locarno Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Locarno Closes and 'Rebirth' Gets the Prize
Filed under: Foreign Language », Independent », Awards », Other Festivals », Cinematical Indie »
With 60 years of films safely under its belt, the Locarno International Film Festival announced its winners over the weekend. While the festival had a bit of a decline in numbers since last year, it still had some big names and films screened -- including appearances by Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan, who were there for Planet Terror (it's nice to see that Death Proof isn't the only part of Grindhouse to get some buzz). It also screened some impressive, dramatic films that scored Golden Leopards, picked by a jury from Europe, Brazil and China. Without further ado:Grand Prize: The Rebirth (Ai No Yokan) -- Masahiro Kobayashi
This film stars the Japanese filmmaker as a man who bonds with the mother of the girl who killed his daughter.
Special Jury Prize: Memories -- Pedro Costa, Harun Farockis, Eugène Green
This is a digital project of three, half-hour films by the directors, titled: Correspondences, Respite & The Rabbit Hunters.
Best Director: Philippe Ramos -- Capitaine Achab
While based on the classic Moby Dick, Achab gives back story to the famous sea man.
Best Actress: Marian Alvares -- Lo mejor de mi
Alvares won the award for her portrayal of Raquel -- a woman whose husband needs a liver transplant.
Best Actor: TIE
Michel Piccoli in Sous les toits de Paris
Arthouse fare, this film covers the decline of an elderly man in Paris.
Michele Venitucci in Fuori Dalle Corde
Fuori tackles the story of Mike, a young, dreaming boxer trying to make it in the dangerous real world.
Special mention: Cho Sang-Yoon, cinematographer for Boys of Tomorrow by Noh Dong-Seok
For other prizes, check out indieWIRE and the festival's website.
Locarno Fest's Open Air Delights and Indoor Surprises
Filed under: Comedy », Documentary », Drama », Foreign Language », Other Festivals », Cinematical Indie »
Wednesday marks the kick-off of the 60th anniversary of the film festival in Locarno, located on Lake Maggiore in the southern part of Switzerland (nearest to Italy). The signature event of the festival is the Piazza Grande program, where up to 8,000 people can watch one or two movies each night on a giant screen in the open air. If, like me, you're stuck at home, they have a webcam set up to make you jealous. The picturesque setting looks like a really fun way to see Knocked Up, The Bourne Ultimatum, or Hairspray. Planet Terror, Robert Rodriguez's full blown 105-minute version of his Grindhouse segment, will be shown, along with a warning: "Some scenes might hurt spectators feelings." But there are also screenings of Hou Hsiao-hsien's Flight of the Red Balloon, Luchino Visconti's 1951 Bellissima, the world premiere of Kenneth Bi's The Drummer, documentaries, short films and other non-Hollywood fare.Of the 19 films in the International Competition, 13 are world premieres and 11 are by first or second-time filmmakers. I've already written about Thieves, from Spain; there's also Anthony Hopkins' intensely personal Slipstream, George Ratliff's critically-berated Joshua and Masahiro Kobayashi's newest, The Rebirth. Extraordinary Rendition, from the UK, has an explosive subject: the kidnapping of terrorist suspects by the CIA. Argentine director Sandra Gugliotta, who previously made the starkly affecting drama A Lucky Day, returns with another personal drama, Las Vidas Posibles. In the other sections, stand-outs include Chris Fuller's exciting youth drama Loren Cass, which played at CineVegas and earned a rave review in Variety. With so many world premieres and generally less-heralded films in the program, I'm hoping that a few more will break out and get some good reviews so we can learn more about them. The Locarno festival runs from August 1-11.
TWC Picks up Kazakh Epic
Filed under: Action », Drama », Romance », Deals », Distribution », The Weinstein Co. », Newsstand »
I bet you never thought you'd see the day when a government-funded historical epic set in 18th-century Kazakhstan, shot over three years with three directors, would get distribution in the US, huh? I know it's almost impossible to believe, but it's true: The Weinstein Company has picked up North American (and Australian, New Zealand and South African) rights to Nomad, a $35 million film that is being described as "the Kazakh Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," whatever that means.Originally funded in its entirety by the Kazakh government and starring a bizarre mix of North American (Jay Hernandez, Jason Scott Lee, Kuno Becker) and Kazakh (Dilnaz Akhmadieva, Ayana Yesmagambetova, Doskhan Zholzhaksynov) actors, the film's original $20 million budget was somehow spent even before production began. Because they either really believed in the project or had nothing better to do with the cash, the government turned around and ponied up $15 million extra; the movie (originally shot in English, then dubbed into Kazakh) finally had its long-awaited premiere at the Locarno Film Festival over the weekend.*
No date has yet been announced for the American release.
*On the IMDb, there's a report that TWC came in late to help fund the film, and actually demanded changes, but I'm unable to find any confirmation of this story. If anyone can provide a link to details, stick it in the comments and I'll edit the post.
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