Movies

The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has undertaken the massive task of restoring 5,000 priceless classics of Indian cinema. The initiative is already bearing fruit with Satyajit Ray’s “Pratidwandi” (“The Adversary”) being screened at Cannes Classics and “Shatranj Ke Khilari” (“The Chess Players”) at Venice Classics this year. The NFAI set up the National

This year, the Turin region hosted two Hollywood blockbusters, Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” and Louis Leterrier’s “Fast X,” the 10th movie of the “Fast & Furious” franchise, as well as major TV productions, such as HBO series “My Brilliant Friend.” Local productions featured at the Cannes and Venice film festivals, and at this week’s Torino Film

This year, the Turin region hosted two Hollywood blockbusters, Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” and Louis Leterrier’s “Fast X,” the 10th movie of the “Fast & Furious” franchise, as well as major TV productions, such as HBO series “My Brilliant Friend.” Local productions featured at the Cannes and Venice film festivals, and at this week’s Torino Film

Disney’s “Strange World” bombed at the box office over Thanksgiving, leaving the studio to mop up oceans, mountains and terrains of red ink. The animated feature debuted dramatically behind expectations with $11.9 million from 4,174 North American theaters over the weekend and $18.6 million over the five-day holiday frame. Before projections were revised downward, the movie was

A roster of top international and Indian companies feature in a film technology exhibition at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. Exhibitors include Sony, Canon, Hansa, Technicolour, Shashi, Prasad, Fujifilm, TechnoCine, Zeiss, Cineom, Tinu, Aputure, SRSG, Eizo, 360VFRX and Silence Acoustics. In addition, Amazon Prime Video has a section within the exhibition devoted

The burgeoning Bangladesh film industry made an impact at both South Asian film market Film Bazaar and the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. Bangladesh feature film “Agantuk” (aka “The Stranger”) by Biplob Sarkar was named as unanimous winner of the Prasad DI award, conferred by the Film Bazaar Recommends jury in Goa. Besides Sarkar, there

Filmmaker Reza Dormishian has been barred by Iranian authorities from traveling to the International Film Festival of India in Goa, where “A Minor,” a film he produced was due to play in competition. He is only the latest member of Iran’s film community to be sanctioned by the Iranian regime for expressing anti-government views. Dormishian

Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” Roman Polanski’s “The Palace,” “The Son” with Anthony Hopkins, and “Golda” with Helen Mirren are among the theatrical releases lined up for the rest of this year and next year for Italy’s 01 Distribution. Paolo Del Brocco, CEO of the distributor’s

Horror-comedy has held Indian audiences in thrall since the early 2000s, with more than 100 films in the genre being released. Amar Kaushik’s “Bhediya” (literally “wolf”), Bollywood’s first creature comedy, despite its punishing length, is a terrifically entertaining romp through the jungles of Northeastern India that delivers pro-environment and anti-racism messages and also has the

Albert Pyun, a genre filmmaker whose sweeping body of work includes cult favorites such as “Cyborg,” “The Sword and the Sorcerer,” “Nemesis” and the 1989 “Captain America,” died Saturday in Las Vegas, Nev. He was 69 years old. Pyun had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and dementia a few years ago. In the past months,

The team behind Berlinale winner “Baqyt” (“Happiness”), which is at the International Film Festival of India, Goa, has a range of projects lined up. “Hunger,” by “Happiness” director Askar Uzabayev, deals with the subject of impending famine in Kazakhstan. The film, which has just wrapped, is produced by Anna Katchko, whose credits include “Harmony Lessons”

Dilip Kumar, widely considered at one of India’s greatest actors, will be honored with a bespoke, heritage festival that launches next month. The Dilip Kumar Hero of Heroes festival will be held on Dec. 10 and 11 to mark the centenary of the star’s birth. Kumar (aka Yusuf Khan) died in July last year, age

Antonio Banderas has expressed renewed interest in returning for another “Zorro” film. Speaking with Comicbook.com, the actor shared that he’d be open to helping another hero take on the mantle. “Yes, I would, I would consider that possibility, why not?” Banderas said when asked about returning for a potential follow-up. “If they called me to

More than a decade after “Shrek” prequel/spinoff “Puss in Boots,” the flamboyant feline is up to his old tricks — but has yet to meet the computer-animated ogre whose party he’s destined to crash in “Shrek 2.” As that series wore on, the “Shrek” franchise took on so many popular side characters that by the

