DAILY NEWS: Rotterdam Plans and Tribeca Film Fest Announcement
with articles by Eugene Hernandez and Anthony Kaufman/indieWIRE
>> 31st Rotterdam Taking Shape: Cinemart Entries, Filmmakers in Focus, and Fund Selections
(indieWIRE: 12.07.01) — The 31st International Film Festival Rotterdam
(running Jan. 23 – Feb. 3, 2002) is beginning to take shape. On Wednesday,
the festival issued a statement, announcing the 43 entrants taking part in
the CineMart, the festival’s annual market for films in need of funding.
They also announced additional programs, the year’s Filmmakers in Focus, a
round of new projects financed by the Hubart Bals fund, and a thematic
undercurrent to the 31st edition of the fest, called “What (is) Cinema?”
The theme will consist of screenings and debates on subjects such as digital
cinema, new hybrid forms of cinema, film in the age of globalization,
political cinema and auteur theory.
A handful of American directors will head to the CineMart in the hopes of
kick starting new projects: Alison Maclean (“Yes“); “But I’m a
Cheerleader‘s” Jamie Babbit (“The Giggle Factor“); “The Delicate Art of the
Rifle” director Dante Harper (“Dreamland“); and video artist/filmmaker Jem
Cohen (“Chain“). Several high profile international directors will also
unveil new projects at CineMart: Catherine Breillat (“Scenes Intimes“);
Peter Greenaway (“The Tulse Luper Suitcase“); “La Cienaga” director Lucrecia Martel (“La Nina Santa“); Tian Zhuangzhuang (“Springtime In A Small Town“); Aleksandr Sokurov (“Father And Son“); Kurosawa Kiyoshi (“Jellyfish Alert“); Danny and Oxide Pang (“Eye“); and Fruit Chan (“Ren Min Gong Che“), among others.
Two special sidebars have been added to the regular festival program, linked
to the central “What (is) Cinema?” theme: the politically-minded The Desert
of the Real, which will feature Peter Watkins‘ multi-hour “La Commune
(Paris, 1871),” Ken Fero and Tariq Mahmood‘s “Injustice,” Kenny Glenaan‘s “Gas Attack!” and several work from videoactivists, documentaries, short films and videos dealing with political and social issues. Also, The Looking Glass sidebar will showcase cinema that reflects on filmmaking itself, with
films such as Todd Solondz‘s “Storytelling,” Philippe Garrel‘s “Sauvage Innocence,” and Vera Chytilova‘s “Expulsion From Paradise.”
The annual Exploding Cinema program is devoted in 2002 to the culture of the
music video. Concentrating on independent work that is rarely (or not at
all) shown on television, the selection features thematically-related
videoclips (French New Wave, etc.) and programs by directors inspired by or
related to music videos (i.e. Stacey Peralta‘s “Dogtown And Z-Boys” and
Giovanna Sonnino‘s “Strike a Light“).
The annual Filmmakers in Focus program will concentrate on the work of
experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage, Canadian Inuit-director Zacharias
Kunuk (“Atanarjuat, the Fast Runner“), and Belgrade-based writer-director
Goran Markovic (“Burlesque Tragedy,” “Tito and Me“).
