cafebabel.com

'Taxidermia': Hungarian horror film or historical allegory?

('Jeffrey Andreoni',) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:35:42 -0000

As a Hungarian film scoops second prize at the Berlin film festival 2012, we focus on a gem from 2006. Few films lend themselves to as many readings as this film from the-then 33-year-old director György Pálfi. His second movie remains a critique of modern Hungary's history through its three generations of men

Lowdown on Bulgarian cinema in 2011

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:28:09 -0000

Of the at least dozen films released in Bulgaria this year, two were screened at the Cannes film festival whilst seven were backed by the national film council. Here’s hoping for a better 2012

Malmo, London, Berlin, Glasgow: roller girls derby in Europe

('Annie Rutherford',) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:01:18 -0000

Cat fights on wheels? Or a sport to be taken seriously? In the run up to the first ever ‘roller derby’ world championships in Toronto in early December, the women’s team sport on wheels brought to the big screen in Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut ‘Whip It’ (2009) has been steadily sweeping through Europe. To mark the film's release in Germany, a German roller girl gets on the case

Director Roozbeh Behtaji: 'Young Europeans live in an existential no-mans land'

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:43:11 -0000

The 30-year-old filmmaker and screenwriter from Gothenburg stands out, not only because he doesn't look like your average Swede, but because he dons a different hat everyday. He played a cap-wearing tourist who becomes a terror suspect because of his looks in his own debut film London Transfer. Time to find out what's under his hat

Denmark 2011 Oscar for In A Better World - but not a very Danish movie

('Juliane Dybkj\xc3\xa6r',) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:55:15 -0000

Susanne Bier’s ‘Hævnen’ is a story about blood, thirst and justice and the hard realities of life. But how did a movie about such dark subjects come out of Denmark, the country with the happiest people on earth?

'Give food a chance': culinary cinema in Berlin

('Annie Rutherford',) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:14:32 -0000

At the 61st Berlin international film festival, the 'culinary cinema' series of events drew attention to the 'relationship between film, culture, cuisine and the environment' for the fifth time. Together with menus from top chefs in the Gropius Mirror restaurant, a mixture of films about nutrition and the environment reinforce the belief of festival director Dieter Kosslick: 'Food brings people together and connects them to their surroundings'

Berlin film festival 2011: Coen brothers True Grit opener not true to Coen

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:23:14 -0000

After the road movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) and the thriller No Country For Old Men (2007) the Coen brothers are back in the deserted vastness of the American landscape. The ten-times Oscar nominated film opened the 61st Berlin film festival on 10 February

Film review: The Last Station

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:00:00 -0000

The pre-Bolshevik biopic of the Leo Tolstoy's life stars a British cast and was shot in Germany rather than Russia. A Spaniard reviews the drama, which was released in the UK in February 2010 - the centenary of the great writer's death

Film review: terrorist comedy ‘Four Lions’ by Chris Morris

('Louis',) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:08:28 -0000

The Brit’s satirical debut feature film follows a group of jihadists from the northern city of Sheffield, struggling to make an impact. To coincide with its final European release dates, another reflection on how and why Morris pokes fun at the delicate issue just five years after the 7/7 bombings

Bosnia-Herzegovina cinema: Jasmila Zbanic's 'On the Path'

('Annie Rutherford',) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:23:59 -0000

Four years ago the Bosnian director unexpectedly won the golden bear at the Berlin international film festival with her debut film. Her new work 'Na Putu' also has controversial potential, handling themes of islamism and a couple's alienation in modern-day Sarajevo

Cinema review: Danish documentary Armadillo

('Alison Frank',) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:15:00 -0000

To make this documentary, Danish director Janus Metz Pedersen spent three and a half months at the allied camp on the front lines of southern Afghanistan. There's a tenuous division between fiction and reality in a film which finds the cruel violence of the fighters unbelievable

Kinshasa Symphony: why is Mozart in Africa an alien concept?

('Annie Rutherford',) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:18:39 -0000

People passionately making music is always good film fodder. This German documentary offers a contrast to the conflicts and states of mind dealt with its 2008 predecessor 'Trip to Asia', which followed the Berlin philharmonic

Film review Germany: interns feature in 'Résiste - Aufstand der Praktikanten'

('Annie Rutherford',) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0000

'A Quantum Revolution' has been screening in German cinemas since 12 November

Film review Austria: The Bone Man is rootsy, rank and riotous

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:38:11 -0000

The world premiere of Der Knochenmann took place at the Berlin film festival on 9 February. The bittersweet crime caper, starring the unfortunate private detective Simon Brenner, provides an in-depth insight into rural Austria and its relationship with its European neighbours east of the Danube. In the Alpine republic, Brenner is something of a folk hero. Here’s why

François Ozon’s Ricky: French-Spanish baby horror

('Ole Skambraks',) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:15:00 -0000

Love gives you wings to fly - the French director takes the saying very literally in his new film. Well known for 8 Women, Ozon presents a very sober social realism, which fades more and more into a Peter Pan like Neverland

Live at the Berlinale: The International opens film festival

('Agnes Emri',) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:25:10 -0000

The 59th Berlinale kicked off on 5 February with the world premiere of Tom Tykwer’s feature, sporting a title could not be more appropriate for this renowned film event. Celebrated every February since 1978, the festival today attracts film professionals from 120 countries, 40, 000 journalists and even more movie-goers from all over the world. Review

Videos: documentary overload at the European Film Awards, Copenhagen

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:30:00 -0000

Four out of six films nominated for the Best European Film on 6 December are either documentaries or documentary-style fictions. Are European directors lacking inspiration? Plus trailers from Italy, France, Spain, Israel, Germany and the UK

Fatih Akin’s cinema: a step closer to integration

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Belonging to the homeland, the importance of education for immigration and Turkey's entry into the European Union are converging themes in 'The Edge of Heaven', the latest film by the German director