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The submissions for the 97th Oscars in the best international feature category are coming thick and fast as countries rush to get in their entries before the Nov. 14 deadline. Kazakhstan is the latest to pick a national contender, selecting Askhat Kuchinchirekov’s coming-of-age tale Bauryna Salu.

The feature premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival last year and was the stand-out at Kazakhstan’s national film honors, the Tulpars, winning the best film honor. It marks Kuchinchirekov’s feature-length debut as a director. International film fans will remember him for his acting turns in Sergei Dvortsevoy’s Tulpan, which won Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section back in 2008, and the Ayka in 2018, which made the Oscar shortlist for Best International Feature but was not nominated.

Bauryna Salu focuses on a young boy in rural Kazakhstan who is handed over to his grandmother at birth, in accordance with the nomadic tradition of...

A collective sigh by critics greeted Monday’s announcement of the nine films shortlisted for this year’s foreign-language film Oscar. For once, though, it was a sigh of relief rather than exasperation, with few complaints arising over the chosen titles, which were broadly acclaimed.

Controversy over prominent omissions is practically an annual tradition. Last year, critics castigated the Academy for leaving out France’s celebrated AIDS drama “120 Beats Per Minute,” while the year before that, they lambasted the snubbing of Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta” and Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle” (which went on to nab a nomination for Isabelle Huppert). From “Gomorrah” to “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” to “Two Days, One Night,” the roll call of recent critics’ darlings to fall at this first hurdle is a distinguished one.

The Academy addressed the outcry that followed the sidelining of 2007 Palme d’Or winner “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days...

The just-announced short list of nine foreign-language films vying for one of five Academy Award ballot slots offers a rich and varied swath of global cinema, ranging from Mexico’s already-lauded “Roma,” which is up for three Golden Globes and won the Golden Lion at Venice, to South Korea’s “Burning,” the country’s first contender since 1962 to make the cut. The whole line-up:

“Birds of Passage”(Colombia) — directed by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra

“The Guilty” (Denmark) — directed by Gustav Moller

“Never Look Away”(Germany) — directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

“Shoplifters” (Japan) — directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda

“Ayka” (Kazakhstan) — directed by Sergei Dvortsevoy

Capernaum (Lebanon), — directed by Nadine Labaki

“Roma” (Mexico) — directed by Alfonso Cuaron

“Cold War” (Poland) — directed by Pawel Pawlikowski

Burning (Korea) — directed by Lee Chang-dong

What strikes me is that two of the nine, whose fates will be determined on January 22, are either directed or co-directed...

Updated, writethru: From a field of 87 submissions to the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar category, nine movies have now advanced to the shortlist. Working with one of the strongest years in recent memory, the Phase I Committee and the Executive Committee have settled on such favorites as Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters.

Among the films left off the list is Golden Globe nominee and Cannes Camera d’Or winner Girl by Belgium’s Lukas Dhont. That film has seen backlash from rights groups regarding the casting of a cisgender actor in a trans role. Also not making the cut is Sweden’s audacious Border, which did however score as a finalist for the Make Up and Hairstyling race. A surprise inclusion is Kazakhstan’s Ayka, the Cannes Best Actress-winning drama from Sergei Dvortsevoy. And, in Lee Chang-dong’s Burning, Korea finally makes the shortlist.

The early money might be on Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” (Mexico) and Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” (Poland), but Asia appears to have a real shot at the Oscar foreign-language category, with a mixture of heavy-hitters and dark horses from an eclectic line-up.

The continent’s frontrunner is easily Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Palme d’Or winner “Shoplifters.” The film follows a family of petty thieves and the repercussions that ensue after they take in a waif. Moving, eloquent, and with an emphasis on the family unit, this is a film that could sway even the most cynical. The film will also benefit from its Magnolia Pictures’ release in the U.S.

From South Korea, Lee Chang-dong’s “Burning,” winner of the Fipresci Prize at Cannes, is mesmerising. Beginning as a frustrated youth drama, it gradually moves into missing-person thriller territory, culminating in a cathartic finale. The film is...

Fall festival favorites including “Manta Ray,” Jinpa,” and “Cities of Last Things” will line up in the main competition of next month’s Tokyo Filmex festival. The event runs Nov. 17-25 at venues in the Hibiya and Yurakucho suburbs of Tokyo.

Directed by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng “Manta Ray” recently won the Horizons award at the Venice festival. Pema Tseden’s “Jinpa” won the best screenplay award in the same section. Ho Wi Ding’s “Cities” won the best film prize in the Platform section at Toronto.

