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The Hours • Movie Review
Three women, three times, three places. Three suicide attempts, two successful. All linked in a way by a novel. In Sussex in 1941, the novelist Virginia Woolf fills the pockets of her coat with rocks and walks into a river to..

Juliette Binoche Will Head The 2019 Berlinale Int. Jury
With French actress and Academy Award winner Juliette Binoche serving as Jury President, the International Jury will decide who will receive the Golden Bear and Silver..

Collette (2018)
Formally familiar but a brilliant match for its lead, Colette is a thoroughly entertaining biopic and an overdue testament to Keira Knightley's underrated gifts..

Julia (1977) • Movie Review
Fascinating, well structured drama with Fonda and Redgrave at their best. "Julia" is the story of a fascinating woman, told from the point of view of someone who hardly knew her..

'Bad Times at the El Royale' Movie review
A piece of major studio entertainment so patient, artful, and thrilling that it might as well be a time machine to the mid-'90s...

'Bird Box' Review • Susanne Bier's inventive drama
A welcome addition to the post-apocalyptic canon. If ever you find yourself trying to survive the end of the world, don’t look to Malorie for an inspiring pep talk..

Claude Lelouch pays a final tribute to Francis Lai
Claude Lelouch brings honor to his "angel", French composer Francis Lai, who won an Oscar for the iconic "Love Story" soundtrack. He died on Wednesday November 7..

Roma (2018) • Alfonso Cuarón’s Masterpiece of Memory
In “Roma,” the Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón uses a large canvas to tell the story of lives that some might think small..

Searching (2018) • Movie Review
“Searching” follows a panicked father’s online moves as he tries to track down his missing teenage daughter. It aims for and earns genuine emotion rather than cheap thrills..

CAIRO 2018 • Bille August • Director of A Fortunate Man
At the Cairo Film Festival, Cineuropa chatted to Bille August about his duties as head of the international jury and his latest feature, A Fortunate Man, which is screening at the gathering..

Bernardo Bertolucci Oscar Winner Dead at 77
Bernardo Bertolucci, the legendary Italian director behind classics such as “Last Tango in Paris” and “The Last Emperor,” has died at age 77..

Lars Mikkelsen wins international Emmy award
Lars Mikkelsen last night became the first ever Danish actor to win an international Emmy, picking up the gong at a lavish ceremony in New York..

Death in Tehran • Murder In The Name Of God
On November 28, 1998, the couple, now well-known Iranian opposition politicians, are murdered in their home in Tehran. A touching film documentary by the German journalist..

Last of the 'Olsen Banden' stars dies at 83
Morten Grunwald, the last surviving member of the 'Olsen Gang', passed away after a brief stay in hospital. He was 83. Grunwald played the affable goof Benny who is best..

IDFA 2018
Review: Kabul, City in the Wind
“This is our beloved country; this is Afghanistan, the fatherland of thieves,” sings bus driver Abas, sporting a charming smile, in the opening scene. The documentary debut..

The Ice Storm • Movie Review
In a wooded suburb, affluent adults stir restlessly in their split-level homes, depressed not only by their lives but by their entertainments. Their teenage children have started experimenting with the same forms..

Valkyrie • Movie Review
The 20 July plot in 1944 Germany
"Valkyrie" is a meticulous thriller based on a large-scale conspiracy within the German army to assassinate Hitler, leading to a failed bombing attempt on July 20, 1944..

Movie Review:
The Guilty (2018)
With its single setting and real-time story, “The Guilty” is a brilliant genre exercise, a cinematic study in tension, sound design, and how to make a thrilling movie with a limited..

Looking for Mummy:
Nazanin's Story
This electrifying portrayal of Nazanin-Zaghari Ratcliffe’s ongoing struggle to be released from an Iranian prison is a brand new play by Emi Howell..

Michael Moore on 'Fahrenheit 11/9' documentary
'We got here not by Trump. Trump didn’t create the mess we are in. When we get rid of him, we are still going to have the mess. We are still going to have mass shootings..'

Movie Review: Casino Jack
“Casino Jack” is so forthright, it is stunning. Political movies often play cute in drawing parallels with actual figures. They drop broad hints that a character is “really” Dick Cheney or Bill Clinton and so on. The film is “inspired by..

