Source: World Premiere of Django to Open the Berlinale 2017
Monthly Archives: January 2017
FORUM EXPANDED – THE STARS DOWN TO EARTH
Berlinale NATIVe 2017 Features Indigenous Films from the Arctic Circle
Posted by Larry Gleeson
Cinema Born of the Icy Cold
NATIVe – A Journey into Indigenous Cinema will focus in 2017 on Indigenous cinema from the Arctic. The film programme for the special series, which is comprised of nine short and ten feature-length films, will also be complemented by a number of events featuring discussion and other spoken word formats.
NATIVe 2017 will open with a film from the cultural sphere of the Sámi, Europe’s only Indigenous people: 2016’s Kuun metsän Kaisa (Kaisa’s Enchanted Forest), by Finnish Skolt Sámi director Katja Gauriloff.
Kuun metsän Kaisa tells the story of Gauriloff’s charismatic great-grandmother Kaisa. This personal and poetic documentary film effortlessly weaves original film and sound recordings from the 1930s to the 1970s together with animated sequences and folk tales of the Skolt Sámi. It stands as a testament to the eventful history of the Skolt Sámi and their struggle to preserve their unique culture in the wake of resettlements brought about by shifting borders throughout the course of the 20th century.
The pressure to assimilate and wider social change influence all of the Indigenous peoples who call the area around the Arctic Circle home: these include the Inuit of Canada, the Greenlanders, the Sámi of Northern Europe and Russia’s Kola Peninsula as well as the Yakuts and Chukchi of the Russian Federation’s Eastern Siberian region.
Sustainability, climate change, delocalisation and questions of Indigenous rights and self-empowerment are further themes addressed in this year’s featured films. “Climate change in the Arctic and the economic machinations of the industrialised nations of the West represent serious impositions in the everyday lives of the Indigenous communities which still inhabit the region. The medium of film can play a positive role by enabling them to position themselves and gain international exposure for their points of view,” comments NATIVe Curator Maryanne Redpath.
Festival Director Dieter Kosslick also emphasises the significance of Indigenous cinema: “With each new regional focus, NATIVe demonstrates how multifaceted and creative the world of Indigenous filmmaking is and how much its films enrich the international cinema landscape.”
As in previous years, the film programme of this special series will be accompanied by an extensive supporting programme. On two afternoons, the Embassy of Canada will assist the NATIVe team in co-hosting panel discussions with Indigenous filmmakers and international guests in the rooms of their Leipziger Platz location, to be followed by film screenings.
The event “Arctic Change, Indigenous Life and Scientific Tracks in Sakha / Russia”, organised in co-operation with the Climate Initiative Regional Climate Change (REKLIM) at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, and the DEKRA Hochschule für Medien, will present the effects of climate change on everyday life and the environment in Sakha to a Berlin audience in the scope of talks and short films.
For the first time, NATIVe will also be represented in the special series Berlinale Goes Kiez with an additional screening of the documentary film Angry Inuk, which provides insight into the Inuit perspective on the heated international debate surrounding seal hunting.
Feature Films at NATIVe:
24 Snega (24 Snow)
By Mikhail Barynin, Russian Federation 2016
Documentary form
International premiere
Despite the sacrifices it entails, Sergei passionately devotes his life to traditional horse breeding, toughing out the winter in the taiga like a lone cowboy hero. Spectacular cinematography conveys the biting cold feeling of nomadic life in Sakha.
Angry Inuk
By Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Canada 2016
Documentary form
A vivid depiction of the quiet anger of a people whose very subsistence is being threatened from many angles. An outcry to reassess the preconceptions around commercial seal-hunting, while illustrating the role of global sealskin trade for Inuit.
Johogoi Aiyy (God Johogoi)
By Sergei Potapov, Russian Federation 2016
Documentary form
International premiere
The young horse herder Johogoi feels summoned by the equine deity to attend the celebrated summer festival of Sakha. His excitement radiates through his smile as he participates in the rituals, believing he will find the woman who appears in his dreams.
Jumalan morsian (A Bride of the Seventh Heaven)
By Anastasia Lapsui, Markku Lehmuskallio, Finland 2003
With Angelina Saraleta, Viktoria Hudi, Ljuba Filipova, Jevgeni Hudi
At birth, Syarda was promised as a bride to Num, the highest god of the Nenets. Now an elderly lady, still bound to this fate, she tells the story of her wistful, yet self-determined life to a blind young girl who alleviates her loneliness.
Kniga Tundry. Povest’ o Vukvukaye – Malen’kom Kamne. (The Tundra Book. A Tale of Vukvuka – the Little Rock.)
By Aleksei Vakhrushev, Russian Federation 2011
Documentary form
Jovial and as energetic as a teenager, the wise Vukvukai guides his nomadic Chukchi community. These tough reindeer herders survive in their snowy wonderland despite the harsh threats posed by the weather and Russian politics.
Kuun metsän Kaisa (Kaisa’s Enchanted Forest)
By Katja Gauriloff, Finland 2016
Documentary form
The Swiss author Robert Crottet visits the Skolt Sámi and records spirited Kaisa’s unique storytelling gift. Handmade animation and rare archival footage illustrate the full world of the Skolt Sámi, from magical moments to the hardships of war.
Maliglutit (Searchers)
By Zacharias Kunuk, Canada 2016
With Benjamin Kunuk, Jocelyne Immaroitok, Karen Ivalu, Joseph Uttak
European premiere
The tranquil life of a nomadic family in Nunavut is torn apart by a marauding gang of hunters looking for wives. Kuanana, the head of the family, goes out for revenge. A poetic Inuit Western.
Sameblod (Sami Blood)
By Amanda Kernell, Sweden 2016
With Lene Cecilia Sparrok, Mia Erika Sparrok, Maj Doris Rimpi, Julius Fleischanderl
A teenage girl from a traditional Sámi family yearns to be accepted by the Swedish society of the 1930s, a society full of prejudice and discrimination against her people. A shrewd commentary on institutionalised abuse and its consequences.
Seitsemän laulua tundralta (Seven Songs from the Tundra)
By Anastasia Lapsui, Markku Lehmuskallio, Finland 2000
With Vitalina Hudi, Hatjako Yzangi, Gregory Anaguritsi, Nadezhda Volodeeva
A rich contemplation of the Nenets in a seven-part chronicle, each guided by a meaningful song. Once a free people, the Soviet rule arrives to infringe upon their culture, affecting their identity irreversibly. An emotional political statement.
SUME – Mumisitsinerup Nipaa (SUMÉ – The Sound of a Revolution)
By Inuk Silis Høegh, Greenland / Denmark / Norway 2014
Documentary form
For the Greenlanders of the 1970s, the surge of the progressive rock band SUME was mind-blowing: lyrics in their own language, inspiring them to act against the repression of their people. This is the compelling testimony to their revolution.
Short Films at NATIVe:
Bihttoš (Rebel)
By Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Canada / Norway 2014
Documentary form
In a poignant personal essay, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers examines her complex relationship to her Sámi father. Her family’s blissful life was silently affected by a dark pain her father harboured. A pain rooted in past injustices against a whole generation of the Sámi.
Half&half
By Aka Hansen, Denmark / Greenland 2014
Documentary form
Aka Hansen ponders her mixed heritage by posing well-struck questions about how others perceive her, which in contrast to the filmic symmetry suggests that identity cannot be split neatly in half.
Nowhere Land
By Rosie Bonnie Ammaaq, Canada 2015
Documentary form
Denied the opportunity to lead a true Inuit life on Baffin Island, Rosie Bonnie Ammaaq shares the grief she felt when forced to relocate, while witnessing the heartbreaking demise of her homeland. She stands in front of the camera and bares her soul.
