From the "On The Scene" Archives:
ON THE SCENE Articles Listed Alphabetically
"Elephant" Wins Palme d'Or and Van Sant Wins Directing Prize in Cannes
The 2003 Cannes Film Festival came to a close this evening in France with Gus Van Sant winning two major prizes for his new film, "Elephant." The film won the Palme d'Or the festival's top award and the filmmaker also won the prize for best director. A complete list of winners is available now at indieWIRE.com. (May 25, 2003)
Embracing Indiewood, Cannes 2000 Lineup Selected from Nearly 1,400 Films; 15 Countries Represented in Competition
In narrowing down the lineup for its 53rd Film Festival, Cannes 2000 programmers viewed nearly 1,400 films -- an increase of nearly 25% over last year. 23 films from 15 countries are screening in a competition that once again includes an array of notable filmmakers from around the world. Eugene Hernandez reports on the Cannes 2000 Lineup. (April 19, 2000)
Enchanted Festival Unspools Across Germany
Traveling film festivals may be the way of the future. The upcoming International Gay Lesbian Film Festival Verzaubert '97, will play in five cities across Germany. Verzaubert, which mean "enchanted", attracted 25,000 viewers last year in four cities and is aiming to become one of the largest film festivals in the world. The festival opens on November 12th in Munich, with Gregg Araki's "Doom Generation" and closes December 3rd in Frankfurt with Monica Pellizzari's "Fistful Of Flies". (October 30, 1997)
Entries Rise But Cannes Competition Shrinks; Artistic Director Frémaux Points To "More Energy on Fewer Films"
Cannes 2004's competition line-up is "marked by confirmations and discoveries," said Thierry Frémaux, in his third year as Cannes' artistic director and his first fully in charge of the selections (former artistic head Gilles Jacob was named president in 2000). In a published statement, Fremaux noted that the number of film submissions was dramatically higher than recent years, while the number of films in competition shrank. After last year's heavily-criticized competition featuring 20 films (including Vincent Gallo's infamous "The Brown Bunny"), this year's competition will include only 18 films. Wendy Mitchell reports. (April 22, 2004)
Established Vs. Emerging; Young Faces Are Here At Sundance 2003, But So Is the A-List
As Sundance 2003 begins, the dealmaking has already begun, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, and Jane Fonda are among the Hollywood stars eagerly anticipated by Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight, the Motorola House is just one of many hot-spots ready to cater to festival-goers, and alongside Sundance, Park City will host Slamdance, Slamdunk, X-Dance, TromaDance and No Dance, among other concurrent events. This is simply a different festival than it was 10 years ago. What's the place for emerging filmmakers among the A-list? Eugene Hernandez reports. (January 17, 2003)
European Directors, Telling Tough Stories in Tense Times
Dozens showed up Monday morning at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto for the 7th annual directors' event sponsored by European Film Promotion. Straight-away, the moderator opened the discussion with what subjects the six other participants would not discuss. "We're not going to talk about budgets, and we're not going to complain about the American studio system," said Ian Birnie, director of the film department at LACMA, and programmer of the Bangkok International Film Festival, to chuckles from the audience. Brian Brooks reports. (September 14, 2004)
European Film Institute Takes Fests on a Trip with TRANSFEST
Attention film festival programmers, there may be an all-expense paid trip to Germany in your future. TRANSFEST, a program organized by the European Film Institute (EIKK), is an initiative to import festivals from all around the world into its headquarters in the South-Western German city of Karlsruhe. Anthony Kaufman speaks with EIKK Director Gideon Bachmann about the program and the EIKK's other activities to keep European cinema alive. (December 09, 1998)
Even in Wartime, Cleveland Fest Provides Healthy Dose of Global Cinema
