Full length features on YouTube

Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios, better known as MGM, will be the first major movie studio to post full-length feature films on YouTube.

Read more +

All hail Cinéphilia, London's new film book store

Film lovers in London have noticed that the number of shops that specialise in their favourite subject matter have been dwindling over time. So it's fantastic news to hear that our mates at Wallflower Press have opened a shop to fill in the gap. Cinéphilia starts trading today and we wish them the best of luck. Located at 97 Sclater St, just off the centre of the universe, that is, Brick Lane, it sounds very promising indeed. Pop around and get your film culture fix.

R.I.P.: Paul Newman

Legendary actor and philanthropist Paul Newman yesterday passed away at his home in Westport, Connecticut. Paul was 83. We all remember him from some great films, my favourite being Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, alongside Liz Taylor, but in the last decades of his life he channeled his energies into his Newman's Own foundation.

The organisation has released a statement in homage to the actor that reads as follows:

For 25 years, we at Newman's Own have had a front row seat to watch Paul's entrepreneurial brilliance, humor, and compassion at work helping those in need. Our company motto, "Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good," was Paul's vision for Newman's Own and it is a philosophy we are proud to continue.

Paul occasionally referred to Newman's Own as the "joke that got out of control" and would express astonishment at its success. Despite this humorous approach, Paul was committed to the company's business and to providing top-notch quality – he brought all-natural food products to a wide audience long before it was fashionable. And he was one of the greatest recyclers, giving back to charity all the money he earned from the sale of Newman's Own products.

We wish the Newman family all the best in this difficult time.

Derek Jarman show in Zurich

(Edited Press Release) - The new exhibition in the Kunsthalle Zürich “Derek Jarman. Brutal Beauty” is dedicated to the British artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman (1942 - 1994). The exhibition is curated by Isaac Julien who worked with Jarman for many years.

While “Derek Jarman. Brutal Beauty” aims to present a representative overview of Jarman’s creative output, it is not conceived as a classical retrospective. Instead, Julien is more concerned with making it possible to experience Jarman’s interdisciplinary approach and with refocusing critical attention on the work itself.

Derek Jarman was one of the outstanding representatives of British Independent Cinema of the period 1970 – 1990. However, although he was known to a large audience mainly as a filmmaker, he saw himself as an artist, in whose interdisciplinary and highly autobiographical oeuvre film, painting, stage design and writing assumed equal prominence. In his tireless struggle for gay rights and AIDS education and awareness, Jarman’s main priority was “to unite Art with Life and vice versa” (Isaac Julien).

The exhibition opens with a selection of paintings from the 1980s and 1990s. The double projection, which was developed for the Kunsthalle Zürich and provides the basic material for Isaac Julien’s documentary film Derek (2008), offers an introduction to the work and life of Derek Jarman. It is based on an interview with Jarman recorded by writer and producer Colin McCabe in 1990. The voiceover is narrated by the actor Tilda Swinton, who appeared in many of Jarman’s films including Caravaggio (1986), The Last of England (1988) and Edward II (1991). Tilda Swinton reads excerpts from a letter she wrote to Jarman after his death. In Derek, the interview, narrative and excerpts from Jarman’s feature films and super 8 films are interwoven with relevant contemporary news footage and media material focusing on the political events of the time to form a coherent and impressive work; in this way the film conveys an overview of Jarman’s biography from the perspective of his imminent death. At the same time, insight is gained into the England of the period 1960 - 1990 through the documentation of socially volatile topics such as the punk movement, the protests by intellectuals against the government of Margaret Thatcher, the struggle for gay rights and the AIDS crisis.

The installation is juxtaposed with a still life image by Isaac Julien which were taken inside Jarman’s house in Dungeness.

The exhibition ends with Jarman’s film Blue (1993), a moving and harrowing work by an artist who was about to go blind. In this his last film, the screen remains blue for the entire duration of the work - an homage to the French painter Yves Klein, whose Blue symbolised serenity and contemplation for Jarman. The soundtrack of the film is a text written and spoken by Jarman, in which he artistically explores and reproduces life and his experience with AIDS.

