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Iranian actor Leila Hatami, best known outside her country for her role in Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-winning “A Separation,” will soon be back on international movie screens in Iranian-British director Mehdi Norowzian’s metaphysical drama “A Time in Eternity” which recently wrapped in Iran.

“There isn’t one scene without me,” Hatami told Variety, speaking on the sidelines of the just concluded Venice Film Festival where she was a member of the main jury.

The London-based Norowzian, who was Oscar-nominated for his 1999 short “Killing Joe” and subsequently directed Joseph Fiennes, Elizabeth Shue, Dennis Hopper and Sam Shepherd in the 2002 drama “Leo,” has since become a prominent commercials director. Norowzian recently returned to Iran to shoot this film, which is his first feature after two decades.

In “Eternity,” Hatami plays Mariam, a woman who’s beloved husband Saeed has mysteriously gone missing, leaving her and her 12-year-old daughter in a state...

Winners repeatedly called for the release of Jafar Panahi and his colleagues.

Emotions ran high at the closing night of the Venice Film Festival, where the Golden Lion was awarded to Laura Poitras’ All The Beauty And The Bloodshed, only the second documentary to win in the festival’s 90-year history, but the third consecutive film directed by a woman to win the top prize, following Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland in 2020 and Audrey Diwan’s Happening in 2021.

There was also an outpouring of solidarity for Iranian director Jafar Panahi whose No Bears was awarded the special jury prize while he is custody in Iran,...

by Nathaniel R

Cate Blanchett, Director Laura Poitras, and Colin Farrell all took home prizes

While The Whale and Don't Worry Darling hogged a lot of the press here in America, they weren't favourites of this year's Venice jury, both going home empty-handed. Julianne Moore presided over this year's jury which included Mariano Cohn, Leonardo Di Costanzo, Audrey Diwan (the Golden Lion winner last year -- our interview!), Leila Hatami, Kazuo Ishiguro and Rodrigo Sorogoyen. They gave the top prize to a buzzy documentary about Nan Goldin, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed. Though they didn't win the top prize both Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin and Luca Guadagnino's Bones and All took home two prizes each...

All The Beauty And The Bloodshed In Competition(Jury: Julianne Moore, Mariano Cohn, Leonardo di Costanzo, Audrey Diwan, Leila Hatami, Kazuo Ishiguro, Rodrigo Sorogoyen)Golden Lion – All The Beauty And The Bloodshed (Laura Poitras)Silver Lion (Grand Jury Prize) – Saint Omer (Alice Diop)Silver Lion (Best Director) – Luca Guadagnino (Bones & All)Coppa Volpi for Best Actress – Cate Blanchett (Tár)Coppa Volpi for Best Actor – Colin Farrell (The Banshees Of Inisherin)Best Screenplay – Martin McDonagh (The Banshees Of Inisherin)Special Jury Prize – No Bears (Jafar Panahi)Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress – Taylor Russell (Bones & All)Orizzonti(Jury: Isabel Coixet, Laura Bispuri, Antonio Campos, Sofia Djama, Edourad Waintrop)Orizzonti Award for Best Film – World War III (Houman Seyedi)Orizzonti Award for Best Director – Vera (Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel)Special Orizzonti Jury Prize – Bread And Salt (Damian Kocur)Orizzonti Award for Best Actress – Vera Gemma (Vera)Orizzonti Award for...

The 2022 Venice Film Festival has awarded Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” the Golden Lion for Best Film, with Colin Farrell and Cate Blanchett landing the Coppa Volpi for Best Actor and Best Actress.

The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Luca Guadagnino for “Bones and All.” The cannibal love story also saw co-star Taylor Russell win the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.

In addition to Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin” won the award for Best Screenplay for writer-director Martin McDonagh. The film, which follows an abrupt fallout between two best friends (“In Bruges” co-stars Farrell and Brendan Gleeson), received a 13-minute standing ovation at its Tuesday premiere. Meanwhile, Blanchett won her second Volpi Cup (following her performance as Bob Dylan in 2007’s “I’m Not There”) for playing the world-renowned composer at the center of Todd Field’s “Tár.”

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Brendan Fraser...

After nearly two weeks of lush red carpets, timed standing ovations, and viral “Don’t Worry Darling” drama, the 79th Venice Film Festival comes to a close on Saturday in the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema (Lido di Venezia). Julianne Moore chairs the festival’s jury alongside her fellow judges and elite film peers Mariano Cohn, Leonardo di Costanzo, Audrey Diwan, Leila Hatami, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Rodrigo Sorogoyen.

“I feel like so often the discussion around the future of cinema ends up being a discussion that’s more commercial, more business oriented,” Moore said in her opening remarks on August 31. “When we talk about the future of cinema it often degrades into what the future of the business is. That’s not the future of art.”