Ogo Kuyuurduu Turara (Boy and Lake)
By Prokopyi Nogovitsyn, Russian Federation 2003
With Slava Titov, Roman Danilov, Vladimir Krivoshapkin
A Sakha boy sets out on a lyrical journey through the boreal forest to catch fish in a secluded icebound lake. He performs the laborious task as a meditative ritual, at the same time drifting into a magical oneiric world.
Sámi Boddu (Sámi Moment)
By Ken Are Bongo, Norway 2011
With Nils Henrik Buljo, Svein Birger Olsen
Surrounded only by the wintry tundra, two Sámi men meet and contemplate the immense horizon. The silence is scarcely broken by the soft breeze, shared cigarettes and a few laconic words.
Sikumi (On the Ice)
By Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, USA 2008
With Brad Weyiouanna, Tony Bryant, Olemaun Rexford
On the frozen barren horizon, Apuna spots a furious fight between two hunters, which escalates to a fatality. As Apuna rushes to the scene he becomes conflicted when the perpetrator asks him to bend his morals and appeals to his sense of community.
Sloth
By Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Canada 2011
With Bryan Pearson
A witty sketch of the Inuit way of life, playfully poking fun at stereotypical perceptions.
Tungijuq
By Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphaël, Canada 2009
With Tanya Tagaq, Zacharias Kunuk
An artistically powerful statement about the reality of hunting, expressed through a fantastic icy universe and Inuit throat singing, embracing the relevance and appreciation of this vital act.
Vor dem Schnee (Before the Snow)
By Christian Vagt, Germany 2007
Documentary form
Eerie first-hand accounts of the supernatural and the dead in the world of the Khanty and Nenets. An intimate atmosphere encompasses the spiritual world void of interpretation, and tells of the mysteries beyond the reality of western Siberia.
(Source: Berlinale Press Office)
Hedgehog’s Home to Premiere at Berlin International Film Festival
Posted by Larry Gleeson
Hedgehog’s Home (Ježeva kuća), an animated film by Canadian-Croatian Eva Cvijanović based on a classic tale by Branko Ćopić, will have its world premiere at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.
The film, which was part of the national curriculum for primary school literature in Croatia, has been included in the Generation Kplus competition programme at the famous festival, which will be held from 9 – 19 February 2017.
Hedgehog’s Home is about a hedgehog who lives in a lush and lively forest. He is respected and envied by the other animals. However, the hedgehog’s unwavering devotion to his home annoys a quartet of insatiable beasts. Together, they march off towards Hedgehog’s home and spark a tense and prickly standoff.
Cvijanović’s 10-minute animated film is based on Ćopić’s classic story which is a warm and universal tale for young and old that reminds us there truly is no place like home.
The film has been narrated in three languages – Croatian (by actor Rade Šerbedžija), English (by actor Kenneth Welsh (Twin Peaks), and in French (by actor France Castel).
The film is co-produced by The National Film Board (NFB) of Canada, winner of 12 Oscar Awards, and Croatia’s Bonobostudio.
Find out more about the film here.
(Source: croatiaweek.com)
JUST ADDED: BEST OF FEST – #PSIFF January 16
Posted by Larry Gleeson
Two films have been added to the Best of the Fest Line-Up!
TRUMAN
Spain/Argentina – 2015 – 108 minutes
Director: Cesc Guy
WORLD CINEMA NOW
Two of Spanish-speaking cinema’s finest stars, Ricardo Darin and Javier Cámara, play lifelong friends reconnecting for a short visit under the shadow of terminal cancer in this wide and tender (and surprisingly funny) movie from Cesc Gay. Goya Winner: Best Film, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Screenplay, Goya Awards.
Mon, Jan 16 – 5:00 PM – Camelot
Purchase tickets HERE.
