The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 89th Academy Awards^®.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

“Arrival”

“The BFG”

“Captain America: Civil War”

“Deepwater Horizon”

“Doctor Strange”

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”

“The Jungle Book”

“Kubo and the Two Strings”

“Passengers”

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist.  All members of the Visual Effects Branch will now be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 7, 2017.  Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar^® consideration. 

Nominations for the 89th Oscars^® will be announced on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.

The 89th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre^® at Hollywood & Highland Center^® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

By Alex Deleon <filmfestivals.com>

 "A Matter of Size" (Hebrew title, "Sipur Gadol" = 'A BIG Story'), 2009, 90 min., color

This is basically a feel-good love story about two people, Herzl and Zehava, who don't feel very good about themselves because they are exceptionally fat, but eventually find ways of coming to terms with their obesity. 

This could be called a gimmick film --the gimmick being Jewish Sumo wrestlers in Israel -- a pretty wild idea to start with --but it has so much else going for it that it transcends the gimmickry to become a thoughtful heart-warming picture. What is most unusual is that all the main actors, except for the Hebrew-speaking Japanese Sumo coach -- are actually quite fat and far from glamorous -- but are all very good actors and instantly engage our feelings for them. 

The oversize hero, Herzl, has a giant complex about his obesity, but in Sumo where fatness is prized, he finds a sense of worth. His girlfriend has her own weight problems and complexes, but through Herzl's unconditional devotion also comes to accept herself as is. Ultimately this is a film about self-acceptance in the face of Massive obstacles --and Sumo happens to be the vehicle to that end. 

Interestingly, other than the fact that the film takes place in Israel, there is nothing particularly Jewish about it. It could take place anywhere -- anywhere that happens to have a Sushi restaurant run by a man who happens to be a retired Sumo referee... Gimmick-shmimmick -- a winner with elements of Rocky and Karate Kid deftly tossed together with a healthy helping of schmalz. Written and directed in tandem by Erez Tadmor and Sharon Maymon --both of whom were present for a lively Q & A after the show. The production values are cutting-edge world class, indicating that Israeli film is no longer a provincial cottage industry for a captive audience, but a growing industry with international outreach. 

Main cast:

Herzl --Itzik Cohen

Zehava -- Irit Kaplan

BUDAPEST ISRAELI FILM WEEK, WRAP 

By Alex Cousy Deleon

There were altogether some fourteen films programed in this overview of recent Israeli films, however due to overlapping scheduling at the Puskin Art Mozi it was not possible to get to them all. One or two that looked particularly enticing were missed. What films were seen indicate that the Israeli film industry is thriving, loaded with talent, entering into many co-productions to expand productivity, and forging full steam ahead. The last film I managed to get to was the following: 

PLAYOFF  2011 director Eran Riklis, also director  of 'The Syrian Bride' and 'Lemon Tree', two of the highest profile Israeli films at festivals and generally during the past dozen years.

This latest Riklis effort, filmed entirely in Germany with non-Israeli actors, featured American actor  Danny Huston as "Max Soller" a legendary Israeli basketball coach of German origin, who returns to the country he fled 39 years before, to coach a stumbling German basketball team. 

What appears to be a film about basketball is that only obliquely.

This is basically a pretext to look into the painfully unclear history of Soller's Jewish family under Naziism and leads to unpleasant discoveries and a confrontation with an unreformed ex-Nazi colleague. 

He coaches this second rate team with something like a feeling of vengeance often referring to a book the cover of which we see several times, significantly -- the autobiography of legendary Boston Celtics NBA coach Red Auerbach who was very definitely Jewish and made no bones about it. And Solldr makes no bones about claiming that Auerbach is his role model in life. One important subplot is his antagonistic relationship with a rebellious young German player. We see a few hardwood clips but not very much as the Playoff in this  picture is more about his confontation with his past than with the other teams. At the end we are informed that the team he was coaching came in at a not very rousing eighth place in the 1984 German basketball league playoffs.

The film is beautifully lensed, especially in the countryside scenes but is not terribly gripping like Mr. Riklis' previous successes. A thread of romantic tension is supplied by a very attractive Turkish woman who is befriended by Soller and is having problems with her residence status. This turns into a real teaser when she strips and offers herself to him, but he has too much on his mind do accept her nearly unrefusable offer.

The suffocation of pent up emotions or something like that. The woman incidentally is played my mixed Kurdish English ancestry actress Amira Casar, best known for her ravishing central role in Catherine Breillat's hardcore sex opus "The Anatomy of Hell", 2004.  

Mr. Huston, son of legendary Hollywood director John Huston and half-Brother of Angelica Huston, is on most of the time and is given innumerable facial closeups to reveal his sensitivity and inner conflicts.

Problem is that Huston, while he does turn in a reasonably  sensitive performance, does not exactly have the kind of A-level actor face we want to spend that much time examining in intimate microscopic detail.  Huston does seem to have a certain appeal for Israeli directors as he also had a fairly large part in Ari Folman's astounding sci-fi mystifier.  "The Congress".

The only thing about this picture that was Israeli was the director, and the background fact that the central protagonist is based on a real life Israeli Sportsman, although portrayed by a non-Jewish actor in English. 

Overall, interesting to watch but nothing to write home about.

Amira Casar with her exotic beauty 

IS worth writing home about!

Red Auerbach, autobiography  seen in film

We’ve hit awards seasons which means there are a number of festivals coming our way.  One of these festivals is the European Independent film festival or the ECU as it’s also known as. The ECU will be held in Paris, France on the 21^st, 22^nd and 23^rd of April 2017. The festival is dedicated to the discovery and advancement of the very best indie filmmakers from the around the world.  If you are looking for raw and undiscovered talent, then this festival is for you. The festival provides a unique platform for risk-taking storytellers to reach the broadest audience possible.

How to get there?

With the film festival being in Paris makes traveling to the event that much easier as there are multiples ways of travel:

-Megabus: this is probably the cheapest way (probably the longest) in getting to the French capital. From fares being as low as £1 this could be a cost efficient way to getting to the event, that’s if you don’t mind over-crowded spaces and some long and tedious journey times.

-Flying: probably the quickest and easiest way getting to the event. With flight tickets ranging from £72 this might be the most efficient way in regards to traveling. You can even compare airport parking at airport-parking.com if you were to drive to the airport.

-Eurostar: another cost efficient way in getting to France, tickets start at £29 one way and is a rail link between the UK and the European continent. It’s specially designed to take people across the channel in their cars and other vehicles.

Maybe you’re a filmmaker?

