2000s

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This is a story of strange, impossible, inexplicable love between a Muslim Turk woman and a non-Muslim Bulgarian man. Ivan (the Bulgarian) is a pure and romantic young fellow, who gets caught up in the so-called “regeneration process” (when ethnic Turks’ names were forcibly changed to Bulgarian ones). He is responsible for the official seals, which is required to issue the new identity documents after the forced name changes. The schoolteacher Ayten tries to steal the seals, thinking that this way she can slow down the ethnic genocide. Their unexpected and unusual meeting brings these two characters together and makes them fell close, forcing Ivan to take a fateful decision -he must either “rename” Ayten, or face the consequences if he does not. Later on fate bring them together once again. Ayten’s small child is killed during an action by the special forces. Ivan, who has been among the main participants of this action is paralyzed with shock. The security forces decide to “erase” his memory. Ayten is also put in isolation, in the same hospital. From death, which is the only choice left to each of them, comes the common past of Ayten and Ivan. They gradually overcome their animosity; accept their differences and draw towards each other. But will the people around them accept their choice? Happy ending are a rarity in the Balkans. Then Ayteh’s brother returns from Turkey…Read More »

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Guy Hands, chief executive of U.K. buyout firm Terra Firma, lost nearly $34 million as a result of investments in films including the bizarre tale of a seven-foot boxing shrimp.

Hands is one of 75 investors who were encouraged to invest in a number of films through a company called Little Wing Films, claim tax relief and make an almost immediate profit. Hands said he had to repay more than £15 million in disallowed relief to the Inland Revenue, plus £2.3 million in interest, after the investment failed to achieve the intended tax benefits. Hands invested in three projects in 2001 and 2002, including a comedy called “Crust” featuring a seven-foot mutant shrimp washed up on a British beach and taught to box by a drunken pub landlord.Read More »

Plot:
A political drama centered around Israel’s pullout from the occupied Gaza strip, in which a French woman of Israeli origin (Binoche) returns to the West BankRead More »

Incest: A Family Tragedy
The interview with the director, Edward Blackoff.

HISTORY: Director’s Narrative:
Barraged with a daily onslaught of media alarm over a growing army of child sexual molesters who were raping, kidnapping, and murdering children, I decided to do something to help prevent these attacks on our kids. I began with the premise that if I could find several pedophiles who would agree to be interviewed on camera and show their faces, these same molesters could be the key to teach parents how to better protect their children from these same predators.

I ran into dead end after dead end in my search to find “hero” rapists but what I began to learn was that my premise insofar as child molestation was quantitatively misguided.
The main origin of child abuse was not some stranger but was actually family members and trusted family friends.Read More »

Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West, also called Obsession, is a 2005 American documentary movie about Islamist teachings and goals that uses extensive Arab and Iranian television footage. It compares the threat of Islamism with that of Nazism before World War II. It is the sequel to the documentary Relentless:The Struggle for Peace in Israel.

Obsession examines the origins of contemporary radical Islam and traces it back to the alliance between Islamists and the Nazi Party during World War II, specifically the relationship of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem with Adolf Hitler as an inspiration for radical Islamic movements in the Middle East today.Read More »

Plot Summary :
The mysterious and charismatic Russian-born Nikolai Luzhin is a driver for one of London’s most notorious organized crime families of Eastern European origin. The family itself is part of the Vory V Zakone criminal brotherhood. Headed by Semyon, whose courtly charm as the welcoming proprietor of the plush Trans-Siberian restaurant impeccably masks a cold and brutal core, the family’s fortunes are tested by Semyon’s volatile son and enforcer, Kirill, who is more tightly bound to Nikolai than to his own father.

But Nikolai’s carefully maintained existence is jarred once he crosses paths at Christmastime with Anna Khitrova, a midwife at a North London hospital. Anna is deeply affected by the desperate situation of a young teenager who dies while giving birth to a baby. Anna resolves to try to trace the baby’s lineage and relatives. The girl’s personal diary also survives her; it is written in Russian, and Anna seeks answers in it. Anna’s mother Helen does not discourage her, but Anna’s irascible Russian-born uncle Stepan urges caution.Read More »

Hervé Lewis is not only a mentor to many stars (Johnny Hallyday, Jean Reno, Emmanuelle Béart, and more), but also a professional photographer. After the success of many renowned advertising campaigns for Aubade Lingerie, Hervé Lewis’ first film, in which he rediscovers the lighting of his black and white photographs, is dedicated to the beauty of women. His pure and poetic images convey an uncommon sensuality, power and intensity. Through Hervé Lewis’ lens, every woman becomes a star.Read More »

n a street called Blue in a very poor neighborhood in Paris, Monsieur Ibrahim (Omar Shariff) is an old Muslin Turkish owner of a small market. He becomes friend of the teenager Jewish Moises, tenderly nicknamed Momo (Pierre Boulanger), who lives with his father in a small apartment on the other side of the street. Monsieur Ibrahim gives paternal love and teaches the knowledge of the Koran to the boy, receiving in return love and respect.

Golden Globe Nominations (2003):
Best Foreign-Language Film
Other Awards:
César Awards—Best Actor: Omar Sharif
Venice Film Festival—Best Actor: Omar SharifRead More »

A witty and controversial documentary from Zentropa, which won the SUNDANCE World Cinema Jury Prize in 2010.

Quote:
A journalist with no scruples and two Danish/Korean comedians—one a self-proclaimed “spastic”—travel to North Korea under the guise of a cultural exchange. On the pretext of being a small Danish theatre group, named The Red Chapel, they are allowed into the country, but unbeknownst to the North Koreans, cultural exchange is not really what they have in mind. Mads Brügger, the journalist; Simon, the straight man; and Jacob, the spastic, use humor to challenge one of the world’s most notorious regimes. The troupe rehearse under the watchful eye of government officials brought in to “collaborate” on their performance and make it more palatable for the Korean regime. They are shown the important historical sights by a female government employee, who smothers poor Jacob with motherly affection.Read More »