Cannes’ Critics Week has rounded out the jury for its 63rd edition running running May 15-23.
The previously announced Spanish writer-director-producer Rodrigo Sorogoyen will preside over the festival’s parallel selection dedicated to first and second features alongside Rwandan actress Eliane Umuhire, French producer Sylvie Pialat, Belgian director of photography Virginie Surdej, and Canadian journalist and film critic Ben Croll.
Sorogoyen is known for psychological thriller The Beasts which premiered in the Cannes Premiere strand in 2022 and won nine Goya awards, plus 2019 drama Mother, 2018 Spanish-French thriller The Realm, 2016 crime thriller May God Save Us, 2013 romantic drama Stockholm, and 2008’s 8 Dates co-directed with Peris Romano.
The previously announced Spanish writer-director-producer Rodrigo Sorogoyen will preside over the festival’s parallel selection dedicated to first and second features alongside Rwandan actress Eliane Umuhire, French producer Sylvie Pialat, Belgian director of photography Virginie Surdej, and Canadian journalist and film critic Ben Croll.
Sorogoyen is known for psychological thriller The Beasts which premiered in the Cannes Premiere strand in 2022 and won nine Goya awards, plus 2019 drama Mother, 2018 Spanish-French thriller The Realm, 2016 crime thriller May God Save Us, 2013 romantic drama Stockholm, and 2008’s 8 Dates co-directed with Peris Romano.
- 4/10/2024
- ScreenDaily
Mexican directors Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez’s Sujo won the Grand Prix at this year’s Sofia International Film Festival (March 13-24).
The Mexican-French-us co-production about a boy who must fight against the temptation of local gangs premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize, and is being handled internationally by Alpha Violet.
The festival’s top prize has gone to a film from Mexico for the second year running after Carlos Eichelmann Kaiser’s Red Shoes won last year.
The international jury, presided over by Hungarian actor-writer-director Szabolcs Hadju and including outgoing EFM director Dennis Ruh,...
The Mexican-French-us co-production about a boy who must fight against the temptation of local gangs premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize, and is being handled internationally by Alpha Violet.
The festival’s top prize has gone to a film from Mexico for the second year running after Carlos Eichelmann Kaiser’s Red Shoes won last year.
The international jury, presided over by Hungarian actor-writer-director Szabolcs Hadju and including outgoing EFM director Dennis Ruh,...
- 3/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Argentina’s newly elected president Javier Milei is bent on keeping his chainsaw-wielding campaign promise to cut state spending, including scrapping the country’s national film institute (Incaa) and its film schools (Enerc).
His mega draft bill, aimed at reining in Argentina’s hyper-inflation, has prompted more than 300 directors, producers, actors, critics and colleagues from across the world, led by Academy Award winners Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Cannes winners Aki Kaurismäki (“Autumn Leaves”) and the Dardenne Brothers (“Rosetta”), to sign a communiqué protesting the far-right libertarian’s proposal.
The other signees include actor-producers Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, Isabelle Huppert, directors Olivier Assayas, Kelly Reichardt, Kleber Mendonca Filho, Juan Antonio Bayona, Pedro Costa, Asif Kapadia, Corneliu Porumboiu, Abel Ferrara, Mira Nair, Roger Corman and Isabel Coixet, among many other prominent figures in the global film community.
In a statement, the newly formed coalition Cine Argentino Unido, spearheaded by film director associations,...
His mega draft bill, aimed at reining in Argentina’s hyper-inflation, has prompted more than 300 directors, producers, actors, critics and colleagues from across the world, led by Academy Award winners Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Cannes winners Aki Kaurismäki (“Autumn Leaves”) and the Dardenne Brothers (“Rosetta”), to sign a communiqué protesting the far-right libertarian’s proposal.
The other signees include actor-producers Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, Isabelle Huppert, directors Olivier Assayas, Kelly Reichardt, Kleber Mendonca Filho, Juan Antonio Bayona, Pedro Costa, Asif Kapadia, Corneliu Porumboiu, Abel Ferrara, Mira Nair, Roger Corman and Isabel Coixet, among many other prominent figures in the global film community.
In a statement, the newly formed coalition Cine Argentino Unido, spearheaded by film director associations,...
- 1/22/2024
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
No reasonably intelligent person imagines an artist’s statement about the horrors in Gaza would, in fact, end those horrors, but there are always limits to what one can take and hopes for what one could do. It might even be said that, as observers of the world and human behavior, filmmakers are especially inclined to recoil. When I interviewed Pedro Costa last month he spoke, unprompted, of a situation that’s only grown worse: “It’s very clear that we cannot stand images anymore. I can’t. I can’t. The images of the world for me [Exhales] I can’t. I turn my eyes, and I’m sure you do the same. It’s unbearable.” When I spoke with Anthony Dod Mantle a couple of weeks later it, again, emerged––vis-a-vis The Zone of Interest, whose own cinematographer alluded to it the next day. It’s difficult being a person in the world,...
- 12/29/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
“The most beautiful gestures from my film came to mind at the kitchen in the Résidence when I was pressing oranges in the juice machine,” said Nadiv Lapid.
Six first or second-time international filmmakers are taking part in the Cannes Film Festival’s annual Résidence programme that kicked off on October 1 in Paris and will run through February 2024.
Belgian director Meltse Van Coillie, Czech-Vietnamese filmmaker Diana Cam Van Nguyen, Chinese director Zhao Hao, Haitian director Gessica Généus, Croatian filmmaker Andréa Slaviček, and Moroccan director Asmae El Moudi will all work on their upcoming features with advice from industry experts in writing and producing their films.
Six first or second-time international filmmakers are taking part in the Cannes Film Festival’s annual Résidence programme that kicked off on October 1 in Paris and will run through February 2024.
Belgian director Meltse Van Coillie, Czech-Vietnamese filmmaker Diana Cam Van Nguyen, Chinese director Zhao Hao, Haitian director Gessica Généus, Croatian filmmaker Andréa Slaviček, and Moroccan director Asmae El Moudi will all work on their upcoming features with advice from industry experts in writing and producing their films.
- 10/6/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
It’s rare that European cinema impacts on Hollywood but it’s exciting when there’s a trickle-down effect, like the connection to be made between Denmark’s stripped-down Dogme movies, which launched in Cannes in the late ’90s, and Steven Spielberg’s decision to go back to basics with Catch Me If You Can a few years later. It’s a moot point how many will ever see Romanian director Radu Jude’s follow-up to his 2021 Berlinale winner Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, but, like Bob Dylan going electric or the Sex Pistols making their ramshackle debut at a London art school, this wilfully uncommercial but bloody-minded film could be genuinely seminal in its anarchic and totally individualistic approach, slipping discordant, Godardian subversion into a darkly comic, Ruben Östlund-style human drama.
