They've Got Short Shorts

Our friends over at iThentic.com tipped us off to ShortsNonStop, a year-round short-film festival produced for online and mobile platforms. Presented by Telus, the festival is an extension of the Candian Film Centre’s Worldwide Short Film Festival, which has been going strong now for 13 years. The most recent ... read more

Posted on 11/15/2008 by DGSmith 12:56:PM

FilmCatcher at the Gothams

It’s December, friends, and the hype machine is in full effect. Publicists are pulling out all the stops to plug their award-worthiest slate of films. Critics too are sharpening their pens, preparing their 2008 Top 10 lists and going to bat for little-noticed films, dark-horse contenders, and some still-unreleased studio ... read more

Posted on 11/06/2008 by DGSmith 06:16:PM

Flaherty NYC: Monday

Flaherty NYC, Monday, November 10th,, 7:30 pm, Anthology Film Archives

The Flaherty follows up the October launch of its new monthly screening series, Flaherty NYC, with another program on Monday November 10, 7:30pm, at Anthology Film Archives.

The program will feature short works from German-Japanese filmmaker Sylvia Schedelbauer, ... read more

Posted on 11/06/2008 by DGSmith 12:20:PM

Voyage to Skopje

BY DAMON SMITH
The rise of national cinema in the Balkan region over the past decade should be heartening to serious film lovers and anyone with even a vague knowledge of the bloody conflicts that engulfed Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, and neighboring precincts after the breakup of Tito’s Yugoslavia in the ... read more

Posted on 11/05/2008 by DGSmith 06:17:PM

Manny Farber on Acting

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to pick a favorite moment in Negative Space, the collected writings on film by the late painter-critic Manny Farber (co-written from 1975 onward with his partner Patricia Patterson). Brash arguments, heavily allusive turns of phrase, and coruscating insights await a first-time (or repeat) reader almost ... read more

Posted on 11/04/2008 by DGSmith 06:15:PM

Five Upcoming Remakes We Really Don’t Want to See

These days, the mania for (mostly foreign, mostly Asian) remakes in Hollywood is a zero-sum game that’s reaching a point of neuron-obliterating absurdity. While some director/film pairings make an addled kind of sense (Herzog goosing Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant), others are downright puzzling or just demoralizing to contemplate.

An ... read more

Posted on 11/03/2008 by DGSmith 10:56:AM

Age of Innocence

The Sundance Institute today announced the finalists for its 2009 Sundance Institute/NHK International Filmmakers Award, which is given to four emerging indie-film talents who board members feel “will make a significant contribution to world cinema.” Heady stuff, so I was thrilled to see that one of the European nominees ... read more

Posted on 11/02/2008 by DGSmith 10:53:AM