24 WEEKS
Germany – 2016 – 102 minutes
Director: Anne Zohra Berrached
WORLD CINEMA NOW
A German woman is told her unborn baby will probably have Down syndrome and must decide whether to abort the pregnancy in this moving drama. “A wrenchingly affecting picture.. an incredible, revealing performance from Jentsch (Sophie Scholl).” – Screen
Mon, Jan 16 – 7:30 PM – Camelot
Purchase tickets HERE
The Best of the Fest line-up is now online.
FESTIVAL MERCHANDISE
A stand-alone Film Festival Store for the Palm Springs International Film Festival is featuring a complete collection of Film Festival Merchandise at Destination PSP. The Festival Store is now open and will be open every day through January 16.
The Festival Store is located in the Regal Cinema Courtyard Plaza, unit 16,
just down from the Regal Cinemas and across the courtyard from the
Festival Ticket and Information Center.
just down from the Regal Cinemas and across the courtyard from the
Festival Ticket and Information Center.
You can also shop online at Destination PSP by clicking HERE.
DREAM VACATION PALM SPRINGS
VACATION PALM SPRINGS “DREAM VACATION” WINNER WILL RECEIVE:
* A Four (4) night stay for up to 4 people in a luxury 3-bedroom Palm Springs vacation rental home during the 2018 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Winner will also receive the following:
* Opening -or- Closing Night Screening and Gala Reception – 4 Tickets
* Festival Screening Passes – 4 non-transferable passes, good for all regular screenings
Enter NOW through January 16, 2017
Must be at least 25 years of age to enter this contest.
No purchase necessary.
One entry per person; employees of PSIFF are not eligible.
(Source: psiff.org)
UPDATE: 28th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Announce Audience Awards
Posted by Larry Gleeson
*This is an update from yesterday’s 28th Annual Palm Springs 28th International Film Festival Audience Awards.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
When We Rise and Take Me Home Huey Receives Mercedes-Benz Audience Awards;
Toni Erdmann Receives FIPRESCI Prize;
Gael García Bernal and Isabelle HuppertReceive Acting Prizes;
White Sun Receives New Voices/New Visions Award;
No Dress Code Required Receives The John Schlesinger Award;
Neruda Receives Cine Latino Award; Mercenary Receives The HP Bridging The Borders Awards
Palm Springs, CA (January 15, 2017) – The 28th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) announced this year’s juried award winners at a luncheon at the Hilton Palm Springs on Saturday, January 14, 2017. The Mercedes-Benz Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature and Best Documentary Feature were announced on Sunday, January 15, 2017 during the closing night screening of “The Comedian.” The Festival, held from January 2-16, 2017, screened 190 films from 72 countries.
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature:
When We Rise (U.S.), directed by Gus Van Sant. From Gus van Sant and Dustin Lance Black, the festival screened the first episode of this stirring seven-part docudrama that charts the progress of Gay Liberation from its early days in San Francisco in the 1960s to its 21st-century triumphs. When We Rise will air on ABC starting February 27. The screening was a North American premiere at the Festival.
Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature:
Take Me Home Huey (U.S.), directed by Alicia Brauns and Christine Steele. This moving documentary traces the evolution of Steve Maloney’s eponymous mixed-media sculpture, in which he took a wrecked Huey helicopter and transformed it into a memorial to the men who served and lost their lives in Vietnam. It’s a salutary reminder of the healing power of art. The film was a World Premiere at the Festival.
FIPRESCI PRIZE
A special jury of international film critics reviewed 43 of the 85 official submissions for the Academy Awards(R) Best Foreign Language Film category screened at this year’s Festival. Awards are presented to the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor and Actress in a Foreign Language Film.
FIPRESCI Prize for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year:
Toni Erdmann (Germany), directed by Maren Ade. In this unforgettable comedy, a prankster father puts on a wig and false teeth and invades the life of his rigid, ambitious corporate consultant daughter, whose life is upended in profound and often hilarious ways.The jury presented the award to the film, “for its originality, human complexity and unique tonal orchestration that seems natural and uncalculated. It is also an observant look at corporate culture carried by two wonderful performances.”
