From the day that Christopher Columbus set sail from Huelva to beach up in the Caribbean, the Spanish city has always had strong ties to Latin America.
With Spain still laboring under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, when a group of young film buffs at Huelva’s Film Club aimed to galvanize the city’s culture, “It was logical that we looked to the richness and plenitude of culture that came from abroad,” recalls José Luis Ruíz Díaz, Huelva’s first director. “It was also logical that we had a large interest in Latin America, adds Vicente Quiroga, its longtime head of press. Relaxing, censorship in Spain also allowed access to a suddenly broader sweep of foreign titles.
Huelva’s first 50 editions have proved a faithful reflection of the evolution of cinema in Latin America, Portugal and Spain. Some milestones:
1975: Ruíz Díaz launches Huelva’s first Ibero-American Film Week with Argentina’s “La Raulito.
With Spain still laboring under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, when a group of young film buffs at Huelva’s Film Club aimed to galvanize the city’s culture, “It was logical that we looked to the richness and plenitude of culture that came from abroad,” recalls José Luis Ruíz Díaz, Huelva’s first director. “It was also logical that we had a large interest in Latin America, adds Vicente Quiroga, its longtime head of press. Relaxing, censorship in Spain also allowed access to a suddenly broader sweep of foreign titles.
Huelva’s first 50 editions have proved a faithful reflection of the evolution of cinema in Latin America, Portugal and Spain. Some milestones:
1975: Ruíz Díaz launches Huelva’s first Ibero-American Film Week with Argentina’s “La Raulito.
- 11/15/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
On Tuesday, Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing” opened the 2nd Evia Film Project, in the presence of the two-time Oscar-winning director.
The green initiative was launched by the Thessaloniki Film Festival last year to offer support to Northern Evia following the devastating 2021 wildfires. The event runs to June 24 with an enhanced program.
The films of this year’s edition are a mix of both classics and recent hits, feature films and documentaries. They have been selected to raise awareness, inform, incite to action, bring to light the repercussions of human-driven activities and mankind’s relation to the environment and, last but not least, praise nature’s magic.
Ten films play at this year’s Evia Film Project, which are as follows:
The previously mentioned “Downsizing”; “We Come as Friends” by Hubert Sauper; Dimitris Trompoukis’ “Roots”; “White Plastic Sky” by Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó; Juliana Penaranda-Loftus, Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley...
The green initiative was launched by the Thessaloniki Film Festival last year to offer support to Northern Evia following the devastating 2021 wildfires. The event runs to June 24 with an enhanced program.
The films of this year’s edition are a mix of both classics and recent hits, feature films and documentaries. They have been selected to raise awareness, inform, incite to action, bring to light the repercussions of human-driven activities and mankind’s relation to the environment and, last but not least, praise nature’s magic.
Ten films play at this year’s Evia Film Project, which are as follows:
The previously mentioned “Downsizing”; “We Come as Friends” by Hubert Sauper; Dimitris Trompoukis’ “Roots”; “White Plastic Sky” by Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó; Juliana Penaranda-Loftus, Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley...
- 6/21/2023
- by Tara Karajica
- Variety Film + TV
Holding the festival is an incredibly difficult task especially after the recent attempted military coup in Turkey. The West cannot lose Turkey, a modern and western nation which is also Islamic and is the literal bridge between the West and the East. The Antalya Film Festival feels it is imperative to show that life still goes on after the coup, and the creative and recreative power of entertainment leads the show.Military Coup Blocks Bridge Over the Bosphorus — bbc.co.ukInspired by the failed July 15th coup, films about life under coups suggest what might have happened had the July attempt succeeded. The Sun’s Eclipse program is a powerful testament to the importance of democracy and human rights, and includes films from Turkey, Brazil, USA, Chile, Argentina.
We in the west often regard Turkey more as Eastern than Western…understanding why leads us to recognize the power of our...
We in the west often regard Turkey more as Eastern than Western…understanding why leads us to recognize the power of our...
