2000s

“Sorrow does not come merely from contemplating death, which forces us to look into Eternity, but also from life, which compels us to confront Time”, wrote Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdyayev. Renowned Lithuanian documentarist Audrius Stonys took these words as a motto for his latest film, a meditative visual essay which portrays old people undertaking all kinds of activities, meditation and group laughter therapy. Without a single word of commentary, he creates from sophisticated, aesthetic images a compelling study of human corporeality which, in an ideal union with spiritual equilibrium, can sustain us with the pledge that old age doesn’t have to be a painful wait for the last breath.Read More »

Quote:
Kira Muratova, the grande dame of Eastern European cinema returns with her richest, most imposing vision of societal decay and personal efflorescence since The Aesthenic Syndrome encapsulated a very different moment in the former Soviet Union’s history in 1989. Set largely in the vast central railway station of Kiev, a casino, a shopping arcade and the snow-blanketed streets between, Melody is a majestically realised pageant of the burgeoning new economy of inequality. Like Dickensian orphans or children in a fairytale, a motherless brother and sister arrive in the city and traipse through festive Christmas streets looking for their respective fathers…Read More »

Vrai faux passeport was produced by Godard as part of the Pompidou Center retrospective and the Voyages en Utopie exhibition held in Paris in 2006.

The film opened the film retrospective -one of the most complete dedicated to Godard until then- the same day the exhibition was opened to the public.

Those interested in the Godardian adventure at the Pompidou Center should check Morceaux de Conversation avec Jean Luc Godard by Alain Fleischer , Reportage amateur (maquette expo), short film codirected by Godard and Miéville and also Godard, le dos au musée essay by Anne Marquez which summarises the tumultous birth of this major event. Die hard fans will also need to look for Voluptes Grand Master by Korean Paris-based photograph Wori Seung Chol, the very rare unofficial official catalogue of the exhibition.Read More »

From Imdb:
Richard Martini’s “Camera” is an ambitious – yet, addictive independent film encompassing intrigue, comedy and adventure. An inside look into the lives of several people – via the one digital camera they all buy – it’s a compulsively magnetic piece that shows flair and creativity on behalf of the helmer. It’s got no budget and it’s got no buzz – but “Camera” is a rare delight, and especially interesting to see Martini can draw in some fine cameos by people like Jack Nicholson, Oliver Stone, and Angie Everhart.
Bravo Martini – we look forward to your next project.Read More »

Synopsis:
An indifferent man with an unusual outlook on life embarks on a strange journey while carrying a large bag of rice. Mr. Mao is playing a game of hide-and-seek with his wife when he uses the opportunity to run away from home. Upon arriving at the home of his friend Xiao He in the nearby town of Liaocheng, Mr. Mao’s new life begins. Gradually, Mr. Mao and Xiao He are drawn into a mysterious love affair. In the end, mysterious drifter Mr. Mao takes his bag of rice and disappears into the hills to find his true fate.Read More »

Synopisis from RopeofSilicon.com

IFC Original Documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated, the breakthrough film from Oscar-nominated director Kirby Dick (Twist of Faith) is an unprecedented investigation into the MPAA film ratings system and its profound impact on American culture.Read More »

Description: Synopsis
Waiting for Happiness depicts life in the seaside town of Nouadhibou in Mauritania. A young man, Abdallah (Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed), visits the town, where his mother lives, before emigrating. He feels disconnected from his people because he dresses in Western clothes, and he does not speak the language, but he connects in small ways during his stay. A taciturn elderly electrician, Maata (Maata Ould Mohamed Abeid), teaches an energetic boy, Khatra (Khatra Ould Abdel Kader), his trade, while a traditional singer (Nema Mint Choueikh) teaches a talented young girl hers. One would-be émigré washes up on the beach amid massive ships long ago run aground. Abdallah’s mother vainly urges him to follow traditional customs while he’s in town. Nana (Nana Diakite) tells Abdallah a sad tale about tracking down the father of her lost child in Europe. The film jumps forward in time at several points, and eventually both Khatra and Abdallah try to leave the village.Read More »

Based on true incidents, this film revolves around three sories that unfold simultaneously. During two scorching August days, three different groups of people – thrown into the heat of the war – face different exoeriences due to circumstances beyond their control. They have to continue to exist in a society that is traumatized by nearly twenty years of war between the Sinhalese government forces, and the rebel movement from the Tamil community who are fighting for self-determination.

An eleven year old Muslim boy is struggling to keep his dog, while the family is uprooted by the rebels; a young woman, Chamari, is looking for her soldier husband who is missing in action, and a young soldier, Duminda, finds his sister among the working girls in a brothel. This film is about their quest for life…

“Ira Madiyama” or “August Sun” screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2004.Read More »

The entire extended family is happily on its way to a nostalgic Christmas at a rented cabin in the mountains. The cabin becomes cramped, however, when mom and dad and four grown-up children with their respective families, a dog and in-laws from Poland squeeze inside the frozen cabin walls in 30-below-zero weather.

Especially when the kerosene stove leaks, one of the children suffers from asthma, one of the daughters is lovesick, mom desperately tries to stay happy and dad is oh so thirsty. The Polish father-in-law sings his beautiful love ballads, the Swedish neighbour drops by for a slow waltz, the children go ice fishing, the dog wallows wildly in the close quarters, mom makes huge meals – and aren’t we having a wonderful time? Daughter Liv wishes for reconciliation, fervently hoping that there is a future for herself and her family. Yet at the same time she lances a boil which hides more than her father’s “skeletons” under the mattress.Read More »