At the Anamorphic Club Cafe Berlin we talked to Cinematographer Jeff Jur about Dirty Dancing on enduring quality of the 1987 film.
Tag: movies
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Tribeca Fest 24
The Hollywood Strikes hit the entertainment industry in 2023. Work stoppages caused disruptions along the chain from Hollywood to independent cinema. The film festival circuit did escape the five-month long actors and writer’s dispute. As I cover the Tribeca Film Festival there is a marked difference in the level of entrants. A number of foreign filmmakers along with titles from female directors made the cut this year. The New York City film event unveiled 114 narrative and documentary titles.
In Sexual Demand
Hot masculine top, athletic body, how hard would it be for a guy with this description on his profile to hook-up on Grindr? Nicolas Finegan’s Some Kind of Paradise short film handles the challenges of a Gay Life based on isolation, fast food sex and the ins and outs of emotional intimacy. John Brodsky makes a subtle impression of a sexually in demand man boxed in, suddenly tapping into awakening feelings.
Since the fall of Jim Crow, African Americans have made inroads to higher education, however not without challenges. Recent headlines of the US Supreme Court tossing College Admission Affirmative Action Programs are the latest struggles. For People of Color, navigating certain spaces can be tricky, a balancing act of fitting in, yet trying to retain identity. Black Table, is the story not just about race but of social economic class attending Yale University in the 1990’s. The film is a soft chronicle of unconscious prejudices faced at an Ivy League Institution with the always hanging question, “Do You Belong Here?” Co-Directors John Antonio James and Bill Mack offer an honourable perspective about New Haven.
Survival
Recently, I noticed more filmmakers focusing on the plight of women in the Middle East. Once upon Beirut was called The Paris of the Middle East. A once prosperous city with a freewheeling spirit population made up of diverse groups. Now, the Mediterranean capital struggles with corruption, simmering conflict and citizens looking for an escape hatch. All if these elements come together in Mira Shaib’s first film Arze describes itself as a comedy drama of titular character Aze trying to stay afloat with a teenage son and an emotional challenged sister while dreaming of a way to earn more money by buying a scooter. The irony of making life easier turns into a nightmare when the moped is stolen. What follows is a tale of urban frustration rooted in survival.
How do you make a touching film short about hair lice? Hindu director Vindhya Gupta’s eloquently shot Lice shows the answer. The story of a blossoming friendship coming to life under ticklish circumstances.
All films were reviewed online. The Tribeca Film Festival runs until June 16th.
The expectation was for a Summer 2024 Blockbuster, the reality was a fizzle. There have been so much written about the failure to generate a barely noticeable Memorial Weekend debut of Furiosa, the latest Mad Max installment. After only collecting $31 million at the box office over the four-day weekend. One commentator after another has an opinion or analyses are still trending on the Internet. Why didn’t this critically lauded fifth work in the series connect?
After the positive debut reception at the Cannes Film Festival, George Miller’s $165 million dystopian epic looked like a sure winner with a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score. No one knows what the public will like. Nine years after the release of Mad Max:Fury Road, director and writer Miller took the prequel route with a backstory to Charlie Theron’s Imperator Furiosa character. This is a no spoiler commentary. I have not watched the movie, but planning to get my ticket soon.
Blame
The world is a different place from 2015. Covid, wars on two fronts, perhaps there is audience fatigue on dark subject matter. Who can blame the public? At times, strolling through a news feed requires a Paxil.
Ticket goers, straining under inflation, are more cautious about shelling out twenty or thirty dollars for a movie based on a cinema cult property.
The window for theatrical release before on a streaming service has shortened. Viewers are deciding to wait to watch releases at home. IF and the Ryan Gosling comedy The Fall Guy had less than spectacular openings.
Top billed Ann Taylor-Joy is not the box office draw the industry many in the industry expected. The Miami native’s career could take a hit. Studios may no longer gamble on The Queen Gambit’s drawing eyeballs to movie houses. Meanwhile, co-star Chris Hemsworth will be fine wearing tights in another MCU flick.