Established in 1932, Venice is the oldest ongoing cinematic awards celebration and is regarded among the world’s most esteemed international film festivals. 22 titles...

The 2022 Venice Film Festival kicked off August 31 with an already star-studded red carpet. The fall festival launcher runs through September 10. Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise” made its world premiere as the Opening Night selection for the festival, marking the first Netflix film to ever open the annual festival in its 79 years…and meaning that Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, and Jodie Turner-Smith all stunned at the red carpet premiere.

Fellow Netflix feature “Blonde,” helmed by Andrew Dominik and adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’ portrait of late film icon Marilyn Monroe, is among the highly anticipated titles. Ana de Armas will surely remind us that “Some Like It Hot” when it comes to red carpet fashion, alongside co-stars Adrien Brody and Bobby Cannavale. Alejandro González Iñárritu’s first Netflix film and long-awaited return to Mexico, “Bardo,” additionally premieres.

And don’t worry, the “Don’t Worry Darling” cast came out in full swing with Florence Pugh,...

Exclusive: Iranian-British director and artist Mehdi Norowzian has just wrapped the Iran shoot of his new drama A Time In Eternity starring Venice 2022 jury member Leila Hatami, best known for her roles in A Separation, The Pig and Imagine.

The production marks the first feature in two decades for Norowzian, who was Oscar-nominated for his 1999 short film Killing Joe and shortly after directed Joseph Fiennes, Elizabeth Shue, Dennis Hopper and Sam Shepherd in the drama Leo.

In the interim, he built a career as a top commercials director, working closely with Ridley Scott’s Rsa Films under the banner of Joy@Rsa.

Hatami stars as a woman who is on a relentless and potentially futile quest to track down her missing husband. In the backdrop, the situation puts untold pressure on her relationship with her 12-year-old daughter, while she is also dealing with the unwanted attention of her amorous brother-in-law.

The constant arrests and impediments of its filmmakers hasn’t stopped Iranian cinema from soaring to greater heights.

After the showcase of Iranian cinema at Berlin, Cannes and Karlovy Vary, Venice has five films from the country, two of which are in competition, reports Variety.

What’s more? Leila Hatami, star of Cannes festival jurist Asghar Farhadi’s ‘A Separation’, is a member of Venice’s main jury panel.

“We have never received so many submissions from Iran, and many of them are good,” says Venice chief Alberto Barbera, quoted by Variety.

He notes that “the paradox is that this is happening at a time when the Iranian regime is among the most rigidly conservative and repressive in the world,” and is responding to uprisings sparked by the country’s harsh economic conditions by re-incarcerating directors such as Jafar Panahi, whose latest film “No Bears” launches from Venice, fellow dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof,...

Iranian cinema is having a great year despite the many impediments film directors face there, including being jailed.

Reflecting this burst of irrepressible cinematic energy, after strong showing of Iranian cinema at Berlin, Cannes and Karlovy Vary, Venice has five films from the country, two of which are in competition. Also, Leila Hatami, star of Cannes festival jurist Asghar Farhadi’s “A Separation,” is a member of Venice’s main jury panel.

“We have never received so many submissions from Iran, and many of them are good,” says Venice chief Alberto Barbera. He notes that “the paradox is that this is happening at a time when the Iranian regime is among the most rigidly conservative and repressive in the world,” and is responding to uprisings sparked by the country’s harsh economic conditions by re-incarcerating directors such as Jafar Panahi, whose latest film “No Bears” launches from Venice, fellow dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof,...

Click here to read the full article.

The 79th Venice Film Festival kicked off Wednesday night with the world premiere of White Noise, Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of Don Delillo’s “unfilmable” 1985 novel and a video cameo by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, and with a cast that includes Don Cheadle, Jodie Turner-Smith, May Nivola, Raffey Cassidy and Sam Nivola — all of whom attended Venice’s red carpet premiere, White Noise is the first Netflix film to open the world’s oldest film festival.

Baumbach’s last feature, Marriage Story, also starring Driver, alongside Scarlett Johansson, premiered in Venice in 2019, launching a successful awards season run for the divorce drama, which ended with six Oscar nominations and one win, a best supporting actress nod for Laura Dern. Netflix will be hoping for a similar reception for White Noise on the Lido this year.

The film...

Venice Competition jury president Julianne Moore was speaking at today’s press conference.

Curation is an essential function of film festivals, according to Venice Competition jury president Julianne Moore.

“Curation matters so much,” said Moore, speaking at the opening press conference for the 2022 festival. “Venice is people gathering this extraordinary work for us all to discover.”

The US actress described her first experience of curation, through her local cinema as a 10-year-old in Juneau, Alaska, where she saw John Cassavetes’ 1971 film Minnie And Moskowitz.

Moore said her reaction was, “What is this? What is this world out there? How do I fit in?...

Venice Film Festival jury president Julianne Moore this afternoon extolled the importance of keeping art top of mind when talking about the future of cinema.

