film
'Desi Boyz' and a German girl: welcome to bollywood
By staying in a salvation army hostel in India one European traveller did not expect it to also be an agency recruiting white extras for bollywood stardom. So, are glitter, rhinestones and bared white skin the essence of a bollywood star?
French actress and singer Melanie Laurent’s directorial debut: ‘The Adopted’
At the age of 28, the actress and singer released her first film as a director, ‘Les Adoptés’, on 23 November in her native France. Do all good things come in threes? Film review
film, cinema, culture, mélanie laurent, love, chronicle, culture calendar
Malmo, London, Berlin, Glasgow: roller girls derby in Europe
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
film, sport, cinema, lifestyle, best of cafebabel.com, men and women, europe
Are men dominant or dominated? View from Super France
With the release of the 'anti-male' documentary Masculine Domination in November 2009, the debate regarding the crisis in masculinity has flared up in the French media. But we are still far from the 'masculinist' theses which originated in America. Perspective from early 2010
film, parity, cinema, masculinity, documentary, men and women, france
Director Roozbeh Behtaji: 'Young Europeans live in an existential no-mans land'
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
film, european identity, identity, cinema, roozbeh behtaji, brunch, poitiers
Giacomo Abbruzzese: 'I’m no longer able to make a film without talking about Palestine'
The Italian director's short film Archipelago (2010) explores the West Bank from its various forms of transport. The arduous journey from Ramallah to Jerusalem and back highlights the absurdity of the situation that Israel and Palestine have been in for decades. Interview
film, cinema, middle east, brunch, palestine occupied territory, culture
Gallery
Berlin film festival 2011: Coen brothers True Grit opener not true to Coen
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, cinema, festivals, culture, film review, berlin, culture calendar
Jacek Borcuch, Poland’s 2011 Oscar candidate: 'America doesn’t impress me'
'All That I Love' by the 40-year-old Polish director is one of 65 films competing for an oscar in the 2011 'best foreign language film' category. It is a nostalgic childhood tale about growing up with a punk rock band in a Poland under martial law
film, warsaw, cinema, brunch, jacek borcuch, poland, culture
Mario Monicelli: 'commedia all’italiana encompassed everything from love to death'
The 93-year-old Italian director and father of the ‘commedia all’Italiana’ film genre, on the power of cinema which ‘acts like a mirror, tells a story, but doesn’t preach’.
film, italy, mario monicelli, cinema, paris, brunch, tragödie
Bosnia-Herzegovina cinema: Jasmila Zbanic's 'On the Path'
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
film, culture, bosnia and herzegovina, jasmila žbanič, film review, culture calendar, islamophobia
Film dubbing is not only stupid and evil
It's also wrong and economically counterproductive, says a UK-based, Italian member of the gang behind the latest blog on cafebabel.com, from the European youth cinema network Nisi Masa
film, cinema, languages, culture, quentin tarantino, blog review
Cannes film festival: three flicks and arty Palme to look out for
The glamorous European movie marathon wrapped on 23 May with the Golden Palme d'Or going to Thailand for the first time. Artistically, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives was the most daring film of the competition and the closest to jury president Tim Burton's fantastic universe
film, cinema, thailand, culture, quentin tarantino, culture calendar, cannes
Julie Gray: Europe scriptwriting Hollywood
An average 90 minutes film will consist of 90 to 100 pages of A4. Of the daily lorryload of unsolicited scripts that Hollywood film production offices receive, only one in every hundred scripts will be looked at. The LA-based scriptwriting consultant is in Oxford to talk tips, trends and Hollywood disappointment
Cinema law: rude case to not dub and subtitle all films in Catalan
Tradition, money and marginalisation lie behind the rejection of the proposed ‘Ley de Cine’, which stipulates that 50% of all films in the region must be subtitled or dubbed in Catalan. When in early February, over 75% of cinemas across Catalonia shut their doors in protest, the people seemed to agree
film, cinema, culture, barcelona, culture calendar, catalan, spain
Krystof Hadek: 'foreign characters played by English-speaking actors? Disappointing'
In the last month the 27-year-old Czech actor has picked up accolades at the Berlin film festival (one of the ten 'shooting stars' in Europe) and a Czech Lion for 'best actor'. We talk fame, acting genes and language in European cinema
film, cinema, brunch, kryštof hádek, czech republic, berlinale, film festival
The Europeans nominated for the more 'random' Oscars 2010
There's a tendency to focus on which Europeans snag the best film or best actress prizes - but here's a trailer run down of the less famed contenders vying for other Oscars from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which takes place at the Kodak Theatre on 7 March
film, cinema, culture, quentin tarantino, culture calendar, film festival, oscars
Kinshasa Symphony: why is Mozart in Africa an alien concept?
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, culture, music, film review, berlin, culture calendar, berlinale
Florian Lukas: no more 'best mate characters' for the 'Good Bye Lenin!' star
He picked up a Deutscher Filmpreis for his role as the fake newsreader with a stick-on moustache who brought the GDR back to life after the wall had fallen in the 2003 cult hit. Seven years on, the 36-year-old is back, this time playing the sensitive lover of a German-born Turk. We grab the actor at the 2010 Berlin film festival
film, cinema, good bye lenin, culture, berlin, culture calendar, florian lukas
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