Search results for: Julie Dash

Breaking out around the time where NYFF is on its last legs, Montreal's Festival du nouveau cinéma (October 12 to 23) kicks in with about four times the size in volume, and obviously more of an eclectic range. This year is the festival's big 40 - and for the occasion they've commissioned some of the names who've been a part of the festival to each contribute a short film in the context of what is being called the "Cartes Blanches" series. Denis Côté, Deco Dawson, Sophie Deraspe, Rodrigue Jean, Zacharias Kunuk, Marie Losier, Catherine Martin, Bruce McDonald, Théodore Ushev and Denis Villeneuve will each submit a four minute short.

In the hours leading up to the unveiling, TIFF Programmer's Colin Geddes teased twitter followers on the make-up of his bijou section. Nine world premieres and one item from this year's SXSW in Ben Wheatley's Kill List are the make-up for this year's ten nights of Midnight Madness screenings, and of the 10-pack, film buyers have eight available items for North American pick-up with several US options, excluding Kill List which belongs to IFC Midnight and Livid early on) which Dimension grabbed early on.

Today co-directors Cameron Bailey and Piers Handling of the Toronto International Film Festival announce the first batch of titles that are the make-up of the 36th edition. Today's the pair will read off mostly Gala screening mentions (our Blake Williams will be LIVE tweeting), which in turn give us a strong indication as to what will be shown in Venice and what Telluride, NYFF and BFI London Film Festivals might salvage/lasso as their own.

"Influenced by the avant garde artists of the early 20th Century, Cocteau developed an eerie surrealistic visual style; rich with symbolism, magical settings and photographic effects. But, thanks to his background as a writer, Cocteau would employ his signature stylistics in the telling of generally coherent narratives – regardless of their underpinnings in fantasy – and his films achieved worldwide recognition and critical success. It’s not a stretch to describe Jean Cocteau as the Julie Taymor of his era."

In give or take 364 days from now, the 65th edition of the Cannes film festival will be upon us. I know it's absurd, but there are some bonafide films in the works from some Cannes vets and according to these prognostications I supply below, we'll have one more heavyweight event with the possible participation from the likes of Abbas Kiarostami, Olivier Assayas, Paul Thomas Anderson and Hou Hsiao Hsien being joined by recent Palme d'Or winners (2008 and 2009) Laurent Cantet and Michael Haneke.