During the event’s opening press conference, the actress, who won the 2002 Volpi Cup here for Far From Heaven, was asked about the age of streaming, and said, “I feel like so often the discussion around the future of cinema ends up being a discussion that’s more commercial, more business oriented. For me, most importantly, it’s what’s being created, what do we continue to make, how are we able to ingest it, observe it, live with it? There will always be different delivery systems.” The world is constantly changing, she added, “but art doesn’t change… People are always finding new ways to tell stories.”

She later reiterated, “It’s so exciting when you see a brand new filmmaker, actor, writer… When...

Julianne Moore, who is presiding over the Venice Film Festival jury, spoke at a press conference on Tuesday morning that kicked off the 79th edition of the movie gathering.

She reminisced about how she first came to Venice as an actress on the American soap opera “As the World Turns” in 1986. “I never, ever in my life though I would be the head of this jury,” Moore said. “And If you had told me that one day I was going to head the jury of the Venice Film Festival I would have fallen into the canal, honestly.”

Asked about the importance of film festivals during a time of change in the movie industry, as streaming threatens theatrical distribution, Moore pointed out that “curation matters so much.”

“It’s people gathering extraordinary works for us all to discover,” Moore said, before revealing a formative film experience she had as a child.

Click here to read the full article.

The art, not the business of film, will be on Julianne Moore’s mind over the next 10 days, as the Oscar-winning actress takes on her latest role as the president of the competition jury for the 79th Venice International Film Festival.

Speaking to the press on Wednesday, the first day of Venice 2022, Moore mused that while most discussions “about the future of cinema” tend to focus on the movie business, “what is more important is what is being created” and the stories being told. “To me, that is what Venice is all about [it’s an] opportunity to see all this incredible work.”

Netflix has a dominant presence in Venice this year, with four films in competition this year, including Wednesday night’s opening film, White Noise from Noah Baumbach. But Moore was not drawn into a debate about whether there was a difference between streaming films and cinema-first movies.

The star studded Variety and Hotel Danieli pre-festival cocktail party on Aug. 30 was a taster of the riches in store at the Venice Film Festival that kicks off the following day.

Head of the jury Julianne Moore and fellow jurors, “A Separation” actor Leila Hatami and filmmakers Audrey Diwan, Mariano Cohn, Leonardo Di Costanzo and Rodrigo Sorogoyen, were present as was “Thor: Love and Thunder” actor Tessa Thompson, who is serving on the festival’s Horizons strand jury.

The evening, titled “Cinema Danieli – An Unforgettable Story,” on the terrace of the plush Hotel Danieli, which turns 200 this year, has become a festival tradition dating back 13 years. It was introduced by Claudio Staderini, director of the Danieli, who described the hotel as a shooting and residential choice of many of the biggest movie stars in the world.

Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera said that the Variety and Danieli pre-festival cocktail as...

Updated, July 27 at 9:53 a.m. Et: The official Xr competition category of the 2022 Venice International Film Festival marks the return of the exhibition for the first time since 2019 to the island Lazzaretto Vecchio. Close to the Lido, Festival goers, industry members, and press will have the opportunity to screen 43 projects from 19 countries within the Xr exhibit.

The Venice Immersive, the new title of the Venice VR Expanded section, intends to acknowledge the growth of immersive media beyond the technologies of Virtual Reality and to include all means of creative expression in Xr – Extended Reality: 360° videos and Xr works of any length, including installations, live performances and virtual worlds. The Venice Immersive section of the 79th Venice International Film Festival will be held in person again this year, with the technical support of Meta and Htc Vive.

Returning Grand Prize winners like Celine Tricart (“Fight Back”) and special projects from...

The news of the arrest of Jafar Panahi, Mostafa Al-Ahmad and Mohammad Rasoulof last week came to cement the oppressive tactics of the current Iranian regime, with the industry now being in more fear than ever for more incarcerations. At the same time, and despite these issues and the whole censorship that dominates all aspects of life, the Iranian movie industry remains rather vibrant, still one of the biggest in the world, with hundreds of movies produced every year. In a homage to both the arrested and the industry, we present 25 Iranian movies, released post-2010, in alphabetical order.

1. 180° Rule (2020) by Farnoosh Samadi

Based on real events, Samadi’s first feature film after 3 increasingly successful short ones, is not an easy work. It’s highly dramatic and is a real punch in the guts; we assist, unable to intervene, to a self-destructive behaviour that appears fool to say the least. However,...

The 79th annual Venice Film Festival is once again setting the stage for a major awards season launch for some of the year’s most anticipated features.

It was announced Monday that Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise” with Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig will open the fest Aug. 31. Now, the full lineup announced this morning includes new outings from Olivia Wilde (“Don’t Worry Darling”), Alejandro González Iñárritu, Darren Aronofsky (“The Whale”), Luca Guadagnino (“Bones and All”), Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees Of Inisherin”), Todd Field (“TÁR”) and many more.