- 10/28/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Patricio Guzmán's Nostalgia for the Light won Best Feature at the International Documentary Association's Awards ceremony in Los Angeles last night. The La Times' Susan King: "Set in northern Chile's Atacama Desert, the documentary juxtaposes scenes of astronomers in observatories scanning the galaxies, while nearby, archaeologists and elderly women dig through the sand searching for the human remains of pre-Columbian mummies, 19th century miners who labored in slave conditions and the bodies of victims of Gen Augusto Pinochet's regime who were taken to the Atacama as political prisoners and dumped there." Michael Guillén interviewed Guzmán in October 2010.
TheWrap's Steve Pond notes that neither Nostalgia nor any of the other docs nominated for the Ida's top award — Better This World, How to Die in Oregon, The Redemption of General Butt Naked and The Tiniest Place — have made the Academy's shortlist of 15 films left in the race for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar.
TheWrap's Steve Pond notes that neither Nostalgia nor any of the other docs nominated for the Ida's top award — Better This World, How to Die in Oregon, The Redemption of General Butt Naked and The Tiniest Place — have made the Academy's shortlist of 15 films left in the race for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar.
- 12/3/2011
- MUBI
The French sales/production company is supplying this year's Cannes fest with a trio of titles, but you might find me doing cartwheels more for a project that hasn't even began lensing in Marjane Satrapi's Waiting for Azrael. - The French sales/production company is supplying this year's Cannes fest with a trio of titles, but you might find me doing cartwheels more for a project that hasn't even began lensing in Marjane Satrapi's Waiting for Azrael. Red, white and green helmer Daniele Luchetti returns to the French festival for the umpteenth time with La Nostra Vita (see pic above) and Takeshi Kitano will break decibel levels with Outrage --- the film's trailer says it all. Celluloid Dreams' is also repping something for doc enthusiasts and tourists who love Paris: Fred Wiseman's Crazy Horse. If I Want To Whistle I Whistle by Florin Serban - Completed La Nostra Vita...
- 5/13/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
The French sales/production company is supplying this year's Cannes fest with a trio of titles, but you might find me doing cartwheels more for a project that hasn't even began lensing in Marjane Satrapi's Waiting for Azrael. Red, white and green helmer Daniele Luchetti returns to the French festival for the umpteenth time with La Nostra Vita (see pic above) and Takeshi Kitano will break decibel levels with Outrage --- the film's trailer says it all. Celluloid Dreams' is also repping something for doc enthusiasts and tourists who love Paris: Fred Wiseman's Crazy Horse. If I Want To Whistle I Whistle by Florin Serban - Completed La Nostra Vita by Daniele Luchetti - Completed Outrage by Takeshi Kitano - Completed REVOLUCIÓN by Carlos Reygadas - Completed We Are The Night by Dennis Gansel - Post-Production A Prophet (Un Prophete) by Jacques Audiard - Completed Apart Together (Tuan Yuan...
- 5/12/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
David Cox's comments about the film Birdwatchers will be deeply offensive to the Guarani-Kaiowá Indians of Brazil whose story it tells (The tribes fight back, 9 November).
Guarani actors, most of whom had never been in a cinema before, let alone acted in a film, played the main characters and worked closely with director Marco Bechis to devise the story and wrote their script themselves. The result is a film that depicts the hope and despair accompanying the Guaranis' repeated reoccupations of their land, and the violence with which the Brazilian ranchers so often respond, with painful accuracy.
I know the principal Guarani actors personally. Far from being "helpless victims of oppression", they feel hugely empowered by having been able to tell their story and, they hope, make it harder for the ranchers to continue to occupy their land.
Fiona Watson
Research and field director, Survival International
Brazil
guardian.co.
Guarani actors, most of whom had never been in a cinema before, let alone acted in a film, played the main characters and worked closely with director Marco Bechis to devise the story and wrote their script themselves. The result is a film that depicts the hope and despair accompanying the Guaranis' repeated reoccupations of their land, and the violence with which the Brazilian ranchers so often respond, with painful accuracy.
I know the principal Guarani actors personally. Far from being "helpless victims of oppression", they feel hugely empowered by having been able to tell their story and, they hope, make it harder for the ranchers to continue to occupy their land.
Fiona Watson
Research and field director, Survival International
Brazil
guardian.co.
