2012 World Film Festival Award Winners

Festival closed yesterday and I'm curious about the top award winner as seems to have an interesting story plus great visuals. The following are the honored films.

Grand Prix des Americas: Atesin düstügü yer (Where The Fire Burns), Ismail Günes, Turkey

Special Grand Prix of the Jury (tie)
Invasion, Dito Tsintsadze, Germany and Austria
Miel de Naranjas (Orange Honey) by Imanol Uribe, Spain and Portugal

Best Director: Jan Troell for Dom över död ma (The Last Sentence), Sweden and Norway

Best Actress: Brigitte Hobmeier in Ende der Schonzeit (Closed Season), Franziska Schlottener, Germany and Israel
Best Actor: Karl Merkatz for Angfang 80 (Coming of Age), Sabine Hiebler & Gerhard Ert, Austria

Zeniths for Best First Feature
Golden Zenith: Casadentro, Joanna Lombardi, Peru
Silver Zenith: Zdjęcie (The Photograph), Maciej Adamek, Poland, Germany and Hungary
Bronze Zenith: Inn i mørket (Into the Dark), Thomas Wangsmo, Norway

FIPRESCI Prize - World Competition: Atesin düstügü yer (Where The Fire Burns), Ismail Günes, Turkey
FIPRESCI Prize - First Film Competition: Casadentro, Joanna Lombardi, Peru

Ecumenical Prizes: Ende der Schonzeit (Closed Season), Franziska Schlottener, Germany and Israel
Special Mention: Anata e (Dearest), Yasuo Furuhata, Japan (starring Takeshi Kitano)

Cinemathèque Québécoise Audience Award for the most popular Canadian Feature Film: Karakara, Claude Gagnon, Canada and Japan

To check all award winners go here. All three winners of the best first feature awards seem very interesting, been reading a lot about Karakara and anything starring Takeshi Kitano is must be seen for me. Perhaps festival doesn't generate much buzz in international media, but fest is one of the few festivals that screen many international films which makes it a good source to learn about great films.

Cheers!

Day 5 and 6 - 69th Venice International Film Festival

Unintentionally skipped a day but here I am, back to the movies that interest me from those two days.

Venezia 69

Lemale Et Ha'Chalal (Fill The Void) by Rama Burshtein

I'm very curious about this film as not often we have an opportunity to view Hasidic traditions in film much less from a female director point of view, who on top is a Hasidic Jew by choice, not birth. Add that she says "The Orthodox world is so interesting it does not need to cope with the secular. It can be very interesting and the drama can be very strong inside" and my curiosity grows more. The synopsis.

Tells the story of an Orthodox Hassidic family from Tel Aviv. Eighteen-year-old Shira is the youngest daughter of the family. She is about to be married off to a promising young man of the same age and background. It is a dream-come true, and Shira feels prepared and excited. On Purim, her twenty-eight-year-old sister, Esther, dies while giving birth to her first child. The pain and grief that overwhelm the family postpone Shira’s promised match. Everything changes when an offer is proposed to match Yochay—the late Esther’s husband—to a widow from Belgium. Yochay feels it’s too early, although he realizes that sooner or later he must seriously consider getting married again. When the girls’ mother finds out that Yochay may leave the country with her only grandchild, she proposes a match between Shira and the widower. Shira will have to choose between her heart’s wish and her family duty...

Maybe synopsis sounds similar to other movies, but seems that this film goes could go deeper as suggested in the director's statement.

Love and relationships form the main object of my interests. To be honest, careerism, independence, and self-fulfillment are less important to me than love, my husband and my family. What drew me to the world of the Jewish faith was its approach to decoding the enigma of relationships between men and women. This process stunned me. Lemale Et Ha’Chalal tells a love story based on the spirit. It resembles the experience and feeling of an early love, which resides only in the heart, and is based on nothing reasonable. The humming of the heart towards another, combined with a desire that is consciously restrained, is the winning formula for my heart in seeking long-lasting delight.

I'm always fascinated by films that show me the unfamiliar so even when story could be familiar, so film continues to be must be seen for me. First reviews from trade magazines tend to be highly positive with some emphasis on film as a film. Great.