Other films making up the ten title competition section include: “Sibel,” by Turkey’s Cagla Zenkirci and Guillaume Giovanetti; “Ayka,” by Russia’s Sergei Dvortsevoy; Yeo Siew Hua’s Locarno Golden Leopard winner “A Land Imagined”; “A Family Tour,” by Ying Liang; “Long Days Journey Into Night,” directed by China’s Bi Gan, which had its premiere in Un Certain regard at Cannes; “An Elephant Sitting Still,...

For a “slow year” the award winning films saw lots of sales. Let’s look to the box office numbers next.

Competition

The Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda won the Palme d’Or at the 71st Cannes Film Festival for Shoplifters, about a family of thieves and throwaways living on the margins in Japan. Magnolia acquired U.S. rights from Wild Bunch and CAA. It also sold to Film Europe for Czech Republic and Slovakia, Filmbazar for Denmark, Edko for Hong Kong, Lev Cinemas/ Shani for Israel, Gaga for Japan, Clover for Singapore, Tcast for So. Korea, Kino Pavasaris for the Baltics, September for Benelux, Golem for Spain, Cineworx for Switzerland, Cai Chang for Taiwan, Filmarti for Turkey. Read the Indiewire review here.

Palme d’Or Winner, Cannes Competition

Spike Lee won the Grand Prix, the festival’s second prize, for BlacKkKlansman, based on the strange, true-life story of a black...

This year’s Cannes Film Festival may have come to an end, but the repercussions of the annual cinephile gathering are still yet to be felt on a big screen near you. Fortunately, some of the festival’s biggest winners have already locked down North American distribution and are already bound for wider releases that will allow plenty more movie fans to check them out. That includes the Palme d’Or winner, “Shoplifters,” and both runner-ups, including “Capernaum” and “BlacKkKlansman,” all of which have homes that guarantee them theatrical releases in the coming months.

A number of other Cannes contenders were also picked up for distribution during the festival, including Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego’s crime thriller “Birds of Passage,” which went to The Orchard and the Mads Mikkelsen-starring survival drama “Arctic,” which was bought early in the fest by Bleecker Street. The opening night film, Asghar Farhadi’s “Everybody Knows,...

The Festival de Cannes has announced the lineup for the official selection, including the Competition and Un Certain Regard sections, as well as special screenings, for the 71st edition of the festival:COMPETITIONEverybody Knows (Asghar Farhadi)At War (Stéphane Brizé)Dogman (Matteo Garrone)Le livre d'images (Jean-Luc Godard)Netemo Sameteo (Asako I & II) (Ryūsuke Hamaguchi)Sorry Angel (Christophe Honoré)Girls of the Sun (Eva Husson)Ash Is Purest White (Jia Zhangke)Shoplifter (Hirokazu Kore-eda)Capernaum (Nadine Labaki)Burning (Lee Chang-dong)BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee)Under the Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell)Three Faces (Jafar Panahi)Cold War (Pawel Pawlikowski)Lazzaro Felice (Alice Rohrwacher)Yomeddine (A.B. Shawky)Leto (Kirill Serebrennikov)Un couteau dans le cœur (Yann Gonzalez)Ayka (Sergei Dvortsevoy)The Wild Pear Tree (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)Out Of COMPETITIONSolo: A Star Wars Story (Ron Howard)Le grand bain (Gilles Lelouch)The House That Jack Built (Lars von Trier)Un Certain REGARDGräns (Ali Abbasi...

The official selection has been announced for the 71st Cannes film festival running 8-19 May. Here are all the titles screening

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Competition

Everybody Knows (dir: Asghar Farhadi) – opening film

At War (dir: Stéphane Brizé)

The Wild Pear Tree (dir: Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

Ayka (dir: Sergei Dvortsevoy)

Dogman (dir: Matteo Garrone)

Le Livre d’Image (dir: Jean-Luc Godard)

Knife + Heart (dir: Yann Gonzalez)

Asako I & II (dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi)

Sorry Angel (dir: Christophe Honoré)

Girls of the Sun (dir: Eva Husson)

Ash Is Purest White (dir: Jia Zhang-Ke)

Shoplifters (dir: Hirokazu Kore-eda)

Capernaum (dir: Nadine Labaki)

Burning (dir: Lee Chang-Dong)

BlacKkKlansman (dir: Spike Lee)

Under the Silver Lake (dir: David Robert Mitchell)

Three Faces (dir: Jafar Panahi)

Cold War (dir: Pawel Pawlikowski)

Lazzaro Felice (dir: Alice Rohrwacher)

Yomeddine (dir: Ab Shawky)

Leto (L’Été) (dir: Kirill Serebrennikov)

Continue reading.

Danish director Lars von Trier is returning to the Cannes fold with his serial-killer drama “The House That Jack Built” after seven years of banishment from the festival, while Terry Gilliam’s long-gestating, problem-plagued “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” is set to close the event, organizers announced Thursday. Both films will screen out of competition.

Cannes also added two sophomore outings to the competition lineup – Yann Gonzalez’s “Knife + Heart” and Sergei Dvortsevoy’s “The Little One” – plus Palme d’Or winning filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “The Wild Pear Tree.” “Whitney,” Kevin Macdonald’s documentary on singer Whitney Houston, has been set as a Midnight Screening, as has HBO’s new adaptation of “Fahrenheit 451,” directed by Ramin Bahrani and starring Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon – the latest television project to screen at Cannes.

Artistic director Thierry Fremaux had hinted that von Trier would return to the...

Roskino and Russian Cinema Fund to make presentations.

Russian cinema will be represented by not one, but two stands at the Marché du Film much to the bewilderment of some in the industry.

While Roskino, the successor to the former state film organisation Sovexportfilm, is the official organiser of the Russian Pavilion with support from the Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs, the Russian Cinema Fund is backing the Russian Cinema stand in the Festival Palais.

Both initiatives will be having presentations of extracts from completed films or works in progress to sales agents, distributors and festival programmers.

Roskino’s line-up on May 17 will include Natalia Meshaninova’s The Hope Factory [pictured], Igor Voloshin’s Moscow-Russia Express, the documentary Rudolf Nureyev. A Rebel Demon, and Sergei Dvortsevoy’s My Little One, co-produced by the late Karl Baumgartner.

The Russian Cinema Fund will follow three days later – on May 20 - with its own showcase of 19 projects at various stages...

What you are listening to:

A little medley from some of the films playing for free in our festival of Cannes selected favorites.  Go here to see what films are viewable for free in your area.

"Titoli: Atmosfera Tensiva" by Giovanni Fusco. From Michelangelo Antonioni's L'avventura (1960).

 

"Cucurrucucu Paloma (Live)" by Caetano Veloso. From Wong Kar-wai's Happy Together (1997).

 

"Ti ricordi di siboney" by Nino Rota. From Federico Fellini's Amacord (1974).

 

"Mesecina (Moonight)" by Goran Bregovic. From Emir Kusturica's Underground (1995).

 

"My Favorite Things (Rehearsal)" by Björk. From Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark (2000).

 

"Eternal Smile" by Chow Hsuan. From Johnnie To's Election (2005).

"Notturno II" by Giovanni Fusco. From Michelangelo Antonioni's L'avventura (1960).

 

"Not Human" by Javier Navarette. From Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth (2006).

 

"Siegfried's Funeral March" by Richard Wagner. From Aleksandr Sokurov's Moloch (1999).

 

"Harakiri" by Toru Takemitsu. From Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri (1962).

 

"Chunga's Revenge" by Frank Zappa.

Tulpan

Sergei Dvortsevoy created an impressive coming-of-age tale with this majestic treatment of life on the Kazakh steppe, following the return of Asa, a young sailor eager to make a place of his own in the traditional nomadic lifestyle. But to do so he must woo and marry the only available woman for miles - an elusive and almost entirely symbolic girl named Tulpan, whose unambiguous rejection gives his life its first meaningful hurdle. The bleak, hardscrabble life endured by the protagonists, implicitly vied with by modern civilization's hedonistic pull, gives this allegory impressive, romantic, and heartbreaking dimensions.

Revanche

Götz Spielmann's arthouse noir is a deft and entertaining treatise on life in the margins of late-capitalism, a pitch-dark European take on The Postman Always Rings Twice. The bleak, predictable ending to a heist meant to bring two people away from the venal desolation of life in the city gives Revanche its initial momentum,...

Few art-film premises sound less immediately appealing than “novice Kazakhstani shepherd learns his trade while searching for a wife,” but movie-lovers shouldn’t let a creeping fear of barren landscapes, grubby livestock, and tiny huts keep them away from Tulpan, a beautifully choreographed and photographed story about tradition and modernity in rural Asia. Yes, writer-director Sergei Dvortsevoy indulges in long shots of windswept, dusty steppes—and one stunning sequence of animal birth—but the deliberate scene-setting fits between moments where characters crack jokes, make promises, break hearts, and generally behave like people. Dvortsevoy has a background in documentary, but for ...