So you’ve just finished your screenplay or short film and you feel it deserves some credit? Well submissions for ECU are currently open. Submitting to ECU is pretty easy and you just need to follow two simple steps:

Step 1- choosing your category:

-dramatic feature    

-dramatic short

-documentary

-animated film

-music video

-Experimental film

-Comedy film

And then step 2 is choosing your way of submitting which can be done with Withoutabox, Filmfreeway, Festhome or PayPal.

Why don’t you submit your work because who knows…? Brad Pitt or Steven Spielberg might be there watching. ECU gained some positive recognition for itself and is often referred to as the Sundance of Europe. This festival is the perfect venue for the ambitious and visionary filmmakers out there wanting to present their work to the cinema-loving public who are actively seeking alternatives to commercial hungry studio projects. It’s also good for filmmakers to get there work out to audiences who will actually pay attention and criticise your work fairly and productively. This is down to the fact that their screenings of new cinematics attracts more than just the public, but agents, talents scouts and production company representatives will be there searching for inspiring projects and talent.

Other than film, the ECU is a strong supporter of musicians and live music which can be heard throughout the entirety of the weekend. So you don’t have to be filmmaker to express your creativity, this festival has something for ever

Best Feature

Moonlight
Barry Jenkins, director; Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, producers (A24)

Best Documentary
O.J.: Made in America
Ezra Edelman, director; Caroline Waterlow, Ezra Edelman, Tamara Rosenberg, Nina Krstic, Deirdre Fenton, Erin Leyden, producers (ESPN Films)

Breakthrough Series – Long Form
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Rachel Bloom & Aline Brosh McKenna, creators; Marc Webb, Rachel Bloom, Aline Brosh McKenna, Erin Ehrlich, executive producers (The CW)

Best Actress
Isabelle Huppert in Elle (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best Actor
Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea (Amazon Studios)

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Trey Edward Shults for Krisha (A24)

Best Screenplay
Moonlight, Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney; Screenplay by Barry Jenkins (A24)

Breakthrough Series – Short Form
Her Story, Jen Richards and Laura Zak, creators (herstoryshow.com)

Breakthrough Actor
Anya Taylor-Joy in The Witch (A24)

42ND ANNUAL LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS  

BEST PICTURE

"MOONLIGHT" RUNNER-UP: " LA LA LAND"

BEST DIRECTOR

BARRY JENKINS  "MOONLIGHT" RUNNER-UP: DAMIEN CHAZELLE (" LA LA LAND")

BEST ACTOR

ADAM DRIVER "PATERSON" RUNNER-UP: CASEY AFFLECK  ("MANCHESTER BY THE SEA")

BEST ACTRESS

ISABELLE HUPPERT "ELLE" AND "THINGS TO COME" RUNNER-UP: REBECCA HALL ("CHRISTINE")

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

MAHERSHALA ALI "MOONLIGHT" RUNNER-UP: ISSEY OGATA ("SILENCE")

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

LILY GLADSTONE "CERTAIN WOMEN" RUNNER-UP: MICHELLE WILLIAMS  (" MANCHESTER BY THE SEA")

BEST SCREENPLAY

EFTHYMIS FILIPPOU,  YORGOS LANTHIMOS "THE LOBSTER" RUNNER-UP: KENNETH LONERGAN ("MANCHESTER BY THE SEA")

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

RYU SEONG-HEE "THE HANDMAIDEN" RUNNER-UP: DAVID WASCO ("LA LA LAND")

BEST EDITING

BRET GRANATO, MAYA MUMMA,  BEN SOZANSKI "OJ: MADE IN AMERICA" RUNNER-UP: TOM CROSS ("LA LA LAND")

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

JAMES LAXTON "MOONLIGHT" RUNNER-UP: LINUS SANDGREN ("LA LA LAND")

BEST MUSIC SCORE

JUSTIN HURWITZ,  BENJ PASEK, JUSTIN PAUL "LA LA LAND" RUNNER-UP: MICA LEVI ("JACKIE")

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

"THE HANDMAIDEN" RUNNER-UP: "TONI ERDMANN"

BEST DOCUMENTARY / NON-FICTION FILM

"I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO" RUNNER-UP: "OJ: MADE IN AMERICA"

BEST ANIMATION

"YOUR NAME." RUNNER-UP: "THE RED TURTLE"

NEW GENERATION

TREY EDWARD SHULTS AND KRISHA FAIRCHILD "KRISHA"

2016 Awards

FMX, Europe's most influential conference dedicated to Digital Visual Arts, Technologies and Business, has both decided for its FMX 2017 theme and trailer. By choosing the slogan "Beyond the Screen" and selecting the Animationsinstitut's third-year student project Elemental as its trailer, FMX sets the main course and visual scope for the next and 22nd edition of FMX.

The FMX 2017 slogan "Beyond the Screen"

The slogan "Beyond the Screen" acknowledges that the times when cinema and TV were the only two screens have long gone. From 2D to 3D stereo to curve to IMAX to Domes, screens are offering a deeper and deeper feeling of immersion, which FMX speakers will explore - including Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, which combines 3D stereoscopy with 4K and 120 fps and per eye. In addition, the screens beyond the movie theatre, which surround us on a daily basis, will move into focus. Industry experts will address the VR and AR or 360° experiences on smartphones, but also the walls of bedrooms and facades that can be turned into new interactive screens. What's more, fully immersive entertainment such as the Ghostbusters experience at the Madame Tussauds Museum in New York or shows like Cirque du Soleil will be talked about.

Moreover, next year's theme complements the technological with the societal: "Beyond the Screen" is also a call for open-mindedness and awareness, encouraging each and every one of us to look beyond the screen and to think outside the box. To accomplish a conference of this magnitude, FMX has already rounded up a number of board members such as Marvel's Victoria Alonso, Aardman's David Sproxton, Nexus's Christopher O'Reilly, Dr. Richard Marks from Sony Computer Entertainment, Academy-Award-winning VFX Supervisor Rob Legato or Epic Games'Kim Libreri that support the core team in their work during the next months.

The FMX 2017 trailer Elemental

The FMX 2017 trailer Elemental delivers the visuals for this multifaceted first program draft - and it breathes the spirit of "Beyond the Screen" as an exemplary blend of technological finesse and humanistic values alike. The trailer depicts four expressive dancers who transform into the elements of air, earth, fire and water, in order to further metamorphose into a completely unique, new form.

Adrian Meyer, the Director of Elemental, which is now further translated into print and online visuals by the team's Choreographer and Storyboard Artist Julie Boehm, Producer Lena-Carolin Lohfink and CG Artist David Bellenbaum, explains the back story:

The inspiration for the film Elemental was the exercise in itself - to create something that is new and fascinating as a group of artists, together. The idea was to illustrate the collective process of creation as a dance in all its facets, focusing on attraction, but also on friction and polarization inside a team.Inspired by the four elements of nature, the different energies and forms of expressions of the dancers clash. And finally they emerge into something new and energetic.