To The Wonder by Terrence Malick

Too soon to have to think about a Malick film, especially when I did not enjoyed much his last one. But obviously film is must be seen for me even when got both applauses and boos at press screening and not positive reviews. My biggest surprise is to find that according to press conference comments, Olga Kurylenko is the "real" star of the film as others like Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem and Rachel McAdams have smaller roles. But, as always, Malick's film is a mystery that will be solved when you see it, no matter what media has said. The synopsis.

After visiting Mont Saint-Michel— once known in France as “the Wonder”—at the height of their love, Marina and Neil come to Oklahoma, where problems soon arise. Marina makes the acquaintance of a priest and fellow exile, who is struggling with his vocation, while Neil renews his ties with a childhood friend, Jane. An exploration of love in its many forms.

Of course synopsis doesn't say much and no surprise, there is no director's statement. So the mystery continues. My only hope is that I enjoy this movie more than his last but against my hope is still the shadow that Ben Affleck is acting here and I do not like his performances. Sigh.

Can help but to share that many Malick die-hard fans immediately went to question "bad" reviews/comments in twitter and elsewhere. So funny. One example: "Screw the boos: I'm in love with Terrence Malick's To The Wonder". Then, my favorite harsh-critic says film shows his "B-side", lol.

By the way, Malick just finished filming another film, Knight of Cups. Hope film will not be in Cannes next year, but since he has become a "film machine" there are two other projects that could get there. Only one has some info, Voyage of Time, which seems is an examination of the birth and death of the universe, oh! not again. Film is narrated by Emma Thompson and Brad Pitt, both could look very nice at any red carpet. Sigh.

Autoreiji: Biyondo (Outrage Beyond) by Takeshi Kitano

Simply love Takeshi Kitano. His film and his performances. So, no surprise that this film is must be seen for me. The synopsis.

The Sanno crime family has grown into a huge organization, expanding its power into politics and legitimate big business. The Sanno’s upper ranks are now dominated by young executives, and the old-guard members are penting up resentment while being pushed to the sidelines.

This vulnerable spot in the Sanno hierarchy is exactly what anti-gang detective Kataoka has been looking for, as the police force prepares a full-scale crackdown.

With secret plots and dirty tricks, the ambitious Kataoka instigates confl ict between the Sanno and their long-time ally, the Hanabishi, in the hopes that they ultimately destroy each other. But Kataoka’s trump card is the arranged release from prison of Otomo, the rumored dead boss of a family once crushed by the Sanno. 

Otomo’s surprise return adds to the deception and betrayal among the families as everyone watches out for the other’s next move. It’s impossible to guess who will come out on top in this fierce power game. It’s not over until it’s over.

Another gangster film as is the sequel to Autoreiji (Outrage). Seems film has been controversial for including scenes/references to Japan's recent disaster.

Après mai (Something in the Air) by Olivier Assayas

Not one of my favorite French directors but this film calls my attention beyond my love for French cinema as tells about the famous 70's Paris revolts. The synopsis.

Paris, in the early 1970s. Gilles is a young high school student completely swept up in the political and creative effervescence of the times. Like his schoolmates, he wavers between radical commitment and more personal aspirations. Passing from sexual relations to artistic revelations on a journey through Italy and ending in London, Gilles and his friends have to make crucial choices in order to find themselves in a tumultuous age.

Seems that at least some of his own experiences had to inspire this film, check the director's statement.

I don’t really believe in autobiography at the cinema. One always writes about recent and distant memories that are more or less distorted and more or less idealized. This is particularly the case when talking about adolescence, an age when our strongest images are etched almost unbeknownst to us. Instead I believe in youth as a source of inspiration, as an intimate truth that we should constantly measure ourselves against. I grew up during the 1970s. I didn’t choose them and I am returning to them. This violent, confused and contradictory period, overshadowed by the events of May 1968, continues to be the object of misunderstandings. I experienced those years and I am their worst witness, my face to the ground, a tributary of an irreparably falsified perspective. But perhaps that is not the worst point of view for understanding the chaos of those years...

Lately Assayas seems to be the only French filmmaker willing to talk about what many call "ugly" recent incidents in French history as first was Carlos and now Paris in the '70s. Yes, I'm curious to see his vision.

