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 July 3, 2008 DISPATCH FROM SAN FRANCISCO | Frameline Celebrates 32, Bids Lumpkin Adieu
Frameline, the oldest and largest LGBT film festival in the world, wrapped this past weekend after an ambitious 11 day run. The 32nd edition of this Bay Area fest also served as a bittersweet send-off for its director of 25 years, Michael Lumpkin. The man responsible for Frameline's evolution from a three day exhibition of local film into an eleven-day event of international stature ensured that his last opus would be every bit as boisterous and fun-loving as the festival's reputation now demands. More than 230 selections hailed from 36 countries, falling in categories as a disparate as horror, musical, porn, and kids flick. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches, Queer Cinema ] July 2, 2008 DISPATCH FROM SWEDEN | Bergman Island: "Faro Document," "Persona," "Summer Interlude," and More from Faro
A film festival unlike any other, Bergmanvecken (or Bergman Week), now in its fifth year in operation and its first incarnation since the death of the man at its center last July, is a celebration of location as much as film. For Swedish cinema, Ingmar Bergman was always a one-man-show, its industry glue, its irreproachable standard-bearer, its looming demon genius -- and he has been resented throughout the industry for the past half-century nearly as often as he's been embraced. Not so on Faro, the island located on the northern tip of Gotland, where he made his permanent residence for decades even as he lived and worked in Stockholm during the off seasons. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches, Lead Story, World Cinema ] June 30, 2008 DISPATCH FROM SCOTLAND | "Somers Towns" Leads Winners in Edinburgh
The 62nd annual Edinburgh International Film Festival came to a close this weekend, after screening over 130 films over the course of 12 days, throughout the cobblestoned medieval cluster of the Scottish capital. Founded in 1947 in conjunction with Edinburgh Festival in August, the festival was intended to help revive the city's post-war economy. This year marked the first year the film festival ran at a different time and the event had tremendous help in smoothing the transition from its dedicated patrons, Sean Connery and Tilda Swinton, who were present throughout the EIFF's duration at many screenings, dinners and gatherings. Connery hosted the awards ceremony on Sunday night, presenting the Michael Powell Award, named for Britain's leading golden-era director, to the best in British cinema. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches, Lead Story, World Cinema ]  LAFF '08 | "Prince of Broadway," "Loot" Win Big Cash Awards as L.A. Fest Closes
Los Angeles Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival News, Los Angeles Film Festival ] June 29, 2008 DISPATCH FROM SWEDEN | Cinema, Past and Present: "Maria Larsson's Everlasting Moment," "Involuntary," "Wolf"
How to get rid of the ghost that you want to keep close? It's been more than twenty-five years now since Ingmar Bergman was regularly making feature films, but the master's mammoth shadow looms over the national cinema with undiminished dominance, and indeed most of European art cinema in general; meanwhile it's just one year after his death, at age 89, and Swedish cinema is still struggling with the legacy of this fearsomely popular and canonized auteur. Despite the domestic success of homegrown films such as Kay Pollack's "As It Is in Heaven" and Mikael Hafstrom's "Evil," and the ever-growing international reputations of festival-circuit favorites Roy Andersson and Lukas Moodysson (not to mention the imminent international release of Tomas Alfredson's already widely acclaimed, and Tribeca-feted "Let the Right One In"), Swedish cinema longs to crawl out from under the shadow of Bergman, even as it cannot afford to forget him. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches, World Cinema ] June 27, 2008 DISPATCH FROM LOS ANGELES | An Evening With Sheila Nevins
Los Angeles Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Documentary, Festival Dispatches, Lead Story, Los Angeles Film Festival ] June 26, 2008 DISPATCH FROM SCOTLAND | Hop Scotch: Edinburgh Fest Moves Out On Its Own
