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The 54th edition of India’s Goa Film Festival concluded Tuesday evening with a tribute to Michael Douglas, who picked up the fest’s Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Cinema.

Previous winners of the award — which organizers say celebrates individuals whose unparalleled contributions have enriched the cinematic landscape — include Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, Dilip Kumar, Carlos Saura, Krzysztof Zanussi, and Wong Kar-wai.

“It’s a tremendous honor to receive this award. It’s a career life achievement. When I heard about the award, my family and I were elated,” Douglas said. The veteran Basic Instinct actor was joined by his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and son Dylan Douglas.

Later, during his acceptance speech, Douglas touched on world affairs, highlighting the role he believes cinema can play in bringing people together. Douglas also gave a shoutout to what he described as some of his favorite Indian films, including Rrr,...

The 54th International Film Festival of India (Iffi), Goa, concluded on Tuesday with Hollywood veteran Michael Douglas accepting the Satyajit Ray lifetime achievement award for excellence in cinema.

Previous winners of the award include Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, Dilip Kumar, Carlos Saura, Krzysztof Zanussi and Wong Kar-wai.

“It’s a tremendous honor to receive this award, a career life achievement. When I heard about the award, my family and I were elated,” said Douglas, who was accompanied by wife Catherine Zeta Jones and their son Dylan Douglas. The two-time Oscar winning actor said that his favorite Indian films are “Rrr,” “Om Shanti Om” and “The Lunchbox.” The award was conferred during the festival’s closing ceremony by Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana and Pramod Sawant, chief minister of Goa.

At the festival’s international competition, the jury, presided over by veteran filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, awarded best film to Abbas Amini’s Rotterdam-winning Iranian film “Endless Borders.

Iffi 2023: Endless Borders Wins Best Film, Panchayat Season 2 Awarded Best Web Series Honor! ( Photo Credit – IMDb )

The 54th edition of the acclaimed International Film Festival of India (Iffi) honored groundbreaking performances from the world of cinema and Ott during the closing ceremony on Tuesday (November 28). Abbas Amini’s Endless Borders bagged the Best Film honor, while Rishabh Shetty, who has swept the majority of awards this year for Kantara, took home the Special Jury Award for his film, which has now become a cultural phenomenon. Panchayat Season 2 was at the forefront of scripting history by winning the first-ever Best Web Series (Ott) Award. Hollywood legend Michael Douglas, meanwhile, received the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award.

Endless Borders Wins Best Film

The Persian film Endless Borders, directed by Abbas Amini, took home the award for Best Film at Iffi 2023. The film, follows an exiled Iranian teacher, Ahmad, living in...

Persian film ‘Endless Borders’ by Abbas Amini has bagged the Golden Peacock for Best Film at the 54th International Film Festival of India (Iffi) that concluded here on Tuesday. An emotionally charged narrative set against the backdrop of an Iranian teacher’s odyssey amid the turmoil ignited by the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the film intricately delves into the complexities of prejudice, moral dilemmas, and forbidden love.

The jury praised the film’s ability to transcend physical and emotional borders, lauding director Abbas Amini’s courageous storytelling.

In a citation, the jury said, “The film is about how complicated physical borders might be yet nothing can be more complicated than the emotional and moral borders that you impose upon yourself. Film festivals, after all, are about crossing borders and in the case of this film, the director has crossed political borders at the cost of his own freedom.

Persian film ‘Endless Borders’ by Abbas Amini has bagged the Golden Peacock for Best Film at the 54th International Film Festival of India (Iffi) that concluded here on Tuesday. An emotionally charged narrative set against the backdrop of an Iranian teacher’s odyssey amid the turmoil ignited by the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the film intricately delves into the complexities of prejudice, moral dilemmas, and forbidden love.

The jury praised the film’s ability to transcend physical and emotional borders, lauding director Abbas Amini’s courageous storytelling.

In a citation, the jury said, “The film is about how complicated physical borders might be yet nothing can be more complicated than the emotional and moral borders that you impose upon yourself. Film festivals, after all, are about crossing borders and in the case of this film, the director has crossed political borders at the cost of his own freedom.

Iranian cinema got a rare bit of good news recently. Earlier this month, two of the country’s most famous dissident directors —Jafar Panahi (Taxi, No Bears) and Mohammad Rasoulof (Berlin Golden Bear winner There Is No Evil) were released from prison after months behind bars.

The elation surrounding their release was short lived: Rasoulof was soon served with new, dubious, charges that could land him in back in jail. And Panahi is still banned from making movies or from leaving the country. And given the continued, and brutal, suppression of protesters in the country by the Tehran regime, there is little cause for celebration.

“Releasing some individuals among thousands who have been arrested during a few past months, doesn’t lead me to optimism,” notes Iranian documentary filmmaker Farahnaz Sharifi (Profession: Documentarist). “Considering all these issues and censorship and restrictions we are facing with, there is a long process...

Political dramas and documentaries were the big winners at this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), as socially relevant features from Africa, Sri Lanka and the Middle East came away with the top honors.

Cyrielle Raingou’s Le Spectre De Boko Haram, a documentary that follows a group of children living in the far north region of Cameroon whose lives are overshadowed by the threat of Islamist terrorist organisation Boko Haram, won the main prize, the 2023 Tiger Award, which comes with 43,000 (€40,000) in prize money, announced at a gala ceremony in Rotterdam on Friday night.

Endless Borders, a minimalist thriller from Iranian director Abbas Amini, the story of an exiled Iranian teacher living in a border village between Iran and Afghanistan, won the IFFR’s Big Screen Award for best film in the IFFR’s main sidebar section.

The award came just hours after dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi was released from prison in Iran,...

Cyrielle Raingou’s documentary “Le Spectre de Boko Haram” won the Tiger Award, the top prize of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Friday. The film follows a group of children in the north of Cameroon, an area dominated by the terrorist organization Boko Haram. Raingou is from the area herself.

“When I received this unforgettable call, I started crying. I couldn’t believe it. This recognition means the world to me and my people,” Raingou said on a video message played during the awards ceremony.

The jury deemed Raingou’s feature debut “a story that centers on its filmmakers’ patient and honest gaze on the hovering presence of violence, seen through the eyes of innocents.”

The Tiger Award, which aims to “raise the profile of and reward up-and-coming international film talent,” is accompanied by a €40,000 cash prize, to be shared between the film’s director and producer. This year’s...

Visakesa Chandrasekaram’s ’Munnel’ and Artemis Shaw and Prashanth Kamalakanthan’s ‘New Strains’ also won awards.

Cyrielle Raingou’s Le Spectre De Boko Haram has triumphed at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), taking home the main prize, the €40,000 Tiger award, at the ceremony which unfolded tonight (February 3), held in-person for the first time since 2020.

Scroll down for the full list of winners

Raingou’s debut feature is a documentary following a group of children living under the threat of terrorist organisation Boko Haram in the far north region of Cameroon – the region Raingou herself is from.

The winner was...

Following the lineups from Slamdance and Sundance, an early look at 2023 in cinema has come into further focus with the announcement of the competition lineup for the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Taking place January 25 through February 5, the festival will open with Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken’s Munch, an experimental biopic of Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. Along with the Tiger and Big Screen competition, seen below, the festival will also Steve McQueen’s latest artwork Sunshine State, a two-channel video projection.

Check out the lineup below via THR.

Opening Film

Munch, dir. Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken

Tiger Competition

100 Seasons, dir. Giovanni Bucchieri

Gagaland, dir. Teng Yuhan

Geology of Separation, dirs. Yosr Gasmi, Mauro Mazzocchi

Indivision, dir. Leïla Kilani

Letzter Abend, dir. Lukas Nathrath

Mannvirki, dir. Gústav Geir Bollason

Munnel, dir. Visakesa Chandrasekaram

New Strains, dir. Artemis Shaw, Prashanth Kamalakanthan

Notas sobre un verano, dir. Diego Llorente

Numb, dir. Amir Toodehroosta

Nummer achttien, dir.

Munch.International Film Festival Rotterdam have announced the lineup for their 52nd edition, which will take place between January 25 through February 5. The festival will be held in-person for the first time since 2020.Opening FILMMunch (Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken)Tiger COMPETITION100 årstider (Giovanni Bucchieri)Gagaland (Teng Yuhan)Geology of SeparationIndivision (Leïla Kilani)Letzter Abend (Lukas Nathrath)Mannvirki (Gústav Geir Bollason)Munnel (Visakesa Chandrasekaram)New StrainsNotas sobre un verano (Diego Llorente)Numb (Amir Toodehroosta)Nummer achttien (Guido van der Werve)La Palisiada (Philip Sotnychenko)Playland (Georden West)Le spectre de Boko Haram (Cyrielle Raingou)Thiiird (Karim Kassem)three sparks (Naomi Uman)Big Screen COMPETITIONAvant l’effondrementBefore the Buzzards Arrive (Jonás N. Díaz)Copenhagen Does Not Exist (Martin Skovbjerg)Drawing LotsEndless Borders (Abbas Amini)Le formiche di Mida (Edgar Honetschläger)Four Little Adults (Selma Vilhunen)La hembrita (Laura Amelia Guzmán Conde)Joram (Devashish Makhija)Luka (Jessica Woodworth)My Little Nighttime Secret (Natalya Meshchaninova...

This year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled the 16 films selected for its flagship Tiger Competition. Scroll down for the full list.

As always, the competition selection is a global affair, with features from Sweeden to Sri Lanka. The 2023 jury will grant three prizes: the Tiger Award, plus two special jury awards. On the jury are: Alonso Díaz de la Vega, Anisia Uzeyman, Christine Vachon, Lav Diaz, and Sabrina Baracetti.

Running from January 25 to February 5, the fest is set to return for its first full-scale physical edition since the pandemic. The event will open with Munch, an experimental feature biopic of the Norwegian expressionist painter Edvard Munch by Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken (Returning Home).

The honorary Robby Müller Award will go to French cinematographer Hélène Louvart. Louvart is best known for her work with Claire Denis, including the 1999 classic Beau Travail. Louvart has also worked with directors such as Wim Wenders,...

The Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) will be an online-only event for its fourth edition, which will take place later this month.

The Festival originally intended to be an in-person event and even announced its selection for the event, which was initially scheduled to take place in December, 2020. However, Covid regulations in Malaysia were made stricter in November, which caused cinemas countrywide to close down and made the event impossible. With the regulations showing no signs of easing yet, organisers have been forced to move the event into the digital space and make it an online-only event.

The festival is now scheduled to be held from January 15th-21st on the streaming platform Mubi. The audiences in Malaysia can stream the selection free of cost by taking advantage of Mubi’s extended 30-days free trial subscription. Joanne Goh, the festival chairperson, together with actor Bront Palarae made the announcement at the 4th MIFFest Gala Night.

The fourth edition of the Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) is now set to be held later this month as an online-only event.

The festival was originally scheduled to take place as an in-person event in December and got as far as announcing its selection. However, Malaysia’s coronavirus control measures were increased at the beginning of November, causing cinemas across much of the country to close.

Miffest organizers said in November that they hoped to be still able to put on a real-world festival in January when cinemas reopened. But with the virus still hitting cinema operations that is no longer a viable option.

Instead, the festival will now be held Jan. 15-21, playing out on streaming platform Mubi. Audiences in Malaysia can stream the selection free of charge through an extended 30-day trial subscription to Mubi.

The announcement was made by Joanne Goh, the festival chairperson, together with...

29 of the contributors of Asian Movie Pulse from America, Europe and Asia have voted the 25 Best Films of 2020, resulting in what we consider a great selection, despite the difficulties the current year presented to both the shooting and the availability of new movies. In that regard, the list includes films from Malaysia, Japan, Iran. S. Korea, Kazakhstan, Singapore, China, and Taiwan while crime thrillers, animations, shorts, LGBT, comedies, horror, black-and-white and even “quarantine movies” have found a place.

Without further ado, here are the best Asian films of 2020, in reverse order. Some films may have premiered in 2019, but since they mostly circulated in 2020, we decided to include them, after an intense fight that lasted for 150 nights (give or take) and ended up with even more victims

*By clicking on the title, you can read the full review of the film

25. Roh

Graced with a stellar story, plenty of chilling aspects...

While we are mostly quite confident in our moral strength and community, it often only takes intense pressure or a temptation from the outside to veer us from this path, influence us and turn us against one another. In his home country Iran, the duration of the economic and political sanctions, meant as a way to punish the regime for his unwillingness to comply to international policies, have become a burden for its society, according to director Abbas Amini. The image of the slaughterhouse with its hooks, its cold aesthetics and its inherent violence is a fitting metaphor for a time in which people feel an intense economic pressure and have to face unthinkable decisions, making the temptations of the “evil butcher” or rather those who have remained affluent, an attractive option for many. In his new feature “The Slaughterhouse”, a blend of social drama and thriller, Amini seeks to...

This year’s Busan International Film Festival – one of the key players in the Asian film market and indicators of emerging Asian film talent – experimented with a hybrid approach akin to Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifan). In-person theaters filled up at 25 percent capacity, requiring a strict set of health screenings and restrictions for all attendees. Online screenings remained – well – online, but — interestingly enough — multinational screenings were cast simultaneously. This allowed certain Q&As to be conducted in real-time, wherein Korean audiences could speak to international guests within theatres.

Though there are less awards than last year, Korean productions still dominate this year’s selections. Some familiar faces, like Lee Woo-jung — perhaps most famous for writing the hit nostalgia drama “Reply 1988” — has plucked a few awards for her new feature, “Snowball.” Cannes-repeat Jero Yun also returns with his first fictional feature, “Fighter.” Among the newcomers, Jung Wook’s directorial...

Biff managed to achieve physical admissions of 29,135 despite pandemic social distancing requirements.

The 25th Busan International Film Festival (Biff)’s New Currents Awards went to Harumoto Jujiro’s Japanese film A Balance and Pak Ruslan’s Kazakhstan-Korea-Uzbekistan co-production Three in a closed ceremony last night.

Biff organisers announced the winners and closing results in a Zoom press conference this morning (October 30) in Busan.

The New Currents jury headed by director Mira Nair said of the top winners A Balance and Three: “Both are drawn by deep contemplation on human society, yet each has achieved its own unique cinematic language.

“Even...

The Busan International Film Festival concluded its 25th edition on Friday with the announcement of prizes across its multiple sections. The competitive New Currents section saw the top prize shared between “A Balance” from Japanese director Harumoto Yujiro and “Three,” a Kazakhstan-Korea- Uzbekistan co-venture directed by Pak Ruslan.

The festival operated a hybrid format, with most events shifted online due to the coronavirus outbreak alongside a handful of in-person screenings at the Busan Cinema Center. It reported that over its ten day run (Oct. 21-30) it had attracted 20,100 visitors to its onsite screenings. Its aggregate online visitors numbered just 30,200 for its Biff Forum, Asia Contents Awards, the Asian Film Awards, and the Master Class lecture.

“Although the total number of festival audiences remained approximately 18,000 due to 25% occupancy for each theater, it was a noteworthy number that shows the love and support of the audience for the Busan International Film Festival,...

China has struggled to get viewers back into cinemas this week, but the Shanghai Intl. Film Festival (Siff) has found a way to break through: screen all eight of the “Harry Potter” franchise films in a row, with limited seating due to Covid-19 distancing measures, and watch the public duke it out for the privilege to attend.

They must be doing something right in their selection, however: the festival sold 108,000 tickets in the first ten minutes of online sales. That contrasted with only slow box office in commercial cinemas which resumed operating on Monday.

Siff is set to run July 25 to Aug. 2 with an eclectic selection shown in a mix of screenings with a live audience, outdoor viewings and online streaming.

More than 400 films will screen in 29 designated cinemas, including Jordan Peele’s “Us,” a 4K restoration of “Apocalypse Now,” and “1917,” the only studio film new to Chinese audiences among the various offerings.

Jeremy Irons previously announced to lead seven-person jury.

The Berlin International Film Festival (February 20 – March 1) has revealed its competition juries, including director Kenneth Lonergan, actress Bérénice Bejo and filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho.

The seven-person jury also includes German producer Bettina Brokemper, Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir, and Italian actor Luca Marinelli.

Lonergan is the Oscar-winning writer-director of Manchester By The Sea while Argentine-French star Bejo is perhaps best-known for her performance in Academy Award-winner The Artist. Brazil’s Mendonça Filho won the jury prize at last year’s Cannes with Bacurau.

Jeremy Irons was announced last month as president of the jury for the 70th edition,...

The 70th Berlin International Film Festival has unveiled its juries.

Joining president Jeremy Irons on the international jury is actress Bérénice Bejo (Argentina / France), producer Bettina Brokemper (Germany), director Annemarie Jacir (Palestine), plawright and director Kenneth Lonergan (USA), actor Luca Marinelli (Italy) and film critic and director Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil).

They will award prizes including the Golden and the Silver Bears to the 18 films in this year’s Competition line up.

Berlin dropped one of its awards, the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer prize, which goes to a film that “opens new perspectives on cinematic art”, after Nazi collaborator accusations emerged against its namesake in German press this week. No word yet on whether the prize will be reintroduced with a new moniker.

The festival’s new competitive section Encounters will see Dominga Sotomayor (Chile), Eva Trobisch (Germany) and Shôzô Ichiyama (Japan) award three prizes: Best Film, Best Director and a Special Jury Award.

Youth-focused Berlinale sidebar will feature 65 short and feature films from from 39 production and co-production companies.

Source: Berlin Film Festival

‘303’

The Berlin Film Festival (15 - 25 Feb)has revealed the full list of titles that will play in this year’s Generation sidebar, which focuses on youth and children’s films.

In total there are 65 films, 30 of which are feature length in the Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus competitions. They hail from 39 production and co-production companies.

The first batch of Generation titles were announced in December.

Hans Weingartner’s 303 will open The Generation 14plus competition, with Weingartner and the cast attending. Danish animation Den Utrolige Historie Om Den Kæmpestore Pære (The Incredible Story Of The Giant Pear) will open the Generation Kplus competition.

Maryanne Redpath, Berlinale Generation section head, said: “Every single selection is an invitation to the audience to experience life from the perspective of youth. They are films with young people, as opposed to about...

Youth-focused Berlinale sidebar will feature 65 short and feature films from from 39 production and co-production companies.

Source: Berlin Film Festival

‘303’

The Berlin Film Festival (15 - 25 Feb)has revealed the full list of titles that will play in this year’s Generations sidebar, which focuses on youth and children’s films.

In total there are 65 films, 30 of which are feature length. They hail from 39 production and co-production companies.

The first batch of Generations titles were announced in December.

Hans Weingartner’s 303 will open The Generation 14plus competition, with Weingartner and the cast attending. Danish animation Den Utrolige Historie Om Den Kæmpestore Pære (The Incredible Story Of The Giant Pear) will open the Generation Kplus competition.

Maryanne Redpath, Berlinale Generations section head, said: “Every single selection is an invitation to the audience to experience life from the perspective of youth. They are films with young people, as opposed to about them. An impressive characteristic throughout the programme is not only the...

The Berlin Film Festival has completed its selection for this year's Generation sidebar of kids and youth films.

Berlin on Wednesday added a handful of new world premieres and a trio of European premieres to the Generation lineup, with titles including Maria Solrun's Icelandic drama Adam, Iranian features Dressage from director Pooya Badkoobeh and Abbas Amini's Hendi & Hormoz, as well as Fortuna, a Swiss feature from director Germinal Roaux, getting their first festival screening at the Berlinale.

What Walaa Wants, a documentary from Canada's Christy Garland, which looks at the fate of the daughter of a Palestinian woman accused...