- 11/12/2009
- The Guardian - Film News
For thirty-eight years, the New Directors/New Films film series, a collaboration between The Museum of Modern Art and The Film Society of Lincoln Center, has been known for highlighting and handpicking a selection of films and directors to watch out for. Need proof? This year, Nd/Nf is celebrating some of their more illustrious alumni with their Critic's Choice matinees, featuring past premieres that went on to win Best New Director from the New York Critics' Circle, a list that includes Frozen River, Half Nelson, In the Company of Men, and Metropolitan. This year's slate takes you around the world in a slate of 25 features and six shorts, from Cherien Dabis' opening night pick Amreeka to Sophie Barthes' absurdist Sundance hit Cold Souls (which stars Paul Giamatti as 'Paul Giamatti') to Brazilian director Marco Bechis' eco-docudrama Birdwatchers. Tribeca took an early glance at some...
- 3/24/2009
- TribecaFilm.com
- Sticking to their usual habit of importing the Sundance film festival to the east coast side, the New Directors/New Films 2009 edition will be bookmarked by opening film selection Amreeka from first time filmmaker Cherien Dabis and ending it off with the impressive sophomore feature from Lee Daniels. Along with Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire (I'd be curious to see what distribution company "label" is shown before the film), the event will showcase many New York based filmmakers and some excellent quality affair in Sophie Barthes Cold Souls, So Yong Kim's 2nd film Treeless Mountain and a doc film that has surprisingly been unbought in Ondi Timone's We Live in Public. The 39th edition which runs March 25th to April 5th grabbed films dating back to Tiff and Venice of last year. Here is the list of selected titles. $9.99, dir. Tatia Rosenthal (Israel/Australia) Amreeka, dir.
- 2/13/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
Complete Venice Film Festival coverage
Venice -- As the Venice Film Festival reached its halfway point, critics were, for once, unanimous: The lineup has been underwhelming.
After the Coen brothers' "Burn After Reading" opened the festival to loud applause from the public and grumbling from critics, a mood of lethargy set in on the event. The fest has not yet pulled a masterpiece out of its hat, except the Japanese animated feature "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," Hayao Miyazaki's magical retelling of "The Little Mermaid." Nothing else in competition has emerged an obvious winner.
True, the performances of Kim Basinger and Charlize Theron impressed critics in Guillermo Arriaga's "The Burning Plain," and Marco Bechis' "Birdwatchers," set amid a tribe of Amazon natives, was received politely. The pair of all-Italian films that have unspooled, Ferzan Ozpetek's "A Perfect Day" and Pupi Avati's "Giovanna's Father,...
Venice -- As the Venice Film Festival reached its halfway point, critics were, for once, unanimous: The lineup has been underwhelming.
After the Coen brothers' "Burn After Reading" opened the festival to loud applause from the public and grumbling from critics, a mood of lethargy set in on the event. The fest has not yet pulled a masterpiece out of its hat, except the Japanese animated feature "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," Hayao Miyazaki's magical retelling of "The Little Mermaid." Nothing else in competition has emerged an obvious winner.
True, the performances of Kim Basinger and Charlize Theron impressed critics in Guillermo Arriaga's "The Burning Plain," and Marco Bechis' "Birdwatchers," set amid a tribe of Amazon natives, was received politely. The pair of all-Italian films that have unspooled, Ferzan Ozpetek's "A Perfect Day" and Pupi Avati's "Giovanna's Father,...
- 9/1/2008
- by By Deborah Young
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paris -- Celluloid Dreams has added two Venice competition titles to its slate: "Birdwatchers," from Italian helmer Marco Bechis, and Yu Lik-Wai's "Plastic City," the first Brazilian/Chinese/Japanese co-production, the Paris-based sales company said Monday.
Set in Brazil, "Birdwatchers" tells of a rebellion by natives against wealthy landowners. "Plastic" -- also set in Brazil, this time Sao Paulo -- involves gangsters in a futuristic multiethnic neighborhood with the world's largest Japanese immigrant community.
The films join Takeshi Kitano's "Achilles and the Tortoise" on Celluloid Dreams' Venice slate.
Set in Brazil, "Birdwatchers" tells of a rebellion by natives against wealthy landowners. "Plastic" -- also set in Brazil, this time Sao Paulo -- involves gangsters in a futuristic multiethnic neighborhood with the world's largest Japanese immigrant community.
The films join Takeshi Kitano's "Achilles and the Tortoise" on Celluloid Dreams' Venice slate.