'Disappearance' • Venice Review
Teenage architecture student Sara claims to have been raped. She is bleeding and may require an operation. Yet, there is something about the situation that doesn’t ring true..

Movie Review: The Children Act (2017)
'The Children Act showcases yet another powerful performance from Emma Thompson, who elevates this undeniably flawed picture into an affecting adult drama..

TIFF 2018 • It’s That Time of Year for Paprika Steen
From Danish director and actor Paprika Steen comes a caustic comedy about the deep-rooted grievances that can rip families apart -- and the ties that bind them together..

TORONTO 2018: Soudade Kaadan • Director • Interview
'You don’t know how much you are traumatised until you leave.' Soudade Kaadan’s magical realist tale set in Syria in 2012 won Best Debut Film at Venice. Cineuropa chatted to..

VENICE 2018 • Interview
Sudabeh Mortezai on "Joy"
The second film by Sudabeh Mortezai, winner of the Europa Cinemas Label in the Giornate degli Autori, is a provocative unique and feminine take on human trafficking..

Film Review: A Fortunate Man
Bille August, the director of Pelle the Conqueror, nails another Danish classic. A Fortunate Man, as challenging as any project that August has taken on, is based on Henrik Pontoppidan’s Nobel Prize-winning Lucky Per..

As I Lay Dying (2018)
Mostafa Sayyari's free adaptation of William Faulkner's 'As I Lay Dying' will be screened in the Orizzonti Competition, which is dedicated to films that represent the latest aesthetic and expressive trends in..

Three Iranian films at Venice festival 2018
Three Iranian movies will be screened in the various categories of the 75th Venice International Film Festival which opened in the Lido on Wednesday..

Iranian 'Master Actor' Entezami Dies at 94
Ezzatollah Entezami, one of the most prominent actors of the Iranian cinema and theater, who was named ‘master actor’ in his memoirs, died on Friday at the age of 94..

Tickets on Sale Now:
The 11th Annual Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco
Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco, the first independent Iranian film festival outside of Iran, will present 48 films at its 11th annual event..

Putin's Witnesses
Interview • Vitaly Mansky
Cineuropa met up with Russian filmmaker Vitaly Mansky at the Odesa IFF to discuss his latest award-winning movie, Putin’s Witnesses. Putin in 1999 and what he is..

Brothers (Kardeşler) (2018)
Turkish filmmaker Ömür Atay’s Brothers is a heady slice of familial melodrama that centres on the fractured relationship between two brothers and the secrets of the past that threaten to tear them apart..

Tully (2018)
The Importance of Self-care
"Tully" unearths uncomfortable truths in a wry, wise way. It delves into the modern parenthood experience with an admirably deft blend of humor and raw honesty..

Film Review: ‘Pollock’
What happened to Jackson Pollock when he was painting? That's what Ed Harris communicates in the film. What Harris, in an Oscar-nominated turn, is able to show in "Pollock" is that..

'20th Century Women'
Chain-smoking and Birkenstock-wearing 55-year-old Dorothea "comes from the Depression," explains her 15-year-old son Jamie, as though "The Depression" is the planet Jupiter..

Film Review: ‘Aquarius’
Led by a powerful performance from Sônia Braga, Aquarius uses a conflict between a tenant and developers to take an insightful look at the relationship between space and identity..

Factory of Lies (2018)
The False News From Russia
Russia has launched an information war - introducing a new weapon. Hundreds of young Russian are producing fake news from fake profiles. But some brave Russian..

Film Review: ‘Mary Shelley’
“Mary Shelley” is a rarity: a literary biopic with an argument. Which is by no means to say that the film, directed by Haifaa al-Mansour (“Wadjda”) forgoes the expected pleasures of the genre..

The legendary actress leaves our world
Today the legendary Iranian-American actress Vida Ghahremani passed away after battling cancer for many years. She went beyond taboos of her time to have the very first..

A Thousand Times Goodnight: Absorbing fact-based drama
Beautifully filmed and powerfully acted, 1,000 Times Good Night achieves absorbing fact-based drama without overindulging in Hollywood contrivances. Starring Juliette..