This creative process of combining a historically grown, ancient medium such as dance with a relatively young one such as visual effects was achieved with the latest state-of-the-art technology. Motion capture and nCam camera tracking developed during the DREAMSPACE project were used to track the movements of the dancers and the camera. Further animations were then added, as well as FX simulations with Houdini. Moreover, high-speed live-action footage and CG renderings were integrated to achieve the final look. The first teaser trailer for FMX gives an impression of this impressive look - three more teasers and the final trailer will follow soon.

 
Annette Bening in 20th Century Women.

The 1^st International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao drew to a successful finale this evening with a star studded closing night ceremony and awards presentation at the Macao Cultural Centre, hosted by renowned Hong Kong MC Astrid Chan and Bob Lam.

President of Organizing Committee of IFFAM Ms. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes (Director of Macao Government Tourism Office) commented, "After an intensive program of activities including film screenings, the Industry Hub, Masterclasses, press conferences and more over the last six days, tonight, we come to the closing of the International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao. This inaugural edition of the Film Festival not only has elevated Macao’s international reputation, boosted the synergy between tourism and culture and promoted local tourism development, but also introduced world class exchange opportunities, functioned as a regional exchange platform and empowered the local film industry as well as the cultural and creative industry to progress, while widening the cultural perspectives of our local residents and bringing multi-faceted benefits to Macao at large."

The awards for films in Official Competition were decided by an international jury comprising of Jury President Shekhar Kapur and jury members Jung Woo-Sung, Stanley Kwan, Makiko Watanabe and Giovanna Fulvi. THE WINTER took the Best Film Award [presented by Shekhar Kapur and Academy-Award winning director Tom McCarthy] competing in a line-up of 12 films in Official Competition. 

Other awards in Official Competition included:

Jury Prize – TRESPASS AGAINST US [presented by Stanley Kwan and Makiko Watanabe]

Best Director – SAINT GEORGE for Marco Martins [presented by director Jonathan Chu and director and Festival Ambassador Ann Hui]

Best Actor Award – SAINT GEORGE for Nuno Lopes [presented by producer Jason Taylor and actress Lisa Lu]

Best Actress Award – TRESPASS AGAINST US for Lyndsey Marshal [presented by IFFAM Actress in Focus Gwei Lun-mei and actress Karena Lam]

Award for Best New Young Actress – SISTERHOOD for Jennifer Yu [presented by producer Gianni Nunnari and actress Margarida Vila-Nova]

Best Screenplay – FREE FIRE for Amy Jump and Ben Wheatley [presented by Giovanna Fulvi and actor Chin Han]

Award for Best Technical Contribution – ELON DOESN’T BELIEVE IN DEATH for Original Music &  Sound Design - Sound: Pablo Lamar and Original Soundtrack: Daniel Saavedra [presented by producer Todd Brown and actress Jin Qiao Qiao]

Jury president Shekhar Kapur commented, "This is one of the best juries I've worked with; we took our responsibility very seriously, because we understand how important these awards are to the filmmakers. I do not like to use the word 'judge', because judgement could imply personal prejudice, but rather use the word 'respond'. Respond emotionally to the films, to the artists, in context of our understanding of their intentions. We've had some intense arguments amongst ourselves, which only goes to show the great quality of films that we've seen, and how passionately each one of us felt about them. I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, the choices were hard fought and difficult to make."

Director Feng Xiaogang (IF YOU ARE THE ONE, ASSEMBLY, AFTERSHOCK, BACK TO 1942) was presented with the Career Achievement Award by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government Mr.Alexis Tam.  The MFTPA Special Award for Contribution to Chinese Film was presented to IFFAM special advisor and film producer Yu Dong, by President of MFTPA Mr.Alvin Chau. Both honorees were selected for outstanding achievements in their fields.

The ‘Eye of the Audience’ Macao Audience Choice Award was presented to SISTERHOOD by actress Josie Ho and IFFAM Talent Ambassador Rhydian Vaughan.  

As previously announced, the smash hit TRAIN TO BUSAN received Variety’s Asian Blockbuster Film 2016 Award.  Cast members Kim-Su-an, Kim Euisung, Choi Woo-sik and producer Lee Dong-ha were at the ceremony to receive the award from Variety’s Asia Bureau Chief Patrick Frater, and IFFAM Head of Festival Management Lorna Tee.

Also in attendance this evening were a stellar line-up of filmmakers, actors and industry figures including:

·         Festival Ambassador and director Clemens Klopfenstein

·         Honorary Advisors Michael Mecca, Pansy Ho, Linda Chen, Jay Chun, Paco Wong and Alex Dong

·         Special Advisors Deborah Valdez Hung, Stephen Hung, Tiffany Chen and Charles Heung

·         Edinburgh International Film Festival Director Mark Adams, and Busan International Film Festival Director Kang Soo-youn.

·         Supporting Entity Ho Kwai Leng (Macao Foundation) 

·         Director Ho Yuhang

·         Other notable delegates attending included: Scott Messinger, Miriam Yeung, Charlene Choi, Jennifer Tse, Qi Qi, Alex Lam, Wong Jing, Michelle Wai, Real Ding, Jacqueline Chong, Gloria Yip, Cecilia So, Michelle Hu, Iris Chung, Wang Yi (王藝),  Li Man, Ludi Lin, Celina Jade, Tom Shu-yu Lin, Hsia Yu-chiao and the representatives of Macau Artistes Association.

The CINEFANTASY International Short Film Screenwriting Competition was open to young people from all over the world, with the final five finalists competing in a special public session during the Festival and presenting their scenarios in front of a special jury. Certificates were presented to the two winners IIashree and Manasri Goswami from India and Alessa Ellefson from Belgium by Jury President Shekhar Kapur, the two projects are LEGACY OF DREAMS and THE SEEKER'S KEY respectively.

The IFFAM welcomed international filmmakers and industry delegates from across the globe and altogether a total of 54 public screenings took place across the Festival. Daily Gala red carpet events took place throughout the Festival with filmmakers and cast attending to support  films including:

·         POLINA (Opening Night Film) – Directors Angelin Preljocaj and Valérie Müller, cast members Anastasia Shevtsova, Niels Schneider and producer Didier Creste.