As a fan of the Mel Gibson Mad Max Trilogy, I would have liked to a story based on the lone survivor theme. However, given the veteran action star’s age and in particular his well publicised anger management problems, the creative team sought a fresh story more in line with present day sensibilities.
The present media frenzy points to writing off the franchise. I give it a few years, then there will be a reboot with a new director and lead actor. The Mad Max Saga has only stalled, waiting for a refuel.
Check out our Chat Cinema Podcast for all the stories and interviews.
Screened at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, the documentary The Story of Bones he recently hit the headlines of the British paper The Guardian. The feature debut from duo Joseph Curran and Dominic Aubrey de Vere is the story of a purposely hidden tragedy. The Transatlantic Slave Trade’s so called “Saviors” were not as benevolent as they appeared. On St. Helena, Annina Van Neel uncovers the island’s role in an injustice involving “freed human cargo”.
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Fashion and Movies
Cinema and fashion designers have gone hand and hand for decades. Recently, I attended a film festival event. Concerning collaborations, there was a lack of knowledge on the matter among many modern filmmakers. A costume can enhance the profile of film, Jane Fonda in 1968 Barbarella, the famous futuristic scanty pieces have become iconic designed by Paco Rabanne.
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Feeling #Vindicated
The Berlinale must have a deal with Airbnb. Another creative head is relocating to Berlin, the fourth in five years. After the September shock resignation of Chatrian, German Culture Minister Claudia Roth announced she and a replacement committee would actively seek one artistic head instead of a duo team. Minister Roth felt the festival needed a new direction after years of going to the principle office soberness. Finally, the recognition a sweeping overhaul was needed. After a long wait, I feel vindicated.
Tricia Tuttle takes charge of the film festival this spring from outgoing head Carlo Chatrian. The American born fest organiser ran the BFI London Film Festival.
This begs the question, why did the Berlinale have two heads? At the 2019 announcement, the team had the chemistry of a vegan touring a McDonald’s Burger Patty factory. In Carlo and Mariette’s defence, the two inherited a film festival in steep decline, with a resistant to change thin skinned staff structure, then the Covid Pandemic hit, not ideal situations for even the most seasoned leaders. Carlo headed the creative side, his cinema views veered more toward art house, shunning the glamour, while Mariette, a Berlin insider, would handle the admin tasks. Rissenbeek jumped in March 2023. The behind the scenes drama of the Berlinale have overshadowed the festival itself.
After budget cut announcements, fewer films, the writing was on the wall. Chatrian’s resignation, or should we say, “knifed in the stomach”, triggered a petition signing from global filmmakers lead by Martin Scorsese requesting a reversal of his decision to leave.
From A “No Go” To Being Proven Right
As a former attendee, I was to be placed me on a “no go” list for my, now proven right, 2019 Berlinale critiques. I thought major change was warranted at the February film affair. This was a festival basking in its own high-minded pretensions, yet had fallen behind both bigger and smaller cinema gatherings. The size of the festival emphasised quantity, screening up or over 300 or more films in different sections, at the expense of quality.
Berlin has never been a service friendly city. The city has been called “A service desert”. The festival lives up to this reputation. In comparison to other festivals, cinema curating was never a strong point in the German Capital. Forget about asking the Berlinale coordinators about the films showing, they were too busy telling everyone how busy they were. The way to learn if a good film was unspooling: 1. Fest gossip 2. Insider trading 3. A compass.
Tricia could be a much needed shot in the arm for the Berlinale. The powers in Germany decided on her because they want a festival on par with Cannes and Venice. Tuttle has a more commercial sense regarding cinema and certainly with a loaded rolodex of names to the creative world. Her approach will be different than the past on how to organize a cinema gathering, perhaps leaner, more glitz. However, she will have to overcome organisational challenges in trying to revive the fortunes of an increasing less relevant film festival.
The saying “Hope is the last thing ever lost.”
The 74th edition of the BERLINALE starts February 15th, 2024.
