Festivals

Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) members Barbara Gasser, Gerardo Prat and this writer recently spoke on a panel at the Cartagena International Film Festival (Festival Internacional de Cine de Cartagena de Indias or FICCI), in its 62nd edition at Cartagena, Colombia. The festival, which is presented from March 22 to 28 this year, was also attended by HFPA members Barbaros Tapan and Ruben Nepales.

India’s Last Film Show, about a little boy who watches a movie for the first time and is instantly captivated by the light that comes out of a projector and the stories it tells, won the Snow Leopard Award for best film in the recently concluded 8th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF). The awards night, held November 18 at the Beverly Hills Saban Theater, feted the competition winners, and previously announced honorees in the festival, which ran from November 9 to 18 in Los Angeles.

This was a special year for the Mostra, as the São Paulo Film Festival is popularly and affectionately known at home. Founded in 1977 as a small event by film critic Leon Cakoff, head of the cinema department of the legendary art museum MASP, the Mostra has grown through the years to become one of Brazil's key festivals, never losing its independent spirit.

Rapper, singer and award-winning actress Janelle Monáe, 36, one of the stars from Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery came to support the Ryan Johnson directed movie which closed the BFI London Film Festival and spoke about the film and her career during a Q and A session. Monáe plays entrepreneur Cassandra "Andi" Brand in this murder mystery sequel joining the cast which includes Daniel Craig, Ethan Hawke and Edward Norton.

While today the gala night audience at the Sala Grande broke in seemingly never-ending applause after the screening of Todd Field’s Tár at the Venice Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival announced the line-up of its 49th edition. It is no coincidence that the Telluride selection also includes Tár, the well-received psychological drama of a brilliant conductor and composer played by Cate Blanchett.

Sitting south of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard has long been favored as a New England summer getaway. Incorporating harbor towns, farmland, glorious beaches, and noted lighthouses, the Massachusetts islet has also been a retreat for such noted personalities as Bill Murray, Carly Simon, Maya Angelou, and Michael J.

There is something fascinating about combining the old and the new in one go. Such was the experience at this year’s Jerusalem Film Festival, which took place mainly at the modern cinematheque overlooking the ancient city.

Edward Norton talks about acting in and directing Motherless Brooklyn, at the Allora Film Festival (Italy), on June 21, 2022. Golden Globe winner for Best Supporting Actor in Primal Fear in 1996, Edward Norton has been a force in Hollywood ever since his acclaimed acting debut in Gregory Hoblit's thriller about an altar boy accused of murdering a priest.

The Bolivian film Utama by director Alejandro Loayza Grisi won the award for Best First Work, Best Screenplay, and the Jorge Cámara Hollywood Foreign Press Association Award, which honors the late former president of the HFPA, at the 37th Guadalajara International Film Festival (GIFF), one of the most important festivals in Latin America. Cámara, a three-time president of the HFPA, passionately collaborated with the film festival held annually in Mexico.

Is there anything more complicated than familial relationships? Be it husband and wife, parent and child, or sibling to sibling, the DNA of cinema is abounding with narratives that attempt to navigate the intricate bonds that connect us. Golden Globe and Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose) gets her chance to dive deep into quite the sibling interaction in Arnaud Desplechin's  Brother and Sister (Frère et Sœur), a drama that examines the hostility between esteemed stage actor Alice Vuillard (Cotillard) and her brother Louis (Melvil Poupaud), an acclaimed author.