News

Today it appears that the debt crisis has been sort of kind of averted though part of me wishes that we'd gotten a chance to see the legislation get a shark week crossover in the form of 'if y'all don't do your damn jobs instead of grand-standing to the media we're going to toss you in this tank with a bunch of sharks' kind of way. However since I'm not exactly qualified to discuss important political business (or sharks, really) that's the last you'll hear about that out of me. The bottom line is that we have another evening full of sharks and shark related programming on the Discovery channel that I hope all of you are able to enjoy. Because it's awesome. And watching a Great White take down a seal in mid-air is a thing of beauty. Here's your Tuesday night TV:

8:00pm: "Cupcake Wars" on Food Network...

Check out the links below — and check back often — for our preview, reviews, blogs and more from the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival.

Preview

Siff Kicks Off 37th Edition

Audience-centric 25-day Seattle International Film Festival screens festival-circuit favorites, premieres and local projects as well as fetes Ewan McGregor and Warren Miller

Features

Editors’ Choice: 12 Best Films Filmed in Seattle

With the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival in full swing, Moving Pictures counts down the dozen greatest movies shot in the Emerald City

Siff Fetes Ewan McGregor

The Seattle International Film Festival gives an audience its fill of the star of “Beginners” during an all-evening tribute to the beloved actor

Long “Weekend”

British writer-director Andrew Haigh writes for Moving Pictures about the making of “Weekend,” which starts with a one-night stand that becomes something else.

Finding My Way in the “Steam of Life”

Writers-directors Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen write for Moving Pictures...

Check out the links below — and check back often — for our preview, reviews, blogs and more from the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival.

Preview

Siff Kicks Off 37th Edition

Audience-centric 25-day Seattle International Film Festival screens festival-circuit favorites, premieres and local projects as well as fetes Ewan McGregor and Warren Miller

Features

Editors’ Choice: 12 Best Films Filmed in Seattle

With the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival in full swing, Moving Pictures counts down the dozen greatest movies shot in the Emerald City

Siff Fetes Ewan McGregor

The Seattle International Film Festival gives an audience its fill of the star of “Beginners” during an all-evening tribute to the beloved actor

Long “Weekend”

British writer-director Andrew Haigh writes for Moving Pictures about the making of “Weekend,” which starts with a one-night stand that becomes something else.

Finding My Way in the “Steam of Life”

Writers-directors Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen write for Moving Pictures...

MoMA’s film exhibitions for June include a look at the influence of melodrama and soap opera on cinema, as well as some of Finland’s best documentaries.

Good to note is that the price of a film ticket may be applied toward the price of a Museum admission ticket with the presentation of the film ticket stub within 30 days of the date on the stub!

June 4-19, 2011: Drama Queen: The Soap Opera in Experimental Cinema

Through filmmakers such as Eija- Liisa Ahtila, Dara Birnbaum, Stan Brakhage, Ximena Cuevas, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Hollis Frampton, George Kuchar, Kalup Linzy, Tony Oursler, Yvonne Rainer, Douglas Sirk, Andy Warhol, and John Waters, “Drama Queen” tackles the cinematic reinvention, deconstruction and parodying of melodrama within experimental filmmaking.

The series’ titles include:

Far from Heaven. 2002. USA. Written and directed by Todd Haynes. With Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson. 107 min.

Coming Apart.

MoMA’s film exhibitions for June include a look at the influence of melodrama and soap opera on cinema, as well as some of Finland’s best documentaries.

Good to note is that the price of a film ticket may be applied toward the price of a Museum admission ticket with the presentation of the film ticket stub within 30 days of the date on the stub!

June 4-19, 2011: Drama Queen: The Soap Opera in Experimental Cinema

Through filmmakers such as Eija- Liisa Ahtila, Dara Birnbaum, Stan Brakhage, Ximena Cuevas, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Hollis Frampton, George Kuchar, Kalup Linzy, Tony Oursler, Yvonne Rainer, Douglas Sirk, Andy Warhol, and John Waters, “Drama Queen” tackles the cinematic reinvention, deconstruction and parodying of melodrama within experimental filmmaking.

The series’ titles include:

Far from Heaven. 2002. USA. Written and directed by Todd Haynes. With Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson. 107 min.

Coming Apart.