The intro suggests a boring academic exercise, positing the first half (“A”) as...
The intro suggests a boring academic exercise, positing the first half (“A”) as...
- 8/5/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
When “Avatar 2: Way of the Water” surged to the top of the Romanian box office earlier this year to become the highest-grossing film of all time, it marked an auspicious sign for a theatrical business still looking to recover from the doldrums of the coronavirus pandemic.
Yet local industry-watchers were even more encouraged to see a historic first in 2022, with two Romanian films cracking the top 10 at the year-end box office — a striking achievement for an industry that hasn’t historically been known for cranking out crowd-pleasing hits.
Topping the list was “Teambuilding,” a satirical workplace comedy from directors Matei Dima, Alex Coteț and Cosmin Nedelcu, which briefly reigned as the top-grossing film ever in Romania before being knocked from its perch by James Cameron’s blockbuster, which has raked in more than $8.3 million to date.
Meanwhile, first-time filmmaker Cristian Ilișuan’s “Mirciulică,” a comedy about a 30-year-old forced...
Yet local industry-watchers were even more encouraged to see a historic first in 2022, with two Romanian films cracking the top 10 at the year-end box office — a striking achievement for an industry that hasn’t historically been known for cranking out crowd-pleasing hits.
Topping the list was “Teambuilding,” a satirical workplace comedy from directors Matei Dima, Alex Coteț and Cosmin Nedelcu, which briefly reigned as the top-grossing film ever in Romania before being knocked from its perch by James Cameron’s blockbuster, which has raked in more than $8.3 million to date.
Meanwhile, first-time filmmaker Cristian Ilișuan’s “Mirciulică,” a comedy about a 30-year-old forced...
- 6/13/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu is a master of the slow-burn drama. His careful cinematic style — using wide master shots and long takes, allowing the action to play out within the frame without edits — is put to service in exploring complex, hot-button social issues — abortion in his 2007 Palme d’Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, state corruption in 2016’s Graduation — with a calm, almost scientific precision.
Mungiu’s latest, R.M.N., takes this scientific approach literally. The title is the Romanian acronym for an Mri, which one of the characters receives in the film, and the movie, which hits U.S. cinemas on April 28, is Mungiu’s cinematic brain scan of his country, revealing the layers of illness — racial, social, political, and above all emotional — buried in the national psyche.
The plot, inspired by real events, takes place over the Christmas holidays in a small village in Transylvania. Matthias (Marin Grigore), a slaughterhouse worker,...
Mungiu’s latest, R.M.N., takes this scientific approach literally. The title is the Romanian acronym for an Mri, which one of the characters receives in the film, and the movie, which hits U.S. cinemas on April 28, is Mungiu’s cinematic brain scan of his country, revealing the layers of illness — racial, social, political, and above all emotional — buried in the national psyche.
The plot, inspired by real events, takes place over the Christmas holidays in a small village in Transylvania. Matthias (Marin Grigore), a slaughterhouse worker,...
- 4/28/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Holidays loom, but don’t fear TBS marathons of A Christmas Story. If, like me, you once enacted some good and let studio classics stream on Criterion during family Christmas, you know the trip home will be easier with December’s additions. (People at Criterion: please don’t report me for logging into multiple devices.) As family arrives, drinks are downed, and questions about what you’ve been up to are stumbled through it’ll be nice to stream their “Screwball Comedy Classics” series—25 titles meeting some deep cuts (10 via Venmo if you’ve recently watched It Happens Every Spring).
Personally I’m most excited about the 11 movies in “Snow Westerns,” going as far back as The Secret of Convict Lake, as recently as Ravenous, with the likes of Wellman, Peckinpah, and Corbucci in-between. I personally cannot stand soccer but I appreciate the World Cup giving occasion for a series...
Personally I’m most excited about the 11 movies in “Snow Westerns,” going as far back as The Secret of Convict Lake, as recently as Ravenous, with the likes of Wellman, Peckinpah, and Corbucci in-between. I personally cannot stand soccer but I appreciate the World Cup giving occasion for a series...
- 11/22/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
More than 50 countries have announced their submissions in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category, and so far the race is broad and varied but without the kind of clear favorite that “Parasite,” “Roma” and “Amour” were in past years.
Then again, the Japanese movie “Drive My Car” didn’t appear to be a runaway favorite last year at this point, but it swept the critics’ awards and turned into a prohibitive frontrunner by the time Oscar voters began to cast their ballots. So maybe there is a dominant film in the mix, but we just don’t know it yet.
Still, with key countries like France, Italy, Denmark and Mexico yet to announce their entries the race, the category has a few favorites and a lot of uncertainty as the Oct. 3 deadline for submissions approaches.
Also Read:
India Snubs Hit Musical ‘Rrr,’ Chooses ‘Last Film Show’ for the Oscars...
Then again, the Japanese movie “Drive My Car” didn’t appear to be a runaway favorite last year at this point, but it swept the critics’ awards and turned into a prohibitive frontrunner by the time Oscar voters began to cast their ballots. So maybe there is a dominant film in the mix, but we just don’t know it yet.
Still, with key countries like France, Italy, Denmark and Mexico yet to announce their entries the race, the category has a few favorites and a lot of uncertainty as the Oct. 3 deadline for submissions approaches.
Also Read:
India Snubs Hit Musical ‘Rrr,’ Chooses ‘Last Film Show’ for the Oscars...
- 9/22/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Cannes Directors’ Fortnight has appointed former arthouse sales agent Julien Rejl as its new delegate general and tweaked its French name in a move to usher in a new era of inclusivity for the 60-year-old parallel sidebar.
Rejl replaces outgoing Directors’ Fortnight head Paolo Moretti who took up the role in September 2018, succeeding Edouard Waintrop who oversaw the section from 2012-2018.
France’s Directors’ Guild, or Société des Réalisateurs de Films (Srf), the body which oversees the sidebar, said his appointment had been voted on during a general assembly on June 25.
“His absolute passion, which is communicative, constructive and pluralist is what arthouse filmmakers will need in the years to come,” it said in a statement.
It added that the organisation had also voted to change its French name to La Quinzaine des Cinéastes, from its previous name of La Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at the meeting.
This move makes its...
Rejl replaces outgoing Directors’ Fortnight head Paolo Moretti who took up the role in September 2018, succeeding Edouard Waintrop who oversaw the section from 2012-2018.
France’s Directors’ Guild, or Société des Réalisateurs de Films (Srf), the body which oversees the sidebar, said his appointment had been voted on during a general assembly on June 25.
