin, Priest (1961), with The Army of Shadows (1969), his extraordinary ode to the French resistance, of which he was a member, and this is the case with his debut, Le silence de la mer. (His 1950 feature, Les Enfants Terribles, defies generic categorization.)
“The war years were the best years of my life.” Such comments from Melville often got a rise out of those around him,...
Written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
France, 1949
Nearly every mention of Jean-Pierre Melville’s cinema inevitably alludes to his crime films, and for good reason. Of his 13 features, nine fall under this general heading, and for the most part, they are his best and most admired. Amongst the rest of his filmography, slightly varying and further distinguishing his career, are his occasional forays into the war film—or, more precisely, the wartime film, for typical battleground scenarios are negligible. This is the case with Léon Morin, Priest (1961), with The Army of Shadows (1969), his extraordinary ode to the French resistance, of which he was a member, and this is the case with his debut, Le silence de la mer. (His 1950 feature, Les Enfants Terribles, defies generic categorization.)
“The war years were the best years of my life.” Such comments from Melville often got a rise out of those around him,...
- 5/13/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Available for the first time in the Us on Blu-ray and DVD is Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterful directorial debut, 1949’s Le Silence de la Mer (The Silence of the Sea). Based on a famous underground novel published secretly in 1942 by author Jean Bruller, written under the pseudonym Vercours, the exceptional debut precedes the brooding themes that would grace Melville’s later noir and gangster films, as well as the continuation of period pieces concerning Nazi occupied France. Understated and elegant, it’s an incredibly haunting first title from the self-made auteur, an actual member of the French resistance (he adopted his surname for his love of author Herman Melville and it remained his pseudonym after the war).
Opening with a statement that the film has ‘no pretensions’ as concerns the relationship with France and Germany (whose people were complicit with the Nazi’s rise to power), we hear the omniscient narration of an elder Frenchman,...
Opening with a statement that the film has ‘no pretensions’ as concerns the relationship with France and Germany (whose people were complicit with the Nazi’s rise to power), we hear the omniscient narration of an elder Frenchman,...
- 4/28/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Adieu au langage - Goodbye to Language
A Works Cited
Introduction
From its bluntly political opening (Alfredo Bandelli's 'La caccia alle streghe': "Always united we win, long live the revolution!") to its hilarious fecal humor and word play—with 3D staging that happily puts to shame James Cameron and every other hack who's tried their hand at it these past several years—Adieu au langage overwhelms us with a deluge of recited texts, music and images, hardly ever bothering to slow down to let us catch our breath. Exhilarating and certainly not surprising—this is the guy who made Puissance de la parole after all!
The release of a new Godard film or video means a new encounter with texts, films and music often familiar from the filmmaker's earlier work—reworked and re-contextualized—as well as new discoveries to be sorted through and identified. This life-long interest in quotation...
A Works Cited
Introduction
From its bluntly political opening (Alfredo Bandelli's 'La caccia alle streghe': "Always united we win, long live the revolution!") to its hilarious fecal humor and word play—with 3D staging that happily puts to shame James Cameron and every other hack who's tried their hand at it these past several years—Adieu au langage overwhelms us with a deluge of recited texts, music and images, hardly ever bothering to slow down to let us catch our breath. Exhilarating and certainly not surprising—this is the guy who made Puissance de la parole after all!
The release of a new Godard film or video means a new encounter with texts, films and music often familiar from the filmmaker's earlier work—reworked and re-contextualized—as well as new discoveries to be sorted through and identified. This life-long interest in quotation...
- 10/16/2014
- by Ted Fendt
- MUBI
The Notebook is proud to present this video essay in coordination with Transit magazine, where you can find the Spanish version of the piece.
Lucky 13
13 variations for 13 films, accompanied by the musical theme composed by François de Roubaix for Le samouraï (1967): the cinema of Jean-Pierre Melville condensed into a series of motifs that travel from movie to movie, reiterating and transforming, finding their full meaning only when they are put into relation. A non-exhaustive collection1, but filled with recognisable images that clearly obsess this filmmaker.