Between these two central works, Isaac Julien presents a selection of rarely shown films from the super 8 archive of Jarman’s artistic estate, e.g. Imagining October (1984) and In the Shadow of the Sun (1980). Having studied painting and stage design at the Slade School of Art in London, Jarman started working with super 8 as far back as the early 1970s and experimented with this medium up to the early 1980s. Jarman, who saw himself primarily as a painter throughout his life, achieves a painterly feel in the way in which he deals with light, colour, composition, abstraction, alienation and staging.

The work It Happened by Chance Redux (2008) is a ten-screen projection composed of footage which Jarman found on the floor of his editing suite. The installation is a re-working of It Happened by Chance (around 1976). The former was curated jointly by Isaac Julien and James Mackay, the owner of the archive, and incorporates Jarman’s most important super 8 films. The sculptural arrangement of the screens in the space is intended to evoke formally the Petersburg hanging of the Black Paintings, which were exhibited in the Richard Salmon Gallery in London in the late 1980s.

Jacques Rivette starts shooting new production

Veteran director Jacques Rivette started shooting his new film 36 vues du Pic Saint-Loup (36 Views from the Pic Saint-Loup) at the Cinecittà studios in Rome. The cast includes Jane Birkin and Sergio Castellitto. More +

Nome Próprio wins biggest Latin American film festival

Nome Próprio, a Brazilian film that transposes the complicated universe of the writer Clarah Averbuck to the big screen won the top prize at the Gramado Film Festival, the biggest Latin American festival in the world, which closed on Saturday.

Directed by Murillo Salles, Nome Próprio is about Camila, Averbruck's alter-ego, a young woman whose biggest passion is to write. She decides to turn her own life into a narrative worth writing about.

Critics have hailed the film as a welcome addition to the country's cinema because it avoids stereotypes by dealing with young people and their subjectivity. Sounds promising, especially after the horror show that recently came out of Brazil in the shape of Elite Squad, although the trailer resembles a kind of tired American indie fare that makes you wonder. But we shouldn't judge a film by its trailer, so ...

Britney says no to Tarantino

John Waters once said it was the best movie ever made. Although that may have been something of a camp exaggeration, Russel Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) surely is one of the best-looking, most stylish 'trash' movies ever made. And it so happens that it's going to get the Tarantino remake treatment - come to think of, why hadn't anyone thought of it before? It's a pop cinema dream come true. There were reports that Britney Spears was considered for the main role that the Amazonian Tura Satana had played in the original, but she said no in the end. I think she's wasting a chance to get a career revival injection that Tarantino gave to Uma Thurman and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. In any case, I look forward to seeing the Tarantino remix of the best film ever.

Vampire mania in America

The vampire season is on and it's not October yet. Just a few days after Kamera published its article on vampire films, Business Week, of all magazines, is carrying an article about the success of the Twilight series of vampire books, written by Stephenie Meyer. Apparently, the series is so successful that fans travel thousands of miles to attend vampire proms and meet the revered author in person. And a film version of the book is under way. Watch this space.

Meet the author:

For further information on Pocket Essentials' book Vampire Films, click here.

The new faces of indie cinema

Via About.com: Filmmaker magazine carries in its summer issue list of 25 names who are the new, relevant faces of indie cinema, the 10th list the publication compiles. "The people on Filmmaker's '25 New Faces' list are not only innovators we believe will be impacting tomorrow's film scene, but they're also artists engaged in a vital re-think of what it means to be independent today," said Filmmaker's editor in chief Scott Macaulay. "Crisscrossing from short-form work into features, from docs to fiction and from the web to theaters, they are creating careers as original as their films."

Of the 265 on the list over the past ten years, nearly 90% have been filmmakers, including such breakthroughs as Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow), Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson), Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know) and Peter Sollett (Raising Victor Vargas). Notable actors include several high profilers in the early days of their careers such as Ryan Gosling (The Believer), Ellen Page (Hard Candy), Peter Sarsgaard (Another Day in Paradise) and Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry). 

