By Ali Moosavi. In A Gentle Creature, by the Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa which played at the Cannes Official Competition, a woman in a Russian village receives a parcel, which she had sent to her husband in prison, as undelivered. She sets out to go to town and personally hand in […]
REEL EAST FILM FESTIVAL 2017 Full Schedule Announced: Saturday, June 17
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Please Contact reeleastfilm@gmail.com for more information Third Annual REEL EAST FILM FESTIVAL Full Schedule Announced, Saturday, June 17, 2017; Tiela Garnett, followed by World Premiere of Sickness and other local premieres Cherry Hill, NJ (May 28, 2017) – The Reel East Film Festival (REFF), […]
Not Your Grandfather’s Raging Bull: The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki
May 26, 2017
By Elias Savada. Aki Kaurismäki may have to scooch over a bit to make room in the upper tier of Finnish cinema for thirty-something director Juho Kuosmanen. While Kaurismäki’s deadpan style has spanned 18 features since 1983, the 60-year-old auteur said his latest film, The Other Side of Hope, would be […]
24 Frames: A Sad Goodbye to Kiarostami (Cannes 2017 Review)
May 25, 2017
By Ali Moosavi. The late Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami’s last film, 24 Frames, was shown as a special event of the 70th Cannes Film Festival, bringing an innovative, masterful career to an end. His words introduce the project best: I first conceived of 24 Frames while reflecting on the works of iconic painters whose […]
Moody and Improved: Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled (Cannes 2017 Review)
May 25, 2017
By Ali Moosavi. Sofia Coppola’s decision to remake Don Siegel’s 1971 film The Beguiled (in Official Competition at this year’s Cannes), seems on the surface as strange and intriguing as Coen Brothers’ remake of Henry Hathaway’s True Grit. Both films had been made from a novel adaptation by directors with a […]
Bright and Bleak: Wind River (Cannes 2017 Review)
By Ali Moosavi. Taylor Sheridan has written the script for a couple of terrific thrillers recently: Sicario and Hell or High Water. This year he is in Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section as a director with another great noir, Wind River (only his second feature after 2011’s little […]
Super Troopers, or Super Dupers? Superheroes on World Screens, Edited by Rayna Denison and Rachel Mizsei-Ward
A Book Review by Tony Williams. Before you can say “Meryl Streep”, “Mamma Mia”, “Shazam”, in addition to the many superheroes and heroines and recent critical studies, Superheroes on World Screens (University Press of Mississippi, 2016) co-edited by two “Wonder Women” appears. Despite the earlier necessary demolition done by William Klein […]
Haneke Does Happy: Happy End (Cannes 2017 Review)
By Ali Moosavi. Michael Haneke’s new film Happy End played at the Official Competition section at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Haneke is a Cannes veteran, having won the Palm d’Or for Amour and The White Ribbon, Best Director for Hidden, and Grand Jury Prize for The Piano Teacher. Happy End […]
A Caricature of Godard: Michel Hazanavicius’s Redoubtable (2017 Cannes Review)
May 22, 2017
By Ali Moosavi. Michel Hazanavicius became a cinema celebrity six years ago at Cannes where The Artist became the sensation of the festival and went on to win several Oscars, including Best Film, Director, and Actor. This year Hazanavicius is back at Cannes, in the Official Competition category with Redoubtable. It […]
The 36th Istanbul Film Festival: Golden Tulip Scents in Istanbul
May 20, 2017
By N. Buket Cengiz. No matter how much face Turkey loses on the international stage particularly with its friction with European countries, Istanbul Film Festival is a phenomenon in Turkey that has always been and will always be a symbol of international communication and collaboration. The 36th edition held on […]