FIPRESCI Prize for the Best Actor in a Foreign Language Film:
Gael García Bernalin Neruda(Chile), directed by Pablo Larraín. The jury said, “Bernal’s performance is the heart of the film’s tonal shifts, infusing the historical drama with the very poetry of its subject matter.”
FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actress in a Foreign Language Film:
Isabelle Huppert in Elle (France), directed by Paul Verhoeven. The jury said, “Isabelle Huppert gives depth and humanity to a complex and conflicted character in a challenging, unorthodox film. Her intelligence, self-assurance, and gift for conveying rich emotional tones have never been more strikingly displayed.”
The FIPRESCI jury members were Kiva Reardon (programming associate, TIFF), Yael Shuv (chief film critic, Time Out Tel Aviv) and David Sterritt (editor-in-chief, Quarterly Review of Film and Video).
NEW VOICES/NEW VISIONS AWARD
The New Voices/New Visions competition showcases ten films from emerging international directors bringing their first or second narrative features to the Festival. The winner is selected by a jury of festival programmers and U.S. distributors.
New Voices/New VisionsAward:
White Sun (Nepal/U.S./Qatar/Netherlands), directed by Deepak Rauniyar. The film is a dark comedy about two brothers from each side of the Nepalese civil war brought together after 10 years for their father’s funeral. A trenchant, eye-catching parable, this is the best film to come out of Nepal in years.
The jury issued the following statement, “White Sun, for its sympathetic but unsentimental portrayals of multiple perspectives, artfully integrating landscape as a participating character in the film. Featuring stunning performances from an ensemble cast, directed with sensitivity, the film’s storytelling leaves space for the audience to experience the tension between tradition and modernity. The film balances personal and political drama with a touch of absurdist humor.”
New Voices/New Visions Special Mentions:
Kati Kati (Kenya/Germany), directed by Mbithi Masya and Mellow Mud (Latvia), directed by Ren?rs Vimba. The jury said, “Both directors create worlds that lead the audience deeply into beautifully-realized worlds.”
The films were juried byJonathan Howell (founder and director, Big World Pictures), Funa Maduka (Global Content Acquisition group, Netflix), Jane Schoettle (International Programmer, TIFF).
THE JOHN SCHLESINGER AWARD
The John Schlesinger Award, named after the director, writer, producer and festival supporter,ispresented to the director of either a first or second feature documentary from among those screened at the festival.
Schlesinger Award:
No Dress Code Required (Mexico), directed by Cristina Herrera Bórquez. This memorable doc follows a same-sex couple, Víctor and Fernando, as they fight for the right to be married in their home town of Mexicali, Baja California. A rallying cry for equality and a testament to the power of ordinary people to become agents of change.
The jury issued the following statement, “For a film that does not let you look away as ordinary people rise to the challenge of fighting for their legal rights, the John Schlesinger Award goes to No Dress Code Required, a compelling documentary that puts us on the front line of the evolving story of marriage equality.”
Schlesinger Special Mention:
Beauties of the Night (Mexico), directed by María José Cuevas. The jury said, “For a beautifully crafted exploration of ageism with a powerful vision, and an empowering take on what it means to grow old in a culture obsessed with youth and beauty, Special Mention goes to Beauties of the Night.”
The films were juried by Daniela Elena Alatorre (head of documentary programming, Morelia International Film Festival), Fenton Bailey (co-founder, World of Wonder Productions), Sudeep Sharma (senior programmer, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles).
CINE LATINO AWARD
The Cine Latino Award is presented to the best Ibero-American film screening at the festival. The award aims to highlight the creativity seen in modern Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American films. Cine Latino is supported in part by Acción Cultural Espanola, Spain’s Public Agency for Cultural Action.