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Noah Baumbach’s Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig Starrer, ‘White Noise,’ to Open Venice Film Festival

The 79th annual La Biennale di Venezia runs from Aug. 31 through Sept. 10. Twenty-one features will play in competition at the festival, including “The Whale,” “White Noise,” and “Bones and All.” Other notable features on the competition slate include the next film from “The Souvenir” director Joanna Hogg,...

Includes films by Alejandro G. Inarritu, Joanna Hogg, Olivia Wilde, Darren Aronofsky, Andrew Dominik, Luca Guadagnino and Florian Zeller.

The line-up of the 79th Venice Film Festival (August 31-September 10) has been announced by festival president Roberto Cicutto and artistic director Alberto Barbera.

Scroll down for full line-up

The heavyweight competition line-up includes films by Alejandro G. Inarritu, Joanna Hogg, Susanna Nicchiarelli, Darren Aronofsky, Andrew Dominik, Luca Guadagnino, Martin McDonagh and Florian Zeller. As with last year, five female directors were selected in the main competition. Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling is playing out of competition.

As previously announced, Noah Baumbach...

The line-up will be unveiled this morning at around 11:00 Cest (10:00 BST).

The line-up for the 79th Venice International Film Festival (August 31-September 10) will be unveiled this morning at around 11:00 Cest (10:00 BST) by festival president Roberto Cicutto and artistic director Alberto Barbera.

Scroll down for line-up

The press conference will be live-streamed below, and this page will be updated with the films as they are announced.

As previously announced, Noah Baumbach’s White Noise will open the festival in competition.

Julianne Moore will preside over the competition jury that also includes Audrey Diwan, Leonardo Di Costanzo, Mariano Cohn,...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSJafar Panahi.Having been detained last week for protesting the arrest of fellow Iranian filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Aleahmad, Jafar Panahi has now been ordered to serve six years in prison. Ahead of this development Eric Kohn reported on the broader situation in Indiewire. “Maybe they will come for all of us one by one,” says one anonymous filmmaker who is quoted in the article.Martine Marignac, a producer of vital films by Jacques Rivette, Chantal Akerman, Leos Carax, Jeanne Balibar, Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, and others, has died aged 75.The juries have been announced for the 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival. Julianne Moore will head up the main jury, supported by filmmakers Audrey Diwan, Leonardo di Costanzo, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, and Mariano Cohn, plus actor Leila Hatami and author Kazuo Ishiguro.

Julianne Moore will head up the International Jury of Competition this year at the 79th Venice International Film Festival.

Moore was put up for consideration by the festival’s director, Alberto Barbera, and will be joined by six other names in film. Also on the jury will be Argentinian director, screenwriter and producer Mariano Cohn; Leonardo Di Costanzo, a director and screenwriter from Italy; Audrey Diwan, a French director and last year’s Golden Lion winner; Iranian actress Leila Hatami; Kazuo Ishiguro (Japan-Great Britain) author and screenwriter and Spain’s Rodrigo Sorogoyen, a director, screenwriter and producer.

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Julia Roberts to Receive the Academy Museum Gala Icon Award

Led by Moore, the jury will award the Golden Lion for Best Film, as well as the festival’s other awards, including the Silver Lion, the Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor,...

Click here to read the full article.

Julianne Moore is set to head up the 2022 Venice International Film Festival jury.

The Oscar-winning actress was revealed as jury president of the 79th edition of the festival Friday, alongside an international assortment of fellow jurors that includes Argentinean director, writer and producer Mariano Cohn, whose last film Official Competition, starring Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, premiered in Venice last year; Italian filmmaker and 2013 David di Donatello debut director winner Leonardo Di Costanzo; French director Audrey Diwan, whose 2021 film Happening won the Golden Lion in Venice in 2021; Iranian actress and A Separation star Leila Hatami; Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go novelist Kazuo Ishiguro; and Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen, whose feature The Candidate won seven Goya awards in 2019.

Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera made the announcement.

Moore, who became the first U.S. woman to earn top acting prizes in...

Moore will be joined by director Audrey Diwan, author Kazuo Ishiguro among others.

US actress Julianne Moore will be president of the international jury at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival, which runs from August 31 to September 10 this year.

Moore is heading up a seven-person jury, alongside French filmmaker Audrey Diwan, who won the Golden Lion last year for Happening; Italian filmmaker Leonardo Di Costanzo; and Argentinian filmmaker Mariano Cohn.

Also on the jury are Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen; Iranian actress Leila Hatami; and Japanese-uk author and screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro.

The jury is selected by the board of La Biennale di Venezia,...

American actress Julianne Moore has been announced as the international jury president for the main competition of the 79th Venice International Film Festival, running from August 31 to September 10.