1. Jef Costello’s second murder in Le samouraï, Maite’s devastating death at the end of Army of Shadows (1969), the shooting of Mattei and Vogel in Le cercle rouge (1970) or—the most paradigmatic example of all—of Maurice, Silien and Kern in Le doulos (1962). It is the matter of a rule with few exceptions, a pattern that is rarely broken: whenever Melville’s...
Lucky 13
13 variations for 13 films, accompanied by the musical theme composed by François de Roubaix for Le samouraï (1967): the cinema of Jean-Pierre Melville condensed into a series of motifs that travel from movie to movie, reiterating and transforming, finding their full meaning only when they are put into relation. A non-exhaustive collection1, but filled with recognisable images that clearly obsess this filmmaker.
1. Jef Costello’s second murder in Le samouraï, Maite’s devastating death at the end of Army of Shadows (1969), the shooting of Mattei and Vogel in Le cercle rouge (1970) or—the most paradigmatic example of all—of Maurice, Silien and Kern in Le doulos (1962). It is the matter of a rule with few exceptions, a pattern that is rarely broken: whenever Melville’s...
- 9/19/2013
- by Cristina Álvarez López & Adrian Martin
- MUBI
It's amazing how your perspective on movies changes the more you see and the more you open your mind to different kinds of films. In June 2009 I bought Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samourai as a blind buy. I loved it, and it remains my favorite Melville film to date. Since then I have seen Le Doulos, Army of Shadows and, of course, Le Cercle Rouge. All are films that change your perspective on filmmaking, and strangely, while Melville was obsessed with American films during his day, his films would turn an audience off today as quickly as they captured audiences attention over 60 years ago.
Case in point, Anton Corbijn's The American, a film improperly sold to audiences as a thriller in the same vein as the Bourne franchise, but instead finds more of a relation to Melville's cold and calculated features. In my review I referenced Le Samourai,...
Case in point, Anton Corbijn's The American, a film improperly sold to audiences as a thriller in the same vein as the Bourne franchise, but instead finds more of a relation to Melville's cold and calculated features. In my review I referenced Le Samourai,...
- 6/10/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Another week has gone by and as usual, Criterion has put up some choice content on their page on Hulu Plus. Using the service more than ever to stream films that I’ve seen before and don’t own or have never even heard of until Criterion put them up, I’ve valued Hulu Plus more than ever. I also want to thank all those who have used our referral link to sign up. It pays for this article to keep going so please, sign up here to keep it going with no hiccups whatsoever. But you want to know what new and amazing films are streaming. So without further adieu…
It’s Alain Resnais’ birthday so you should be streaming his film Night And Fog (1955), a very harsh and intense depiction of the Holocaust, one of the first truthful accounts around.
Also you can stream the film we’re covering this week,...
It’s Alain Resnais’ birthday so you should be streaming his film Night And Fog (1955), a very harsh and intense depiction of the Holocaust, one of the first truthful accounts around.
Also you can stream the film we’re covering this week,...
- 6/4/2011
- by James McCormick
- CriterionCast
Foreword:
Bernardo Bertolucci’s 2003 film The Dreamers is a tribute to cinema. It’s mainly a tribute to the European school of cinema which had been critically acclaimed and inspirationally followed across the globe. Hence it doesn’t need any time to hook onto it. For film buffs of India and the other Third world countries, this surely works – nostalgia and associations flood in making the viewing experience quite worthwhile in most of the case. This also reminds of two very interesting and subtly different films which also pay tribute to the motion picture – Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso (1998) and Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Once Upon a Time, Cinema (1992). The latter pays tribute to the Iranian film history of the silent age. It’s quite unfortunate that in spite of being the biggest cinema industry of the world, it’s hard to find an epical re-take of the country’s cinematic ingenuity.
