Monthly Archives: October 2016

Berlin Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival

Japanese films fail to make mark at ‘Big 3’ festivals

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

By Misuzu Sato

Japanese films failed to make the Golden Lion shortlist at the 73rd Venice Film Festival that wrapped up in September. A question was posed at the Venice Film Festival Press Conference on why Japan is missing out on challenging in the top competition for the second consecutive year.

Also in Cannes and Berlin this year, no Japanese films were shown in competition, meaning they were not in the running for the top prizes at the “Big Three” film festivals.

While experts say Asian films have been losing their foothold in the increasingly competitive film festival circuit, they urge Japanese filmmakers to pursue their ingenuity and attempt a more international perspective.

The Venice festival has given the Golden Lion prize to Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon and Takeshi Kitano’s Hana-bi, and also showcased films by Kitano, Hayao Miyazaki, Shinya Tsukamoto and other Japanese filmmakers in competition for 13 consecutive years until 2014. Although three of the 21 films showcased in competition in 2008 were from Japan, no Japanese movies have made it to the main competition for the past two years.

“With the number of films produced having increased, the margin for not only Japanese films but also for other Asian movies to be featured at international film festivals has shrunk in recent years,” said Tokyo International Film Festival programming director Yoshihiko Yatabe. “As it stands, it is less of the quality of the works than the fact that organizers can’t get around to reviewing Asian films as South American and North European films are also doing great.”

However, Filipino director Lav Diaz won the Golden Lion for Best Film for his The Woman Who Left at Venice this year.

A forum focusing on the rapidly growing Chinese market was also held on the sidelines.

But Venice festival director Alberto Barbera said the festival had picked up a powerful and beautiful Japanese work in the Orizzonti section for cutting-edge films: Kei Ishikawa’s first feature film Gukoroku–Traces of Sin.

While Ishikawa was presented in Orizzonti, Yasushi Kawamura’s full-CG film Gantz: O–also his first full-length feature–was screened out of the competition at Venice.

At Cannes, Koji Fukada’s Harmonium received the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section.

“In Japan, it is difficult for filmmakers to make auteuristic art films, but it shouldn’t be impossible if they are determined,” said film journalist Atsuko Tatsuta, as to how Japanese films could break into the competition lineup. “They need to gain a more international perspective by collaborating with other countries and making other efforts.”

Jean-Michel Frodon, former editorial director of film magazine Cahiers du Cinema, said that although Japanese filmmakers are making good films, they have yet to earn recognition abroad. He also stressed the importance of showing their presence at other film festivals and promoting their works to overseas audiences.

*Featured photo: The red carpet at the Venice Film Festival in Lido Island, Italy, where all the films want to be competing (The Asahi Shimbun)

(Source: http://www.asahi.com)

#SBIFF, Arlington Theater, Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Santa Barbara Film Festival 2017 to close with Their Finest

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The 32nd SBIFF will close with the Lone Scherfig’s romantic comedy THEIR FINEST at the Arlington Theatre on Saturday, February 11 in advance of the film’s March 24 stateside release.

11162014-Roger-Durling_t479SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling stated, “Lone’s deeply touching film is authentic, funny and depicts the power that cinema has to bring people together and share their stories.  It was the perfect choice to close this year’s festival.”

The year is 1940, Britain. With the nation devastated by the war, the British ministry turns to propaganda films to boost morale at home. Realizing their films could use “a woman’s touch,” the ministry hires Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton) as a scriptwriter in charge of writing the female dialogue. Although her artist husband looks down on her job, Catrin’s natural flair quickly gets her noticed by charming lead scriptwriter Buckley (Sam Claflin). Catrin and Buckley set out to make an epic feature film based on the Battle of Dunkirk starring pretentious fading movie star Ambrose Hilliard (Bill Nighy). As bombs are dropping all around them, Catrin, Buckley and their colorful cast and crew work furiously to make a film that will warm the hearts of the nation.