As the Cleveland International Film Festival closed, festivalgoers marveled at how the CIFF managed to stay the course after opening under circumstances as rocky as the shores of beautiful Lake Erie. On March 19, the day President Bush ordered the U.S. to begin bombing Iraq, the CIFF presented its opening night film, the ironically-titled "American Splendor." Erik Piepenberg reports. (April 03, 2003)
Even Keel on the Gondola; Venice Offered Few Standouts
As the 58th Venice International Film Festival sailed off into the sunset, it remained on an even keel. Nothing during its 11 days dramatically rocked the boat. Not the boycott urged by the Association for the Protection of Animals against Milcho Manchevski's opening-night film "Dust" and Kim Ki-Duk's "Address Unknown" (both for alleged killing of dogs). Nor the G8 documentary by a collective of veteran Italian filmmakers, "Another World Is Possible," which elicited just polite interest. Nor the custody dispute between director Teresa Villaverde and indie renegade Jon Jost over their daughter, who appears in Villaverde's "Agua e Sal." But neither was there an overwhelming hit to shake things up. While the general public poured into heavily advertised films like "A.I.", "The Others," and the Hughes Brothers' gripping Jack the Ripper yarn "From Hell," critical opinion never coalesced into anything resembling consensus over possible breakout films, though critics did line up behind various arthouse selections. Pat Thomson surveys the highlights of Venice 2001 and some of the under-the-radar documentaries amidst the glitz. (September 10, 2001)
Every Day, Trouble; A Week Into the Cannes Can
A week into this year's Cannes, Liv Ullmann's jury is faced with a bevy of films more worth the Palme d'Eplorable than the Palme d'Or; both in the competition and in the appropriately named Un Certain Regard section. The question to date is not what films I may have liked or disliked, as ""like" is a term inappropriate to many of these works; it's more what can be tolerated, or, to return to the gustatory, "kept down." The logistics of the whole Cannes enterprise aside -- from long lines to cancelled press screenings -- the films in stage one have truly caused trouble every day. With the young guns for the most part done and the old men still to come (Godard, Rivette, Hou, and Imamura), one can only hope that the next few days will see less apocalypse, and more now. Critic Mark Peranson surveys the festival thus far, and doesn't like what he sees, with early (and infrequent) standouts going to Manoel de Oliviera's "I'm Going Home" and Mohsen Makhmalbaf's "Kandahar.". (May 16, 2001)
Examine Your Shorts, Part I: Not All Fests Are Created Equal
In this 3-part article on shorts film festivals, filmmaker Amy Veltman and John M. Forrester take a look at the high number of festivals, what makes them tick, what makes them worthwhile and what is the point. In Part I, Veltman examines the Shorts International Film Festival and talks to filmmakers Deborah Solomon and Joel Hopkins about their experiences. (January 05, 1999)
Examine Your Shorts, Part II: Aspen, Academia, and Alternatives
In this 3-part article on shorts film festivals, filmmaker Amy Veltman and John M. Forrester take a look at the high number of festivals, what makes them tick, what makes them worthwhile and what is the point. In Part II, Veltman examines the Aspen Shortsfest and the NY Expo. (January 06, 1999)
Excuse Me While I Read the Sky
Opening Sundance 2000, fest director Geoffrey Gilmore brought special attention to the increasing presence of both female directors and films shot on digital video. By these criteria, Nichola Bruce's debut feature-length film "I Could Read the Sky" would thus seem to be the ideal "Sundance film," but its aggressively experimental mode of story-telling would preclude it taking its place beside Park City screwball comedies and crowd-pleasing Miramax schlock. Rather, this is a clear "Rotterdam film" - aggressively non-commercial art, an attempt to make a film for the future about the millennium just ended. Mark Peranson reviews. (February 01, 2000)
Expanding Boundaries; Sundance 2002 Proves Biz-Heavy, But to What End?
