Festivals

The Berlin International Film Festival demonstrated what we all know: men CAN look amazing on the red carpet. Individualism and flair were the keywords of the week.

The 70th Berlin International Film Festival opened with a minute of silence for the victims of the mass shooting in the German city of Hanau. It was followed by the world premiere of, My Salinger Year by writer/director Philippe Falardeau, starring Golden Globe-winner Sigourney Weaver and Margaret Qualley - most recently seen in Fosse/Verdon, Seberg and Once Upon a Time.

It’s that time of the year again: Hollywood and the international film industry are descending on Park City to kick off the year in movies. The weather forecast is freezing: when the high is 30F, you just know you better pack those earmuffs for a night out on Main Street.

There are not too many international film festivals, besides the big ones such as Cannes, Venice or Berlin, that attract as many big celebrities as Marrakech in Morocco. That is probably due to a long Hollywood tradition of using the country as a location for films starting with Lawrence of Arabia.

The Argentina Film Festival in Hollywood was established in 2001 but had to go dormant for a year in 2017. In 2018 it maintained a very small event due to the economic crisis in the Latin American country.

Undoubtedly one of the largest and best-endowed foreign film festivals in Los Angeles, the Israel Film Festival (November 12-26, 2019) has its formula down: two full weeks of screenings in Beverly Hills’ Ahrya Fine Arts Theater and Encino’s Laemmle Town Center 5, kicked off by a grand gala on Opening Night at the Saban Theatre. And it has worked well and consistently for 33 years now.

Once again, the Arclight Cinemas in Culver City hosted the Asian World Film Festival (AWFF), November 6-14, 2019. Now in its 5th edition, AWFF featured films from more than 50 countries from the entire Asian continent, from the Middle East to Japan, Russia to South-East Asia.

Though established and led by a team of Armenian Americans in Los Angeles, the ARPA International Film Festival treasures the second word of its name. For 22 years now, the festival has brought films to Los Angeles from various parts of the world with a focus on social justice.

Cinema Italian Style is the annual showcase of new movies from Italy presented by the American Cinematheque and Luce Cinecittà. This year the festival is dedicated to Lina Wertmüller.

Those of us who regularly attend the Mumbai Film Festival know how to deal with the shortcomings of Mumbai when making the 24-hour trip from Los Angeles. Aside from the jet lag, you steel yourself for the 95-degree heat, allow hours of lead time to battle the horrendous traffic, and then strive for a zen state of mind, because if you don’t, the sweltering, noisy, overcrowded city bursting at the seams will strain your last reserves and turn you into a gibbering wreck.