Gowarikar's 'Jodhaa Akbar' sweeps IIFA awards

By Agencies

Bollywood director Ashutosh Gowarikar's historical love epic 'Jodhaa Akbar' swept the 10th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards here, taking home trophies for best picture, best director and best actor.

The movie tracing the rise of the great Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century and his romance with Hindu princess Jodhaa took home 10 trophies in total including the gong for the 'Best Film'.

Hrithik Roshan's portrayal of the Muslim monarch won him the 'Best Actor' trophy while Gowarikar won the Best Director award for his epic drama which wove together romance and communal harmony.

The film which had nominations in all the categories faced stiff competition from other superhit contenders like 'Ghajini', 'A Wednesday', 'Dostana', 'Rock On' and 'Race'.

However, Aishwarya failed to bag the Best Actress trophy, which went to Priyanka Chopra for her power-packed performance as a small town girl who makes it big in the world of fashion in Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Fashion'.

Others contenders in this category were Asin, Katrina Kaif and Bipasha Basu.

Source: Screen India.

In Pictures: 'Red Carpet at Cannes Film Festival 2009 21st May'

By James Wray - May 22, 2009

French actress Anne Parillot arrives for the gala screening of the film 'A l'Origine' by French director Xavier Giannoli in the 62nd edition of the Cannes film festival in Cannes, France, 21 May 2009.

Source: http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Imagination overwhelms story in "Antichrist"

By Peter Brunette - Mon May 18, 2009

CANNES (Hollywood Reporter) - With his latest offering, "Antichrist," Danish bad-boy director Lars von Trier is in no danger of jeopardizing his reign as the most controversial major director working today.

Visually gorgeous to a fault and teeming with grandiose, if often fascinating, ideas that overwhelm the modest story that serves as their vehicle, this may be the least artistically successful film von Trier has ever made. As such, commercial prospects appear slim for the film, which is competing at the Cannes festival. But many of the auteur's most ardent fans will want to see the film anyway. And they should.

"Antichrist" is relentlessly and solely focused on a married couple, played by Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. As we learn in a rather pretentious prologue shot in slow motion and black-and-white, their toddler son fell to his death through an open window while they were making love. Bereft, they retreat to Eden, their ironically named cabin in the woods, to recuperate from their loss. At this point, von Trier switches to color and his signature chapter headings. The fact that the first three are "Pain," "Grief" and "Despair" does not bode well.

In discussing what he calls "the most important film of my career," von Trier has referred to the forbidding Swedish playwright August Strindberg. Clearly, or rather not so clearly, von Trier is working in a full-out symbolic vein here, as did Strindberg late in his career, but alas, the film medium inevitably carries with it, like an albatross, a heavy charge of realism. Hence, many of von Trier's more outrageous, ultra-serious symbolic moments (such as a talking fox, its guts half ripped out, muttering "chaos reigns" in an "Exorcist" voice) will -- and did, in the press screening at Cannes -- undoubtedly provoke unintended laughter. Or horror, as when genitals are scissored off, masturbation produces blood rather than semen and holes are drilled into legs.

The film's most successful thematic confrontation is that between frail reason (embodied in the pathetic, infantilizing attempt by the husband, who's a psychotherapist, to treat his deeply disturbed wife with cognitive therapy) and the uncontrollable forces of emotion and mystery that emerge victorious.

Another powerful idea, that nature is cruel and vicious and completely antithetical to human welfare, seems to align von Trier with the German visionary director Werner Herzog. ("Nature is Satan's church," the wife utters apocalyptically at one point.) This focus on nature subsequently gets conflated with human nature and finally with female nature, where von Trier's careerlong misogyny comes into fullest bloom. In any case, all the ideas of the film are so extravagantly and feverishly expressed that one fears that von Trier, always working on the edge, has finally become unhinged.

The film works much better on a purely visual level, if only viewers were able to forget that these are real people being represented in these voluptuous images, abetted by an often superb sound design. From the opening titles, abstract expressionism reigns powerfully and conveys a great deal of intense, if finally unspecifiable, meaning. Unfortunately, at some point a story has to be told, no matter how minimalist, and with actual human beings, no matter how symbolically freighted. This is where the film falls apart.

Source: http://www.reuters.com

Eva Longoria's starry tantrums at Cannes

Agencies -May 18, 2009

Eva Longoria could not keep aside her starry tantrums when she asked the Cannes beach to be shut down while she enjoyed a lunch with husband Tony Parker at a restaurant. 

