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Cannes film festival: The Palme laureate here makes a misstep with an odd, disquieting film that leaves too many issues unresolved Romanian director and Palme laureate Cristian Mungiu – the winner here in 2007 with his stunning 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days – comes to Cannes with an anticlimactic, underpowered movie which it seems to me could be part of an odd phenomenon at this year’s festival, detectable also in films here by Kantemir Balagov and Ryusuke Hamaguchi: auteurs making coproduction movies outside their home turf and mother tongue with big foreign stars, perhaps as a result of creative conversations at international film festivals with admirers from all over the world – and losing focus. Fjord is an odd film, bearing Mungiu’s signature, certainly, with enigmatic long shots and avoidance of closeups, and one very distinctive crowding of faces in a dinner-scene tableau. But the ostensible pain and trauma of its story is conveyed without the rewarding complexity that we have...

His extraordinary Auschwitz film won every award going. Now the Hungarian director is back with new drama Orphan, as well as a Jean Moulin biopic at Cannes. He talks about resurgent global prejudice – and refusing to be lectured by the film industry ‘overclass’ We’ve been talking for less than five minutes when I spot the swastika. It’s just above the head of László Nemes, one of Europe’s most acclaimed directors, as he sits in the suite of a London hotel, talking about Orphan, his intensely personal new film that dwells on – among other things – the impact of the Holocaust on the generations that followed. It’s an ancient, Hindu swastika, part of a decorative wall-hanging – but still. I’m halfway through a question when I notice it. Nemes laughs; of course, he’d seen it immediately. “I wanted to point that out to you,” he says. “It is so funny. Before leaving this room, I will take pictures.” Mind you, he’s had worse. “When I was at the San Sebastián film festival with Son of Saul , t...

A fun event was hosted by the Cocktail 2 team at a premium restobar in central Mumbai on Sunday, May 17, and was attended by Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Rashmika Mandanna, producers Dinesh Vijan and Luv Ranjan, director Homi Adajania and music director Pritam Chakraborty. The media was invited to the bash with the promise of a surprise. The surprise turned out to be an exclusive preview of two songs from the film – ‘Mashooka’ and ‘Tujhko’. ‘Mashooka’ features Shahid Kapoor romancing Kriti Sanon in Sicily, Italy, and other picturesque locations. The foot-tapping number sees the duo in a playful, goofy mood before ending with a seductive dance sequence. ‘Tujhko’, meanwhile, is sung by Arijit Singh and focuses on Shahid Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna. The slow romantic number hints that the two characters were college sweethearts before circumstances pulled them apart. After both songs were unveiled, the media was asked to decide which one should release first. Initially, the journalists w...

Canal+ head says he will not work with hundreds of actors and directors who signed protest against Vincent Bolloré’s political sway The head of France’s biggest film producer, Canal+, has said the group will no longer work with hundreds of cinema figures who signed a petition voicing concern over the growing influence of the rightwing billionaire owner Vincent Bolloré. The open letter, published earlier this week to coincide with the opening of the Cannes film festival, was signed by more than 600 figures , including the actor-director Juliette Binoche, the director and photographer Raymond Depardon, the French-Iranian film-maker Sepideh Farsi and the director Arthur Harari , who co-wrote the Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall and is premiering his film The Unknown in the main competition in Cannes. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/y3L0r7x via IFTTT

In a major development surrounding one of the year’s most talked-about films, Sanjay Dutt starrer Aakhri Sawal is set to hold a special screening at Rashtrapati Bhavan today, Bollywood Hungama has exclusively learned. The screening comes amid mounting controversy around the film. Over the past few days, Aakhri Sawal has been making headlines after reports surfaced of the film being banned in the UAE, while a PIL was also reportedly filed against the project in India. Despite the storm surrounding the film, the makers appear unfazed and are moving ahead with an aggressive rollout strategy. Sources close to the development reveal that preparations for the Rashtrapati Bhavan screening have been underway quietly over the last few days, though details regarding the guest list and attendees remain under wraps. Directed as a hard-hitting social drama, Aakhri Sawal features an ensemble cast led by Sanjay Dutt, the film has already generated substantial curiosity because of its subject matter ...

Something big is brewing at T-Series. Bollywood Hungama has exclusively learned that the Bhushan Kumar-led powerhouse is preparing to announce a brand-new film titled Satranga, described by insiders as a large-scale musical drama mounted on an ambitious cinematic canvas. While an official announcement is expected soon, the project has already begun generating strong buzz within industry circles. Sources close to the development reveal that Satranga is being envisioned as more than just a conventional musical romance. The film is said to be a sweeping emotional spectacle where music forms the very backbone of the storytelling. According to sources, the script is nearly locked, indicating that the creative groundwork is firmly in place. The makers are now focused on assembling the cast, which has not yet been finalized. Given the scale of the project and T-Series’ long-standing relationships with Bollywood’s biggest stars, expectations around the eventual casting are already high. Known...