The film is produced by Stephen Woolley, Amanda Posey, Finola Dwyer and Elizabeth Karlsen. Christine Langan, Ed Wethered, Robert Norris, Ivan Dunleavy, Peter Watson, Zygi Kamasa and Thorsten Schumacher serve as executive producers. The film is produced by Number 9 Films and Wildgaze Films.

The 32nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival is slated to run February 1st through February 11th, 2017.

For Passes and Packages click here.

About the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema. Over the past 30 years, SBIFF has become one of the leading film festivals in the United States – attracting 90,000 attendees and offering 11 days of 200+ films, tributes and symposiums, fulfilling their mission to engage, enrich, and inspire the Santa Barbara community through film.

SBIFF continues its commitment to education and the community through free programs like its 10-10-10 Student Filmmaking and Screenwriting Competitions, Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies, National Film Studies Program, AppleBox Family Films, 3rd Weekend and educational seminars. This past June, SBIFF entered a new era with the acquisition of the historic and beloved Riviera Theatre.  The theatre is SBIFF’s new home and is the catalyst for program expansion and marks the first time that Santa Barbara has had a 24/7 community center to expand their mission of educational outreach.

sbiff3

 

(Source: sbiff.org press release)

QCinema

QCinema fest off to good start with controversial drama

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

By Marinel R. Cruz

The screening of Park Chan-wook’s controversial film, The Handmaiden, about a fragile heiress who falls in love with her maid, opened on Thursday the 2016 QCinema International Film Festival, which will run until Oct. 22.

“I’ve watched the film before, but it has a different effect when seen on the big screen,” QCinema festival director Ed Lejano told the Inquirer shortly after the opening gala at the Gateway Mall

Korean director Park is known for making films with dark humor.
The Handmaiden (Agassi) is set in Korea during the Japanese occupation in the 1930s. Sookee (Kim Tae-ri) is hired by a conman, also called the Count (Ha Jung-woo), to become the maid of Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee), a Japanese heiress living in a secluded estate with her uncle (Cho Jin-woong), who is plotting to marry her for her wealth.
The Count also wants to marry the heiress for her money, but his plan is foiled when Lady Hideko falls for Sookee.

The erotic thriller premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for Palme d’Or and won for Ryu Seong-hie the Vulcan Award for best production design.

“Director Park is no stranger to QCinema,” said Lejano when he introduced the film. In the 2015 QCinema, Park’s “vengeance trilogy,” consisting of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003) and Lady Vengeance (2005), was screened.

This year’s closing film is Louie Ignacio’s award-wining drama Area, starring Ai-Ai de las Alas.

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“We provide opportunities for more artists to showcase their talent through this annual festival,” said Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte in her welcome address.

The finalists in the Circle Competition include Prime Cruz’s Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B, Howard “HF” Yambao’s Best. Partee. Ever, Bagane Fiola’s Baboy Halas: Wailings in the Forest, Kristian Cordero’s Hinulid (The Sorrows of Sita), Victor Villanueva’s Patay na si Hesus (God is Dead), Roderick Cabrido’s Purgatoryo and Sheron Dayoc’s Women of the Weeping River.
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The entries for #QCShorts are Joshua Joven and Kaj Palanca’s Contestant #4, Aedrian Araojo’s Hondo (Deep), Eduardo Dayao’s If You Leave, Gabrielle Tayag’s Pagdating, Inshallah Montero’s Papa’s Shadow, Victor Nierva’s Sayaw sa Butal (Coin Dance) and Janus Victoria’s Viva, Viva Escolta.
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QCinema is paying tribute to Filipino director Mike de Leon by screening some of his works (at Robinsons Galleria) and Polish auteur Krzysztof Kieslowski (at Trinoma and UP Town Center). Other venues are Robinsons Galleria and Gateway Mall.

#tiffjp, Tokyo International Film Festival

When to speak and when to shut up: the art of a Japanese ‘benshi’

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

By Alisa Yamasaki

The silent films screened in Japan from the 1920s to ’40s were never completely silent. Katsudo-shashin benshi, or benshi for short, delivered live narration that provided everything an audience might need to appreciate a film — from commentary to translation. Derived from Japan’s many narrative art forms, benshi were an effective way to introduce cinema to Japanese audiences.

