Movin’ On Up: The 2007 Tribeca Film Festival
From neighborhood festival to NYC player There’s no denying the buzz of New York’s Tribeca Film Festival, a 12-day extravaganza spread out among 13 venues. Out in force at the[…]
Category: Festivals & Awards
Closing the Closet: QDoc: The 2007 Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival
“We couldn’t figure out how to divide the cat . . .” Queer documentaries have had a special place in homo history at least since 1978’s Word Is Out, the pioneering showcase[…]
On the Border of the Thermian Gulf: The Ninth Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival
“The documentaries that most stood out have a near fictional flair, blurring the border between reality and fable.” For the ninth year, the formerly predominantly Jewish city of Thessaloniki in[…]
Secrets of the European Union: Chicago’s Tenth Annual EU Film Festival
They saw what you did! Could anyone foresee, when six nations signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957, that this economic agreement would evolve into the unprecedented political experiment called[…]
Dragons, Tigers, and Citizen Rayns: The 25th Vancouver International Film Festival
Asian cinema triumphs in this year’s D&T, Tony Rayns’s last For over a decade the Vancouver International Film Festival’s Dragons and Tigers program has provided a crucial forum for emerging[…]
Less Is Less: The 44th New York Film Festival
Past trumps present in this unremarkable fest If, as proclaimed by its director Richard Peña, the New York Film Festival is a “kind of report on the state of cinema,”[…]
On the Prowl with MadCat: On the 2006 MadCat International Women’s Film Festival
Provocative and visionary! The MadCat Women’s International Film Festival is based in San Francisco, but one hesitates to call it a “San Francisco festival.” Programmed for the past ten years (this September[…]
Chicago, je t’aime: The 42nd Chicago International Film Festival
“There are things you shouldn’t sell” For the festival’s 42nd annual opening night, the 3,000-seat Chicago Theatre threw open its doors and watched the convergence on the red carpet as[…]
Success Breeds Confidence: Korean Movies at the NYAFF
A quartet of recent Korean films shows a reassuringly robust national cinema Over the last six years, the New York Asian Film Festival has done a great service to Asian[…]
Hands Across the Atlantic: The 9th Annual European Union Film Festival
A Baltic-to-Balkan road trip No passports or visas were needed to check in at the 9th Annual European Union Film Festival, nor did one have to be an actual European[…]
Festivals & Awards · LGBT & Queer
More Fun in the New (Queer) World: The 2005 Portland Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
Out of the closets and onto the screen Queer film festivals have always been a crucial flashpoint for community. Starting in the 1970s, with the now sprawling San Francisco version,[…]
I Am a Film Addict: The 41st Chicago International Film Festival
What the devil did they show? As soon as the black-and-white festival banners went up along Michigan Avenue, Chicago’s moviegoing public braced for the coming onslaught of 101 features (and[…]
The Global Gaze: The 43rd New York Film Festival
Much to admire, little to love Swank and stately, New York’s gala is like the grande dame of film festivals. Absent the frantic pace of Berlin, Cannes, or Toronto, New[…]
The Unbearable Lightness of Cannes: 2005 Diversions and Disappointments
Where did all the wild ones go? The excitement of Cannes is that it matters: 40,000 professionals, journalists, and business people descend on the upscale Mediterranean city to showcase products,[…]
Tony Scott’s Domino: Too Dumb to Write About? Not Entirely!
Strong violence, pervasive language, sexual content/nudity and drug use I admit it. I am a sucker for films with pervasive language. In fact, the more pervasive it is, the more[…]
Everyday Freaks and Fantasy Wars: The 2005 San Francisco International Film Festival
It was the best of times . . . Running parallel to the 48th San Francisco International Film Festival were a surprisingly large number of other celebrations of film, including[…]
Activist & Political · Festivals & Awards · Reviews
Capturing Chaos: On the 2005 Human Rights Watch Film Festival
These docs and features show a world of upheaval – and, occasionally, hope The films portray images and tell stories that most of us would rather not see or hear.[…]
O Bruder, Where Art Thou? The 8th European Union Film Festival (Chicago)
Doing the Continental
Maybe Next Year: Slim Pickings at Berlinale 2005
When good ideas go wrong
Documentaries · Festivals & Awards
In the Realm of the Real: The 3rd Chicago International Documentary Film Festival
“The governments will be forgotten but the masterpieces will remain.”
Links + BSA
