FilmFestival Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The complicated story of Roman Polanski and his flight from the US over 30 years ago is starting to get very, very simple – at least when it comes to the law. The NYT reports that Polanski (and his legal representatives) have lost the appeal to have the director released from a Zurich jail following his arrest for a 2005 international warrant. The appeal was rejected by the Swiss Justice Ministry and a spokesperson for the ministry was quoted as saying the reason they rejected the request was that they felt "there is a high risk of flight" -- and it's not like you can blame them, the man does have a habit of disappearing when in the middle of a sticky situation.

That hasn't stopped his legal representatives from asking Switzerland's highest criminal court to free Polanski, but representatives from the Justice Ministry even submitted letters explaining their opposition to freeing the director. However, there is still a chance the director could be freed, and according to the NYT, "The Federal Criminal Court has said it will rule in the case in the "next weeks," and a verdict in either direction can be appealed to the country's highest judicial body, the Federal Tribunal."

You've got to admire a festival that attracts hordes of particularly picky movie fiends with a secret lineup year after year. If you're not aware, Colorado's Telluride Film Festival does things a little differently than the other biggies. Rather than releasing their film list early, and allowing attendees to peruse and ponder the choices, they release it as the fest kicks off, banking on blind faith and great movie taste -- a risk which seems to always pay off.

Telluride runs through Labor Day, and the lineup has finally hit. This year, it's led by John Hillcoat's Proposition follow-up The Road, which Variety just pummeled. Star Viggo Mortensen is being honored with a tribute, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. We've got films that include Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Coco Before Chanel with Audrey Tatou, Todd Solondz's latest -- Life During Wartime, the Red Riding Trilogy (four novels adapted by Julian Jarrold, James Marsh, and Anand Tucker), Jane Campion's Bright Star, and maybe even Jason Reitman's Up in the Air.

How's that for a festival? It's a nice reminder of the worthy fare that exists between the cracks of mainstream mediocrity. Check out the whole lineup over at indieWIRE.

In some opposite-ish corner of the world right now (from me anyway), the New Zealand International Film Festival kicks off today for the rest of the month, before making further provincial rounds through next November. (Damn, now that's a film festival!) It makes all the more sense that people might want to plan ahead for the highlights, and what better way to do that than to bequeath some awards for the films right from the get-go?

Incredibly Strange programmer Ant Timpson (who's perfectly normal himself, I swear it; that's the name of their specifically oddball selections) has rightfully singled out SXSW '09 alums like Best Worst Movie, Drag Me to Hell, Grace, The Horseman and Winnebago Man for particular accolades (i.e. "Best Film to Show Filmmakers That Low-Budget Doesn't Mean Twenty-Somethings Sitting in Cafes Talking About Their Boring Relationships"), not to mention a couple of other picks.

Timpson sums up his mentality thusly: "I already know these films are very special. I don't need a jury to tell me what I already know. I'm giving these films awards in advance because 99% of the public don't care what films win awards AFTER they've screened, they want to know BEFORE they screen..." Believe me you, the man has a point. The real question is, how will such thinking play in the States?

A note to anyone affiliated with a film festival that frequently employs the words scream, fear, horror, fright, dark, or creeeeepy: If you send me a press release, I'll throw you some blog-love. That's what happens when a childish genre nerd gets to work at a slick 'n' popular website like this one. Case in point: A very cool guy called Adam Lopez helps run an event called Toronto After Dark, and he asked if I wouldn't mind spreading the word on their upcoming slate. And since this is a small but reputable festival (and not to be confused with TIFF's own "Midnight Madness" line-up, which is like a mini-fest all by itself), I said "Sure, Adam!" And guess what? I'll do the same for LA Screamfest, UK Frightfest, and New Zealand Gorefest -- even though I just made that last one up.

TADFF (an acronym I also just made up) runs from October 17 to 24. The festival generally plays between 16 to 20 films, and while their final slate hasn't been decided just yet, they have snagged a few juicy titles for their first batch. The Jack Ketchum adaptation Red will be screened, as will Darren Lynn Bousman's Repo! The Genetic Opera and (of course) the stunningly wonderful Swedish import Let the RIght One In. Other titles include Bill Plympton's Idiots and Angels, the action-packed Mirageman, the self-explanatory Tokyo Gore Police, and the recent fest favorite Who is KK Downey?

For more information on Toronto After Dark, you can pick through their website right here. I'll also include a little promo video after the jump -- and here's the best part: You can get a full festival badge for around one hundred bucks Canadian! If they screen 17 movies, that equals out to about ... six bucks a flick! (Less, actually!) Stop back in a week or two and we'll have the full line-up. You Canadians get all the luck.

Somehow, I have remembered to take photos on my vice-filled journey through the CineVegas Film Festival, and while a lot of them didn't come out as I planned, you can see a couple (along with a bunch from Getty Images) in the gallery below. You'll find shots of the parties, of the fest in motion, of fire-breathers in bikinis, of naked women covered in paint (ahem, see above), of singing sensation Bijou Phillips, and even a candid shot of the world beer pong champion (I think you'll be able to figure out which one that is). Wish you were here!

I'm coming to you live from the tenth annual CineVegas Film Festival in the fabulous Palms Casino and Resort. Yes, that's the very same hotel where the Real World Vegas clan turned a hot tub into a simmering cauldron of gonorrhea. Thankfully, I'm staying in a different suite. I arrived late Friday night, was also fortunate enough to attend the now legendary Britney Spears party, and woke up yesterday with a crippling hangover.

The fest is sponsored by Grey Goose, and to quote the greatest songwriter/pants-wetter of our day, Fergie, Grey Goose got this girl feeling loose! I can't seem to turn around without being handed a cocktail. I can certainly see why Nicolas Cage had such a problem with alcohol in that movie about leaving Las Vegas ... strangely, its title escapes me right now.

I don't like the word "awesome" very much. At least, not for the last 10+ years. Every time I hear the frakking word, it sends my brain back to high school and that whole cheerleader chant: "A-W-E-S-O-M-E! Awesome, awesome, to-tal-ly." AH! That being said, the word still means all of that super-cool stuff, so maybe this new festival will help reclaim the word in my tired-of-cheerleader-chants brain. indieWIRE reports that a new fest called "From Here to Awesome" is getting set up as a "New Discovery and Distribution Festival."

Co-founded by Lance Weiler (Head Trauma), Arin Crumley (Four Eyed Monsters), and M dot Strange (We Are the Strange), the new Awesome Fest is now accepting video submissions from filmmakers "explaining why they think their film is 'awesome.'" Through the wonder of the Internet partners MySpace, YouTube, and Current TV, audiences can zip through the submissions and vote on their favorites. In the Spring, the ten top picks will get screened in theaters, on the net, and zoomed onto your portable device of choice.

But here's the kicker -- any and all revenue is going directly to the lucky filmmaker. As if that wasn't enough, the filmmakers keep all of their rights. Weiler says: "Less and less films are getting traditional distribution deals. From Here to Awesome is an attempt to answer some of the largest issues facing filmmakers today -- discovery, distribution, and sustainability by putting the power to distribute in the hands of the filmmakers and their audiences." Good luck, fledgling filmmakers!

Paolo Cherchi Usai worked on his film Passio for six years. Scored to Arvo Part's "Passio," the film has been hailed by many as a masterpiece. Documentarian Ken Burns says "It seeks to do what most films and filmmakers shrink from: make a statement about all and everything; about who we are, where we have been, and where we are going." Werner Herzog thinks the film should be sent into space to represent human life, along with Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." And you will likely never get to see it. Usai doesn't want Passio to be in theaters or released on DVD. To make absolutely sure of it, he has destroyed the film's negative. Says Usai: "Film was never meant to be permanent. Film was born as something ephemeral. I consider film more as a performing art than an art of reproduction."

Passio made its U.S. premiere Friday at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. It had only been performed once before - an Australian exhibition. Usai made just seven prints of the film, and will only allow viewings accompanied by a live orchestra and chorus. Says Usai: "This is a different animal. I wanted to make something where every experience will be radically different from another experience." Passio is a silent film full of disturbing, obscure film images such as: "the skull of a black man being measured by white scientists, a woman's seizure, the scraping of an eyeball," etc. The images are allegedly so extreme that a viewer fainted at the Australia screening. The film's mission is to expose "our neglected or repressed collective memory." If Passio sounds like something you might be interested in seeing, well...sorry. You probably won't get the chance.

If I described Diggers as being about "four old friends who struggle to (finally) mature in the face of grown-up stresses, miseries and generally unpleasant turns of event," you'd probably respond with something like "Oh yeah, just like 45% of all indie/comedy/dramas I've seen this decade." And you'd be right -- it's not a stunning sense of originality that makes Diggers worth watching; it's the actors, combined with the asset of a surprisingly insightful screenplay that does the job. It's amusing to note that while screenwriter Ken Marino's old State-mates are out banking huge coin writing chaff like Let's Go to Prison and Herbie: Fully Loaded, his first screenplay is a much more personal and low-key affair.

While Diggers would most likely be labeled a "drama," the truth is that there's a lot of solid wit to be found here. It's just couched in between a lot of (surprisingly compelling) melodrama, which helps the 'funny bits' to succeed more often. Plus, Diggers is packed with really strong performances, particularly from likable folks like Paul Rudd, Lauren Ambrose, Sarah Paulson, Josh Hamilton, Maura Tierney and Ron Eldard. Marino gives himself a very juicy central role, but the guy manages to steal every scene he's in, so it's not like it's a bad thing. (His scenes with Ms. Paulson are really quite excellent.) Rudd, Eldard, Hamilton and Marino make for a quietly compelling quartet of old pals; the guys exhibit a clear and casual chemistry that helps the semi-familiar material go down a lot more smoothly.

If you've turned on the television at all this week, you're probably aware that there's a film at Sundance called Hounddog, in which there's a rape scene featuring 12-year-old Dakota Fanning. There's been a lot of talk about the rape scene in theory, but most of it has come from people who haven't, and may never, see the film. After being shut out of the film's sole Sundance press screening, I swung by a public screening of the film, to find out what ticket buyers had to say after seeing it for themselves.