The city of Edinburgh holds endless treasures. The dense, medieval city center, built in the crater of an ancient volcano, breathes history from the massive Edinburgh Castle, down the gothic Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyrood. The beautifully planned "New City" remains one of the best examples in the world of Georgian architecture, and throughout, the city is interrupted vivid green hills and cliffs. It is also known for the annual Edinburgh Festival in August, a massive conglomeration of arts and music events that has made up the largest arts festival in the world since its founding in 1947. This year, the 62nd annual Edinburgh International Film Festival struck out on its own, moving to June; ever since it opened on Wednesday, the 18th, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches, Lead Story, World Cinema ] June 23, 2008 DISPATCH FROM MARYLAND | Silverdocs: Telling the Truth
If there's an aesthetic lesson conveyed by the premieres at AFI Silverdocs this year, it's that cinema verite continues to thrive -- and the classical approach to documentary filmmaking hasn't frayed with age. Not that it had been showing signs of a slow demise, but the ongoing talk of meager box office prospects for the form -- coupled with Herzogian declarations of "ecstatic truth" and projects like "Chicago 10" trying to take the practice in new directions -- suggested a demand for evolution that doesn't actually exist. As it turns out, great stories work when they're told well. That shouldn't come as a surprise, but last year's oft-repeated trend piece about lukewarm box office reception for documentary releases suggested a broken system in need of revitalization. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Documentary, Festival Dispatches, Lead Story ]  DISPATCH FROM NANTUCKET | Meg's Orgasm, Late Night Storytelling and Fest Faves on an Enchanted Isle
On The Scene coverage sponsored by Stella Artois. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches ]  DISPATCH FROM LOS ANGELES | Unleashing the Film Geek Within
Los Angeles Film Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches, Los Angeles Film Festival ] June 20, 2008 DISPATCH FROM MARYLAND | Considering the Confounding State of Nonfiction: Spike Lee and Alex Gibney at Silverdocs
The truth is out there, but only certain people know where to find it. In downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, that's the driving sentiment behind AFI Silverdocs, a healthy alternative to the industry festivities currently unfolding on the other coast at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Now in its fifth year, the calmest of the AFI-branded gatherings hosts a refreshingly specific program of discussions, workshops, and screenings featuring many of the finest recent accomplishments in nonfiction cinema. Where other festivals derive much of their appeal from a sense of discovery, Silverdocs feels more like an annual canonization of the documentary form, highlighting some of the best practitioners of the art while observing the bigger picture presented by the industry around them. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Documentary, Festival Dispatches, Lead Story ] June 19, 2008 NY NY | Human Rights Watch and Newfest Continue Spring Festival Season, BAM Does Director's Fortnight, and Nakadi Is Saluted at Film Forum
On The Scene coverage sponsored by Stella Artois. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Lead Story, New York Weekly ] June 18, 2008-thumbnail.jpg) SHORTS COLUMN | Best in the West: Jackson Hole, CineVegas, and LAFF Offer Thrilling Short Programs
In the month of June, Wyoming, Nevada, and California each roll out star-studded film festivals that attract sold-out crowds and extensive press coverage. With all the hoopla surrounding premieres and gala events, it's easy to overlook the amazing short films unspooling at the Jackson Hole, CineVegas, and Los Angeles Film Festival events. However, festival-goers interested in catching the freshest cinematic offerings know the real hot tickets are the short film programs. Packing in an average of nine shorts per screening and showcasing the best local, student, or international filmmaking to be found, the shorts programs are guaranteed to deliver more thrills, chills, and laughs per minute than any of the more publicized feature films. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Shorts, Shorts Monthly ]  DISPATCH FROM LAS VEGAS | CineVegas Showcases Small Films Under Big Lights
On The Scene coverage sponsored by Stella Artois. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches, Lead Story ] June 17, 2008 DISPATCH FROM SYDNEY | A Comeback For Australia's Troubled Fest?