- 8/18/2008
- by By Charles Masters
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ethan and Joel Coen’s crime comedy “Burn After Reading” will open the 65th edition of the Venice Film Festival, which will run Aug. 27-Sept. 6, 2008.
With only five of 22 films competing for the prestigious Golden Lion, Hollywood is not as strongly represented as usual. Those five include Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” Guillermo Arriaga’s “The Burning Plain,” Kathryn Bigelow’s “Hurt Locker,” Jonathan Demme’s “Rachel Getting Married” and Amir Naderi’s “Vegas: Based on a True Story.”
Italy has three films competing for the top award, including Pupi Avati’s “Il Papa di Giovanna” and Marco Bechis’ “Birdwatchers.” In the out of competition category, Italy’s seclection includes Adriano Celentano ”Yuppi Du” and Paolo Benvenuti’s “Puccini e la fanciulla.”
The competition jury will be presided by Wim Wenders, who’s joined by Juriy Arabov, Douglas Gordon, John Landis, Lucrecia Martel and Johnnie To.
Tito Schipa Jr.’s...
With only five of 22 films competing for the prestigious Golden Lion, Hollywood is not as strongly represented as usual. Those five include Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” Guillermo Arriaga’s “The Burning Plain,” Kathryn Bigelow’s “Hurt Locker,” Jonathan Demme’s “Rachel Getting Married” and Amir Naderi’s “Vegas: Based on a True Story.”
Italy has three films competing for the top award, including Pupi Avati’s “Il Papa di Giovanna” and Marco Bechis’ “Birdwatchers.” In the out of competition category, Italy’s seclection includes Adriano Celentano ”Yuppi Du” and Paolo Benvenuti’s “Puccini e la fanciulla.”
The competition jury will be presided by Wim Wenders, who’s joined by Juriy Arabov, Douglas Gordon, John Landis, Lucrecia Martel and Johnnie To.
Tito Schipa Jr.’s...
- 7/30/2008
- by Franck Tabouring
- screeninglog.com
Geneva, Switzerland -- The latest films from Jonathan Demme, Darren Aronofsky and Kathryn Bigelow have helped the U.S. claim the most competition slots at the 65th Venice Film Festival, which boasts 19 world premieres.
In all, 15 of the 21 films hail from four markets. The U.S. will provide five of the titles, with four from Italy and three apiece from France and Japan.
All but two -- Oshii Mamoru's "The Sky Crawlers" and Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," both animated Japanese films -- are world premieres.
The festival is set for Aug. 27-Sept. 6.
Demme will make the trip to Venice for the second consecutive year with "Rachel Getting Married," a drama about a woman leaving rehab after 10 years to attend her sister's wedding, which Sony Pictures Classics will release in the U.S.
Guillermo Arriaga, who earned an Oscar nomination for his "Babel" screenplay, will make his first appearance in competition in Venice with the mother-daughter drama "The Burning Plain."
Bigelow's war thriller "The Hurt Locker," Aronofsky's action drama "The Wrestler" and "Vegas: Based on a True Story," Amir Naderi's first film in three years, round out the U.S. selections.
The strong U.S. showing came despite the threat of a SAG strike, which Venice artistic director Marco Mueller said hurt prospects for many U.S. films.
Pupi Avati's historical drama "Giovanna's Father" and "A Perfect Day" from Ferzan Ozpetek are among the highlights from Italy.
Out-of-competition selections include Abbas Kiarostami's "Shirin" and opening-night film "Burn After Reading," from Joel and Ethan Coen, which Focus is releasing domestically.
A lineup for the Venice festival follows:
Competition:
"The Wrestler," Darren Aronofsky, U.S.
"The Burning Plain," Guillermo Arriaga, U.S.
"Il Papa di Giovanna," Pupi Avati, Italy
"Birdwatchers," Marco Bechis, Italy
"L'Autre," Patrick Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic, France
"The Hurt Locker," Kathryn Bigelow, U.S.
"Il Seme Della Discordia," Pappi Corsicato, Italy
"Rachel Getting Married," Jonathan Demme, U.S.
