2011-2020

Ivo van Hove’s first staging with the Troupe marks the entry into the repertoire of the scenario of The Damned. In two decades, the artistic director of the Toneelgroep in Amsterdam, whose field of exploration encompasses the world of theatre, film and opera, has explored a vast repertoire of works, from Sophocles and Shakespeare to Molière, Koltès, Cassavetes or Arthur Miller. The intention in this production is not to adapt the cult film, directed byVisconti, but “to return to the screenplay in order to stage it for theatre”. What Ivo van Hove retains from this sharply drawn chronicle of a family of industrialists during the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 in Germany is the ideological depravity of a company willing to makes the most poisonous alliances to benefit its own economic interests. “In my view, it is the celebration of evil”, says the director, whose work “always combines strong theatricality with the exploration of complex psychological zones and refined emotions”. Read More »

Reforms have offered opportunity in Cuba but the children of the Revolution are unsure of the best route forward. For a half-dozen drag racers, this means last-minute changes to their beloved American muscle cars, as they prepare for the first sanctioned race in Cuba since 1960. Punctuated by a lively Cuban soundtrack, Havana Motor Club offers a fascinating glimpse at the resilience and ingenuity of the competitive spirit.Read More »

Sergei M. Eisenstein : notes for general history of cinema

Author: Sergei Eisenstein; N I Kleĭman; Antonio Somaini; Margo Shohl Rosen; Brinton Tench Coxe; All authors
Publisher: Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, 2016.
Series: Film theory in media history.
Edition/Format:   Print book : English

Genre/Form: History
Named Person: Sergei Eisenstein; Sergei Eisenstein
Document Type: Book
All Authors / Contributors: Sergei Eisenstein; N I Kleĭman; Antonio Somaini; Margo Shohl Rosen; Brinton Tench Coxe; Natalie RyabchikovaRead More »

Storyline
Situated some 200km off Italy’s southern coast, Lampedusa has hit world headlines in recent years as the first port of call for hundreds of thousands of African and Middle Eastern migrants hoping to make a new life in Europe. Rosi spent months living on the Mediterranean island, capturing its history, culture and the current everyday reality of its 6,000-strong local population as hundreds of migrants land on its shores on a weekly basis. The resulting documentary focuses on 12-year-old Samuele, a local boy who loves to hunt with his slingshot and spend time on land even though he hails from a culture steeped in the sea.Read More »

María, a 17-year-old Kaqchikel Maya, lives with her parents on a coffee plantation at the foot of an active volcano. She is set to be married to the farm’s foreman. But María longs to discover the world on the other side of the mountain, a place she cannot even imagine. And so she seduces a coffee-harvester who wants to escape to the USA. When this man leaves her behind, María discovers her own world and culture anew.Read More »

The only residents of young Nicholas’s seaside town are women and boys. When he sees a dead body in the ocean one day, he begins to question his existence and surroundings. Why must he, and all the other boys, be hospitalised?

Nicolas is a boy living on a remote island set in the future, or another planet – or is it a dream? His village consists of white-painted houses located above the sea with a volcanic rock and black sand coastline, populated by young women and boys all of a similar age to Nicolas. Whilst swimming, Nicolas makes a discovery in the ocean, which is shrugged off my his mother, who, like all the women in the town has tied-back hair, is pale and wears a simple thin beige dress. Nicolas is curious, thinks that he is being lied to and starts to explore his environment, witnessing some unsettling scenes. He then finds himself taken to a hospital-like building where he along, with the others, undergoes a series of medical procedures by the women, dressed as nurses. He is befriended by one nurse, who becomes instrumental in the film’s denouement. The film is not easy to categorise; it is not only enigmatic but beautifully filmed with deeply poetic imagery. – IMDbRead More »

SYNOPSIS/PLOT: Amid the intense political violence of Istanbul, Kadir is released on parole two years early on the condition that he become an informant for the police gathering terrorist informations, activities, and searching for bombs on trash cans.Read More »

Quote:
“You are nothing but a white!” So shouts indigenous Amazonian shaman Karamakate (Nilbio Torres) to the seemingly on-the-level but still suspicious German scientist/explorer Theodor (Jan Bijvoet) in Ciro Guerra’s enthralling, politically tinged, psychedelic, historical adventure film Embrace of the Serpent. Reversing the perspective of more familiar movies such as Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo or Roland Joffé’s The Mission, Embrace of the Serpent’s snaky crawl up the river investigates imperialism’s cultural pollution from the inside out, with the mystical Karamakate as a reluctant tour guide in two time periods.Read More »

Quote:
His father has died, he doesn’t speak for his brother for about 10 years and he has a serious cancer. Diego is a talented film director with difficulty to deal with his sickness, which is making him lose his friends and family slowly. His best friend and doctor, Ricardo, gives him the news that he needs to have a bone marrow transplantation, otherwise he’ll die. He gets married to a beautiful woman, Livia, just before going to Seattle to get treatment. There, an enormous staff of doctors start to give him numerous medications and procedures. During treatment, he meets and Hindu boy, with whom he plays pretend and tells amazing stories. Odds are against him and when stakes are the highest, Diego gets a visit from a very Common Man…Read More »