Hi All,
I just got back from the Newport Film Festival, where I had a fabulous time meeting new people, seeing great friends, watching excellent films, and presenting on a panel about Distribution. I’ll start at the beginning, I suppose.
I met Agnes Varnum, the jack-ess of all trades, at Toronto’s Hot Docs festival. Agnes is an [...]

The Trieste Film Festival, which focuses on films that feature “originality and linguistic innovation”, has an amazing roster of films this past year,all focused on the particular aspects and problems “of the culture of the filmmaker’s origin”. Check out the website to learn more about what promises to become a big player in world cinema.
http://www.triestefilmfestival.it

Ken Loach’s film, THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY, won top prize at Cannes. The film, which is set during the Irish Civil War in 1922, is about “the complexities of Ireland’s struggle for independance at a grass-roots level”. Featuring Cillian Murphy and Liam Cunningham. - Jordan

And of course, gets a Criterion Collection release. No other imprint is deserving of this landmark film, which is sadly little known. Admittedly, I have a faint recollection of the film itself, with a greater memory of how profoundly it affected me. I saw it 9 years ago, during a summer stay in London, at [...]

MARIE-ANTOINETTE, the new picture starring the lovely KIRSTEN DUNST, directed by Sofia Coppola, premiered at CANNES at a peculiar 8:30 AM screening. As is expected by now of the Gallic crowd, the film was met with applause, followed by a loud series of boos. I’ve read many articles in the past about how the French [...]

A list of the films currently in competition at Cannes 2006. It seems like Pedro Almodovar’s newest picture, “Volver”, is a likely contender for the Palm D’or.
ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU - Babel
NANNI MORETTI - The Cayman
NURI BILGE CEYLAN - Climates
RACHID BOUCHAREB - Days of Glory
RICHARD LINKLATER - Fast Food Nation
BRUNO DUMONT - Flanders
PAOLO SORRENTINO - Friend [...]