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Inspired in part by 1970s experimental filmmaker Nikos Nikolaidis and jumpstarted in earnest in 2009 by Yorgos Lanthimos with “Dogtooth,” and perhaps to a lesser extent Panos H. Koutras’ “A Woman’s Way,” the so-called Greek Weird Wave movement quickly spread like wildfire in the country. “Attenberg” soon followed in 2010, and the proliferating genre soon gave everyone in the country permission— maybe even actively encouraged all filmmakers—to fly their freak flag.

Continue reading ‘She Loved Blossoms More’ Review: Grief Takes Audaciously Bizarro Shape In Greek Weird Wave Horror Oddity [Tribeca] at The Playlist.

A couple months after spotlighting the world’s greatest actress, the Criterion Channel have taken a logical next step towards America’s greatest actress. May (or: next week) will bring an eleven-film celebration of Jennifer Jason Leigh, highlights including Verhoeven’s Flesh + Blood, Miami Blues, Alan Rudolph’s Mrs. Parker, her directorial debut The Anniversary Party, and Synecdoche, New York, and a special introduction from Leigh. Another actor’s showcase localizes directorial collaborations: Jimmy Stewart’s time with Anthony Mann, an eight-title series boasting the likes of Winchester ’73 and The Man from Laramie. Two more: a survey of ’80s Asian-American cinema (Chan Is Missing being the best-known) and 14 movies by Seijun Suzuki.

That would be enough for one month (or two), but No Bears and Cette maison will have their streaming premieres, while Criterion Editions offers the Infernal Affairs trilogy (plus its packed set), Days of Heaven, and the aforementioned Chan Is Missing.

As the Thessaloniki Intl. Film Festival celebrates its 60th edition, what began as a small-scale celebration called Greek Cinema Week has evolved into a vital platform for filmmakers from Greece and around the region, finding a natural home in this historical crossroads that has at various points been under Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman rule.

“We are in the middle of southeastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, so I think Thessaloniki is the key town to introduce the huge neighborhood from the south bank of the Danube to the Adriatic, from the Black Sea until the Nile,” says festival artistic director Orestis Andreadakis.

For this year’s edition, which takes place from Oct. 31-Nov. 10, the fest unspools an ambitious slate of festival darlings, provocative premieres and Greek cinema classics.

Competition section Meet the Neighbors will launch with a focus on first and second features by emerging filmmakers from the region. And...

It’s lucky 13 — as in 13th annual edition — for Switzerland’s Lausanne Underground Film Festival, an epic celebration of cinematic weirdness, violence, filth and everything else that makes life worth living. The wild debauchery runs October 15-19.

The fest opens on Oct. 15 with the feature film debut by Leah Meyerhoff, I Believe in Unicorns, which tells the story of a troubled teenage girl who runs away with an aggressive older boy.

Other new films include the misanthropic comedy Buzzard by Joel Potrykus; the deep woods psychological thriller Mother Nature by Johan Liedgren; the complex Japanese drama Kept by Maki Mizui; and more.

Luff this year is really stuffed with great retrospectives beginning with a tribute to Beth B, who has been churning out controversial, thought-provoking flicks since the New York No Wave era to know. There will be screenings of her classic films, such as The Offenders and Salvation!, and her latest documentary,...