Though the era of silent films is gone, the art of narration lives on through a handful of professionals. Ichiro Kataoka is one of the country’s few active benshi, and he will provide narration for Tomiyasu Ikeda’s 1926 classic “Chushingura” at the Tokyo International Film Festival’s Special Night Event at Kabukiza Theatre. The event will also feature narration by guest benshi Ichiro Furutachi and a special performance by kabuki actor Onoe Kikunosuke.

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Modern day benshi, Ichiro Kataoka (Photo credit: Dan Szpara)

“I had known about benshi but I thought that it was a long lost profession,” Kataoka tells The Japan Times. “When I was 18, I happened to attend a benshi performance by Midori Sawato and it made me want to learn about being one.”

At age 38, Kataoka has built an impressive career out of the art. The professional benshi has narrated more than 300 films and has been invited to perform at events around the world.

“When I perform overseas, I’m asked to narrate classic Japanese films, but I do films from any country: Japanese, European, American, Chinese, anything,” Kataoka explains. Are non-Japanese films more challenging to narrate than domestic ones?

“There’s a specific pacing with classic Japanese films that makes it easier for benshi, since Japanese silent film directors were aware of the benshi and filmed their work with them in mind. With foreign cinema, mostly European, the director tries to convey as much as possible through the cinematography,” he says.

“At the end of the day whether it’s Japanese or not, the film I’m narrating is old. But I’m a modern person and my audience comprises modern people, so I need to constantly think about how to communicate the old film from one modern person to another — what themes to bring up and what scenes to emphasize — in order to present it as a terrific piece.”

While Kataoka has a compelling tone and presence to him, he says it’s crucial for benshi to understand they don’t have the leading role.

“A good benshi always remembers when to shut up and let the images do the talking,” he says. “Silence can be more powerful than words.”

TICKET GIVEAWAY

Special Night Event at Kabukiza Theatre will be held on Oct. 27 and is sold out. However, The Japan Times has two pairs of tickets to give away to readers. To apply, send a postcard by Oct. 23 with your name, address, postal code, phone number and the word “TIFF” to the Life & Culture section of The Japan Times, 4-5-4 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0023. To apply online, visit jtimes.jp/film.

(Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp)

Mumbai Film Festival

Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival draws NGO’s ire for screening Pakistani classic

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A complaint has been registered at Amboli police station against the Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival with Star, where a Pakistani film will be screened later this month.

The Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival with Star, which will begin from 20 October, will showcase the 1959 Pakistani film titled Jago Hua Savera, directed by AJ Kardar. The film is being screened in the fest’s ‘Restored Classics’ section, which is headed by Dhobi Ghat director Kiran Rao.

Prithvi Mhaske, who filed the complaint on Saturday, told IANS: “We have filed a complaint at Amboli police station against MAMI film festival which has plans to showcase a Pakistani film at the festival. Our intentions are very clear. We will protest against the festival if they showcase this film. We will be protesting outside Infinity Mall, where the event is taking place.”

Mhaske is the president of Sangharsh Foundation, an NGO in Mumbai.

In his letter to the police, Mhaske said: “The organisers of this event are more likely to flare outrage among people by screening this Pakistani film in their festival. This will just not be acceptable as it will give rise to more tension among the people. Moreover, IMPPA has also decided to ban Pakistani actors from working in Bollywood and also almost all single screen theatres have decided to boycott movies of Pakistani actors. So, why (are) the organisers of the Mumbai Film Festival pouring so much love towards Pakistani actors?”

Mhaske also told PTI, “If the organisers do not stop the film’s screening, my workers will stall (it).”

Senior PI with the Amboli Police Station Bharat Gaikwad said that he had received the complain from Mhaske, and had “summoned both the parties to go into the merits of the application”.

Over 180 films from 54 countries, including features, documentaries, short films are to be showcased at the Mumbai Film Festival.

screen-shot-2016-10-17-at-9-58-00-amJago Hua Savera (Day Shall Dawn) depicts life in a small fishing village in East Bengal (now Bangladesh; then part of Pakistan). It was written by the poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, and recently restored, with a screening at the Cannes Film Festival.