Cine Latino Award:
Neruda (Chile), directed by Pablo Larraín. The jury said, “Bypassing narrative tropes associated with films about important historical figures and creating a nearly fantastical story that is as visually striking as it is telling about the relationship between an artist and his creation, the Cine Latino Grand Jury Prize goes to Neruda.”
Cine Latino Special Mention:
Everything Else (Mexico), directed by Natalia Almada. The jury said, “Coming from a doc background gives this filmmaker a unique perspective and framing that has created a powerful film. Her story often asks more questions than there are answers for but anchored by a strong, yet understated performance this film succeeds. The film is executed with precise framing and uncanny cinematography.”
The films were judged by Carlos Aguilar (film journalist), Lane Kneedler (Director of Programming, AFI Fest) and Andrea Roa (producer)
THE HP BRIDGING THE BORDERS AWARD
The HP Bridging the Borders Award is presented by Cinema Without Borders and Hewlett Packard, which honors the film that is most successful in exemplifying art that promotes bringing the people of our world closer together. The prize includes an HP ZBook 17 Mobile Workstation, valued at $4,000.
HP Bridging the Borders Award:
Mercenary (France), directed by Sacha Wolff. The film is a fierce, moving thriller about a massive Polynesian rugby player recruited to play in France. This stunning debut film shows us a violent, unfamiliar world through the eyes of an unforgettable outsider.
The jury said, “The winner of HP Bridging The Border Award is the story of a tattooed, colossal 19 year-old recruited from his island shack in Wallis, New Caledonia , to the brutal world of a rugby team in France. Wolff, paints the contrasting societies with authenticity and elicits from his non-professional actor, Toki Pilioki a performance of quiet dignity that scorches your memory. The winning film is Mercenary by Sasha Wolff.”
The Best of the Fest screenings will take place on Monday, January 16. For a complete list of screenings visit www.psfilmfest.org.
The complete list of award winners are:
Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
When We Rise (U.S.), directed by Gus Van Sant
Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
Take Me Home Huey (U.S.), directed by Alicia Brauns and Christine Steele
FIPRESCI Prize for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Toni Erdmann (Germany), directed by Maren Ade
FIPRESCI Prize for the Best Actor in a Foreign Language Film
Gael García Bernal in Neruda (Chile)
FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actress in a Foreign Language Film
Isabelle Huppert in Elle(France)
New Voices/New Visions Award
Winner:White Sun (Nepal/U.S./Qatar/Netherlands), directed by Deepak Runiyar
Special Mentions: Kati Kati (Kenya/Germany), directed by Mbithi Masya and Mellow Mud (Latvia), directed by Ren?rs Vimba
The John Schlesinger Award
Winner: No Dress Code Required (Mexico), directed by Cristina Herrera Bórquez
Special Mention: Beauties of the Night (Mexico), directed by Maria José Cuevas
Cine Latino Award
Winner: Neruda (Chile), directed by Pablo Larraín
Special Mention: Everything Else (Mexico), directed by Natalia Alamda
HP Bridging the Borders Award
Winner: Mercenary (France), directed by Sacha Wolff
About The Palm Springs International Film Festival
The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Film Awards Gala, a glamorous, black-tie event, presented by Chopard and sponsored by Mercedes Benz and Entertainment Tonight, and attended by 2,500. The Film Awards Gala honors the year’s best achievements in cinema in front of and behind the camera. The celebrated list of talents who have been honored in recent years includes Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Julianne Moore, Brad Pitt, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Roberts, David O. Russell, Meryl Streep, and Reese Witherspoon. PSIFF is organized by The Palm Springs International Film Society, a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization with a mission to cultivate and promote the art and science of film through education and cross-cultural awareness.
(Source: psiff.org)
11th Culinary Cinema: Passion Food
Posted by Larry Gleeson
“Passion Food” is the motto of the eleventh Culinary Cinema, which will be held from February 12 to 17, 2017. This year eleven recent full-length films focusing on the relationship between food, culture and politics will be presented.