Out of Competition

Den skaldede frisør (Love is All You Need) by Susanne Bier

Defined by many as more mainstream than her previous films plus "a crowd pleaser" seems that director is taking a break from doing great movies. Tend to believe those comments thanks to the presence of Pierce Brosnan in film; still, does not discourage me from watching as a must be seen. The synopsis.

The film is a warm, funny and life-affirming story about how, just when you think it’s all over, it just might be about to begin. With warmth, affection and confidence, Susanne Bier has shaken a cocktail of love, absurdity, humor, raucous dialog and delicately drawn characters that will leave no heart untouched. Two very different families meet in a beautiful, old Italian villa, in the middle of a lemon grove. The occasion is a romantic wedding, meticulously planned to the smallest detail. Of course, nothing goes according to plan and yet everything works out in the end. Den skaldede frisør is a liberatingly different comedy, which will inspire hope in anyone with their heart in the right place.

Even if I know is not related at all (except for Brosnan), synopsis plus trailer make me think about Mama Mia! (lol). Anyway here is the director's statement.

I wanted to make a film about vulnerable people; about the things in life we’d rather suppress but, if depicted with humor, might lift our spirits. In Ida and Philip we found main characters whose vulnerability carried both the weight of the subject matter and the lightness of a humorous touch. We transported them to the most romantic place imaginable, alongside a host of comedic characters. We used humor and romance as means, not of softening their hardship, but of demarcating it more clearly, to allow the contrasting universes to emphasize each other. That way we could portray each of our characters, in all their fortune and misfortune, with the precision and tenderness they deserve.

Don't have high expectations for a great movie, expect good entertainment with great actors under the hand of an acclaimed director; still, deep inside me hope for a surprise.

Orizzonti

Leones by Jazmín López

Debut film by Argentinean López calls my attention for the project credentials plus the lack of formal narrative to use symbols and magic realism. I believe could be a film of extremes, either is a great film or a pretentious disaster. Hope to find which after I see it. The synopsis.

Deep in the forest a group of five friends wander around like a lion herd. Lost in their word games, they play and seduce each other while going back and forth into adulthood territory, in a desperate search to avoid their already written story.

What synopsis doesn't mention is that all characters are dead and all committed suicide, which I think is important to know before watching. Director's statement is long with too many words to state something clearly and seems her press conference also had too many (useless) words.

Death is a lived life. Life is a death that comes” (Jorge Luís Borges) A white page, a shape, maybe a point without pre-design, allows me to move eternally into time. Leones is an essay about death, from the point of view of a mortal being, death seen as a beautiful landscape. Youth and its obsessions; death, its beauty and incomprehension. How weak can the human body be in comparison to an intellectual construction? These kids are always in the moment. References to temporality are downplayed, or even denied. They are not only in the moment but immersed in it, anxious and bored, almost beyond temporality. The decay of these flowers and the dirt of their clothes exert pressure on memory. Their extreme presence is more than eternal. End of time: they are not aware of their past. Leones explores the fantastic boundaries of film as a language. The kids are more real than the fi ction of the fi lm. Their purpose is an empty pursuit of arriving—nowhere—Animals. The feeling fi lls the whole space. We have to translate it within ourselves. And only if we stay sensitive towards the world, will we be able to go through it... A correspondence is established. Different times are tied, entangled.

Not really happy with what I read as I'm leaning toward pretentious disaster, but will watch movie anyway.

Venice Days

Blondie by Jesper Ganslandt

Not familiar with director as have not seen his previous films, but film calls my attention for story as seems like an intense drama that I could enjoy.

Then there is always the fact that one of the blonde leads (in photo) was at the Swedish Big Brother show and that's where director met her, as his assignment was to follow her. The synopsis.

Three sisters, all adrift and in crisis, come together again at their childhood home for the celebration of their mother´s birthday. The festivities soon come to an end though, and repressed conflicts rise up to the surface. Old wounds are opened and a new family is born.

European reviews headlines tend to be positive, with some calling film "a splendid portrait of women". Seems like my kind of film.

Acciaio by Stefano Mordini

Film is competing for the Queer Lion and to be honest, is the main reason why film called my attention as story maybe could be not that much interesting. Still, always there is hope that a great lesbian interest film will appear; hope is this one. The synopsis.