After the 18 September terrorist attack at the Uri army camp, relations between India and Pakistan have been strained. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had issued an ultimatum to Pakistani artistes to leave India and said the party would not let their movies release in India.

The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association passed a resolution banning Pakistanis from working in films being made in India as they were upset that many Pakistani artistes did not condemn the incident.

In retaliation, some Pakistani theatre chain owners banned the screening of Indian films.

(Source: http://www.firstpost.com)

Mumbai Film Festival

MUMBAI FILM FESTIVAL TO PROMOTE CULTURAL EXCHANGE WITH BHUTAN

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Dasho Karma W Penjor, Hon’ble Secretary of Ministry of Information and Communications, Bhutan to lead a nine-member delegation to the Mumbai Film Festival. Jio MAMI with Star Film Festival, in its latest edition, will play host to a 9-member contingent from Bhutan. A versatile team comprising of important members of Department of Information and Media and members from the Bhutan Film Association will represent ‘The Land of the Thunder Dragon’ at the Festival. The objective of this invitation is to help enhance film industry in Bhutan and to engage with film makers, producers and directors to build-up collaborative arrangement and long-term professional working relationships.

Read more here..

Bhutan will also be represented at the festival by Khyentse Norbu’s newest film, ‘Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait’. It will be screened as part of the World Cinema category. In this Buddhist-themed, intriguing Bhutanese drama, a group of people don masks and come together in the woods for fifteen days of liberating and transgressive anonymity.

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‘Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait’ by Khyentse Norbu

Khyentse Norbu is a Bhutanese Buddhist teacher and filmmaker who received worldwide fame in 1999 with his first film, ‘The Cup’.

The Jio MAMI with Star Film Festival has grown strongly with the collaboration from movie fanatics in Southeast Asia and Western filmmakers. It has an excellent mix of award-winning directors, emerging film-makers, experimental shorts, and documentaries. The festival will provide an opportunity for Bhutan to highlight the imaginative work of its filmmakers and resonating performances of its actors.

15oct_anupamachopra-01Festival Director, Jio MAMI with Star Film Festival, Anupama Chopra said, “Bhutan is one of my favorite places on the planet and it gives me great pleasure to have the Bhutanese delegation at our festival.  It’s an honor for us.  I hope this is the beginning of an enduring cultural exchange.”

 

The contingent will comprise of:

  1. Mr. Dasho Karma W Penjor- The Honorable Secretary of Ministry of Information and Communications
  2. Mr. Thinley Dorji- Librarian, Department of Information and Media
  3. Mr. Phub Wangdi- Assistant Information and Media, Department of Information and Media

And members from the Bhutan Film Association:

  1. Mr. Tashi Gyeltshen- Filmmaker
  2. Mr. Thukten Yeshi- Film Writer & Director/ Consultant
  3. Mr. Pema Rinzin- Filmmaker, Sound Designer, Editor, Cinematographer & Archer
  4. Mr. Chencho Dorji- Actor/Producer
  5. Ms. Tsokye Tsomo Karchung- Actor
  6. Ms. Lhaki Dolma- Actor, writer

 

(Sources: http://www.dumkhum.com, http://www.mumbaifilmfestival.com0

Mumbai Film Festival, Spotlight Screening, Toronto International Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival

My Life as a Courgette, The Salesman: Films to watch out for at 18th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2016

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

By Mihir Fadnavis

If you are by any chance a film buff you’d be aware of your favourite time of the year – the 18th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. You’d also no doubt be really confused about what films to watch considering the sheer volume of amazing films put together by the lovely people of Jio MAMI.

Fret not. Listed below is a handy guide to make note of 15 films you should absolutely, under no circumstance, miss at the festival.