As this year's fest came to a close, what should have been a world of buzz was more like an indifferent hum. That is, unless you were one of the anointed filmmakers whose wet-from-the-lab or fresh-from-the-deck work got bought up in the becalmed non-frenzy of acquisitions. Shrugs accompany rumors -- "Did you hear so-and-so got bought?" -- as if the news were not thrilling, but merely confirmation that the indie industry persists, despite ever-unwieldy economic models for recoupment. A key killer of many small companies has historically been a too-quick or too-rash entry into development and production ventures. But with Sundance 2002 treated as the ultimate trade fair -- or candy store -- all that's left after the signing of contracts is to plot publicity and draw up P&A budgets. Ray Pride offers his take on Sundance 2002. (January 22, 2002)
Exploding Cinema in Rotterdam
As a writer and producer of CD-ROMs, my experience with film festivals is typically that festival curators and programmers -- if the festival even accepts CD-ROM submissions -- don't know what to do with it. The Interactive and CD-ROM programs of film festivals are usually ghettoized: a small room off a festival hall with a few pale outcasts halfheartedly pushing a mouse around a table while staring into the glow of computer monitors. The "Exploding Cinema" program at the Rotterdam Film Festival, however, helped to demonstrate the tremendous impact that "outsider" visual narrative mediums, like artists' films and videos, CD-ROMs, websites and computer games, have had on the way films and television programs are being made and viewed. (February 12, 1998)
Exploding Cinema; Sidebar Sides with Online and Installations
The press office has closed, there are no volunteers to assist you, and the city of Rotterdam has returned to normal. But you can still attend the Rotterdam International Film Festival, and you don't even have to travel to Holland. Simply log on. Maybe tech stocks are down, and Internet filmmaking is slow to become popular, but the people at IFFR believe it is, indeed, the future. This year, the ever-popular Exploding Cinema program has bought into Dot-communism. G. Allen Johnson surveys this year's selection, from Cinema Online projects like Tim Burton's "Stainboy," Amy Talkington's "The New Arrival," Film Four's "Stop for a Minute" series and the episodic "Munchyman and Fatty," to performance art and "cinematic installations." (February 05, 2001)
"Extrano," "Jealousy," and "Lilya" Win 32nd Rotterdam Tiger Awards
Three films shared Tiger Awards at the 32nd International Film Festival Rotterdam in The Netherlands; prizes were presented Friday night at the Festival. Winning the three equal VPRO Tiger Awards were Santiago Loza's "Extrano" from Argentina, Park Chan-Ok's "Jiltoo-Neun Na-E Him" (Jealousy is My Middle Name) from South Korea and Larisa Sadilova's "S Ljubov' Ju" (With Love. Lilya) from Russia. Eugene Hernandez reports. (January 31, 2003)
"Facing Windows" Wins Top Award at Seattle Fest
The 30th annual Seattle International Film Festival (May 20 - June 13) wrapped up its 25-day run on Sunday with a presentation of the 2004 Golden Space Needle awards and the festival's juried awards. A closing night gala reception followed at Seattle's Cinerama Theater with the North American premiere of Patrice Leconte's "Intimate Strangers." (June 17, 2004)
"Fahrenheit 9/11" Opens Big in U.S. with Estimated $21.8 Million
With sold-out shows in numerous theaters Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" exceeded industry expectations and topped the weekend box office with an estimated $21.8 million and a huge $25,000 per screen average on 868 screens. Final numbers are due today and the film will likely top the entire $21.5 million "Bowling for Columbine" theatrical gross, after just a few days in release. During a conference call with journalists Sunday, Michael Moore, Lions Gate's Tom Ortenberg, and IFC's Jonathan Sehring talked about the opening weekend and confirmed that the film will expand to more theaters in the coming days. Eugene Hernandez reports. (June 28, 2004)
"Fahrenheit 9/11" Wins Palme d' Or at 57th Festival de Cannes
Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" won the Palme d'Or at the 2004 Festival de Cannes. The documentary, a powerful indictment of the Bush administration, wowed festival-goers here in Cannes this week, drawing a 20-minute standing ovation at its debut screening on Monday. When jury president Quentin Tarantino declared Moore the winner here tonight, the audience erupted into another extended standing ovation as the filmmaker embraced his wife and Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein, who financed the movie. The film remains without distribution in the United States, Moore said after the ceremony, following Disney's decision to stop its Miramax division from releasing the movie in America. Eugene Hernandez reports from Cannes. (May 22, 2004)
Fashion, Food and Film
DEAL: Groove + Chuck and Buck close deals, Atom Films picks up short. (January 23, 2000)
Fashion, Food and Film (and music)