Bernardo Bertolucci’s 2003 film The Dreamers is a tribute to cinema. It’s mainly a tribute to the European school of cinema which had been critically acclaimed and inspirationally followed across the globe. Hence it doesn’t need any time to hook onto it. For film buffs of India and the other Third world countries, this surely works – nostalgia and associations flood in making the viewing experience quite worthwhile in most of the case. This also reminds of two very interesting and subtly different films which also pay tribute to the motion picture – Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso (1998) and Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Once Upon a Time, Cinema (1992). The latter pays tribute to the Iranian film history of the silent age. It’s quite unfortunate that in spite of being the biggest cinema industry of the world, it’s hard to find an epical re-take of the country’s cinematic ingenuity.
- 4/25/2011
- by Amitava Nag
- DearCinema.com
From the pioneers of the silver screen to today's new realism, French directors have shaped film-making around the world
France can, with some justification, claim to have invented the whole concept of cinema. Film historians call The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station, the 50-second film by the Lumière brothers first screened in 1895, the birth of the medium.
But the best-known early pioneer, who made films with some kind of cherishable narrative value, was Georges Méliès, whose 1902 short A Trip to the Moon is generally heralded as the first science-fiction film, and a landmark in cinematic special effects. Meanwhile, Alice Guy-Blaché, Léon Gaumont's one-time secretary, is largely forgotten now, but with films such as L'enfant de la barricade trails the status of being the first female film-maker.
The towering achievement of French cinema in the silent era was undoubtedly Abel Gance's six-hour biopic of Napoleon (1927), which...
France can, with some justification, claim to have invented the whole concept of cinema. Film historians call The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station, the 50-second film by the Lumière brothers first screened in 1895, the birth of the medium.
But the best-known early pioneer, who made films with some kind of cherishable narrative value, was Georges Méliès, whose 1902 short A Trip to the Moon is generally heralded as the first science-fiction film, and a landmark in cinematic special effects. Meanwhile, Alice Guy-Blaché, Léon Gaumont's one-time secretary, is largely forgotten now, but with films such as L'enfant de la barricade trails the status of being the first female film-maker.
The towering achievement of French cinema in the silent era was undoubtedly Abel Gance's six-hour biopic of Napoleon (1927), which...
- 3/22/2011
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 8 November 1952
From Our London Film Critic
Jean Cocteau has said – perhaps with a parent's defiance in protecting an unpopular offspring – that of all his films, "Les Enfants Terribles" (at the Continentale, renamed "The Strange Ones") is his favourite.
Whatever his own preferences it is not his best film; it does not equal "Orphée". On the other hand, it is by no means the weakling in M. Cocteau's brood of film-children; it is, indeed, a highly typical film – perhaps the most Cocteau-esque of all he has made – and shares not only the weaknesses which belong to most of his films but also many of the excellent qualities which made "Orphée" so distinguished.
M. Cocteau here has adapted (and Jean-Pierre Melville has directed the film adaptation) his extremely fanciful and morbid novel about a sister and brother who live in what amounts to a human vacuum,...
From Our London Film Critic
Jean Cocteau has said – perhaps with a parent's defiance in protecting an unpopular offspring – that of all his films, "Les Enfants Terribles" (at the Continentale, renamed "The Strange Ones") is his favourite.
Whatever his own preferences it is not his best film; it does not equal "Orphée". On the other hand, it is by no means the weakling in M. Cocteau's brood of film-children; it is, indeed, a highly typical film – perhaps the most Cocteau-esque of all he has made – and shares not only the weaknesses which belong to most of his films but also many of the excellent qualities which made "Orphée" so distinguished.
M. Cocteau here has adapted (and Jean-Pierre Melville has directed the film adaptation) his extremely fanciful and morbid novel about a sister and brother who live in what amounts to a human vacuum,...
- 11/8/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
The Dreamers
Screened
Venice International Film Festival
VENICE, Italy -- With its equal-opportunity full-frontal nudity, frank portrayal of human sexuality and unabashed depiction of brother-sister incest, it is difficult to see this latest film from Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci receiving anything but an NC-17 rating, which will drastically reduce boxoffice potential. Those viewers who have no quarrel with the graphic images may well scratch their heads and wonder just what the director of such revered, if controversial, works as Last Tango in Paris and The Conformist thought he was communicating with this story of three young people living in Paris during the spring of 1968. Certainly his avowed intention of creating a film that captures the unbridled spirit of the era -- when political, cultural and moral boundaries were being stretched and redefined -- seems undercut by the particular story he chooses to tell. Based on Gilbert Adair's 1988 novel The Holy Innocents, this film can expect strong numbers in a few select urban areas but wash out everywhere else. Overseas boxoffice should be better, reflecting the less puritanical attitudes of Europeans.
