Film Festival Circuit 2010

[Lemmy Caution]

The Shanghai Film Festival is a bit of a mess.
It's gone from annual to bi-annual and back to annual.
It tries to be a bit of everything, from a showcase of Asian films, to showing indies, art films, blockbusters, as well as throwing in retrospectives (old Woody Allen films were shown this year), and usually a concentration on one country (last year it was Brasil).

It's had a pretty uneven history, usually fairly minor/unknown films tend to win, and the jury usually has one or two well-known Westerners and a recognizable Asian director/actor.
I missed the whole thing this year, and forget who was here.
(one early year featured Sophia Loren and Oliver Stone)

http://www.siff.com/MovieEn/Default.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The website is poorly designed and full of non-standard English.

[puxzkkx]

I really have no idea why Shanghai is considered an A festival - along with Montreal World it is the weirdest inclusion on that list - but it is, so I've included it anyway.

But still... it gave its top prize to Antitrust back in 2001. Wtf?

[puxzkkx]

I have added the Karlovy Vary prizes, the Sundance ones and the FIPRESCI prizes bestowed thus far.

[perkizitore]

More festivals:
Thessaloniki Film Festival awarded the 'Golden Alexander' to Ajami in 2009.
London Film Festival will run from the 12th until the 28th of October 2010.

[Peacock]

Am I the only one who considers Un Certain Regard - 2nd place at Cannes?

[puxzkkx]

Un Certain Regard is a separate competition to the contest for the Golden Palm so, no, it isn't "2nd place".

[MichaelB]

Second place at Cannes is the Grand Prix.

[puxzkkx]

I've added the Locarno awards.

[tavernier]

Slate announced:

The 48th New York Film Festival will host 28 feature films from fourteen countries when it runs Sept. 24-Oct. 10 at Alice Tully Hall and The Walter Reade Theater, including the Closing Night selection, Clint Eastwood's Hereafter. The festival, presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center will also feature a unique blend of programming to complement the main-slate of films, including: two Masterworks programs, Elegant Elegies: The Films of Masahiro Shinoda and Fernando de Fuentes' Revolutionary Trilogy, in addition to The Cinema Inside Me: Olivier Assayas, Views from the Avant-Garde, and 10 special event screenings, all of which will be announced in more detail shortly.

"As so beautifully evident in Hereafter, Clint Eastwood continues to make the most daring, provocative films in America. With his returned appearance here in the New York Film Festival, the director has showcased an Opening Night film, a Centerpiece film and now this year's Closing Night with Hereafter, a "hat trick" of which we are especially proud," says Richard Peña, Selection Committee Chair & Program Director, The Film Society of Lincoln Center.

The festivals previously announced Opening Night and Centerpiece selections (David Fincher's The Social Network and Julie Taymor's The Tempest) headline a strong American contingent within the 2010 slate, though Eastwood is the only key-night Director returning to the New York Film Festival, as Fincher and Taymor will be making their New York Film Festival debuts in this year's program. Returning international veterans for this year's festival will include: Jean-Luc Godard's (27th NYFF visit); Manoel de Oliveira (10th); Mike Leigh (9th); Raul Ruiz (8th); and Abbas Kiarostami & Hong Sang-soo (5th time each).

Added Peña, "My colleagues and I were especially impressed with the fearlessness of the filmmakers selected for this year's program. To see both the veterans and the newcomers moving into bold new areas, experimenting with narrative or pushing the limits of genre, emphasizes the undying vitality of a medium that sadly is so often reduced to formula and repetition."


The 48th New York Film Festival main-slate:

Opening Night
THE SOCIAL NETWORK, David Fincher, 2010, USA, 120 min

Centerpiece
THE TEMPEST, Julie Taymor, 2010, USA, 110 min

Closing Night
HEREAFTER, Clint Eastwood, 2010, USA, 126 min


ANOTHER YEAR, Mike Leigh, 2010, UK, 129 min

AURORA, Cristi Puiu, 2010, Romania, 181 min

BLACK VENUS, (Venus noire), Abdellatif Kechiche, France, 166 min

CARLOS, Olivier Assayas, 2010, France, 319 min

CERTIFIED COPY (Copie conformé), Abbas Kiarostami, 2010, France/Italy, 106 min

FILM SOCIALISME, Jean-Luc Godard, 2010, Switzerland, 101 min

INSIDE JOB, Charles Ferguson, 2010, USA, 120 min

LE QUATTRO VOLTE, Michelangelo Frammartino, 2010, Italy, 88 min

LENNON NYC, Michael Epstein, 2010, USA, 115 min

MEEK'S CUTOFF, Kelly Reichardt, 2010, USA, 104 min

MY JOY (Schastye moe), Sergei Loznitsa, 2010, Ukraine/Germany, 127 min

MYSTERIES OF LISBON (Misterios de Lisboa), Raul Ruiz, Portugal/France, 272 min

OF GODS AND MEN (Des homes et des dieux), Xavier Beauvois, 2010,
France, 120 min

OKI'S MOVIE (Ok hui ui yeonghwa), Hong Sang-soo, 2010, South Korea, 80 min

OLD CATS (Gatos viejos), Sebastian Silva, 2010, Chile, 88 min

POETRY (Shi), Lee Chang-dong, 2010, South Korea, 139 min

POST MORTEM, Pablo Larrain, 2010, Chile/Mexico/Germany, 98 min

REVOLUCION, Mariana Chenillo, Fernando Embecke, Amat Escalante, Gael Garcia
Bernal, Rodrigo Garcia, Diego Luna, Gerardo Naranjo, Rodrigo Plá, Carlos Reygadas,
Patricia Riggen, 2010, Mexico, 110 min