“Undoubtedly, passion – and its mastery – is a driving force behind the work of cooks and filmmakers, and simultaneously one of its themes,” Festival Director Dieter Kosslick says in explaining the motto.
At 7.30 pm the main programme of Culinary Cinema will present four world and one international premieres. Following these screenings, star chefs Eneko Atxa, Alexander Koppe, Tim Raue, Sebastian Frank and Christian Lohse will take turns serving a menu inspired by the films in the Gropius Mirror Restaurant.
The Spanish documentary Soul by José Antonio Blanco and Ángel Parra will open the programme. The film’s protagonist Eneko Atxa runs a restaurant complex near Bilbao in the Basque region. His exploration of the soul of cooking has him travelling to famous colleagues in Catalonia and Japan. Eneko Atxa (three Michelin stars, “Azurmendi”, Larrabetzu, province of Bizkaia) will create the meal on this first evening.
Barkeepers also have to master passions, as otherwise they might lose control of the situation. In the documentary Schumanns Bargespräche (Schumann’s Bar Talks) director Marieke Schroeder accompanies legendary barkeeper Charles Schumann to the world’s best bars. Alexander Koppe (one Michelin star, “Skykitchen”, Berlin) will cook.
In his episode of the Netflix series Chef’s Table (dir: Abigail Fuller), Tim Raue tells how he succeeded in turning the negative energies of his youth into positive ones by cooking. In another episode, David Gelb, who created Chef’s Table, takes us to Korea, to the kitchen of a hermitage where Buddhist nun Jeong Kwan prepares temple food. Tim Raue (two Michelin stars, “Tim Raue”, Berlin) will take up his position at the stove of Culinary Cinema for the seventh time.
In Mark Tchelistcheff’s film André – The Voice of Wine we learn that vines have to suffer to bear quality grapes. This knowledge from viniculture is, in a figurative sense, also true of André Tchelistcheff, an oenologist who emigrated from Russia. In the 1930s, after the end of Prohibition, he helped re-establish winemaking in California. Sebastian Frank (two Michelin stars, “Horváth”, Berlin) will serve the meal for this film.
In Monsieur Mayonnaise, Australian director Trevor Graham accompanies painter and filmmaker Philippe Mora who is researching his family’s eventful past. His father, Georges Mora alias Monsieur Mayonnaise fought in the Résistance. After the war he moved to Australia and founded an artist colony. Christian Lohse (two Michelin stars, “Fischers Fritz”, Berlin) will cook on this evening.
To wrap up the main programme, Culinary Cinema Goes Kiez will present the Canadian production Theater of Life by Peter Svatek at EISZEIT Kino. It shows how highly celebrated chef Massimo Bottura sets up a soup kitchen in Milan that cooks meals made from discarded food. Markthalle Neun and restaurant “Restlos Glücklich” will be responsible for this evening’s meal.
At the late-night screenings (where no meals are served afterwards), the passion for good food and ecological engagement will remain the leitmotif. Should we eat animals or just pet them? This is the question explored by filmmakers John Papola and Lisa Versaci in At the Fork. And in Christopher LaMarca’s Boone, three young farmers from Oregon have a dilemma: they may milk their goats but are not allowed to sell the milk. In Atlantic, Risteard Ó Domhnaill examines how it was possible that the fish population of the vast North Atlantic was almost wiped out and the ecosystem destroyed. In addition Wendell Berry, who has shaped ecological thinking in the USA for the past 50 years is portrayed by Laura Dunn in Look & See: The Story of Wendell Berry.
The Canadian short film Hand.Line.Cod. by Justin Simms completes this year’s programme.
“In its eleventh year, Culinary Cinema will once more be a melting pot for films and cooks who explore the human body and soul through the topic of food. Is eating a passion, a vital activity, or a profit-oriented commercial sector? This requires clarification,” says Thomas Struck, curator of Culinary Cinema.
