Germany selects finalists for entry at Academy Awards

German Films, the German film commission, today announced the seven German films that will compete for the country’s entry for the 80th Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film.
My early favorite for the German entry is Vier Minuten. The film won the Lola for best film in Germany this summer. The media and public have raved and everything I’ve read or seen about the film looks amazing.
A nine-person independent expert jury with representatives from the most important associations of the German film industry will decide after viewing the seven films which of them will be sent into the Oscar race for Germany.
The films are:
AND ALONG COME TOURISTS (AM ENDE KOMMEN TOURISTEN) by Robert Thalheim (23/5 Filmproduktion, Berlin)
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (AUF DER ANDEREN SEITE) by Fatih Akin (corazón international, Hamburg)
THE HOUSE OF THE SLEEPING BEAUTIES (DAS HAUS DER SCHLAFENDEN SCHOENEN) by Vadim Glowna (Atossa Film Produktion, Berlin)
MY FUEHRER - THE REALLY TRUEST TRUTH ABOUT ADOLF HITLER (MEIN FUEHRER – DIE WIRKLICH WAHRSTE WAHRHEIT UEBER ADOLF HITLER) by Dani Levy (X Filme Creative Pool, Berlin)
STRIKE (STRAJK – DIE HELDIN VON DANZIG) by Volker Schloendorff (Provobis, Gesellschaft für Film und Fernsehen, Berlin)
FOUR MINUTES (VIER MINUTEN) by Chris Kraus (Kordes & Kordes Film, Berlin)
WINTER JOURNEY (WINTERREISE) by Hans Steinbichler (d.i.e. film, Munich)
The result will be made known by GERMAN FILMS on September 18 and must be submitted to the Academy in Los Angeles by October 1 at the latest.
The names of the selection jury have been published at www.german-films.de, German Films & the Academy Awards.

In the Pit, 2006, directed by Juan Carlos Rulfo, Mexico
Monumental in scope -- and requiring Herculean toil -- Mexico City's Periférico freeway construction project employs hundreds of workers, a group as diverse as the myriad motorists who zip by the building site. Documentarian Juan Carlos Rulfo captures the laborers on the job -- and in moments of well-deserved repose -- as they strive to complete the ambitious structure, a project that ultimately reflects all human endeavor.

Ping Pong, 2002, directed by Fumihiko Sori, Japan
Starring Yosuke Kubozuka (Go, Laundry) & Naoto Takenaka (Shall We Dance). Two high school students, complete opposites, compete in an extreme sport version of ping pong. The eye popping special effects have been compared to The Matrix.

Reggio Emilia Announces Competitors

Reggio Film Festival 2007 has announced the entrants to its short movies competition for the sections Women (Donne) and Open (Spazio Libero) categories. The list is now online at http://www.reggiofilmfestival.com/.
The short movies Spazio Libero competing for the 2007 Festival will be screened in loop in some spots of Reggio Emilia (libraries, book shops, museums, pubs and bar) from September 17 to 23.
The public can vote for the favorite movie using the cards placed on the stands next to the "Punto Corto" spots. The most voted movies will be shown on September 29, the final day of ReggioFilmFestival.
There are 28 Italian, two German, and two American shorts competing in the Open Category.
The short movies included in the section Donne will be shown at Cinema Al Corso from September 27 to 29.
Therea are 19 Italian, three German and two American shorts in the Donne category.
The programme of events and projections will be available soon.
For any further information and hotel agreements please check on our site http://www.reggiofilmfestival.com/.

This Just In: New DVD Releases

Antibodies (Antikörper) 2005, directed by Christian Alvart, Germany
After confessed killer Gabriel Engel (André Hennicke) is captured, small-town cop Michael Martens (Wotan Wilke Möhring) interrogates him, hoping a journey into the madman's twisted mind will give clues to an unsolved murder committed in the same heinous manner as Gabriel's crimes. Gabriel claims to know the killer's identity but turns the investigation into a psychological game, leaving Michael questioning his own sanity in this German thriller.

Flower and Snake '74 (Hana to hebi), 1974, directed by Masaru Konuma, Japan
Frustrated by his lackluster sex life, businessman Senzô Tôyama (Nagatoshi Sakamoto) conspires to have one of his employees (Yasuhiko Ishizu) -- a sex shop owner's son -- kidnap Senzô's frigid spouse (Naomi Tani) and train her as a sexual submissive. But the domineering industrialist gets more than he bargained for in director Masaru Konuma's erotic, adults-only tale that explores the boundaries between sexual pleasure and perversion.

Great African Films: Vol. 1: Faraw! Mother of the Dunes, 1997, directed by Abdoulaye Ascofare
Director Abdoulaye Ascofare's drama follows Zamiatou (Aminata Ousmane), a mother who struggles to support her family in the wake of her husband's unjust incarceration. Life is already difficult in the desolate desert of Mali in Africa, but when her husband returns from prison a mentally and physically reduced man, Zamiatou will do anything to keep her two sons and daughter alive.

Great African Films: Vol. 2: Sia, the Dream of the Python (Sia, le rêve du python), 2004, directed by Dani Kouyaté
Dani Kouyaté's visually stunning film is an adaptation of a seventh-century African legend about a woman chosen as a sacrifice to a snake god to save a destitute village. The emperor picks the beautiful virgin Sia (Fatoumata Diawara) but no one tells her fiancé, Mamadi (Ibrahim Baba Cissé), about his lover's fate. Kerfa, a government leader with plans to oust the emperor, helps Sia and Mamadi, but can she live with being known as a traitor?

Great African Films: Vol. 2: Tasuma, The Fighter, 2004, directed by Daniel Kollo Sanou
In Daniel Kollo Sanou's comedy, Sogo (Mamadou Zerbo), a West African World War II vet, purchases a mill on credit believing he'd get paid his due pension. But when the money doesn't come through, Sogo finds himself in jail for not being able to pay off the mill. Having already waited over 50 years for his pension, Sogo joins in with the local women who come to his side in support.

Horrors of Malformed Men (Edogawa ranpo taizen: Kyofu kikei ningen), 1969, directed by Teruo Ishii, Japan
A medical student searching for his father discovers a deranged scientist on a remote island whose experiments combine humans and animals to produce terrifying creatures in this surreal and horrifying tale. The student soon unearths disturbing facts that link him to some appalling truths. Adapted from stories by horror author Rampo Edogawa and directed by Japanese exploitation auteur Teruo Ishii, the film remains banned in its native Japan.

Over at the Big Ranch (Allá En El Rancho Grande), 1936, directed by Fernando de Fuentes, Mexico
Poor ranch hand José Francisco (Tito Guízar) falls in love with homely girl turned beauty Cruz (Esther Fernández). Unfortunately, his boss, rancher Felipe (René Cardona), also adores her, and the resulting love triangle threatens José's job and their friendship. Director Fernando de Fuentes's romance launched the comedia ranchera genre, which combines Mexican folklore with musical comedy and melodrama.

Samba (Szamba ), 1996, directed by Róbert Koltai, Hungary
Larger-than-life Ottó Szamba (Róbert Koltai) is a theater actor in his small Hungarian village. Everyone in town loves him -- except his son Ottó Jr. (László Görög), who's so embarrassed by his hammy father that he shuns the stage. But when he enters college, the younger Ottó discovers he can't escape the acting bug. Koltai co-wrote and directed this satire on small-town attitudes and big-time egos, co-starring Éva Kerekes and Judit Pogány.

Snake Woman's Curse (Kaidan hebi-onna), 1968, directed by Nobuo Nakagawa, Japan
When a wealthy landlord causes the death of a poor farmer, enslaves the man's wife and daughter, and then kills a snake the wife was protecting, he unleashes the serpent's curse. Before long, the landlord finds himself being driven mad by deathly spirits as terrible misfortune rains down on his family -- including his son, whose young bride starts growing scales and green skin in this film from Japanese horror auteur Nobuo Nakagawa.