Under The Shadow

Director: Babak Anvari
Country: Iran

By far the most exciting film at the fest, Babak Anvari’s film contains a mysterious spooky entitypestering a mother and her daughter during the fag end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988. The film has been gathering some serious buzz ever since it premiered in Sundance back in January. It’s also UIK’s official entry to the Oscars — which bodes well for fans of intelligent horror cinema.

The Lure

Director: Agnieszka Smoczynska
Country: Poland

Set in a Warsaw nightclub and full of weird lurid visuals, The Lure chronicles two mermaid sisters who arrive on land to explore the ‘human’ side of the world, and clash when they fall for the same human. Things get stranger when we discover the mermaids also have vampiric tendencies. The film created quite a buzz in Sundance where it won a Jury Prize.

Personal Shopper

Director: Oliver Assayas
Country: France

It seems like this year’s MAMI has turned into the Fantastic Fest (what could possibly be better than that) because this is the third acclaimed horror film to watch out for. Oliver Assayas who totally bowled us over two years ago with The Clouds of Sils Maria is back with a spooky story with an undercurrent of social commentary.

Assayas’ regular Kristen Stewart plays Maureen, an assistant to a fashion mogul in Paris who contacts a spirit of some sort. Festival darling Assayas picked up the Best Director award at Cannes earlier this year.

Old Stone

Director: Johnny Ma
Country: China

We know China can be a weird place, and debut director Johnny Ma explores yet another bizarre quirk of the country: if you help someone in a car accident and take him to the hospital, you are liable to pay their rehabilitation fees for the rest of their life. The protagonist of the film, a cab driver finds himself in such a scenario in a film that bagged Ma the award for the best debut film at the Toronto International Film Fest earlier this year.

Graduation

Director: Cristian Mungiu
Country: Romania

Graduation puts 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days director Mungiu back to his roots – in the underbelly of Cluj. The film follows a surgeon who for some reason is a target by unknown pranksters, and whose daughter is mugged and assaulted on her way to her exams.

With handheld cameras, bleak blue tones, and the exploration of grassroots corruption, Mungiu’s latest has been heralded as a return to form for a filmmaker whose previous film Beyond the Hills was criticized for being too self indulgent. Mungiu bagged the Directors trophy at Cannes for this film.

Things To Come

Director: Mia Hansen Love
Country:France

Fast emerging as one of the most exciting filmmakers of this generation, Hansen Love’s new film follows a 50 year old woman who needs to come to terms with dealing with life after a divorce. Hansen Love bagged the Silver Bear for Best Director in Berlin, but her amazing work in her previous film Eden is enough reason to be excited for this one.

My Life As A Courgette

Director: Claude Barras
Country: Switzerland

Celine Sciamma who earlier wrote the magnificent Girlhood teams up with director Barras for a stop motion animation about a 9-year-old boy who is put in an orphanage after his alcoholic mother dies — for which he may or may not be responsible.

Elle

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Country: France

The filmmaker behind some of the most nihilistic films of all time like Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers returns after years with Elle, another nasty takedown of the society we live in. This time the story follows a rich video game honcho named Michelle (Isabelle Huppert) who is attacked by a masked man at her Parisian home.

Like all Verhoeven’s previous films, Elle is supposed to present moral dilemmas with a satirical bite and a layer of icily dark commentary on sex, violence and, in this case, video games. It’s France official entry to the Oscars.

Sand Storm

Director: Elite Zexer
Country: Israel

Winning the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, Elite Zexer’s film which is set in Southern Israel follows a Bedouin woman dealing with everyday sexism and not so casual misogyny of the region after her husband is about to be married to a second, much younger woman. That should be an interesting watch because it’s a topic that folks in India can unfortunately relate to all too well.

Hounds Of Love

Director: Ben Young
Country: Australia

In case you’re looking for a serial killer movie, debut filmmaker Ben Young presents a highly intriguing one with Hounds of Love, which introduces us to a serial killer couple whose latest kidnapping victim realizes that the only way to escape is by getting the two psychos to turn against each other.

One other little aspect to convince you to see this film is that the many audience members at the Venice Film Festival walked out because they couldn’t stomach what was happening on the screen.