She will be joined by Argentine director Mariano Cohn, Italian director Leonardo Di Costanzo, French director and 2021 Golden Lion winner Audrey Diwan, Iranian actress Leila Hatami, Japanese-uk writer Kazuo Ishiguro and Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen.

The jury awards the Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Volpi Cups for Best Actress and Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Award for Best Screenplay and“Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.

Moore has long ties with Venice having won its Volpi Cup Best Actress Award for her performance in Far From Heaven in 2002 and the Franca Sozzani Award for Suburbicon in 2017.

Cohn was at Venice last year with Official Competition, starring Penélope Cruz,...

Julianne Moore will preside over the main jury of the Venice Film Festival’s upcoming 79th edition.

The Oscar-winning U.S. actor, who most recently starred in A24’s “When You Finish Saving the World,” directed by Jesse Eisenberg, and will next appear in Benjamin Caron-directed “Sharper,” alongside Sebastian Stan and John Lithgow, also from A24, is a longtime Venice regular.

Moore was last on the Lido with George Clooney-directed “Suburbicon” in 2017. She won the Venice Coppa Volpi acting award in 2002 for “Far From Heaven,” directed by Todd Haynes.

Moore, who won an Oscar for “Still Alice,” is the first American woman to be awarded top acting prizes in all of Europe’s top fests. In addition to Venice, the actor was awarded in Berlin for Stephen Daldry’s “The Hours” in 2003, and in Cannes for David Cronenberg’s “Map to the Stars.”

Moore will head a seven-member...

The darling of Iranian cinema. Being not only the country’s highest earner at the box office but also the first-ever to win a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, and the Golden Bear at the 61st Berlinale. The colossal success of this drama made Asghar Farhadi a household name both domestically and overseas, granting him a seat in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ‘A Separation’ is another fine example of Farhadi’s expertise in crafting stories that examine family conflict and turmoil.

on Amazon

Legal documents fill out the opening shot, bringing with it an air of apathy, foreshadowing the combustible relationship between Nader (Payman Maadi) and his wife Simin (Leila Hatami). The camera then pans to a Pov of a magistrate in the crossfire of a verbal spat between the couple, each person one-upping the other in a tense he-says-she-says over their impending divorce.

A balloon shaped like a heart flies from the open window of a taxi. It is late at night and the woman (Leila Hatami) who this gift was bestowed upon simply couldn’t care less about the useless trinket, far more interested in comparing the quality of the accompanying chocolate boxes dispensed by a handful of men who wish to have her as a Valentine. Ditching sentimentality altogether, she rationally assesses her predicament — as a young, attractive single woman, she is guaranteed to find a match who can provide her with the comfortable life she deserves.

Continue reading ‘Tasavor (Imagine)’ Review: Ali Behrad’s Feature Debut Is An Earnest Homage To Love [Cannes] at The Playlist.

Though Iran is in the throes of a deep economic crisis, battered by hard-line politics and a mismanaged pandemic, it’a shaping up to be a great year for Iranian cinema.

Paradoxically, Iran’s cinematic landscape is bursting with powerful, fresh films likely to make an international splash just as talks between Tehran and world powers continue to be deadlocked on reviving the nuclear deal that could lift the country’s crippling sanctions that block exports.

This filmmaking fervor is reflected in the fact that Iranian pics have scored two Cannes competition berths, plus one in the Cannes Critics’ Week, which marks Iran’s first presence in this section dedicated to first and second works in almost two decades.

“What everybody is so pleased about is that Cannes, fortunately, is now representing the young generation of Iranian filmmakers,” said international distributor Mohammad Attebai, who heads Tehran-based company Iranian Independents.

Finally,...

It is the Iranian director’s first film since road movie 3 Faces which won best screenplay in competition at Cannes in 2018.

Paris-based Celluloid Dreams will kick off sales on Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s new feature No Bears at the upcoming edition of Cannes.

The drama follows two parallel love stories in which the partners are thwarted by hidden, inevitable obstacles, the force of superstition, and the mechanics of power.

It Is currently in post-production and will be ready for a launch at a festival this year.

It marks Panahi’s first fiction film since the road movie 3 Faces,...

Critics’ Week, the sidebar dedicated to first and second films running alongside the Cannes Film Festival, will be kicking off with Jesse Eisenberg’s feature debut “When You Finish Saving the World” and showcase four female-directed movies.

Selected out of 1100 submitted movies, the full roster includes 11 feature films, seven of which will compete and four will play as special screenings.

“When You Finish Saving the World,” which is headlined by Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard, revolves around the relationship between a politically-engaged mother and her fame-obsessed teenage son, who is also a burgeoning musician. The A24 movie is based on Eisenberg’s 2020 audio drama of the same name and was part of the Sundance 2022 selection.

