The 2007 Miami International Film Festival

If the 'youngish' Rodriguez (who sounds rather old) is the offspring of anti-Castro Cubans that would pretty much explain everything. For him probably simply not attacking the revolution constitutes a pro-revolution subtext.

You're probably right, but I don't know him.
THE VIOLIN (Mexico)

I can't help but feel a little nervous about MIFF director Nicole Guillemet's resignation after five years at the helm. Guillemet did a fantastic job. She certainly raised the international profile of the fest. "Ms. Guillemet can turn a small, indigenous film festival into the Cannes of the Americas" said The New York Times and yes, that's an overstatement. But the truth is that under Guillemet the festival flourished. I'm particularly appreciative of the chance to watch the type of "vanguard cinema" you find at Rotterdam and Berlin but rarely at US festivals. So, today the MIFF passed from the hands of a Parisian to another Parisian, Patrick de Bokay. He's got the right credentials alright. But I worry when he's quoted as having "a fondness for the horror genre", and rooting for Crash over Brokeback Mountain at the 2006 Oscars. Now, that's scary!

SOUND OF SAND (Bel/Fra)

HOLE (Spain)

Thanks for this thread Oscar- it is both a great reference for rarely seen flicks and indeed a momento of the fest.

I'll refer to it when some of these films cross my path.

I'm gonna try for accreditation for the 32nd TIFF- you gotta get it in early because they don't give too many "new" journalists a chance.
Here's hoping...

My pleasure. It would be a treat for all of us filmleafers if you get accreditation Johann. What I love about TIFF is how all the venues are within walking distance. I'm very curious about their press screenings. I wonder how many of the 300+ films are shown to the press prior to the fest, for instance. Anyway, good luck!
The MIFF was very rich this year in new, vanguard films that don't stand a chance to ever show on commercial screens; truly "art cinema" not what gets released under that moniker. Stuff that truly moves the medium forward and defies any expectations. I like commercial movies too and there's plenty of them at the MIFF, but what I love about festivals is the opportunity to watch challenging and original films.

FRAULEIN (Switzerland)

Sound of Sand : This director also helped write the screenplay for Frédéric Fonteyne's mournful, well-acted '30's drama of adultery La Femme de Gilles (2004), and she produced the highly regarded Denis Tanovic film No Man's Land (2001).

I can appreciate your concern about the change of directors for the Miami festival. Just the departure of the Press director of the NYFF, Graham Leggat, to head the SFIFF, meant pain for me. He seems to be doing a good job in San Francisco, but his New York press successor seemed to have had some trouble filling his shoes. Things just didn't seem to be as sharp or well handled last fall compared to the previous year under Leggat's regime. In your case, the whole character of the festival may change. But somebody else usually directs the "programming," I think, i.e., oversees the selections of films. Do you know anything about this new (French) guy? Why a French guy in Miami, by the way? I'm not sure I'd let just those two preferences spook you but this Patrick de Bokay guy seems to have a more commercial background.

re: press screenings

I don't know how the TIFF works on press screenings, but the VIFF has all of the press screenings you can handle a month prior to the festival.
Usually 5 days a week, they all begin at about 10 am and run about 4 films a day (before most of the "art" theatres begin their evenings' screenings).
Your butt can get sore.


Please check the 'ol e-mail Oscar.

Johann:
Thanks for the e-mail. If you haven't received my response let me know. Man, that's a lot of press screenings. At MIFF, it was never more than three-a-day.

Chris:
*We discussed Marion Hansel on page 2 of your "New French Films..." thread.
*During his introduction on Closing Night, de Bokay joked that he was hired because of his accent. Like Nicole, he opens his mouth and you know he's French. You hear a lot of French in Miami: there's a large Haitian community, many French ex-pats, and lots of Quebecois with second homes in South Florida.
*Programming here is by committee, but the director has a major influence. Programmer Monika Wagenberg stays with the fest and that relieves my anxiety a bit. De Bokay is well-connected and experienced but I won't relax until February '08. Will films like Juventud em Marcha, Hamaca Paraguaya, Hole, and Life can be so Wonderful continue to be included? Indeed, Bokay seems to have a more commercial background than Nicole Guillemet. Would he have brought the amazing Jean Rouch retrospective/conference that came here in '05? De Bokay doesn't "sound" like the type who'd go through the trouble.

GOD WILLING (Sweden)

I see I repeated some information you had already given about Hansel and La femme de Gilles. I get tangled up in these crisscrossing threads sometimes and I have a really hard time keeping track of people whose films I've never seen. Fougeron's Mon fils a moi might appeal to me. But you didn't go to see it? It sounds up your alley too.

If I were you I would relax about this new director. Go with the flow. He may too.

The Swedish Syrian hiphop director's name is actually Amir Chamdin, with an M. Maybe it relates to an old name for the Syrian region in Arabic, al-Sham. You've generated some interest with this thread, Oscar--it's gotten a lot more hits than your MIFF reviews or mine of the Rendez-Vous. This Chamdin film interests me, for the images and music and the Syrian angle too, though I wonder why he chooses to call himself "Juan" and thus denies his Arab origins. The Variety review, the only one of many on IMDb that's in English, is quite favorable, at least about the look of it, and the many Swedish ones suggest there's been a lot of interest, and obviously a fair amount of festival play. A new face on the festival circuit is always welcome. Finnish tango comes up again here, as in Aki Kaurismäki's new one, Lights in the Dusk. I'll have to tell my American friend Steve, the Aki Kaurismäki fan who lives in Paris with his Swedish wife. We met in Morocco, and he met her there, so there's an Arab angle for us too.

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Fougeron's Mon fils a moi might appeal to me. But you didn't go to see it? It sounds up your alley too.
I watched it during the fest proper with a large audience. I still have 20 reviews left to post.

If I were you I would relax about this new director. Go with the flow. He may too.
Ok

The Swedish Syrian hiphop director's name is actually Amir Chamdin, with an M.
Thank you very much. I've corrected the spelling.

You've generated some interest with this thread, Oscar--it's gotten a lot more hits than your MIFF reviews or mine of the Rendez-Vous.
Many locals have commented they've read my reviews. They invariably find them here and not under "Festival Coverage".

This Chamdin film interests me, for the images and music and the Syrian angle too, though I wonder why he chooses to call himself "Juan" and thus denies his Arab origins.
I was curious but couldn't find an explanation. The film plays down the immigrant character's specific background. It's really cool how the film ends with the newspaper photo that, along with his parents' romance, inspired Chamdin to make the film.

But the hits are shown, 1080 for this thread and 375 for your Festival Coverage reviews thread. If you click on a review link here, it adds a hit on the reviews thread. And there are nearly three times as many here than there Could they be pulling the wool over your eyes? 20 more reviews, gosh, you never stop. But you are actually done, then? Aren't you tired? Your last link, God Willing, doesn't work. By the way of course God willing is a common Arabic expression: insha'allah.

I forgot a key detail. I started the thread here on Feb. 20th and the one in "Fest. Coverage" on March 4th.

I still have a dozen reviews to write (but I have notes) including 2 that will be difficult to write: Drained from Brazil (because of my complex reaction to it) and Pedro Costa's Colossal Youth aka Juventud Em Marcha (because Costa is the most innovative new director around and this is my first exposure, and because others have captured the film perfectly in their reviews.)

Are you attending SFIFF this year?

SONJA (Germany)

I will attend SFIFF screenings, we'll see if I can cover as many as last year. I'll look forward especially to your Drained and Colossal Youth reviews--the problematic complex ones oft are the most interesting ones.

Chris- no replies allowed anymore on your website?

I wanted to reply to your dead-on "Sorceror's Apprentice" piece.

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
I will attend SFIFF screenings, we'll see if I can cover as many as last year.
Bravo

I'll look forward especially to your Drained and Colossal Youth reviews--the problematic complex ones oft are the most interesting ones.
For Colossal Youth, I probably will use quotes from 2 or 3 different critics who have written quite insightfully about Pedro Costa. It's the only festival review in which I feel inclined to do that. It's been a long time since a director has emerged who has inspired such admiration from the most devoted cinema freaks worldwide. I'm a novice like I said. I'm still not quite sure he's at that Kiarostami-WKW-Tarr level. Same goes for Lucrecia Martel and Carlos Reygadas. Put the Portuguese Costa is in the running. The first time I heard of him was an interview of Jacques Rivette who said Costa was "one of the greats". It took years to finally get to watch one of his films. There are two more available in Europe on dvd. Having dvds shipped from Europe is too expensive though.

THE OLD GARDEN (S. Korea)