Author: Bijan Tehrani

The First Lebanon War – June, 1982. A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town that has already been bombarded by the Israeli Air Force. What seems to be a simple mission gradually spins out of control. Shmuel the gunner, Assi the commander, Herzl the loader and Yigal the driver are the tank’s crew, four 20-something boys who have never fought in a war and are now operating a killing machine. Though trying to remain brave, the boys are pushed to their mental limits as they struggle to survive in a situation they cannot contain, and try not…

Last week we had an opportunity to speak to Frank DeMartin about the role Mitsubishi is playing in the 3D Entertainment Home market. Frank is responsible for all product development and marketing for the MDEA consumer electronics group in the U.S. DeMartin manages all CE product categories including home theater TV, premium flat panel TV, laser TV and digital home video. Most recently he has spearheaded the Mitsubishi Electric launch of the world’s first laser-based television, LaserVue, and he has led the development and introduction of the world’s only immersive sound television, Mitsubishi Unisen TV.Before joining Mitsubishi Electric, DeMartin was…

Peter Hankoff is a writer, director and producer who has spent the last ten years making documentary programs for the likes of National Geographic, History Channel and Discovery Channel. Peter began as a professional writer when he was paid $25 for an article published in Film Comment. Investing wisely, he bought more typing paper and continued writing.He has had dozens of screenplays and projects in development at the major studios and networks over the years, and he continues to write when not in production. His views on world cinema and American cinema are very interesting and come from research, study…

To continue our “Watching 3D Movies at Home” series of articles and interviews we sat down with John Oliver the CTO and Founder of Aspen Media Products, LLC, (www.aspenmediaproducts.com). John has over 15 years of experience leading teams to design, build, and support integrated solutions for the home entertainment, education, PC gaming, commercial, and government markets. Aspen designs and builds a family of 3D Ready multi-media digital players for the home entertainment, education, business, and PC gaming markets. During CES 2010 earlier this year, it introduced its 5th generation of media players and 3rd generation of 3D media players, which…

Screening of the first film from the Grit and Whimsy: The Best of Recent Belgian Cinema series is set for July 21, 2010. To learn more about this series we had an interview with Mr. Geert Criel, Consul General of Belgium in Los Angeles.Mr. Criel’s professional experience started in 1983, when he started to work with Fortis Bank (largest Belgian bank) at the Foreign Trade and Credit Departments. From 1990 till present, Mr. Criel had been employed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was successively posted in Rome, Brussels (Representation to the European Union), Tel Aviv, Royal Palace, Washington…

Kisses is the story of two young runaways living on the fringes of Dublin who discover both beauty and danger in the big city. Kylie lives with 5 siblings and an overworked mother. Next door, Dylan is growing up with an abusive father and the memory of his runaway brother. One day, after a violent altercation with his father, Dylan and Kylie flee. Together they make their way to the magical lights of downtown Dublin to search for Dylan’s brother and the hope of a new life. Dublin, as shown through the innocent eyes of our young protagonists, is a…

Hassan Khademi , the Iranian director of Rapping in Tehran, is a graduate with MA of Arts from University of Tehran and has conducted several research projects about Iranian underground music.Hassan khademi’s short film, Rapping in Tehran, has participated in several international film festivals such as International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival and Peace on Earth Film Festival-Chicago. Cinema Without Borders: How did you come up with the idea of Rapping in Tehran?Hassan Khademi: I am a social researcher and I have conducted research in the field of Iranian youths and also young…

Jacob Rosenberg, a filmmaker, author, and digital technology expert, he developed his passion for video and film as a skateboarder in the early 1990’s, making two of the most acclaimed skateboard videos for the company Plan B. Upon graduating from Emerson College, his thesis film “Silent Rain in the Ninth,” was released on DVD; Rosenberg promptly began directing music videos, commercials and short films.Rosenberg connected with fellow directors and Bandito Brothers principals Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh when he served as the Online Editor and Digital Intermediate Supervisor for “Dust to Glory.” That feature utilized an all-digital workflow designed by…

2010 Palm Springs International ShortFest Film Festival and Market starts next week. Cinema Without Borders’ Editor in Chief had a interview with Darryl Macdonald, director of the ShortFest about 2010 festival. Bijan Tehrani: What can we expect to see at this year’s festival?Darryl Macdonald: That’s a big topic; firstly the live action shorts that we received this year were more polished than the work that we had seen in the past. The use of the new technology on the market has really given great power to filmmaker to realize their visions on screen without making compromises. Certainly the animated shorts…

Ami Dror is one of XpanD’s Co-founders and the 1st employee of the XpanD. Ami, a Stereoscopic 3D Media Expert, is responsible for XpanD’ overall strategy. With over 2000 3D Cinema installations worldwide, dominate market share in Europe and Asia and full studios endorsement, XpanD delivers 3D experiences to millions of viewers globally. Last week, we had a telephone interview with Ami about XpanD and 3D Home Cinema. Ami was kind enough to answer our questions from a wedding party had attended.Bijan Tehrani: Please tell us about what XpanD is producing for 3D Home Entertainment.Ami Dror: Most of the global…