“His absolute passion, which is communicative, constructive and pluralist is what arthouse filmmakers will need in the years to come,” it said in a statement.
It added that the organisation had also voted to change its French name to La Quinzaine des Cinéastes, from its previous name of La Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at the meeting.
This move makes its...
- 6/27/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Fresh off winning the award for best director in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard sidebar, Alexandru Belc returns to his native Romania with “Metronom,” which will receive an open-air screening in the historic Piata Unirii (Unity Square) at the Transilvania Film Festival.
A coming-of-age story about a young woman grown disillusioned with her first love, the ‘70s-set period drama reflects the difficult choices Romanians were forced to make under communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu, whose gradual clampdown on civil liberties led to a wider unraveling of the social fabric. Variety’s Jessica Kiang wrote that Belc’s incisive feature deftly explores “how insidiously even the young – those most inclined toward rebellion and optimistic self-expression in any society – can be made to fall in step with authoritarianism’s joyless, frogmarching beat.”
Though “Metronom” marks his fiction feature directorial debut, Belc cut his teeth as a script supervisor and assistant...
A coming-of-age story about a young woman grown disillusioned with her first love, the ‘70s-set period drama reflects the difficult choices Romanians were forced to make under communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu, whose gradual clampdown on civil liberties led to a wider unraveling of the social fabric. Variety’s Jessica Kiang wrote that Belc’s incisive feature deftly explores “how insidiously even the young – those most inclined toward rebellion and optimistic self-expression in any society – can be made to fall in step with authoritarianism’s joyless, frogmarching beat.”
Though “Metronom” marks his fiction feature directorial debut, Belc cut his teeth as a script supervisor and assistant...
- 6/15/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
It is 1972, in Bucharest. Ceaușescu has been in power for seven years, and the fabric of ordinary life has been steeped long enough in his regime’s corrosively oppressive mandate that it has begun to fray. Yet against this backdrop of gathering gloom, bright, fresh first love is blossoming. This is already a fertile setup for an atmospheric, doomed romance, but Alexandru Belc’s slow, stylish, richly imagined feature debut is much more than a Romanian riff on Romeo and Juliet. A metronome keeps time for musicians; “Metronom” describes how insidiously even the young — those most inclined toward rebellion and optimistic self-expression in any society — can be made to fall in step with authoritarianism’s joyless, frogmarching beat.
With this story of individual relationships stressed by systemic fearmongering, writer-director Belc — who previously worked with Cristian Mungiu and Corneliu Porumboiu, and picked up the directing award in this year’s Un...
With this story of individual relationships stressed by systemic fearmongering, writer-director Belc — who previously worked with Cristian Mungiu and Corneliu Porumboiu, and picked up the directing award in this year’s Un...
- 5/30/2022
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
For a festival that prides itself on shining a spotlight on the domestic industry, the Transilvania Film Festival can point to a record number of Romanian films unspooling at this year’s 20th-anniversary edition, with 32 feature-length and 13 short films – including 13 world premieres – set to screen in the scenic medieval city of Cluj from July 23 – Aug. 1.
But despite the historic selection, which includes three films arriving fresh off of Cannes premieres, it’s an uneasy time for the local film industry. Funding from the Romanian Film Center (Cnc) ground to a halt last year as the coronavirus pandemic leveled the Romanian economy, and an industry that for two decades has produced a string of world cinema heavyweights has been left to wonder what the future has in store.
Speaking ahead of this year’s festival, producer and TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu spoke candidly about the ostensibly prolific output, crediting “the fortunate...
But despite the historic selection, which includes three films arriving fresh off of Cannes premieres, it’s an uneasy time for the local film industry. Funding from the Romanian Film Center (Cnc) ground to a halt last year as the coronavirus pandemic leveled the Romanian economy, and an industry that for two decades has produced a string of world cinema heavyweights has been left to wonder what the future has in store.
Speaking ahead of this year’s festival, producer and TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu spoke candidly about the ostensibly prolific output, crediting “the fortunate...
- 7/22/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Without going into the specifics of the obstacles that were overcome by the heroic efforts of film distributors, 2020 was a stronger year for films released in the United States than could have been reasonably expected, though it only sparingly reached the heights of last year. Note the specific term “released”: all of the films on my list premiered before 2020 even began, which only further heightens the importance of both the festival circuit and the people dedicated to giving films their proper due, whether it be in repertory theaters or in virtual cinemas. One special mention: my favorite film released this year from the previous decade is Hong Sang-soo’s Yourself and Yours, which premiered in 2016 but only just received a release; my personal eligibility rules limit the films on this list to a two-year window, but otherwise it would be at the very top of this list.
Honorable Mentions: Lovers Rock,...
Honorable Mentions: Lovers Rock,...
- 1/2/2021
- by Ryan Swen
- The Film Stage
For our most comprehensive year-end feature we’re providing a cumulative look at The Film Stage’s favorite films of 2020. We’ve asked contributors to compile ten-best lists with five honorable mentions—a selection of those personal lists will be shared in the coming days—and after tallying votes, a top 50 has been assembled.
It should be noted that, unlike our other year-end features, we placed no requirement on a selection being a U.S theatrical release, so you may see some repeats from last year and a few we’ll certainly discuss more over the next twelve months. So: without further ado, check out our rundown of 2020 below, our ongoing year-end coverage here (including where to stream many of the below picks), and return in the coming weeks as we look towards 2021.
50. The Metamorphosis of Birds (Catarina Vasconcelos)
The most purely, incandescently beautiful movie of the year is a...
It should be noted that, unlike our other year-end features, we placed no requirement on a selection being a U.S theatrical release, so you may see some repeats from last year and a few we’ll certainly discuss more over the next twelve months. So: without further ado, check out our rundown of 2020 below, our ongoing year-end coverage here (including where to stream many of the below picks), and return in the coming weeks as we look towards 2021.
50. The Metamorphosis of Birds (Catarina Vasconcelos)
The most purely, incandescently beautiful movie of the year is a...
- 12/24/2020
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
In Alexander Nanau’s searing documentary a heroic reporter investigates why the majority of victims of a nightclub fire died because of health-care fraud
For years, actually for decades, Romanian directors have been warning us about top-to-bottom official corruption in their homeland – an insidious malaise undermining the state and infecting the soul. Cristi Puiu’s The Death Of Mr Lazarescu (2005) is about an old man’s final hours turned into an ordeal by hospital inefficiency and insensitivity; Cristian Mungiu’s Graduation (2016) is about a doctor who calls in favours to fix his daughter’s exam results and Corneliu Porumboiu’s Police, Adjective (2009) was about the bizarre bureaucratic slowness of a police station. Now documentary film-maker Alexander Nanau has arrived with something to show that this wasn’t just mannerism or metaphor. It’s based on sickening fact.
