Acclaimed Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf will serve as jury president at the 30th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema (Viffac), which runs from February 6-13.
Held in France, this year’s edition will spotlight Taiwanese cinema and Malayalam-language films from India. A total of 92 films from 29 countries will be screened.
Makhmalbaf’s works include A Moment of Innocence (1996), which won a special mention at the Locarno Film Festival, as well as Kandahar (2001), which won the Ecumenical Jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Other jury members at Viffac this year include Taiwanese director Zero Chou, winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2007, Iranian actress Fatemed Motamed-Arya and Japanese actor Shogen.
There are 17 films across the fiction and documentary competitions, which come from China, Korea, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal and Taiwan. There are two world premieres, five international premieres, six European premieres and four French premieres.
Held in France, this year’s edition will spotlight Taiwanese cinema and Malayalam-language films from India. A total of 92 films from 29 countries will be screened.
Makhmalbaf’s works include A Moment of Innocence (1996), which won a special mention at the Locarno Film Festival, as well as Kandahar (2001), which won the Ecumenical Jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Other jury members at Viffac this year include Taiwanese director Zero Chou, winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2007, Iranian actress Fatemed Motamed-Arya and Japanese actor Shogen.
There are 17 films across the fiction and documentary competitions, which come from China, Korea, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal and Taiwan. There are two world premieres, five international premieres, six European premieres and four French premieres.
- 2/1/2024
- by Sara Merican
- Deadline Film + TV
Mohsen Makhmalbaf is an internationally known Iranian filmmaker, famous for features such as “A Moment of Innocence”, “Gabbeh”, “The Silence” and “The Gardener”. He belongs to the Iranian New Wave Movement, which also included his colleague Abbas Kiarostami, Amir Naderi and Majid Majidi. Over the course of his career he has made over 30 movies, which have won more than 50 awards in international film festivals around the world, but have often been banned in his home country. In 2005, Makhmalbaf had to leave the country after the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad due to his involvement with the Green Movement. He also released more than 30 books, translated in various languages.
On the occasion of his presence at Fica Vesoul, we speak with him about the current situation in Iran and Afghanistan, him not being able to return, the Internet, the impact of cinema, religion and education, the importance of music in films, mixing...
On the occasion of his presence at Fica Vesoul, we speak with him about the current situation in Iran and Afghanistan, him not being able to return, the Internet, the impact of cinema, religion and education, the importance of music in films, mixing...
- 4/30/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
It’s early morning in LA and Joanna Hogg is looking back. It is a process the filmmaker has grown accustomed to in recent years, not least with her latest film. Less a sequel to its acclaimed predecessor than a mirror––even a Matryoshka––and examination of how people remember things, or how they might choose for them to be remembered, The Souvenir Part II reintroduces the viewer to Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne), now deep in mourning for her doomed lover Anthony, an enigma to whom she has devoted her graduation film. Layers beget layers: “I got so many ideas from that first shoot,” Hogg says over Zoom, “and the second part is a response to that shoot. It’s almost like I’m making some kind of documentation of that experience that I had had, not just the characters within the story.”
Born in London in 1960, Hogg studied at...
Born in London in 1960, Hogg studied at...
- 10/28/2021
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
After highlighting the most overlooked films of 2020, today we’re putting a spotlight on the films that need a home to be seen in the first place: the 40 or so films (and honorable mentions) that we loved on the festival circuit that are still seeking U.S. distribution.
Acting also as a 2020 preview, we hope that highlighting these titles spurs some distributor interests and a release in the next twelve months. Featuring favorites from Berlinale, SXSW, Sundance, TIFF, NYFF, Rotterdam, and beyond, make sure to follow us on Twitter to get the latest distribution updates. As we move into 2021, one can also track all of our upcoming festival coverage here.
200 Meters (Ameen Nayfeh)
In a time where the Israeli occupation of Palestine is still causing the deaths of children, the separation of families, and the oppression of Palestinian citizens, a film like 200 Meters becomes even more necessary and relevant.
Acting also as a 2020 preview, we hope that highlighting these titles spurs some distributor interests and a release in the next twelve months. Featuring favorites from Berlinale, SXSW, Sundance, TIFF, NYFF, Rotterdam, and beyond, make sure to follow us on Twitter to get the latest distribution updates. As we move into 2021, one can also track all of our upcoming festival coverage here.
200 Meters (Ameen Nayfeh)
In a time where the Israeli occupation of Palestine is still causing the deaths of children, the separation of families, and the oppression of Palestinian citizens, a film like 200 Meters becomes even more necessary and relevant.