A round of projects have also been selected to receive financial support
from the 2001 Hubert Bals Fund of the IFFR, totaling around half a million
dollars. Some notable projects that have received grants are the latest
projects from a trio of Argentine directors, Martin Rejtman, Lucrecia
Martel, and Lisandro Alonso; and Turkey’s Yesim Ustaoglu, director of
“Journey to the Sun.” Post-production funds went to, among others, Elia
Suleiman for his latest work “Chronicle of Love and Pain,” and Fatmir Koci‘s “Tirana, An Zero.” The Hubert Bals Fund Script Award was given to Ivan Avila‘s “Enlightened Blood” (Mexico) and Kambozia Partovi‘s “The Truck” (Iran). [Anthony Kaufman]
CINEMART PROJECTS 2002
MEHDI D’ALGER (Said Ould-Kelifa, Cine-Sud Promotion, Algeria)
SANGRE (Lisandro Alonso, Hernán Musaluppi, Argentina)
LA NINA SANTA (Lucrecia Martel, Alvaro Urtizberea, Argentina)
THE BLACK DOG (Steve Jacobs, Wild Strawberries, Australia)
DER GRASEL (Ulrich Seidl, The Co-Production Office, Austria)
25 DEGRES EN HIVER (Stephane Vuillet, Man’s Film Production, Belgium)
KOD AMIDZE IDRIZA (Namik Kabil, Noé Productions, Bosnia Herzegovina)
UNDERGROUND MAN (Joshua Dorsey, Before the Flood Productions Inc., Canada)
SPRINGTIME IN A SMALL TOWN (Tian Zhuangzhuang, Bill Kong, China)
SCENES INTIMES (Catherine Breillat, Flach Film, France)
L’ ECOLE (Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Ex Nihilo, France)
KUTAISI KALAIKA (Eldar Shengelaia, Georgian Cinema Centre, Georgia)
FATHER AND SON (Aleksandr Sokurov, Zero Film/Lumen Films, Germany/Russia)
REN MIN GONG CHE (Fruit Chan, Golden Network Ltd./ Nicetop Independent Ltd., Hong Kong)
TIAN YA (Yan Yan Mak, Hua Lian Zhan Dui Production, Hong Kong)
EYE (Danny & Oxide Pang, Applause Pictures, Hong Kong/Thailand)
TWIST WITH DESTINY (Sudhir Mishra, Artcam International, India)
THE PHOTOGRAPH (Nan Triveni Achnas, Trix Images, Indonesia)
ABJAD (Abolfazl Jalili, Novem Productions, Iran)
JELLYFISH ALERT (Kurosawa Kiyoshi, Uplink Co, Japan)
UNAKAMI NO SEKAI (John Williams, 100 meter films, Japan)
OKHOTNIK (Serik Aprymov, East Cinema, Kazakhstan)
AL HARAMI (Borhane Alaouie, Jacques le Glou Audiovisuel, Lebanon)
TERRA INCOGNITA (Ghassan Salhab, Agat Films & Cie, Lebanon)
EL COBRADOR (Paul Leduc, Salamandra Producciones, Mexico)
MILLE MOIS (Faouzi Bansaidi, Gloria Film Production, Morocco)
ATLANTIS (Digna Sinke, SNG Film BV, The Netherlands)
FIGNER, THE END OF A SILENT CENTURY (Nathalie Alonso Casale, Fu Works, The Netherlands)
GESTOLEN UURTJES (Heddy Honigmann, Pieter van Huystee Film & TV, The
Netherlands)
THE PARADISE GIRLS (Fow Pyng Hu, Motel Films, The Netherlands)
THE STRENGTH OF WATER (Armagan Ballantyne, Filmwork, New Zealand)
SOLDIERS OF THE ROCK (Norman Maake, Garth Holmes, South Africa)
P.I.G. (Zinaid & Jean Meeran, DV8, South Africa)
EASTERN (Jean-François Amiguet, Harpo Films, Switzerland)
BULUTLARI BEKLERKEN (Yesim Ustaoglu, Silkroad Production, Turkey)
THE HYBRID (Nichola Bruce, Earthly Delights Films Ltd., United Kingdom)
THE TULSE LUPER SUITCASE (Peter Greenaway, Kasander Film Company, U.K. / The Netherlands)
WHISKY (Juan Pablo Rebella & Pablo Stoll, Ctrl Z Films, Uruguay)
THE GIGGLE FACTOR (Jamie Babbit, Andrea Sperling & Point Blank, USA)
CHAIN (Jem Cohen, Mary Jane Skalski, USA)
DREAMLAND (Dante Harper, Cambrai Liberation Collective, USA)
YES (Alison Maclean, Process, USA)
SOLDATSKIYE TANTSI (Boris Frumin, Boris Frumin, USA / Russia)
HUBERT BALS FUND SELECTION 2001
Script and project development
AL-AJEEBAH – Sobhi al-Zobaidi, Palestine
THE ANGEL OF THE RIGHT SHOULDER – Djamshed Usmonov, Tadjikistan/Russia
BURYING DENIM – Mufadzi Nkomo, Zimbabwe
CELEBRATION OF LIFE – Antra Cilinska, Latvia
CRONICAS – Sebastian Cordero, Ecuador
LA DANSE DU VENT – Taïeb Louhichi, Tunesia
DR. VIDAL’S WOUND – Cristina Fasulino, Argentina
GRBAVICA – Jasmila Zbanich, Bosnia and Herzegovina
LOS GUANTES MAGICOS – Martin Rejtman, Argentina
LEJANIAS / DISTANT PLACES – Alejandro Saderman, Venezuela
NINA – Heitor Dhalia, Brazil
LA NINA SANTA – Lucrecia Martel, Argentina
OPERA CAMPESINO – Pastor Vega, Cuba
ORIENTAL FEVER – Elie Khalifé, Lebanon