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Untapped Stories
African stories are front and center from a Guardian story on untapped stories from the continent. African filmmakers have had success on the film festival circuit, now thanks to Netflix and other streaming services, there is wider distribution of works by Africa’s cinema creative community reaching global audiences.
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A Genius Tortured
Sadly, I missed this gem of a documentary at the Berlinale. After speaking to the distributor, my interest got peaked with the intention of a follow up, but because of scheduling conflicts the film fell off the timetable. Happily, with LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING is receiving glowing reviews. The legendary performer in many ways invented musical showmanship style that was copied by Elvis and Pat Boone, then lead the way for Elton John, David Bowie and Madonna, but sadly as an African American singer in Jim Crow America, the Macon, Georgia born singer never got the credit he so deserved. All the interviews I watched with Richard, laughing, joking, the bitter twang came through. Passing away in 2020 at age 87, the world may finally catch up to a man who was way ahead of his time.
Lisa Cortes’s work arrived in cinemas this week.
After the announcements of the main awards of this year’s Berlinale, other films also deserve recognition. In the Encounters section, The Klezmer Project was directed by Leandro Koch and Paloma Schachmann. Although it did not win (Here, by Bas Devos, took the prize), The duo’s work deserves stand-alone appraisal. Leandro, a frustrated Jewish wedding cameraman in Argentina meets and falls in love with a clarinetist. To spend time with her he contrives a documentary project commission for television. This project will take him across the remotest parts of Eastern Europe.
The Klezmer Project is original in that it adds a linear fictional narrative onto what is otherwise a documentary. It also manages to do this very seamlessly to provide double interest and entertainment. The quest to find the lost klezmer melodies that have been safeguarded by the Romani people both educates and fascinates. The film was recognized by winning the GWFF society Best First Feature Award. The prize of 50,000 € guarantees the safeguarding of Film and TV rights. A Special Mention from the GWFF was also given to The Bride, directed by Myriam U. Birara and in the Forum Competition section.
Tótem, directed by Lila Aviles, played in the Competition section failed to win any of the main awards. However, this Spanish take on melodrama both charmed and delighted. A family celebrates the birthday of a young father, also a painter. Sadly, he is also facing his impending mortality. The child protagonist, played by newcomer Naíma Senties, could easily have won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance. The award went to another child protagonist Sofía Otero for 20,000 Species of Bees. Tótem, however, won the prize of the Ecumenical Jury. The well received work finished ahead of Golden Bear winner On the Adamant, awarded Special Mention at the festival.
One film in the Competition which surprisingly failed to win a prize was Limbo, directed by Ivan Sen. A detective called Travis Hurley arrives in a small Australian outback town. Staying at the Hotel Limbo, he has come to investigate a 20-year-old unsolved homicide of an Aboriginal woman. The only evidence he has is a number of tape recordings. Meanwhile, the victim’s family is reluctant to give much information, particularly to a white cop.
With patience, Travis will uncover some unpleasant truths, highlighting the injustice faced by Aboriginal Australians. Indigenous Australian film director Ivan Sen had previously won the Premiere First Movie Award at the Berlinale in 2002 for his first film Beneath Clouds. In Limbo he has created a hypnotic “desert noir” that makes excellent use of the landscapes. The choice of black and white further enhances the backdrop and static progress of narrative resolution.
A personal nod also goes to the following films: Blackberry, The Shadowless Tower (Main Competition); Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker, Kiss the Future (Berlinale Special – Out of Competition); Calls from Moscow, Notes from Eremocene, Cidade Rabat (Forum Section).
By Steve Yates
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A Belarusian Spirit
I admit when I first interviewed Aliaksei Paluyan about his film COURAGE I was a bit nervous for him. Our conversation happened after a plane was “diverted” to Minsk with a Belarusian dissident. Mr. Paluyan has a defiant spirit considering there is a nemesis only a few hours away with a long arm, thin skin with a thirst for pay back.
At the Berlinale the filmmaker introduced the new Belarusian Independent Film Academy with his fellow creative colleagues.