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Beauty Cinema

L’Oréal at Berlinale

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L‘Oreal Paris at the Berlinale 2016

Making sure the stars look good under the flash bulbs and spotlights during the Berlinale is the job of make-up and hair artist Andrej Baranow. Once again we managed to catch up with him towards the end of the festival for a fast interview.

How is it going?

This is my 18th year at the Berlinale. I have had a lot of things to do but in a good way. There is a team of 14. We have done a number of calls to hotels, etc.  There have been many press conferences, some days 5 to 7.

No Diva Attitudes! Meryl Streep is so down to Earth, very human, no fuss at all.   Alexander Skarsgard is a very keen about grooming.

What is the Berlinale Look for 2016?

The J-Lo looks with dark eyes and super Red Carpet Black Mascara and lashes. We have a new product, False Lash Superstar Red Carpet Blush. It is a 2 in 1 product for thickening and extending the lash.  There are the Red Lips on the Carpet this year. A woman cannot hide with red lipstick. She wants to be seen.

What else is new?

L’Oreal has a lipstick with a powdery base, very consistent, does not dry the lips. It comes in nude tones. Also, there is a Sculpturing Blush I use for contouring and sharpening facial features.   I work with it as a way to layer.

Some new blush colors. They are glowing, sparkly, and sparkling. There is a new lip palette coming in April.

What have you been doing since we last met in 2015?

A lot of beauty and catalog shootings. I worked with Diane Keaton. She is so gorgeous.

Also, I have been working at Babelsberg Film Studio demonstrating to 200 actors on how to apply special effect make up in the Zombie Style.

 

Andrej is the key make-up and hair stylist for the Berlinale.  L’Oreal Paris has been an official partner of the Berlinale since 1998.

 

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Cinema

While the Women are Sleeping at Berlinale

Hidetoshi Nishijima

While the Women Are Sleeping

The Berlinale Press Conference with Director Wayne Wang and Cast.

Director Wayne Wang tackles a short story from Spanish Writer Javier Marias set in Japan. “It is a story about watching and being watched”, said Wang during the Berlinale Press Conference. My assistant director gave me the story, the story of women sleeping. It is about getting an author (Kenji) getting back his inspiration.
Translating the book to Asian sensibilities of subtlety and indirectness was important like the scene in the shop where the man speaks but never directly about the subject. Then adding Asian sensuality, we used little details, for example, the scene where he shaves the back of her neck, this is sensual in Japanese Culture. Even with these ingredients we had to remain true to the mystery of the narrative.
Wayne described shooting the film from the lead actor’s (Hidetoshi Nishijima) point of view. How he sees reality and the imagined reality. The audience is the 3rd person observing.

Special Note:  This was the best dressed cast at the Berlinale wearing Berluti, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton.

While The Woman Are Sleeping stars Takeshi Kitano, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Sayuri Oyamada, and Shiori Kutsuna


Check Local Listings for release Dates and Show Times

Categories
Cinema

Sand Storm at Berlinale

Sand Storm

From the Berlinale the Black and Paper interview with Director Elite Zexer and Actor Haitham Omari.

What were the challenges of making this film and as a director and an actor?
My main challenge as a director was making a film about a culture that was not mine. I think that is why it took so long to make it. There were a lot of steps along the way. It took me years to get the script the right, 4 years of writing and rewriting. I made a short film in the interim.

Omari: I am a news cameraman. I was close to the Bedouins in their villages but I wanted to understand them from the inside. At times in the film you like my character and then there were times when you hated him.

Why did you want to shoot a film on the Bedouins?
My mother has been shooting Bedouin women for 10 years. She became friends with them. I started going with her, one evening I went to an event similar to the one in my film. That was about 8 years ago that started the process of making the film.

Where did the title come from?
Sandstorm refers to an internal storm with the characters and of course in the desert.
It was originally a working title. After winning the Locarno Film Festival we decided to keep the title.