The War Show

Director: Andreas Dalsgaard, Obaidah Zytoon
Country: Syria – Denmark

The War Show is supposed to be a blistering account of the Arab Spring seen through the eyes of radio host Obaidah Zytoon who began filming the state of things during and after the protests.

The Lovers And The Despot

Director: Rob Cannan and Ross Adam
Country: Britain

It’s pretty obvious how demented and scary North Korea is, and it seems there’s no dearth of bizarre stories to come out of the country. This documentary brings us the real life story of a filmmaker couple who was kidnapped by Kim Jong II and were forced to make films in the country because the great dictator was a film buff.

Lantouri

Director: Reza Dormishian
Country: Iran

Yet another fascinating film from Iran, we’re taken through three intertwining stories: one which follows a gang of thugs that attacks and kidnaps young children from families that gained their wealth through financial wrongdoings, another which chronicles a journalist who is not allowed to voice his opinion and the third which follows a prostitute who turns into a thug.

Clash

Director: Mohamed Diab
Country: Egypt

After garnering acclaim for his film Cairo 678, Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Diab is back with another interesting story that puts various characters in a single location – a police riot car during the raging bloody streets of Cairo when the Muslim brotherhood president Morsi was overthrown and the country went nuts.

After The Storm

Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Country: Japan

Like Father Like Son filmmaker Koreeda returns with another film with similar themes of isolation in the Japanese society. The film follows a writer struggling to live up to the success of his first novel and dealing with vices such as gambling and ego. While researching his next book he begins to spy on his ex wife who is now seeing another man. Reality hits him when he discovers that their son, in the custody of his mother is perfectly happy without him. The film has naturally received glowing reviews everywhere it’s screened.

The Salesman

Director: Asghar Farhadi
Country: Iran

It’s Farhadi’s new film — that’s all you need to know.

Other Notable Mentions:

Swiss Army Man: A delightful tale of a suicidal man whose life is saved by a farting corpse.

The Wailing: Yet another engrossing watch from Korean maestro Hong Jin Na about a Korean village going through a turmoil after a Japanese man encroaches their territory.

Neruda: The new film from Pablo Larrain which has been garnering some terrific buzz.

Madly: A short anthology featuring directorial works fromAnurag Kashyap,Gael Garcia Bernal, Mia Wasikowska, Natasha Khan, Sion Sono and Sebastian Silva.

Death in Sarajevo: Danis Tanovic’s new film.

I, Daniel Blake: Festival darling Ken Loach’s latest which is sure to have insanely long lines – make sure you get to the screening hall early.

(Source: http://www.firstpost.com)

Mumbai Film Festival

Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival with Star Full Schedule is Out

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With the Opening of 18th Mami Mumbai Film Festival with Star beginning in just a few days, the full schedule is out!

Stay tuned! More to follow….

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(Source: Mumbai Film Festival Press Office)

#SBIFF, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Showcase Series

CLOSET MONSTER

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A fresh take on the coming-of-age story, this surreal tale follows the artistically driven Oscar (AMERICAN CRIME’s Connor Jessup) hovering on the brink of adulthood. Struggling to find his place in the world after a rough childhood and haunted by images of a tragic incident, Oscar dreams of escaping his small town. After he meets a mysterious and attractive new co-worker, Oscar follows the guidance of his pet hamster Buffy (voiced by Isabella Rossellini) and faces his demons to find the life he wants.

closet-monster

CLOSET MONSTER

Written & Directed

by

Stephen Dunn

Starring:

Connor Jessup, Aaron Abrams, Joanne Kelly, Aliocha Schneider,
Sofia Banzhaf, Jack Fulton, Mary Walsh, Isabella Rossellini

Country of Origin: Canada

 Running Time: 90 min

 

 

 

Screening at the Riviera Theater, 2044 Alameda Padre Serra, Santa Barbara, CA

Showtimes:

Sunday October 16 @ 2:00pm
Monday October 17 @ 7:30pm
Tuesday October 18 @ 5:00pm
Wednesday October 19 @ 7:30pm