Enjoyed "The Tao of Steve" and it's warm-up short, "Burnout," Gavin Barby's brilliant Tom Waits-like dream vision of a truck stop that sports a gravely-voiced piano player. Jenniphr Goodman's "The Tao of Steve" is a hilarious look at an over weight lothario (Dex), sharply played by Donal Logue, who has figured out exactly how to get laid without ever having to be vulnerable his theory is called The Tao of Steve, as in cool man Steve McQueen. When Dex meets girl-drummer Syd (Greer Goodman), he falls in love and all his mind games unravel, leaving his macho stylings in the dust. (January 29, 2000)
Fast-growing Sarajevo Unveils Eclectic Mix for 10th Fest
The 10th annual Sarajevo Film Festival, which has grown from 15,000 attendees in its first year to an estimated 100,000 in 2003, kicks off Friday, August 20th with the world premiere of Pjer Zalica's "Uncle Idriz's Place." Over 180 films will be screened in 12 programs during the festival; ten films from eight countries, including Albania, Romania, and Bulgaria, will compete for four awards in the regional program - the Main Jury Award, the Special Jury Award, Best Actress, and Best Actor. John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Joshua Marston are among this year's expected guests. (August 12, 2004)
Fatih Akin's "Head On" Wins Top Prize at 2004 Berlinale
German-Turkish director Fatih Akin's "Gegen Die Wand" (Head On) won the Golden Bear, the top prize at the 54th Berlinale. Jury president Frances McDormand announced the international jury awards during an afternoon press conference here in Berlin on Saturday. Jurors McDormand, Maji-da Abdi from Ethiopia, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi from Italy, Samira Makhmalbaf from Iran, Peter Rommel from Germany, Gabriele Salvatores from Italy and Dan Talbot from the United States honored seven competition films with prizes this year. Eugene Hernandez reports. (February 17, 2004)
Fear and Loathing in CineVegas
"Trying to throw a film festival in Las Vegas is like trying to hold a bake sale in the middle of a riot. Few people notice, and even fewer seem to care. There is a shark feeding-frenzy going on for Gods sakes; who has time to sit and watch a movie?" Richard Baimbridge barely survives the 2nd annual CineVegas film festival, wherein he loses his money, discovers Clint Black's Noah's Ark, banters with the faux French of the Paris Hotel, tries to escape, and finds respite at Starbucks, a nude show, and even a couple of films. (January 07, 2000)
Feels Like The First Time: New Filmmakers Get Nerve-Wracking Introductions in Park City
Like any great international film festival, Sundance showcases the works of the world's great filmmakers. People turn up expecting a sure thing. However, the festival's lifeblood lies in its most unpredictable element: the films of its first-time directors. "I've always said it's a festival of discovery," says Festival Director Geoffrey Gilmore. "People talk about the discovery of new films, but for me it's as much about new talent." Andrea Meyer reports on the latest crop of new directors to debut at Sundance. (January 16, 2004)
Fellini Tribute Hits Big
The late Italian master Federico Fellini was the focus of a weeklong tribute in Athens, Greece. (October 27, 1997)
Female Filmmakers Take the Lead in Toronto
Mother Nature tried her best Saturday to seduce festival goers away from darkened theaters by sending temperatures into the high 70s -- oh, excuse me, this is Canada, into the high 20s centigrade. Perhaps Mother Nature warmed the scene in solidarity with all the women directors who premiered new work during this opening weekend, from first time directors to experienced veterans. Aaron Krach reports on many of the film's screening directed by women, from Kathryn Bigelow's "Weight of Water," Marleen Gorris's "Luzhin Defence," Lynne Stopkewich's "Suspicious River," and Sande Zeig's "The Girl." (September 11, 2000)
Ferrara's Blackout
Abel Ferrara says just about everything that's on his mind. After the LAIFF's American premiere of Ferrara's brilliant, burlesque "The Blackout" on Friday night -- which follows the self-destructive path of a famous actor (Matthew Modine), struggling with addiction and memory -- Ferrara, complete with vampiric black hat, staggered down the aisle for a post-screening Q & A that was as frank and lively as his film. . . Anthony Kaufman gets a few words out of Abel Ferrara. (April 20, 1998)
Fest Faves Take Top Honors in Atlanta: "Most High" and "The Boys of Baraka" Win Awards
"Most High" director, Marty Sader took highest honors at the 2005 Atlanta Film Festival, winning the narrative feature prize. The film, starring Sader alongside co-writer Laura Keys, has garnered multiple awards in the festival circuit throughout the past year. The best documentary feature award went to co-directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady for their festival favorite, "The Boys of Baraka." A second set of co-directors, this time twin sisters Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern, received the festival's audience award for their documentary, "Emmanuel's Gift." Vanessa Romo reports. (June 28, 2005)