“We already adored Eisenberg as an actor and discovered him as a true auteur with this film that’s both tender and contemporary and exposes a generational gap between a mother and her son,” said Ava Cahen,...

Iran’s Leila Hatami, Berlin best actress winner for Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-winning “A Separation,” has called for a wider range of Iranian cinema to be represented internationally.

“More various films should be shown internationally from Iran because usually as everything is commercial, people choose the films which are more touristic [because] it gives you an aspect of the society,” Hatami told Variety. “What I would like is that the art of Iran would be shown more, because you see facts, events, moods in Iran – but you can see that everywhere. You can see it in the news.”

“It’s good to have films about problems of society and such things, but what I appreciate especially is the art of Iranian cinema,” Hatami said. “What has happened internationally usually, you don’t see the best things of a country as you eat, for example, touristic plates, it’s not necessarily the best one,...

Leila Hatami belongs to a family of artists. She made part of her studies in Lausanne, at the Polytechnical School, before studying french literature. Her role in “The Deserted Station” (2002) netted her the Best Actress award at the 26th Montreal World Film Festival. For “A Separation” by Ashgar Farhadi, a film that also received an Academy Award, she received the Silver Bear in the 2011 Berlinale and the 2012 Best Actress Crystal Globe from the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic. She also has been jury member of many festivals, like the Rome International Film Festival and the 67th Cannes Film Festival.

On the occasion of her receiving the Honorary Golden Cyclo Award from Fica Vesoul, we speak with her about her father and his impact on her career, collaborating with Abbas Kiarostami and Asghar Farhadi, acting within Iran’s limitations and many other topics.

The fact that your father was a filmmaker,...

Here are all the winners of the 28th Vesoul Iff Asian Cinemas that took place from the 1st to the 8th of February in Vesoul, France.

Honorary Golden Cyclo:

(offered by the Agglomeration Community and the city of Vesoul)

Mrs. Leila Hatami, actress, Iran for her entire career, and Mr. Kôji Fukada, director, Japan for the all of his work.

Cyclo D’Or:

(offered by the Regional Council of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté), International Jury: President: Ms. Leila Hatami, actress (Iran), members: Ms. Suha Arraf, director (Palestine), Ms. Tran Bich Quan, distributor, producer (France), Mr. Zig Dulay, director (Philippines)

Yanagawa by Zhang Lu (China) Beautiful, strong images, based on a powerful and perfectly told story, lead us to the discovery of brotherly relationship and love

Grand Jury Prize:

Along The Sea by Fujimoto Akio (Japan) Exposing a calm, restful nature on the one hand, harsh and merciless on the other, the film confronts...

Zhang Lu’s “Yanagawa” (China), Hong Sung-eun’s “Aloners” (South Korea) and Fujimoto Akio’s “Along the Sea” (Japan/Vietnam) were among the top award winners at France’s Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas.

“Yanagawa,” which opened the 2021 Pingyao Film Festival, won the Golden Cyclo, the festival’s top honor awarded by the international jury. “Aloners,” which has previously won awards at Jeonju and Torino, won the international jury prize and the Netpac jury award.

The grand jury prize went to San Sebastian, Tokyo and Fajr player “Along the Sea,” which also won the festival’s critic’s choice award and the National Institute of Oriental Languages ​​and Civilizations (Inalco) jury prize. The Inalco jury also recognized Da Fei’s “The Coffin Painter” (China).

The international jury accorded special mentions to Chung Mong-Hong’s Venice selection “The Falls” (Taiwan), Brillante Mendoza’s Busan Kim Ji Seok Award winner...

France’s Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas kicks off Feb. 1 with a gala screening of Iranian auteur Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s 2001 Cannes winner “Kandahar” and will conclude on Feb. 8 with Kazakhstan filmmaker Yerlan Nurmukhambetov’s “The Horse Thieves. Roads of Time.”

The guest of honor at the festival’s 28th edition will be Japanese filmmaker Fukada Koji, who will be presented with an Honorary Cyclo at the opening ceremony. All 10 of Fukada’s features and four shorts will be presented at Vesoul, marking the first complete retrospective for the filmmaker. In all, 20 films from Japan will play at the festival, including Nakano Ryota’s “The Asadas” and Miyazaki Hayao’s “My Neighbor Totoro.”

The festival also pays tribute to Chinese master Xie Fei, whose masterpiece “Woman Sesame Oil Maker” won the Berlin Golden Bear in 1993.

This year, the international competition jury is presided over by Leila Hatami, Berlin Silver...

Leila Hatami, Iranian actress, silver bear in Berlin for A Separation by Ashgar Faradhi, an Iranian film with one million admissions in France, will be the president of the international Jury. The other members are: Suha Arraf, director (Palestine), Zig Dulay, director (Philippines), Yerlan Nurmukhambetov, director (Kazakhstan), Tran Bich Quan, distributor-producer (France).

Koji Fukada, the rising star of Japanese directors, will present all of his films in world premiere.

Both will receive a Cyclo d’or d’honneur for their entire career or their work during the opening ceremony on February 1, 2022.

Moshen Makhmalbaf, multi-award-winning Iranian director, and Atiq Rahimi, Afghan director, Goncourt Prize 2008, signatories of the appeal of July 29, 2021 “let’s save Afghan artists! », will present several films during the Afghan Day.

A tribute will be paid to filmmaker Marc Haaz, technical director of Fica, who died tragically, at the age of 33, on July 30, 2021.

The complete films of Xei Fei,...

The International Jury of the 28th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas will be joint. The President of the Jury will be by Leila Hatami, Iranian Francophone and Francophile actress, winner of Silver Bear in Berlin for “A Separation” by Ashgar Faradhi, Iranian film with million admissions in France.

The other members are, Suha Arraf, screenwriter of The Bride Syrienne and The Lemon Trees, director of Villa Touma (Palestine), Zig Dulay, director, Cyclo d’or Vesoul 2018 for Baggage (Philippines), and Yerlan Nurmukhambetov, director of The Horse Thieves – Road of Time and Walnut Tree awarded at Vesoul 2016, (Kazakhstan). The International Jury awards three prizes: Le Cyclo d´Or (offered by the Regional Council of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté), the Grand Prix du Jury and the Prix du Jury (offered by the Departmental Council of Haute-Saône).

6 other juries will judge the 17 films of the fiction and documentary competitions, presented in international, European or French premieres.

In “Tale of the Sea,” the drama of lyrical despair that’s the opening-night film of the 1st Iranian Film Festival New York, the venerable Iranian filmmaker Bahman Farmanara, who wrote and directed the movie and also stars in it, plays Taher, an esteemed novelist who has just spent three years in a mental institution. Farmanara, now in his mid-70s, has a hangdog scowl, small burning eyes, and a jowly fleshy severity that makes him look like a literary-lion version of Charles Laughton. You wouldn’t exactly say his face lights up with feeling, but that doesn’t mean he’s not expressing anything. He has a world-weariness that tips into tenderness, and the silent haunted demeanor of someone who has grown used to seeing ghosts.

Taher is known to his acolytes as “Maestro,” and that word speaks volumes about his changing place in society. Thirty years ago, it...

Tale Of The Sea (Hekayat-e Darya) Reviewed for Shockya.com and BigAppleReviews.net by: Harvey Karten Director: Bahman Farmanara Screenwriter: Bahman Farmanara Cast: Bahman Farmanara, Fatemeh Motemad Arya, Leila Hatami, Saber Abar, Ali Nassirian Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 1/ Opens: January 10, 2019 at the First Iranian International Film Festival in NY: At IFC Center, 323 […]

The post Tale of the Sea Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Pig (Khook) Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net by: Harvey Karten Director: Mani Haghighi Screenwriter: Mani Haghighi Cast: Hasan Majuni, Leila Hatami, Leili Rashidi, Parinaz Izadyar, Mina Jafarzadeh Screened at: Critics’ Link, NYC, 1/6/19 Opens: January 11, 2019 at Iranian Film Festival in NY: at IFC Center, 323 6th Avenue How do you like your Iranian […]

The post Pig Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Barcelona— A take on physical joy and hellish pain, Gaspar Noé‘s “Climax” took best film at the 51st Sitges’ Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia.

Among other main awards, Panos Cosmatos (“Mandy“), Quentin Dupieux (“Keep An Eye Out”) and “Atsushi Doi” snagged director, script and FX respectively.

Produced by Germany’s Wild Bunch and Rectangle Productions,”Climax” took Cannes’ 2018 Directors’ Fortnight top unofficial prize, the Cicae Art Cinema Award. selling to a24 for the U.S., it sparked maybe the biggest consensus thumbs-up in the director’s career for its early going, chronicling a dance troupe performance. After that, as is typical with Noe, the feature sparked mixed radically mixed reactions.

Italian-Canadian filmmaker Panos Cosmatos scooped best director for his sophomore effort “Mandy,” starring Nicolas Cage and Andrea Riseborough, a stylized romance between two misfits involving Messianic members of a biker gang.

Sold by Xyz Films, “Mandy” is produced by Belgium’s UMedia and U.

The Paris-based company has sealed deals to Greece, Turkey and Germany amongst others.

Sergei Loznitsa’s new drama Donbass, reflecting on the bloody conflict in Eastern Ukraine, has secured a number of theatrical deals ahead of opening Un Certain Regard today (May 9).

Paris-based Pyramide International has sold the film to Greece (Ama Film), Turkey (Fabula Films), Germany (Salzgeber & Co), Ukraine (Arthouse Traffic), Poland (Against Gravity) and Benelux (Imagine Films). Sister company Pyramide Distribution will release the film in France.