The Beautiful Washing Machine (Mei li de xi yi ji), 2004, directed by James Lee, Indonesia
Teoh's (Loh Bok Lai) secondhand washing machine has a personality as strong as that of his ex-girlfriend. After exploiting the temperamental appliance, Teoh sells her to the Wongs, whose son (Berg Lee) develops an attachment to her that causes a rift in his family. Teoh Kah Yong co-stars in writer-director James Lee's award-winning surrealist satire that's drawn comparisons with the work of visionaries such as Luis Buñuel and Jim Jarmusch.

Rome was Burning

Last week the world-famous Cinecitta movie studios in Rome was badly damaged by fire. The blaze broke out in the lots being used for filming the production "Rome," which tells the story of the rise of the great Roman empire. Flames said to be more than 40 metres high quickly destroyed a hangar which stored set decorations to be used in the production, and went on to attack other buildings.
Guido Parisi, Rome's fire chief, said: "The fire has destroyed the set of ancient Rome, an area more than 4,000 square metres."
Cinecitta is a huge complex of more than 40 hectares a few kilometres from the centre of Rome. Thousands of films have been made at Cinecitta, including William Wyler's "Ben Hur" in 1958, and Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" and "Cleopatra" in the 1960s.

This Just In: New DVD Releases

The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen ), 2007, directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Germany
Set in 1980s East Berlin, director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's debut feature (which earned an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film) provides an exquisitely nuanced portrait of life under the watchful eye of the state police as a high-profile couple is bugged. When a successful playwright and his actress companion become subjects of the Stasi's secret surveillance program, their friends, family and even those doing the watching find their lives changed too.

Crazy Cartoons, 2006, directed by Juan Miguel Figueroa Vega, Mexico
This compilation features more than 50 maniacally funny shorts from Mexico's CineFilms Animation Studios, the outfit spearheading Mexico's animation renaissance. Fans of "Beavis and Butt-Head," "The Simpsons" and the faux cartoon "The Itchy and Scratchy Show" will not be disappointed with this delightful collection, which includes episodes from four south-of-the-border series: "Cimerias," "Dobos," "Obeso" and "La Prepa."

Human Beings (Seres Humanos ), 2002, Mexico
After struggling for years to ignore their agony, a seemingly successful Mexican couple slips into despair a decade after the accidental death of their young daughter in this complex examination of the value of family. Dulce (Clarissa Malheiros), the mother, is a popular celebrity who's unable to reconcile her increasing popularity with the tragedy in her past, while her husband, Derek (Rafael Sánchez Navarro), retreats into a quiet insanity.

The Castle (Das Schloss ), 1997, directed by Michael Haneke, Germany
When land surveyor K. (Ulrich Mühe) arrives at a small village that houses a castle, local authorities refuse to allow him to enter. As he tries to convince the officials that they sent for him, they clamp down with increasingly complicated bureaucratic obstacles. Directed by renowned European filmmaker Michael Haneke, this visually stunning adaptation of Franz Kafka's absurdist novel first aired on Austrian television.

As You Like It Asian-style

Kenneth Branagh has returned with his fifth Shakespearean translation to film. As You Like It premieres Tuesday on HBO and stars Kevin Kline, Alfred Molina and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Branagh’s twist on this version is the setting: 19th Century Japan.

He developed the idea while meditating in Kyoto, Japan, several years ago.

"One of Shakespeare's most enduring plays," according to the LA Times, "As You Like It is set in the magical Forest of Arden, where the beautiful Rosalind (Howard), the daughter of a banished duke (Brian Blessed), is forced to flee her uncle's (also Blessed) court. Accompanying her on her journey is her cousin Celia (Romola Garai). Fearing she'll be discovered by her uncle's men, Rosalind disguises herself as a boy. The guise proves advantageous when she decides to test the love and devotion of her admirer Orlando (David Oyelowo), who has also been exiled from the court with his jealous brother (Adrian Lester) in pursuit and trying to kill him.

"Kline, who has played such Shakespeare heroes and villains as Falstaff, Hamlet and Richard III on the New York stage, plays the lonely, melancholic philosopher Jaques, who Shakespeare scholars believe represents the playwright himself."