Love in the Time of Cholera closes Rio

Via Film Festival World blog: The close of the festival (4 Oct) will see the world premiere of award-winning UK director Mike Newell’s $50 million screen adaptation of Nobel Prize winning Colombian writer Gabriell Garcia Marquez’ "Love in the Time of Cholera." Faithfully scripted by Ronald Harwood, whose screen adaptation for Roman Polanski’'s "The Pianist" earned him a 2003 Oscar, the film, set in the late 19th century and first decades of the 20th century, revolves around a fifty-year love triangle and explores the idea that suffering for love is a kind of nobility.

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The Island of Lost Souls

Another of the excellent films in this first Russian film festival in London is The Island, directed by Pavel Lungin. It's an unusual but highly dramatic tale of a former sailor in WW2 who now lives on an island monastery, permanently in guilt for causing the death of his ship's captain. In contemporary world cinema, there is nothing to compare, visually or in characterisation, with this story of guilt and redemption which has a surprise denouement. Read the review here

Listmania hits London Film Festival

I have to confess that I'm not the biggest fan of lists in the world, except for 'my birthday presents wish list'. But...I have really warmed up to Ten Bad Dates with DeNiro, by Richard T. Kelly, out on Faber & Faber. The idea is to stray from conventional lists in favour of quirkier groupings. Here's how Kelly describes it:

An alternative movie list is about celebrating the things that just plain fascinate you about cinema, in spite of what anybody else might say - we're talking private passions, guilty pleasures, cult actors and actresses, unsung directors, disreputable genres, idiosyncratic themes, styles, and motifs that just happen to plug into your particular movie-loving socket ...

To celebrate the launch of the book, the London Film Festival, which runs between 17 October and 1 November (REMINDER: public booking opens on Saturday, 29/9), is inviting film lovers to submit their own lists based on their own creative criterion "(Top Ten Voiceovers? Top Ten Car Chases? Top Ten Unappreciated Actresses? Top Ten Rock ‘n’ Roll Musicals?)". Ten lucky list-makers will be selected to publicly present their choices at the event on Sunday 21 October.

Here's how to submit your film list. The deadline is 05 October.

Peter Greenaway in Brazil

It seems like Peter Greenaway is making something of a comeback this year. After his recent appearance in Venice, he's now in São Paulo as the star of the Video Brazil festival with a VJ performance of his Tulse Luper on Sunday, 30 September. Here's the flyer - if you happen to be in São Paulo, sounds worth checking out.

New on Kamera

Check out Kamera for some new postings: there's a review of the British comedy Mrs. Ratcliffe's Revolution, and a round up of some of the latest DVD releases, including the classic Of Mice and Men (1939).

Euphoria at the first Russian Film Festival in London

The first Russian Film Festival in London will open on 27th September for a week of screenings, including Euphoria, the prize-winning film by theatre director Ivan Virypayev, his first venture into celluloid and well worth the effort. Euphoria is a poetical piece on the doomed love affair of a young couple set against the long Don River in Russia.

Euphoria is one of eight features from the last two years, alongside documentaries and animations, that will showcase the wealth of talent coming out of Russia as it re-emerges into a giant of world cinema again. The festival takes place between 27 September and 3 October at the new five screen West End Apollo, the first purpose built cinema in the heart of London for over ten years.

Russian film has become big international business and their film market is now in the top 10 in the world in terms of box office. There are also over 100 feature films produced in Russia every year, the largest number of productions for any country in Europe except France. Films like Euphoria and Island (also showing in this program), are exemplary of the high standard as represented in this festival.

For the review of Euphoria click here

Russian Film Festival in London

Our friends from Russia have sent through our wires word about a Russian Film Festival which takes place between 27 September and 3 October. I'll pass the word to them:

Showcasing inspiring and provocative award-winning work from a host of internationally established young Russian filmmakers, it provides a long-awaited opportunity for British audiences to view the portrayal of modern Russia through contemporary Russian cinema.

The programme includes films made in the last two years which have already received international and national awards. The festival opens with Ivan Vyrypaev’s film Euphoria that was awarded the Small Golden Lion at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival in 2006.

12 award-winning film directors as well as star actors are coming from Moscow to introduce screenings and participate in discussions with the audience and members of the British film industry.

For further information, visit Academia-Rossica's website.

Show your work: events and opportunities

• ATTENTION CUB FILM CRITICS: Berlinale Talent Campus, Goethe-Institute and FIPRESCI are inviting young film critics to Berlin for the Berlinale Talent Campus # 6 – The Talent Press. Young film critics and film journalists will be invited to Berlin to report on the films at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival (February 07 – 17, 2008) and on the events of the Berlinale Talent Campus (February 9 – 14, 2008). The application phase for the Talent Press started. The following application criteria can also be found online at www.berlinale-talentcampus.de and www.fipresci.org. TO BE ELIGIBLE you need to be: fluent in English (writing and speaking), under 30 years, eager to report on films within the framework of the Berlin International Film Festival and on events held during the Berlinale Talent Campus 2008 and have published articles in newspapers, film magazines, on websites or at universities.

