Berlinale Roars Toward Finale

The 57th annual Berlinale Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin started Feb. 8 and runs through Feb. 18. http://www.berlinale.de/en/das_festival/videostreaming/index.html.

Berlinale is Germany’s biggest film festival. In its second week, the festival is reaching a feverish pitch with a distribution deal landing for actress-turned-director Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in Paris, with Samuel Goldwyn Films.

Berlinale's film programme is divided into six sections: Competition, Panorama, International Forum of New Cinema, Generation, Perspektive Deutsches Kino and Retrospective. Each section is headed by a section director, who is responsible for selecting the films and is advised by the Berlinale's correspondents and other experts.

This year’s international jury consists of seven members from the film industry, and they consider films only in the competition section, awarding the festival’s main prizes. Prizes include the Golden Bear for best film and Silver Bears for Jury Grand Prix, Best Director, Best Actress and Actor, outstanding artistic contribution and Best Film Music. The Alfred Bauer Prize is given to a work which “takes the art of film in a new direction.”

The 2007 jury includes American Gigolo director Paul Schrader as jury president, Palestinian actress Hiram Abbass, German actor Mario Adorf, American actor Willem Dafoe, Mexican actor Gael García Bernal (at right), Hong Kong producer Nansun Shi and Danish film editor Molly Malene Stensgaard.

Berlinale’s website offers live streaming video and archives of news conferences and red carpet events at http://www.berlinale.de/en/das_festival/videostreaming/index.html.

Awards are presented the final day of the festival, Feb. 18.

Pal Erdoss, 1947-2007

Hungarian film director Pal Erdoss dies at 60
The Associated Press
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
BUDAPEST, Hungary
Film director Pal Erdoss, winner of an award at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, died Wednesday, his family said. He was 60.
Erdoss died early Wednesday after a brief, serious illness, said his daughter, Eszter. Erdoss's family did not provide further details.
His last film, Lads of Budakeszi, based on an autobiographical book by Istvan Kovacs, was about a young boy's experiences during the 1956 anti-Soviet revolution. It was screened at the 38th Hungarian Film Week, which ended last week.
Erdoss's made his debut as director in 1982 with Adj kiraly katonat! (The Princess), for which he won the Golden Camera award, given to the best first film, at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.
The film, which chronicles the travails of a teenage young girl from the countryside who comes to Budapest to work at a textile mill, was well received by critics.
In its review of the film, The New York Times called Erdoss "a director of considerable subtlety and promise."
The Princess also earned Erdoss a Golden Leopard award at the 1983 Locarno International Film Festival.
Born in Budapest, Erdoss began his career in 1965 at Hungarian State Television, working as a location manager and assistant director.
Among his other features were Countdown (1983), Tolerance (1986), A Light-Sensitive Story (1993) and Last Seen Wearing A Blue Skirt (1997).
Erdoss also directed some 50 documentaries and films made for television.
Besides his daughter, he also is survived by his wife.
Funeral details were not immediately released.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0258820/

Get Shorty

Among the shorts nominated for Academy Awards this year is a Hungarian entry by Geza M. Toth. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1494496/
Maestro is a 5-minute animated short as the maestro sits in front of a dressing room mirror and prepares for his show.
Toth is a Hungarian artist and lecturer in the Animation Department at the Hungarian University of Art and Design.
He’s screened at more than 50 festivals and is working on a film adaptation of Bela Bartok’s "Bluebeard’s Castle".
It may be possible to watch Maestro online. I wasn't able to run the video, but it appears to be at several sites, including http://www.portablefilmfestival.com/video/festival-2006/desktop-experiment/maestro.
Maestro showed at the 2006 Reggio Film Festival, hosted by one of our Sister Cities.
Maestro also played at Gifu HIAFF - 2006: Semi Grand Prize; La Bourboule PLEIN la BOBINE-2006: Children Jury's Prize; Leeds International Film Festival - 2006: Special Mention; Bucharest DaKINO International Short Film Festival - 2005: Special Prize; 2006 -Granada International Short Film Festival (in competition); 2006 - Jerusalem International Film Festival); 2006 - London International Animation Festival ; 2006 - Melbourne International Animation Festival; 2006 - Nashville Independent Film Festival; 2005 - Los Angeles IFP Film Festival; 2005 - Mill Valley Film Festival; 2005 - Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival. You can catch Maestro and the other nominated shorts at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Feb. 23–25, showings are 6 and 8 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday and 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday. For more info, call the Modern at 817.738.9215, or visit online: http://www.mamfw.org/.

Tip Tap Shape

Several films from our Sister City countries arrive on DVD this week, including Ginger & Fred, directed by Federico Fellini. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fellini
The film stars Fellini’s wife Giulietta Masina http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0556399/ and Marcello Mastrioanni http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000052/ as two celebrity impersonators who became famous as a Ginger Rogers/Fred Astair dancing routine. The couple parted company, but are asked to reunite for a TV variety show and the two leap at the opportunity.
The 1986 film was nominated for a Golden Globe and BATFA and won three Italy’s David di Donatello Awards, including a Best Actor for Mastrioanni. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091113/
Fellini completed two other films before his death in 1993. He died at 73 of a heart attack on his 50th wedding anniversary. Masina died six months later of lung cancer.
In 1993, Fellini also received a special Oscar in honor of his work.

Polanski’s Pomeii

Academy Award-winning director Roman Polanski has signed on to direct Pompeii, starting this summer in Italy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski
The film is based on the best-selling novel by Robert Harris and tells the story of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius through the eyes of a young engineer. The engineer was sent from Rome to repair an aqueduct and is forced to fight corruption and mother nature.
Polanski won an Academy Award in 2003 for The Pianist, and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Chinatown (1975) and Tess (1981). His last film was Oliver Twist in 2005. http://minadream.com/romanpolanski/ http://www.rp-productions.com/

Pick Pan's

After weeks of waiting, I finally saw Pan’s Labyrinth – great picture. Also nice to see a full theater.
It’s also a surprising movie. You never know what a film is going to be like based on clips and hype.
It’s not all fantasy. It’s not like Lord of the Rings. If you’re not a fantasy film fan, don’t steer clear of the movie just because of that.
In fact the storyline I enjoyed the most was following the housekeeper, Mercedes, played by Maribel Verdú http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0893941/, and her brother’s band of resistance fighters against Franco’s Spain. The majority of the film is set in the real world. It had a real Hitchcock feel and urgency about it as in Notorious.
It’s violent. There are a lot of cringe-worthy screens, and once out on DVD I don’t’ recommend it for children.
Go see it in a theater for the spectacle.

Red Carpet Gala

Speaking of the Academy Awards, the Lone Star Film Society of Fort Worth http://www.lonestarfilmsociety.com/ and Texas Christian University College of Communication are hosting an Evening at the Academy Awards at 6 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 25 at The Dee J. Kelly Alumni Center, TCU, 2820 Stadium Drive.

Here’s your chance to revel in all that is Hollywood, without having to deal with that annoying paparazzi. Watch the Academy Awards live on three jumbo screens and root for your favorite stars and films.

Walk the red carpet with “celebrities” to the cocktail reception at 6 p.m., and then watch the awards broadcast starting at 7 p.m. Come dressed as your favorite movie character or in cocktail attire.

The event honors Mr. & Mrs. Jesse Upchurch for their continued support of the Gwendolyn P. Tandy Film Library.

For tickets or more information, call 817.735.1117 or visit http://www.eventbrite.com/event/47167078.