News

Bok o Bok (Side by Side) festival hit with heavy fine after failing to register foreign funding, which organisers deny receiving

A Russian film festival that mounts screenings and discussions relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues has been fined 500,000 rubles (almost £10,000) and named as a "foreign agent" by authorities.

The Saint Petersburg-based Bok o Bok (Side by Side) festival has run annually since 2007 and recently expanded to a number of other Russian cities, including Moscow, Tomsk, Arkhangelsk, Perm and Novosibirsk. Authorities began to investigate the event in March and a judge has now ruled that organisers must pay the large fine for failing to register as a "foreign agent" under highly criticised new laws.

The Kremlin ruled recently that all non-govermental organisations (NGOs) must register if they receive funding from abroad. Side by Side, which screened films by Dutch director Michiel Van Erp and Germany's Dennis Todorovic during its most recent edition,...

★★★★☆ There are two distinct camps (no pun intended) within the genre of gay cinema - those which cater for the physical elements and those, like Sasha (2010), which approach from an emotional angle. Starring Sasha Kekez, Tim Bergmann and Yvonne Yung Hee, the latest film from writer/director Dennis Todorovic is a realistic depiction of the confusion and heartache family restrictions and expectations can place upon young people.

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A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Meskada" (2010)

Directed by Josh Sternfeld

Released by Anchor Bay Entertainment

When this thriller premiered at Tribeca this past spring, Alison Willmore wrote, "the second film from writer/director Josh Sternfeld ("Winter Solstice") has ambitions reaching beyond being a straightforward police procedural," though critics, including her, were mixed about the end result. Nick Stahl and Rachel Nichols star as small-town sleuths who investigate a botched home invasion case that claims the life of a young child in an affluent community and enflames class divisions when the main suspects are from the poorer community nearby. Grace Gummer, Meryl Streep's second daughter to go into the family profession, makes her film debut.

"Anywhere USA" (2008)

Directed by Chusy Haney-Jardine

Released by Cinevolve Studios

Winner of a Spirit of Independence prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, Chusy Haney-Jardine's collection of three comic vignettes involves a...

Tim Bergmann (left) and Sasa Kekez

On one hand, we've seen the story of the new German coming out story Sasha before: a sensitive misfit who is a closeted gay teen tries to survive an ignorant, dictatorial father with the help his best female friend who is in love with him, while his mother, who senses the truth, makes aheartfelt, if ultimately misguided attempts to protect him from harm.

On the other hand, this same story has rarely been told quite this well, or acted by such a good cast. And the fact that the main character, Sasha, is the son of poor Croatian immigrants living in Germany makes this movie seem fresher than it otherwise might.

Sasha is nineteen and, along with his best female friend Jiao (Yvonne Yung-Hee), is studying for a musical scholarship that will finally take him away from the prosaic life of his ignorant, homophobic,...

• Bill Stamets and Roger Ebert

The 46th Chicago International Film Festival will play this year at one central location, on the many screens of the AMC River East 21, 322 E. Illinois. A festivalgoers and filmmakers' lounge will be open during festival hours at the Lucky Strike on the second level. Tickets can be ordered online at Ciff's website, which also organizes the films by title, director and country. Tickets also at AMC; sold out films have Rush Lines. More capsules will be added here.

"127 Hours" (USA)A tour de force by James Franco and Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire"). Many are familiar with the true story, and just as many probably thought it could never be filmed. Boyle succeeds. A climber named Aron Ralston went climbing by himself in remote canyons, and was trapped deep in a crevice when a falling rock pinned his arm. He had limited food and water, no...

The 46th Chicago International Film Festival is coming, and The Scorecard Review will be there will exclusive interviews, movie reviews and red carpet events beginning October 7, 2010.

Here’s the first 20 films announced for the festival. Below is the news release.

October 7 – 21, 2010

Chicago, August 25, 2010 – Cinema/Chicago is proud to announce the first 20 new films that will appear at this year’s Chicago International Film Festival. Among them are some of the most anticipated domestic and foreign films featuring well-respected talent and directors as well as the work of exceptional newcomers. From Slumdog Millionaire and Resevoir Dogs to Martin Scorsese and Werner Herzog, The Chicago International Film Festival has consistently brought the brightest and boldest new films and filmmakers to Chicago first. Audiences will be delighted to find that this year’s Festival will be no different. Below is just a taste of the more than 150 films that will be shown at...

Chicago – Cinema/Chicago is proud to announce the first 20 new films scheduled to appear at the 2010 Chicago International Film Festival, October 7th – 21st. The Chicago festival continues to combine the films of established directors/talent with promising newcomers. Expect some foreign and domestic film surprises.

Screenings will take place at the AMC River East Theater in downtown Chicago during the October festival run. Festival passes are on sale now and individual tickets go on sale September 24th.

Gemma Arterton in ‘Tamara Drewe’

Photo Credit: Sony Pictures Classic

Here are the first 20 films slated for the Chicago International Film Festival in the announcement made on August 25th.

UK – ‘Tamara Drewe’

Director: Stephen Frears

When former ugly duckling Tamara Drewe sashays back into her hometown, life for her neighbors is thrown upside down. Now a devastating beauty, Tamara sets a contemporary comedy of manners into play using the oldest magic in the book: sex appeal.

Mercedes Quintero, Lucas Ferraro, Manuel Vignau in Marco Berger‘s Plan B (top); Tim Bergmann, Sascha Kekez in Dennis Todorovic‘s Sasha (upper middle); Andy Blubaugh‘s The Adults in the Room (lower middle); Johnny Ferro, Stephen Tyrone Williams in Kareem Mortimer‘s Children of God (bottom) Outfest 2010: Children Of God, Bloomington, Light Gradient, Plan B Synopses Marco Berger‘s Plan B, Susan Koch‘s The Other City, Dennis Todorovic‘s Sasha, Andy Blubaugh‘s The Adults in the Room, and Kareem Mortimer‘s Children of God are some of the highlights at Outfest 2010, the 28th edition of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, on Saturday, July 10. In the Argentinean romantic-triangle-of-sorts Plan B, a young man (Manuel Vignau) dumped by his girlfriend (Mercedes Quintero) not only befriends the young woman’s new boyfriend (Lucas Ferraro), but also attempts to seduce him. Note: This may sound like a comedy,...

Strand Releasing has snagged all U.S. rights to Dennis Todorovic's "Sasha," a coming-of-age that follows a young man's relationship with his piano teacher, a relationship his hot-headed father greatly discourages. The film had its U.S. premiere earlier in the week at San Francisco's Frameline Film Festival and is headed to Outfest in July. Strand Releasing's Marcus Hu said of the announcement, "“We very proud to be handling Mr. Todorovic’s film and ...