Author: CWB News Department

Known as one of Russia’s most intellectual and spiritual filmmaikers, Alexander Nikolayevich Sokurov was born in 1951 in the Siberian village of Podorvikha. He graduated from the History Department of Gorky University in 1974 and, in the same year, entered the Russian State Institute of Cinematography. There he befriended Andrei Tarkovsky, whose feature film Mirror deeply influenced him. While at the Moscow Film School Sokurov made his first full length feature, The Lonely Voice of Men, in 1978.While the Soviet regime banned most of Sokurov’s early works, he produced many documentaries during his early years, including an interview with the…

No doubt Hollywood writers would love to write themselves out of a bad scene – the current strike – but their foreign counterparts are determined to write themselves into the drama by demonstrating today (Wednesday, Nov. 28) for an international day of solidarity with the Writers Guild. Sponsored by the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds, which represents over 20,000 screenwriters in unions worldwide, the marches will rally writers demonstrating in Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam, London, Sydney, Auckland, Montreal, and Berlin. And there’ll be a rally at NBC Studios in Burbank, too.It’s great that the writers overseas are taking the cause of…

Will Russian filmmaker and opera director Alexander Sokurov follow in the footsteps of Bruce Beresford, Billy Friedkin and Garry Marshall to direct opera in Los Angeles? While on a rare visit to Los Angeles for a special screening of his newest film “Alexandra” (which competed at this year’s Cannes festival), the visionary filmmaker, best known to American audiences for his one-take 2002 feature “Russian Ark,” told Cinema Without Borders he’d “love to direct an opera here” but has yet to be approached with an offer. He was responding to rumors in the music community that he might indeed be on…

Shuichi Nakahara is a multi-talented, multi-tasking creative artist with a love for animation. Shuichi is a highly educated Japanese engineer and computer animation guru. He started his career in Japan and has been working with companies in the U.S. through a virtual pipeline through the internet. What is interesting about Shuichi is his rare ability to be able to pick up a new software package or design idea in hours in what takes the average person months to learn. Shuichi went to school for animation but his unique skill for combining Japanese animation styles with American animation makes him a…

WMM has announced that GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA has received an Emmy nomination for BEST DOCUMENTARY.Produced and directed by Kimberlee Acquaro and Stacy Sherman, GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA was broadcast on HBO Cinemax’s acclaimed Reel Life Series. An Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short, this powerful film has garnered countless prestigious awards, including the Audience Award and Jury Special Mention at Silverdocs.About the Film: The 1994 Rwandan Genocide left the country nearly 70 percent female, handing Rwanda’s women an extraordinary burden and an unprecedented opportunity. An inspiring story of loss and redemption, GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA captures the spirit…

Academy Award winner and three time nominee RENÉE ZELLWEGER will be coming to Karlovy Vary to introduce Miss Potter. Cold Mountain, Chicago, and Bridget Jones’s Diary are among the films that have attained success with both the public and film critics alike thanks primarily to Renée Zellweger’s outstanding performances. After appearing in several television projects, Zellweger, who graduated from the University of Texas with a literature degree, she made her film debut in 1993 in Richard Linklater’s coming-of-age film Dazed and Confused. Just a year later she drew attention in Ben Stiller’s Reality Bites. Her other film credits include Me,…

(Los Angeles, May 23, 2007) – At a special ceremony held yesterday in Los Angeles, the first Audience Choice Award of the just concluded South East European Film Festival was presented to the honorable Catalin Ghenea, Consul General of Romania. Romanian film The Way I Spent the End of the World, directed by Catalin Mitulescu, got a perfect 4.5 score from the festival’s audience. The award, presented by the director of the festival, Vera Mijojlic, is yet another recognition for Romanian cinema which continues to dazzle the audiences and critics around the world. Winner of Best Actress award for Dorotheea…

The Tribeca Film Festival has tapped the romantic drama Lucky You, directed by Curtis Hanson, to have its world premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express. Lucky You, a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, stars Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall and Debra Messing, many of whom will attend the star-studded gala premiere on May 1st. “Lucky You is a romantic drama with a stellar cast, and we are delighted to be able to host its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Festival. “Warner…

40 new films, including 20 features (all premieres) and 20 new shorts, will be shown at the 11th Annual City of Lights, City of Angels (COL•COA). Acclaimed Berlin Film Festival opening film, “La Vie En Rose,” writer-director Olivier Dahan’s masterful biopic of Edith Piaf, starring Marion Cotillard and Gérard Depardieu, will open the showcase on Monday, April 16, 2007. Picturehouse will release the film on June 8th in New York and Los Angeles. The U.S. Premiere of “Michou D’Auber” (also starring Depardieu) written and directed by Thomas Gilou, will be the closing night film on April 21st. COL•COA’s program will…

MadCat is a highly acclaimed festival that exhibits independent and experimental films and videos directed by women from around the globe. The Festival emphasizes work that is inventive and visionary. MadCat takes place each September in the Bay Area.CALL FOR SUBMISSIONSMadCat Women’s International Film Festival seeks provocative and visionary films and videos directed or co-directed by women. Films can be of any length or genre and produced ANY year. MadCat is committed to showcasing work that challenges the use of sound and image and explores notions of visual story telling. All subjects/topics will be considered.Submission Fee: $10-30 sliding scale. Pay…