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Film Festivals
Film Society Showcases Spanish Comedies
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- Published on Thursday, 04 December 2014 10:05
- Written by Jack Angstreich
From December 12th to the 18th, the Film Society of Lincoln Center will be presenting a series called The Last Laugh: An Alternate History of Spanish Comedy, which aims to canvas a “grotesque” tradition in that national cinema. It seems that this retrospective is typically and regrettably over-representative of recent works but a few films from the Golden Age of Spanish movies will be featured including an early work by the formidable Marco Ferreri, The Little Coach, co-scripted by, and adapted from the novel by, the eminent screenwriter and author, Rafael Azcona — the illustrious careers in cinema of both Ferreri and Azcona began together and the latter went on to author the wonderful Il Mafioso of Alberto Lattuada and to brilliantly collaborate with Carlos Saura.
The most significant of Azcona’s collaborations, beside those with Ferreri and Saura, was with the remarkable Luis García Berlanga, who was the subject of a memorable Film Society retrospective a few years ago. One of Azcona’s most impressive scripts and one of Berlanga’s finest films was the classic El Verdugo, which is a highlight of this series, about an undertaker, beautifully played by the great Italian star, Nino Manfredi, who finds himself placed against his will in the role of executioner. This work is, to a large degree, a subtle and ingenious bureaucratic satire but sustains an undercurrent of unexpectedly moving pathos. (The great Spanish comic actor, José Luis López Vásquez, who starred in many Berlanga films — and whom the filmmakers wanted for Manfredi’s part — is terrific in a small role as the undertaker’s brother.)
El Verdugo is one of Berlanga’s most stylistically accomplished works, excellent photographed by the extraordinary Tonino Delli Colli, who is especially famous for his magnificent collaborations with Pier Paolo Pasolini and Sergio Leone. In this film, the director favors the sequence-shot and compositions in depth, achieving a truly Bazinian realism. The visual effect of Berlanga’s approach is enhanced by the glorious 35-millimeter print being screened, which although it is slightly dirty and worn, conveys the splendors of this vanishing art.
Lawyers, Lovers, & Lawbreakers at the 12th Korean Film Festival
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- Published on Monday, 17 November 2014 17:48
- Written by Renzo Adler
Futureless Things
Subway Cinema, who previously brought us the New York Asian Film Festival, in conjunction with the Korean Society and the BAMcinematek, the 12th Korean Film Festival (November 20 - 23, 2014) continues to bring new and daring films from Korea to the screens of the BAMcinematek and BAM Rose Cinemas (30 Lafayette Ave, New York, NY 11217).
For over a decade Subway Cinema has helped bring the works of directors like Johnnie To (Drug Wars) and Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China) to the US, along with presenting Asian films, past and present, that bend minds and genres. The Korean Film Festival features seven films:
- The Attorney, directed by Yang Woo-seok
Based on the true story of former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, The Attorney deals with a shady lawyer that gets pulled into a world of politics an intrigue. - Gyeongju, directed by Zhang Lu
After a Peking University professor attends the funeral of a friend in the city of Gyeongju, he goes on an aimless journey seeking spiritual and
sexual satisfaction. This is the film’s US premiere. - A Hard Day, directed by Kim Seong-hun
A detective accidentally runs over and kills someone on a deserted highway, and now he must hide the body as strange events cause karma to catch up with him. - The Pirates, directed by Lee Suk-hoon
A jaunty adventure in the vein of Pirates of the Caribbean with a dash of wuxia follows a lady pirate and her lover as they traverse an ocean full of bandits, brigands, and beasts. - Man on High Heels, directed by Jang Jin
A strange subversion of the detective genre, Man on High Heels follows a hard-boiled gumshoe that wants to get a sex change operation, but first must deal with a gang that’s after his friends and family. - The Admiral: Roaring Currents, directed by Kim Han-min
A massive blockbuster depicting the 1597 Battle of Myeongryang, in which Admiral Yi Sun-shin, along with a small fleet of ships, must fight back against a massive wave of Japanese invaders. - Futureless Things, directed by Kim Kyung-mook.
This episodic comedy follows 24 hours in the lives of social outcasts, convenience store clerks, drop-outs, and defectors as they lead lives seemingly invisible to South Korean society.
The 12th Korean Film Festival looks geared up to bring some truly unique films out of South Korea, with a little something for everybody.
To learn more, go to: http://www.bam.org/nykff
The 12th Korean Film Festival
November 20 - 23, 2014
BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Ave.
New York, NY 11217
An Expanded DOC NYC Is In Its 5th Edition
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- Published on Thursday, 06 November 2014 14:31
- Written by Brad Balfour
The fifth edition of America's largest documentary festival, DOC NYC, runs from November 13-20, 2014, at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village and Chelsea's SVA Theatre and Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas. Through an expansion from last year's event, this year's festival will showcase 153 films and events, with over 200 documentary makers and special guests expected in person to present their films to New York City audiences.