Cannes 2018 • Changeless Change • Jean-Luc Godard and Jia Zhangke
“We are never sad enough for the world to be better,” laments a concluding female voice in 'The Image Book.' “Something that burns so..

Sridevi honoured At the Cannes Film Festival 2018
Veteran Bollywood actress Sridevi was honoured with the TITAN Reginald F Lewis Film Icon Award at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival..

CANNES 2018 • Awards
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s film has scooped the top prize, while other names on the winners’ list include Europeans Alice Rohrwacher, Marcello Fonte, Pawel Pawlikowski and Jean-Luc Godard..

CANNES 2018 • Un Certain Regard • Awards
CANNES 2018: Victory for the film by Swedish-Iranian director Ali Abbasi. Girl scoops the Award for Best Performance, while Sofia, Donbass and The Dead and the Others are..

Cannes Film Review: ‘Ash Is Purest White’
Jia Zhangke’s gangster epic is a twisting tale of love and survival in 21st-century China. A winding tale of love, disillusionment and survival that again represents his vision of..

Cannes 2018: Lars von Trier’s ‘The House That Jack Built’
It’s a drama that leaves you shaken yet detached, chilled and a little numb. Almost every scene in it has been overly designed to grab your attention..

Cannes Film Review: ‘Bergman — A Year in a Life’
Ingmar Bergman emerges as a compulsive figure with a very grand hunger in a penetrating documentary about his pivotal year of 1957..

CANNES 2018 Competition • 'Summer' (Leto) • Review
CANNES 2018: You'd be right in thinking this was a biopic, but Kirill Serebrennikov's new film – in the running for the Palme d'Or – is above all a ray of light and colour..

Cannes Film Review: Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘The Image Book’
Jean-Luc Godard's new film is a kaleidoscopic bulletin on the state of our world, and the question it asks could apply to itself: Is anyone watching?..

Iran’s Asghar Farhadi • On the push and pull of home
CANNES, France — The Cannes Film Festival opening-night premiere of Asghar Farhadi’s “Everybody Knows” coincided almost exactly with President Trump’s announced..

Cannes Film Review: ‘Sextape’
Half the conversation in “Sextape” is about blowjobs
Two cads treat their girlfriends like sex toys in a slice of bad behavior that would like to be a vérité youthquake but sticks to the raunchy..

CANNES 2018 • Un Certain Regard • Ali Abbasi • Border
CANNES 2018: Cineuropa talked to Tehran-born director Ali Abbasi about his sophomore effort, Border, based on a short story by John Lindqvist and screening in Un..

Cannes 2018: The directors who are banned from attending the film festival
Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi and Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov – who both have films competing for the Palme d’Or – have..

'Wonder Wheel'
A larger-than-life Kate Winslet
Actress sets the screen on fire in filmmaker's torrid period drama about broken Brooklyn dreamers. Kate Winslet is on fire in Woody Allen's Wonder Wheel..

Through the Black Forest
A Rare Interview With von Trier
Here he looks back at his work, talks about his forthcoming movie, and reveals his idea for a new series of small films. Finally he makes a comment on his controversial statement..

Nasser Cheshmazar
'Rain of Love' creator dies at 68
A prominent Iranian composer who was best known for his memorable album “Rain of Love” and theme music for over 20 movies, died of a heart attack on Friday. He was 68..

The Young Karl Marx
Brainy Content Bracing
The early years of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Jenny Marx, between Paris, Brussells and London. In Paris, Marx struggles, unpaid by Ruge, unable to provide for his wife Jenny..

'Lucky' • Movie Review
Harry Dean Stanton Gets the Goodbye He Deserves
Lucky is a bittersweet meditation on mortality, punctuating the career of beloved character actor Harry Dean Stanton. The late, great..

U – July 22 • Film Review
Norwegian kills for thrills?
Erik Poppe’s hyperrealist one-take dramatisation of Anders Breivik’s summer camp massacre offers little sign of moral perspective..

Interview • Kamyar Mohsenin
The Fajr International Film Festival’s manager of international relations, Kamyar Mohsenin, explains to Cineuropa how the gathering has played a vital role in the development of Iranian cinema..

