Author: CWB News Department

The three words “you burn me” are a surviving fragment (or micro-poem) by Sappho, and make up the title of this hour-long reverie from the Argentinian film-maker Matías Piñeiro, a multilayered essay or dramatised exchange musing on the nature of death, desire and love. It is, in fact, an adaptation of the chapter Sea Foam from the Italian author Cesare Pavese’s 1947 volume Dialogues With Leucò, which imagines conversations between mythic figures. This film shows us a dialogue between Sappho (supposed by unreliable romantic myth to have thrown herself into the Ionian sea in the anguish of heartbreak) and the…

The UCLA Film & Television Archive  will continue its long tradition of bringing the best cinema from Iran and the Iranian diaspora to Los Angeles. Ever mindful of the ongoing struggles facing Iranian filmmakers in their native country, this year’s program champions the work of new and emerging directors while bringing back to the screen a long-thought-lost landmark of Iranian cinema. Making its world restoration premiere, writer-director Marva Nabili’s The Sealed Soil (1977) is the earliest complete surviving feature film directed by an Iranian woman and returns to the big screen almost 50 years after Nabili smuggled a workprint of…

The 2024 Tribeca Festival jury has been announced with a star-studded filmmaker lineup. This year, David O. Russell, Selma Blair, Asghar Farhadi, Kim Cattrall, Francesca Scorsese, and more will select the winning projects in the film, games, and audio storytelling sections across the 17 competition categories. In addition to the awards in competition categories, the Nora Ephron Award, created to honor the spirit and vision of the legendary filmmaker and writer, will be presented. The festival, presented by OKX, will take place from June 5 through 16. “We are thrilled to once again welcome a diverse group of remarkable filmmakers,…

On Saturday May 18th 2024, East Los Angeles College, Cinema and Without Borders Foundation in cooperation with the Consulate General of France in Los Angeles, L’Agence du court métrage, Villa Albertine Los Angeles and Sony Classic Pictures  celebrated the ninth edition of the annual ELAC International Animation Day Festival, dedicated to French Animation. This event was  held at East Los Angeles College. The goal of the ELAC International Animation Festival is to give an in-depth and entertaining introduction to contemporary international animation. Screenings of short, animated films from around the world, analyses, and Q&As with a panel of well-known animation…

May 8th 2024 – Cinema Without Borders announced Bridging The Borders Awatd winners at SEEfest 2024. Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudovic Reels (Mila Turajlić, Serbia/France, 2022) won Cinema Without Borders’ Bridging the Borders Award for the Best Documentary Film. In her impressive documentary, Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudovic Reels, Mila Turajlić explores the treasure trove of 35mm films preserved in Belgrade’s Filmske novosti. That Serbian archive of countless newsreels made for President Tito and the Yugoslavian cinema audiences from 1954 until 1980 not only idealizes the accomplishments of that independent leader but also reveals the story of the creation of…

“A Trip Elsewhere,” a provocative new film from director J.R. Sawyers. Set against the backdrop of the 2020 pandemic, four troubled souls embark on an LSD trip seeking escape. What begins as a fleeting indulgence descends into a record-breaking overdose, plunging them into a shared, comatose dreamscape. To break free, this unlikely group – a paramedic, a film producer, a waitress, and a programmer – must face their deepest fears and find redemption within a psychedelic labyrinth. “A Trip Elsewhere” delves into the complexities of mental health and the surprising connections forged in life’s darkest hours. https://vimeo.com/941298216?share=copy J.R. Sawyers is…

I AM GITMO, written and direted by Philippe Diaz, is based on a real story. Gamel Sadek is a Muslim schoolteacher living in Kandahar, Afghanistan, with his wife and children. As the War on Terror ramps up following 9/11, he is “sold” in March 2002 by his neighbor to CIA investigators seeking any information that might lead to Osama Bin Laden. He is taken away and brutally interrogated. https://vimeo.com/940962748?share=copy At the same time, retired Army interrogator, John Anderson is asked to return to duty, and is flown to Afghanistan, leaving his daughter behind. Guided by his faith, John is an…

The 63rd Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival (FICCI), in Cartagena, Colombia, paid tribute to the world-renowned Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi on April 18. At the ceremony, the festival award, the Golden India statuette, was presented to Farhadi, recognizing his exceptional artistic career in the seventh art, ISNA reported. With two Oscar Awards for Best Foreign Language Film for “A Separation” (2011) and “The Salesman” (2016), Farhadi has captivated the global audience with his unique vision. A panel discussion was also held on the same day, where Ansgar Vogt, artistic director of FICCI, spoke with Farhadi about his career and…

Tonight at Academy Award ceremony The Zone of Interest from UK won the International Film Oscar The Zone of Interest is a 2023 historical drama film written and directed by Jonathan Glazer, co-produced between the United Kingdom and Poland. The story is loosely based on the 2014 novel by Martin Amis. Starring German actors Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller as the Nazi commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig, it focuses on the pair as they strive to build a dream life for their family in a home next to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp https://vimeo.com/921851199?share=copy Directed by Jonathan Glazer…

OUR UNIFORM, directed by Yegane Moghadam and nominated for the Short Animation Oscar in 2024 is the story of an Iranian girl unfolds her school memories through the wrinkles and fabrics of her old uniform. She admits that she’s nothing but a “female” and explores the roots of this idea in her school years. The following is our interview with Yegane Moghadam about making of OUR UNIFORM: https://vimeo.com/920218076?share=copy Yegane Moghaddam is an Iranian animator and illustrator who has a strong passion for nature, culture and the reality she lives in. Her works are usually centered around the theme of nature…