A fiery passion also blazes during Culinary Cinema’s “TeaTime”:The cookbook „Studio Olafur Eliasson: The Kitchen“ features the communal spirit of cooking and creativity by one of today’s most recognized artists („TeaTime“, Feb. 14, 2017).
Kamal Mouzawak, Slow Food activist from Lebanon, reflects on problems of migration, and the relationship between a person’s homeland and food. (“TeaTime”, Feb. 15, 2017).
Nobody visiting the Festival should have to forego eating well: in cooperation with Markthalle Neun and Slow Food, delicious Berlinale Street Food will again be on sale at food trucks at the corner of Joseph-von-Eichendorf-Gasse and Alte Potsdamer Straße (Feb 8 – 19, 2017).
Tickets for Culinary Cinema will go on sale starting at 10.00 am on February 6, 2017 at central ticket counters in the Arkaden am Potsdamer Platz, at Kino International, Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Audi City Berlin, and online at http://www.berlinale.de.
The films in the Culinary Cinema programme 2017:
André – The Voice of Wine – USA
By Mark Tchelistcheff
Documentary
World premiere
Atlantic – Ireland / Canada
By Risteard Ó Domhnaill
Documentary
German premiere
At The Fork – USA
By John Papola
Documentary
International premiere
Boone – USA
By Christopher LaMarca
Documentary
German premiere
Chef’s Table – Jeong Kwan – USA
By David Gelb
Documentary-Series
World premiere
Chef’s Table – Tim Raue – USA
By Abigail Fuller
Documentary-Series
World premiere
Hand.Line.Cod. – Canada
By Justin Simms
Documentary
Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry – USA
By Laura Dunn
Documentary
European premiere
Monsieur Mayonnaise – Australia / Germany
By Trevor Graham
Documentary
International premiere
Schumanns Bargespräche (Schumann’s Bar Talks) – Germany
By Marieke Schroeder
Documentary
World premiere
Soul – Spain
By Ángel Parra / José Antonio Blanco
Documentary
World premiere
Theater of Life – Canada
By Peter Svatek
Documentary
German premiere
(Source: Berlinale Press Office)
Palm Springs International Film Festival – January 16 – BEST OF THE FEST
Posted by Larry Gleeson
The Best of the Fest line-up is now online.
FESTIVAL MERCHANDISE
A stand-alone Film Festival Store for the Palm Springs International Film Festival is featuring a complete collection of Film Festival Merchandise at Destination PSP. The Festival Store is now open and will be open every day through January 16.
The Festival Store is located in the Regal Cinema Courtyard Plaza, unit 16,
just down from the Regal Cinemas and across the courtyard from the
Festival Ticket and Information Center.
just down from the Regal Cinemas and across the courtyard from the
Festival Ticket and Information Center.
You can also shop online at Destination PSP by clicking HERE.
DREAM VACATION PALM SPRINGS
VACATION PALM SPRINGS “DREAM VACATION” WINNER WILL RECEIVE:
* A Four (4) night stay for up to 4 people in a luxury 3-bedroom Palm Springs vacation rental home during the 2018 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Winner will also receive the following:
* Opening -or- Closing Night Screening and Gala Reception – 4 Tickets
* Festival Screening Passes – 4 non-transferable passes, good for all regular screenings
Enter NOW through January 16, 2017
Must be at least 25 years of age to enter this contest.
No purchase necessary.
One entry per person; employees of PSIFF are not eligible.
(Source: psiff.org)
BERLINALE POSTER 2017 – BELOVED BEARS RETURN
#SBIFF Outstanding Performers of the Year Award honoring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone
Coming off her recent win at the Golden Globes, Actress Emma Stone and “La La Land” co-star Ryan Gosling are riding the wave into the upcoming Santa Barbara International Film Festival!