When I saw Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” at the Toronto Film Festival in September, I absolutely loved it. And while I never expected the film to be some breakout smash, my hope for it — and my cautiously optimistic prediction — is that it would find a hook into the culture. I assumed that a drama

Kjersti Paulsen was named the winner of the Semiramis Award for excellence in casting for her work on “The Innocents,” directed by Norway’s Eskil Vogt, at a ceremony Saturday at Torino Film Festival. The psychological thriller about four kids who suddenly discover they have hidden powers celebrated its world premiere at Cannes, with Variety’s Jessica

Team Purple, with its newly minted “Dear Diary” was on Saturday named the winner of the 75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow talent campus, a segment of the International Film Festival of India. Held for the second year, the event involved participants, aged between 18-35 years, who hailed from different aspects of filmmaking and from across

Irene Cara, the Oscar-winning singer and actor who rocketed to pop stardom singing the title tracks to “Fame” and “Flashdance,” had died at age 63. Her publicist, Judith A. Moose, announced the news on social media, writing that a cause of death is “currently unknown.” “Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief,”

Leading lights of the Indian entertainment industry discussed the impact of streaming platforms in the period after COVID-19 at a panel on the concluding day of the Film Bazaar market in Goa. Participating in the discussion were Shobha Sant, head of content alliances for films at billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Studios, Lada Guruden Singh, GM

 Global humanitarian organization UNICEF is given the spotlight this year at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The festival is carrying a package of six films that reflect on children and factors impacting childhood. Alongside Nadine Labacki’s Oscar-nominated “Capernaum,” five of the six hail from IFFI host country India with the selection spaning works

Noted filmmakers from around the globe have contributed short films to anthology project “Interactions,” which is showcased at the ongoing International Film Festival of India, Goa. The project, an Art For The World Production, was set up with the aim of 12 international filmmakers creating connections between humans and animals through biodiversity, climate change, environment

Industry executives, producers and screenwriters got into the details of adapting literary material into film scripts at a Film Bazaar Knowledge Series discussion this week. India has experienced growing use of books as source material in recent years, driven in part by streaming, which Sidharth Jain, founder of specialist adaptation company Story Ink. called “an

Indian filmmaker Suman Sen’s “Eka” (“Solo”) has been granted funding from the Aide aux Cinémas du Monde, a fund operated by France’s national film board (CNC).  The project, Sen’s feature debut, was part of the 2019 Film Bazaar coproduction market. Producers on the India-France-Norway coproduction include Dominique Welinksi of DW, Bijon and Arifur Rahman of

The box office woes are far from the whole story about the three awards-worthy films that opened or expanded over Thanksgiving weekend – MGM/UAR’s “Bones and All,” Sony Pictures’ “Devotion” and Walt Disney’s “Strange World.” Despite low financial returns, the studios are forging ahead in their bids for Academy Awards attention, as they should. The cannibal

Karim Ouelhaj’s Fantasia winner “Megalomaniac” has been selling widely, now adding North America (Dark Star Pictures), France (Factoris Films) and Scandinavia (Njuta Films) to its growing slate. Media Move manages sales for the world, with XYZ in charge of North America.  “The feedback from the festivals has been enthusiastic and we noticed a real ‘craze’ [for the

DreamWorks Animation is updating its opening logo sequence to include some familiar faces. In the new sequence, the iconic DreamWorks child fishing on the moon leaves its post to travel across the galaxy, passing along characters from mainstay franchises such as “The Bad Guys,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Boss Baby,” “Kung Fu Panda,” “Shrek”

We haven’t had to wait more than three years for a Steven Spielberg movie in the 21st century, and it’s rare that we’ve had to wait much longer for a good one. Truly great works are rarer, of course, but few filmmakers balance quality and quantity like the two-time Best Director winner. With his best

Tim Beddows, the managing director of Hammer Films co-founder Network Distributing, has died. He was 59. His death on Nov. 18 was described as a “terrible shock to everyone who knew him both personally and professionally.” His team are said to be devastated but “committed to continuing his legacy and building upon Network’s position of

“First, I will ask you to take 10 big, deep breaths.” Elegant Kristina attends a regressive hypnosis session. Lying on the floor, blindfolded, a woman’s voice guides her through the process. Time seems to be suspended. The spectator is immediately drawn into the scene, bewitched by the suave voice and the perfection of the image.

Sofiane Bennacer, the French actor who stars in Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s Cannes competition title “Forever Young” (“Les Amandiers”), has been indicted on multiple charges of rape and violence. Bennacer was part of the 32 emerging actors shortlisted for best newcomer at the Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, which will be held in March. But