Here, the steel worker works on a continuous cycle, twenty-four hours a day and never stops. There, by the sea, on the island of Elba, is a paradise so close, yet so unattainable. 

In the middle, neither here nor there, Anna and Francesca, young but already old, have a friendship as special as love itself. The same love keeps Alessio, Anna´s brother, going. A factory worker to the core, the only girl he wants is Elena, the girl he cannot have. One day love arrives, as powerful as it is unexpected for all, and life suddenly accelerates until it cracks, bleeds and breaks.

International Critics' Week

Äta sova dö (Eat Sleep Die) by Gabriela Pichler

Very curious about film and more with the news that got standing ovations at Venice premiere. Not an easy story for a country that seems doesn't talk too much about its immigrants. The synopsis.

Is not easy for a girl like Raša – a Swedish citizen of Balkan origin and Islamic religion – to find a new job. She is fired from the factory where she used to pack lettuce into plastic bowls. She has not a high school degree, and she has to maintain her beloved father. She attends classes of psychological support for the unemployed and tries her best to find a new job. Under this harsh circumstances, she suddenly realizes that the Country in which she decided to live does not grant everyone equal opportunities.

Other News

Spanish filmmaker David Victori's La Culpa (The Guilt) won the 1st Your Film Festival. Michael Fassbender gave the award that includes US$500,000 to create original online content for YouTube.

Paolo Sorrentino's This Must Be The Place, Francesco Bruni's Scialla, Perfrancesco Favino in A.C.A.B. and Barobar Bobulova in Immaturi, Il Viaggio are the top winners in the Kineo Diamanti Al Cinema awards. To read full list go here.

Not So Serious

After many years not present in the festival, today in Cannes two very famous Italian actresses Gina Lollobrigida and Claudia Cardinale.

Today's Photo

Michael Fassbender, David Victori and the award.

First Your Film Festival Award Winner

Today the winner was announced and is the entry from Spain. Michael Fassbinder gave the award.

La Culpa (The Guilt), David Victori Blaya, Spain

We know that eventually his new film will be at the festival YouTube channel for us to enjoy.

Congratulations to organizers for a great initiative.

Cheers!

The award winner short.



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8/7
A few days ago (August 1st) YouTube and Emirates in partnership with Scott Free Productions and the Venice Film Festival announced the ten (10) finalists that will attend the Biennale to compete for a US$500,000 prize towards producing more content with the help from Riddley Scott, Michael Fassbender and a world class crew.

Ridley Scott and Michael Fassbender are part of the jury that will select the grand prizewinner after the films are screened at the fest on September 2.

The ten finalists are market in *BLUE. To watch the finalists go here.

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6/12
If you like to watch short films this is your opportunity to see 50 semi-finalists in this festival where you can vote for your favorite. I just started watching and because the quality of the films decided to invite you all to this festival.

This is a copy of today's press release.

On June 11, YouTube and Emirates, in partnership with La Biennale di Venezia (the Venice Film Festival) and Scott Free, announced the 50 semi-finalists in the Your Film Festival competition - a global search to find the world's best storytellers. Scott Free had the difficult task of narrowing down more than 15,000 submissions from more than 160 countries across the globe. It is now up to the YouTube community to view and vote on the semi-finalists at youtube.com/yourfilmfestival thus helping decide which 10 filmmakers will attend the Venice Film Festival and compete for the $500,000 grand-prize.

These are the 50 semi-finalist short films.