• OFF THE BEATEN TRACK: The "I Festival de Cinema e Vídeo de Santa Cruz das Palmeiras' somewhere in the countryside of the state of São Paulo in Brazil is inviting applications. Any works made after 2005 with a maximum length of 15 minutes can be entered. Deadline: 26 October. Further info from here.

• Finally, over in Europe, the Clermont Film Festival is inviting applications for 2008. Registration Deadline : October 15, 2007. Registration fee : no fee. Requirements :
  

1) Films completed after : January 1, 2006
2) Maximum Running Time : 40 minutes
3) Origin : Worldwide, France excepted
4) Festival screening format : 35 mm, Beta SP Pal or Digital Betacam Pal

New on Kamera: Venice and Ceylan

Site update alert: Steven Yates reviews Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Climates DVD release while Thessa Mooij reports on the latest edition of the Venice Film Festival.

Pacino to play Dali

In good timing with the release of Kamera Books' Dali, Surrealism and Cinema, Room 9 Entertainment announced yesterday the production of "Dali & I: The Surreal Story" with Al Pacino playing the Catalan artist and Cillian Murphy as his protege, the young art dealer Stan Lauryseens.

Al Pacino as Dali? Just perfect.

Via the Hollywood Reporter.

Anthea Kennedy teaches film course in London

Kamera's comrade and art film director, Anthea Kennedy, has rung in to say she will be teaching a one-year, part-time course at South Thames College. The Higher National Certificate Media Course (Creative Sound and Vision) covers 16mm film, digital video and sound. Equipment available to students includes Steenbeck Final cut Pro editing and 16mm cameras.

Anthea tells us that the approach is focused on arthouse/experimental film-making but students can apply their learning to any type of film-making they are interested in. And of course, those willing to progress to university improve their chances of getting on the best courses in the country.

So kids, don't miss the chance to be taught by Anthea. As a filmmaker her credentials include the brilliant DV feature Stella Polare, which we love here at Kamera and actually screened it in July. For further from here or email Anthea at anthea.kennedy@south-thames.ac.uk.

51st London Film Festival announces programme

The 51st London Film Festival’s today announced its full programme, which includes includes 184 features and 133 shorts plus a host of screen talks, masterclasses and live events.

Opening the Festival on Thursday 17 October is the UK premiere of David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises with Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts and Vincent Cassel. The festival will close with Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited on 01 November starring Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody.

Said festival director, Sandra Hebron: “In a very strong year for world cinema, we are delighted to be able to present such a wide ranging and high quality programme of films and special events, in which work by internationally renowned directors sits comfortably alongside that from many exciting new talents. We look forward to welcoming filmmakers, audiences and press and industry delegates alike to our two week celebration of the best, most creative and original films of the year.”

London Film Festival website

Around the world: Honolulu and Geneva

Lots of instigating news have come through our newswires lately. If you happen to be in Hawaii, pop around the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu to see Phantasmagoria: Specters of Absence which runs until 25 November.

It brings together 13 international artists including Christian Boltanski, Jim Campbell, Michel Delacroix, Laurent Grasso, upcoming 02art4 artist Jeppe Hein, TCM collection artist William Kentridge, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Teresa Margolles, Oscar Muñoz, Julie Nord, Rosângela Rennó, and Regina Silveira who use ephemeral means in their work such as fog, reflection, shadows, and vapors. The exhibition title refers to 18th-and 19th-century entertainments created by “magic lanterns” and rear-screen shadow projections.

These precursors of the modern film projector were used to stage dancing specters and other frightening theatrical effects for their audiences. The exhibition draws on this rich theatrical tradition to reframe questions of absence and loss, death and the afterlife around contemporary issues.

I was very impressed by the still of Rosangela Rennó's contribution to the show:

Back in Europe, the Biennial of Moving Images takes place from 12 to 20 October 2007 in Geneva. Founded in 1985 as the “International Video Week,” the Biennial of Moving Images (BIM, as it is known by its initials in French) is one of the oldest and most important events in Europe devoted to artists’ films. From the start, the Biennial has highlighted the increasingly numerous and creative crosscurrents that exist between film, the contemporary arts and mass media.

So a great chance to check out what's happening in the world of art cinema that is not likely to come to any theatre near you, ever!

New on Kamera: East Asian Cinema

Check out the review of Kamera's new title on East Asian Cinema, a review of Nuri Bilge Ceylan's early works, a review of Taxidermia, a fresh programme of films including Electronic Moon #2 and Lilya 4-Ever and a festival report of the 9th Motovun International Film Festival.

YouTube: Nam June Paik's Electronic Moon #2 (1969)

Vote for your favourite non-English film

Another day, another list of favourite films. The folks from the blog Edward Copeland on Film are requesting votes for the best non-English films so if you want to have your say, go here.