·         THE MOLE SONG – Hong Kong Capriccio: Director Takashi Miike, cast members Toma Ikuta and Tsubasa Honda

·         PANDORA: Director Park Jung Woo, cast members Kim Nam-gil, Jung Jin-young, Kim Joo-hyeon, Kim Dae-Myeong and Moon Jeong Hee

·         IMMORTAL STORY: Director Yon Fan, cast members Sylvia Chang, Shingo Tsumuri and Yao Wei

Filmmakers and cast attending to support Competition and Hidden Dragons screenings included - 

Competition:

·         ELON DOESN’T BELIEVE IN DEATH: Director and screenwriter Ricardo Alves Jr., actor and co-screenwriter Germano Melo, producer and editor Michael Wahrmann and producer Thiago Maçedo Correia

·         FREE FIRE: Director Ben Wheatley, actor Sharlto Copley and producer Andy Starke

·         GURGAON: Director Shanker Raman, cast members Akshay Oberoi and Ragini Khanna

·         HIDE AND SEEK: Director Liu Jei, actress Qin Hailu and Ellen Eliasoph

·         QUEEN OF SPADES: Director Pavel Lungin and actress Ksenya Rappaport

·         SAINT GEORGE: Director Marco Martins and DOP Carlos Lopes

·         SHINING MOMENT: Director Fruit Chan and actor Hin Cheung

·         SISTERHOOD Director Tracy Choi, actresses Gigi Leung, Kevin Chu, Jennifer Yu, Fish Liew, Eliz Lao and Panther Chan and producers Ding Yuin Shan, Tang Wai But and Jacqueline Liu

·         SURVIVAL FAMILY: Director Shinobu Yaguchi and actor Fumiyo Kohinata

·         TRESPASS AGAINST US: Director Adam Smith

·         THE WINTER: Director Emiliano Torres, actor Adrián Fondari, scriptwriter Marcelo Chaparro  and producer Ezequiel Borovinsky.

Hidden Dragons:

·         OUR SEVENTEEN: Director Emily Chan, cast members Sam Pang, C All Star – King Wu, C All Star – On Chan, Angela Yuen, Tin Kai Man, Kyla Ma, Kyle Li and Blademark, who also provide the music and producer Lai Ching Man

·         1974: Directors/producer Victor Dryere, actress Blanca Alarcon and producer Fausto Muñoz

·         ANTIPORNO: Actress Ami Tomite

·         DAGUERROTYPE: Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa

·         THE HOUSEMAID: Director Derek Nguyen, cast members Kate Nhung and Jean-Michel Richaud and producer Timothy Bui and Hoang Huyen

·         SECLUSION: Director Erik Matti, cast members Phoebe Walker, Neil Ryan Sese and Dominque Roque

·         TORO: Director Kike Maíllo

·         TERROR 5: Directors/producers Sebastian Rotstein and Federico Rotstein, actors Gaston Cocchiarale, Julian Larquier and Cecilia Cartasegna and producer Daniel Werner

The Crossfire section saw an A-list line-up of acclaimed Asian directors introduce a genre film of their choice, as part of the Festival’s remit to introduce local audiences to different genres and styles from around the world.  Directors Kim Jee-Woon, Park Chan-wook, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Choi Dong Hoon and Lu Chuan were all in Macao to present a film. Best of Fest Panorama saw screenings of some of this year’s most high-profile international festival hits: JACKIE, TONI ERDMANN, LADY MACBETH, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, THE FUTURE PERFECT, GOODBYE BERLIN, INDIGNATION, PERSONAL SHOPPER and NERUDA. 

Gwei Lun-mei was the Festival’s Actress in Focus, with screenings of her films FORÊT DEBUSSY, SECRET and FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE, while Swiss director Clemens Klopfenstein was present for special presentations of his films THE SILESIAN GATE and MACAO – THE BACKSIDE OF THE SEA.  Festival Talent Ambassador Jang Keun Suk attended screenings of his short films THE GREAT LEGACY and DAEGA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (both of which he directed) while Festival Talent Ambassador Rhydian Vaughan took part in a special press conference to launch his new project EMPIRE HOTEL which was also attended by director Ivo Ferreira, actress Margarida Vila-Nova and producers Luis Urbano and Cristina Soares.

Academy-award winning director Tom McCarthy and Hollywood producer Gianni Nunnari both took part in Masterclasses during the festival, part of a programme of events which also included pre-Festival Masterclasses with Festival Ambassadors Johnnie To and Ann Hui. 

The Crouching Tigers Project Lab was a highlight of the Industry programme, with a three-day programme focused on twelve international projects in development, each represented by their director and producer. The international jury panel of sponsors and film professionals commented, "We're extremely proud and happy with the 3 days of Crouching Tigers Project Lab pitching and meetings as many projects found really good potential investors, sales agents and partners for their film projects. The high quality of the projects and filmmakers resulted in a difficult decision so the jury decided to award to 4 projects instead of 3 as initially planned. Many attendees has informed us of their desire to return for next year's edition as it has been a fruitful event for them." The cash awards were sponsored by one of Fox International Productions (USD 20,000), Ivanhoe Pictures (USD 10,000) and Huace Media (USD 10,000). The selected four  projects included:

• RIVER TOWN / Dir & Prod: Lu Chuan / Prod:  Jamie Gordon (USA / China)
• INSPECTOR LOU / Dir: Djo Munga (United Kingdom / Belgium / Democratic Republic of the Congo)
• PINTAKASI / Dir: Erik Matti / Prod: Ronald “Dondon” Monteverde (Philippines)
• 270 SAN MA LO, MACAO / Dir & Prod: João Pedro Rodrigues & João Rui Guerra da Mata (Portugal)

The Crouching Tigers Awards were presented at the Macau Science Centre on 11 December by Tomas Jegeus from FOX International Productions, John Penotti from Ivanhoe Pictures and Jane Wan from Huace Pictures.

The 1^st International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao runs from Thursday 8 December – Tuesday 13 December 2016.  The full line-up and additional information on the Festival can be found at http://www.iffamacao.com/en/

Ron de Cana Productions' latest film, "Scrappy", helmed by Dawn Westlake, will have its Spanish premiere in the Certamen de Cine Corto de Salas de los Infantes in the Grand Casino of Burgos, Spain from December 26-29, 2016. The film is based on the Studs Terkel Humanities Award-winning poem by Donald G. Westlake.

Pol Carrizo Vilarroig of Imatge Barcelona shot on the Canon C300 and edited/color graded. Music was provided by GC Johnson of Acoustic Labs.

The film stars animators Dismas & GrissyG of GrisDisMation and introduces their daughter Nefertina and her dog, Kong, as "Scrappy".

For more info on the film and to see a trailer, please visit: http://dawnwestlake.com/rondecana/films/scrappy/index.html

Sally Potter... 
Aki Kaurismäki, Oren Moverman, Agnieszka Holland  and Andres Veiel/  - First Films for the Competition of the Berlinale 2017

The first 14 films have been selected for the Competition and Berlinale Special section of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. So far ten productions and co-productions have been invited to the Competition from Belgium, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Lebanon, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, and the USA.