*88:88, Joey Ciccoline, USA
Aisha's Song, Orlando von Einsiedel, UK
*Bat Eyes, Damien Power, Australia
Befetach Beity (On My Doorstep), Anat Costi, Israel
Bench Seat, Anna Mastro, USA
Biondina, Laura Bispuri, Italy
Boot, Damien Power, Australia
Café Turco (Turkish Coffee), Thiago Luciano, Brazil
Camino Al Cementerio, Mijael Milies and Carla Pastén, Chile
La Carta, Angel Manuel Soto Vazquez, Puerto Rico
*Cine Rincao, Fernando Grostein Andrade& Fernanda Fernandes, Brazil
Cortometraje Teta y Sopa, Alberto Gómez, Spain
*La Culpa (The Guilt), David Victori Blaya, Spain
Das Tub, James Cunningham, New Zealand
The Debt Collector, Alan David Morgan, USA
Dr Grordbort presents: the Deadliest Game, James Cunningham, New Zealand
*The Drought, Kevin Slack, USA
Ebony Society, Tammy Davis, New Zealand
La Guagua (The Child), Sebastian Mantilla, Spain
*El General, Diego Pino Zamora, Bolivia
Fish, Shaun Escayg, USA
Good Pretender, Maziar Lahooti, Australia
I'll Keep an Eye on You, Torben Bech, Denmark
Kiss, Alex Murawski, USA
Learning Spanish the Hard Way, Eric Stolze, USA
Letting Go, Daniel McCauley, South Africa
No Exit, Jesper Isaksen, Denmark
*North Atlantic, Bernardo Nascimento, UK
Перешкода (The Obstacle), Maxim Neafit Bujnicki, Ukraine
Photo For Baba, Harel Yana and Moti Malka, Israel
Picnic, Gerardo Herrero, Spain
El Porvenir- Episodio 1 Hermanos, Manuel Alejandro Anell, Mexico
Reflexiones de un Picaporte (Doorhandle Thoughts), Carlos Crespo Arnold, Spain
The Return Address, Abi Varghese, USA
*Scruples, Adrian Powers, Australia
Secular Quater #3, David Gidali, USA
Skatesistan: To live and skate in Kabul, Orlando von Einsiedel, UK
Skin of Glass, Lukas Dhont, Belgium
Sold, John Irwin, USA
Включи мотор и сдай назад (Start the Engine and reverse), Andrey Zagidullin, Russia
Stop. Watch. Love, Brad Herbert, USA
*Super.Full., Niam Itani, Lebanon
The Telegram Man, James Francis Khehtie, Australia
Tempestade (Storm), Cesar Cabral, Brazil
Ter Ter, David Lucchini & Fabien Carrabin, France
Then and Now, Paul Johannessen, Japan
هذا الزمان *(This Time), Ramy EL-Gabry, Egypt
Vi Ska Plocka Pascal I Natt (Our Mission: Pascal), Johanna Pyykkö, Sweden
Wickate, Niralji Ravishanker, Malaysia
Wylacznosc (An Exclusive), Krzysztof Szot, Poland

There are some directors that have excellent credentials like for example, short being at Cannes 2012 or being Bigas Luna assistant, which I share just to confirm the quality of the shorts. Among the jurors that helped to select the semi-finalist we have Ridley Scott and none other than Michael Fassbender.

To watch shorts please go here and VOTE - you have until July 13th- after all is OUR festival. According to rules, you can vote for 1 short each day, so if you have several favorites, you can vote for them but remember that is only one vote per voting day. Cheers!

Enjoy!!!

Avé

A film by Konstantin Bojanov that looks and feels like the work of an accomplished director, but is only his second film. I don't think will see his first film, a documentary called Invisible-This Is Your Life on Heroin as tells the story of six heroin addicts, but surely I want to see more from him.

A typical road movie that uses the many times visited film structure; but Bojanov uses it like if it was his own with a fresh unusual story that engages us slowly, very slowly while telling the story of a young man, Kamen, travelling to his best friend funeral and a young woman, Avé, who seems to be a lost soul travelling the roads but that later we learn that she is not and indeed, she's far from being one. You can predict that they are heading into falling for each other and they do, but I believe that's about all you can predict in this movie as how and why the fall for each other is unpredictable. But you have to see movie to learn what story is really all about as will not tell you more.

I'm sure that because the story co written by Bojanov uses his life experiences, becomes very credible and easily you get inside, like the third person in the story, the voyeur that see everything but is invisible. Also no doubt that his nomad life, he has traveled all over the world, allowed him to so successfully and very credible use the road movie genre. But what marveled me is his impressive use of light and color palettes. When Kamen and Avé meet and for a long while he uses cold colors palette that as his characters start to open to themselves and to each other, the palette changes to warmer tones. He tells his story with words, with images, with silences but most of all with colors. This is impressive.