"Teza," Haile Gerima, Ethiopia/Germany/France
"Paper Soldier (Bumaznyi Soldat)," Aleksy German Jr., Russia
"Sut," Semih Kaplanoglu, Turkey/France/Germany
"Achilles and the Tortoise (Akires to Kame)," Takeshi Kitano, Japan
"Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," Hayao Miyazaki, Japan
"Vegas: Based on a True Story," Amir Naderi, U.S.
"The Sky Crawlers," Oshii Mamoru, Japan
"Un Giorno Perfetto," Ferzan Ozpetek, Italy
"Jerichow," Christian Petzold, Germany
"Inju, la Bete Dans l'Ombre," Barbet Schroeder, France
"Nuit de Chien," Werner Schroeter, France/Germany/Portugal
"Inland (Gabbia)," Tariq Teguia, Algeria/France
"Plastic City (Dangkou)," Yu Lik-wai, Brasil/China/Hong Kong/Japan
Out of competition:
"Puccini e la Fanciulla," Paolo Benvenuti, Italy
"Yuppi Du," Adriano Celantano, Italy
"Burn After Reading," Joel and Ethan Coen, U.S. (opening film)
"35 Rhums," Claire Denis, France/Spain
"Shirin," Abbas Kiarostami, Iran
"Tutto e Musica (1973)," Domenico Modugno, Italy
"Orfeo 9 (1973)," Tito Shipa Jr, Italy
"Les Plages d'Agnes," Agnes Varda, France
"Vinyan," Fabrice du Welz, France/U.K./Belgium
"Encarnacao do Demonio," Jose Mojica Marins, Brazil
"Volare (Nel Blue Dipinto di Blu (1959)," Piero Tellini, Italy
For more of the festival's programming, click here.
In all, 15 of the 21 films hail from four markets. The U.S. will provide five of the titles, with four from Italy and three apiece from France and Japan.
All but two -- Oshii Mamoru's "The Sky Crawlers" and Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," both animated Japanese films -- are world premieres.
The festival is set for Aug. 27-Sept. 6.
Demme will make the trip to Venice for the second consecutive year with "Rachel Getting Married," a drama about a woman leaving rehab after 10 years to attend her sister's wedding, which Sony Pictures Classics will release in the U.S.
Guillermo Arriaga, who earned an Oscar nomination for his "Babel" screenplay, will make his first appearance in competition in Venice with the mother-daughter drama "The Burning Plain."
Bigelow's war thriller "The Hurt Locker," Aronofsky's action drama "The Wrestler" and "Vegas: Based on a True Story," Amir Naderi's first film in three years, round out the U.S. selections.
The strong U.S. showing came despite the threat of a SAG strike, which Venice artistic director Marco Mueller said hurt prospects for many U.S. films.
Pupi Avati's historical drama "Giovanna's Father" and "A Perfect Day" from Ferzan Ozpetek are among the highlights from Italy.
Out-of-competition selections include Abbas Kiarostami's "Shirin" and opening-night film "Burn After Reading," from Joel and Ethan Coen, which Focus is releasing domestically.
A lineup for the Venice festival follows:
Competition:
"The Wrestler," Darren Aronofsky, U.S.
"The Burning Plain," Guillermo Arriaga, U.S.
"Il Papa di Giovanna," Pupi Avati, Italy
"Birdwatchers," Marco Bechis, Italy
"L'Autre," Patrick Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic, France
"The Hurt Locker," Kathryn Bigelow, U.S.
"Il Seme Della Discordia," Pappi Corsicato, Italy
"Rachel Getting Married," Jonathan Demme, U.S.
"Teza," Haile Gerima, Ethiopia/Germany/France
"Paper Soldier (Bumaznyi Soldat)," Aleksy German Jr., Russia
"Sut," Semih Kaplanoglu, Turkey/France/Germany
"Achilles and the Tortoise (Akires to Kame)," Takeshi Kitano, Japan
"Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," Hayao Miyazaki, Japan
"Vegas: Based on a True Story," Amir Naderi, U.S.