Succession of pointless AI-generated snippets does nothing for film about the artist’s final interview, which took place on the day of his murder Coming just after his superb feature The Christophers , Steven Soderbergh has now made a surprisingly moderate documentary, dominated and frankly marred by uninteresting and pointless AI. It is about the inadvertently poignant final interview given by John Lennon and Yoko Ono on 8 December 1980 in New York’s Dakota apartment building, hours before his death. The interviewers were Dave Sholin, Laurie Kaye and Ron Hummel from San Francisco’s KFRC radio station. On their way out of the building with the conversation on tape, they were accosted by a creepy stalker-fan; in attempt to calm the man down, Kaye gave him a brand new copy of John and Yoko’s new album Double Fantasy. This sinister man was Lennon’s future murderer who got him to sign an album – perhaps this very album – and later shot him dead. It is a chilling, stomach-turning twist of f...

Cannes film festival: The actor’s role in Jorge Thielen Armand’s Venezuela-set surrealist thriller explores deep-rooted tensions of ownership and colonialism In Death Has No Master, Asia Argento stars as an anxious foreigner in Venezuela. Her character, Caro, is on a harried mission to reclaim inherited property from the local caretakers who still reside there. That’s the setup in a surrealist psychological thriller, in which Venezuelan-Canadian film-maker Jorge Thielen Armand unpacks personal history alongside deep-rooted and “eternal” tensions that still affect the country today. “The film has multiple layers of meaning,” says Armand, ahead of the film’s premiere in the director’s fortnight section at Cannes. “Recent events only make those multitudes greater.” Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/VutlFjb via IFTTT

May is a significant month for Anupria Goenka. Her film, IIZ: Indian Institute Of Zombies, was released on May 15, marking her first theatrical outing after four years. She’ll end the month on a celebratory note as she rings in her birthday on May 29. That’s not all. She has another reason to celebrate this month – the talented and gorgeous actress will make her debut at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Anupria Goenka exclusively told Bollywood Hungama, “I am going to Cannes for the premiere of the film called Bombay Stories. It’s being screened at the market section; it’s not in the official selection. Nevertheless, this will be my first visit to Cannes.” She continued, “After that, I plan to travel around. I haven’t explored Europe much; I have only been to the United Kingdom. So, this birthday, I want to break my pattern and visit other countries (smiles).” She also revealed, “I am leaving for Cannes on May 18, after IIZ: Indian Institute Of Zombies releases on May 15. Wish me l...

Next Friday, May 22, will see the release of Chand Mera Dil, starring Lakshya and Ananya Panday. The film has caught attention due to its youthful flavour, casting, music and also because it belongs to the intense romance genre, which is working big time right now. Bollywood Hungama has learned that the love story might open better than expected due to an aggressive pricing strategy adopted by the makers. A trade source told Bollywood Hungama, “Chand Mera Dil is produced by Dharma Productions, and they are also distributing the film. They have informed cinemas that the tickets need to be sold at a very affordable price. Accordingly, tickets for all shows before 5:00 pm on Friday, May 22, will be available for just Rs. 149. After 5:00 pm, the tickets will be sold for Rs. 199.” The source added, “This offer will be valid only on the day of release. On Saturday and Sunday, theatres have been instructed to go for regular weekend rates. Also, tickets priced at Rs. 149 and Rs. 199 will be a...

What are the vital ingredients an aspiring filmmaker needs when they have a story to tell but no outlet? Beyond a script, they need financial stability, production expertise, and industry access. Addressing this gap, Humans of Cinema and Safarnaama Pictures have launched a landmark feature film co-production fund of Rs 40,00,000 designed to back an emerging filmmaker with a distinct voice and a clear vision. In a significant boost to the independent ecosystem, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Shaunak Sen (All That Breathes) and globally acclaimed auteur Vishal Bhardwaj have joined the initiative as mentors. Sen is also attached to the selected project as an Executive Producer. The high-profile jury for the fund includes actor Imran Khan, filmmaker Arati Kadav (Cargo, Mrs), producer Aman Mann (All That Breathes), and renowned author and festival director Aseem Chhabra. Harshit Bansal, Founder of Humans of Cinema, shared that the idea took shape when Nazim Momin of Safarnaama Pictures—...

Bond Place and Desmond Crescent have been named in honour of the 007 franchise after some scenes were shot nearby in the 90s – why stop there? James Bond fans have endured a rough few years. Ever since No Time to Die walloped off Daniel Craig, we’ve been stuck in a weird kind of limbo. There will eventually be a new James Bond film, directed by Denis Villeneuve, the most exciting director in the franchise’s history. But we don’t know when it will come out, or who will play Bond, or if 007 under Amazon will even be recognisable. In summary, we need something tangible to ground our anxieties. What we need is to pack up our things and head to north Swindon, to the site of the former Motorola manufacturing facility, where a new housing estate has just named a bunch of roads after James Bond. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/9XumsZ2 via IFTTT