Thursday, February 14, 2008

BERLIN- World-spanning young cinema

ward Winners of the Berlinale Shorts
The members of the International Short Film Jury

Marc Barbé (France)
Ada Solomon (Romania)
Laura Tonke (Germany)

award the following prizes:


The Golden Bear to
O zi buna de plaja
by Bogdan Mustata (Romania)

The film raises questions about its issues rather than bring resolution to them. It does so in a very precise and unpredictable way. We feel that it is one of the most precious things when a film stays with you and keeps unravelling long after the final credits have ended.


The Silver Bear to
Udedh bun
by Siddharth Sinha (India)

The Silver Bear goes to Udedh bun for its modern narration. A sharp focus that relies on a harmony between images and sound rather than words. We are also sensitive to the new erotica brought to the traditional figure of the desired woman in the history of cinema.


Prix UIP to
Frankie
by Darren Thornton (Ireland)

A simple and powerful approach. The straight forward point of view of a working class teenager on love, responsibility and fatherhood. We also want to re-encourage the director in developing his project of short films for young makers.


DAAD Short Film Prize
B teme
by Olga Popova (Russian Federation)

We feel this film achieves a physical and sensual intimacy with its subjects without ever violating the secret of this intimacy. We wish to encourage the director’s talent as a filmmaker.


And two Special Mentions to

A special mention for directing goes to a film for its precise and sensitive direction on a topic which otherwise would have felt politically correct. SuperfĂ­cie by Rui Xavier.

A special mention for a very contemporary gesture in animation in a wonderful nasty sense of humour goes to RGB XYZ by David OReilly.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL 2008- NEWS

Legendary American filmmaker John Sayles has confirmed his attendance as the star guest of the 2008 Glasgow Film Festival. A two time Oscar nominee, Sayles is the undisputed king of American independent cinema with an inspirational thirty year career that includes such landmark films as The Return Of The Secaucus Seven (1980), Matewan (1987), City Of Hope (1991), Passion Fish (1992), Lone Star (1996) and Sunshine State (2002).
Sayles will attend the Festival with his partner and producer Maggie Renzi.

He will introduce his latest film Honeydripper and participate in a master class with Festival Co-Director Allan Hunter in which he will discuss his lengthy career as a director and as a screenwriter on such diverse films as Piranha (1978), The Howling (1981), Breaking In (1989), directed by Bill Forsyth, and The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) which will also receive a UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival.

Set in the Alabama of the early 1950s, Honeydripper offers a classic illustration of Sayles skills as a master storyteller, his ability to evoke a specific time and place and his enduring fascination with community. Danny Glover stars as Tyrone " Pine Top" Purvis, the proprietor of a juke joint that has seen better days. His customers are slipping away to a more glamorous rival, his wife resents the sweet stench of failure and bankruptcy is just a heartbeat away. He stakes his future on an appearance from blues star Guitar Sam, a surefire crowd-pleaser guaranteed to set the joint jumping. If only Tyrone can entice him to town for one Saturday night all his problems will be solved. Featuring a terrific ensemble cast that includes Charles S Dutton, Mary Steenburgen, Stacy Keach and Gary Clark Jr, Honeydripper is told with sly humour and a love of the blues guaranteed to set toes tapping and hips swaying.

Born in Schenectady, New York in 1950, John Sayles is a true American renaissance man. A writer, director, actor and producer, he has also written a number of novels including Pride Of The Bimbos (1975), Union Dues (1977) and Los Gusanos (1991). He first made his mark in the film world writing genre scripts for Roger Corman that were noted for their wit and inventiveness. Sayles used his earnings as a scriptwriter to finance his directorial debut The Return Of The Secaucus Seven (1980). Shot in 25 days on a budget of just $40,000, the film tells of a reunion of 1960s college radicals and illustrates the extreme social and political changes that befell a generation of Americans. It inspired The Big Chill (1983) and paved the way for a wave of American independent filmmakers who wanted to work outside the compromises inherent in the Hollywood studio system.
Sayles has remained a true independent, earning Oscar nominations for Passion Fish (1992) and Lone Star (1996) and creating a body of work unrivalled in its scope and desire to address the social and political complexities of contemporary American life.

Honeydripper receives it official UK premiere at the 2008 Glasgow Film Festival, screening at the Glasgow Film Theatre on Saturday February 16th at 8pm and repeated at CIneworld on Sunday February 17th at 6.15pm.

The master-class will be on Sunday 16 February at 4.15pm at the GFT.

The Spiderwick Chronicles screens at Cineworld on Sunday February 17th at 1pm. The John Sayles masterclass takes place at the Glasgow Film Theatre on Sunday February 17th at 4.15pm.

Tickets are available on www.glasgowfilmfestival.org.uk or by calling the box office on 0141 332 6535.

GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL 2008

The 4th Glasgow Film Festival will run from February 14th to 24th, the Festival will screen more than 100 films over eleven days with a star-studded line-up of UK premieres that include new films featuring Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell, Ryan Gosling, Romola Garai, Danny Glover and Monica Bellucci.

The Festival opens on Thursday February 14th with a gala UK premiere of Woody Allen's dark comedy Cassandra's Dream co-starring Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell as debt-ridden Cockney brothers confronted with an offer they cannot refuse. An outstanding British cast includes Tom Wilkinson, Phil Davis, Jim Carter, Sally Hawkins and rising star Hayley Atwell.

The Festival closes on Sunday February 24th with the UK premiere of Lars And The Real Girl featuring a knockout performance from Ryan Gosling as a lonely young man who finds himself the perfect girlfriend. The fact that he met her on the internet leaves some people anxious on his behalf. The fact that she is a doll causes all kinds of hilarity and heartache in this inventive charmer.

more information : http://www.glasgowfilmfestival.org.uk