Festival Circuit 2020

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#101 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Thu May 28, 2020 1:36 pm

Cannes' strategy for dealing with the cancellation of this year's festival is to basically pretend that it happened anyway, announcing a selection of around 50 movies next Wednesday that will be allowed to display the Cannes 2020 label. Likely selections include The French Dispatch, Vinterberg's Another Round, Ozon's Été 85, Kawase's Comes Morning, Sofia Coppola's On the Rocks, and Apichatpong's Memoria. In totally unsurprising news, it also sounds like the much-ballyhooed Venice/Cannes teamup won't be happening, and Venice won't accept any of the Cannes selections for its main competition.

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knives
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#102 Post by knives » Sun May 31, 2020 3:59 pm

Anyone else exploring the films yet? Much to my surprise the short L'heure de l'ours is the best film so far. It's a wonderful mood piece that's very similar to The Girl Without Hands from a few years back.

I also found Crazy World interesting, if that's the word for that, as my introduction to Wakaliwood. The film itself is a sub-Troma series of in jokes and badly staged action scenes, but it's very compelling to me on the level of understanding and seeing post-colonial African cinema. I remember years back getting into an argument with Nothing wherein he argued, essentially, that African cinema was impossible because only westernized Africans had access to the artistic language and money to make good cinema leaving all of African cinema Frenchified. This plays on that perception because, as Nothing himself suggested, although this is a strange take off of other nation's action cinema, particularly Rambo and Jet Li though I see some Taken in there, not only is it made entirely by a Ugandan trained team, but it deals directly with Ugandan issues. There's a lot to unpack about the social observations here with the connection between government corruption, unscrupulous gangsters, child kidnapping, and the overhanging presence of old beliefs (one character mentions he is luckier then if he had seen an albino). It's a film that could be made nowhere except rural Uganda.

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knives
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#103 Post by knives » Mon Jun 01, 2020 9:43 am

An Ottinger film is premiering right now in a new restoration. Probably the only affordable way to legally see it.

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zedz
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#104 Post by zedz » Tue Jun 02, 2020 4:47 pm

Ticket of No Return is one of her less dazzling films (you're really watching her fiction films for the spectacle, not the plot), but this is a rare opportunity to see the work of one of cinema's great mavericks.

I watched Bridges of Sarajevo last night. Portmanteau films might seem to be a rarity nowadays, but there are quite a few that never get past the festival circuit because they're simply not good enough. I saw a bad one in the 90s or 00s about land mines that involved several big names but doesn't even seem to have made it to IMDB (I checked through Youssef Chahine, who was a contributor). Anyway, this is one of those films, with no real reason to exist apart from "funds were available".

The usual kind of complex algebra for portmanteau films applies. There's likely to be one great segment. There's likely to be one actively awful one. In the case of a portmanteau film with not much profile like this one, there are likely to be several completely worthless ones. If you're lucky, there will also be several merely good episodes, but don't count on it. The good to bad ratio is likely to diminish the more episodes are crammed into the runtime. This one fits thirteen episodes into well under two hours, so go figure. (The runtime is 1h 54, but you need to factor in the opening and closing credits and the mildly cloying symbolic animations between each episode.)

If you're watching this film, you're probably watching it for Godard, Loznitsa and Puiu. Most of us will be lucky if we've heard of any of the other directors. The only names that rang a bell for me were Marc Recha, Teresa Villaverde and Ursula Meier (who made a splash with her high-concept debut Home - which I hated - back in the noughties).

Godard's 'Bridge of Sighs' is his usual pastiche of other recent Godard films: ugly found video, bad puns in big letters, obsessive self-quoting, and the stray interesting idea that hangs in the air like a scented fart without going anywhere. In this film, the interesting idea is about a conflict between Culture and Art, but JLG only manages to make a tenuous link between that and the matters at hand.

Loznitsa's fragment, 'Reflections', juxtaposes still portraits of soldiers over the Sarajevo street scenes reflected in their glass. It's attractive, but strictly a b-side or footnote in his career.

The rest of the films range from the okay (Villaverde and Meier's pocket dramas 'Sara and Her Mother' and 'Quiet Mujo') to the merely passable. The film might have dodged the "actively awful" bullet, but there's not much inspiration to be found here. We limpingly move from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand to the post-Balkans War present day, but there's either not enough of this historical structure or too much, and few of the filmmakers are adept enough to do anything of depth or nuance within their meagre allotted runtime. Thus we get a handsomely mounted war vignette ('The Outpost') that relates its little anecdote and ends, or true-life 'war is hell' accounts crammed into narration and illustrated with artsy semi-documentary footage. There's an experimental element to several episodes, but it's generally of the cack-handed will-this-do? variety, as with Angela Schanelec's 'Princip, Text,' where Gavrilo Princip's letters are read in translations while Modern Boy and Modern Girl gaze at each other, often being interrupted by black leader.

