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Jimmy Gimferrer. Photo by Jan Baka.The bold films of Catalonian filmmaker Albert Serra—Birdsong (2008) and Story of My Death (2013), along works commissioned by museums or galleries, the cross-over of documentary and essay, The Lord Worked Wonders in Me (2011), and the unorthodox and experimental 14-episode “television series” El Noms de Crist (2010)— share the same man behind the camera, French-born, Spanish-based cinematographer Jimmy Gimferrer, often billed as Albert Serra's cameraman.Gimferrer studied at Arts and Design school Escola Massana in Barcelona, and, similarly to Serra, is an autodidact. Their film career trajectories have roots to Serra's first film, Crespià (2003)—though Gimferrer did not grab the camera before Birdsong, for which he won a Gaudí Award—carrying the tasks of art director, production designer and actor in the director's second film, Honour of the Knights (2006). The penetrative and concentrating gaze of Gimferre's lens has also served other filmmakers, most notably José Maria...

Jimmy Gimferrer. Photo by Jan Baka.The bold films of Catalonian filmmaker Albert Serra—Birdsong (2008) and Story of My Death (2013), along works commissioned by museums or galleries, the cross-over of documentary and essay, The Lord Worked Wonders in Me (2011), and the unorthodox and experimental 14-episode “television series” El Noms de Crist (2010)— share the same man behind the camera, French-born, Spanish-based cinematographer Jimmy Gimferrer, often billed as Albert Serra's cameraman.Gimferrer studied at Arts and Design school Escola Massana in Barcelona, and, similarly to Serra, is an autodidact. Their film career trajectories have roots to Serra's first film, Crespià (2003)—though Gimferrer did not grab the camera before Birdsong, for which he won a Gaudí Award—carrying the tasks of art director, production designer and actor in the director's second film, Honour of the Knights (2006). The penetrative and concentrating gaze of Gimferre's lens has also served other filmmakers, most notably José Maria...

Chicago – One of the annual gems of the Chicago movie scene is the Siskel Film Center’s unmissable European Union Film Festival. It provides local movie buffs with the opportunity to sample some of the finest achievements in world cinema. For many of the festival selections, their EU appearance will function as their sole screening in the Windy City.

This year’s edition, running from March 2nd through the 29th, includes high profile films from world renowned filmmakers like Andrea Arnold (“Wuthering Heights”), Bruce Dumont (“Hors Satan”), Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon (“The Fairy”), Abdellatif Kechiche (“Black Venus”) and John Landis (“Burke & Hare”). Moviegoers will have the opportunity to see the latest work from some of the world’s most acclaimed and beloved actors, including Léa Seydoux (“Belle Épine”), Tahir Rahim (“Free Men”), Colm Meaney (“Parked”), Noomi Rapace (“Beyond”), Andy Serkis (“Burke & Hare”), Isabella Rossellini (“Late Bloomers”) and Ewan McGregor...

There've been any number of films where you hear a building is one of the main characters - usually horror - The Shining, the Amityville films - but it's typically a selling point more than anything else. José María de Orbe's Aita tries to make such a film where the house is actually the focus of attention, but disappointingly the result is more the cliched arthouse bore your average joe would imagine it to be, rather than some bold new means of creative expression. An attempt to convey something of the history of a crumbling Basque villa as custodians tend to it and ordinary people invade, Aita looks good, but all the delicate aesthetic touches going don't stop it ending up excruciatingly boring, a dull...

At the International Film Festival Rotterdam this year one of the few new films I really liked was José María de Orbe's unusual quasi-documentary, Aita. I had this to say:

Aitá (José Maria de Orbe, Spain) develops sublimely what is undoubtedly an old pictorial idea: the study of light as inextricable from the study of death.

De Orbe’s modest semi-doc fixes its steady gaze (an unmoving camera) on a house aching towards dilapidation, barely maintained by a groundskeeper (outside) and an old caretaker (inside), toured by local school children, looted by other groups of older children, emerging from the foliage yet descending back to the earth, or, even more suggestively, descending into the crackling film footage of bygone silent actualities, mysteriously projected on the night-shrouded walls of the quiet mansion.

The celluloid flickers are the only fantasy in the film—the rest is but light, the old man going from room to room,...

“Finisterrae” the film debut of the director of the electronic music festival “Sónar”, Sergio Caballero, was awarded with the top prize at the International Rotterdam Film Festival. The film, produced by the prolific and off-beat Luis Miñarro whose name is attached to award-winning films such as “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” and “La Mosquitera”. Interpreted by the unknown actors Pau Nubiola, Pavel Lukiyanoy, Santi Serra and Yuri Mykhaylychenko, this tells the story of two ghosts that fed up with travelling througt the shadowlands decide to make the “way of Santiago” till the end of the world called “Finisterrae” to once there begin a short life of earthly existence between the living. The experimental film was approached by filming and obtaining images first, and then creating the script afterwards, before finally adding the dialogues which remind us to another Spanish produced film by Luis Miñarro, “Aita” by José Maria de Orbe,...

Best Actor winner Connor McCarron (top); Best Actress winner Nora Navas (bottom) Peter Mullan's Neds Wins Top Prize at San Sebastian Film Festival Special Mention to “A JAMA” by Daoud Aoulad-syad (Morocco-France) For the complexity achieved by a simple story. Jury Prize For Best Screenplay to Bent Hamer for “Home For Christmas“ (Norway-Sweden-Germany) Jury Prize For Best Cinematography to Jimmy Gimferrer for “Aita” (Spain) Silver Shell For Best Actor to Connor McCarron for “Neds” (UK-France-Italy) Silver Shell For Best Actress to Nora Navas for “Pa Negre” (Spain) Silver Shell For Best Director to Raoul Ruiz for “MISTÉRIOS De Lisboa” (Spain) Special Jury Prize to “Elisa K” by Judith Colell and Jordi Cadena (Spain) For the way it portrays the violence to which innocent people are exposed to in everyday life. Golden Shell For Best Film to “Neds” by Peter Mullan (UK-France-Italy) Jury: * Mr. Goran Paskaljevic (Serbia) (President) * Ms. Jo Allen...

Peter Mullan triumphed this past Saturday at the 58th edition of the San Sebastian Int. Film Festival when his third film, Neds won the Golden Shell for Best Picture. “Neds” is the story of John McGill, who is just about to start high school, where he fully expects to continue his so-far glittering academic career. But there are dark clouds on the horizon. His friendship with middle-class Julian shines a light on the abusive and dysfunctional status of his home life, where his father is a drunk, violent and ineffective, his mother is troubled and repressed and his elder brother is always in trouble with the law. At school, there are a pair of good teachers, but most are uninterested and unhelpful in the face of the brutal and territorial gang culture which has spread from local housing estates to the schoolyard. The film, a social commentary on education and violence in 70´s Glasgow,...