"The Sky Crawlers," Oshii Mamoru, Japan
"Un Giorno Perfetto," Ferzan Ozpetek, Italy
"Jerichow," Christian Petzold, Germany
"Inju, la Bete Dans l'Ombre," Barbet Schroeder, France
"Nuit de Chien," Werner Schroeter, France/Germany/Portugal
"Inland (Gabbia)," Tariq Teguia, Algeria/France
"Plastic City (Dangkou)," Yu Lik-wai, Brasil/China/Hong Kong/Japan
Out of competition:
"Puccini e la Fanciulla," Paolo Benvenuti, Italy
"Yuppi Du," Adriano Celantano, Italy
"Burn After Reading," Joel and Ethan Coen, U.S. (opening film)
"35 Rhums," Claire Denis, France/Spain
"Shirin," Abbas Kiarostami, Iran
"Tutto e Musica (1973)," Domenico Modugno, Italy
"Orfeo 9 (1973)," Tito Shipa Jr, Italy
"Les Plages d'Agnes," Agnes Varda, France
"Vinyan," Fabrice du Welz, France/U.K./Belgium
"Encarnacao do Demonio," Jose Mojica Marins, Brazil
"Volare (Nel Blue Dipinto di Blu (1959)," Piero Tellini, Italy
For more of the festival's programming, click here.
- 7/29/2008
- by By Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Geneva, Switzerland -- The latest films from Jonathan Demme, Darren Aronofsky and Kathryn Bigelow have helped the U.S. claim the most competition slots at the 65th Venice Film Festival, which boasts 19 world premieres.
In all, 15 of the 21 films hail from four markets. The U.S. will provide five of the titles, with four from Italy and three apiece from France and Japan.
All but two -- Oshii Mamoru's "The Sky Crawlers" and Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," both animated Japanese films -- are world premieres.
The festival is set for Aug. 27-Sept. 6.
Demme will make the trip to Venice for the second consecutive year with "Rachel Getting Married," a drama about a woman leaving rehab after 10 years to attend her sister's wedding, which Sony Pictures Classics will release in the U.S.
Guillermo Arriaga, who earned an Oscar nomination for his "Babel" screenplay, will make his first appearance in competition in Venice with the mother-daughter drama "The Burning Plain."
Bigelow's war thriller "The Hurt Locker," Aronofsky's action drama "The Wrestler" and "Vegas: Based on a True Story," Amir Naderi's first film in three years, round out the U.S. selections.
The strong U.S. showing came despite the threat of a SAG strike, which Venice artistic director Marco Mueller said hurt prospects for many U.S. films.
Pupi Avati's historical drama "Giovanna's Father" and "A Perfect Day" from Ferzan Ozpetek are among the highlights from Italy.
Out-of-competition selections include Abbas Kiarostami's "Shirin" and opening-night film "Burn After Reading," from Joel and Ethan Coen, which Focus is releasing domestically.
A lineup for the Venice festival follows:
Competition:
"The Wrestler," Darren Aronofsky, U.S.
"The Burning Plain," Guillermo Arriaga, U.S.
"Il Papa di Giovanna," Pupi Avati, Italy
"Birdwatchers," Marco Bechis, Italy
"L'Autre," Patrick Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic, France
"The Hurt Locker," Kathryn Bigelow, U.S.
"Il Seme Della Discordia," Pappi Corsicato, Italy
"Rachel Getting Married," Jonathan Demme, U.S.
"Teza," Haile Gerima, Ethiopia/Germany/France
"Paper Soldier (Bumaznyi Soldat)," Aleksy German Jr., Russia
"Sut," Semih Kaplanoglu, Turkey/France/Germany
"Achilles and the Tortoise (Akires to Kame)," Takeshi Kitano, Japan
"Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," Hayao Miyazaki, Japan
"Vegas: Based on a True Story," Amir Naderi, U.S.
"The Sky Crawlers," Oshii Mamoru, Japan
"Un Giorno Perfetto," Ferzan Ozpetek, Italy
"Jerichow," Christian Petzold, Germany
"Inju, la Bete Dans l'Ombre," Barbet Schroeder, France
"Nuit de Chien," Werner Schroeter, France/Germany/Portugal
"Inland (Gabbia)," Tariq Teguia, Algeria/France
"Plastic City (Dangkou)," Yu Lik-wai, Brasil/China/Hong Kong/Japan
Out of competition:
"Puccini e la Fanciulla," Paolo Benvenuti, Italy
"Yuppi Du," Adriano Celantano, Italy
"Burn After Reading," Joel and Ethan Coen, U.S. (opening film)
"35 Rhums," Claire Denis, France/Spain
"Shirin," Abbas Kiarostami, Iran
"Tutto e Musica (1973)," Domenico Modugno, Italy
"Orfeo 9 (1973)," Tito Shipa Jr, Italy
"Les Plages d'Agnes," Agnes Varda, France
"Vinyan," Fabrice du Welz, France/U.K./Belgium
"Encarnacao do Demonio," Jose Mojica Marins, Brazil
"Volare (Nel Blue Dipinto di Blu (1959)," Piero Tellini, Italy
For more of the festival's programming, click here.
