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Alternative TIFF 2010 Picks: #7. Isabelle Stever’s Blessed Events
TIFF have the world premiere here from a filmmaker who might not be as well known as some of the other German filmmaker counterparts (e.g. Fatih Akin, Tom Tykwer, Hans Weingartner) that were part of the Germany 09: 13 Short Films About the State of the Nation. I'm liking some of the ideas that are being explored in Stever's sophomore film, the film's trailer certainly has a quirky vibe to it.
Alternative TIFF 2010 Picks: #6. Álex de la Iglesia’s The Last Circus
To be unveiled on the Lido and to be presented in San Sebastian after TIFF, things are certainly looking good for this twisted, dark comedy especially if Magnolia Pictures, a distributor who usually jumps on finished films, bought the pic still unfinished. If you're not sold on the sequences below, then let the buzz from Venice do the convincing.
Alternative TIFF 2010 Picks: #5. Andrei Ujica’s The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu
If you're like me , and have been awestruck by Romanian cinema of the past decade, then you might want to plunge into this three hour documentary film which focuses on the man who was the source for fifteen years of misery. The pic preemed in an Out of Comp slot in Cannes.
Alternative TIFF 2010 Picks: #4. Athina Rachel Tsangari’s ATTENBERG
If there is a positive repercussion from Greece's crumbling economy, it might have paved the way for a new kind of auteur cinema. If 2009, I can think of nothing more unique of an experience than Yorgos Lanthimos' Dogtooth, and my early impression with Tsangari's sophomore picture, which receives its world premiere in the Main Competition category in Venice in less than 48 hours from now, is that this will only strengthen the argument that social, political and economic shifts can make for some unique examples of art.
Alternative TIFF 2010 Picks: #3. Pia Marais’ At Ellen’s Age
Pia Marais' debut film The Unpolished (07) won Rotterdam's Tiger Award, and her sophomore film gets a slot in TIFF's Vanguard section - which basically announces that a singular vision from a South African-born Swedish director is to be expected. The project, a Cannes Cinéfondation selected film just preemed at the Locarno FF.
