It always a delight to discover talent making short films. This season there is no shortage of choices and themes.
Nando is a touching tribute to dreams and hard reality.
Last Meal, what would you want for for your final supper?
Liza Anonymous, a funny take on generational zeitgeist.
An honourable mention goes to Death & The Lady All shorts screened on the Tribeca Film Festival website.
Should I or Shouldn’t I? How many stars do I give a film I like? I decided on 4.5 stars. The Last Film Show is worth a watch for every film lover.
Stay Tuned for the full review. Screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.
My first day at the virtual Tribeca Film Festival. My first impression of the overall films: technically superb, polished, broadcast quality, indeed ready for a streaming service. These are filmmakers with an end goal concerning their work.
While I have not seen broad risk taking, after viewing a few features, the message here is: I am here ready to work in the business.
Stay tuned for coverage.
For this Chat Cinema Podcast the interview centres on Shooting Star pick Actress Seidi Haarla. The Finnish native has an impressive resume with a career that is about to take off.
What happens when three by chance meetings turn into moments of self realisation? Japanese director and writer Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy provides clues, but no answers.
The triptych film centres on emotions lost and rediscovered over the years bringing along with it consequences of past decisions. Life is based on decisions.
The second story, Door Wide Open, in my opinion the strongest of the three, concerns a plot of revenge and humans abilities to injure ourselves actively and passively. Actor Kiyohiko Shibukawa’s melancholic performance as an acclaimed university professor stands out. His character’s incapability of escaping from an emotional box was memorable.
Magic, the first story, concerns intertwined relationships and outcomes.
The last of the trio, Once Again, is about reconnecting, longing, then rationalisation.
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy runs for 121 minutes.
4 Stars out of 5.
Neopa Inc and Fictive LLC.
This year I rejoined the press junket for the European Film Promotion’s European Shooting Stars Program, virtual of course. The initiative serves as a platform to promote and showcase European Talent on the global stage. Since 1998 many famous faces have passed through the door moving on to becoming recognized performers in the entertainment industry. Daniel Craig, Carey Mulligan, Michaela Coel and 1917 star George McCay are a few examples of the talents who leaped to fame after their EFP debuts.
This year casting directors and filmmakers chose 10 European talents:
Abrecht Stork from Germany, Fionn O’Shea from Ireland, Natasa Stork from Hungary, Nicolas Maury from France, Alba Baptista from Portugal and Sara Klimoska from North Macedonia and Gustav Lindh from Sweden.
For 2021 I interviewed Martijn Lakemeier from The Netherlands, Seidi Haarla from Finland and Zygimante Elena Jakstaite of Lithuania. Normally there is face to face time but for 2021, we had one on one Zoom conferences. Hopefully, in June the live ceremony will take place in Berlin. I have my fingers crossed.
It is always inspiring to be one of the first to interview a raising media figure. I like saying “I interviewed him or her when they started”.
Congratulations to all the winners. Well deserved. I look forward to seeing them on the screen.
Stay tuned for the one on one interviews on the Chat Cinema Podcasts.
I screened the short film The Women’s Revenge on the International Film Festival Rotterdam platform. The work packs a punch. Listen to the Chat Cinema conversation with Director Su Hui Yu explain his work and influences.
Click below:
Warner Bros announced all of its 2021 slate films will have premiere simultaneously on the big screen and small screen via HBO Max. The Hollywood business models are changing. What does this mean for cheaters? Stay tuned, we talk about this on the next Chat Cinema.
Going to the movies has become a challenge. We discuss the current state of affairs in our latest Chat Cinema podcast. Can theaters survive in the New Normal? Will audiences return?