No acceptance speeches. No statues. No media sponsored parties. Just your opinion and your chance to win.
The Washington DC Film Society announces the third annual vote for The Best of 2002. This is your chance to vote for your favorite movies, performances, and director of 2002. Logon to the DC Film Society website and click The Best of 2002 to cast your ballot and win.
Yes, win! All ballots will be entered in a drawing to win great prizes such as tickets to the 11th Annual Capital Oscars Party, and more. Hurry! The voting booth is only open January 1-31, 2003. Vote and win!
The German Film Festival in Edinburgh
By Jim McCaskill
EDINBURGH, Scotland. German films have had a difficult time breaking into the US market. Tom Tykwer has had the most luck recently starting with Run, Lola, Run (1998), Princess and the Warrior (2001) and 2002's Heaven. In the past 50 years there have been directors who have found an audience in the US (Wim Wenders, Werner Hertzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Doris Dorrie) but none seem to have make big at the box office. There may be several competing German film traditions that account for this. Early German films seemed to be spins on the Faust legend, Unendlichkeit, going beyond normal human limitation. In order to find an audience in Germany recent films have had to be films that were not very German. They could not make reference to history, either recent or long past. They could not refer to real social problems (no environmental issues, nothing on housing shortage). And, most important, no film could show a common German responsibility.
Films that made it at the box office in Germany followed a Hollywood formula. One reason for that is that a wide reaching film culture does not seem to exist. This is not to say that there are no cine fans. There are--but not in large numbers. Only recently has the attendance level reached the European average of 2.1 films per year. Box office receipts have gone up around 20% in the last few years. Film production is also increasing (75 films in 2000, 83 films in 2001).
With this in mind it is interesting to see what is included in a German Film Festival. Recently the Export-Union of German Cinema in association with the Goethe-Institut presented nine recent films. Seven were clearly German films but two seemed to be odd choices for a German Film Festival. They were both made in New York and had primarily New York actors. German directors and German funding but obviously New York films. They may have kicked off the festival for scheduling reasons. Brits don't attend films they have to read any better than they do in the US. Starting with films in English might have whetted the appetite for more German films. One of the films, Love the Hard Way (Peter Sehr directed), may have been included as it starred the Hot Young Star, Adrien Brody (superb in Roman Polanski's The Pianist and highly touted as a certain nominee for Best Actor Oscar). This 2000 film was not one of my favorites but a German friend of mine liked it a lot. Brody has clearly come a long way from the short lived 1988 Mary Tyler Moore TV series, Annie McGuire.
The second New York film was Cinemania (Angela Christlieb/Stephen Kijack, 2002, Germany) a documentary following five compulsive-obsessive film goers. The was an interesting film though some what exploitive of their peculiarities.
Films that I recommend were Naked (Nackt, Doris Dorrie, Germany, 2002), The Longing (Das Verlangen, Iain Dilthey, 2002), 12 Past Midnight (Null Uhr 12, Bernd Michael Lade, Germany). Naked is based on the play, "Happy" and follows six friends whose lives have taken different paths. One couple made a killing in the stock market, another recently broke up but do not want the others to know. The third seem happy but are they? Clever photography and staging made this an enjoyable film.
The Longing looks at harsh life in a south German village. Exceedingly well acted, Lena (Susanne-Marie Wrage) is trapped in a loveless marriage. A serial killer on the loose breaks life apart for everyone. It is harsh, unloving, angry at times but always captivating.
The closing film, 12 Past Midnight, was my favorite, a caper film involving the theft of 30 million marks (obviously pre-Euro). An armored truck is held up and the only lead the police have is a security tape of three men, two women holding bags in a nearby subway station. None seem to know the others. No one shows signs of sudden wealth. Who committed the robbery?
