2007 marks the Archive’s 17th Annual Celebration of Iranian Cinema, now in its home at the Billy Wilder Theater in the heart of Westwood’s “Tehrangles.” This year’s offerings feature a greater number of films than ever before, including 13 films from Iran and the diaspora. Featured in the series this year are works by established filmmakers whose films we have showcased in the past (Bahman Farmanara and Rakhshan Bani-Etemad) and works by emerging directors. Also included are five new documentaries that illuminate Iranian life, art, and popular culture. Some of this year’s themes include male bonding and friendship, emigration, censorship,…
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The Vietnamese-American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) and the VietNamese Language and Culture (VNLC) at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) will present the 3rd biennial Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF). April 12 – 15 & 19 – 22, 2007 Screening Locations: University of California, Irvine (UCI)’s Film & Video Center with selected screenings and panel discussions at UCLA and in Westminster, California. Opening Night will be at the Edwards University Cinema 6, Irvine. For complete program schedule, please visit http://www.vietfilmfest.com/home/home.htm . Tickets are available online and Tu Quynh Book Store (714) 531-4284 OPENING NIGHT – Thursday, April 12, 2007 at…
The April 17th session of the Animation 21 Lecture Series is dedicated to two presentations: Character Design and 2D Animation & Game Development. In the first session, Phil Mendez will demonstrate the techniques and essentials of character design. Phil Mendez started the comic strip in the Mercury Shopper’s Guide at the age of sixteen; he was hired by Dancer – Fitzgerald – Sample at the age of eighteen as an assistant art director on the General Mills account; he freelanced on comic books in 1966 for Charlton Press and DC Comics; and worked as a storyboard artist, head designer and…
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…
“Tribeca Talks” will be one of the major highlights at the upcoming 2007 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC. Playing host to film celebrities and entertainment professionals such as Eva Mendes, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tiki Barber, and Rosario Dawson, this series of panel discussions will delve deeply into film trends in the industry. In addition, insight and experience will bring to the forefront aspects of filmmaking which are unique and sure to spark riveting talks. Some topics will include: Women in front and behind the camera, filmmakers who battle the forces of nature and live to tell about it, the increasing…
After screening 85 films from 32 countries over nine days, the 10th annual Bermuda International Film Festival, which ran March 16-24, 2007, drew to a close on Saturday night. Following a screening of the closing film “Eagle vs. Shark,” the first film by Kiwi stand-up comedian Taika Waititi, winners of the juried prizes and the audience award were announced during the closing night festivities. The Mary-Jean Mitchell Green Award for Best Narrative Feature was chosen by jurors writer/actor Carrie Fisher and actor/director/producer Richard Dreyfuss. A tie was announced and the two films sharing the title were Dror Shaul’s “Sweet Mud”…
A special collector’s edition of The Raft (Das Floß), one of the most awarded short films in the last two years, is now available on DVD. It contains more than 60 minutes bonus materials including limited original 35mm film frame. The film story is about two starved and exhausted castaways who are lost at sea. A seagull drops a fish to their raft and that is the moment to see what the real friendship is! The pre-production of the film took months due to camera tests, puppet construction, studio preparation and so on. The shooting itself took about six months…
Celebrated black actor Earl Cameron was honored over the weekend by the Bermuda International Film Festival. Cameron, a Bermuda native, was one of the first black actors to play leading roles in English cinema. He was seen recently in “The Queen” with Helen Mirren. Cameron came in for a screening of “Pool of London” (1951), the film that provided his breakthrough role, and then amused the audience with stories of his career as he spoke with National Public Radio’s Peter Rainer. Cameron’s accomplishments in both theatre and more than 61 films were celebrated at the event. “Mr. Cameron has been…
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…
Women Make Movies (WMM) has acquired a number of films from Sundance and other Film Festivals in 2007. Enemies of Happiness, which took home esteemed awards at the Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary) and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (Silver Wolf Award), has been acquired by WMM. The film, by Eva Mulvad and Anja Al-Erhayem, tells the inspiring story of 27-year-old Afghan women Malalai Joya. Malalai is a women’s rights activist and local hero who was elected to the newly formed democratic parliament of Afghanistan in 2005. WMM also announced that they acquired These Girls and…