Collective is about what happened after a horrendous fire at Bucharest’s Colectiv nightclub in 2015 which killed 64 people.
For years, actually for decades, Romanian directors have been warning us about top-to-bottom official corruption in their homeland – an insidious malaise undermining the state and infecting the soul. Cristi Puiu’s The Death Of Mr Lazarescu (2005) is about an old man’s final hours turned into an ordeal by hospital inefficiency and insensitivity; Cristian Mungiu’s Graduation (2016) is about a doctor who calls in favours to fix his daughter’s exam results and Corneliu Porumboiu’s Police, Adjective (2009) was about the bizarre bureaucratic slowness of a police station. Now documentary film-maker Alexander Nanau has arrived with something to show that this wasn’t just mannerism or metaphor. It’s based on sickening fact.
Collective is about what happened after a horrendous fire at Bucharest’s Colectiv nightclub in 2015 which killed 64 people.
- 11/19/2020
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Eugen Jebeleanu’s debut feature “Poppy Field” has been sold to Missing Films for distribution in German-speaking territories ahead of its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
The film follows the struggles of a young Romanian policeman Cristi over 24 hours as he tries to find the balance between two parts of his identity: that of a policeman working in a macho environment and that of a closeted gay person.
During a visit by his boyfriend, Hadi, with whom he is involved in a long-distance relationship, Cristi is called to a cinema where an ultra-nationalist, homophobic group has sabotaged the screening of a queer film. When one of the protesters recognizes him and threatens to disclose the secret about his sexuality, Cristi is faced with the danger of losing everything he has.
Although this is Jebeleanu’s first feature film he is an experienced theater director and writer,...
The film follows the struggles of a young Romanian policeman Cristi over 24 hours as he tries to find the balance between two parts of his identity: that of a policeman working in a macho environment and that of a closeted gay person.
During a visit by his boyfriend, Hadi, with whom he is involved in a long-distance relationship, Cristi is called to a cinema where an ultra-nationalist, homophobic group has sabotaged the screening of a queer film. When one of the protesters recognizes him and threatens to disclose the secret about his sexuality, Cristi is faced with the danger of losing everything he has.
Although this is Jebeleanu’s first feature film he is an experienced theater director and writer,...
- 11/6/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Sandwiched in between some of the best European titles from last year, Aalto and Forest Giant will get a splashy Gala Premiere treatment at the Finnish festival. Set to kick off in September due to the pandemic, Finland’s Espoo Ciné will still show its local audience some of the most acclaimed titles of the past months. Starting with Christian Petzold’s rather unorthodox take on the myth of Undine, chosen as this year’s opening film, and followed by the who-is-who of European cinema: from Corneliu Porumboiu, bringing The Whistlers, to the Dardenne brothers, Claude Lelouch and finally Marco Bellocchio, whose film The Traitor will close the event. “This is a very special year, and our programme is considerably smaller than it normally is. As usual, our films are for the most part local premieres and because of this year’s smaller scale, there is perhaps a larger part of more established names.
My first two recommendations this week are two excellent thrillers from last year that are newly available on DVD, The Whistlers and The Room. The Whistlers, which premiered in competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, is a gleefully twisty, darkly hilarious Romanian crime film that recalls movies like Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs in its jigsaw structure and fluid loyalties but finds a unique tone all its own thanks to director Corneliu Porumboiu’s approach. He adopts a whimsical attitude toward his eccentric group of cops playing both sides of the law and the criminals they’re […]...
- 7/17/2020
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
My first two recommendations this week are two excellent thrillers from last year that are newly available on DVD, The Whistlers and The Room. The Whistlers, which premiered in competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, is a gleefully twisty, darkly hilarious Romanian crime film that recalls movies like Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs in its jigsaw structure and fluid loyalties but finds a unique tone all its own thanks to director Corneliu Porumboiu’s approach. He adopts a whimsical attitude toward his eccentric group of cops playing both sides of the law and the criminals they’re […]...
- 7/17/2020
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Corneliu Porumboiu’s elegant thriller won as many as nine trophies at the 2020 Gopo Awards. After being postponed by approximately three months, the 14th edition of the Gopos, Romania’s film-industry awards, has finally taken place, with the 500 guests at the event being carefully spaced out in an outdoor venue, as per the regulations stipulated by the Romanian authorities. Corneliu Porumboiu’s The Whistlers (Romania/France/Germany) clearly dominated the evening, as it cashed in on nine of its 13 nominations. It won in the categories of Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound and Best Art Direction. There is only one other film at the 2020 Gopos which managed to win more than one award: the historical drama Queen Mary of Romania, which won out in the Best Costumes and Best Make-up and Hairstyling categories. All of the other films took.
As much as we adore and revere the theatrical experience, as theater chains prep to reopen amidst a virus that is spreading rapidly in certain areas of the country, one is far better off staying at home and enjoying films from around the world. There’s no better place to do that than The Criterion Channel, and now they’ve unveiled their July lineup.
Coming to the channel next month are retrospectives dedicated to the stellar early films of Atom Egoyan, works by Miranda July, films featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto scores, Olympic films (including their recent release Tokyo Olympiad), plus Kelly Reichardt’s masterful Certain Women, Med Hondo’s Soleil Ô (coming soon to disc with Scorsese’s next World Cinema Project release), Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames, Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation, and much more.
See the lineup below and explore more on their platform. One can also see our weekly streaming picks here.
Coming to the channel next month are retrospectives dedicated to the stellar early films of Atom Egoyan, works by Miranda July, films featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto scores, Olympic films (including their recent release Tokyo Olympiad), plus Kelly Reichardt’s masterful Certain Women, Med Hondo’s Soleil Ô (coming soon to disc with Scorsese’s next World Cinema Project release), Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames, Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation, and much more.
See the lineup below and explore more on their platform. One can also see our weekly streaming picks here.
- 6/26/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.
Free Films Featuring Black Voices
If you’re not able to join your local protest, there are other ways to support the vital fight again injustice and police brutality. And if you’re looking to learn more about the black experience, especially in America, a number of films are now available for free. First up, The Criterion Channel has made available Daughters of the Dust, Losing Ground, Black Mother, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One, The Watermelon Woman, and more films by black filmmakers for free without a subscription. Also available for free on other platforms is Charles Burnett’s landmark film Killer of Sheep, Ava DuVernay’s insightful documentary 13th,...