The Slurb (Das Sams, Germany, 2001) is a clever children's film that might find an audience in the US if it is dubbed in English. Few five year olds read subtitles. A mild-mannered man lives an ordinary life until a Speckled Little Unidentified Redheaded Being (SLURB) who is mischievous and can make wishes come true comes into his life. A fun film loved by the audience of wee bairns who saw this matinee.
Other films in the festival, in descending order of my preference, were: Queens of the Dust (Antje Kruska/Judity Keil, Germany, 2001) a documentary of three older cleaning women in Berlin. Sophiiiie! (Michael Hofman, Germany, 2002) follows the downward spiral of a self destructive pregnant woman. [NOTE: This film is showing in DC on January 19]. Mutants (Mutanten, Katalin Godros, Germany/France 2001). A 13 year old girl is convinced that an extraterrestrial virus is loose, reducing all adults to friendly, mindless beings. Only the moody 16 year old with a police record for stealing cars and 19 year old woman are immune. Her theory and the point of this film vanish when they visit the spot where her parents were killed.
Moscow Film Museum in Danger
By Jim McCaskill
EDINBURGH, Scotland. Sources in Moscow report that while all public and commercial building are brightly lit, by mayoral decree, for the winter festivities, one building is strangely dark. In early December the electricity was cut off for the Moscow Film Museum. This closed the theatre, which had 300 to 500 visitors each night, the exhibition space and the library. It appears that this internationally famous cinema institution has been caught in the power play by Kinozentr. They want to force the museum out of its current building and into smaller, more expensive one. The Moscow Film Museum is one of the few venues in the country to show Russian films.
Naum Kleiman, director of the Film Museum, said, "The whole building is owned by the Russian Filmmakers Union and has all the legal papers. Kinozentr has no title to this building. In addition the museum is a State Museum and protected by law against such attacks.
Because the Moscow Film Museum is nationally and internationally recognized as a prestigious stronghold of film culture several international organizations (French Union des Journalistes de Cinema, Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinematographique, Friends of the German Film Archive among them) have sent messages of support to Mr. Kleiman and urged Mikhail Shvidkoi, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation to do everything possible to bring this conflict to a conclusion that will keep its operation in the same location.
Jean Luc-Godard wrote urging support for the Moscow Film Museum He also wrote of his longtime friendship with Mr. Kleiman and admiration for his work, as well as his personal interest in the museum, which he has supported since its inception.
The international attention has had some effect. After the Polish actor and filmmaker Jerzy Stuhr's visit was cancelled and the Polish Embassy's strong letter of protest led to the electricity being suddenly restored. Mr. Shvidkoi announced that the Ministry of Culture would take Moscow Film Museum's side in a lawsuit against Kinozentr. Shvidkoi said, "To conserve the Museum of Cinema is our holy duty."
Kleiman thanked those who sent email and letters of support but warned, "The struggle is not yet over. But in these dramatic days, we have felt all the strength of our colleagues' solidarity in the face of criminals." Support may be sent to Kleiman and Shvidkoi. Information on the Moscow Film Museum can be found on their website.
Rabbit-Proof Fence
With Rabbit-Proof Fence playing now in Washington, take a minute to review the interview in the November Storyboard with the director and actors.
Rotterdam and Berlin Film Festival feature new film makers
By Jim McCaskill
EDINBURGH, Scotland. Both the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) (January 22-February 2) and the Berlin Film Festival (February 6-16) will feature filmmakers from new upcoming directors. Forty-five film projects will be highlighted in the acclaimed Rotterdam CineMart, a merchandizing arm of the Festival aimed at uniting worthy films and film distributors. Fifteen films will be shown in the Panorama Section of the Berlin Film Festival. For these young directors it is a major opportunity for their work to be shown in such prestigious festivals.
