2015 Oscar’s Award Ceremony is on Sunday February 22nd. Among Oscar nominees there are three films from Poland nominated for four Oscars. To learn more about this great success of the Polish cinema we interviewed Vladek Juszkiewicz director and founder of the Polish Film Festival, Los Angeles. Bijan Tehrani: How significant is Polish films presence among Oscar nominees in 2015 comparing to previous years?Vladek Juszkiewicz: Never before in one year have there been three Polish films nominated to the Oscars with four nominations. This year we have IDA by Pawel Pawlikowski nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematography…
Author: Bijan Tehrani
Bijan Tehrani
Bijan (Hassan) Tehrani Founder and Editor in Chief of Cinema Without Borders, is a film director, writer, and a film critic, his first article appeared in a weekly film publication in Iran 45 years ago. Bijan founded Cinema Without Borders, an online publication dedicated to promotion of international cinema in the US and around the globe, eighteen years ago and still works as its editor in chief. Bijan is has also been a columnist and film critic for the Iranian monthly film related medias for 45 years and during the past 5 years he has been a permanent columnist and film reviewer for Film Emrooz (Film Today), a popular Iranian monthly print film magazine. Bijan has won several awards in international film festivals and book fairs for his short films and children's books as well as for his services to the international cinema. Bijan is a member of Iranian Film Writers Critics Society and International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI). He is also an 82nd Golden Globe Awards voter.
Tangerines directed by Zaza Urushadze is one of the five nominees for the Best Foreign Language Film Award. Tangerines is a keenly-observed drama of compassion and hostility set in the midst of armed conflict in the Caucasus. It focuses on two Estonian immigrant farmers who live in northern Georgia where they grow tangerines. Despite looming conflict between Georgia and Abkhazian separatists in their area which causes any other civilians to flee, they decide to stay behind just long enough to harvest their fruit – and get caught in the fighting. A skirmish near their house leaves two wounded soldiers unable…
From first rehearsal to world premiere, BALLET 422 takes us backstage at New York City Ballet as Justin Peck, a young up-and-coming choreographer, crafts a new work. BALLET 422 illuminates the process behind the creation of a single ballet within the ongoing cycle of work at one of the world’s great ballet companies. New York City Ballet, under the artistic direction of Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins, boasts a roster of more than 90 dancers and a repertory of works by many of the greatest choreographers in the history of the art form. When 25-year-old NYCB dancer Justin Peck…
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced that the HP DreamColor Display will be honored at its annual Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation on Sat., Feb. 7. Technical staff from HP and DreamWorks will be recognized at the ceremony for the development of the HP DreamColor LP2480zx Professional Display. The DreamColor Display is receiving the Scientific and Engineering Award (Academy Plaque) for the impact it’s made in film – providing affordable, consistent and stable color throughout the film production process. To learn more about this amazing achievement by HP we interviewed HP’s Greg Staten. Greg Staten is…
The 16th Scandinavian Film Festival L.A. (SFFLA) continues on January 24, 25 and to learn more about the festival we had an interview with festival director and founder James Koenig.James Koenig is someone whose voice is heard in various arts arenas. He graduated from Northwestern University with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in voice continuing studies in Italy, Germany, and California. As a classical singer he has sung in opera and concert venues around the United States and in Europe. He also enjoys teaching, directing, and writing. He is the founder/director of the fifteen year old Scandinavian Film Festival L.A. He…
LEVIATHAN, one of the nine films in the Academy Awards shortlist for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, is the latest drama from Andrey Zvyagintsev, the acclaimed director of The Return (Venice Film Festival Golden Lion winner and Golden Globe nominee). In LEVIATHAN, Kolia (Alexeï Serebriakov) lives in a small fishing town near the stunning Barents Sea in Northern Russia. He owns an auto-repair shop that stands right next to the house where he lives with his young wife Lilya (Elena Liadova) and his son Roma (Sergueï Pokhodaev) from a previous marriage. The town’s corrupt mayor Vadim Shelevyat (Roman Madianov)…
The 26th edition of Palm Springs International Film Festival will open on January 2nd 2015 and will run until January 12th. It’s a Cinema Without Borders tradition to have a conversation with Director of the Festival every year and before start of the festival. Bijan Tehrani: What is the secret to the success of the Palm Springs International Film Festival?Darryl Macdonald: Really I guess there is only one thing I can point to, and that it is the films. The quality of the line-up and the way the festival audiences perceive the specific films in the festival is all important.…
“Asghar Farhadi” is the title of a new book about the Iranian Oscar winning filmmaker by Tina Hassannia. Tina Hassannia is a film critic and writer. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, Slant Magazine, Reverse Shot, Maisonneuve, Guernica, Little White Lies, Keyframe, Grolsch Film Works, and others. She is the co-host of Hello Cinema, a podcast dedicated to Iranian cinema. She was born in Tehran and lives in Toronto, Canada. You can find her online at tinahassannia.com. Bijan Tehrani: What was that motivated you to write this book? Tina Hassannia: I was approached to write…
Every January Cinema Without Borders offers its HP Bridging The Borders Award at International Palm Springs Film Festival. HP Bridging The Borders Award goes to a film that helps bringing people of our world closer together. HP Bridging The Borders Award is sponsored and its award provided by HP Workstation department. Filmmakers such as Andrzej Wajda, Ari Folman, Terry George and Kieron J. Walsh have won this award in previous years.This is the fourth from a 5 series of articles about HP Bridging The Borders Award and HP’s presence in film industry and we interviewed Danny Holland, a Post Production…
Verizon Wireless is supporting most of the major tablets in the market and these are devices in interest of filmmakers and film fans. Therefore to learn more about this subject we interviewed Ken Muché who responsible for all public relations and philanthropy for Verizon Wireless in Southern California. Ken writes on a variety of topics, including corporate giving initiatives, and how customers are using the company’s 4G LTE network to enhance their lives at home, at work and in their communities. Ken also tweets about local Verizon Wireless happenings on Twitter, using the handle @vzwken. With twenty years’ experience in…