Free Films Featuring Black Voices
If you’re not able to join your local protest, there are other ways to support the vital fight again injustice and police brutality. And if you’re looking to learn more about the black experience, especially in America, a number of films are now available for free. First up, The Criterion Channel has made available Daughters of the Dust, Losing Ground, Black Mother, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One, The Watermelon Woman, and more films by black filmmakers for free without a subscription. Also available for free on other platforms is Charles Burnett’s landmark film Killer of Sheep, Ava DuVernay’s insightful documentary 13th,...
- 6/5/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
In the absence of summer blockbusters or big sporting events, docs such as Diego Maradona are proving super substitutes
Which would we rather live without: movies or sport? Right now, we have no choice, but usually at this time of year, the two would be vying for our attention: big summer blockbusters versus big sporting events such as Euro 2020 and the Olympics. Now all we have got are empty stadiums and cinemas, and endless discussions about when either might reopen.
By way of compensation, we can at least watch films about sport, and canny operators are filling the void this summer. New streaming releases include the documentaries In Search of Greatness, on sport’s great innovators, and Corneliu Porumboiu’s Infinite Football (on a Romanian eccentric who attempted to reinvent the beautiful game – by making it utterly confusing), while Netflix is doing gangbusters with its Michael Jordan doc The Last Dance.
Which would we rather live without: movies or sport? Right now, we have no choice, but usually at this time of year, the two would be vying for our attention: big summer blockbusters versus big sporting events such as Euro 2020 and the Olympics. Now all we have got are empty stadiums and cinemas, and endless discussions about when either might reopen.
By way of compensation, we can at least watch films about sport, and canny operators are filling the void this summer. New streaming releases include the documentaries In Search of Greatness, on sport’s great innovators, and Corneliu Porumboiu’s Infinite Football (on a Romanian eccentric who attempted to reinvent the beautiful game – by making it utterly confusing), while Netflix is doing gangbusters with its Michael Jordan doc The Last Dance.
- 5/18/2020
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Mubi also reveals ’Portrait Of A Lady On Fire’ has become its most-viewed film in the UK to date.
Corneliu Porumboiu’s The Whistlers topped UK streaming platform Curzon Home Cinema’s (Chc) most-watched films over the weekend, after bypassing a theatrical release due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The Romanian crime thriller, which debuted in competition at Cannes last year, was originally due to receive a UK day-and-date release on June 26 via Curzon. But ongoing cinema closures meant the film launched exclusively on Chc on May 8, seven weeks early, and performed strongly as audiences look to streaming platforms for new titles during lockdown.
Corneliu Porumboiu’s The Whistlers topped UK streaming platform Curzon Home Cinema’s (Chc) most-watched films over the weekend, after bypassing a theatrical release due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The Romanian crime thriller, which debuted in competition at Cannes last year, was originally due to receive a UK day-and-date release on June 26 via Curzon. But ongoing cinema closures meant the film launched exclusively on Chc on May 8, seven weeks early, and performed strongly as audiences look to streaming platforms for new titles during lockdown.
- 5/13/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
For his latest drama, Corneliu Porumboiu revived a language unique to the valleys of La Gomera in the Canary Islands; a steep learning curve for his actors – and our writer
Try to imagine the least film-noir scene possible and you might come up with a group of five-year-olds learning to whistle. It is late morning, pre-lockdown, in a classroom at Nereida Díaz Abreu school on La Gomera in the Canary Islands, and the teacher – a bent knuckle crammed in his mouth – is relaying instructions in a piercing, swooping, set of whistles. The kids look quizzically skywards, then collapse in hysterics, although most eventually nail it.
“Touch your left ear with your right hand,” the teacher reiterates in Spanish.
Try to imagine the least film-noir scene possible and you might come up with a group of five-year-olds learning to whistle. It is late morning, pre-lockdown, in a classroom at Nereida Díaz Abreu school on La Gomera in the Canary Islands, and the teacher – a bent knuckle crammed in his mouth – is relaying instructions in a piercing, swooping, set of whistles. The kids look quizzically skywards, then collapse in hysterics, although most eventually nail it.
“Touch your left ear with your right hand,” the teacher reiterates in Spanish.
- 5/7/2020
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
Film at Lincoln Center has revealed a slate of April and May “openings” in its upcoming Flc Virtual Cinema.
The streaming rentals, a mix of festival titles, commercial releases and catalog fare, range from $10 to $12, some with member discounts. Half of all proceeds will benefit the storied New York film organization.
During the lockdown of Covid-19, with the disease disproportionately affecting New York City, film and the rest of Lincoln Center’s artistic and cultural offerings have taken a significant hit. The Metropolitan Opera, for example, is now reported to be tens of millions of dollars in the hole after canceling its season.
The streaming rentals, a mix of festival titles, commercial releases and catalog fare, range from $10 to $12, some with member discounts. Half of all proceeds will benefit the storied New York film organization.
During the lockdown of Covid-19, with the disease disproportionately affecting New York City, film and the rest of Lincoln Center’s artistic and cultural offerings have taken a significant hit. The Metropolitan Opera, for example, is now reported to be tens of millions of dollars in the hole after canceling its season.
- 4/21/2020
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Curzon has reshuffled its releases to strengthen its streaming schedule.
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s The Truth has retained its lead as the most-watched title on Curzon Home Cinema (Chc) as the UK streaming platform prepares to strengthen its schedule of new releases.
The Truth, starring Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche, held the top spot on the platform for the third consecutive weekend. It is on track to overtake Chc’s most successful title to date, Celine Sciamma’s Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, as audiences continue to seek out new releases at home due to the closure of cinemas in...
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s The Truth has retained its lead as the most-watched title on Curzon Home Cinema (Chc) as the UK streaming platform prepares to strengthen its schedule of new releases.
The Truth, starring Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche, held the top spot on the platform for the third consecutive weekend. It is on track to overtake Chc’s most successful title to date, Celine Sciamma’s Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, as audiences continue to seek out new releases at home due to the closure of cinemas in...
- 4/8/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
The film will hit Curzon’s online platform on April 10.
UK distributor Curzon has brought forward the release date of Safy Nebbou’s Who You Think I Am, as part of changes to its upcoming slate in response to the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
The film will now launch exclusively on the company’s Curzon Home Cinema platform on April 10 in the UK.
It had previously been dated for May 8, both on Curzon Home Cinema and in UK cinemas through Curzon/Artificial Eye.
However, all UK cinemas have been closed since March 20 under order from the government, as part of the...