Films at the Rotterdam festival range from a Chinese/USA production of Xiang Er Kui by Zhang Yang to Nacer Khemir's Tunisian film Bab Aziz. The other film with a US connection is the Ecuador/Mexico/USA production of Cronicas (La Horra de la Verdad) from Sebastian Cordero. France leads the way with eight films: La Ronde de Nuit (Edgardo Cozarinsky, France/Argentina, La Nuit de La Verit, (Fanta Regina Nacro, France/Burkina Faso), Let the Wind Blow (Partho Sen Gupta, India/France), Beta Santa Patrice Toye, Belgium/France), Wild Side (Sebastien Lifshitz), Chemins de Traverse (Manuel Poirier), Hymen (Emmanuelle Caquille), 29 Palms (Bruno Dumont), with the last four films all produced by France alone. A complete list of films, directors and production companies can be found on the website. A complete list of all films can be found after January 16.
Canada has three films in the Panorama Section of the Berlin festival: Flower and Garnet (Keith Behrman), Owning Mahowny by British director Richard Kwietniowski and Girl King by Ilena Pietrobruno. The US has none in this section. Panorama is a separate section featuring art house films or films often written and produced by their director. Films from Germany, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, India, Great Britain, Spain and Italy are included. The complete list is now up on their website.
IFFR has selected Indian filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli for a retrospective as their Filmmaker in Focus. He is the last of the New Kannada Cinema directors still working. They began as an artistic group to preserve the Kannada language and culture of southern India. Kosaravalli's work, including his latest film Dweepa (The Island, 2002), shows a detailed portrait of individuals against the backdrop of overpowering political system or social uncertainties. Dweepa is a good example of this as he shows a family of four refusing to leave their home that is threatened by rising water levels. They do not know that a government built dam is flooding their area.
Rotterdam Chooses Tiger Award Finalists
By Jim McCaskill
The International Film Festival Rotterdam has selected fourteen first or second features from around the globe for the festival's VPRO Tiger Award Competition 2003. The competition lineup contains eight world premieres, five international premieres and one European premiere.
The ninth VPRO Tiger Award Competition contains two Hubert Bals Fund supported films Grieta by Santiago Loza, Argentina and Os Narradores de Javé (Javé Valley) by Elaine Caffé, Brazil and one former CineMart project Nói Albinoi (Noi, the Albino) by Dagur Kári, Iceland.
The fourteen films in IFFR 2003's VPRO Tiger Award Competition: (in alphabetical order by director's name)
Le Chignon d'Olga (Olga's Chignon) by Jérôme Bonnell (France/Belgium, 2002) international premiere
Os Narradores de Javé (Javé Valley) by Eliane Caffé (Brazil/France, 2003) world premiere, Hubert Bals Fund supported film
Marion Bridge by Wiebke von Carolsfeld (Canada, 2002) international premiere
Mu Di Di Shanghai (Welcome to Destination Shanghai) by Andrew Cheng (China, 2003) world premiere
De Arm Van Jezus (The Arm of Jesus) by André van der Hout (The Netherlands, 2003) world premiere
Kakuto by Iseya Yusuke (Japan, 2002) international premiere
Nói Albinoi (Noi, the Albino) by Dagur Kári (Iceland/Germany/United Kingdom/Denmark, 2003) world premiere, former CineMart project
Grieta by Santiago Loza (Argentina, 2003) world premiere, Hubert Bals Fund supported film
1/2 Miete (1/2 Rent) by Marc Ottiker (Germany, 2002) international premiere
Jiltoo-Neun Na-E Him (Jealousy Is My Middle Name) by Park Chan-Ok (South Korea, 2002) international premiere
Bodysong by Simon Pummell (United Kingdom, 2002) world premiere
Safar-E Mardan-E Khahestari (Journey of the Gray Men) by Amir Shahab Razavian (Iran/Japan, 2002) European premiere
S Ljubov'ju, Lilja (With Love, Lilja) by Larisa Sadilova (Russia, 2002) world premiere
The Principles of Lust by Penny Woolcock (United Kingdom, 2003) world premiere
Winners will be announced at the conclusion of the festival, February 2, 2003.
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