The 34-year-old 'Desperate Housewives' star demanded that the nearby private beach was closed while the couple had lunch at the La Plage Vitamin Water restaurant, the ‘Daily Mail’ online reported. Longoria and husband Parker arrived Friday for the screening of the film 'Bright Star' at the French Film festival. 

"Eva insisted the staff put screens around her table to shield her from the crowds who had gathered to watch," a source told the newspaper. 

"Mariah Carey and Patricia Arquette were laughing at the fuss she made," the source said adding, "Eva touched nothing other than a vitamin water."

Source: http://www.news.google.com

Rachel Weisz never uses a body double

Agencies - May 18, 2009

Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz has said that she is confident about her body to appear naked in her latest film 'Agora' and that she never uses a body double. 

The 38-year-old actress plays a real-life 4th century Greek philosopher and astronomer named Hypatia in the film, ‘Daily Mail’ online reported. The film is a love triangle between Weisz, Max Minghella who plays the devoted slave of Hypatia (Weisz) and Oscar Isaac, who stars as one of her students. 

'The Mummy' actress was in Cannes to attend the screening of her film at the occasion said that she felt fit enough to do all her own nude scenes in the movie. Asked if a body double was used she said, "Absolutely not. It was all me, never even thought of using a double," the actress said. 

'Agora' also takes up the issue of religious persecution and how Christian zealots of that time treated women.  Weisz said that the film was also an echo of how women are treated today in some Middle Eastern countries. 

'Women are still treated as second class citizens, they are denied education. There are many countries where women are treated badly,' Weisz said.

The actress attended the film's premiere at the French Film Festival in a revealing thigh-splitting green gown.

Source: http://www.news.google.com

20 films selected for 62nd Cannes Film Festival

Agencies - May 17, 2009

The 62nd Cannes Film Festival, which began on Wednesday, with Disney/Pixar’s animation ‘Up’, has received more than 4000 films. Names of the twenty officially selected films for awards are given below:

Bright Star:  London 1818: a secret love affair begins between 23 year old English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, an outspoken student of fashion. This unlikely pair started at odds; he thinking her a stylish minx, she unimpressed by literature in general. It was the illness of Keats’s younger brother that drew them together. Keats was touched by Fanny’s efforts to help and agreed to teach her poetry. By the time Fanny’s alarmed mother and Keats’s best friend Brown realised their attachment, the relationship had an unstoppable momentum. Intensely and helplessly absorbed in each other, the young lovers were swept into powerful new sensations, ‘I have the feeling as if I were dissolving’, Keats wrote to her. Together they rode a wave of romantic obsession that deepened as their troubles mounted. Only  

Keats’s illness proved insurmountable.

Broken Embraces:  A man writes, lives and loves in darkness. Fourteen years before, he was in a brutal car crash on the island of Lanzarote. In the accident, he did not lose only his sight, he also lost Lena, the love of his life.

This man uses two names: Harry Caine, a playful pseudonym with which he signs his literary works, stories and scripts, and Mateo Blanco, his real name, with which he lives and signs the film he directs. After the accident, Mateo Blanco reduces himself to his pseudonym, Harry Caine. If he cannot direct films he can only survive with the idea that Mateo Blanco died on Lanzarote with his beloved Lena.

Antichrist: A grieving couple retreat to ’Eden’, their isolated cabin in the woods, where they hope to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse...

1. À L’origine (In the Beginning), directed by Xavier Giannoli, France
2. Antichrist, directed by Lars Von Trier, Italy
3. Bak-Jwi (Thirst), directed by Park Chan-Wook, South Korea
4. Bright Star, directed by Jane Campion, Australia
5. Chun Feng Chen Zui De Ye Wan (Spring Fever), directed by Lou Ye, France
6. Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon), directed by Michael Haneke, Italy
7. Enter the Void, directed by Gaspar Noé, Italy
8. Fish Tank, directed by Andrea Arnold, United Kingdom
9. Inglourious Basterds (Inglourious Basterds), directed by Quentin Tarantino, United States of America
10. Kinatay, directed by Brillante Mendoza, France
11. Les Herbes Folles (Wild Grass), directed by Alain Resnais, France
12. Looking For Eric, directed by Ken Loach, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium and Spain
13. Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces), directed by Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
14. Map Of The Sounds Of Tokyo, directed by Isabel Coixet, Spain
15. Taking Woodstock, directed by Ang Lee, United States of America
16. The Time That Remains, directed by Elia Suleiman, France, Belgium, Italy and United Kingdom
17. Un Prophète (A Prophet), directed by Jacques Audiard, France
18. Vengeance, directed by Johnnie To, Hong Kong
19. Vincere, directed by Marco Bellocchio, Italy
20. Visage (Face), directed by Tsai Ming-Liang, Taiwan, France, Belgium and Netherlands

Source: http://www.newagebd.com

Spanish war film screening begins in Dhaka

Cultural Correspondent - May 16, 2009

A five-day film screening, jointly organised by Goethe-Institute and Zahir Raihan Film Society will begin on May 17 in the Goethe-Institute auditorium in Dhanmondi.