As part of the official programme, Berlinale Special also presents topical works by contemporary filmmakers, documentaries and extraordinary formats. To date four productions have been invited.

Further announcements regarding programme selections will be made in the coming weeks.

Competition

A teströl és a lélekröl (On Body and Soul)

Hungary

By Ildiko Enyedi (My 20th Century, Simon the Magician)

With Géza Morcsányi, Alexandra Borbély, Zoltán Schneider

World premiere

Ana, mon amour

Romania / Germany / France

By Călin Peter Netzer (Child‘s Pose, Maria)

With Mircea Postelnicu, Diana Cavallioti, Carmen Tănase, Adrian Titieni, Vlad Ivanov

World premiere

Beuys - Documentary

Germany

By Andres Veiel (Black Box Germany, Addicted To Acting, If not us, Who)

World premiere

Colo

Portugal / France

By Teresa Villaverde (The Major Age, The Mutants, Trance)

With João Pedro Vaz, Alice Albergaria Borges, Beatriz Batarda, Clara Jost

World premiere

The Dinner

USA

By Oren Moverman (The Messenger, Rampart)

With Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall, Chloë Sevigny

World premiere

Félicité

France / Senegal / Belgium / Germany / Lebanon

By Alain Gomis (L’Afrance, Andalucia, Tey)

With Véro Tshanda Beya, Gaetan Claudia, Papi Mpaka

World premiere

The Party

United Kingdom

By Sally Potter (Orlando, Yes, Ginger & Rosa)

With Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall

World premiere

Pokot (Spoor)

Poland / Germany / Czech Republic / Sweden / Slovak Republic

By Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa, Bitter Harvest, In Darkness)

With Agnieszka Mandat, Wiktor Zborowski, Miroslav Krobot, Jakub Gierszał, Patricia Volny, Borys Szyc

World premiere

Toivon tuolla puolen (The Other Side of Hope)

Finland

By Aki Kaurismäki (The Match Factory Girl, Juha, Le Havre)

With Sakari Kuosmanen, Sherwan Haji

International premiere

Una Mujer Fantástica

Chile / Germany / USA / Spain

By Sebastián Lelio (El Año del Tigre, Gloria)

With Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Küppenheim, Amparo Noguera

World premiere

Berlinale Special

Berlinale Special Gala at the Friedrichstadt-Palast

La Reina de España (The Queen of Spain)

Spain

By Fernando Trueba (The Year of Awakening, Belle Époque, The Girl of Your Dreams)

With Penélope Cruz, Antonio Resines, Chino Darín, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Neus Asensi, Ana Belén

International premiere

Le jeune Karl Marx (The Young Karl Marx)

France / Germany / Belgium

By Raoul Peck (Sometimes In April, Moloch Tropical, Fatal Assistance)

With August Diehl, Stefan Konarske, Vicky Krieps, Hannah Steele, Olivier Gourmet

World premiere

Últimos días en La Habana (Last Days in Havana)

Cuba / Spain

By Fernando Pérez (Life Is to Whistle, Madrigal)

With Jorge Martínez, Patricio Wood, Gabriela Ramos

European premiere

Berlinale Special at the Volksbühne

Acht Stunden sind kein Tag (Eight Hours Don't Make a Day)

Federal Republic of Germany 1972 – TV series with 5 episodes

By Rainer Werner Fassbinder

With Hanna Schygulla, Gottfried John, Luise Ullrich, Werner Finck, Irm Hermann

World premiere of the restored version

Berlinale Talents and Perspektive Deutsches Kino have joined forces to award the inaugural “Kompagnon” fellowship. The fellowship will be awarded annually to two directors or screenwriters residing in Germany to support their artistic and professional development.

“Berlinale Talents and Perspektive Deutsches Kino are important promoters and springboards for filmmakers and screenwriters living in Germany. We're now providing them with a companion to accompany them on their journey through the German film landscape and to support them on a practical level,” comments Festival Director Dieter Kosslick on the “Kompagnon” fellowship.

Eligible to apply are directors and screenwriters of short or feature films who were part of the last edition of Perspektive Deutsches Kino, as well as permanent residents of Germany who will participate in the “Script Station”, “Doc Station” or “Short Film Station” at the upcoming edition of Berlinale Talents. In addition to a stipend of 5,000 euros (2,500 euros for short films) for the independent development of a screenplay or project, the “Kompagnon” also provides a mentoring programme to help strengthen the filmmakers’ artistic signature, alongside professional coaching and improved industry networking opportunities.

The jury, comprised of the three film professionals Sigrid Hörner, Feo Aladag and Johannes Naber, will select one winner from Berlinale Talents and one from Perspektive Deutsches Kino. The award ceremony will take place on February 17, 2017, during the closing evening of Perspektive Deutsches Kino.

The European Film Market (EFM) at the Berlin International Film Festival is considered one of the most important trade platforms for film rights and audiovisual content.

As the first industry gathering of the year, the EFM will open its doors on February 9, 2017, setting the trends for the upcoming year in film. The entire exhibition spaces, in the Martin-Gropius-Bau and the Marriott Hotel, are already fully reserved. More than 9,000 exhibitors, license traders, producers, buyers and investors are expected over the nine market days from February 9 to 17, 2017.

This year, the European Film Market has expanded in both space and content. New initiatives such as the “

Berlinale Africa Hub” and “EFM Horizon” provide forward-looking impetuses. The immensely popular “Drama Series Days”, presented by the EFM and the Berlinale Co-Production Market, has been expanded and moved into a new venue. The three-day edition of the segment will run from February 13 to 15 in the Zoo Palast, with panel discussions, market screenings and various networking events. The official partner of the “Drama Series Days” is the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW; it is mounted in cooperation with HBO Europe and the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. And at the 2017 EFM, Mexico will be the first “Country in Focus” – a new EFM initiative that the market plans to follow through with in upcoming years with different countries.

Of course, this year’s EFM continues with its established and successful segments “EFM Asia”, “Meet the Docs”, “American Independents in Berlin”, “EFM Producers Hub”, the “EFM Industry Debates” and LOLA at Berlinale.

“The European Film Market is one of the most important film markets world-wide and, since it’s at the start of the year, it’s a key seismograph for the year to come. The EFM is a trend-setter that keeps abreast of the radical changes in the industry”, says EFM director Matthijs Wouter Knol.

“There has rarely been as much movement and such a sense of euphoria in the film industry as there is now. We’re responding to that with our broad range of initiatives. At the same time, it’s extremely important that we provide optimal surroundings that offer dependability and stability in terms of infrastructure and content”, adds EFM president Beki Probst.

For additional information, visit www.efm-berlinale.de.