Joonas Berghäll´s and Mika Hotakainen's Finnish documentary "Steam of Life" has been picked up by PBS for U.S broadcast on the series Pov. In Finland, "Steam of Life" has been screening for a record-breaking 52 weeks a row in Helsinki and Tampere, which is an achievement for any film in the country, let alone for a documentary film. "Life" has screened at over 50 international film festivals, winning the grand ...

With Waste Land, Killing in the Name and Sun Come Up scoring the Oscars nods out of DocuWeeks 2010, other Showcase alums have made their presence felt elsewhere. In the recently concluded Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Montana, Thomas Bursteyn's This Way of Life captured the Best Feature Prize, while Steam of Life, from Joonas Berghall and Mika Hotakainen, took the Artistic Vision Award. Elsewhere among the Ida community, Darwin, produced by former Ida executive director Sandra Ruch and Documentary magazine contributing editor Taylor Segrest (also credited as writer), earned ...

The 8th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival — which is still going on as of this writing in Missoula, Montana — has announced their list of award winners, giving prizes to seven films out of the dozens that screened this year. Plus, if you’re in Missoula and you’ve missed any of the winning films, there will be a repeat screening of them on the fest’s last two days on Feb. 19 & 20.

The big winner of the fest is the film This Way of Life, directed by Thomas Burstyn, which takes home the Best Feature Award. In addition to the honor, Burstyn will also be taking home $1000 in prize money. (The rest of the winners get $500 each, courtesy of The Documentary Channel.) This Way of Life chronicles the struggles of a New Zealand family as they try to hold onto their passion for raising and caring for horses.

The other...

The 8th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is all set to run for ten days this Feb. 11-20 in Missoula, Montana. This year, the fest will have a whopping 140 film programs, a growth that necessitates an expansion from its regular home at the Historic Wilma Theatre — where it will occupy two screens — to also feature screenings at the former Pipestone Mountaineering store.

Special events at the fest include a free opening night screening of How to Die in Oregon sponsored by HBO Documentary Films. The film, directed by Peter D. Richardson, examines the impact the legalization of physician-assisted suicide has had on the state. (In 1994, Oregon was the first state to legalize the practice.)

Also, indie rock band Yo La Tengo will perform their acclaimed live score of the films of pioneering French underwater documentary film director Jean Painlevé, something they have done for other film festivals all over the world.

The Cinema Eye Honors, devoted to highlighting the best of the year's nonfiction films, have flipped for Lixin Fan's fantastic "Last Train Home," which follows a family of migrant workers as they struggle to stay connected while living separated by hundreds of miles. "Last Train Home" received the most nominations -- seven -- while Banksy's "Exit Through The Gift Shop" and Afghanistan documentary "Armadillo" each received six. The award ceremony will take place on January 18 at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, and will be broadcast on the Documentary Channel.

Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking

Armadilllo

Directed by Janus Metz

Produced by Sara Stockmann and Ronnie Fridthjof

Exit Through The Gift Shop

Directed by Banksy

Produced by Jaimie D'Cruz

Last Train Home

Directed by Lixin Fan

Produced by Mila Aung-Thwin and Daniel Cross

Marwencol

Directed by Jeff Malmberg

Produced by Jeff Malmberg, Tom Putnam, Matt Radecki, Chris Shellen...

The International Documentary Association has announced the nominees for the 2010 Ida Documentary Awards and the voting members have a strong fivesome to choose from in: Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop, Laura Poitras’ The Oath, Joonas Berghaell and Mika Hotakainen’s Steam of Life, Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor’s Sweetgrass, and Lucy Walker’s Waste Land. Awards are being handed out on the 3rd of December. Here's the complete list in other categories. Gist: The International Documentary Association really have their act together. Example: "this year for Distinguished Feature and Short Documentary - will be selected by Ida’s members through a process in which members who wish to participate will view all of the nominated films in these categories through a secure, password-protected online system. After viewing all of the films in their entirety, these Ida member judges will cast their votes to determine the winners." Not bad at all.