UK distributor Curzon has brought forward the release date of Safy Nebbou’s Who You Think I Am, as part of changes to its upcoming slate in response to the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
The film will now launch exclusively on the company’s Curzon Home Cinema platform on April 10 in the UK.
It had previously been dated for May 8, both on Curzon Home Cinema and in UK cinemas through Curzon/Artificial Eye.
However, all UK cinemas have been closed since March 20 under order from the government, as part of the...
- 4/3/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
Chicago – The Music Box Theatre of Chicago remains the premiere destination for cutting edge art and independent films. During the pandemic stay-at-home order, they began offering screenings to download last week, and this week expands their selection with “The Whistlers” and “Saint Frances.”
Music Box Theatre Presents The Whistlers
The Whistlers
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures
The Music Box Theatre will get a percentage of the proceeds from any download in this partnership with Magnolia Pictures.
Scheduled: Now until the theater re-opens or changes the film.
Description: Premiering at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, “The Whistlers” is from Romania, directed by Corneliu Porumboiu. Not everything is as it seems for Cristi (Vlad Ivanov), a police inspector in Bucharest who plays both sides of the law. Embarking with the beautiful Gilda (Catrinel Marlon) on a high-stakes heist, both will have to navigate the twists and turns of corruption, treachery and deception. A trip...
Music Box Theatre Presents The Whistlers
The Whistlers
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures
The Music Box Theatre will get a percentage of the proceeds from any download in this partnership with Magnolia Pictures.
Scheduled: Now until the theater re-opens or changes the film.
Description: Premiering at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, “The Whistlers” is from Romania, directed by Corneliu Porumboiu. Not everything is as it seems for Cristi (Vlad Ivanov), a police inspector in Bucharest who plays both sides of the law. Embarking with the beautiful Gilda (Catrinel Marlon) on a high-stakes heist, both will have to navigate the twists and turns of corruption, treachery and deception. A trip...
- 4/2/2020
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
How to Stream ‘Bacurau,’ ‘Corpus Christi’ and Other Indie Films Through Your Local Art House Theater
Local art house theaters need your support during the coronavirus pandemic just as much as the major theater chains, and now there are several “virtual cinema” options for film lovers to support those movie theaters from the comfort of your own homes.
A number of indie distributors and art house theater chains have launched virtual cinema streaming platforms that are designed to give art house fans access to new titles they can no longer see in theaters, but they’ve done so with the support of the individual theaters that would’ve otherwise screened those films.
VOD streaming rentals for a new title can be made directly through a specific theater in your local community, such as Film at Lincoln Center in New York or the Music Box in Chicago. So far, Kino Lorber, Film Movement, Magnolia and Alamo Drafthouse all have their own similar offerings.
Here’s a quick...
A number of indie distributors and art house theater chains have launched virtual cinema streaming platforms that are designed to give art house fans access to new titles they can no longer see in theaters, but they’ve done so with the support of the individual theaters that would’ve otherwise screened those films.
VOD streaming rentals for a new title can be made directly through a specific theater in your local community, such as Film at Lincoln Center in New York or the Music Box in Chicago. So far, Kino Lorber, Film Movement, Magnolia and Alamo Drafthouse all have their own similar offerings.
Here’s a quick...
- 3/30/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Considering we are no longer getting a James Bond film this spring, those seeking slick espionage thrills will get a healthy dose (and much more of the unexpected) with The Whistlers, the latest work from Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu, which is now in theaters. Clearly inspired by a number of noir films, today we’re taking a more general look at his favorite movies of all-time.
As voted on in the latest Sight & Sound poll, as well as a recent feature from our friends at Le Cinéma Club, his picks range include a healthy range of world cinema, from Apichatpong Weerasethakul to Michelangelo Antonioni to Éric Rohmer to Yasujirô Ozu. “All of them influenced my way of making movies and also my way of seeing world,” he said of the majority of the selections. Speaking about La Dolce Vita, he added, “I watched it by chance when I was 18 years old.
As voted on in the latest Sight & Sound poll, as well as a recent feature from our friends at Le Cinéma Club, his picks range include a healthy range of world cinema, from Apichatpong Weerasethakul to Michelangelo Antonioni to Éric Rohmer to Yasujirô Ozu. “All of them influenced my way of making movies and also my way of seeing world,” he said of the majority of the selections. Speaking about La Dolce Vita, he added, “I watched it by chance when I was 18 years old.
- 3/11/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle: Porumboiu Goes Mainstream with Neo-noir
Romanian New Wave alum Corneliu Porumboiu makes a marked departure with his latest feature, The Whistlers, a jaunty neo-noir exercise about a corrupt policeman ensnared in a tricky scheme, albeit one presented as more complicated than it really is. Known for his significant word play from past titles such as Police, Adjective (2009), When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism (2013) and 2015’s The Treasure (review), his latest replaces his loquacious ruminations with a non-linear, constantly back-tracking chapter narrative which forces the audience to piece together a puzzle which sometimes seems to be missing some pertinent information.…...
Romanian New Wave alum Corneliu Porumboiu makes a marked departure with his latest feature, The Whistlers, a jaunty neo-noir exercise about a corrupt policeman ensnared in a tricky scheme, albeit one presented as more complicated than it really is. Known for his significant word play from past titles such as Police, Adjective (2009), When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism (2013) and 2015’s The Treasure (review), his latest replaces his loquacious ruminations with a non-linear, constantly back-tracking chapter narrative which forces the audience to piece together a puzzle which sometimes seems to be missing some pertinent information.…...
- 2/29/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
When I had the opportunity to sit down for an interview with Corneliu Porumboiu, writer and director of the delightful film The Whistlers, it was the first time in my writing career I ever felt I shouldn’t come too heavily prepared with questions. I didn’t want answers from the filmmaker at the vanguard of the […]
The post ‘The Whistlers’ Director Corneliu Poromboiu on His Wild New Crime Caper [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘The Whistlers’ Director Corneliu Poromboiu on His Wild New Crime Caper [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
- 2/28/2020
- by Marshall Shaffer
- Slash Film
There’s plenty of wit to be found in the films that constitute the Romanian New Wave, but any laughs they elicit wind up sounding more like dry coughs. These movies tend to find their humor in subjects like an overburdened health-care system (“The Death of Mr. Lazarescu”), corruption in the education system (“Graduation”), family strife (“Sieranevada”) and other topics relevant to the nation dealing with the lingering aftereffects of the Ceausescu era.
So even if writer-director Corneliu Porumboiu seems more amenable to absurdist comedy — and genre conventions — than his peers in this talented community, his latest film “The Whistlers” still traffics in bleak chuckles.