Focus on “Black Worlds” and “Europa Europa” I am not your Negro...

In the Panorama section, the first eleven films from a programme featuring a total of approximately 50 productions have been invited to be screened at the Berlinale, around a third of them for Panorama Dokumente. Two prominent themes have already emerged among the films selected to date: a fresh historically reflective approach to the history of black people in North America, South America and Africa (I Am Not Your Negro, Vazante, The Wound), and “Europa Europa”, which explores how progressive forces might best defend themselves in light of a zeitgeist that makes it seem as if yesterday never went away (Política, manual de instrucciones, Combat au bout de la nuit).

Further extraordinarily sensitive and artistic works have been invited, and festivalgoers can expect a high degree of formal and thematic diversity from the complete programme – also as regards rare countries of origin such as Bhutan or Kyrgyzstan.

In Focus: Reclaiming Black History

Vazante

Brazil / Portugal

By Daniela Thomas

With Adriano Carvalho, Luana Nastas, Juliana Carneiro da Cunha, Sandra Corveloni, Roberto Audio

World premiere

Daniela Thomas, co-director of many joint productions with Walter Salles, presents her solo directorial debut. Brazil was the last country to officially abolish slavery in its historical form, in 1888. This film’s story (co-authored by Beto Amaral) is set in 1821, one year before the South American nation gained its independence from Portugal. The wealth that is extracted from the country comes in the form of gemstones from the mines of Minas Gerais. The precious jewels are excavated from the belly of the mountain by slaves; still absent today is any significant memorial to the suffering they endured. Although this era represents the foundation upon which today’s Brazil was built, its culture has yet to recover from the monstrosity of these events.

I Am Not Your Negro

France / USA / Belgium / Switzerland

By Raoul Peck

Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson

European premiere

Raoul Peck is also an esteemed guest at the Berlinale. With I Am Not Your Negro, he has embarked on a long overdue reflection on the life of the great African-American writer James Baldwin and his political struggle against racism, whose roots go back to slavery. The black point of view, a black historiography are not yet anchored in mainstream consciousness. History is always written by the victors, and black people were never among them, neither Africans nor African-Americans. In James Baldwin, a powerfully eloquent intellectual took to the stage and set marks that are as invigoratingly crucial to reckon with today as they were 50 years ago. With I Am Not Your Negro and The Young Karl Marx in BerlinaleSpecial, Raoul Peck is represented twice in this year’s festival programme.

The Wound

South Africa / Germany / Netherlands / France

By John Trengove

With Nakhane Touré, Bongile Mantsai, Niza Jay Ncoyini

European premiere

The opening film for this year’s Panorama main programme comes from South Africa. The fabrication of masculinity has long been a consistent theme in Panorama. Here we are permitted to witness the initiation rites of an African tribe inhabiting the territory of the South African Republic. Tradition and modernity collide when an urbanised businessman from Johannesburg resolves to expose his 17-year-old son to the circumcision ceremony of his old tribe. Producer Elias Ribeiro previously delighted festival audiences in Panorama 2015 with Necktie Youth.

Europa Europa

Política, manual de instrucciones (Politics, Instructions Manual)

Spain

By Fernando León de Aranoa

European premiere

Feature film director Fernando León de Aranoa, a repeat guest at Panorama, enables us to take an in-depth look at the situation on the ground in Spain. The media noise concerning Syria, Trump and other earth-shaking events clouds the recognition of the foundation of our future: European politics. We think back to those heady days in West Germany as the Green Party was founded: Podemos was born of similar circumstances and can no longer be contained on the fringe, even as the dark forces of old regroup for an attack thanks to an unprocessed fascist past. A situation of repressed history, one which ticks away like a time bomb in many countries around the globe. This frightening zeitgeist requires the brave intervention of those who don’t want to be forced back behind the goal lines of recent history.

Combat au bout de la nuit (Fighting Through the Night)

Canada

By Sylvain L’Espérance

International premiere

This nearly five-hour-long documentary essay takes us directly to the heart of Europe’s misery: to Athens. In the Greek parliament building, innumerable articles are adopted to an audience of empty seats. The harbour landscape rolls past us, with its endless rows of administrative buildings, which will soon fall into the hands of financiers from other continents. Then we find ourselves right in the middle of an occupation of the tax office by its cleaning personnel – a long-term observation that plays out over the course of 28 days and provides space for empathetic encounters with marginalised individuals caught up in the crisis. The vacuum left behind by technocratic policies is filled by new fascists, who feign gestures of care for the forgotten – a scenario repeated in all of the nations of Europe and beyond its borders.

Casting JonBenet

USA

By Kitty Green

International premiere

Produced by James Schamus and Scott Macaulay, this film is a highly intelligent attempt to revisit the facts surrounding the unsolved violent death of six-year-old “beauty queen” JonBenet Ramsey. What was conceived as a celebration of the American dream family became a nightmare 20 years ago for the ever so omnipotent petty bourgeoisie.

Honeygiver Among the Dogs

Bhutan

By Dechen Roder

With Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk, Sonam Tashi Choden

European premiere

This debut feature from director Dechen Roder, who already presented a short film at the Berlinale in 2015, is a veritable Buddhist film noir. Atmospherically dense cinema, dynamically charged between tension and serenity, faith and morality.

Centaur

Kyrgyzstan / France / Germany / Netherlands

By Aktan Arym Kubat

With Nuraly Tursunkojoev, Zarema Asanalieva, Aktan Arym Kubat

World premiere

With a voice that speaks as if from another century and with the popular appeal of a fairy tale, this film tells the saga of the metaphysical bond between horse and humankind and how the former ended up becoming wings for the latter.

Pendular

Brazil / Argentina / France

By Julia Murat

With Raquel Karro, Rodrigo Bolzan

World premiere

Young director Julia Murat is a real discovery. Here she examines the relationship between a dance artist and a sculptor using the means of their particular art forms. A philosophical, original gender treatment of young bohemians poised on the verge of middle age.

Ri Chang Dui Hua (Small Talk)

Taiwan

By Hui-chen Huang

International premiere

A family story of a very special kind, produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien. The mother earns a living as a spirit guide for the deceased at their funerals: she was never at home, always out and about with her girlfriends instead. The daughter now goes to great lengths to attempt to understand her mother. A cosmos opens before us, one which manages to be of universal cultural significance and extremely intimate at the same time.

Untitled

Austria / Germany

By Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi

World premiere

“This film is intended to show an image of the world that can only be created when one does not pursue any subject, or make any value judgement or follow any objective. When one lets one’s self be carried along by nothing more than one’s own curiosity and intuition.” – Director Michael Glawogger passed away in 2014 during shooting for a movie. His editor Monika Willi has realised a fascinating film with material that was shot during a journey of four months and 19 days through the Balkan states, Italy, and Northwest and Western Africa – a journey undertaken in order to observe, to listen and to experience, with attentive eyes, bold and raw.

