29/03/2008

We have just published a review of one of the great films in Robert Bresson's great career, which was released on 24/3 by Optimum World.  Good old YouTube has a couple of excerpts from the film, but make sure you get this DVD, as it is an essential item in any film lover's collection. 

26/03/2008

Lynn Hershman's film Strange Culture deals with the very urgent issue of the corrosion of freedom of speech in the name of the 'war on terrorism'.  With Tilda Swinton, Thomas Jay Ryan and Peter Coyote in the cast, the film chronicles the ongoing case of the American art professor and activist Steve Kurtz, a co-founder of the Critical Art Ensemble, who has become the most prominent victim of post-9/11 paranoia. 

On May 11 2004, Kurtz woke up to find his wife dead in bed next to him.  When the medics arrived, they deemed the harmless bacteria which Kurtz was working with for a project as suspicious material and alerted the FBI.  The organisation quickly jumped to the conclusion that Kurtz was a bioterrorist, despite all their suspicions being disproved.  He now awaits a trial date.  Hershman's Strange Culture re-enacts some of the episodes of Kurtz's Kafkian nightmare so far, creating a hybrid of documentary and discussion, with the actors encouraged to talk about their characters, their own work and the situation. 

The film is now available on both Region 1 and Region 2 DVD.  Click here for more information. 

Meet Michael Reynolds, who for over 30 years has been developing a sustainable living concept called Earthship Biotecture.  Reynolds' incredible project is the subject of a documentary called Garbage Warrior, which will be screened on Sundance Channel on 01 April.  Don't miss it. 

19/03/2008

British film director Anthony Minghella, who died yesterday from a fatal haemorrhage following an operation for cancer of the neck and tonsils, was a much-loved member of the film community.  Here's a report from several figures who knew him or had worked with him. 

14/03/2008

Our New York-based regular contributor Thessa Mooij tells us what she saw at the Berlin festival that took place last month while yours truly dishes the dirt on the squalid festival winner, the Brazilian cop flick Elite Squad (pictured). 

10/03/2008

The Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, has a new inhabitant.  Francis Ford Coppola is now splitting his time between California and the B.A., while also making cheaper movies there.  Here's the full story. 

07/03/2008

Those of you looking for a film to see on the big screen over the weekend or over the next few week, check out our feature on the UK French Film Festival that starts today.  There are films galore, all over the country. 

04/03/2008

Vanity Fair, bless them, has done its Hollywood thing again and this time the publication got a whole bunch of Hollywood stars to impersonate Hitchcock characters.  Hmmm.  The results are quite mixed but I think Naomi Watts looks interesting as Marnie/Tippi Hedren: