A resplendent tale interwoven with other stories throughout the film. As the third motion picture by Tunisia-born, Nacer Khemir, Bab’Aziz (Parviz Shahinkhou) is about an aged, blind dervish, who travels across the barren desert lands with his sprightly granddaughter, Ishtar (Maryam Hamid).The two are in search of a grand convening of dervishes which only occurs once every thirty years. The path to it is not readily known to them but for those who possess faith, and who have been invited, will find the way.While traversing the endless scorching terrain, Bab’Aziz spins an ancient tale for his beloved granddaughter regarding a…
Author: Tobe R. Roberts
Director Chico Teixeira departs from his documentary work to give us his first feature presentation. The film takes us into the working class household of Alice, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Emotionally charged and with enough secret affairs, deception and dysfunction to whet any telenovela’s whistle, “Alice’s House” moves us with the sheer rawness of its characters.The story, richly woven with dynamic characters which draw you into their convoluted yet colorful lives, as we are introduced quickly and made part of their family. Alice is wonderfully portrayed by Carla Ribas in the lead. Alice is a lonely manicurist at a local…
Stylistically shot and emotionally charged, “Undoing”, is the next Asian film noir in line for Korean-American Director Chris Chan Lee, nine years after his first, “Yellow”. Centering around Sam Kim’s (Sung Kang) year-long absence, he returns to Los Angeles hard-pressed to make right for things done wrong in his past.We open with the death of his best friend in L.A.’s Koreatown. Joon is a small time drug dealer- Joon (Leonardo Nam) caught up in a big time mess. Sam who inadvertently finds himself in the middle of a drug deal gone bad, quickly leaves both body and car off the…
Directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara, “The Warped Ones” (aka Season of Heat and The Weird Lovemakers), is visually raw and stunning. In addition, throw in musically which is entrancing. With some films which are overrun with a soundtrack which detracts from the actual storytelling are apt to make or break a film.With a heavily laden jazz soundtrack, the music relentlessly serves to strengthen the chaotic and randomness of the characters- Masaru (Eiji Go), Akira (Tamio Kawaji), and Fumiko (Noriko Matsumoto). As a depiction of the youth culture of Japan in the 1960’s, Kurahara paints a surreal image of youth gone wild…
London born Alan White directs his very first American feature- “Broken”, a dark tale of lust, addiction and hope set in LA. From the opening onward, “Broken”, engages from the very get go. Heather Graham plays Hope, an All American girl from Cleveland, with big dreams bound for Los Angeles. Hope aspires to be a hit musician all the while serving in a dead end job as a waitress.Along her obstacle laden path to stardom, she meets a suave Will (Jeremy Sisto), a mysterious stranger whom she meets on the beach while sun worshiping. Will determined to be in Hope’s…
Presented by Rich-Heape Films and narrated by James Earl Jones, “Black Indians: An American Story”, digs deep into both black and red roots to find a common link between the two peoples who struggled against great oppression, discrimination and disenfranchisement. Winner of the Cine Golden Eagle, Aurora Gold Award and the Omni Intermedia Award, the documentary goes above and beyond as an informative journey into the past where the struggle of racial identity, acceptance and the desire to uphold tradition is taken to the forefront.This one hour extensive exploration of those African Americans with Native ancestry is revealed in personal…
Tribeca Enterprises hosted on Sunday evening, September 23rd, their new festival called- Tropfest@Tribeca. Tropfest@Tribeca is a totally free of charge outdoor film festival that spotlighted 16 independently made films by up and coming filmmakers from around the globe.Tropfest had its humble origins in Australia with creator/movie director, John Polson, and was an unprecedented success- attracting nearly 150,000 people. On this evening in the Big Apple, the energy was indeed high and there was high octane music and food to boot. There were in attendance about 8,000 attendees. In addition, Tropfest was also broadcast live via satellite in Toronto, Canada.Tropfest was…
<b>Hossein Mahini</b> , a graduate of filmmaking from Iran, worked as a film director in Iranian National Television until 1986 when he went to live in exile in Sweden. Since then, Mahini has worked as an independent photographer and filmmaker and also as a staff member in West Sweden’s Film Center (Film Centrum Vast). Mahini is the Exile Film Festival’s founder and organizer.Cinema Without Borders: Please tell us about the history of the Exile Film Festival and how you got involved with it.Hossien Mahini: The whole thing goes back to 1993, I actually started this and it was my own…
Director Ten Shimoyama takes us back to 1614 feudal japan with a twist. Labeled as part of the chambara film genre, in the midst of turmoil, blades move with the swiftness of quicksilver, shaken and shuriken take flight toward their intended targets. During the early time of the Tokugawa shogunate or Edo period (1603-1868), the main players in our story are the two warring factions of the Shogun’s feudal espionage agents, known by many names: kusa, ninja, kage no mono, shinobi. During this new time of peace just after Japan’s warring states period, these two powerful clans are pitted against…
Immensely gritty, and gruesome, “Nightmare Detective” delivers edgy cinema with chilling visuals to make your hair stand up on end. Dark drifter Kyoichi Kagenuma (Ryuhei Matsuda) has a unique gift, the gift to meld with an individual’s dream state and detect the source of their nightmares. With this amazing gift comes a price.We witness his feat to enter dreams at the beginning of the film where he analyzes a businessman’s nightmares about the daughter he never had. Considering this “gift” more of a curse than a blessing, Kagenuma finds himself suicidal. Getting caught up in the whirlwind of frightening dreams,…