'Carried Away' screening in Fort Worth

Fort Worth’s Tom Huckabee will present a screening of his film “Carried Away” at 7 p.m., Friday, March 25 at Photosphere Micro Gallery, 3023 Lackland Road, Fort Worth.

The semiautobiographical film tells the story of a Fort Worth man who returns from Hollywood to find his grandmother has been placed in a nursing home against her will. The young man decides to spring his granny and take her back to Los Angeles. Soon his family begins a cross-country chase to stop the two.

The film has a couple film festival awards to its credit and is a great local film.

If you’re interested in attending the “donations requested” showing, contact Hucakbee on Facebook. A director’s Q&A will follow.

Plus Tom’s a nice guy. Check it out.

Fifth Annual Asian Film Awards

South Korea won five awards at the Fifth Asian Film Awards, but the Thai film “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” was named Best Film at the March 21 awards ceremony in Hong Kong.

The Thai film bested “Aftershock” (Mainland China/Hong Kong), “Confessions” (Japan), “Let the Bullets Fly” (Mainland China/Hong Kong), “Peepli Live” (India) and “Poetry” (South Korea) in the annual competition.

Korea won Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Editing

The winners were
BEST FILM – UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (Thailand)
BEST DIRECTOR — LEE Chang-dong / POETRY (South Korea)
BEST ACTOR — HA Jung-woo / THE YELLOW SEA (South Korea)
BEST ACTRESS – XU Fan / AFTERSHOCK (Mainland China / Hong Kong)
BEST NEWCOMER – Mark CHAO You-Ting / MONGA (Taiwan)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Sammo HUNG Kam-po / IP MAN 2 (Hong Kong)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – YOON Yeo-jeong / THE HOUSEMAID (South Korea)
BEST SCREENPLAY – LEE Chang-dong / POETRY (South Korea)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER – Mark LEE Ping-Bin / NORWEGIAN WOOD (Japan)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGNER – HAYASHIDA Yuji / 13 ASSASSINS (Japan)
BEST MUSIC SCORE – Indian Ocean / PEEPLI LIVE (India)
BEST EDITING – NAM Na-young / I SAW THE DEVIL (South Korea)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – Phil JONES, ZHANG Yan-ming / AFTERSHOCK (Mainland China/ Hong Kong)
BEST COSTUME DESIGNER – William CHANG Suk-ping / LET THE BULLETS FLY (Mainland China / Hong Kong)

This Just In ... New DVDs

This week’s DVDs. If we can’t watch ‘em in the theater, we’ll watch ‘em at home. Look for them at Amazon, Netlfix, RedBox, Blockbuster.
 
The Perfume of the Lady in Black (Il Profumo della Signora in Nero) – 1974
Directed by Francesco Barilli
Starring:  Mimsy Farmer, Maurizio Bonuglia
Italian
Promotional Notes: Mimsy Farmer portrays Sylvia, a chemist who begins to suffer from strange visions. She sees a mysterious woman in black applying perfume in a mirror, strangers following her everywhere she goes, and a ghostly little girl reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, who may be Sylvia herself as a child. It turns out that Sylvia stabbed her mother's sexually abusive boyfriend to death long ago, and now her visions are driving her to madness and cleaver-murders. The other possibility, however, is that literally all of Sylvia's friends are Satanists conspiring to cause her suicide. This is a remarkable film, weaving reality, fantasy and memory into an almost seamless fabric to dizzying and poetic effect.
Buy or rent it: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004H0M34A
 
Filmies says: “Who doesn’t love a good cleaver-weilding chemist movie?”
 
 
Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne: The Complete Series (Classic)
Directed by Christopher Bevins
Funimation: Anime
Promotional Notes: Rin Asogi is an immortal private detective with a thirst for vodka and a talent for attracting things that go bump in the night. In a series of nightmarish vignettes spanning sixty-five years, Rin’s lush body is sadistically pierced, blown up, and mulched to a bloody pulp. The fiend behind her tortured existence is Apos, an eternal being obsessed with sacrificing Rin to Yggdrasil, the tree of all life. While Rin struggles to unravel the secrets of her endless agony, Apos lurks in the shadows, eager to tear into her ripe body and devour the memories of her countless lives. Rin’s no stranger to the realm of the dead, but her next visit could last forever.
Buy or rent it: http://blog.funimation.com/release-schedule/
 
Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple - Season Two
Directed by Monica Rial
Funimation: Anime
Promotional Notes: Kenichi’s a lot tougher than he used to be – living in a dojo with six martial arts masters will do that to you. But thanks to his reputation as a skilled fighter, the guy’s got more problems than ever.
The goons in Ragnarok are gunning for him in a big way, especially the gang’s leaders: the Eight Fists, a dangerously unpredictable crew known to play dirty. Luckily, Kenichi’s got allies like Miu by his side. She’s as tough as she is hot, and even if he still hasn’t scored with the blonde brawler, her very presence makes Kenichi train harder to be the best. Yeah, he’s come a long way – but Kenichi’s fight to be the mightiest disciple isn’t over yet.
Buy or rent it: http://blog.funimation.com/release-schedule/
 
 

Dubai Festival Focuses on German Film & Financing

The Dubai International Film Festival, slated for Dec. 7-14, will focus on German film providing a valuable opportunity for producers.

In addition to showcasing contemporary German cinema and talent, the In Focus: Germany presentation will also introduce German producers, distributors, sales agents, studios, scouts, festivals and development agencies to their counterparts in Dubai and the wider Arab world.

“German organizations, producers and investors from The World Cinema Fund to ZDF/Arte have long supported filmmakers from around the Arab world through co-productions, funding, broadcast and knowledge sharing, and this year’s DIFF focus is both a recognition of their valuable support and an effort to boost these collaborations,” said DIFF Managing Director Shivani Pandya said in a release.

Read the full release here.

Bela Tarr's Win at Berlinale Comes with Strings

Following his win a the Berlin International Film Festival, Hungarian Director Bela Tarr reportedly told a German newspaper, "The government hates intellectuals because they are liberal and oppositional. It has insulted us as traitors."

Days later her recanted in the Hungarian media, only to change his tune again several days later.

Tarr and other artists have accused Prime Minister Viktor Orban of forcing film production companies into bankruptcy and Cultural Warfare.

Tarr's film "The Turin Horse" won the Silver Bear at the Berlin fest, and later Hungarian film distributor MOKEP-Pannonia canceled plans to distribute the film.

Read more here.

Del Toro Debuts Dreamworks Trailers

Mexican Director Guillermo del Toro debuted the trailers for his first films as a creative consultant for Dreamworks. The animated films "Kung Fu Panda 2" and "Puss in Boots" will hit theaters this year.

"Kung Fu Panda 2" features the return of comedian Jack Black in the title role and premieres May 26. "Puss in Boots" extends the "Shrek" franchise Nov. 4 and stars Antonio Banderas, reprising his role as Puss.

Watch the trailers: "Kung Fu Panda 2" and "Puss in Boots."

Hungarian Film Fest gets go ahead

The Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungary (MMKA) announced that Hungarian Film Week is now slated for May 5-8.

The dates for the troubled film festival have moved several times, but the MMKA appears to have gotten a handle on the event. Organizers are now accepting and reviewing submissions. An announcement on showcase films is expected closer to the event.

The details are spelled out in the non-English version of the festival site.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the story earlier this week.