Phtography Vered Adir- Jalal Masarwa-Lamis Ammar

Were there script changes after the casting?
The main changes were made to the Layla character. I met Lamas but thought she was wrong for the part. Layla is shy while Lamas is strong and outgoing. The auditions were ongoing for months, meeting, talking. Lamas had something. In the end we mutually changed our approached to the character. I adapted the script with her in mind.

Was there one village used in the location?
No, there were different villages used for the production, one for the family house, the second wife’s house, and another for the celebration.

Is the ending of the film a message of hope?
No comment (laughing). I wanted to end the film with the audience thinking of what will happen to the next generation.

For more information go to beforethebombsfall.weebly.com

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Cinema

Ants on a Shrimp at Berlinale

Ants on a Shrimp

Black and Paper spoke to Director Maurice Dekkers at the Berlinale 2016 about his culinary documentary on one of the world’s best restaurant, Noma, from Copenhagen.

How did the idea come up for the film?

I read Rene was going to Japan.  I wanted to record a chef creating a new menu, in a different location.   It was a complete change of routine for both of us, a real challenge.  This was my first documentary film while he was preparing a 14 course meal in Tokyo.  Everything was new, fruits, vegetables, and herbs,

How was Rene during the filming?

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Chef Renee

Calm.  He was not always so tranquil in the past but during filming he did not lose his cool.  I did not want to make a film about a screaming chef.  I followed him around for 2 months filming.   He tries everything, asks a lot of questions.

And your interaction with the crew?

I saw them as one person.  But they did not experience the kitchen, not Japan.

One of my favorite parts of the film is when Renee and his crew are out picking twigs in the forest.  This was a “normal” moment.

What about the kitchen? What was different?

There were no fires or pots. Everything was fermentation.

What was your favorite item on the Noma menu?

The citrus and underground root based dishes.

Did the team crack the Code of the Turtle?

No, not while I was filming.

How did you become interested in the culinary arts?

I have been interested in food from the time I was born.  I produced KEURINGSDIENST VAN WAARDE (‘FOOD UNWRAPPED’) for many years in Holland.

Ants on a Shrimp was part of the Berlinale 2016 Culinary Cinema Section

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Cinema

Berlinale 2016 Press Conferences

Jude Law

Images from the Berlinale Press Conferences powered by Canon G3X

 

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Cinema

Berlinale Perspektive Award

Glashutte Award

Janna Ji Wonders is the 2016 winner of the Made in Germany – Fordserpreis Perspektive. The prestigious award is given by Perpspektive Deutsches Kino and Watchmaker Glashutte Original. Along with a mentoring program, a cash prize of 15.000 euros is given for story development of a feature linked film.

I managed to get a fast exclusive interview with Janna at the Glushutte Lounge in Potsdamer Platz during the Berlinale.

How long have you been a filmmaker?

10 years. I attended the Film School in Munich. I received a Master’s in Fiction Filmmaking Directing.

What type of cinema do you like?

Tragic Comedy. Art house and Independent Cinema. Films like Still Alice and Beast of the Southern Wild.

Is it easy for a woman to direct in Germany?

I feel now there is a change in the air. Producers are looking for women’s stories. TV and film companies are more open. There is an organization named Pro Quote Regie. It is demanding access and rights for female helmers.

Is there a director you admire?

Susanne Bier. She has strong stories that are character driven. Jaques Audiard, He has a visual signature, a style of film making with mysterious elements.

What is on your agenda?

A documentary film is first. A story about 3 generations of women in my family, Walchensee Forever is the title.   The title is from a lake in the Bavarian Alps were I am from.

My mother and father were hippies, summer of free love types.  My mother lived an interesting life. She lived in a German commune.   It was very intellectual.

And the film?

I am working on a fiction film but this  is in the early stages.

Categories
Cinema

Berlinale War on Everyone

There was bit of  buzz for John Michael McDonagh’s film during the screenings.  A known director known for making quirky black comedy in his native UK.