- 12/29/2020
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
With each October comes the Chicago International Film Festival, but with 2020 also comes a pandemic. Yes, Ciff is rightfully falling in the same school as several other festivals this year. It’s virtual! Of course, that means I get to sit giddy and bleary-eyed in my apartment for days on end instead of downtown. Insert a joke here about this being the future liberals want. The future is still a thing, right?
But enough of that. This year, the festival’s 56th iteration is keeping the communal experience alive against all odds. By expanding its Special Presentations program into Special Presentations and Drive-Ins, Ciff is showing a handful of their selections at ChiTown Movies at 2343 S. Throop St.
Alas, I don’t have a car. That’s okay, though; my first movie turned out to be quite good. It was Sabine Lubbe Bakker & Niels van Koevorden’s Becoming Mona (Grade:...
But enough of that. This year, the festival’s 56th iteration is keeping the communal experience alive against all odds. By expanding its Special Presentations program into Special Presentations and Drive-Ins, Ciff is showing a handful of their selections at ChiTown Movies at 2343 S. Throop St.
Alas, I don’t have a car. That’s okay, though; my first movie turned out to be quite good. It was Sabine Lubbe Bakker & Niels van Koevorden’s Becoming Mona (Grade:...
- 10/15/2020
- by Matt Cipolla
- The Film Stage
In his youth, Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf was involved with a militant anti-Shah group. During one protest, then 17-year-old Makhmalbaf stabbed a policeman, was arrested and imprisoned until he was released during the Iranian revolution in the 1970s. The event itself troubled the director for quite some time as it was crucial for his development as a person as well as an artist, which is why he finally decided to confront it in his 1996 feature “A Moment of Innocence”, a movie that, like most of his other works, was banned in Iran, but praised especially by European and American critics who compared it to Francois Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows”, for example.
At the center of the story, we have Mohsen Makhmalbaf playing himself as a director attempting to make a feature film about an event in his youth which led to his imprisonment and defined himself. In order to...
At the center of the story, we have Mohsen Makhmalbaf playing himself as a director attempting to make a feature film about an event in his youth which led to his imprisonment and defined himself. In order to...
- 8/10/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Jean-Marie Straub’s short film La France Contre Les Robots to close festival; juries unveiled.
Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow will open this year’s Locarno Film Festival, which will run as a hybrid edition from August 5-15.
First Cow premiered at Telluride in 2019 and was also in competition at the Berlinale. Starring John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones and Ewen Bremner, it was released by A24 in the US in March, before switching to VoD. The film will be screened at Locarno’s GranRex theater with the director attending live online.
The festival will close with Jean-Marie Straub’s...
Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow will open this year’s Locarno Film Festival, which will run as a hybrid edition from August 5-15.
First Cow premiered at Telluride in 2019 and was also in competition at the Berlinale. Starring John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones and Ewen Bremner, it was released by A24 in the US in March, before switching to VoD. The film will be screened at Locarno’s GranRex theater with the director attending live online.
The festival will close with Jean-Marie Straub’s...
- 7/29/2020
- by 1101184¦Orlando Parfitt¦38¦
- ScreenDaily
Like most film festivals this year, Locarno Film Festival will not be moving ahead as usual. However, they’ve found inventive ways to both celebrate filmmakers they’ve long admired and present films physically and digitally. After announcing a new initiative to support new films by Lucrecia Martel, Lisandro Alonso, Lav Diaz, Wang Bing, Miguel Gomes, and more, they’ve asked this class of talented directors to select their favorite films in Locarno history.
A Journey in the Festival’s History is devoted to Locarno’s 73-year history of showing the best in international cinema. Made up of twenty films, a selection will screen online for those in Switzerland as well as Mubi internationally. On August 5-15, they will also screen in person at Locarno’s theaters.
Lili Hinstin, Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival, said, “It would be an impossible task to present a review of the history...
A Journey in the Festival’s History is devoted to Locarno’s 73-year history of showing the best in international cinema. Made up of twenty films, a selection will screen online for those in Switzerland as well as Mubi internationally. On August 5-15, they will also screen in person at Locarno’s theaters.
Lili Hinstin, Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival, said, “It would be an impossible task to present a review of the history...
- 7/21/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Films by Roberto Rossellini, Chantel Akerman and Marguerite Duras feature in selection.
The Locarno Film Festival has unveiled the selection of 20 classic film titles that will be showcased in its A Journey In The Festival’s History sidebar as part of its special hybrid edition running August 5 to 15.