It’s a wonderfully labyrinthine story of cops and robbers that might not be an official sequel to Porumboiu’s 2009 “Police, Adjective” (that year’s Romanian Oscar entry), but it does explore many of that film’s concerns, from the subtle distinctions between law and...
So even if writer-director Corneliu Porumboiu seems more amenable to absurdist comedy — and genre conventions — than his peers in this talented community, his latest film “The Whistlers” still traffics in bleak chuckles.
It’s a wonderfully labyrinthine story of cops and robbers that might not be an official sequel to Porumboiu’s 2009 “Police, Adjective” (that year’s Romanian Oscar entry), but it does explore many of that film’s concerns, from the subtle distinctions between law and...
- 2/28/2020
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Say “the Romanian New Wave” to folks who tend to order their cinema off-menu, and they’ll happily regale you with tales of long takes, deliberate paces, dour perspectives and a serious distrust of authority. They’ll also tell you that the country has produced some of the most complex, captivating movies of the past 15 years, and they’d be correct. Like sushi or Brian Eno’s solo albums, the bounty that’s come from the Eastern European nation’s post-Ceaușescu generation of filmmakers is an acquired taste; once that taste has been acquired,...
- 2/28/2020
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
"The Whistlers" (aka "La Gomera") is the new crime comedy feature, written and directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, starring Vlad Ivanov, Catrinel Marlon and Rodica Lazar, opening February 28, 2020:
"...not everything is as it seems for 'Cristi', a policeman who plays both sides of the law.
"Embarking with the beautiful 'Gilda' on a high-stakes heist, both will have to navigate the twists and turns of corruption, treachery and deception..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Whistlers"...
"...not everything is as it seems for 'Cristi', a policeman who plays both sides of the law.
"Embarking with the beautiful 'Gilda' on a high-stakes heist, both will have to navigate the twists and turns of corruption, treachery and deception..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Whistlers"...
- 2/27/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu makes strange genre movies. His peculiar cinema turns off most people, but gets a small minority Very excited. If you happen to be in a room of cinephiles, and the subject of his earlier film, Police, Adjective, comes up, expect some divisive opinions on the subject. His latest film, neo-noir crime film, The Whistlers (La Gomera) is a tad more accessible, but is delightfully loopy in so many ways. An organization of criminals uses a unique whistling code to communicate with each other and avoid ubiquitous European 21st surveillance, in terms of public cameras and mobile phones. The result is both fascinating, and deliciously silly, to watch it demonstrated on screen. The Whistlers involves all the familiar tropes: the theft of...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 2/27/2020
- Screen Anarchy
The iconic guitar riff of Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger” is the type of musical vignette that immediately evokes a scene in one’s mind. It’s an anthemic celebration of aimless wandering that stands as a testament to the drifters of the world, so when it plays during the opening moments of Corneliu Porumboiu’s The Whistlers, it feels like a match long overdue. In the context of the film, which premiered in competition at Cannes, the song serves as an introduction to the character of Cristi (Vlad Ivanov), a stoic and reluctant policeman. By merely going through the motions, Cristi finds himself in the middle of a criminal web of deception in the exotic sights of La Gomera island in Spain, but “The Passenger” could really describe any of the protagonists in the Romanian filmmaker’s oeuvre. Ever since his Caméra d’Or-winning debut, 12:08 East of Bucharest...
- 2/7/2020
- MUBI
After wrapping up our Sundance Film Festival coverage, it’s time to look towards the month in movies. While Berlinale will kick off in a few weeks and Oscar season is in full force (for just one more week), February’s offerings feature some of our festival favorites from last year, a certain highly-anticipated sequel, a hopefully inventive twist on a classic monster movie, and more.
Check out our picks below, followed by honorable mentions.
10. Corpus Christi (Jan Komasa; Feb. 19)
Considered one of the surprise Oscar nominations this year, we found a lot to like in Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi back at its Venice premiere. Jared Mobarak said in our review, “Based in part on real events, this twenty-year-old is about to be released from his detention center on parole. He’ll go to a reclusive town to work at a sawmill and maybe even build a decent life if he stays clean,...
Check out our picks below, followed by honorable mentions.
10. Corpus Christi (Jan Komasa; Feb. 19)
Considered one of the surprise Oscar nominations this year, we found a lot to like in Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi back at its Venice premiere. Jared Mobarak said in our review, “Based in part on real events, this twenty-year-old is about to be released from his detention center on parole. He’ll go to a reclusive town to work at a sawmill and maybe even build a decent life if he stays clean,...
- 2/4/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Eastern European film will take centre stage between 17 - 23 January in Trieste, with Corneliu Porumboiu presenting his eccentric noir The Whistlers and heading up a masterclass. Having reached its milestone thirtieth edition last year, the Trieste Film Festival (17 -23 January) is turning its gaze towards the new decade with a focus on various issues affecting the Old Continent. The event directed by Fabrizio Grosoli and Nicoletta Romeo will open with the Italian premiere of Terrence Malick’s new film, A Hidden Life, shot entirely in Europe (and a competitor in the recent Cannes Film Festival), whilst the closing slot falls to Corneliu Porumboiu, a cutting-edge director of “new Romanian cinema”, who will be presenting his eccentric noir The Whistlers - which also competed in Cannes - as well as delivering a masterclass open to the general public. The International Feature Film Competition will consist of eleven films -...
Paul Verhoeven plays the provocateur, bloody excess hits Brazil’s wild west and Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite finally invades these shores
More of the most anticipated films of 2020
A bent detective becomes entangled in the crimes he’s investigating in Corneliu Porumboiu’s nifty, twisty drama. This one premiered at Cannes last year and should wash up in the UK in the spring.
More of the most anticipated films of 2020
A bent detective becomes entangled in the crimes he’s investigating in Corneliu Porumboiu’s nifty, twisty drama. This one premiered at Cannes last year and should wash up in the UK in the spring.
- 1/4/2020
- The Guardian - Film News
Updated, with more detail: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has pulled back the curtain on its shortlist for the International Feature Film Oscar race. Not surprisingly, the expanded field of 10 includes Bong Joon Ho’s Palme d’Or winner Parasite, which already has been making waves this awards season, and Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain And Glory, whose star Antonio Banderas won Best Actor at Cannes and is up for a Golden Globe Award. Also on the list is France’s Les Misérables from Ladj Ly, one of the breakout filmmakers of this year’s Cannes. Each of those titles received Golden Globe nominations last week in the comparable Foreign Language category.
As expected, Russia’s Beanpole from Kantemir Bagalov, Barnabas Toth’s Hungarian pic Those Who Remained and Mati Diop’s Atlantics from Senegal further made the Oscar shortlist cut today. The four films that round it...