We know that road movies commonly are used as metaphors of life and this is no exception as what we see in the screen with two strangers meeting, travelling together, fantasizing to avoid accepting/telling truth, opening, tell truth, fall for each other and discovering/accepting each other as they are or will be from now on, is a great tale that represents life as it is in its very raw way with not much melodrama or drama, just like it happens in real life. All these plus director's ability as a visual storyteller makes movie must be seen for many that enjoy great European cinema.

Performances are incredibly good for actors that do not have that much experience, as for Anjela Nedyalkova (Avé) this is her second film while for Ovanes Torosian (Kamen) this was his third film, noteworthy is to note that both worked in Kamen Kalev's Eastern Plays. To complete the picture will share that film as a film has above average production values, was premiered in 2011 Cannes at the Semaine de la Critique and got awards as well as honors while traveling the fest circuit.

Last, I believe that film has all the right credentials to be the 2012 Bulgaria submission to Oscar, let's hope whoever selects the film in that country, will chose wisely and send this film.

Enjoy!!!

Wattch trailer @MOC

Let's Talk Telluride 2012

On Labor weekend every year what I consider to be the best festival in USA takes place. You have to buy your passes before knowing what films you'll be able to see, as the festival lineup is a secret (very well kept) that's unveiled a few hours before the festival starts. But fest has so much prestige that passes are sold out days before the opening day.

Then every major USA critics has to go and they do, I follow in twitter some of them and today's news where about Ben Affleck's Argo, with many considering film as good Oscar contender. Good is to mention that none included Argo in their predictions before Telluride. Festival gives many the opportunity to see films they haven't seen and allows them to generate buzz about films that were not considered before. So know that more tweets will come that will tells us about other possible Oscar contenders as if something Telluride truly has is: very good movies.

Most films come from Cannes, Berlin and even Venice festivals but there are a few American movies that suddenly appear in the lineup that none of us have paid much attention. So let's take a look at how the lineup looks for this year.

The Show

The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer, Denmark (documentary)
Amour (Love), Michael Haneke, Austria, France and Germany
At Any Price, Ramin Bahrani, USA
The Attack, Ziad Doueiri, Lebanon, France, Qatar, Belgium
Barbara, Christian Petzold, Germany
The Central Park Five, Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon, USA (documentary)
De rouille et d'os (Rust & Bone), Jacques Audiard, France and Belgium
En kongelig affære (A Royal Affair), Nikolaj Arcel, Denmark, Sweden and Czech Republic
Everyday, Michael Winterbottom, UK
Frances Ha, Noah Baumbach, USA
The Gatekeepers, Dror Moreh, Israel, France, Germany, Belgium (documentary)
Ginger & Rosa, Sally Potter, UK
Hyde Park on Hudson, Roger Michell, UK
Jagten (The Hunt), Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark
The Iceman, Ariel Vromen, USA
Love, Marilyn, Liz Garbus, USA (documentary)
Midnight's Children, Deepa Mehta, Canada and UK
No, Pablo Larraín, Chile, France and USA
Paradies: Liebe (Paradise: Love), Ulrich Seidl, Austria, Germany and France
Romanzo di una Strange (Piazza Fontana), Marco Tullio Giordana, Italy and France
The Sapphires, Wayne Blair, Australia
Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley, Canada (documentary)
Superstar, Xavier Giannoli, France and Belgium
Wadja, Haifaa Al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia and Germany
What is this Film Called Love?, Mark Cousins, UK, Mexico, USA, Canada and Germany (documentary)

But there is more, as one Sneak Preview has been already screened: Argo, Ben Affleck, USA. Additional Sneak Previews may play outside the main program and will be announced on the website over the course of the four-day weekend, so fest attendees have to check the site to see what's up.

As you can notice we know about many films in above list, more if you follow Movie On facebook page; but still there are a few that I had no idea they were around and yes, will check them as soon as possible. From the ones I was unaware all are documentaries, worth noting that the last film in the list was shot over three days and on a budget of 10 English Pounds.

Known since a few days ago, Guest Director is Geoff Dyer who will present six films that span from 1974 to 2007. One of the six films in this program is none other than Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky. The film list continues with more films in different sections plus a short films program. Go here if you wish to read about them.

The 2012 Silver Medallion Awards, given to recognize an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema, go to director and producer Roger Corman, Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen.