In all, 15 of the 21 films hail from four markets. The U.S. will provide five of the titles, with four from Italy and three apiece from France and Japan.
All but two -- Oshii Mamoru's "The Sky Crawlers" and Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," both animated Japanese films -- are world premieres.
The festival is set for Aug. 27-Sept. 6.
Demme will make the trip to Venice for the second consecutive year with "Rachel Getting Married," a drama about a woman leaving rehab after 10 years to attend her sister's wedding, which Sony Pictures Classics will release in the U.S.
Guillermo Arriaga, who earned an Oscar nomination for his "Babel" screenplay, will make his first appearance in competition in Venice with the mother-daughter drama "The Burning Plain."
Bigelow's war thriller "The Hurt Locker," Aronofsky's action drama "The Wrestler" and "Vegas: Based on a True Story," Amir Naderi's first film in three years, round out the U.S. selections.
The strong U.S. showing came despite the threat of a SAG strike, which Venice artistic director Marco Mueller said hurt prospects for many U.S. films.
Pupi Avati's historical drama "Giovanna's Father" and "A Perfect Day" from Ferzan Ozpetek are among the highlights from Italy.
Out-of-competition selections include Abbas Kiarostami's "Shirin" and opening-night film "Burn After Reading," from Joel and Ethan Coen, which Focus is releasing domestically.
A lineup for the Venice festival follows:
Competition:
"The Wrestler," Darren Aronofsky, U.S.
"The Burning Plain," Guillermo Arriaga, U.S.
"Il Papa di Giovanna," Pupi Avati, Italy
"Birdwatchers," Marco Bechis, Italy
"L'Autre," Patrick Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic, France
"The Hurt Locker," Kathryn Bigelow, U.S.
"Il Seme Della Discordia," Pappi Corsicato, Italy
"Rachel Getting Married," Jonathan Demme, U.S.
"Teza," Haile Gerima, Ethiopia/Germany/France
"Paper Soldier (Bumaznyi Soldat)," Aleksy German Jr., Russia
"Sut," Semih Kaplanoglu, Turkey/France/Germany
"Achilles and the Tortoise (Akires to Kame)," Takeshi Kitano, Japan
"Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," Hayao Miyazaki, Japan
"Vegas: Based on a True Story," Amir Naderi, U.S.
"The Sky Crawlers," Oshii Mamoru, Japan
"Un Giorno Perfetto," Ferzan Ozpetek, Italy
"Jerichow," Christian Petzold, Germany
"Inju, la Bete Dans l'Ombre," Barbet Schroeder, France
"Nuit de Chien," Werner Schroeter, France/Germany/Portugal
"Inland (Gabbia)," Tariq Teguia, Algeria/France
"Plastic City (Dangkou)," Yu Lik-wai, Brasil/China/Hong Kong/Japan
Out of competition:
"Puccini e la Fanciulla," Paolo Benvenuti, Italy
"Yuppi Du," Adriano Celantano, Italy
"Burn After Reading," Joel and Ethan Coen, U.S. (opening film)
"35 Rhums," Claire Denis, France/Spain
"Shirin," Abbas Kiarostami, Iran
"Tutto e Musica (1973)," Domenico Modugno, Italy
"Orfeo 9 (1973)," Tito Shipa Jr, Italy
"Les Plages d'Agnes," Agnes Varda, France
"Vinyan," Fabrice du Welz, France/U.K./Belgium
"Encarnacao do Demonio," Jose Mojica Marins, Brazil
"Volare (Nel Blue Dipinto di Blu (1959)," Piero Tellini, Italy
For more of the festival's programming, click here.
- 7/29/2008
- by By Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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