Grand french Dame and icon actress passed today. She will be remembered in french people hearts for the dialog with Jean Gabin "t'as de beaux yeux tu sais" And Wonderful blue eyes indeed!

I only met her once in Deauville at Jack Valenti's 80th exclusive birthday party with Mayor of Deauville Anne d'Ornano. She died at age of 96.    

Sira Syed reviews screenwriter Kirtida Gautam’s thought-provoking novel, #Iam16ICanRape

If a title like this cannot provoke you, and arouse immense curiosity, very little else will. A #hashtag that boldly declares its raison d’être, and alludes to a provision under Indian Criminal Law that only adults can be convicted of most crimes, younger convicted criminals being sentenced to time in a remand (reform) home. Even as author Kirtida was moving base to a new home in another continent, the law was amended in India, and now, ‘under-age’ rape offenders will be treated like their adult counter-parts. Her stand that there should be no mitigating circumstances for a person committing rape, and being under 16 years of age, or of any age, is no defence.

Before I move on to address the book itself, it will be worthwhile quoting from her blogs. Here is an excerpt from 24 December 2015:

“Is this amendment a proactive action to lessen the growing rape culture in India?

As a clinical psychologist, I have my doubts about that.

The swiftness, severity, and certainty of punishment are the key elements in understanding a law’s ability to control human behaviour. 

Any crime should be seen in totality of the crime committed. Not just in the law books. When it is clear, visible, and objective that the crime committed was not the product of a juvenile mind but the product of a mind that is capable of premeditation, then the juvenile justice system must waiver the accused to the adult court.

And rape is one crime, which is ALWAYS PREMEDITATED. People can commit a murder in the spur of a moment, by mistake, but a person can’t commit a rape at the spur of the moment, by mistake. Therefore, the juvenile justice umbrella must be removed from law books in cases of coercive rape.

I don’t propose to lower down the age limit to 16. It doesn’t make any sense. Tomorrow, a boy of 15 years might commit a rape and we will start the whole circus again. My concern is not 18, 16, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, or 2…

For rape, the juvenile justice system of this country must waiver the accused to the adult court. Waiver is the legal transfer of jurisdiction procedure over the juvenile offenders to the adult court for criminal prosecution.

If a person is adult enough to commit the rape, the person is adult enough to take the punishment, period.”

#IAm16ICanRape-- That such a rapacious thread can exist on the Internet, even in a novelist’s imagination, should be a cause for deep concern. And screen-writer turned novelist Kirtida’s book is nothing if not an epic encapsulation of concern, anguish, and print vigilantism. The thread evolves into a multi-layered collage of a family, individual fads and foibles, demeanours and misdemeanours, ambition and class divisions, and, above all, about evil.

“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows.” Was a line that was made immortal by Orson Welles during his radio days, playing a character called The Shadow. The Shadow is a fictional character created by Walter B. Gibson, one of the most famous of the pulp heroes of the 1930s and 1940s. Born Kent Allard, the Shadow, who was gifted with mind-reading abilities, assumed various identities for his crime-fighting work, most notably that of Lamont Cranston.

Most historical dictators and/or psychopaths have been geniuses first, and madmen later. Gautam reminds us that a perfectly normal looking and behaving teenager could be cultivating thought and ideas that, when put to practice, would seem too incredible, too dastardly to be true. Her Aarush Kashyap is just such a boy ‘wonder’.

Talking to a criminal psychologist who works in courts, and who is also a lecturer, I put across my own pet theory that all humans are born truly evil, capable of all possible heinous crimes. Most of them either do not get the opportunities to commit the crimes they desire to. Parents and social upbringing, as well as experiences, merely stoke or douse their traits, to varying degrees. I have met a few hundred such persons, and my theory is based on a long-term study. Expecting her to get outraged, I was trying to prepare for the retort; instead, she said, “That is the first lesson I teach in class.” My theory that had felt vindicated after I had read Kirtida’s book now stood re-affirmed, though I wonder whether Kirtida has such strong views. And yet, not for one moment does she relent in condemning the unflattering figure of 100 rapes a day, in the country of her birth and upbringing.

It was Rajabali who released the book the book at a Bandra, Mumbai, bookshop, which is where I first met Kirtida, her family—parents Parukant Desai and Leena, and her husband, Mrityunjay Mishra, a techno-geek. Little did I know then that it would take me ages to write this review and that Kirtida would have by then migrated to the USA, a year ago. We are still in touch, though, on the Net, where I have been finding convincing ways of telling her why it took me so long.

A chance meeting with Read Out Loud (the book’s marketing agency, which works on the principle, “You publish it. Leave the rest to us”)’s Mukti Jain had me listing my reasons for the inordinate delay. I kept reading a few pages a day. But after I had finished it, an avalanche of assignments kept it outside my reach. In turn, I asked Mukti what happened to the lecture tour that she wanted me to go on with her company, details of which were to have been decided nine months ago? That had been dropped, she clipped. Not even a line?!

It’s a novel alright, and part of the treatment is thrilleresque. Yet, you cannot rush through this one like a best-seller. It is a treatise too. Very often, it takes a two-shot cinematic approach, followed by preambles to both characters, then comes individual dialogue, followed by words describing what was going on in their minds when they said what they did.

At best, is as complex as the human brain, and worst, it is a psychologist’s attempt at character and behaviour analysis, and coming apart of the stuff that men and women are made of, Yin and Yang. Fictional characters, how-so-ever-much they might have been inspired from real life people, or amalgams of characters Kirtida met or heard/read about/saw, remain puppets on her keyboard: malleable, ductile, flexible and pliable. Her forté is setting you up with a line of action, then, when you are flowing one way, quite like in cricket, something goes against the run of play, and either a catch is dropped or a wicket falls.

That she is deeply aware of the falls in moral standards and the dark side of uncensored media that has occurred over the last 40 years or so is for all to see. Her ‘hero’ is an antagonist, a teenaged rapist whose mind-boggling IQ hovers in a plasma that is jet black for most parts, but with some shades of white and grey, that help him cover his tracks and pass off as normal. Aarush’s grandfather Rudransh is the protagonist, a man whose values were forged 60 years ago and who begins to believe that a grandson’s gruesome crimes are, at least in part, his burden too. That he takes this burden quite literally is bizarre, but then those were bizarre times. Parallel to Konstantin Stanislaski’s classical Method Acting theory, there is a school in writing that calls itself Method Writing. Gautam chooses this method to let characters develop. And maybe Anjum will smile at that, from the corner of his lips.