EL PAITITI – Luis Sampieri, Argentina
PARAPALOS – Ana Poliak, Argentina
PERRERA – Manuel Nieto, Uruguay
QUANTO VALE OU É POR QUILO? / WHAT IS IT WORTH? – Sergio Bianchi, Brazil
RAM GOES COURTING – Duan Jinchuan/Jiang Yue, China
RENE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD – Aleko Tsabadze, Georgia/Russia
SANGRE – Lisandro Alonso, Argentina
THIRST – Tawfeek Abu Wael, Palestine
TIEMPO DE IMPUNIDAD/TIME OF IMPUNITY – Alejandra Islas, Mexico
EL TIEMPO DE JUAN – Ariel Rotter, Argentina
WAITING FOR THE CLOUDS – Yesim Ustaoglu, Turkey
WELL TUNED CORPSES – Benjamin Filipovic, Bosnia-Herzegovina
WHITE LIES – Diego Sabané, Argentina
Post Production
CHRONICLE OF LOVE AND PAIN – Elia Suleiman, Palestine
DESERTED STATION – Ali-Reza Raissian, Iran
JAPON – Carlos Reygadas, Mexico
JIYAN – Jano Rosebiani, Turkey
LALSALU – Tanvir Mokammel, Bangla Desh
OCCIDENT – Cristian Mungiu, Romania
LE PRIX DU PARDON – Mansour Sora Wade, Senegal
SOLDIERS OF THE ROCK – Norman Maake, South Africa
TIRANA, AN ZERO – Fatmir Koçi, Albania
Distribution
25 WATTS – Juan Pablo Rebella, Pablo Stoll, Uruguay
BOLIVIA – Adrian Caetano, Argentina
DOMESTICAS – Fernando Meirelles / Nando Olival, Brazil
LUMUMBA – Ice Media / Film Resource Unit, South Africa
Hubert Bals Fund Script Award
LA SANGRE ILUMINADA / ENLIGHTENED BLOOD – Ivan Avila Dueñas, Mexico
THE TRUCK – Kambozia Partovi, Iran
>> DeNiro, Scorsese, Pataki and Others Tout New Film Festival for New York City
(indieWIRE: 12.07.01) — Trumpeting downtown New York as the “heart and soul
of the independent film world,” a number of noteworthy New Yorkers joined
forces yesterday morning (Thursday) to officially announce the foundation of
the Tribeca Film Festival.
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width=220 height=170 vspace=4>Robert DeNiro, the actor and TriBeCa developer/restauranteur, discussed the
idea of a film festival for the neighborhood when he and business partner
Jane Rosenthal formed the Tribeca Film Center on Greenwich Ave. thirteen years ago. Plans for the fest were put on the front burner this year, and
then halted momentarily after the tragic events of Sept. 11th. Now,
organizers see it as an important step towards rebuilding the severely
damaged downtown scene.
“While we are all still mourning,” Rosenthal said yesterday, “we always must
remember and we must now begin to look forward by celebrating and
reaffirming the future, in memory of those who perished.”
Organizers were short on final details for the event; additional particulars
will be announced next week. Tribeca Entertainment COO, and Festival
Executive Director, Trina Wyatt told indieWIRE that the event will screen up
to 60 films (20 of those will be short films) during its four-day run at a
number of downtown venues May 1 – 5, 2002. The progammer of the event has yet
to be unveiled. Submissions will be accepted January 1 – March 1, 2002.
Director Martin Scorsese is among the notables on board for the festival.
Standing on stage with New York Governor George Pataki and actress Meryl
Streep, he expressed his enthusiasm at the opportunity to expose local
audiences to “emerging filmmakers who might not otherwise have a platform
from which to share their work.” He also looked forward to showcasing
archival work, as well as foreign films. Additionally, he intends to have a
voice in the selection of the movies that will screen.
Among the confirmed elements are screenings at the Tribeca Film Center,
Tribeca Grand Hotel, The Screening Room, The Knitting Factory and the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, a day of panel discussions and seminars, and a “Coming of Age Film Retrospective” that will include a free outdoor
screening.
“What’s needed here is four days and nights of young people coming down,”
Scorsese explained, “People whose films were not accepted in other venues.”
“This is a time in our culture and our history where young people are
deciding to express themselves through the use of images,” Scorsese said,
“There can never be enough of a platform (for that).” [Eugene Hernandez]
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