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Laura Bispuri’s Sworn Virgin won the Firebird Award in the Young Cinema Competition at this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff), which wrapped on Monday night.

The Italian-Albanian co-production is a socio-political and magical tale about a girl from the Albanian mountains who escapes a life of servitude by pledging her eternal virginity in return for a male body. Bispuri collected the award at the Hkiff awards gala on April 3, which included a screening of Tsui Hark’s The Taking Of Tiger Mountain.

In the same competition, Chinese director Xin Yukun’s The Coffin In The Mountain received a Special Mention, while Kafka-esque fable K, directed by D.E. Bulag and Emyr ap Richard, picked up the Jury Prize as well as the Fipresci award. The Mongolian production was produced by Jia Zhangke.

Jurors for the Young Cinema Competition included Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, critic Jonathan Rosenbaum, Hong Kong actress...

Franz Kafka is to film what lightning is to a bottle: many filmmakers try to capture him, but few succeed. Courageous men like Michael Haneke and Aleksey Balabanov have attempted the feat of translating Kafka's final work, “The Castle,” into the medium of cinema, only to end up with a square peg in a round hole. Now, we have a couple of new brave souls. Darhad Erdenibulag and Emyr ap Richard are co-directors from Inner Mongolia, who have chosen to tackle the labyrinthine world of bureaucratic abyss in Kafka's seminal novel as their sophomore feature. A supreme undertaking, and a valiant effort, ultimately, “K” is a resounding failure and a butterfingered attempt to capture the essence of a literary genius. For those unfamiliar with Kafka's work: firstly, I must implore you not to watch Erdenibulag and Richard's interpretation as an introduction. Secondly, the plot is wonderfully basic at its core.

Here is a thought: what if Kafka's Castle was transposed from the cramped, dreary, dark Eastern European city to the airy, spacious word of Inner Mongolia? It is realized by Mongolian director Darhad Erdenibulag and English born Emyr ap Richard in their simply titled film, K. They put a new twist on Kafka's unfinished, ultimate bureaucratic nightmare story (along with The Trial).Frizzy haired land surveyor K (Bayin) arrives in a village in the middle of nowhere. He gets a very hostile reception from the locals and can't seem to get access to either the castle or the governor Klamm who supposedly has assigned him the job. His path crosses with a series of beautiful women who string him along and feed him only snippets of...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Experimental strand to open with Guy Maddin’s The Forbidden Room

The Berlinale (Feb 5-15) has unveiled the line-up for its 45th Forum strand, comprising 43 films in its main programme, of which 31 are world premieres and 10 international premieres.

The programme includes avant garde, experimental works, essays, long-term observations and political reportage.

Canadian director Guy Maddin’s The Forbidden Room will open this year’s programme. The film’s numerous plotlines are inspired by real, imaginary and photographic memories of films from the silent era, using a half-damaged nitrate print aesthetic in homage.

Films of the 45th Forum

Abaabi ba boda boda (The Boda Boda Thieves) by Yes! That’s Us,

Uganda / South Africa / Kenya / Germany - Wp

Al-wadi (The Valley) by Ghassan Salhab, Lebanon / France / Germany

Balikbayan #1 (Memories of Overdevelopment Redux) by Kidlat Tahimik, The Philippines - Wp

Beira-Mar (Seashore) by Filipe Matzembacher, Marcio Reolon, Brazil - Wp

Ben Zaken by Efrat Corem, Israel - IP[p...