Get Tickets Here

“An accomplished, courageous debut”
– Harry Windsor, The Hollywood Reporter

“A most auspicious debut.”
– Dennis Harvey, Variety

“A highly original spin on the coming-of-age drama”
– Wendy Ide, Screen Daily

“There’s always a new coming-of-age drama, but ‘Closet Monster’ is great, we swear.”
– Chuck Wilson, The Village Voice

(Source: sbiff.org)

Mumbai Film Festival

MUMBAI FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATES INNOVATION IN FILMMAKING WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW MEDIUM

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Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival with Star introduces new programming this year called The New Medium. This section will feature the best in innovative filmmaking by scouring the living history of cinema – from its inception to the contemporary moment.
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The New Medium is formulated and programmed by artist, Shaina Anand who is co-founder of the artist studio CAMP, and the Indian Cinema Foundation. These films will be screened throughout the festival, between 20th to 27th October, 2016. The New Medium will bring together works that have shaped and transcended the language of cinema in both form and content. Powerful and relevant at the time they were made, they remain transformative as experiences. These movies challenge the preconceptions of standard methods of filmmaking.
Speaking about The New Medium, curator and artist Shaina Anand said, “This programme is not just about experimental avant-garde cinema. The moving image has a very short historical life. Its only 125 years old and its form and language is far from exhausted. Some of the films we present here are canons. Others are cult classics, known only in small circles. Here you will find assemblage, agitprop, a film about a film, an essay film, a reenactment, a faux documentary, a music video, a science fiction fantasy, a TV-series, a collectively-authored film, a pure formal interactive experience, and even one of the longest films ever made! The New Medium invites the audience to experience first- hand these remarkable trajectories from the chronicles of cinema.”
The New Medium opens with the restored version of Dziga Vertov’s audacious Man with the Movie Camera that was made in 1929. In2014, Sight and Sound Magazine named it as the greatest documentary of all time. The film will be accompanied by a live score performed by the Vitaly Tkachuk Quartet joining us from Ukraine.
Among the 14 titles that will screen throughout the festival is Uday Shankar’s fantastical dance film, Kalpana (1948) restored by the World Cinema Foundation, Mani Kaul’s unseen mini-series “Ahamaq” (Idiot), and an iconic work of expanded cinema, the two-screen Light Music (1975) by Lis Rhodes that will be installed inside the cinema hall.
Jio MAMI with Star, Festival Chairperson, Kiran Rao said, “We are truly excited to present this new section -my personal favourite section! – which showcases some of the more bold and seminal experiments in filmmaking. I hope film lovers will take this opportunity to experience works like the newly restored Man with a Movie Camera accompanied by live music, and Lav Diaz’ Evolution of a Filipino Family, among others.”
The 14 movies that will be featured as part of The New Medium are:
Man with A Movie Camera
Directed by Dziga Vertov (RUSSIA 1929)
Accompanied by live music from the Vitaly Tkachuk Quartet
Kalpana
Directed by Uday Shankar (INDIA 1948)
For a first (and only) film by a dancer who also plays the lead role, Kalpana shows an amazing grasp of cinematic form. Uday Shankar‟s accurate compositions and use of movement within them are breathtakingly original. Here dance is not a mere addition to the other attractions of the film but it is integrated into the very fabric of what is
almost a new cinematic form.
Now!
Directed by Santiago Alvarez (CUBA 1965)
Preceding the music video genre by 20 years, and made mostly with still photographs, it is a visceral and haunting document of racism and police brutality in the United States.
Far from Vietnam
Directed by Joris Ivens, William Klein, Claude Lelouch, Agnès Varda, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker and Alain Resnais (FRANCE 1967)
Seven of French cinemas greats come together to collectively author this film. Passionately critical and self-critical, and as bold in form as it is in rhetoric, the film is a milestone in political documentary and in the French cinema.
Vampir Cuadecuc
Directed by Pere Portabella (SPAIN 1971)
A parasitical film. A cult classic. Christopher Lee lends his features to another vampire, General Franco, hoping to hasten his end in this political fable.
Space is The Place