THE ROBBER (Der Räuber), Benjamin Heisenberg, Austria/Germany, 90 min

ROBINSON IN RUINS, Patrick Keiller, 2010, UK, 101 min

SILENT SOULS (Ovsyanki), Alexei Fedorchenko, Russia, 75 min

THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA (O estranho caso de Angélica), Manoel de Oliveira,
Portugal, 97 min

TUESDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS (Marti, dupa craciun), Radu Muntean,
Romania, 99 min

UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL PAST LIVES (Lung Boonmee raluek chat),
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010, UK/Thailand, 113 min

WE ARE WHAT WE ARE (Somos lo que hay), Jorge Michel Grau, Mexico, 90 min

[Steven H]

Looks pretty interesting. So that's two Hong Sang-soo films that came out this year, Hahaha and Oki's Movie? Also, I think I'll be able to go this year which is good luck considering what a Shinoda fan I am. I hope the retrospective includes all the early Terayama collaborations (I've only seen a couple and never with subtitles).

[zedz]

I've commented on all the ones I've seen in other threads (all obvious must sees: Carlos, Certified Copy, Angelica, Uncle Boonmee) except for Poetry. It's a good film, but I'm not a big fan of Lee's, and it had similar flaws, such as a general over-egging of its big ideas and modish plot devices, as his previous films. Nevertheless, an accomplished piece of filmmaking and a no-brainer if you're a fan.

Of the unseen films, the ones I'm most keen to see are the Loznitsa (his Blockade is one of the great found footage documentaries of recent years) and the Ruiz. And welcome back Patrick Keiller!

[Michael Kerpan]

I don't recognize LEE Chang-dong from your description of his work ("over-egging of its big ideas and modish plot devices"). ;~{

[colinr0380]

And welcome back Patrick Keiller!

Wow, I missed that on the first read through (and thank you for your recent film festival reviews zedz!) But how will Robinson In Ruins tackle the lack of Paul Scofield as narrator?

EDIT: Answered my own question - Vanessa Redgrave is the new narrator. Which excitingly ends up raising more questions than it answers!

Robinson In Ruins will see Redgrave replace the late actor Paul Scofield, who was Narrator for the two previous films. The actress was a close friend of Scofield and worked with him many times in theatre productions.

Keiller said: “My fictional protagonist and I are delighted Vanessa Redgrave has accepted the role of the Narrator of the former’s most recent, perhaps most quixotic expedition.”

[FerdinandGriffon]

A 4 hour plus Ruiz film? Sounds overwhelming but unmissable. Anyone heard anything about this?

[zedz]

I don't recognize LEE Chang-dong from your description of his work ("over-egging of its big ideas and modish plot devices"). ;~{

Poetry covers very similar territory to Bong's Mother, and even though I had some problems with that film, I found it much tighter and smarter. Poetry is very good, but I kept feeling like Lee was getting distracted by hot button capital-I Issues

Spoiler

Gang Rape! Dementia! Viagra!

and had to shuttle his characters and characterizations around to accommodate them, whereas in Bong's film, the plot and its attendant issues derived more naturally from character. I found a similar tendentiousness with Secret Sunshine (and, to a lesser degree, some of his earlier films). It's not really a fatal flaw so much as a matter of taste. As far as tendentiousness is concerned, Lee's is a very mild case in the big scheme of things!

[puxzkkx]

Have added the Montreal awards, will add the Venice ones in a few days when that festival wraps up.

[bigP]

Peter Mullen's Neds walks away with Best film and the Best actor award at San Sebastian.

Despite feeling a little cold toward The Magdalene Sisters, it was certainly a very strong film and I'm glad to see Mullen has stepped behind the camera again. This certainly makes for an impressive track record, having only directed three films and picking up festival top honours for two of these as well as a cluster of awards for his debut.

The Sen Seb awards are:

Golden Shell - Neds by Peter Mullen
Premio Especial Del Jurado a -Elisa K by Judith Colell and Jordi Cadena
Special Jury Prize - Mistérios De Lisboa by Raúl Ruiz
Silver Shell [for best Actress] - Nora Navas for Pa Negre
Silver Shell [for best Actor] - Connor McCarron for Neds
Best Cinematography - Jimmy Gimferrer for Aita
Best Screenplay - Bent Hamer for Home for Christmas
Special Mention - A JAMAÂ by Daoud Aoulad-Syad

[puxzkkx]

Have updated the main post with the San Sebastian awards.

Aw, no more sticky?! We have three more FIAPF festivals to go until the end of the year.

[mfunk9786]

I thought it might be fun to post this here: the Philadelphia Film Festival has been posting clues about a secret screening tomorrow night, the description states that it will "make everyone jealous that you saw it first." Anyone want to take a crack at what this might be?

Clue 1: It stars one of the biggest actors in Hollywood, and they're in every scene of the film.
Clue 2: It is a film by a first-time feature writer/director. (That's how it was written, take it as you will.)
Clue 3: The film takes place in a western state, and the main character spends A LOT of time outdoors.

Anyone have any guesses? I'm stumped.

[Jeff]

Denver Film Festival does this too, but theirs are always super easy to guess. Except for clue #2, it sounds like 127 Hours. Though I suppose James Franco doesn't fit the definition of "one of the biggest actors in Hollywood."

[reno dakota]

127 Hours is Danny Boyle's first writing credit, so maybe it is that.

[swo17]

Still fails to meet the criterion that it will "make everyone jealous that you saw it first."

[JMULL222]

Without question "127 Hours". Not exactly seeing it first by any means, though.

[domino harvey]

James Franco is barely the biggest actor named James Franco in Hollywood

[mfunk9786]

127 Hours is also the closing night film of the festival, so it seems strange that it'd be that.