bits and pieces from the northern island.
I wonder why sense of measure is so uncommon among filmmakers. Sometimes I cannot help feeling classic Hollywood, despite its being hopelessly commercial in the intentions, had more sense of measure in its less accomplished works than many specimens of authorial film-making at their best. Sense of measure means having the guts, when necessary, to … Read the full article →
North Iraq, 2003, two weeks after Saddam Hussein’s fall. Ahmed (Yassir Taleeb) is a twelve-year-old boy. His only relative is his grandmother (Shehzad Hussen), an old woman of Kurdish lineage. They are traveling together looking for Ibrahim, Ahmed’s father, who was forced to join the Gulf War years before and never returned. A letter testifies … Read the full article →
Friedrich Dürrenmatt had written a film script entitled Es geschah am hellichten Tag (It Happened in Broad Daylight). Not happy with the ending he had devised for the first version, he decided to write a new one. This time he chose the novel format, completely changing the epilogue and the morals implied in the story … Read the full article →
Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu is an old acquaintance of the Reykjavik International Film Festival: in 2005 his The Death of Mr. Lazarescu won the Discovery of the Year Award. To the Special Presentations category of this this seventh edition of the film festival, Puiu brings his Aurora, a film that not only he scripted and … Read the full article →
Medeni Mesec (Honeymoons is the English title) earned a spotlight in the course of this year’s RIFF as it represented the first co-production between Serbia and Albania. Hostilities among populations in the Balkan peninsula have been a serious issue for a long time; Serbia and Albania share an endless history of reciprocal hatred. It’s only … Read the full article →
Winner of the Golden Puffin award at the Reykjavík International Film Festival 2010 for the category New Visions and also of the FIPRESCI award, Le Quattro Volte (The Four Times) is almost a philosophical essay in form of a narrative film. In reality, the narration is very minimal, to the point the film almost seems … Read the full article →
RIFF 2010’s award ceremony took place last night. The Golden Puffin Award has been awarded this year to Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Frammartino for his movie Le Quattro Volte (The Four Times). We will have a review of the movie published later on the website. “An ambitious and meditative second feature, Michelangelo Frammartino’s Four Times explores … Read the full article →
After the screening of ODDSAC, filmmaker Danny Perez chatted with the present audience, sharing details regarding the making of the film. According to program, Dave Portner of Animal Collective was supposed to be there as well, but er… he didn’t show up. We have a recording of Perez interview. Check it out!