16th Havana Film Fest: History, Music, & Cinema

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Wednesday, 08 April 2015 22:50

Written by Brad Balfour

Boccaccio in Havana

Now in it’s 16th year, the Havana Film Festival (April 9 - 17, 2015) celebrates the culture and history of Latin American cinema. Held at locations throughout the city, including the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the BAM Cinematek, Quad Cinema and the Museum of the Moving Image, the Havana Film Festival has over fifty films being screened, along with competition brackets for fiction and documentary films.

Films in competition include:

• Road 47
  Based on real events about Brazil’s involvement in World War II, this film recreates an unusual meeting between deserters from three different nationalities (Brazil, Germany, and Italy) during the war.
  
  
• Open Cage
  The economy has collapsed and among those affected are rebel teenager Flavia, and her elderly and grumpy neighbor, Martin. Both will learn to relate to each other, not only to survive the crisis, but to find meaning in their lives.
  
  
• Boccaccio in Havana
  Boccaccio in Havana intertwines three stories through a main thread: a writer’s room where people go to share anecdotes hoping to make some money and become characters of a novel or a movie. An urban Boccaccio, a Havana Decameron; the film exudes sensuality, irreverence and hidden passions.
  
  
• Mr. Kaplan
  Uruguay’s submission for this year’s Academy Awards, Mr. Kaplan is a vibrant comedy about a Jewish retiree who believes a German café owner is a former Nazi.

The Havana Film Fest also has a series of panels on subjects including filming in Latin America, a discussion on the life of novelist Gabriel García Márquez and the film following his life (Gabriel García Márquez: Cinephile), along with a screening of the short film The Blue Lobster.

Nosotros la Musica portion of the festival (We the Music) looks at Cuban documentary cinema that featured many of its landmark figures; classics; groups of all formats, tendencies, genres and movements of different periods; music festivals and gatherings; as well as international artists visiting the island. These musical films include Ritmo de Cuba (Rhythm of Cuba) from 1960, Con Todo Mi Amor, Rita (With all My Love, Rita) from 2000, and Las Manos Y El Angel (The Hands and the Angel) from 2002.

Now a city mainstay, the Havana Film Fest offers a cinematic perspective on the history, culture, music, and lives of Latin Americans.

To learn more, go to: http://www.hffny.com/

The Havana Film Festival
April 9 - 17, 2015

Various locations

Ninjas Converge on Old School Kung Fu Fest in NYC

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Friday, 27 March 2015 16:35

Written by Renzo Adler & Brad Balfour

Silent, deadly, and sometimes delightfully campy, the ninja became ingrained in the world’s subconscious during the 1980’s when Japan was enjoying unprecedented economic prosperity. But the ninjas have their film roots in Japanese cinema dating back to the 1960’s, and now that rich heritage of highly choreographed bloodshed is being celebrated. Presented by Subway Cinema (they of the New York Asian Film Fest) and the Anthology Film Archives (32 2nd Ave, New York, NY), The Old School Kung Fu Fest ‘15: Enter the Ninjas (April 16 - 19, 2015) brings cinematic ninja escapades from the ‘60s to the '90s to NYC.

Since it’s initial incarnation in the early ‘00s, the OSKFF has brought some truly odd and unique cinematic gems, and this year’s entry is no exception. Films include hairspray infused Western fare such as American Ninja and American Ninja 2: The Confrontation. Shaw Brothers give their unique kung fu spin on ninjas with Five Element Ninjas. From Japan comes Samurai Spy, directed by Masahiro Shinoda (Double Suicide), taking a noir twist to an ancient story of betrayal and intrigue in old Edo. The 1963 rarity from Toei, Seventeen Ninja, is so hard to come by, that it’s special screening will feature live subtitles, since an official subtitle print was never created. And while we’re celebrating all things ninja, there will be a screening of the original 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie in all it’s rubber-suited glory.

On Sunday April 19 is the Super Special Secret Screening of a film so secret, *we* don’t even know what it is. We only know that it was a 1970s grindhouse favorite distributed by Roger Corman, the patron saint of schlock. The screening will include special ninja themed prizes and announcements about the lineup for this year’s New York Asian Film Fest.

To learn more, and a complete line up of films, go to: http://www.subwaycinema.com/oldschool15/ or www.anthologyfilmarchives.org

The Old School Kung Fu Fest 2015: Enter the Ninjas!
April 16 - 19, 2015

Anthology Film Archives
32 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10003

Socially Relevant Film Fest Opens Eyes in NY

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Tuesday, 17 March 2015 01:39

Written by Brad Balfour

Destination: Planet Negro

Making its home at the CUNY Graduate Center (365 5th Avenue), Tribeca Cinemas (54 Varick Street), and several other theaters across New York City, the SR Socially Relevant Film Festival (March 16 – 22, 2015), focuses on socially relevant films that use art to address controversial issues facing society today. There are over 50 films from 33 countries that address issues such as violence against women, institutionalized racism, the global industrial complex, and urban life in an uncaring, war torn world.

Films include:

• Cotton Road, dir. Laura Kissel
  Cotton Road follows the commodity of cotton from farm to factory, across industrial landscapes, to illuminate the human experiences within a global supply chain.

• Love is the Highest Law, dir. Liliya Anisimova
  A unique, firsthand look into three powerful stories connected through the strength of overcoming the stringent same-sex laws both in Russia and the United States and of love triumphing over hardship.
  
  
• Destination: Planet Negro, dir. Kevin Willmott
  In this slapstick comedy we see a witty satire about influential African-American figures, W.E.B. Du Bois and George Washington Carver. They time warp to the present to discover unbelievable developments like young men with drooping pants and the election of a black president.
  
  
• The Challat of Tunis, dir. Kaouther Ben Hania
  A man on a motorcycle known as The Challat terrorizes the women of Tunisia by slashing their bottoms with a razor. Ten years after these ‘incidents’ a young determined film director decides to investigate the mystery of the Challat of Tunis.
  
  
• All in Her Stride, dir. Fiona Cochrane
  This film depicts elements of Australian actor Leverne McDonnell’s life and documents her facing a terminal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, with discussion of the topic of euthanasia and her death.
  
  
• Lighter Than Orange, dir. Matthias Leupold
  Ten North Vietnamese veterans tell about their memories of the war and Agent Orange as well as the struggles they have faced as a consequence of both.

 The festival’s mission is to deliver films that address a wide range of issues without resorting to crass commercialism or gratuitous violence. SR spans theaters throughout New York, just as it spans hard hitting issues.

To learn more, go to: http://rated.sr/

SR Socially Relevant Film Festival
March 16 - 22, 2015

CUNY Graduate Center
365 5th Ave
New York, NY 10016

Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St.
New York, NY 10013

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