The organisers will screen films on the Spanish Civil War as a part of the celebrations of the 23rd founding anniversary of Zahir Raihan Film Society. The screening will take place at 3:00pm, 5:00pm and 7:00pm everyday till May 21.

The organisers will screen internationally acclaimed films both documentaries and fictions on the war. The movies will include ‘The Spanish Earth’, ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’, ‘Behold a Pale Horse’, and ‘The Spirit of the Beehive’.

They will also screen ‘If They Tell You I Fall’, ‘Ay, Carmela!’, ‘Belle Epoque’, ‘Land and Freedom’, ‘Lorca, the Death of a Poet’, ‘Butterfly’s Tongue’, ‘The Girl of Your Dreams’ and ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ during the festival.

Source: http://www.newagebd.com

Aishwarya Rai dazzles at Cannes opening

Agencies - May 14, 2009

Bollywood diva Aishwarya Rai Bachchan stood out amongst the bevy of international beauties at the opening of this year's Cannes Film Festival in her off shoulder white Roberto Cavalli gown. 

The 35-year-old actress attended the premiere of the inaugural film 'Up' at Palais De Festival in Cannes on Wednesday with the newly announced L'Oreal world spokesperson, Elizabeth Banks. The actress, who was accompanied by her actor husband Abhishek Bachchan, sashayed down the red carpet in the ruffled gown that accentuated her stunning figure. 

Aishwarya accessorised it with red peep toe heels, swarovski red box clutch, pearl drop earrings and chunky rings. The actress paired her designer gown with minimalistic makeup and her hair with auburn highlights, was elegantly styled in an updo. Her latest Cannes outings are a far cry from her first appearance at the French festival where she was criticised for her bad fashion choices. 

Aishwarya, who became the first Indian actress to become a part of prestigious Cannes jury in 2003, said, "As a jury member at Cannes I had the experience of enjoying cinema as it is irrespective of where it come from, who is the maker from which country which is similar to the diverse Indian cinema."

Source: http://www.screenindia.com

Film stars head for Cannes gala

BBC - May 13, 2009

A host of celebrities have jetted in to the French Riviera for the gala opening of this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Stars including Brad Pitt, Quentin Tarantino, Penelope Cruz and Johnny Depp are expected to attend while promoting their latest films.Pixar film Up, about man who ties balloons to his house to get airborne, will make history later as the first animated film to launch the event.The festival runs until 24 May when the Palme d'Or prize will be announced.

The 20 directors with films in the running for the festival's top prize include four past winners including Tarantino, who returns with Inglorious Basterds, a Dirty Dozen-style World War II saga starring Pitt, Samuel L Jackson and Mike Myers.Three UK films are also competing for the prestigious prize, including Ken Loach with Looking for Eric, in which former footballer Eric Cantona plays himself as the personal hero of a postman whose life is spinning downhill.

Bright Star - a period drama about poet John Keats - and Fish Tank, a domestic drama starring Michael Fassbender, complete the British contingent in the main competition.Fassbender who won plaudits for his portrayal of hunger striker Bobby Sands in Hunger last year, also has a role in Tarantino's film.

Out of competition, Terry Gilliam will be premiering The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, starring the late Heath Ledger in his final screen role, which had to be completed by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law.

Source: http://www.bbc.com

'Up' opens Cannes with an impressive showing

Los Angeles Times - May 13, 2009

The Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips is at Cannes and filed this report on the fest's opening night selection:

“We would like to make a picture,” said Thierry Fremaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival, on stage at the Debussy Theatre prior to the May 13 press screening of the new Disney/Pixar triumph, “Up.” He urged everyone in the audience to don their 3-D specs—beautiful, sturdy, stylish specs they were, too, better than whatever you wore when you saw “Monsters vs. Aliens”—and look pretty for the phalanx of cameras, including Fremaux’s own. 

Then came “Up,” the out-of-competition festival opener. It opens in Chicago May 29. And it’s as beautiful, sturdy and stylish as those glasses.

In the 10th Pixar feature since “Toy Story” in 1995, director Pete Docter (“Monsters, Inc.”) has created one of the medium’s most powerfully emotional pieces of commercial animation. Michael Giacchino’s score equals his work on “Ratatouille,” which means he’s now officially the finest film composer of his generation.