Left alone in their Paris apartment while their parents go on a month's vacation, 19-ish twins Theo (Louis Garrel) and Isabelle (newcomer Eva Green) invite a young American student they have just met, 20-year-old Matthew (Michael Pitt) to move in with them. All three are passionate about cinema (they meet at the Cinematheque Francaise) and continually test one another's knowledge of films. They also indulge in sexual and mind games, pushing to see how far the other will go.
Matthew, raised in a typically middle-class American suburban home, is uncomfortable with how physically and sexually uninhibited the siblings are with each other and increasingly troubled by their close emotional and sexual bond. Completely smitten with the beautiful Isabelle, however, he eventually enters into their games while still cautioning them about what he considers their unnatural relationship.
While the three are holed up in the apartment, the streets of Paris are erupting outside. Peaceful protests, which begin when the government fires Henri Langlois as director of the cinematheque, prove to be the precursor of violent political riots in May. Theo mouths revolutionary rhetoric but, as Matthew points out, if he really believed, he'd be out there with the protesters.
Tensions inside the apartment rise as Theo and Matthew compete for Isabelle's attention, and Isabelle battles her own conflicts concerning her romantic feelings toward her brother. The trio's moral and emotional regression is mirrored in their neglect of their physical surroundings, which turns into a pigsty. The sense of escalating decay recalls Jean Cocteau's Les Enfants Terribles.
Certainly the director brings in many other film references by intercutting the action with actual clips from some of the characters' favorite movies, including Queen Christina, Blonde Venus, Band-a-Part and Top Hat. Characters are always quoting and acting out scenes from these movies, and the film easily could be considered a valentine to cinema were it not for the unusual subject matter that surrounds it.
Politically and historically, spring 1968 marked a momentous turning point throughout Europe as political dissent spilled into the streets and the younger generation found new expression in a melding of art, cinema, politics, rock 'n' roll, philosophy and drugs. But if Bertolucci is trying to capture that spirit of rebellion, experimentation and hope, he picks the wrong story. The protesters hoped to transform society for the better. Theo and Isabelle are narcissists without commitment to anything outside themselves.
The music in the film is terrific, the best 1968 had to offer: Janis Joplin, the Doors and Jimi Hendrix. In her screen debut, Green will undoubtedly be the talk of the film. An extraordinary beauty, she has the overripe sexiness, melancholy and destructive air of a young Jeanne Moreau. She even looks like Moreau, albeit with more delicate features. Her acting also is impressive
she and Garrel share a remarkable sense of ease and emotional intimacy that proves 100% believable. The appropriately sullen Garrel proves uninteresting overall, however. Pitt acquits himself well.
The Dreamers' perverse subject matter will no doubt raise objections, but the film's real failure is that neither the story nor the characters capture the zeitgeist that Bertolucci theoretically set out to celebrate.
THE DREAMERS
Fox Searchlight Pictures
A Recorded Picture Company, Peninsular Films, Fiction Co-Production
Credits:
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Screenwriter: Gilbert Adair, based on his novel The Holy Innocents
Producer: Jeremy Thomas
Director of photography: Fabio Cianchetti
Production designer: Jean Rabasse
Co-producer: John Bernard
Costume designer: Louise Stjernsward
Editor: Jacopo Quadri
Cast:
Matthew: Michael Pitt
Isabelle: Eva Green
Theo: Louis Garrel
Running time -- 118 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Venice International Film Festival
VENICE, Italy -- With its equal-opportunity full-frontal nudity, frank portrayal of human sexuality and unabashed depiction of brother-sister incest, it is difficult to see this latest film from Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci receiving anything but an NC-17 rating, which will drastically reduce boxoffice potential. Those viewers who have no quarrel with the graphic images may well scratch their heads and wonder just what the director of such revered, if controversial, works as Last Tango in Paris and The Conformist thought he was communicating with this story of three young people living in Paris during the spring of 1968. Certainly his avowed intention of creating a film that captures the unbridled spirit of the era -- when political, cultural and moral boundaries were being stretched and redefined -- seems undercut by the particular story he chooses to tell. Based on Gilbert Adair's 1988 novel The Holy Innocents, this film can expect strong numbers in a few select urban areas but wash out everywhere else. Overseas boxoffice should be better, reflecting the less puritanical attitudes of Europeans.