Tinto Brass to head Queer Lion jury

Tinto Brass, Italy's most famous purveyor of erotic cinema (he's the man who directed the infamous Caligola (1979)), will be heading the jury of the 2008 Queer Lion, the award for best film with a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender theme, which was inaugurated last year at the Venice film festival (27/8 - 6/9/08).

Members of the jury includes Variety critic and director of the European-films.net agency, Holland’s Boyd van Hoeij (who also occasionally contributes to Kamera) and Massimo Benvegnù, journalist and critic of the daily Il Riformista and the Amsterdam Weekly.

David Lynch launches transcendental meditation book in Brazil

Director David Lynch is touring Brazil from the 07 August to promote his book on transcental meditation. The book talks about the influence that medidation, which he's been practicing since the 1970s, has on Lynch's creative process. The tour includes lectures and book signings.

For those interested in finding out more abouy Lynch, check out Kamera Books' title on the great American surrealist.

Cannes 2008: Laurent Cantet wins Palm d'Or

The experimental director Laurent Cantet won the 61st Cannes Film Festival with his film The Class (pictured left).

Italy claimed two prizes: the Grand Prize for Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah and the Jury Prize for Paolo Sorrentino’s Il divo (The Deity).

The Best Screenplay Award went to Belgian directors Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne for Lorna’s Silence.

Best Director Award going to Nuri Bilge Ceylan for his Turkish/French/Italian feature Three Monkeys while the Lifetime Achievement Award going to Catherine Deneuve.

The Best Actor Award went to Benicio Del Toro for his performance in Steven Soderbergh’s Che and the Camera d’Or went to UK director/artist Steve McQueen’s debut feature Hunger.

Source: Cineeuropa.

Derek Jarman conference

The Serpertine Gallery in London is on Friday 7 March between 10:30 and 6pm holding a conference on Derek Jarman called Against the Grain: Learning from Derek Jarman's Cinema. Speakers include Malcolm LeGrice and Laura Mulvey. More info from here.

The London Australian Film Festival 2008

The enormous Australian community in London have a good opportunity to catch up with the cinema from their homeland during the London Australian Film Festival that takes place between 06 and 16 March at the Barbican Centre. Further information from here.

Berlin 2008: Brazilian film wins Golden Bear

A Brazilian film accused of being fascist in its home country emerged as the big winner at this year's edition of the Berlin film festival. José Padilha's Elite Squad, a revenge cop thriller set amidst the elite troop of the Rio de Janeiro police, got the Golden Bear for best film. The Grand Jury prize went to Standard Operating Procedure by Errol Morris. The Best Director silver bear went to Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood.

More +

Berlin Film Festival 2008: Patti Smith

Music is a strong presence at the 2008 Berlinale and one of the most talked about presences in town is Patti Smith (pictured). The revered musician and poet is the subject of a documentary by Steven Sebring called Patti Smith: Dream of Life, which has been garnering praise for its unconventional presentation and intimacy with the subject portrayed. The Associated Press has an article about Smith's passage in Berlin and her rejection of labels. And last night Smith 'wowed reporters' when she did an impromtu rendition of her song My Blakean Year.

Berlin Film Festival 2008 starts today

The annual film festival in Germany starts today with Scorcese's film about the Rolling Stones, Shine a Light, premiering at the event. More +

Madonna is also showing her directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, at the event, which runs until 17 February.

And Reuters India has a list of films to watch out for during the event.

Derek Jarman at the Serpentine Gallery

The Serpentine Gallery in London will be hosting from 23 February an exhibition of works by Derek Jarman as well as Isaac Julien's film about the late director.

Full story +




Blue (Derek Jarman, 1993)

Sean Young goes into rehab

Rehab really is the word of the 21st century. For those of you who've been wondering about Sean Young, the unforgettable dark-haired star of Blade Runner, decided to go into rehab after drunkenly heckling Julian Schnabel on stage at the Directors Guild of America Awards. We wish her the best of luck and a fabulous comeback because Young may have a drinking problem but she's also got lots of talent.

Coen brothers's triumph at Screen Actors Guild Awards

Reuters has reported that Ethan and Joel Coen's Western "No Country For Old Men" won the best cast ensemble award, the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday.

Full story +