Kirti, like Shanti and Kanti, is a name that is gender agnostic; both men and women bear these names. And Kirtida is a derivative of Kirti, meaning fame. Kirtida is one who bestows fame. And here she is, garnering it for herself. Her likes include chai and chess. Chess it had to be. The chapters are quite like a chessboard, with all pawns, kings, queens and bishops being subjected to a writer’s roulette, which rolls inside a time-machine. There are scientific and mathematical analyses and medical theories, references to master psychologists, of then and now (Freud? You bet).

Vadodadra-born Kirtida lists Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, Herman Hesse, The Mahabharata, The Ramayana, Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus as her influences, One psycho-evolutionary theory that comes right at the end is going to raise a million eyebrows, and will force scholars to rethink the dissected, solidly construed premise of genetics of rape. Rape is male suppression of and dominance over woman? Theory or postulate? Think again. Contemplate.

Read the book.

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Quotes from the book

 “You cannot stop loving your child because you know that he has committed a wrong action. But you certainly stop loving yourself for loving him.

~ Rudransh Kashyap

“Self -pity is the worst form of poison. It kills a person without the person realising it”

~~ Aarush Kashyap

“People say that every person plays the lead role in the movie of their own lives. I don't. I play a side character even in my own life's movie.”

~ Mrigank Kashyap

 “I am not the Hero of this story Bob is

~ Aarush Kashyap

Three weeks ago, I found this on her Twitter page.

Kirtida Gautam ‏@KirtidaGautam  Dec 3, 2016

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Is this just me or someone else also feels complete despondency? So much so that I am on the verge of giving up.

I have been trying to give-up for 48 years, very, very seriously, and in the last 10 years with renewed vigour. My sincere hope is that your despondency is a passing phase, and nowhere near the parasite that my despondency has become, chewing my brain all the time. Not to mention my body. More fame awaits, Kirtida. Get on with that your next, the Second Part of the #YinYang brace! #2 is on the way. And avoid book- reviewing. Reviewers are not a loved species. NOBODY loves a reviewer, unless he is biased towards the reader’s/viewer’s favourites. The only true critics and reviewers are those who have no favourites, or forget who their favourites are once they get on with their jobs.

Lastly, how is this for a husband’s promo for his wife’s book?

Rating: ***

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bMHbe5BmAg

The first seven films have now been invited to participate in Perspektive Deutsches Kino’s programme in 2017: to date, four full-length graduation films and three 30-minute ones. “More so than ever it’s worth going to the Perspektive’s opening film and then making yourself comfortable in Berlinale cinemas for the subsequent nine days. Coming and staying guarantees you’ll feel lucky ten times over,” section head Linda Söffker says in anticipation of these ten fiery days in icy February.

Mia Spengler’s graduation film, Back for Good (prod: Zum Goldenen Lamm Filmproduktion, co-prod: Filmakademie Ludwigsburg) will open the Perspektive with the story of Angie, a former trash-TV starlet (Kim Riedle), her despised mother (Juliane Köhler), and her pubescent sister (Leonie Wesselow). By returning to the hick town of her childhood, Angie wreaks havoc on their relationships, so that all three have to redefine their roles in life. Back for Good is an ode to humanity – softly hummed while an auto-tuned pop song blares from the radio.

The fiction film Ein Weg (Paths, dir: Chris Miera, co-prod: Miera Film, Hildebrandt Film) was made while studying at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf and is the cautious exploration of a long love relationship that ends in separation. Over 15 years, as son Max gradually grows up, we accompany Andreas (Mike Hoffmann) and Martin (Mathis Reinhardt) through the highs and lows in the daily life of a partnership. Shot like a documentary, with a small team and budget at real locations, Ein Weg develops with great intensity and flexibility - and through the process of editing finds its special form of telling a story over time.

Director Tian Dong grew up in China and attended the KHM in Cologne. He has now completed his studies with the documentary Eisenkopf (Ironhead), about a young soccer team skilled in Shaolin kung fu. Tian Dong visits its young members at their sports school, and talks to them about their everyday lives and dreams. In doing so he paints an unsettling picture of China’s political situation.

In Julian Radlmaier’s new film, Selbstkritik eines bürgerlichen Hundes (Self-criticism of a Bourgeois Dog,  prod: Faktura Film, co-prod: dffb), a bourgeois dog confesses how he has gone through multiple transformations, from a love-struck filmmaker, to an apple picker, a traitor of the revolution, and, last but not least, a four-legged creature. In a political comedy full of burlesque escapades, we meet Camille, a young Canadian (Deragh Campbell); Hong and Sancho, a pair of proletarians who believe in miracles; a mute monk with magical powers; and a bunch of strange field labourers who indulge in idealistic visions.

All three of the medium-long works contemplate Europe and its future in quite similar yet different ways. What would happen if one day people in Europe had to flee, director Felicitas Sonvilla asks in her poetic science fiction film, Tara (prod: MOTEL Film Kollektiv; co-prod: HFF Munich). A young woman called Mira (Sasha Davydova) tells of her flight from Paris. In search of a different life she takes a train heading east to the utopianesque town of Tara. Kontener (Container) was the first medium-long fiction film that Sebastian Lang made at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. In it he portrays “two Polish ladies” who work at a dairy in Brandenburg. From the perspective of Maryna (Joanna Drozda), who narrates the story, the film depicts the last night before Tava (Anka Graczyk) disappears. The third film, titled Mikel, is about a young refugee who has left Nigeria for Berlin in search of a decent life with a properly paid job. It is the first medium-long film by Cavo Kernich, who with this work has completed his studies in “narrative film” under Thomas Arslan at the Universität der Künste in Berlin.

The entire Perspektive Deutsches Kino programme will be announced in January.

The following films have been invited so far:

Back for Good

By Mia Spengler

With Kim Riedle, Juliane Köhler, Leonie Wesselow

Feature film

World premiere

Eisenkopf (Ironhead)

By Tian Dong

Documentary film

World premiere

Kontener (Container)

By Sebastian Lang

With Joanna Drozda, Anka Graczyk

Medium-long feature film

World premiere

Mikel

By Cavo Kernich

With Jonathan Aikins

Medium-long feature film

World premiere

Selbstkritik eines bürgerlichen Hundes (Self-criticism of a Bourgeois Dog)

By Julian Radlmaier

With Julian Radlmaier, Deragh Campbell, Beniamin Forti, Kyung-Taek Lie, Ilia Korkashvili

Feature film

German premiere

Tara

By Felicitas Sonvilla

With Sasha Davydova, Leo van Kann, Lena Lauzemis

Medium-long feature film

World premiere

Ein Weg (Paths)

By Chris Miera

With Mike Hoffmann, Mathis Reinhardt

Feature film

World premiere