Author: World Cinema Reports' Editors

When the time came for the students and professor in the upper-level course “Film Festival Studies” to produce an actual festival — the inaugural Bates Film Festival — there were friends ready to lend a hand. Friends like Academy Award–winner Stacey Kabat ’85, Anike Tourse ’92, Nicole Danser ’15, Taylor Blackburn ’15, and Alexandra Morrow ’16, all creators of short films that will be shown at the festival. And like Constance “Stanzy” Brimelow ’16, who, as an associate producer of a Sundance award–winning film, will take part in a festival panel on women in media. Rhetoric professor Jon Cavallero leads his…

Wine helps the emotions flow, but so, apparently, does winemaking in Cédric Klapisch’s absorbing family drama “Back to Burgundy,” a film so rich and pleasurable you’d be forgiven if you thought about it each time you have a glass of red. Set in the picturesque winemaking region of France with a lot of time spent among the vines, the film recounts the uneasy reunification of three siblings after their father’s death, their efforts to keep the winery going under the threat of a hefty inheritance tax that might force them to sell. Jean (Pio Marmaï), who hated his father, has…

Samsung has installed the world’s first 3D Cinema LED screen at the Arena Sihlcity cinema complex in Zurich, Switzerland. Samsung has already installed 2D versions of the Cinema LED screen in movie theatres in Seoul, Shanghai and South Korea, but the screen in Zurich is the first example of a 3D version. The screen, which measures 10.2 metres wide x 5.4 metres high, replaces the traditional projector, bringing with it several perks. Firstly, it’s backlit, which means it can achieve higher brightness levels – Samsung claims 10 times the peak brightness of projectors – but it also delivers a consistent…

In the age of Trump, social movements have galvanized in response to the exacerbation of racial, gender and class divides. Black Lives Matter continues its uphill battle to combat racial police brutality, the “Me Too” movement adds voice to a growing campaign to challenge sexual violence following the courage of outspoken Hollywood women and men, “Fight for $15” continues to advocate for wage increases for the working poor, and “Black Youth Project 100” has tirelessly worked to combat Black criminalization and stereotypes. Marginalized groups have responded to the present social justice crises with vigor, commitment and mounting momentum in the…

As the curtain fell on the 19th National Film Festival, “Volubilis” and “House in the Fields” carried home the evening’s highest honors. Hosted at Tangier’s Ahmed Boukmakh Cultural Center, Saturday’s closing ceremony was the finale to a week of film screenings, debates, and retrospectives. The Moroccan Center of Cinematography (CCM) orchestrated the festival, which ran from March 9-17 and offered a space for fresh talent to debut and seasoned professionals to reconvene. The festival’s jury panel was comprised of critics, directors, curators, and professors. The president of the panel, Rasha Salti, addressed the audience remotely via video; she commended the gender balance…

The amiable Omotenashi comes with an apt moniker: the Japanese term not just for hospitality, but for wholeheartedly striving to accommodate others. A blend of earnest drama, light comedy, workplace angst and yearning romance, the Kyoto-set effort endeavours to satisfy a broad audience with its tale of a struggling ryokan and the battle that arises over the inn’s future. From its picturesque lakeside imagery to its exploration of both generational and cultural clashes, the film’s quest to serve up something for everyone is evident in every good-natured frame — almost to a fault. One of two titles opening this year’s…

We are well aware of the scarce representation of blacks in Hollywood and television. And when we are highlighted on the big screens, many times it is not in the best light. One way to change this is to support films formed by black directors and producers or movies starring black actors. The Black Femme Supremacy Film Festival is a new formulation by filmmaker and writer/journalist Nia Hampton. The aim is to “center femme-identified people of color, calling for short films, abstract videos or moving image pieces that center on black femmes.” The event is slated to take place at…

Two films, which focus on social issues in India, were screened at a leading film festival here that shone spotlight on pressing topics such as immigration and human trafficking. The fifth annual edition of SR Socially Relevant Film Festival New York, which opened here last week, will screen 70 films from 35 countries on a broad range of social topics such as immigration, women and girls, human trafficking, climate change, aging, mental health, disability, social justice and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBTQ) rights, according to a statement from the festival issued here. “The Mission of the SR Socially Relevant…

The 2018 Cannes Film Festival, presided over by Jury President, Cate Blanchett kicks off in France May 8th, and in celebration of all the international hotness headed our way, here are three of the hottest movie pairings we could hope to see making their debut this year. From Scotland to England, and Spain to Denmark and the Netherlands, the multinational casts of these upcoming movies might take away your breath. Directed and written by Asghar Farhadi (A Separation); starring real-life husband and wife, Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz, Barbara Lennie, Ricardo Darin and Inma Cuesta: Everybody Knows Psychological thriller wherein Cruz’s married (to Javier, duh!) with children, Spanish-born Laura…

A LONG-standing supporter of the Belfast Film Festival (BFF), film-maker Mark Cousins has now further reinforced his endorsement of the city’s annual celebration of cinema by becoming its chairman. Having already been involved behind the scenes as a BFF board member, now the Coventry-born, Co Antrim-raised director, producer and critic/presenter will be at the forefront of promoting the festival’s 18th year of screenings and film-related events. As a former director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival who regularly shows his own work at film events around the world – 2015’s I Am Belfast premiered at BFF while his most recent…