One of the critics I follow said in a tweet "Love listening to people in line at #telluride; they're the target art house audience. Smart sharp cinephiles from all over the country". The brief tweet gives us an idea of who the "other" festival audience it is; but also, after reading the above list again makes me realize that for me there are not many "art house" movies up there, as matter of fact, none are. The list has very good movies, many must be seen for me, but "art house"? I believe that not all foreign language films are "art house", much less the English language films and as I said, before watching any of them, none of those films seem to be "art". Then maybe some can be labeled Auteur Films. Indeed, I'm describing the problem with labels but, what do you think? In the list and even if you haven't seen the films, do you find possible "art house" films?

The 39th Telluride Film Festival started yesterday, August 31st, today is in full swing mode and for two more days, until September 3, the great films party will continue. The good news is that next year instead of the usual four-days festival and to celebrate the 40th anniversary the fest will add one more day, making room for a five-day bounty of special programming and festivities. If you wish to attend you will have to hurry as passes fly, but at least passes purchases will begin in March 2013, almost 6 months before the festival starts on August 29, 2013.

Cheers!!!

Day 4 - 69th Venice International Film Festival

To be blunt, I'm starting to feel what most media seems to have been feeling since the beginning of the festival. We are one day short of half the fest and yes, I'm losing interest. So today I'll be talking only about the films that I wish to see.

Venezia 69

The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson

Not everything that Paul Thomas Anderson has done appeals to me but his latest film with the amazing cast and puzzling story and after his great There Will Be Blood definitively is must be seen for me. Already press tweets are praising movie but directly or indirectly admit that for many will not be easy to "get it"(even my favorite film critic is asking to see it twice and he has a deadline), which for me means that movie has to be very good. Great.

Joaquin Phoenix is in Venice and saw excerpts of the press conference video as I gave up and won't listen any more to the annoying voice of the Italian translator. Still was nice to see him as well as Philip Seymour Hoffman and Anderson. Didn't pay much attention to what they were talking as this is one movie that I don't want spoilers beyond the basic movie info. So, let's check the synopsis.

A striking portrait of drifters and seekers in post World War II America, Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master unfolds the journey of a Naval veteran who arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future—until he is tantalized by The Cause and its charismatic leader.

Exactly the kind of synopsis that I like as tells nothing about film and at the same time tells everything. So I deduce that if film is or is not about Scientology is up to us viewers to conclude after we watch film. Good. Not surprisingly there is no director's statement at the fest official site.

What do I expect from this movie? Outstanding performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman, also from Amy Adams; a complex, brainy, not-easy-to-crack, story; a masterful creation by Anderson. High expectations, isn't? But I had them before today, before reading the very short tweets, these only confirm what I was already expecting. Good.

Movie reviews started to crowd the net and if you wish to know more about movie suggest to check them. News mostly from Italian media: Joaquin Phoenix strong contender for Copa Volpi Best Actor.

È stato il figlio by Daniele Ciprì

Highly enjoy Toni Servillo performances and from what I have seen in trailer I believe this could not be the exception. Trailer and story synopsis suggests that film seems like what I call "regular Italian movie" which doesn't mean is bad, just that is not outstanding cinema. Check the synopsis.

The Ciraulo family lives on the outskirts of Palermo. Nicola, the father, manages to support everyone by selling scrap iron from disused ships. Although their life is tough, it’s peaceful. One day a stray bullet, fired by a mafia hit man, kills the youngest daughter. The family’s desperation is immeasurable. There is a glimmer of at least some economic hope when the Ciraulo’s neighbour Giacalone advises Nicola to apply for compensation for mafia victims. Assuming that the money will soon arrive, the family starts spending it before they have even received it, getting into debt with everyone. Nicola falls into the hands of a moneylender, a friend of Giacalone’s. When the money finally arrives, there is not much left once they have paid off their debts. The Ciraulo family do not have a bank account. The money sits on the table with the whole family sitting around it while they decide how they should invest it. Each idea receives short shrift from Nicola, who finally comes up with his own: to buy a Mercedes. A Mercedes is a symbol of wealth, for many people the only real sign that you have escaped poverty. But for the Ciraulo family the Mercedes becomes the symbol of the Misery of Wealth, a tool of defeat and ruin.

