Archive for the 'Film festivals' Category
For 40 years, Yves Saint-Laurent reigned as one of the most influential fashion designers of our times. However, the controversial documentary “Celebration” tells an unexpected and disturbing version of the truth about the man and his psyche.
In the film, Yves Saint-Laurent is portrayed as a man troubled by his demons and manipulated by his helpers and associates. “He will never be rid of his demons, never be happy, and so much the better. He is like a sleepwalker and we must not wake him up. I set in place all the right conditions to keep him in this trance,” says Pierre Berge, Saint-Laurent’s former lover and business associate, in the film.
Continue reading ‘New Yves Saint-Laurent documentary screens in Berlin’
Audiences at the Berlin Film Festival were shown “I Have Never Forgotten You”, a new documentary about the life and legacy of Simon Wiesenthal. The film was made as a non-commercial project by the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, and was directed by the center’s Richard Trank, and co-written by Rabbi Marvin Hier.
Production on the high-profile film, narrated by Nicole Kidman, began after Wiesenthal’s death in 2005. The film was shot in nine countries and features interviews with Wiesenthal associates, government leaders, family members and friends. The Center hopes for a theatrical release in the spring.
There is more on this story in the International Herald Tribune. To follow the film’s journey, check its IMDB page.
The second edition of the European Independent Film Festival will take place on the weekend of March 16-18 at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris. The event brings together hundreds of independent filmmakers, distributors, producers, agents, talent scouts and film enthusiasts.
Competition in the documentary feature and short categories is open to all European documentaries made with less than 50% participation by a major studio or television broadcaster. The films can be in any language with subtitles in English or French. Many of the films screened at the 2006 festival found distribution deals straight away. The final deadline for film submissions is February 9.
For more information on the programme and on-line submissions, go to www.ecufilmfestival.com
The jury and audience award-winners of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival were announced last night (January 28) in Park City, Utah. Here are the results in the documentary category.
The Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was given to “Manda Bala” (“Send a bullet”), directed by Jason Kohn. In Brazil, known as one of the world’s most corrupt and violent countries, “Manda Bala” follows a politician who uses a frog farm to steal billions of dollars, a wealthy businessman who spends a small fortune bullet-proofing his cars, and a plastic surgeon who reconstructs the ears of mutilated kidnapping victims.
The World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary was given to “Enemies of Happiness”, directed by Eva Mulvad and Anja Al Erhayem (Denmark). The film follows Malalai Joya, a 28-year-old Afghani woman, as she redefines the role of women and elected officials with her historic 2005 victory in Afghanistan’s first democratic election in over 30 years.
Continue reading ‘2007 Sundance winners announced’
Sony Pictures Classics has picked up worldwide rights to “My Kid Could Paint That”, a Sundance documentary featuring the story of controversial child genius, Marla Olmstead. Following comparisons to Jackson Pollock and Wassily Kandinsky, Marla sold over $300,000 worth of abstract paintings. All this when she was only 4-years old.
Amir Bar-Lev, a Manhattan-based documentary film maker, covers her rise to fame and the controversy that surrounds child prodigies and the making of US celebrities. The film has been described as a mix of doc ethics, art politics and family drama, in which the authencity of the artist is drawn into question by skeptical journalists — including the filmmaker himself.
Check out Marla Olmstead’s paintings at her gallery
Continue reading ‘Sony Pictures picks up child artist documentary’
Sundance documentary “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” will be given a limited theatrical release in the US, before its airing on HBO in February. The film features interviews with members of military intelligence, military police, as well as prison inmates on the legal and moral implications of torture. It was directed by Rory Kennedy (see photo) whose earlier, award-winning films have explored poverty, drug addiction, the AIDS pandemic, and domestic violence.
Here is what she said in an Indiewire interview:
“The greatest risk in making “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” was not one that I took personally, but taken by the people I interviewed, particularly the Iraqi detainees who were wrongfully imprisoned at Abu Ghraib. As the situation on the ground was too dangerous, the six prisoners interviewed could not be filmed in Iraq. Their stories, however, were too important to go unheard and they seemed to know this. As an alternative, we arranged for them to fly to Jordan, but they were stopped at the Baghdad Airport and turned back.”
Continue reading ‘“Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” on US theatrical release’
Raindance, the largest British independent film festival, is now accepting submissions for its 15th anniversary edition. Shorts and features of all genres from anywhere in the world are accepted.
Submitted films must have been independently produced and not yet released in the UK. Submissions should be on DVD or VHS (PAL), either in English or subtitled into English. The festival will run between 26 September and 7 October 2007 and the deadline for submissions is 1 June. An early bird rate is available until 1 May.
For more info and a submission form, visit the Raindance Festival website.