Having suffered from a decade of leadership that ranged from lackluster to inept, and eclipsed during that time by rival events in Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane, 2008 ranked as something of a make-or-break year for the Sydney Film Festival. It saw, among other things, a substantial rise in state funding, and, as an emblem of this renewed confidence, the launch of a new international competition. It also marked the sophomore outing for new Artistic Director Clare Stewart, upon whose shoulders many hopes for the festival's resurrection have come to rest. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches, Lead Story, World Cinema ]  DISPATCH FROM SEATTLE | The Real Story Is Between the Margins at Seattle Fest
On The Scene coverage sponsored by Stella Artois. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches, Lead Story ]  TORONTO '08 | "Passchendaele" To Open 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
Canadian filmmaker Paul Gross' "Passchendaele" will open the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival with its world premiere on September 4, 2008. Set during World War I, the film follows a wounded Canadian solider who falls in love on the homefront and then returns to the battlefield for the third battle of Ypres, also knows as "Passchendaele." Co-produced by Niv Fichman, Frank Siracusa and Francis Damberger, the film stars filmmaker Gross, Caroline Dhavernas, Gil Bellows and Joe Dinicol. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival News, Lead Story, Toronto ] June 16, 2008 DISPATCH FROM HAWAII | Nature and Film Combine for Celestial Maui Fest
On The Scene coverage sponsored by Stella Artois. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches, Lead Story ] June 15, 2008 DISPATCH FROM LAS VEGAS | CineVegas Turns out a Strange Splashy Mix for 10th Edition
On The Scene coverage sponsored by Stella Artois. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches, Lead Story ] June 12, 2008 NY NY | MoMI Mounts Herzog, Rooftop Stays Local, Film Society Goes Italian, and Webbys go Gondry
This past week in New York was all about climbing. Two people created a public spectacle climbing the New York Times building as Werner Herzog gave a talk inside. Meanwhile, people climbed onto the Open Road Rooftop to celebrate the opening of Rooftop Films summer series, and the temperatures climbed into the upper 90s and stayed there along with heat's best friend humidity... Summer's here! [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Lead Story, New York, New York Weekly ] June 11, 2008 DISPATCH FROM WYOMING | Jackson Hole Goes Global
On The Scene coverage sponsored by Stella Artois. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Lead Story, Wrap Ups ] June 6, 2008 Human Rights Fest Sets '08 Slate, Launches Youth Program
Co-presented by Human Rights Watch and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the 19th annual Human Rights Watch International Film Festival will run from June 13 to 26, featuring 19 feature-length films and 13 shorts from 20 countries, including 31 New York premieres. The festival will open with Peter Raymont's "A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman," with the film's subject and renowned author of "Death and the Maiden" present to introduce the documentary. The two closing night films are "Letter to Anna," which tells the story of the life and tragic death of crusading Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, and "USA vs. Al-Arian," which implicates the U.S. government in a portrait of Palestinian-American activist Dr. Sami Al-Arian. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Documentary, Festival News, Lead Story, Lineups ] June 5, 2008 NY NY | "Stranger" Takes a Bow with Maysles, Sundance Goes Brooklyn and NewFest Turns a Twink 20
June is busting out all over, and NYC programmers have been going into overdrive as the temperatures start to soar. Sundance returned to Brooklyn this week, with a full 10 days of programming at BAM, while Albert Maysles helped see "Stranger Than Fiction"'s season to a close at IFC Center downtown with rare screenings of some classic work. And this week, NewFest helps launch pride month during its 20th blow out. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Lead Story, New York, New York Weekly ] June 3, 2008 DISPATCH FROM SEATTLE | Battling In Seattle With Success At The Fest
On The Scene coverage sponsored by Stella Artois. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Festival Dispatches, Lead Story ] May 29, 2008 NY NY | Israel's 60th, Media That Matters, Sundance and BAM, Brooklyn International Fest, and Being "Bourne"