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com

Stars gather for opening of Cannes Film Festival

Associated Press - May 13, 2009

CANNES, France — The red carpet is unfurled and the crowds are gathering on the French Riviera for the start of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.

Festival jurors led by actress Isabelle Huppert will attend Wednesday's gala opener, Disney and Pixar Animation's 3-D adventure "Up."

It's the first animated film to open the world's most prestigious film festival. The next 12 days will see plenty of weightier fare, including movies by Quentin Tarantino, Lars von Trier, Jane Campion, Pedro Almodovar and Ang Lee.

The lineup looks strong, but festival organizers and industry attendees are apprehensive about how the worldwide recession will affect the glamorous, big-money event. The festival runs through May 24, when the top prize — the Palme d'Or — will be announced.

Source: http://www.google.com

Hrithik and Barbara Mori to promote ‘Kites’ at Cannes

Bollywood Hungama - May 12, 2009

By now its common knowledge that Rakesh Roshan is taking his ambitious project ‘Kites’ to the prestigious Cannes film festival this year. However, the film won't be screened for the public or the media at Cannes; instead this is just a screening for potential buyers from the West. 

‘Kites’ is a story of love that goes beyond barriers, boundaries and cultures. The film stars Hrithik Roshan, Kangna Ranaut and Latino sensation Barbara Mori. The chemistry between Hrithik and Barbara is said to be among the high points of the film. 

‘Kites’ is the first film by Filmkraft that has a truly international appeal. Hence, the makers are leaving no stone unturned to promote the film at various international platforms. The Kites unit comprising of Hrithik Roshan, Rakesh Roshan, Barbara Mori and director Anurag Basu will be in Cannes from May 14-17. A specially prepared trailer will also be screened to attract potential international buyers. 

Indeed, the makers of ‘Kites’ are going full throttle to ensure that the film gets maximum publicity across various media.

Source: http://www.bollywoodhungama.com

A tale of tea workers

Rahad Abir - May 12, 2009

On the inaugural day of the ten-day festival of documentary films on environment and people, the organisers screened ‘The Story of Tea Workers’, jointly directed by Philip Gain and Ronald Halder in the evening of Sunday at Drik Gallery in Dhanmondi.

The festival is organised by the non-government organisation called Society for Environment and Human Development (SHED). The 45-minute documentary film on the workers of tea gardens shows the plight and pleasure of their life in different gardens across the country. The directors also uphold the history of the gardens, tea business and they have also compared the condition of the tea workers of the country with that of its neighbours.

According to the film, there are 163 tea gardens in Bangladesh including seven in Panchagarh. It is said that there are over five lakh people belonging to the community of tea workers. Among them about one lakh and 18 thousand tea workers are involved in the gardens directly.

The film reveals the untold stories of the tea workers to the viewers. For example, according to the film, a tea worker in Bangladesh got Tk 32.50 as as the maximum daily cash payment in 2008 but the tea workers in the gardens in West Bengal in India are paid the equivalent of Tk 53 and the amount will increase to Tk 63 by 2011.

The film portrays that the tea workers suffer acute accommodation crisis. All members of a family live in a small room. Festival mood of the workers especially during Durga Puja is also depicted in the film.

Today, the organisers will screen two documentaries: ‘Riders to the Sundarbans’, directed by Tanvir Mokammel and ‘Chokoria Sundarban: A Forest without Tress’ Junaid Halim at 6:00pm at the gallery.

Source: http://www.newagebd.com

European film festival draws crowd

Mohiuddin Alamgir / May 11, 2009

The ten-day European film festival, jointly organised by Alliance Française and Jahir Raihan Film Society is drawing crowds. The festival that began on May 6 will continue till May 15.

The organisers screened ‘Black Book’ (145 minutes, 2006) directed by Paul Verhoeven of Netherlands at 5:00pm and ‘A Talking Picture’ (96 minutes, 2003) directed by Manoel de Oliveira of Portugal at 7:30pm on Saturday. The story of the film ‘Black Book’ revolves around Eris, the central character who helps Jews and war fighters of the Southern Netherlands liberate the Nazi-occupied area during the Second World War.

 The film ‘A Talking Picture’ involves a Mediterranean cruise with mother Rosa Maria, who is a Professor of history of Lisbon University. She and her daughter Maria Joana are going to meet Maria’s father in Mumbai. They travel through the routes from France, Greece, and Turkey to Egypt. Whenever they stop, Rosa Maria enlightens her daughter about the history of the civilisations. In the film the director narrates the rise and fall of civilizations such as Egyptian, Roman, and Byzantine.