For some reason, this press release wasn't in my inbox. The European Film Awards have named the three documentary film candidates earlier yesterday for the aptly titled the European Documentary category. Among the trio we find the familiar pair that stretched between Cannes/Tiff with Janus Metz's award-winning Armadillo and Patricio Guzman's Nostalgia for the Light. Completing the noms is Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen's Steam of Life from sauna loving nation of Finland (even small apartments have a built in saunas) and the shared experience of them. Award night is set next to Finland's neighbor (Talinn, Estonia) on December 4th.   Gist: Since we already know enough on the Cannes preemed pair, I figure I'd concentrate on the lesser known one from Finland (official candidate for the 2011 Oscar race). It won the Prize of the Interreligious Jury at Visions du Réel, a Special Jury Mention at Silverdocs and...

indieWIRE: Peter Knegt reviews the International Documentary Association’s nominees for the 2010 Ida Documentary Awards, which will be presented at the Directors Guild Theater in Los Angeles on December 3rd as part of a ceremony hosted by the Oscar nominated doc filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (“Super Size Me”). The five distinguished feature nominees are Banksy’s “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” Laura Poitras’s “The Oath,” Joonas Berghaell and Mika Hotakainen’s “Steam of Life,” Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor’s “Sweetgrass,” and Lucy Walker’s “Waste Land.” According to Ida executive director Michael Lumpkin, “Entries to the Awards increased by nearly 20% this year, and the quality of the films vying for recognition is unprecedented.”

“Charlie Rose”: Charlie Rose conducts the definitive interview with the actress Noomi Rapace, who portrays the title character in the Swedish film adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium Trilogy”: “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,...

Best documentary at the Oscars is, like best foreign language film, the type of category that seems invented to be grumbled over, with selections and winners rarely reflecting the films everyone else in the world finds most worthy of praise. So it's much less frustrating to look to organizations like the International Documentary Association for better indicators of the docs that are the cream of 2010's crop.

The nominees for the 2010 Ida Documentary Awards were announced today, and the contenders for the top prize include Banksy's "Exit Through The Gift Shop," a personal favorite; Laura Poitras' Al-Qaeda saga "The Oath"; Joonas Berghaell and Mika Hotakainen's look at Finnish sauna culture "Steam of Life"; Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor's trailing of Montana sheepherders "Sweetgrass"; and Lucy Walker's tale of making art of trash "Waste Land," opening in New York on Friday. The awards will take place in L.

The International Documentary Association has announced the nominees for the 2010 Ida Documentary Awards today, with Banksy's "Exit Through The Gift Shop," Laura Poitras' "The Oath," Joonas Berghaell and Mika Hotakainen's "Steam of Life," Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor's 'Sweetgrass," and Lucy Walker's "Waste Land" making the list for the awards' top category. Winners will be feted on December 3rd at the Directors Guild Theater in Los Angeles at a ...

The European Film Academy (Efa) has made their nomination picks for their documentary category. Janus Metz's "Armadillo," Patricio Guzman's "Nostalgia for the Light," and "Steam of Life," from directors Joonas Berghall and Mika Hotakainen round out the three nominees. The nominations were made by a committee consisting of Efa Board Member Despina Mouzaki (Greece), Efa Members Pierre-Henri Deleau (France) and Francine Brücher (Switzerland), experts Claas Danielsen (International Leipzig Festival for ...

The European Film Academy nominates three documentary films for its Prix Arte award. The selection was made by Efa Board Members Despina Mouzaki (Greece), Pierre-Henri Deleau (France) and Francine Brücher (Switzerland), along with experts Claas Danielsen (International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film), Ally Derks (director Idfa, the Netherlands), and Jacques Laurent (producer, Belgium). The 2,300 members of the Efa will now watch and vote on the winner, to be awarded on December 4. The nominees are: Armadillo, Denmark/Sweden directed by Janus Metz produced by Ronnie Fridthjof & Sara Stockman Miesten Vuoro (Stream of Life), Finland/Sweden written & directed by Joonas Berghäll & Mika Hotakainen produced by Joonas Berghäll Nostalgia De La Luz (Nostalgia for the Light), France/Germany/Chile written & directed by Patricio Guzmán produced by Renate Sachse...

Janus Metz's Armadillo (photo: Lars Skree) (top); Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen's Steam of Life (middle); Patricio Guzmán's Nostalgia for the Light (bottom) Janus Metz's Armadillo, Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen's Steam of Life, and Patricio Guzmán's Nostalgia for the Light are the three documentaries nominated for the 2010 European Film Awards' Prix Arte, the European Film Academy announced today. Cannes 2010 Critics Week winner Armadillo, which caused a furor in Denmark, shows the brutality and viciousness of the war in Afghanistan, where Danish soldiers may have been guilty of war atrocities. As one soldier puts it, they "liquidated wounded people and piled up the dead to take pictures of ourselves as heroes." In Steam of Life, naked Finnish men discuss just about everything while sweating away in many of Finland's multifarious saunas. Set in Chile's Atacama desert, Nostalgia for the Light presents three disparate sets of activities...

