Author: Bijan Tehrani

Over 120 countries have united to form the International Criminal Court (ICC) — the first permanent court created to prosecute perpetrators, no matter how powerful, of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. The Reckoning follows dynamic ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and his team for three years across four continents as he issues arrest warrants for Lord’s Resistance Army leaders in Uganda, puts Congolese warlords on trial, shakes up the Colombian justice system, and charges Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir with genocide in Darfur. Like a deft thriller, The Reckoning keeps you on the edge of your seat. Will the prosecutor…

After 30 years of war and Taliban-rule, pop culture has returned to Afghanistan. Afghan Star – a Pop Idol-style TV series – is searching the country for the next generation of music stars. Over 2000 people are auditioning and even three women have come forward to try their luck. The organizers, Tolo TV, believe with this program they can ‘move people from guns to music’. Afghan Star, a documentary film, follows the three month process from the regional auditions to the final in Kabul. Behind the scenes at all times we gained unprecedented access to the lives of contestants, fans…

TONY MANERO is set on the streets of Santiago, Chile in 1978 to the throbbing backbeat of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack punctuated by the random thrashings of Pinochet’s military, TONY MANERO reveals a palpably gritty alternate reality to the days of disco in 1970s America. In a sharp juxtaposition of discomania and dictatorship, Larraín swirls his story around Raúl Peralta (Alfredo Castro), a middle-aged man obsessed with perfecting his impersonation of “Tony Manero,” the protagonist of Saturday Night Fever – and of Raúl’s highly combustible inner fantasy world. Often the only one in the movie theater, Raúl recites dialogue…

The art of being straight is the story of the smart, handsome, twenty-three-year-old Jon (Jesse Rosen) that has just moved to Los Angeles from New York, ostensibly “taking a break” from his longtime girlfriend. He moves in with college bro Andy (Jared Grey), whose pals incessantly do that kind of “That is so gay” banter that’s essentially harmless — unless you’re the only gay guy in the room. Jon is hardly comfortable discussing his shifting Kinsien scale placement with them, and his new job as bottom-rung gofer at a major ad agency is fraught with sexual tension as a studly…

Rebecca Yeldham Director of The Los Angeles Film Festival, has built a career championing films and filmmakers as a producer, festival programmer and production and acquisition executive. Yeldham recently produced THE KITE RUNNER, directed by Marc Forster (nominated for 2008 BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards), LINHA DE PASSE, directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas (winner best actress 2008 Cannes Film Festival), and the upcoming release ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL, directed by first timer Sacha Gervasi (2008 Sundance Film Festival, 2009 SXSW and Spirit Award nominee and Audience Award winner at the 2008 LA, Sydney, and Galway Film Festivals).…

The Buddhist concept of reincarnation, while both mysterious and enchanting, is hard for most westerners to grasp. UNMISTAKEN CHILD follows the 4-year search for the reincarnation of Lama Konchog, a world-renowned Tibetan master who passed away in 2001 at age 84. The Dalai Lama charges the deceased monk’s devoted disciple, Tenzin Zopa (who had been in his service since the age of seven), to search for his master’s reincarnation. Tenzin sets off on this unforgettable quest on foot, mule and even helicopter, through breathtaking landscapes and remote traditional Tibetan villages. Along the way Tenzin listens to stories about young children…

Chris Geiser, Product Line Manager, In-Home Distribution NETGEAR, is an experienced marketer who’s 15-year career has included roles in product management, product marketing, consulting and market research. He has worked for leading technology companies, including Metatec (now Zomax), Intel, Honeywell and NETGEAR, where he has been the product line manager for in-home distribution products since the summer of 2008. Chris holds an MBA from Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and an undergraduate degree in telecommunications from Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College.Bijan Tehrani: What is the benefit of the Powerline networking compared to wireless networking?Chris Geiser: Typically, what we are…

Palm Springs International ShortFest Short Film Festival & Market is, without a doubt, one of the best short film festivals in the world. Last year, Palm Springs ShortFest won the Cinema Without Borders Seal of Excellence as the Best Short Film Festival of 2008.I sat down with Darryl Macdonald, director of the Palm Springs International ShortFest Short Film Festival & Market in his Palm Springs office and we talked about the 2009 event.Bijan Tehrani: Please tell us about 2009 Palm Springs International ShortFest Film Festival. Are there changes we should expect to see from previous festivals?Darryl Macdonald: Well, it is…

Burma VJ shows a rare, inside-look into the 2007 uprising in Myanmar through the cameras of the independent journalist group, Democratic Voice of Burma.While 100,000 people (including thousands of Buddhist monks) took to the streets to protest the country’s repressive regime that has held them hostage for over 40 years, foreign news crews were banned from entering and the Internet was shut down. The Democratic Voice of Burma, a collective of 30 anonymous and underground video journalists (VJs) recorded these historic and dramatic events on handycams and smuggled the footage out of the country, where it was broadcast worldwide via…

Academy Award Winner, Best Foreign Language Film. From Japan, Departures follows Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki), a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and who is suddenly left without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled “Departures” thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a “Nokanshi” or “encoffineer,” a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife…