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Archive for the ‘Film Celebrities’ Category

As reported by several film festival news publications, the 25^th edition of the Braunschweig International Film Festival shall honor noted French actress Isabelle Huppert with the European Actors Award, also known as “The Europa”. The awards committee of the Braunschweig International Film Festival has chosen Huppert for the honor in recognition of her lifetime achievements in the field of cinema and her outstanding role in the development of European film culture. Huppert will receive this award during the Braunschweig International Film Festival Awards ceremony which shall be held in Braunschweig’s State Theatre. Volkswagen Financial Services AG, which is also the primary sponsor for the 25^th Braunschweig International Film Festival, shall also be sponsoring this particular award.

Online Film Blog: Isabella Huppert’s Iconic Stature in European Cinema

“Isabelle Huppert is an icon of contemporary auteur cinema“, says festival director Volker Kufahl, “We are proud and happy to welcome this exceptional actress, who gives every role her distinctive expression.”

Huppert is considered as one of the greatest actresses in world cinema. To this day she has played in more than 80 films, 16 of which were selcted for the official competition in Cannes – a record. She is the only Frenchwoman to have been awarded the Golden Palm of Cannes twice: in 1978 for the Claude Chabrol directed “Violette Nozière”, who she worked with in seven films, and 2001 for ”The Piano Teacher” by Michael Haneke, for which she also received the European Film Award.

The list of directors she has collaborated pretty much resembles a who’s who of European arthouse cinema: André Techiné, Jean-Luc Godard, Andrzej Wajda, Marco Ferreri, the Taviani brothers and many more. The Paris-born actress became famous for her role in in Claude Goretta’s “The Lacemaker” which earned her a César and a BAFTA Award.

Hupperts Films being Screened at The Braunschweig International Film Festival

The Braunschweig International Film Festival will show Goretta’s drama as part of a retrospective with “The Piano Teacher” (director: Michael Haneke, A/F/D 2001), “8 Women” (François Ozon, 2002), “Comedy of Power” (Claude Chabrol, F/D 2006), “White material” (Claire Denis, F/Kamerun 2009), ”Villa Amalia“ (Benoît Jacquot, F/CH 2009) and “Copacabana” (F 2010) by Marc Fitoussi, where she co-stars with her daughter Lolita Chammah.

History of the Europa Award at the Braunschweig International Film Festival

Since 2007 the Braunschweig International Film Festival has awarded the “European Actors Award”, aka the Europa. Former prize winners include noted thespians such as Bruno Ganz, Stellan Skarsgård, Hanna Schygulla and John Hurt. Isabelle Huppert has already worked together with the latter two: in Marco Ferreri’s “Storia di Piera” she is Hanna Schygulla’s daughter (first Europa winner 2007), and in Michael Cimino’s late western ”Heaven’s Gate” she plays a business savvy prostitute next to John Hurt (Europa winner 2009).

For regular updates on the world of film festivals, and film festival reviews and news, including more on the Braunschweig International Film Festival, keep reading our online film blog.

Spike Lee, born Shelton Jackson Lee in Atlanta Georgia and brought up primarily in New York (Brooklyn), needs no introduction. We have already provided a brief snapshot of Spike Lee’s career and of this body of work. Speaking of which, here’s the lowdown on the films we judged to be seven of his best.

Best of Spike Lee: The Top 7

Do The Right Thing (1989): This comic drama tells the story of a day in Brooklyn, when interracial tensions flare up during the hottest day of the year. Race relations would continue to be a recurring theme or backdrop in Lee’s works throughout his career. This film stars Spike Lee in the lead role, with Danny Aiello and John Turturro in key-roles.

Mo Better Blues (1990): Denzel Washington stars in one of his best roles to date as fictional jazz trumpeteer Bleek Gilliam. The film follows Gilliam’s life through a phase where he makes all the wrong decisions in his musical career as well as his personal relationships, focusing on the themes of friendship, honesty, consequences and ultimately coming-of-age.

Malcolm X (1992): Spike Lee’s somewhat controversial biopic showcases the life and times of Malcolm X. Starting from his boyhood to his rise as perhaps the most chrismatic spokesperson for the Civil Rights movement, this movie doesn’t hesitate to starkly portray the racial attitudes in mid-20th Century America.

Jungle Fever (1991): The narrative weaves itself around a poignant and ill-fated interracial love story between an African American man and an Italian-American woman. Starring Wesley Snipes and Annabella Sciorra in lead roles.

Crooklyn (1994) is a semi-autobiographical film co-written and directed by Spike Lee. The film takes place in Brooklyn, where Lee grew up, particularly the neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant during the summer of 1973. The plot is built around a young girl, Troy ( Zelda Harris), and her family. As the film progresses, Troy learns life lessons through her four brothers, her loving but stern mother (Alfre Woodard), and her father (Delroy Lindo).

Girl 6 (1996): A movie about the life of a young aspiring actress (Theresa Randle) who prefers working as a phone sex operator in order to make ends meet, rather than give in to the infamous casting couch. Guest starring Quentin Tarantino as himself.

25th Hour (2002): This Spike Lee film depicts the last 24 hours in the life of a New York drug dealer (played by Edward Norton) before his 7 year jail term begins.

Spike Lee has made several other films, and seeing as he’s yet to retire from the business, it is perhaps safe to say that we haven’t yet seen the best of Spike Lee. Keep checking this online film blog for updates on the latest industry goings-on and and film festival news.

In the veritable film factory that’s Hollywood, there have been a few film-makers who have left an indelible hand-print of a legacy spanning decades. Fewer still, of this select breed, have a body of work that’s as influential and thought provoking — yet controversial — as Spike Lee. Over the span of his career, the maverick film-maker’s movies have vividly covered topics as wide-ranging as race relations, the role played by media in contemporary life, ghetto crime and poverty, and even far-reaching political issues. Lee’s films have received widespread critical acclaim, earning him numerous awards including an Emmy; he has also been nominated for the Oscars on two occasions.

Spike Lee has made films across genres, but they have all been pioneering in their gritty approach towards issues pertaining to the sociopolitical milieu of mixed race America and offer a fresh perspective on race, class and gender stereotypes in modern-day America.

Spike Lee: The Making of a Legend

Born Shelton Jackson Lee in 1957 in Atlanta Georgia to a jazz musician and an art teacher, Lee’s parents moved base to Brooklyn when he was very young. His years growing up there have had a major impact on his movies, with Brooklyn serving as a backdrop for many of the movies made by Spike Lee. His was a precocious talent recognized as early as his sting at NYU as a film student; the short film he made for his thesis won the Student Academy Award for best director in 1983.

His lauded debut film, She’s Gotta Have It, completed its 25^th anniversary recently.  This movie, which also starred Spike Lee as a major character, was released in 1986. Shot in 12 days on a shoestring budget of USD 175,000, She’s Gotta Have It was written, produced and directed by Spike Lee.  The film stars Tracy Camilla Jones as Nora Darling, a young, confident African American career woman who is juggling three lovers, none of whom she’s able to commit to. Spike Lee himself co-starred as one of the three men in Nora’s life.

Breaking Molds & Courting Controversies, the Spike Lee way

She’s Gotta Have It, while a simple drama-comedy on the surface, was a pioneering film in its non-stereotypical portrayal of urban, intelligent African-American characters and was part of the 80s independent movie movement. The film, and Lee himself, became cause célèbre among the African-American community, who found She’s Gotta Have It to be a welcome departure from the then prevalent blaxploitation style of movies that were typically made to target the African-American viewers.  Besides accolades from moviegoers and critics alike, the film won the Prix de Jeuness at the Cannes Film Festival for the best film by a newcomer.

Even greater acclaim, however, was reserved for Malcolm X, the 1992 biopic made by Spike Lee on the legendary civil rights activist; many consider that movie to be his greatest to date. The 195 length film chronicles the rise of Malcolm X from his early childhood to the most charismatic spokesperson of the Civil Rights movement, to his assassination. Through the gritty film, Spike Lee paints a stark picture of the racially bigotry America prevalent during the 1950s and ’60s.

However, the same critics who’ve lauded Spike Lee for taking African-American cinema out of the stereotypical mold also point out that Lee has been guilty of being formulaic in his portrayal of Jews and Italians; some have even gone as far to accuse him of antisemitism and racism. His 2001 television series on the life of Black Panthers Society founder Huey P. Newton was one of his more controversial works, which nevertheless solidified his image as one of the more radical and maverick figures in the American film industry and added to the aura of the legend of Spike lee.

This was a glimpse of the remarkable career of the ground breaking career of the director and producer Spike Lee. There will be more on him and his works on this online film blog in the near future, so stay tuned.

First started in 1998 the Maine International Film Festival (MIFF) was an a stage to honor great American cinema & cinema artist by  Maine Film Center. Maine Film Center is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enrich, educate and entertain Maine communities through film and art. A 10 day festival were more than 100  best films  show n which represents the best of American independent and international cinema.

This year’s event which started from 15^th July 2011 and will be concluding on 24^th of July. The highlight of this year’s event was the honoring of veteran actor Malcolm McDowell.

Malcolm, 67, was awarded mid-lifetime achievement award on 16^th July. MIFF also arranged special screening to honor and educate his contribution to the younger generations. The films screened includes “A Clockwork Orange,” “Never Apologize” and “Assassin of the Tsar.”

Past recipients of Mid-Life Achievement award include Terrence Malick, Walter Hill, Jonathan Demme, Ed Harris, Lili Taylor.

The festival which is in its 14^th year is organized at Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville and Given Auditorium.

The beautiful Angelina Ristorante in Future, with its water view, was the scene of the celebrity of the sixth annual Film Festival Staten Island and sponsor of the party last night.

Celebrities Island, Fred Cerullo, president and CEO of the Grand Central Partnership, and the “Biggest Loser” runner-up in Alfredo (Frade) leading cable network and the hillside Todt were familiar face was visible last night. And the 1980 theme of the evening, a few other familiar faces – through the double – has become popular in the decade of icons like Michael Jackson, Madonna and Cyndi Lauper.

“You have a great history here,” announced Donna Maxon, aka The Divine Miss M when I switch on the base. More than 150 supporters and guests present, said Executive Director Cesar Claro, the Staten Island Economic Development Corp., which organizes the festival.

Organizers and sponsors said making the showings free this year “has people very excited and it’s an incentive that is really appealing to the public,” noted Jeannine Marotta, festival director.

Sally Ann Bartels of National Grid, an event sponsor, noted the festival can have an educational purpose with films like the dynamic documentary “Sing Your Song,” which gives young people a chance to know entertainer Harry Belafonte beyond his song “Day-O.”

Visitors got the opportunity to munch on hors d’oeuvres underneath a white tent and listen to a live band. They also got to see performers like David Lenson, 17, of New Dorp, aka Michael Jackson, bust moves for the crowd dressed in a red leather “Thriller” outfit.

In accord with the 1980s theme, Claro said his favorite song was Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon,” and Cerullo said he loves John Hughes’ movies “because they have a real message,” similar, in a way, to what the film festival provides.

“This is really an opportunity for us to put Staten Island in an amazingly positive light, in contrast to how people think we are when what they see on TV is not great works of art, it’s ‘Jersey Shore’ and ‘Mob Wives,’ and those things don’t really portray who we really are.”

Canadian movie stars went to Ottawa on Thursday to celebrate the success of Canadian films.

Ironically, although the three main candidates for the stars, all foreigners, did not appear at the Genie Awards Ceremony at the National Arts Centre.

As expected, Paul Giamatti, who has been designated as the main actor for his performance in the title role in Barney’s Version, unable to travel to Ottawa.

Neither did Dustin Hoffman, who was nominated as best supporting actor for his role as Barney’s father. Minnie Driver, who was nominated as best supporting actress in the same film, was also not in Ottawa, although it had been announced that she would appear.

On the red carpet, Barney’s Version producer Robert Lantos, who has been on the road since October to support the film, said it had been well-received at home and abroad.

Asked about Giamatti, who won a Golden Globe for best actor as the roguish Barney, Lantos said the actor was in Detroit.

“Paul is shooting a movie for George Clooney until 3 in the morning, and, short of persuading George to shut down his production, there was no way to do it. Paul could be here, but it wouldn’t be until 5 a.m.,” Lantos said.

Hoffman was also occupied, shooting an HBO film called Luck, Lantos said.

“We tried to get him to come, but HBO didn’t think the Genies are worth shutting down their production.”

In all Barney’s Version was nominated for 11 Genies, including best film, followed by Incendies with 10 nominations. Incendies was also nominated for a best foreign language film at the Academy Awards.

This was the 31st annual Genie Awards. Many in the industry noted that these Genies marked how much the Canadian film industry had grown and thrived.

“It’s a great cultural event. It shows Canada off in all aspects,” said host William Shatner, one of the last celebrities to hit the red carpet before the Genie Awards show began. Shatner later quipped that he liked to stand in front of a refrigerator to prepare for visits to his native land.

Ottawa-born Jay Baruchel, who grew up in Montreal, was nominated for lead actor for his role in The Trotsky, the story of a Montreal teen who claims to be the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky. Baruchel has also appeared in U.S. films, including Knocked Up; she’s out of My League and Million Dollar Baby. He is currently shooting a hockey film called Goon.

“This is where it’s happening,” he said of Canada as he arrived at the NAC wearing high-top sneakers.

“I’m just having all of this Canadian pride,” said British Columbia-born Amanda Crew, who was starred in a number of successful U.S. films, including She’s the Man and Sex Drive.

Incendies director Denis Villeneuve said he was thrilled and excited to be at the Genies. Asked about the preponderance of nominated films shot or produced in Quebec -four of the five best-film nominees were produced or shot there -he said that, because of language and cultural differences, the province was “not a U.S. territory like the rest of Canada.

“The French Canadian media are behind their artists all the time, which is not the case in English Canada. If I got to a film festival, I made headlines all over Quebec.”

Belgian actress Lubna Azabal arrived in a beaded black Dior gown, looking much more glamorous than her difficult role in Incendies. Many of the actresses wore short dresses, perhaps because it was rainy winter day. Actress Rachelle Lefebvre (Barney’s Version) arrived in a teal gown topped by a parka.

Azabal, nominated for a best actress Genie, admitted she didn’t know much about the Canadian film industry, just a few directors.

“If I fall in love with a project, I’ll do it,” she said. “If it’s in India, I’ll go to India. That’s why I love cinema. There are no borders.”

Emily VanCamp, who grew up in Port Perry, Ont., and starred in the miniseries Ben Hur and Brothers and Sisters, now lives in Los Angeles.

“The industry is just over there,” he said. “There’s a certain point where you have to move, but the movies are amazing facts here.”

Tropfest, the largest festival of short films, announced today that is bringing the world-famous festival in the Middle East and North Africa. The new event, Tropfest Arabia, will premiere in Abu Dhabi in November 2011 with great prizes on offer.

Award poolavailable include cash prizes of $ 15,000, $ 10,000 and $ 5,000, a trip to Los Angeles the week facilitated meetings with senior executives of the journey of the film industry in Australia to attend Tropfest 2012, the opportunity to work with producers established and directors of regional production, may be an international standard training sessions provided twofour54 tadreeb and get the latest production and post production twofour54 intaj.

Tropfest Arabia aims to become one of the most influential and popular short film in the cinema calendar in the region. One of his priorities will be to help fill the community in the region film growth by adopting a basic approach and support the talent that would otherwise be excluded from festivals in the region.

One of Australia’s and New York’s most iconic cultural events, Tropfest was founded by the award winning actor and director John Polson, as a short film festival for friends and family at the Tropicana Café in Sydney, Australia almost 20 years ago. Today it is a world class platform and is widely regarded for its support of new film making talent through festivals and film maker initiatives. Tropfest Australia 2011 takes place on 20th February.

Commenting on the launch of Tropfest Arabia, John Polson, founder of Tropfest said: “It is clear that over the last few years the short film industry has been growing throughout the Middle East. As this industry continues to develop so too does the need to provide budding film makers with a channel through which to showcase their creative talents. We hope that the introduction of Tropfest Arabia will do just this.”

Criteria for entering Tropfest Arabia are that the film must be made specifically for the festival, with the first public screening happening during the event. Each film must be no more than seven minutes long (including credits) and must contain a specific object, known as the Tropfest Signature Item (TSI).

Each year filmmakers wait with anticipation for the announcement of the coming festival’s Tropfest Signature Item. Some of the films entered are heavily inspired by the Item and others have only small and sometimes hidden references to it. The Tropfest Signature Item is designed to test the creativity of professional and amateur filmmakers by challenging them to reference it in their film. The signature item for the first running of Tropfest Arabia will be ‘STAR’.

Aspiring film makers across the region can submit their entries to Tropfest Arabia until 22nd September 2011. Judging will commence on 1st October 2011, with the 12 short-listed finalist films picked by a specialist jury announced on 16th October 2011. Those short listed films will then be premiered and screened at the Tropfest Arabia festival in Abu Dhabi, with a celebrity jury seeing the films live for the first time and picking the winner for 2011 at the beginning of November.

In order to be eligible to submit an entry, participants must be a citizen of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region including Algeria, Bahrain , Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen. Entrants must conform to the religious, cultural and political sensitivities of the region and films must be appropriate for public screening in Abu Dhabi.

Support for Tropfest twofour54 main sponsor is Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi government initiative to develop a world-class Arabic media content creation and entertainment.

A large number of benefits to go along with being a celebrity. At the Sundance Film Festival, which includes a trip to the Often-buzz-on gift suites?

America Ferrera, Rick Fox, and Chaske Spencer of “Twilight” are some of the celebrities who hit up after GBK gifts this season. The suite is filled with everything from watches Puma serum Revitalash eyelash extension and a new hair conditioner thickens.

Utahn Christine Heathman represented that line and the Glymed Plus skin care line. Glymed handed out silver bags stocked with four of its specialty products. “It has been great coverage for us because being a professional company we don’t have that exposure of over the counter,” Heathman said.

Many of the products centered on beauty – skin care and hair care. SH-RD is a new line from Taiwan. Celebrities at Sundance got first crack at the protein cream.

Handbags, jewelry and art also were up for grabs.

Christie Communications promoted a philosophy as well as a product. All of its products are green, organic, and natural and give back to the community.

“What we’re doing is influencing the influencers,” Christie says. “So, we feel if we can teach them to shop organically or consider the impact they make as a brand themselves as a celeb, we can change the world together.”

Retailers are hoping their giveaways pay off with a celebrity endorsement, a news story, word of mouth — whatever makes their product the next big thing.

Near Main Street at the Talent Resources gifting suite, celebrities like Anne Heche, Carmen Electra, rapper Lil Jon and baseball players Dustin Pedroia and Andre Ethier stopped by to check out a variety of gifts, including cookies from Wonderland Bakery.

A bakery representative told KSL celebrity endorsements can translate to a huge boost in sales. Gifting suites also give businesses the opportunity to make connections that can help to grow their company.

Enticement to suites is difficult to find. They are generally those in the entertainment industry. But the public will be less frequently encountered Gifts on Main Street. These include hats, shirts, movie posters and other memorabilia.

Life Time Achievement Awards ninth edition Pune International Film Festival (Piff) gives the veteran actor Saira Banu and Shashikala. Noted filmmaker Subhash Ghai is given a special award for his contribution to the film industry.

It also ex post facto, Kamal Hassan is a great player, during the festival. eight-day festival will begin Thursday at Ganesh Kala Rangmanch Krid at 16:30.

Sachin Dev Burman The international award for creating music and sound, which began last year, will be conferred on the legendary music director Khayyam. The awards will be presented at the opening ceremony.

Award-winning Russian film, Silent Soul, will be the opening film.

This year, more than 200 films from all over the world will be screened. The festival will have films in various categories which will be competing for cash awards in the World Competition section, Marathi Competition section and Whistling Woods Student Competition section.

The World Competition section will have 14 films, Marathi Competition section will have 7 films and in the Student section 38 films will be screened and will be judged by an international jury.

PIFF director Jabbar Patel said, “For the World Cinema competition this year, we had got 348 entries, of them 14 films were selected. Historical cinema is the main thrust this year. Since this is the 50th year of the noted film, Mughal-e-Azam, it will be screened at the fest.’’

This year is the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and to mark the occasion, five of his films will be screened.

The country in focus this year will be Japan. More than 30 Japanese films will be screened. Film Division Division of the screen a documentary series.

The films will be screened at six locations, Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch, E-Square, Inox, Fame (Fatimanagar), City Pride (Kothrud) and R Deccan.



Damascus international jeweler and watchmaker in the Middle East had a huge presence both on the first of 7th Dubai International Film Festival and the following night in an event with stars, adds glamorous as its official Jeweler and partner of the People’s Choice Award.

The collections of the legendary jeweler of choice was selective long list of celebrities wearing fabulous pieces on both nights as Hala Sarhan, one of the biggest celebrities in the Arab world, Egypt, has praised Egypt Libliba actress who received the honorary award Murex life last year, Egyptian actress Mai Al-Sharif, the talented and charming actress and singer Sherine Adel Egyptian and Syrian actress Kandaleft Dima.

Anan Fakhreddin, CEO of Damas, said, “Damas is proud to be showcased in Dubai’s leading film related event of the year. As UAE‘s most acclaimed jeweler and a home grown brand present in over 13 countries today across the world, we fully support the further development of the creative industries in the Emirates and across the region, and take pride in showcasing our world renowned collections at DIFF.”

“Both on the opening night and on the following night of the DIFF 2010 well known celebrities adorned themselves with Damas collections, while six beautiful models collectively showcased our stunning one of a kind jeweler, attracting a lot of attention from guests attending the event, including a number of regional and international celebrities. Our glamorous range of gold, diamond and pearl collections effortlessly matches the international status of the event,” Fakhreddin added.

He added, “Both DIFF and Damas recognize the power of creativity. While the DIFF showcases the power of art through film, Damas acknowledges the art of beauty and the beauty of art through its special one of a kind collections and pieces. It takes a lot of effort and time to craft beautiful jewellery for our discerning customers who instantly feel special and unique.”

The seventh edition of the Dubai International Film Festival 2010 will take place 12 to 19 December 2010, along with Dubai Studio City.