Inuit drama "Aga"
Crowned best at Fajr Film Fest
Bulgarian director Milko Lazarov’s drama “Ága” about two Inuits that live with the dream of reuniting their family has been picked as best movie at the 36th Fajr International Film..

Interview • Director Sergei Loznitsa on Russia
The acclaimed Ukrainian director discusses his latest drama A Gentle Creature, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and the ‘hell’ of Russian history. “Hell isn’t when horrible things..

Oliver Stone In Iran 2018
For attending Movie Festival
American movie director Oliver Stone was Iran on Monday attending an international film festival. Stone hosted a workshop for filmmakers during the Fajr Film Festival..

Cate Blanchett • To Lead Cannes Film Festival Jury
Chaired by Australian actress Cate Blanchett, the competition jury at the 71st Cannes Film Festival (9-19 May) has now had its line-up unveiled in its entirety..

CANNES 2018 Official Selection
Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Yann Gonzalez and Sergey Dvortsevoy are all now in the race for the Palme d’Or. Lars von Trier will feature out of competition, while Terry Gilliam will close the festival..

Lars von Trier
Receives Denmark's Largest Cultural Award
Denmark's largest cultural award of one million kroner, awarded to Danish film director Lars von Trier on Thursday at the University of..

IRAN NOW • A Mini Festival
The Danish Film Institute 2018
IRAN NOW is a mini festival that looks into the situation in Iran right now, as it is expressed artistically, culturally and socially. Through plenty of guests, we explore the..

The Party (2018)
It Knocks The Wind Out of You
Potter's comic dissection of the London intelligentsia's personal and political angst is completely of the moment. Old-fashioned charm meets sharp wit and modern social..

'Umbra' and 'Like a Good Kid'
Two Iranian movies join Cannes competition
Two movies by Iranian filmmakers will be competing in the Cannes Film Festival as the 71st edition of the event will open with..

Peter Bradshaw on the Cannes 2018 lineup
Some mixed signals with the traditional unveiling of the Cannes film festival’s official selection: a very lively and effervescent list, with eight newcomers in competition and..

Cannes Festival To Feature Films By Dissident Iranian, Russian Directors
France's Cannes film festival has made a show of support for dissident directors in Iran and Russia in unveiling its selection of films..

Cannes 2018
Un Certain Regard puts its faith in young talents
The Cannes selection features a strong European presence, six feature debuts, and films by Valeria Golino, Bi Gan, Ali Abbasi..

Jafar Panahi: Cannes 2018
French Authorities To Appeal Iran For Filmmaker’s Fest Presence. Cannes chief Thierry Frémaux said today that the festival will appeal to Iran for the filmmaker’s presence..

Copenhagen to screen
'The Home' (Ev) from Iran
A superbly cinematic chamber piece, 'The Home' (Ev) has been selected for screening at Danish Film Institute during a festival of Iranian films..

Last Men in Aleppo (2017)
Feras Fayyad’s Breathtaking Work
Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature and winner of the Grand Jury documentary prize at the Sundance Film Festival..

Doc on Farhadi’s “Salesman”
to premiere in Tehran
A documentary on Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-winning drama 'The Salesman' is scheduled to premiere in Tehran in the near future. It will be screened at the Art and Experience..

'Everybody Knows' to open the Cannes Film Festival
The film by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi will be screened in competition as the opening movie of the 71st Cannes Film Festival starring Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Ricardo Darin..

Faces Places (2017)
A Visual Ode to Ordinary People
Agnes Varda is almost 90 years old and she is still making fantastic films. Searching, compassionate, provocative, funny, sad ones. This is one of them..

A Fantastic Woman (2018)
The story of Marina who undergoes several misfortunes after losing a loved one. A woman who is not granted the respect a grieving wife or girlfriend would receive. All she wants is be allowed to say goodbye, to grieve publicly..

‘In the Fade’ (2017)
A Tale of Grief and Violence
How should liberal societies deal with homegrown political extremists, who seek protection from the democratic norms and institutions they are committed to destroying?

John Malkovich • Interview
Recently, at the Hotel Caron in Paris, I got up to use the bathroom one night and found myself out in the hallway instead. But that is one of a million: I am a constant source of embarrassment to myself..