While I do not think that something as edgy or unusual as Giorgos Lanthimos' Dogtooth (pictured above) will make the 'final five' short list, but kudos to Greece for throwing it out there.  Perhaps something like Tetsuya Nakashima's Confessions will make the cut despite its similarly unsettling subject matter.  Either way, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did put out a big release yesterday with all of their Foreign Language film submissions, 65 of them in total even Greenland, from various countries.  Many of these films have reviews in our archives.

Albania, East West East, Gjergj Xhuvani

Algeria, Hors la Loi ("Outside the Law"), Rachid Bouchareb

Argentina, Carancho, Pablo Trapero

Austria, La Pivellina, Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel

Azerbaijan, The Precinct, Ilgar Safat

Bangladesh, Third Person Singular Number, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki

Belgium, Illegal, Olivier Masset-Depasse

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Circus Columbia, Danis Tanovic

Brazil, Lula the Son of Brazil,...

65 Countries Enter Race for 2010 Foreign Language Film Oscar®

Beverly Hills, CA: Sixty-five countries, including first-time entrants Ethiopia and Greenland, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 83rd Academy Awards®.

The 2010 submissions are:

.Albania, .East, West, East,. Gjergj Xhuvani, director;

.Algeria, .Hors la Loi. (.Outside the Law.), Rachid Bouchareb, director;

.Argentina, .Carancho,. Pablo Trapero, director;

.Austria, .La Pivellina,. Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, directors;

.Azerbaijan, .The Precinct,. Ilgar Safat, director;

.Bangladesh, .Third Person Singular Number,. Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, director;

.Belgium, .Illegal,. Olivier Masset-Depasse, director;

.Bosnia and Herzegovina, .Circus Columbia,. Danis Tanovic, director;

.Brazil, .Lula, the Son of Brazil,. Fabio Barreto, director;

.Bulgaria, .Eastern Plays,. Kamen Kalev, director;

.Canada, .Incendies,. Denis Villeneuve, director;

.Chile, .The Life of Fish,. Matias Bize, director;

.China, .Aftershock,. Feng Xiaogang, director;

.Colombia, .Crab Trap,. Oscar Ruiz Navia, director;

.Costa Rica, .Of Love and Other Demons,. Hilda Hidalgo, director;

.Croatia, .The Blacks,...

I have been keeping track of all of the Foreign Language Oscar submissions in my "The Contenders" section of the site and today the official list of sixty-five films from sixty-five countries was unveiled by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration for the 83rd Academy Awards. On January 20, 2011 a shortlist of nine contenders will be announced prior to the naming of the nominees on January 25, 2011.

I have included the complete list directly below, which includes first-time entrants Ethiopia and Greenland. The only film that was originally thought to be under consideration, but didn't show up on the Academy's final list was Afghanistan's entry, Black Tulip, directed by Sonia Nassery Cole. IMDb doesn't list a release date for the film, which means it may not have met the release requirements in time.

I have linked each film to their corresponding IMDb page for those films not included...

Cologne, Germany -- Finland has picked sauna-set documentary "Steam of Life" as its contender for the 2011 Foreign Language Oscar.

"Steam" is the first every doc to represent Finland for the Academy Awards and it is one of the stranger titles in this year's Foreign Language race. The premise is simple: directors Joonas Berghall and Mika Hotakainen follow Finnish men into the sauna, strip down and talk about their lives, loves, hopes and fears.

"Steam of Life" has been a favorite on the festival circuit, picking up awards at Nyon's Visions du Reel, the Planeta Doc Review in Warsaw and Tel Aviv's DocAviv fests. It is also one of the five nominees for Scandinavia's top film honor, the Nordic Council Film Prize.

The highlights of the 2010 Guth Gafa Festival have been announced. 30 international and Irish award-winning films will be screened at the event at which guests such as Sundance's Patricia Finneran and Cork Film Festival director Mick Hannigan will be present. Some of the award winning international films being screened at the Guth Gafa festival include Peter Kerekes' 'Cooking History'; Peter Liechti's 'The Sound of Insects – Record of a Mummy'; Rupert Isaacson's 'The Horse Boy'; Michael Madsen's 'Into Eternity'; Kaleo la Belle's 'Beyond this Place'; John Appel's 'The Player' and 'Steam of Life' from Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen.