tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27664730720310672112008-04-16T14:33:18.293-04:00WebmasterBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766473072031067211.post-17602962713094796152008-04-14T13:42:00.009-04:002008-04-16T14:33:18.393-04:00

To enter Gen Art, your name must be on a clipboard manned by a shining, feverish lady in black. If it is you feel lucky, chosen, special, because then you are permitted to taste what life should be like EVERY DAY: lo, there is free beer, free wine, free cookies and free popcorn. You eat, you drink, you look around. Are you in a singles bar? No – over there is a character actor whom you admire..

Jason Guerrasiotag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766473072031067211.post-74412704249472581562008-03-19T15:08:00.008-04:002008-03-19T16:23:33.861-04:00

The Miami International Film Festival’s (Feb. 28 - March 9) lack of public screenings before 4 p.m. makes sense only after you’ve plopped bare feet onto the beach and felt the sun on your face--unusual sensations for movie people, several of whom were seen sporting freshly burned skin in the fest’s first half. On Day 4, Henry Fonda flaunted his own deep, dark tan in Once Upon a Time in the West

Jason Guerrasiotag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766473072031067211.post-21283426247943594092008-01-06T23:01:00.001-05:002008-01-07T00:24:21.581-05:00

In only four years the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) has taken on the Herculean task of establishing itself as a platform for Middle Eastern films to the Western world. And when there seems to be no limit to the amount of money the city will put into the fest (and itself: the tallest building in the world will soon be located in Dubai, its mall has the largest indoor amusement park

Jason Guerrasiotag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766473072031067211.post-43926215419155718412007-11-28T15:42:00.000-05:002007-11-29T12:48:40.694-05:00

Now in its second year, the spectacularly-funded new-kid-on-the-block Rome Film Fest (Oct. 18-27) exhibits the apparently ontologically inescapable teething pains that all toddlers must endure – disorganization, poor communication skills, a certain clumsiness, and a forward-looking sense of “anything’s possible.” Also, a tendency to imitate the mother’s facial expressions – in this case, the

Jason Guerrasiotag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766473072031067211.post-36261925957760691422007-11-06T10:28:00.001-05:002007-11-14T17:15:42.231-05:00

Now in its 20th year under the firm stewardship of festival director and art-film connoisseur Alan Franey, the Vancouver International Film Festival (September 27 to October 12) remains the same as it ever was: committed to an intelligent mix of new movies from Asia and Canada (and new nonfiction from around the world), and admirably resistant to the market pressures that sometimes threaten to

Jason Guerrasiotag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766473072031067211.post-12914558870487269262007-10-17T17:48:00.000-04:002007-10-19T12:02:50.480-04:00

It's been noted that with Tribeca nipping at its heels and film fests sprouting like kudzu, the New York Film Festival might be losing its relevance and lustre. Well, to judge by the 45th edition, such concerns are premature. From Sept. 28 to Oct. 14 the NYFF — the 20th with Richard Peña at the helm — rolled out a wide-ranging lineup of mostly exhilarating films. If they reflect, in Pena's words

Jason Guerrasiotag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766473072031067211.post-15808397919982267372007-07-26T10:23:00.000-04:002007-08-31T11:04:52.199-04:00

Blithely defying industry norms, Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival (June 21-July 1) managed the unlikely achievement of figuratively conferring independent filmmaker status on blockbuster director Michael Bay by presenting the L.A. premiere of DreamWorks’ Transformers to an audience of 4,000 in four theaters simultaneously during the height of the festival. By now Film Independent’s

Jason Guerrasiotag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766473072031067211.post-2850114913700054202007-07-10T11:15:00.000-04:002007-07-10T12:13:01.627-04:00

As the oldest film festival in North America, the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) celebrated its 50th anniversary April 26-May 10 with a variety of special screenings, events and awards. Following a period of inapt leadership under previous management, the second fest helmed by executive director Graham Leggat saw SFIFF beginning to regain its stride while facing increasing

Jason Guerrasiotag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766473072031067211.post-43532275985331146812007-05-13T19:15:00.000-04:002007-05-13T19:56:33.323-04:00

The Sarasota Film Festival's (April 13-22) director of programming Tom Hall, programmer Holly Herrick, executive director Jody Kielbasa and the rest of the staff and attending filmmakers are getting a reputation... for making the SFF quite possibly the most enjoyable regional film festival experience in the United States. Of course 10 days of sun, sand and sea doesn't hurt, but the real

Jason Guerrasiotag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766473072031067211.post-51781858702766982942007-04-23T13:36:00.000-04:002007-05-02T01:19:19.065-04:00

The tone of the 36th edition of New Directors/New Films (March 21-April 1) might be encapsulated in the words of a character from The Great World of Sound, a first feature by Craig Zobel: "Fuck 'fair.' Life ain't fair." In fact, if the miserabilist flavor of the festival is any indication, the world (hedge fund managers excepted) is not a happy place. Many of the 26 films in the fest (a

Webmastertag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766473072031067211.post-33304152181276929202007-02-13T14:23:00.000-05:002007-05-01T14:30:16.742-04:00

The Palm Springs International Film Festival (January 4-15), with a budget around $2.8 million, advertises itself as the fest “where star power and the cinema come together.” The order is significant. On opening weekend, this 18th edition and the fourth under director Darryl Macdonald hosted a meretricious gala at the Convention Center — replete with a video-clip homage to emcee Mary Hart of

Webmastertag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766473072031067211.post-61083629304763915482007-01-18T14:10:00.000-05:002007-11-12T16:01:38.458-05:00

This year’s Marrakech International Film Festival (Dec. 1-9) did not boast any breakthrough films spread within its exotic 22-country, 121-film slate, but the 6th year did lift the fest up another notch in the global circuit by importing an intriguing array of glitzy guests. Roman Polanski, who had just come off of accepting a Lifetime Achievement trophy from the European Film Awards in Warsaw

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