Today, the organisers will screen ‘The Sea Inside’ (125 minutes, 2004) directed by Alejandro Amenabar of Spain at 5:00pm and ‘The Novelist’ (107 minutes, 2008) directed by Hannu Kahakorpi of Finland at 7:15pm. On May 12, the organisers will screen ‘The Son’s Room’ (99 minutes, 2001) directed by Nanni Moretti of Italy at 5:00pm and ‘I Served the King of England’ (120 minutes, 2006) directed by Jiri Menzel of Czech Republic at 7:00pm.

 Oscar winning film ‘No Man’s Land’ (98 minutes, 2001) directed by Danis Tanovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be screened at 5:00pm and ‘The Trap’ (106 minutes, 2007) directed by Srdan Golubovic of Serbia at 7:00pm on May 13.

Source: http://www.newagebd.com

'Kites' at Cannes film festival

Bollywood Hungama / May 08, 2009

BIG Pictures is gearing up to market ‘Kites’ to the international buyers, distributors and media during the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. 

To begin with, BIG Pictures will host a press conference and an elite cocktail event at Cannes. BIG Pictures has also purchased time slots to screen the 'Kites' teaser on two digital screens adjacent to the red carpet entrance of the Palais, for the entire duration of the festival. This is a regular feature for big-budget Hollywood films, but for the first time ever, an Indian studio will showcase their film publicity on that screen. 

‘Kites’ stars Hrithik Roshan, Barbara Mori, Kangna Ranaut, Nick Brown and Kabir Bedi in pivotal roles. The film is produced by Rakesh Roshan's Filmkraft and directed by Anurag Basu. ‘Kites’ is being readied for release in the last quarter of 2009. 

Apart from ‘Kites’, BIG Pictures will market and publicize its art house film slate. The International Distribution team has also lined up meetings with officials from Hollywood studios such as Fox, Sony, Paramount, Disney, Warner, Universal, Lionsgate amongst many others in order to explore business propositions.

Source: http://www.screenindia.com

Film students' short movie selected for Cannes

Agencies / May 08, 2009

‘A Writer's Affair,' a short film made by Vishnu Shyamaprasad during his diploma studies has been selected for screening at the prestigious Cannes film festival. 

The nine-minute film deals with the ‘illicit affair' between a writer and his characters. The film would be screened on May 19 in the `Shorts Corner' section of the festival, the young film maker's father, Shyamaprasad said.

Source: http://www.screenindia.com

An European treat to Dhaka audience

Mohiuddin Alamgir / May 6, 2009

A ten-day European film festival jointly organised by Alliance Française and Jahir Raihan Film Society begins today at the auditorium of Alliance Française in Dhanmondi.

The organisers will screen twenty films from 20 countries of Europe at the festival. The countries include France, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Italy.

Two films will be screened everyday at 5:00pm and 7:00pm till May 15.

Source: http://www.newagebd.com

Sharmila Tagore on Cannes jury

Agencies / May 04, 2009

Indian actress Sharmila Tagore has been named as one of the members of the international jury of the Cannes Film Festival. 

Tagore follows India's Arundhati Roy, Aishwarya Rai and Nandita Das, who served on the Cannes jury in recent years, perhaps making up for the country's no-show in the Festival's official sections since 2002. This year's festival jury will be headed by French actress, Isabelle Huppert. The other members of the jury are Asia Argento (Italy), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey), Lee Chang-Dong (South Korea), James Gray (US), Hanif Kureishi (UK), Shu Qi (Taiwan) and Robin Wright Penn (US). 

Tagore, 52, who currently heads the Central Board of Film Certification is the grand-daughter of poet Rabindranath Tagore. She came into public limelight in 1959 when Satyajit Ray cast her as Apu's ill fated bride in 'Apur Sansar' (The World of Apu) while she was still a teenager. However, it was in commercial cinema that Tagore found her stardom in the 1960s, when movies such as 'Kashmir Ki Kali', 'Waqt', 'Anupama', 'An Evening in Paris' and 'Aradhana' got the box-office ringing. 

Tagore was the first Indian actress to appear in a bikini on-screen in 'An Evening in Paris' which was considered a daring move in the industry at that time. Tagore's children Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan have taken forward her legacy and are leading names in Bollywood.

The Cannes Film Festival is from May 13 to 24.

Source: http://www.screenindia.com

Documenting Bangladesh-3

Time has been extended for submission of film

06-04-2009,By Mridul Mamun

Bangladesh Documentary Council Informed us that the time has been extended uto 7th April, 2009  8pm for submission of film in 3rd Bangladesh Documentary Film Festival.

Source: Bangladesh Documentary Councile.