#247. Skoop : Talentime [2009] at 33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival

Like in Mukhsin (31HKIFF), Talentime opens upon a classroom setting and like in Sepet, there is a forbidden interracial romance. But the similarities end there, as this latest work from Yasmin Ahmad is more of a tapestry of Malaysia that weaves the different lives of students from multiple ethnicities as they prepare for an inter-school talent competition. Hafiz, a Muslim whose mother is gravely ill, is a folk balladeer. The handsome Indian boy Mahesh is deaf but is secretly in love with Melur, a pianist from well-do-parents. This students, as well as their classmates, teachers and family members, make up the film's sweetly tragicomic universe.

Screenings
Date: 25 Mar 2009
Time: 7:15 PM
Code: 25GC3E1
Venue: The Grand Cinema

Date: 29 Mar 2009
Time: 5:45 PM
Code: 29UQ3E1
Venue: UA Times Square

The 29 March screening will be attended by the director, Yasmin Ahmad.
Tickets available at http://urbtix_msg.cityline.com.hk
Source ~ http://www.hkiff.org.hk

Buat teman-teman di HK Univ (Farah, Gabriel Chu, Michelle Yaw, Alex Wui, Brandilicious, Mata Sepet dan Bintang 3-555) harap dapat menonton filem ini bersama dan jika berkesempatan bolehlah bertemu dgn Kak Min pada 29 March nanti di UA Times Square HK.

Buat Kak Min, Maya doakan kejayaan Talentime dalam merebut anugerah SIGNIS Awards yang juga mencalonkan filem hebat yang lain seperti No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti, Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Lonely Tunes of Tehran, Deep in the Valley, Treeless Mountain, The Blue Bird, Once Upon a Time in Rio, Vaclav, The Rainbow Troops, Mid August Lunch dan Quiet Chaos.

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#203. Berita Filem : 'Lymelife' to open Gen Art festival

The Gen Art Film Festival has announced the slate for its 14th annual edition. Running April 1-7, the fest will feature new movies starring Paul Dano, Alec Baldwin and Cynthia Nixon, among others. The fest's feature lineup includes:

"Lymelife," starring Alec Baldwin, Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin, and Cynthia Nixon, will open the series on April 1. Pic from helmer Derick Martini, about a teenager's coming of age on Long Island during an outbreak of Lyme disease, opens in limited release on April 8, expanding April 17.

"Gigantic," directed by Matt Aselton, follows a mattress store worker, played by Paul Dano, trying to adopt a Chinese baby. Pic opens in theaters April 3.

"Peter and Vandy," helmed by Jay DiPietro, is a Manhattan-based love story told out of sequence, with Jason Ritter, Jesse L. Martin and Tracie Thoms.

"My Suicide," by director David Lee Miller, follows a teenager named Archie who films his life as a high schooler. Pic features Gabriel Sunday, David Carradine and Mariel Hemingway.

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#85. Banking thriller opens Berlin film festival

Wed Feb 4, 6:17 pm ET
Mike Collett-White

BERLIN (Reuters) – The Berlin film festival opens on Thursday with "The International," a thriller starring Clive Owen as an Interpol agent investigating the dubious practices of one of the world's most powerful banks.

Festival director Dieter Kosslick has said that the choice of opening movie was fortuitous, given the global banking crisis gripping the Western world.

"If we had showed this film six months ago, a lot of people wouldn't have believed it," he said recently. "But now it might come across to some as a sort of documentary film."

The International, directed by Tom Tykwer, kicks off 11 days of screenings, red carpet glamour, celebrity spotting and publicity in Berlin, the first of the three big European film festivals each year. The others are Cannes and Venice.

The German city has earned a reputation for tough, hard-hitting cinema, and 2009 will be no exception.

In the main competition "Storm" examines the legacy of war in former Yugoslavia while "Mammoth" tackles issues of globalization and economic migrants.

Director Rachid Bouchareb, who made the critically acclaimed war drama "Days of Glory," brings "London River," about two people in London trying to find their children who go missing after the public transport bombings of July 7, 2005.

EXPLOITATION, ENVIRONMENT

Outside the main competition, Michael Winterbottom presents "The Shock Doctrine," a documentary based on a book by Naomi Klein arguing that people in power around the world exploit war and disaster to push through their agendas.

"Rachel" is a documentary that investigates the death in 2003 of U.S. activist Rachel Corrie, fatally run down by an Israeli bulldozer as she tried to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian building.

And Hollywood actor and green campaigner Leonardo DiCaprio is expected to attend the Cinema for Peace gala during the festival to promote awareness of environmental issues.

But unlike some years, Berlin has more than its fair share of comedy and romance.

"Pink Panther 2," starring Steve Martin as the hapless Inspector Clouseau, has its international premiere.

The last-minute addition of 1950s comedy "My One and Only," featuring Oscar winner Renee Zellweger, will also turn up the star power on the red carpet, ensuring Berlin the kind of media exposure a film festival needs to thrive.

And 1920s romance "Cheri" reunites director Stephen Frears with actress Michelle Pfeiffer more than 20 years after their collaboration on "Dangerous Liaisons."

Berlin also hosts a major market where titles are bought and sold, and this year's European Film Market will provide further clues as to how the international movie business is withstanding the global financial crisis.

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