Author: CWB News Department

THE classic Indian film Manthan (The Churning) not only redefined the boundaries of cinematic storytelling but also set a strong precedent for the power of collective effort. The 1976 crowdfunded drama, directed by Shyam Benegal, tells the story of rural dairy farmers who unite to form a cooperative and challenge the existing power dynamics in their society. It was widely celebrated for its compelling narrative, powerful performances, and social impact on India. In 2024, the restored version of Manthan received a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival, reminding the world of its enduring relevance. Since then, it has been re-released in…

Historically, classical composers of color have not received the same recognition as their white peers. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and founder of the Composer’s Diversity Collective, Michael Abels — best known for writing the scores to “Get Out,” “Us” and “Nope” — believes times may be changing. “There are more composers (of color) working today who are able to have careers than we saw a generation ago,” Abels said. “What we don’t know is whether that’s a sea change or merely a fad, and it’s hard to know which one you’re in when you’re in the middle of it.” The Wisconsin…

A 40-minute follow-up to his 2021 Sparks musical Annette, It’s Not Me is Leos Carax’s tribute to Jean-Luc Godard, who died by medically assisted suicide in 2022. It’s Not Me is self-reflexive, political, and experimental, essentially Carax’s take on Godard’s Histoire(s) du cinéma (1988), in which the French New Wave pioneer stitched together clips from hundreds of films in order to create his own critique of the art form. Carax faithfully mimics Godard’s style and structure with a raspy voiceover, colorful intertitles that split the work into chapters, and garish visual filters. As with Godard, some ideas and themes are decipherable, others less so. One is fatherhood:…

Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”) has signed on to create the musical score for the upcoming series “Gandhi,” directed by Hansal Mehta and produced by India’s Applause Entertainment. The announcement was made on Oct. 2 to coincide with Gandhi Jayanti, the annual celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday in India. The series is based on historian Ramchandra Guha’s books “Gandhi Before India” and “Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World, 1914-1948.” The first season covers the formative years of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s life as a law student in London and later as lawyer and civil rights activist in South Africa, during which time he conceived the ideas that ultimately…

After the Netflix series Zero a fantasy-drama-teenage story set in the outskirts of Milan, Paola Randi (Little Tito and the Aliens ) turns to cinema with her new story dedicated to young adult audiences, once again set in her hometown. The Story of Frank and Nina arrives in Italian cinemas on 3 October with Fandango Distribuzione after screening in the Orizzonti Extra section at the Venice Film Festival. The third character in the film, after the titular Frank and Nina, is 18-year-old Carlo (played by newcomer Gabriele Monti), a young man from the north banlieue of Milan always armed with a spray can to cover walls with poetic sentences taken…

Cinema isn’t just a passing trend in India — it’s a vital part of the country’s culture and the lives of its people. India, which produces nearly 2,000 cinematic films annually, breathes this art form, using it to reflect its unique culture and the diversity of its sources, including its political, religious, and ethnic conflicts. This has been the case since the rise of Amitabh Bachchan — dubbed the “Angry Young Man” due to his portrayal of disillusioned anti-hero characters — in the 1970s, continuing into the new millennium with films that broke away from the typical Bollywood formula, like…

“¡Tacos, los tacos de canasta, taaacooos!”  This echoed at the screening of “Transmexico” on Thursday at the Hola Mexico Film Festival. It’s also the sound many people in Mexico City hear and recognize as Lady Marven, better known as Lady Tacos de Canasta. She is one of three trans women featured in the documentary “Transmexico,” whose story brings joyous laughter and tears to the audience at HMFF. Earlier this year, the film won the Audience Choice Award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. The documentary features the stories of three trans women throughout Mexico. It explores their experiences with transition,…

When it comes to filmmakers, we often assume that they’re keeping up to date on the latest releases and constantly watching films. However, Austrian auteur Michael Haneke doesn’t seem to find the time to keep up with things so closely these days. What with creating award-winning films that touch on the full capacity of humanity and teaching at the Film Academy Vienna. Yet, there’s still one director he makes time for and has been blown away by. Speaking with Roger Ebert, Haneke discussed his earlier love and dedication to watching movies, stating: “When I began to make films, or when I began to think I wanted…

Paris is the world’s most popular destination for good reason: the art, the architecture, the romance, the gardens, the locks on the Pont Neuf, the bread, the cheese, did I mention the bread, definitely the bread, and the history. While visitors from all over come away having had a lovely time, I don’t think it’s just pig-headed sentiments of American exceptionalism leading me to think that there’s something special about being “an American in Paris.” The ongoing success of one of Netflix’s biggest hits, Emily in Paris, has tapped into the feedback loop of Franco-American love quite well. With the second…

The French director talks about her film, which focuses on the legendary Italian pedagogue in the early years of her career, when her famous method was still in the fledgling stages The professional life of the legendary pedagogue and the suffering in her private life are at the heart of French director Léa Todorov’s first fiction feature film, Maria Montessori , which is due for release in Italian cinemas via Wanted Cinema on 26 September. We chatted with the director on the occasion of her film’s presentation in Villa Medici in Rome. Cineuropa: In 2016, you collaborated on the writing of a documentary called Révolution…