As expected, Russia’s Beanpole from Kantemir Bagalov, Barnabas Toth’s Hungarian pic Those Who Remained and Mati Diop’s Atlantics from Senegal further made the Oscar shortlist cut today. The four films that round it...
- 12/16/2019
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSLate last month, we were saddened by the death of Jean Douchet, whose criticism as co-editor-in-chief of Cahiers du cinéma and as a mentor figure for many in the French film community was invaluable. Recommended VIEWINGKino Lorber's first trailer for Kantemir Balagov's Beanpole, which follows the bond between two women in post-wwii Leningrad. Read Ela Bittencourt's Close-Up on the film, which received its online premiere in the UK on Mubi earlier this fall. Corneliu Porumboiu's The Whistlers, a crime thriller about a cop, a mob in the Canary Islands, and El Siblo, an intricate indigenous language that involves whistling. Recommended READINGMichael Cimino and Robert De Niro on the set of The Deer HunterThe Guardian has published an excerpt of One Shot: The Making of The Deer Hunter, which includes exclusive photos from Robert De Niro's personal collection.
- 12/11/2019
- MUBI
The annual Palm Springs International Film Festival in California is always an opportunity to catch up on many of the contenders for the Best International Feature — née Best Foreign-Language — Film Academy Award. Now in its 31st edition, the festival this year has 51 of them, from favorite-to-beat “Parasite” from South Korea and Senegal’s “Atlantics,” to other films quietly making strides in the race: Czech Republic’s “The Painted Bird,” Sweden’s “And Then We Danced,” Russia’s “Beanpole,” Romania’s “The Whistlers,” North Macedonia’s documentary contender “Honeyland,” Norway’s “Out Stealing Horses,” and many more.
The festival will screen 188 films from 81 countries, including 51 premieres, from January 2-13, 2020. The Awards Buzz section includes a special jury of international film critics, who will review these films to present the Fipresci Award for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, as well as Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay in this category.
The festival will screen 188 films from 81 countries, including 51 premieres, from January 2-13, 2020. The Awards Buzz section includes a special jury of international film critics, who will review these films to present the Fipresci Award for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, as well as Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay in this category.
- 12/10/2019
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
One hundred eighty-eight films films from 81 countries including 51 premieres highlight the lineup for the 31st annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, which kicks off January 2 with a star-studded gala that has become a must-stop during awards season for Oscar hopefuls. The festival, which runs through January 13, also is known for showcasing a large number of submissions in the Motion Picture Academy’s International Film (formerly Foreign Language) competition and will feature 51 of those entries.
The opening-night film on January 3 is the Italian farce An Almost Ordinary Summer, while the closer is director Peter Cattaneo’s heartwarming dramedy Military Wives in which Kristin Scott Thomas, Sharon Horgan and Jason Flemyng lead a superb ensemble cast. The film had its world premiere at September’s Toronto International Film Festival and became an instant crowd-pleaser. Bleecker Street releases it in 2020.
Among the previously announced honorees at the January 2 gala are Antonio Banderas, Renee Zellweger,...
The opening-night film on January 3 is the Italian farce An Almost Ordinary Summer, while the closer is director Peter Cattaneo’s heartwarming dramedy Military Wives in which Kristin Scott Thomas, Sharon Horgan and Jason Flemyng lead a superb ensemble cast. The film had its world premiere at September’s Toronto International Film Festival and became an instant crowd-pleaser. Bleecker Street releases it in 2020.
Among the previously announced honorees at the January 2 gala are Antonio Banderas, Renee Zellweger,...
- 12/10/2019
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
A month or so before No Time to Die arrives in theaters, we’ll be getting a spin on a James Bond-esque adventure from one of the world’s greatest international directors. Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu’s new film The Whistlers, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival, follows a police inspector who travels to the Canary Islands to uncover a plot of intrigue, mystery, murder, sex, and a strange new language. Ahead of a February release, Magnolia Pictures has unveiled the U.S. trailer.
Rory O’Connor said in our review, “Of all the great deadpan, acerbic realists that the Romanian cinema has thrown our way in the last twenty years, Corneliu Porumboiu has always been the best at using humor to compliment the more dense and philosophical aspects of his movies. He has managed to strike that delicate balance time and again, so it’s difficult to know quite...
Rory O’Connor said in our review, “Of all the great deadpan, acerbic realists that the Romanian cinema has thrown our way in the last twenty years, Corneliu Porumboiu has always been the best at using humor to compliment the more dense and philosophical aspects of his movies. He has managed to strike that delicate balance time and again, so it’s difficult to know quite...
- 12/8/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Magnolia Pictures award-winning feature "The Whistlers" aka "La Gomera" is a Romanian crime thriller directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, starring Vlad Ivanov:
"... in 'The Whistlers', not everything is as it seems for 'Cristi', a police inspector in Bucharest who plays both sides of the law.
"Embarking with the beautiful 'Gilda' on a high-stakes heist, both will have to navigate the twists and turns of corruption, treachery and deception.
"Maybe a trip to the Canary Islands to learn a secret whistling language might just be what they need to pull it off..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Whistlers"...
"... in 'The Whistlers', not everything is as it seems for 'Cristi', a police inspector in Bucharest who plays both sides of the law.
"Embarking with the beautiful 'Gilda' on a high-stakes heist, both will have to navigate the twists and turns of corruption, treachery and deception.
"Maybe a trip to the Canary Islands to learn a secret whistling language might just be what they need to pull it off..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Whistlers"...
- 12/5/2019
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Western Europe traditionally gets the lion’s share of attention in the international film category, with France and Italy still leading the record books in terms of nominations and wins. But a number of the most exciting contenders among this year’s submissions hail from a little further east: in a bumper year for cinema from Central and Eastern Europe, a few titles stand out.
Language has been a subject of significant controversy in this year’s Oscar race. Yet, the Academy has moved the needle on this front in recent years: not so long ago, films that weren’t in an official language of the submitting country were ineligible. That would have ruled out this year’s submission from the Czech Republic, “The Painted Bird.” Aiming to be the first Czech film to score a nomination since 2003’s “Zelary,” Václav Marhoul’s film is a linguistic anomaly in all...
Language has been a subject of significant controversy in this year’s Oscar race. Yet, the Academy has moved the needle on this front in recent years: not so long ago, films that weren’t in an official language of the submitting country were ineligible. That would have ruled out this year’s submission from the Czech Republic, “The Painted Bird.” Aiming to be the first Czech film to score a nomination since 2003’s “Zelary,” Václav Marhoul’s film is a linguistic anomaly in all...
- 12/5/2019
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
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