The good news is: I watched this film so you don't have to. The bad news is: there's a single great episode you should see, Cristi Puiu's 'Reveillon' (I think it's the fourth or fifth, if you want to cheat). It does everything the rest of the film conspicuously fails to do: it tells a complex story not only in a short runtime, but in a single shot; it ties together the century of historical events the film is trying to encompass; it provides analysis of the themes the film is ostensibly concerned with; it's great cinema.

In a darkened apartment, a Christmas tree's lights blink on and off. The camera pans to the right to reveal a darkened room beyond. A couple are talking about the book Spectral Analysis of Europe, which the wife has been reading. It's an old book, and it gets them talking about modern European history. What they say reveals a lot about the demotic uses of formal history and the animating forces behind modern European history, which are
SpoilerShow
pettily jingoistic and racist. As the conversation progresses, the content of the history are overwhelmed by its context. The wife has been recommended the book because it says nice things about Romania. The husband takes issue with the book's conclusions not on intellectual grounds but because the author considers Romania in a chapter along with other countries he feels no affinity for, and - fundamentally - because he reckons the author is a Jew. The wife puts up a half-hearted defence before giving in: the author probably was a Jew. Now that's settled, they can get to sleep.

I've also watched a couple of shorts.

Georges Schwizgebel's Battle of San Romano (again): I wouldn't personally choose this film to introduce a newcomer to his work, but it's Schwizgebel doing Schwizgebel, which is one of the wonders of cinema. Worth two minutes of anybody's time.

The Distance Between Us and the Sky (Vasilis Kekatos): Slight short consisting almost exclusively of handheld extreme closeups and very arch dialogue. The visual style is so dominant that it almost becomes styleless, if that makes any sense. It doesn't seem an especially good fit for the material, and when it's punctuated by a single extreme long shot the choice just seems less coherent.

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knives
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#105 Post by knives » Tue Jun 02, 2020 5:10 pm

I thought the Puiu was one of the weakest in the film, but agree that it's just not good. Alternatively the Ottinger is the first of her films I have liked. It's hilarious and ridiculous. The plot doesn't matter here at all and the film seems just an an excuse to hangout and play drunk Tati.

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DarkImbecile
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#106 Post by DarkImbecile » Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:29 pm


beamish14
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#107 Post by beamish14 » Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:34 pm

Septet has been on my radar for a while, and I'm really excited to see it. Wasn't John Woo supposed to have a segment in it?

New Goro Miyazaki...ugh

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soundchaser
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#108 Post by soundchaser » Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:34 pm

Thrilled for Mouret — hopefully he finally gets the international recognition he deserves.

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domino harvey
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#109 Post by domino harvey » Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:37 pm

Mouret a newcomer??

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soundchaser
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#110 Post by soundchaser » Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:47 pm

domino harvey wrote:
Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:37 pm
Mouret a newcomer??
It’s his first time in competition, right? I don’t know how they’re defining these tiers, though.

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domino harvey
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#111 Post by domino harvey » Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:53 pm

He played the Directors’ Fortnight twice

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#112 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:56 pm

beamish14 wrote:
Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:34 pm
Septet has been on my radar for a while, and I'm really excited to see it. Wasn't John Woo supposed to have a segment in it?
Woo dropped out awhile ago (when it was still called Eight & a Half) due to health issues. The conspicuous absence is Ringo Lam, who filmed his segment before his death but isn't listed as one of the directors on the Cannes website. Doesn't make much sense to call it Septet without him...
soundchaser wrote:
Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:47 pm
It’s his first time in competition, right? I don’t know how they’re defining these tiers, though.
Doesn't look like their's any tiers, it's just directors who have been in the official selection before ("The Faithful") and appropriate categories for everyone else ("The Newcomers," "The First Features," etc.).

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#113 Post by therewillbeblus » Wed Jun 03, 2020 3:11 pm

As thrilled as I am for the Mouret, Thomas Vinterberg's Druk sounds fascinating (an opinion which will surprise no one if you look it up). It could easily be deeply offensive and problematic for me, but if pulled off right the possibilities are endless. Hopefully it's as bold as it sounds (and with Vinterberg at the helm, I'm optimistic).

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knives
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#114 Post by knives » Sun Jun 07, 2020 11:08 am

Without question Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet is the highlight of the festival. A hilarious Czech fantasia that combines every genre and era together to form something which even just on the surface level I could enjoy it through is a wonderous masterpiece.

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MichaelB
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#115 Post by MichaelB » Sun Jun 07, 2020 11:18 am

knives wrote:Without question Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet is the highlight of the festival. A hilarious Czech fantasia that combines every genre and era together to form something which even just on the surface level I could enjoy it through is a wonderous masterpiece.
I imagine it’s common knowledge that Jan Švankmajer did the special effects, but I thought I’d mention it in case it isn’t.

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knives
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#116 Post by knives » Sun Jun 07, 2020 11:23 am

I didn't, but that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the info.

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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#117 Post by MichaelB » Sun Jun 07, 2020 1:49 pm

He'd been banned from making his own films between 1973 and 1980, so took a day job at Prague's Barrandov Studios as a special effects supervisor. But that tongue emerging from Adela's petals is as distinctive as a signature!