This time McDonagh tries his at at the American Buddy Cop Comedy with Michael Pena and Alexander Skarsgard.  The Result? When a director does not show up for a press conference for his film at a major festival, action speaks louder than words.  I could go on and on about  why this film does not work but life is too short to read a review about a film that will be on sale in the DVD leftover bin in a few days.  And I am being generous when I say, leftover bin!

I have to hand it to Alexander and Micheal for being profession and engaging during the press conference and after the public screening.  They had the guts to show up to face the fire.  Good going guys!

 

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Technology

Berlinale 2016 Images

Tilda

Images from the Film Festival

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Cinema

Shooting Stars Berlinale 2016

European Shooting Stars 2016 at the Berlinale

10 young actors were chosen from across the continent for the 19th edition of the European Initiative.

Martha

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Martha Canga Antonio from Belgium

Martha Canga Antonio is from Belgium. She debuted in first film BLACK in 2015.

Why did you become actress?

I was 15 years old. I read there was an audition for a film. The filmmakers were looking for unexperienced actors. So, I took a chance and got the role.  I discovered something amazing during the making of the film.

Is there a particular role you would like to perform?

Of course I would like challenging roles. Something people would not imagine me doing.

Anything new coming up?

Yeah, I am looking at roles and new projects.

Will the Shooting Stars help your career?

It feels like the official start of my career.

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Lou

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Lou de Laage from France

Lou de Laage is from France. She has been nominated twice for the French Academy Awards as Most promising Actress for her roles in “Jappeloup” and “Breathe”.

How did you get involved in acting?

I did theater when I was 10 in Bordeaux. I always wanted to do it. It was a dream for me. I went to acting school. When I moved to Paris at 18 I got an agent and continued to work. Then I started in cinema. It was another world.

What have you learned about your profession?

I learn from each project.   There different methods and styles of working. I have been in co-productions in Holland and Poland. The styles were different.   I took the best from both.

Is there an actress you would like to emulate?

I have many but no real model. I cannot have the same career as actresses I have to go my own way.

 

Maria

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Maria Valverde from Spain

Maria Valverde is from Spain. She started working in 2002 winning the prestigious lead actress award for her debut film.

How did you start as an actress?

I started drama school at 10. I made my first film at 15.   I won a Goya Prize at 16 for The Bolsheviks’s Weakness. I have constantly worked.

What is your style of acting?

I did not attend drama school. I learned from other actors, their techniques and styles. I am always practicing. I find acting therapeutic, drawing on real experiences.

Do you have an actress you admire?

I admire many.

What is your goal as an actress?

I do not have one. Acting has been fun for me. It has given me so many opportunities to work and travel. I am learning French now. It will be my fourth language.

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Images by Canon Legria mini X

 

Categories
Technology

Berlinale Jury

Meryl Streep
Streep and Owen

Kicking off the Berlinale for 2016 with Jury Head Meryl Streep lead a light effervescent press conference introducing fellow jurors including: Actors Clive Owen and Lars Eidinger, Actress Alba Rohrwacher, Director Małgorzata Szumowska, Noted photographer Brigitte Lacombe, and esteemed film critic Nick James.   The jury is made up of 4 women and 3 men this year reflecting  what Streep said as “inclusion.”    She gave her jurors instructions not to see any of the films or do research before arriving to Berlin as to make them very susceptible.

There are 22 films in the Competition Section this year:

24 Weeks, Alone in Berlin,Things to Come, Boris without Beatrice, Letters from War, Crosscurrent, Chi-Raq, A Dragon Arrives, Fire at Sea, and Genius, A Luulaby to the Sorrowful Mystery,  Hedi, The Commune, The Patriarch, Midnight Special, News from the Planet Mars, Being 17, Saint Amour, Death in Sarajevo, Soy Nero, Zero Days, United States of Love.