The eleventh issue of movieScope is on the stands. Online, readers can access an abbreviated edit of my conversation with Arnaud Desplechin (ah, wordcount!), as well as Adam Thursby‘s profile of actor Stephen Rea. Liz Hobbs writes up the Old Vic Theatre and explores the collaboration between stage and screen.

A portion of the cover feature on Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler is available by way of editor Eric Lilleør’s introductory editorial. At the “Fading In” sidebar Andy Conway wryly riffs on “Fundophobia, Draftophilia and the Addp.”

In the Insiders P.O.V. sidebar of the print issue, Mick Southworth & Martin McCabe reminisce on the bygone era of movie poster art in their essay “Coming Soon: The Art of the Quad.” Director Ron Oliver offers tips on directing children in his piece “Alligators Have the Right Idea.” Rick Drew recruits Seth Lochhead as a case study of what...

Bangkok -- Adding another prize to his growing collection for "Tulpan," Sergei Dvortsevoy took home the Golden Peacock best film prize at the closing ceremonies of the 39th annual International Film Festival of India, organizers said Wednesday.

After a minute of silence, the Kazakh writer and first-time director thanked the audience in Panaji, Goa, where the fest, which began Nov. 22, continued despite last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Dvortsevoy, whose film about a shepherd in training who wants to marry a girl who thinks he has big ears, said that while films cannot change the world, they can change people.

The closing ceremony's guest of honor, actor Shri Kamal Hasan, said that despite setbacks and dark moments, life must go on as normal. He congratulated the festival and its director, Shri S.M. Khan, for its rich collection of movies.

Khan told the audience that the festival condemns terrorism, and...

Founded in 1988, the European Film Academy currently unites 1,850 European film professionals with the common aim of promoting Europe’s film culture. Their annual awards will be December 8 in Copenhagen. ACE (Ateliers de Cinema Europeanne) which operates out of France and is a network of producers in the process of developing scripts, which become the films everyone loves at festivals, has 12 producers in the network who have received European Film Awards Nominations. Congratulations to ACE producers for their nominations at the 2008 European Film Awards and… good luck! WALTZ WITH BASHIR by Ari Folman, produced by Roman Paul (ACE producer / Razor Film Produktion): Nominated for European Film, European Director, European Screenwriter & European Composer categories. THE CLASS by Laurent Cantet, produced by Carole Scotta (ACE producer / Haut & Court) & Caroline Benjo (Haut & Court): Nominated for European Film & European Director categories. LEMON TREE by Eran Riklis, produced by Bettina Brokemper (ACE producer / Heimatfilm GmbH): Nominated for European Actress & European Screenwriter categories. WOLKE 9 by Andreas Dresen, produced by Peter Rommel (ACE producer / Rommel Film e.K): Nominated for European Director & European Actress categories. MOSCOW, BELGIUM by Christophe Van Rompaey, produced by Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem (ACE producer / A Private view): Nominated for European Composer category. DELTA by Kornel Mundruzco, produced by Viktoria Petranyi (ACE producer / Evolution Films): Nominated for European Film Academy Prix d’Excellence 2008

Also 10 ACE producers’ films are among the 67 vying for the 2008 nominations for 2007 Best Foreign Language Oscar. ALGERIA: MASQUERADES by Lyes Salem, produced by Isabelle Madelaine (Dharamsala, FR) BELGIUM: ELDORADO by Bouli Lanners, produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart (Versus Production, BE) and Jerôme Vidal (Noodles Production, FR) ESTONIA: I WAS HERE by René Vilbre, produced by Riina Sildos (Amrion Oü, EST) and Aleksi Bardy (Helsinki Filmi, FI) FRANCE: THE CLASS by Laurent Cantet, produced by Carole Scotta & Caroline Benjo (Haut & Court, FR) ISRAEL: WALTZ WITH BASHIR by Ari Folman, produced by Roman Paul (Razor Film Produktion, DE) KAZAKHSTAN: TULPAN by Sergey Dvortsevoy, co-produced by Thanassis Karathanos (Twenty Twenty Vision / Pallas Film, DE) LATVIA: DEFENDERS OF RIGA by Aigars Grauba, produced by Andrejs Ekis (Plat Forma Filma, LET) - Developed at the ACE Workshop! MACEDONIA: I’M FROM TITOV VELES by Teona Strugar Mitevska, co-produced by Diana Elbaum (Entre Chien et Loup, BE) THE NETHERLANDS: DUNYA & DESIE by Dana Nechushtan, co-produced by Joost de Vries (Lemming Film, NL) and Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem (A Private View, BE) SWEDEN: EVERLASTING MOMENTS by Jan Troell, co-produced by Christer Nilson (GötaFilm, SE), Sigve Endresen, (Motlys AS, NO) and Tero Kaukomaa (Blind Spot Pictures, FI)

3 ACE producers’ films have been nominated for France’s prestigious Louis Delluc Award. THE CLASS by Laurent Cantet, Palme d’Or 2008, produced by Carole Scotta & Caroline Benjo (Haut et Court, FR), SERAPHINE by Martin Provost, produced by Milena Poylo and Gille Sacuto (TS Productions, FR) and VERSAILLES by Pierre Schoeller, produced by Philippe Martin (Les Films Pelléas, FR) are nominated for the 2008 Louis Delluc Prize.