Fest Opens with Almodovar Fiesta
Spanish director Pedro Almodovar was the toast of New York's indie filmerati on Friday night, opening the 37th New York Film Festival with his thirteenth movie, "All About My Mother," the humorous, tender story of a mother overcoming the death of her son. Hundreds of guests in formal wear gathered at the twin Lincoln Center venues of Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Halls, kicking off the prestigious festival in style. Anthony Kaufman reports on the screening, the black-tie soiree, and Almodovar's mid-week press conference, where he talks about his actresses, machismo, and his next project. (September 27, 1999)
Festival Briefs for the week 0f 02/08/99
Film Fleadh and McCourt; New Opener at SBIFF; Discussing Sundance '99; FP Repping Films for Cannes Fortnight '99; Rotterdam Winners (February 08, 1999)
Festival Briefs for the week of 01/11/99
SBIFF To Fete Field; 5th South Asian Fest Kicks Off In February; Kids Doc Fest; Flixtour Announces Spring Tour (January 11, 1999)
Festival Briefs for the week of 02/02/99
IFP Abroad in Europe; Slamdance in LA; SXSW Taking Shape; More from SB; Berlin Approaches; Santa Barbara And Cinequest Next Month (February 03, 1999)
Festival Briefs for the week of 12/14/98
The LAIFF adds an extra day of screenings and sets dates for 1999 fest; the 1999 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival shapes up; P.S. 99: Same Great Taste...Without the Phat!; Palm Beach Fest Names New Director (December 14, 1998)
Festival Dealmaking to Bring Spate of New International Films to U.S.
While today's Oscar nominations showcase the best of 2002, the Winter film festival circuit in January and February is an important time for American independent and specialty distributors to look ahead. Buyers and execs are seizing the opportunity to add films to their roster and to take power meetings that will lead to deals at the upcoming American Film Market or in Cannes. Among the pacts that biz folks in Berlin are buzzing about lately are deals to bring a number of new international films to the United States. Eugene Hernandez reports from Berlin. (February 11, 2003)
Festival Waits for Delayed Wong Kar Wai Film and Moore Anticipates U.S. Deal for "Fahrenheit"
Conspicuously absent on the Croisette this year is director Wong Kar Wai whose latest film "2046" is apparently not quite finished. The movie had been set to debut for press early tomorrow morning here in Cannes. That showing, and other daytime screenings of the highly anticipated movie, have been canceled because the filmmaker has not yet delivered the movie. Meanwhile, Michael Moore sat down with indieWIRE yesterday, saying, "I didn't set out to be a celebrity" and discussing his new film and the pending deal for a U.S. release. (May 19, 2004)
Fifteen Shorts on Tap for NYC's Inaugural "Fall Collection"
On November 1st, New York City will welcome its latest film/cultural event, "The Fall Collection." The 21-night festival combines film, music and theater into each night of programming in order to spotlight "underexposed new and emerging artists." The Fall Collection, which is non-competitive, offers a rotation of one-act plays and short films in a theater, followed by music at a nearby venue where the evening will culminate in a party featuring live music from DJs, bands and solo artists. The fest promises that "no two nights will be the same," and organizers have named fifteen American independent and international shorts from notable and emerging filmmakers for its inaugural event. Brian Brooks reports. (October 18, 2004)
Fifth Time's A Charm For Sarasota Film Fest
What a difference five years makes. Originally only known for its black-tie affairs, the Sarasota Film Festival has gone through many facelifts to get where it is today. Criticized in the past for focusing too much on their glamorous events and not the quality of films they choose, this year the festival programmers showed they could attract quality work. Jason Guerrasio reports. (February 06, 2003)
Figgis Stands by Strong "Miss Julie"
Returning to narrative filmmaking after his impressionistic fall-from-grace study, "The Loss of Sexual Innocence," filmmaker Mike Figgis tackles a period piece with his version of August Strindberg's classic Swedish play "Miss Julie," in which a noblewoman's forbidden love for a house servant leads to devastation. The subject is a natural fit, considering Figgis' propensity for studying the inner workings of human interaction as well as Strindberg's own role in the development of modern psychological drama. The result, not surprisingly, is very strong, although lacking a certain independent voice to separate it from the accomplishments of other equally fine film and stage versions. Regardless, the film is a worthy interpretation, a handsome production that showcases fine performances from Peter Mullan and Saffron Burrows. Stephen Garrett reviews the United Artists Films release. (December 10, 1999)
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