Directed by Johan Coney (USA 1974)
Science fiction, blaxploitation, cosmic free jazz and radical race politics combine when the legendary Jazz musician Sun Ra returns to earth in his music-powered space ship to battle for the future of the black race and offer an ‘alter-destiny’ to those who would join him.
Chhatrabhang
Directed by Nina Shivdasani Rovshen (INDIA 1976)
With a simple narrative that unravels in a direct yet poetic manner, Chhatrabhang‟ explores the caste dynamics of a drought stricken villagein rural India.
Light Music
Directed by Lis Rhodes (UK 1975)
The space between the two screens turns the beams into airy sculptural forms consisting of light, shadow and smoke, which encourages the viewer to move around the room. This in turns destroys conventional film watching codes and turns the film into a collective practice where the audience is expected to intervene into the work and thus, become the
performer. 16 mm Black and White 2 screen projection, with sound and fog. In
collaboration with British Council Mumbai, with technical support from Max Meuller Bhavan, Delhi. Lis Rhodes ‘Light Music’ can be described but only in order to be experienced. We present this iconic work of expanded cinema inside the cinema as part of The New Mediums programming.
Agraaharathil Kazhuthai
Directed by John Abraham (INDIA 1977)
Made as a satire on the Brahminical bigotry and superstition, the surreal narrative style makes excellent use of repetitions for comic effect.
Evolution of a Filipino Family
Directed by Lav Diaz (PHILIPINES 2004)
A special film and an especially long film. Watch the first independent film of the prolific and mutl-award winning Pillipino auteur Lav Diaz. Ten years in the making, and just as long. Follows the adventures of a family against the backdrop of the social and political developments in Marcos regime’s state of siege in the Philippines between 1971-1987.
Ahmaq
Directed by Mani Kaul (INDIA 1991)
Mani Kaul explores Dostoevsky’s novel faithfully following the original plot transposed into a scathing depiction of a feudal elite, largely bypassed by history, located in Bombay and Goa. The unedited mini-series presented back to back as a four-hour film. To discuss the film and how it was to work with Mani Kaul, we bring together key members of Kaul’s original cast and crew. They are:
Piyush Shah: Cinematographer, alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India
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Vikram Joglekar: Sound artist, musician, alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India
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Meeta Vasisht: Actor, alumna of National School of Drama
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Lalitha Krishna: Editor of all of Kaul’s films in the middle period, beginning with
Before My Eyes, and including The Cloud Door, Nazar, Siddheshwari and Ahamaq.
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Ashish Rajadhyaksha: Film theorist and historian
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D. Wood: multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and educator
Ming of Harlem
Directed by Philip Warnell (UK 2014)
The film explores the relations between Antoine (a US citizen), Ming (400 pound Bengal tiger), and Al (a 7-foot long American alligator) and the high-rise dwelling they shared, presenting portraits of each of them as embedded in ethically fraught community and political concerns, accompanied by philosopher and collaborator Jean-Luc Nancy’s responses to their inter-species rapport in poetic form.
Goodbye to Language
Directed by Jean Luc Godard (FRANCE 2014)
Godard‟s Experimental 3-D film plays with the conventions of stereo vision using custom made DIY rigs.
Parallel I-IV
Directed by Harun Farocki (GERMANY 2014)
Tracing the evolution of video game graphics, the series continues the late filmmaker’s long-standing investigation into the rise of calculable, actionable images possessing a relationship to reality very different than that of the cinema before them.
Jio MAMI with Star VISION 2016
The Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star is an inclusive movie feast. We showcase the latest cutting-edge, independent, cinema-art house fare alongside genre movies from Bollywood and Hollywood and cult international movies. We offer the best of world cinema to the people of Mumbai and we offer the best of Indian cinema to the world. The festival
is run by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image popularly known as MAMI. This is a space where we revel in the sheer pleasure of cinema, the joy it gives us and how much it enhances our lives. The goal is to nurture and ignite a passion for movies. We want Jio MAMI with Star to be shorthand for excellence in cinema.