Left alone in their Paris apartment while their parents go on a month's vacation, 19-ish twins Theo (Louis Garrel) and Isabelle (newcomer Eva Green) invite a young American student they have just met, 20-year-old Matthew (Michael Pitt) to move in with them. All three are passionate about cinema (they meet at the Cinematheque Francaise) and continually test one another's knowledge of films. They also indulge in sexual and mind games, pushing to see how far the other will go.
Matthew, raised in a typically middle-class American suburban home, is uncomfortable with how physically and sexually uninhibited the siblings are with each other and increasingly troubled by their close emotional and sexual bond. Completely smitten with the beautiful Isabelle, however, he eventually enters into their games while still cautioning them about what he considers their unnatural relationship.
While the three are holed up in the apartment, the streets of Paris are erupting outside. Peaceful protests, which begin when the government fires Henri Langlois as director of the cinematheque, prove to be the precursor of violent political riots in May. Theo mouths revolutionary rhetoric but, as Matthew points out, if he really believed, he'd be out there with the protesters.
Tensions inside the apartment rise as Theo and Matthew compete for Isabelle's attention, and Isabelle battles her own conflicts concerning her romantic feelings toward her brother. The trio's moral and emotional regression is mirrored in their neglect of their physical surroundings, which turns into a pigsty. The sense of escalating decay recalls Jean Cocteau's Les Enfants Terribles.
Certainly the director brings in many other film references by intercutting the action with actual clips from some of the characters' favorite movies, including Queen Christina, Blonde Venus, Band-a-Part and Top Hat. Characters are always quoting and acting out scenes from these movies, and the film easily could be considered a valentine to cinema were it not for the unusual subject matter that surrounds it.
Politically and historically, spring 1968 marked a momentous turning point throughout Europe as political dissent spilled into the streets and the younger generation found new expression in a melding of art, cinema, politics, rock 'n' roll, philosophy and drugs. But if Bertolucci is trying to capture that spirit of rebellion, experimentation and hope, he picks the wrong story. The protesters hoped to transform society for the better. Theo and Isabelle are narcissists without commitment to anything outside themselves.
The music in the film is terrific, the best 1968 had to offer: Janis Joplin, the Doors and Jimi Hendrix. In her screen debut, Green will undoubtedly be the talk of the film. An extraordinary beauty, she has the overripe sexiness, melancholy and destructive air of a young Jeanne Moreau. She even looks like Moreau, albeit with more delicate features. Her acting also is impressive
she and Garrel share a remarkable sense of ease and emotional intimacy that proves 100% believable. The appropriately sullen Garrel proves uninteresting overall, however. Pitt acquits himself well.
The Dreamers' perverse subject matter will no doubt raise objections, but the film's real failure is that neither the story nor the characters capture the zeitgeist that Bertolucci theoretically set out to celebrate.
THE DREAMERS
Fox Searchlight Pictures
A Recorded Picture Company, Peninsular Films, Fiction Co-Production
Credits:
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Screenwriter: Gilbert Adair, based on his novel The Holy Innocents
Producer: Jeremy Thomas
Director of photography: Fabio Cianchetti
Production designer: Jean Rabasse
Co-producer: John Bernard
Costume designer: Louise Stjernsward
Editor: Jacopo Quadri
Cast:
Matthew: Michael Pitt
Isabelle: Eva Green
Theo: Louis Garrel
Running time -- 118 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/3/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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