Memorial Day weekend saw absolutely perfect weather in New York, as well as the absence of most film programmers, the quiet is not to last. The summer season has now kicked off, with the Film Society of Lincoln Center's tribute to Israel's 60th anniversary and the Media that Matters Film Festival launch at the IFC Center. The packed upcoming week features a prom, a failed heavy metal band, a 9/11 conspiracy thriller and a conversation between the Bourne filmmakers and a neuroscientist. Let summer begin! [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under New York, New York Weekly ]  6th Silver Docs Fest Offers 108 Films From 63 Countries
The 6th annual SILVERDOCS documentary film festival announced its programming for its June 16-23, 2008 event, which takes place in Silver Spring, MD,. The festival will present 108 films representing 63 countries selected from 1,861 submissions with six world, eight North American, six U.S. and seven East Coast Premieres and two retrospective programs. It will open with the U.S. Premiere of Adrian Wills' "All Together Now" and close with John Walter's "Theater of War." [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Documentary, Festival News, Lead Story, Lineups ] May 27, 2008 CANNES '08 | Wrapping Up Two Weeks in Cannes: Dispatches, Notebooks, Deals and Snapshots
Highlighting two weeks of continuous coverage from France for the 61st Cannes Film Festival, indieWIRE offers links to all of this year's festival dispatches, critics notebooks, deal news, daily biz round-ups, and snapshots featuring the filmmakers and famous faces from the Croisette. Additional coverage will continue in iW's special Cannes festival section. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Cannes, Festival Dispatches, Lead Story ] May 25, 2008 CANNES '08 DISPATCH: Laurent Cantent's "The Class" Wins the Palme d'Or
A film from France won the top award and pairs of films from Italy and Latin America were honored with top prizes as the 2008 Cannes Film Festival came to a close tonight. Laurent Cantet's "Entre Les Murs" ("The Class") won the Palme d'Or as a jury lead by Sean Penn presented the awards. The best director honor went to Nuri Bilge Ceylan for "Three Monkeys," while Jean Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne received the award for best screenplay for "Le Silence de Lorna." Two competition films from Italy were among the big winners: "Gomorra," directed by Matteo Garrone won the grand prix runner-up prize and the festival's jury prize went to "Il Divo," directed by Paolo Sorrentino. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 0 comments ] [ filed under Cannes, Festival Dispatches, Lead Story ] May 24, 2008 CANNES '08 DISPATCH | Just Like the Weather, Biz Prospects Mostly Cloudy On Fest's Final Weekend
Perhaps it's appropriate that the documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" received a special screening at this year's Cannes Film Festival, considering that its firm distribution deal really does seem like something special. During the latest Sundance Film Festival, "Wanted and Desired" became the first purchase after days of trepidation emanating from niche distributors -- an indicator of the dispiriting trend among buyers that continued into the Cannes Film Festival, although there was a slight burst of activity as the event comes to a close this weekend. The increasing difficulty to get American distributors interested is all the more evident now, with diagnoses for the problem spanning from broad cultural associations to specific issues popping up in the corners of the independent film landscape. With the dollar weak and alternative distribution venues on the rise, Cannes arrived like an intervention, bringing everyone under the same umbrella to figure out if they can come to terms with the problems at hand. So far, it looks like they're able, at the very least, to acknowledge them. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 1 comments ] [ filed under Cannes, Festival Dispatches, Lead Story ] May 23, 2008 CANNES '08 NOTEBOOK | And Then You Die: Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York
In terms of the political/social engagement of competition films at the 61st Cannes Film Festival, it isn't too much of a stretch to say that Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York" makes Arnaud Desplechin's dysfunctional family drama "A Christmas Tale" look like "Che," or even "Waltz With Bashir." Much-bruited, much-imitated screenwriter Kaufman's directorial debut features a parade of obsessively self-examining characters that never so much as talk politics, let alone practice any. The depths of the self-obsession of its main character, Schenectady-based theater director Caden (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) are made vivid in one shot in which he's half-hugging the toilet bowl and poking at his own feces, which he's convinced have blood in them. [ read more in On The Scene ] [ 1 comments ] [ filed under Cannes, Festival Dispatches, Lead Story ]
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