The line-up is part of the festival’s ’Locarno 2020 – For the Future of Films’ edition which was created after it was forced to cancel its 73rd edition due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The titles have been selected by the directors taking part in its festival’s exceptional The Films After Tomorrow initiative...
The Locarno Film Festival has unveiled the selection of 20 classic film titles that will be showcased in its A Journey In The Festival’s History sidebar as part of its special hybrid edition running August 5 to 15.
The line-up is part of the festival’s ’Locarno 2020 – For the Future of Films’ edition which was created after it was forced to cancel its 73rd edition due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The titles have been selected by the directors taking part in its festival’s exceptional The Films After Tomorrow initiative...
- 7/20/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
High-profile filmmakers including Lucrecia Martel and Lav Diaz have contributed to a retrospective program for the Locarno Film Festival (August 5-15), selecting 20 titles from the event’s 74-year history that will have online and physical screenings next month.
Due to ongoing pandemic disruption Locarno shifted the majority of its festival online this year, though ten of the below list of titles will still have physical screenings in Switzerland. The entire program will be shown online for free in Switzerland by the fest, while it is partnering with streamer Mubi to stream the films outside of the country.
Ranging from 1948 (Locarno’s third edition) to 2018 (its 71st), the titles offer a broad insight into the fest’s history and are directed by filmmakers such as Roberto Rossellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jim Jarmusch, Michael Haneke, and Whit Stillman. The selectees are all participating in Locarno’s ‘The Films After Tomorrow’ initiative this year,...
Due to ongoing pandemic disruption Locarno shifted the majority of its festival online this year, though ten of the below list of titles will still have physical screenings in Switzerland. The entire program will be shown online for free in Switzerland by the fest, while it is partnering with streamer Mubi to stream the films outside of the country.
Ranging from 1948 (Locarno’s third edition) to 2018 (its 71st), the titles offer a broad insight into the fest’s history and are directed by filmmakers such as Roberto Rossellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jim Jarmusch, Michael Haneke, and Whit Stillman. The selectees are all participating in Locarno’s ‘The Films After Tomorrow’ initiative this year,...
- 7/20/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Central and Eastern Europe's flagship festival, running from July 3 to 11 this summer, is one for moviegoers hungry for discoveries, curiosities and breakouts. This year, Kviff asked six prominent directors to personally present a film favorite that has defined their own style as filmmakers. Read More: Karlovy Vary Film Fest Lineup Lures Adventurous Cinephiles, Young Directors Cine-essayist Mark Cousins, who will bring a new feature doc to the fest this year, presents the Iranian-French film "A Moment of Innocence" (Nun va Goldoon, 1996) by one of the leading directors of the Iranian new wave, Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Kim Ki-duk will present the lovely "Poetry" (Shi), directed by his colleague and countryman Lee Chang-dong in 2010. Sergei Loznitsa will show director Kira Muratova’s magnum opus, "The Asthenic Syndrome" (Astenicheskiy sindrom, 1989). Luis Miñarro chose the Orson Welles’ legendary 1958 film noir "Touch of Evil,"...
- 6/17/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Six selected directors include Michaël R. Roskam [pictured], Kim Ki-duk and Sion Sono.
Six international directors who share a history with the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 3-11) are to present one of their favourite films at the 50th edition of the festival in the Czech spa town.
The special section, titled Six Close Encounters, will include contributions from directors Mark Cousins, Kim Ki-duk, Sergei Loznitsa, Luis Miñarro, Michael R. Roskam and Sion Sono.
Each will select and personally present a favourite film that played a fundamental role in defining their own styles on filmmaking.
“It is extremely important to us that we maintain long-term relationships with filmmakers whose work we follow continuously, often from the beginning of their careers, which in many cases were launched at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival,” says Kviff artistic director Karel Och.
Mark Cousins: A Moment of Innocence (Nun va Goldoon, 1996), Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Kim Ki-duk:...
Six international directors who share a history with the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 3-11) are to present one of their favourite films at the 50th edition of the festival in the Czech spa town.
The special section, titled Six Close Encounters, will include contributions from directors Mark Cousins, Kim Ki-duk, Sergei Loznitsa, Luis Miñarro, Michael R. Roskam and Sion Sono.
Each will select and personally present a favourite film that played a fundamental role in defining their own styles on filmmaking.
“It is extremely important to us that we maintain long-term relationships with filmmakers whose work we follow continuously, often from the beginning of their careers, which in many cases were launched at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival,” says Kviff artistic director Karel Och.
Mark Cousins: A Moment of Innocence (Nun va Goldoon, 1996), Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Kim Ki-duk:...
- 6/17/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
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