DOC NYC's expanded programming includes 19 world premieres, seven US premieres and 40 New York City premieres among this year's feature-length films. A total of 92 features, 37 shorts and 24 panel discussions and masterclasses make up the fifth edition's offerings.
The opening night film Do I Sound Gay?, directed by David Thorpe and in its US premiere, is bookended this year's closing night film, The Yes Men Are Revolting, directed by Laura Nix, which is also having its US premiere. Both films debuted in September 2014's Toronto International Film Festival.
Said artistic director Thom Powers, who has led the festival alongside executive director Raphaela Neihausen since its launch: "Over the past five years, DOC NYC has brought together an exciting mix of filmmakers, special guests and influential audiences—providing the kind of experiences that happen only in New York. Our mix of premieres, classics, in-depth panels, and masterclasses span documentary past, present and future."
Among the world premieres are the debuts of:
- An Open Secret
An exposé about sexual abuse in Hollywood, by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg (Deliver Us from Evil, West of Memphis)
- Still Dreaming
The residents of an actors' retirement home perform Shakespeare, direced by Hank Rogerson and Jilann Spitzmiller. - Almost There
A portrait of an outsider artist with a surprising past, by Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden
In addition to an expanded Short List -- DOC NYC's selection of the best docs of the year -- and the increase of the festival's panel series, Doc-A-Thon, by two days, this year's event debuts four new thematic programming strands:
- Fight the Power celebrates activism.
- Centerstage highlights performance.
- Jock Docs focuses on sports.
- Docs Redux revisits classic films.
Said director of programming Basil Tsiokos, "We're pleased that DOC NYC's expansion this year enables us to expose New York audiences to a greater breadth of documentary storytelling and subject matter.
"Our competition sections and thematic sidebars offer wonderful new discoveries, while the larger Short List enables us to showcase even more of the year's most acclaimed docs as we head into awards season."
DOC NYC is made possible by its sponsors, including Leadership Sponsor HBO Documentary Films; Media Sponsors WNET and New York magazine; and Major Sponsors A&E IndieFilms, History Films and SundanceNow Doc Club. The festival is produced by IFC Center.
To learn more, go to: http://www.docnyc.net/
DOC NYC
November 13th - 20th
IFC Center
323 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10014
SVA Theater
333 W 23rd St
New York, NY 10011
Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas
260 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011
Israel Film Festival Spotlights Israeli Culture
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- Published on Wednesday, 05 November 2014 21:05
- Written by Jessica Beard
The 28th Israeli Film Festival brings its international industry and cultural showcase to the world's entertainment capital this year -- as befits the U.S.'s biggest offering of Israeli film. The yearly celebration takes place from October 23 - November 6 in Los Angeles, aiming to connect American audiences with the fullness and vibrancy of Israel life and society.
With such an abundance of features, documentaries, television shows and student shorts to choose from, the IFF has cherry-picked a "Best of the Fest" slate of multiple screenings to offer filmgoers expanded chances to see 2014's most buzzed-about pieces. The festival opened October 25 with U.S. premiere Is That You?, a romantic drama about a 60-year-old film projectionist (Alon Abouboul) who gets fired from his job and sets out in search of his long-ago teenage love. The 2014 Israeli Academy (Ophir) Awards Best Picture nominee screens again Sunday, November 2.
Fellow festival-opener and U.S. Premiere Kicking Out Shoshana is director Shay Kanot's comedy about an Israeli soccer player (Oshri Cohen) forced to pose as a homosexual as punishment for flirting with a mafia boss's girlfriend. Predictably, he loses support from fans and teammates in conservative Jerusalem -- but attains heroic status in its gay community under his guise. The film screens again on November 5.
Also headlining the festival's second-chance screenings are The Dove Flyer (Farewell Bagdad) (2013) and Apples from the Desert (2014). The Dove Flyer is director Nissam Diyam's adaptation of Eli Amir's novel about the 130 million Jews who fled Iraq between 1950 and 1951. Apples from the Desert (directors: Matti Harari and Arik Lubetzkiis) is about a young girl named Rebecca (Moran Rosenblatt) who runs away from her Jewish Orthodox home in Jerusalem to join a kibbutz with a young man in the desert.
The Opening Night Gala on October 23 honored film producer Arnon Milchan, film and television producer Mace Neufeld and actress Dana Ivgy. Arnon's 130-plus films include 2014 releases Gone Girl and Birdman -- both currently in theaters -- as well as 12 Years a Slave (2013), A Time to Kill (1996) and Pretty Woman (1990). Neufeld boasts the recent Denzel Washington/Antoine Fuqua team-up The Equalizer (2014) and the classic The Hunt for Red October (1990) while Ivgy stars in two festival entries, gala feature Next to Her (2014) and Zero Motivation (2014). Next to Her tells the story of Chelli (Liron Ben-Shlush), a young woman whose codependent relationship with her younger, developmentaly-challenged sister Gabby (Ivgy) compicates when Chelli's love interest Zohar (Yaakov Zada Daniel) enters the picture.
To learn more, go to http://www.israelfilmfestival.com