And finally The Class by Laurent Cantet has hit a record 1.5+ admissions in France.

• I can't believe I missed this bit of news (11.17), but Zeitgeist Films has laid claimed to a film that I'll probably still be talking about once the final shortlist of noms have been chosen and once Oscar night comes to a close. Repped by international art–house specialists The Match Factory, Tulpan -- a film fest favorite has been collecting enough trophy ware to fill up director Sergei Dvortsevoy's entire shelving space, which with the number of wins, I wouldn’t be surprised includes a couple of kitchen cabinets as well. The docu-realist comedy will be receiving a theatrical release this coming April. Kazakhstan’s foreign film follows the young Asa, who after completing his military service travels back to the Kazakh steppe where his sister and her shepherd husband live a nomadic life. To start his new life, eager Asa must get married first before he can become a shepherd himself.

...

New York -- Zeitgeist Films has nabbed domestic rights to a pair of prestige pics: "Tulpan," this past May's Festival de Cannes Un Certain Regard winner, and the Toronto film fest academia documentary "Examined Life."

Sergei Dvortsevoy's comedy "Tulpan" follows its protagonist's efforts to convince the title character he's an ideal catch and to show his family he's a good shepherd. The recent New York Film Festival selection is this year's official foreign-language Oscar entry from Kazakhstan.

Astra Taylor's doc "Life" follows such noted academics as Cornel West and Peter Singer outside their classrooms to visit and discuss places of significance to them.

"Life" will open at the IFC Center in January, and "Tulpan" will bow at the Film Forum in April. The New York openings will be followed by limited theatrical rollouts.

The "Tulpan" deal was negotiated with Match Factory's Michael Weber, and the "Life" deal was negotiated with Sphinx Prods.

Cologne, Germany -- Alexsei Uchitel's drama of a young Chechen captured by Russian soldiers, "Captive," won the prize for best film at this year's Cottbus Festival of East European Cinema.

The jury praised the film for depicting "the cruel nature of war and the importance of every human life."

Kazakh filmmaker Sergei Dvortsevoy was named best director at Cottbus for his offbeat, near-documentary comedy "Tulpan," shot among the shepherds of the eastern Steppes. "Tulpan" debuted in Cannes, where it won Un Certain Regard Award.

In addition to its main awards, the Cottbus jury presented a special prize to Polish director Michal Rosa for his script to "Scratch," a very personal look at life under a totalitarian regime.

Cottbus, the leading international festival for Eastern European cinema, wrapped up Sunday.

Munich -- The Zurich Film Festival closed Sunday with awards for its feature and documentary competition winners as well as an audience prize, a new talent award and a tribute to Greek director Costa-Gavras.

The jury, headed by Peter Fonda, chose Sergey Dvortsevoy's "Tulpan," a Swiss-Russian co-production billed as a tragicomedy about a Kazakh seaman who wants to become a sheepherder, for top feature film honors, while Arash T. Riahi's "For a Moment, Freedom," about Iranian refugees in Austria, received a Golden Eye award as best debut.

"Blind Loves," about vision-impaired couples, by Juraj Lehotsky of Slovakia, was voted best documentary by the three-person docu jury. The audience award went to "The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner," Stephan Komandarev's Bulgarian-German-Hungarian-Slovenian co-production about a German-born child of Bulgarian refugees who loses his family and his memory in a car accident.

The new talent award went to...

Telluride is celebrating a great talent coming out of Kazakhstan this year, Sergei Dvortsevoy. Although he's here with only his first feature film (which, incidentally, took four years to make), there's a slate of documentaries he's brought that the festival directors tout as "must sees." In the Q&A for his first feature film, Tulpan, Dvortsevoy described shooting the first scene of the movie, a 10 minute long take of a ewe giving birth. He showed it to his small cast of Kazakh actors and non-actors and said, "That's what we have to live up to." And it's true. If there were a Best Non-human Actor Oscar, this sheep would have it (although the Academy would probably ...