(I included a clip on the BFI's Švankmajer shorts compilation, under its alternative title Nick Carter in Prague.)

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Lemmy Caution
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#118 Post by Lemmy Caution » Sun Jun 21, 2020 8:35 am

The Shanghai Int'l Film Festival was postponed from June 13 to July 17.
I don't know why they insist on holding it every year during the rainiest time of the year. This year it was planned a week earlier than usual. Still a rather rainy week, but at least more drizzly as opposed to tropical downpours. Maybe they were trying to avoid the Dragon Boat Festival a 3-day national holiday from June 25-27 this year. Though I think the film festival would benefit from the holiday, and give folks something to do. The Dragon Boat Festival is a new national holiday imported from Guangdong and Hong Kong, and there's no tradition attached to it in SH, so why not blend the film festival with it?

Who knows if the SIFF will actually be a go in mid-July. The Chinese basketball league just restarted yesterday, but the games are being held without fans. Seems like a lot of unnecessary risks to me. International visitors, theaters (half-)filled with people for hours. A big part of the festival involves the parties and schmoozing and selling tv and film rights, which don't really need to be handled mask to mask. I wonder how the Beijing mini-outbreak and things like the consequences of the Trump rally will effect the decision to go ahead or not.

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senseabove
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#119 Post by senseabove » Thu Jun 25, 2020 7:39 am

Locarno will be adding a section to its online 2020 festival running from Aug 5-15, called The Films After Tomorrow, for 10 international and 10 Swiss films whose productions were halted by the pandemic, including Martel, Wang Bing, and Lav Diaz, featuring images, notes, and presentations on the films’ production so far.

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BenoitRouilly
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#120 Post by BenoitRouilly » Thu Jun 25, 2020 3:59 pm

senseabove wrote:
Thu Jun 25, 2020 7:39 am
Locarno will be adding a section to its online 2020 festival running from Aug 5-15, called The Films After Tomorrow, for 10 international and 10 Swiss films whose productions were halted by the pandemic, including Martel, Wang Bing, and Lav Diaz, featuring images, notes, and presentations on the films’ production so far.
That sounds great! There is a new film by contemplative director Lisandro Alonso (of "La Libertad" fame) and the pair Verena Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor (of "Leviathan" fame)
They are talking about online masterclasses too. I can't wait.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#121 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu Jul 09, 2020 1:30 am

knives wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 11:08 am
Without question Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet is the highlight of the festival. A hilarious Czech fantasia that combines every genre and era together to form something which even just on the surface level I could enjoy it through is a wonderous masterpiece.
I’ll second this- it’s been a long time since I’ve felt comfortable calling a film definitively slapstick, but this is; not because it’s always shooting for a joke (though the gags are of the slapstick variety) but because the choices here are so wildly self-conscious, confidently goofy, and relentlessly inspired, yet ultimately willing to stop plot to embody a series of flowing non-sequiturs, that developing a fantasy around them makes the entire exposition work like a slapstick vibe externalized into an orchestral movement. Even if the atmosphere is born from this tone, the melting pot of influences contains a lot, as knives said, including multiple direct sources from other media’s plot and characters, to create its own unique universe. I was more than happy to spend as much as as possible in there.

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Never Cursed
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#122 Post by Never Cursed » Tue Jul 14, 2020 7:31 pm


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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#123 Post by DarkImbecile » Tue Jul 14, 2020 9:14 pm

Image

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Lemmy Caution
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#124 Post by Lemmy Caution » Tue Jul 21, 2020 4:34 pm

China just reopened movie theaters this week and The Shanghai Int'l Film Festival is scheduled to happen July 25 - Aug 2. Not sure how the virus has affected what films will be available/shown. Here's the schedule

Any recs would be appreciated.

This is what appeals so far (I'm unfamiliar with most of the actual new films).

D W Griffith's Way Down East (1920) is playing. I assume that means it has been restored. That's pretty exciting to me.

King of Jazz

Distant Journey - a 1950 Czech film about Nazis.

Undine - the new Petzold film

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dadaistnun
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Re: Festival Circuit 2020

#125 Post by dadaistnun » Wed Jul 22, 2020 8:14 am

BenoitRouilly wrote:
Thu Jun 25, 2020 3:59 pm
senseabove wrote:
Thu Jun 25, 2020 7:39 am
Locarno will be adding a section to its online 2020 festival running from Aug 5-15, called The Films After Tomorrow, for 10 international and 10 Swiss films whose productions were halted by the pandemic, including Martel, Wang Bing, and Lav Diaz, featuring images, notes, and presentations on the films’ production so far.
That sounds great! There is a new film by contemplative director Lisandro Alonso (of "La Libertad" fame) and the pair Verena Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor (of "Leviathan" fame)
They are talking about online masterclasses too. I can't wait.
Very excited about Helena Wittmann's Human Flowers of Flesh. I saw her 2017 film Drift earlier this year and it's become something of a go-to piece of meditation/contemplation for me over this spring and summer .

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