The Ukrainian filmmaker returns to Cannes for a sixth time with Donbass, having previously premiered in Competition with A Gentle Creature,...

<em>Tale of the Sea (Hekayat-e Darya) </em>is Bahman Farmanara’s resonant elegy to the conclusion of an artistic era and his salute to a generation of Iranian writers, artists, musicians and filmmakers who are leaving the scene. Abbas Kiarostami, who died just over a year ago, is the name most international viewers will recognize, but many more are mentioned in this simple, atmospheric tale. It is the writer-director-producer’s most personal film since <em>Smell of Camphor, Fragance of Jasmine</em> and has the same kind of melancholy wistfulness. A starry cast including Fatemeh <span data-scayt_word="Motamed-Arya" data-scaytid="8">Motamed-Arya</span> (<em>Gilane</em>,<em> Men at Work</em>), Leila Hatami (<em>A Separation</em>) and Ali ...

Tale of the Sea (Hekayat-e Darya) is Bahman Farmanara’s resonant elegy to the conclusion of an artistic era and his salute to a generation of Iranian writers, artists, musicians and filmmakers who are leaving the scene. Abbas Kiarostami, who died just over a year ago, is the name most international viewers will recognize, but many more are mentioned in this simple, atmospheric tale. It is the writer-director-producer’s most personal film since Smell of Camphor, Fragance of Jasmine and has the same kind of melancholy wistfulness. A starry cast including Fatemeh Motamed-Arya (Gilane, Men at Work), Leila Hatami (A Separation) and...

Lav Diaz title joins films from Markus Imhoof & Katharina Mueckstein.

Berlin-based sales outfit Films Boutique has added two Berlinale Competition titles to its Efm slate.

The company has boarded Season Of The Devil by Filipino master Lav Diaz. The love story is set in the darkest period of Philippine history, the Marcos Dictatorship, described as “a rock opera based on real events and real characters.” All territories are available excluding the Philippines.

Films Boutique has also picked up its first Iranian title, Mani Haghighi’s Pig, starring Leila Hatami (A Separation), Hasan Majuni and Leili Rashid. This dark, satirical comedy is about Hasan, a filmmaker blacklisted by the regime and forbidden from making movies. His wife seems to have fallen out of love with him, and his elderly mother is slowly losing her mind. Film directors across the city are being murdered one after the other, but the serial killer is inexplicably ignoring him. All territories are available...

Christian Petzold, Emily Atef, Lance Daly join Berlinale.

Source: Great Point Media

‘Damsel’

Another ten films have joined the Competition of the 68th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 15 - 25). Three more have also been selected for the programme of the Berlinale Special.

Joining the eight Competition films and two Berlinale Special titles are 13 productions from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong - China, Iran, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Paraguay, People’s Republic of China, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the USA.

Joining the main competition are Barbara and Phoenix director Christian Petzold’s new drama Transit, a contemporary reworking of Anna Seghers’ 1944 novel about refugees attempting to flee through Marseille after the Nazi invasion of France in 1940. The film stars Frantz breakout Paula Beer.

Also new to competition is David and Nathan Zellner’s Damsel, the western about a Us businessman who travels to join his fiancée...

Christian Petzold, Emily Atef, Lance Daly join Berlinale.

Source: Great Point Media

‘Damsel’

Another ten films have joined the Competition of the 68th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival. Three more have also been selected for the programme of the Berlinale Special.

Joining the eight Competition films and two Berlinale Special titles are 13 productions from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong - China, Iran, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Paraguay, People’s Republic of China, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the USA.

Additional films for both categories are due to be revealed soon. Films announced today are:

Competition

3 Tage in Quiberon (3 Days in Quiberon)

Germany / Austria / France

By Emily Atef (Molly’s Way, The Stranger In Me)

With Marie Bäumer, Birgit Minichmayr, Charly Hübner, Robert Gwisdek, Denis Lavant

World premiere

Black 47

Ireland / Luxembourg

By Lance Daly (Kisses, The Good Doctor)

With Hugo Weaving, James Frecheville, Stephen Rea, [link...

Our countdown of the top 100 films of the 21st Century (so far) concludes here with the top 25.

Click here for Part 1! (#100-76)

Click here for Part 2! (#75-51)

Click here for Part 3! (#50-26)

The first decade and a half of the 21st century has brought a lot of changes to the landscape of film. The advancement and sophistication of computers has made realistic computer generated effects a mainstay in both big-budget and small-budget films. The internet and streaming technologies have given big Hollywood new competition in films produced independently and by non-traditional means. We went from purchasing films on yards of tape to plastic disks, and now we can simply upload them to the cloud. Advertisements for films have reached a higher, more ruthless level where generating hype through trailers and teasers is crucial for a film’s commercial success. Movie attendance has fluctuated along with the economy, but that hasn...