Can't deny that story could be an interesting exploration if director goes beyond what has already been said about sudden wealth, but definitively is Servillo performance what makes film must be seen for me. For your reference, the following is the director's statement.

In this film I rediscovered something of the characters who had inspired me in the past and who will always be dear to me. For example, Busu is a lot like Tirone (the cyclist in Cinico tv) who does a bit of wheeling and dealing to scrape together a bit of cash and does not have relationships with women. This helped me to feel that this was “my” story without betraying Alajmo’s novel. È stato il figlio is the result of my own experiences and the complicity of everyone who accompanied me on this journey. The Ciraulo family could be our family and is the projection of the breakdown in human relations and cultural limitations.

Out of Competition

Cherchez Hortense by Pascal Bonitzer

I see everything with Kristin Scott Thomas, an actress that I have highly enjoyed in English roles but adore her in French films, thus this film is must be seen for me. Not really familiar with director but have seen a few movies with male lead, Jean-Pierre Bacri and enjoyed some of his performances. So film seems like one that I will enjoy besides watching the lead actress. The synopsis.

Damien is a professor of Chinese civilization who lives with his wife, Iva, a theater director, and their son Noé. Their love is mired in a mountain of routine and disenchantment. To help keep Zorica from getting deported, Iva gets Damien to promise he’ll go to his father, a state department official, for help. But Damien and his father have a distant and cool relationship. And this mission is a risky business which will send Damien spiraling downward and over the edge...

Film is competing for the Queer Lion because seems from what I read that Damien's father is gay, which unravels more the story told in the synopsis. The director's statement explains better what film is about.

Illegal immigration is not the subject of Cherchez Hortense. If I had to put a word to it, I would say it’s about identity, or the visible portion thereof (which explains the title). My movie is a comedy, which means hopefully it will get some laughs and also that it ends well. Still, as in any comedy, the characters go through some very dramatic stuff—particularly the hero, Damien, who is being pulled in many directions at once. When Damien finally sees that the abstract commitment to an unknown person which is demanded of him actually coincides with the actual interest he has taken in a young woman encountered by chance, he realizes just how wrong he has been and finally swings into action. What Agnès and I have tried to achieve through this comedy is an exploration of self-confidence, which isn’t given but earned, or conquered. It’s about identity, an identity crisis, which for Damien spells an impossible confrontation with his father. But two other characters—who never meet and who are at first glance very different—both deal with this issue—Sebastien, the aforementioned father, and Aurore/Zorica, the young woman who’s on Damien’s mind. So to sum up the story that Agnès de Sacy and I have tried to tell here, let’s say it’s about a guy (Damien) who has to become visible so that a girl (Aurore) can remain invisible and, conversely, about giving up invisibility in order to finally live life to its fullest.

Yes film is a comedy and I really don't like French comedies, so let's hope the drama in film keeps my attention and allows me to enjoy film.

Photo of the Day

Beautiful photo of Nadine Labaki at last night 2012 Gucci Award for Women in Cinema ceremony.

2012 European Film Awards - People's Choice Award

From today, September 1st, and up to October 31st, my European friends will be able to vote for their favorite film and have a chance to win a trip to the European Film Awards ceremony that this year will be in Malta.

The following are the nominated films and you can VOTE HERE.

The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius, France

Barbara, Christian Petzold, Germany

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, John Madden, UK and USA

Cesare deve Morire (Caesar Must Die), Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Italy

Hasta La Vista (Come As You Are), Geoffrey Enthoven, Belgium

Hodejegerne (Headhunters), Morten Tyldum, Norway

In Darkness, Agnieszka Holland, Poland, Germany and Canada

Intouchables (Untouchable), Oliver Nakache and Eric Toledano, France

The Iron Lady, Phyllida Lloyd, UK

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Lasse Hallström, UK

Shame, Steve McQueen, UK

Thinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tomas Alfredson, France, UK and Germany

Haven't seen four films but from the ones I have seen, my vote goes to Shame but I know is not mainstream; so Salmon Fishing in the Yemen also gets my vote, if I could vote twice. There is one movie here that has been a huge success around the world and I'm not talking about the French 2012 Oscar winner, but the other French movie in the list; I'm really curious to see if European audiences give the award to Untouchable.

Hope my European friends and blog readers will VOTE.

Cheers!