'Loveless’ (2017)
Unnerving and Fearless
Loveless is a stunning indictment of complacency, and a reminder of how fast something you love — like our democracy — can suddenly go poof if you look away..

The Big Lebowski
A typical Coen brothers film is like no film you've ever seen. It blows other more recent slacker comedies out the water and proves that Bridges can do any role..

Berlin: Mani Haghighi's "Pig"
Talks Buzzy Black Comedy
Iranian director and actor Mani Haghighi is a Berlinale aficionado. His gender-bender “A Dragon Arrives!” made a splash when it launched from the fest’s competition section..

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Anger is an energy in Martin McDonagh’s brilliant “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ,” one of the best films of the year. A vigilante mother takes matters into her own..

36th Fajr Film Festival
winners honored
The annual Fajr Film Festival (FFF) came to an end on Sunday at Tehran’s Milad Tower after presenting awards to the best of cinematic productions in the past year..

The Glass Castle (2017)
Affecting, Moving and Well acted
A young girl comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads with a mother who's an eccentric artist and an alcoholic father who would stir the children’s..

Lars von Trier receives the biggest award in Denmark
The biggest cultural award in Denmark, the Sonning Prize (Sonningprisen) this year goes to Danish filmmaker and screenwriter Lars von Trier, who was elected by a committee..

Armed With Words & Wings
Michael Strunge became the voice of a new generation and a mirror reflection of their identity and life, while he struggled with anxiety and psychotic attacks that pushed him to commit suicide at the age of 27..

THE INSULT (2017)
Civil War Beirut Style
Lebanese film director Ziad Doueiri made headlines recently when authorities in Beirut arrested him at the Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport for questioning about..

The Apu Trilogy
Achingly poignant, beautifully shot, and evocatively atmospheric, Satyajit Ray's classic trilogy is a masterpiece no cinephile can afford to miss. "I can never forget the excitement in my mind after seeing it..

Walk With Me (2017)
A thoroughly meditative cinema
One of the most calming documentaries you’re likely to ever see is “Walk with Me,” a documentation of Zen Buddhists and their community of Plum Village in France..

What Will People Say (2017)
TORONTO 2017: Cineuropa spoke with Norwegian director Iram Haq whose latest film 'What Will People Say' had its world-premiering at Toronto. “I used the knowledge I have to tell a story so we can build bridges..

Silence (2016)
A once in a lifetime movie
Is it moral to allow others to suffer when their suffering can be ended with a single symbolic gesture? Would God want that? Maybe the priest is destined to realize that it’s all right..

Sepideh Farsi preparing The Siren
1980, Abadan. The capital of the Iranian oil industry is resisting an Iraqi siege. Omid, a 14-year-old boy, has stayed back in the city, with his grandfather, waiting for his..

Sohrab Shahid Saless
The Experience of Exile
A visionary and truly transnational artist, Shahid Saless remained a solitary figure throughout his life. Still his films have left an indelible mark..

EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS 2017
The Square sweeps the Awards
Ruben Östlund’s film The Square – and more specifically a comedy – has taken home most of the awards from the European Film Awards ceremony..

Sophie's Choice • Review
Streep is memorable as Sophie
So perfectly cast and well-imagined that it just takes over and happens to you. It's quite an experience. 'Sophie’s Choice' begins as a young Southerner's odyssey to..

'Vanaja' • Movie Review
A wondrous piece of filmmaking
A Sensitive, Engaging movie from a first-time filmmaker. Rajnesh Domalpalli made this poignant 2006 drama as his thesis film for a master's degree at Columbia University..

Invasion (2017)
How Thirsty are you?
'Invasion' is Shahram Mokri’s third feature after Fish & Cat. Both pics experiment “with nonlinear narrative, thriller elements and point of view,” as Variety critic wrote in her..

Half Moon | Niwemang
A road movie unlike any other
The Kurds may not yet have a country, but as long as Bahman Ghobadi keeps making movies they have a national cinema. Bahman Ghobadi's Half Moon is a beautiful and..

Emma Thompson demands
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is brought home
Actress Emma Thompson has accused Boris Johnson of doing “sweet FA” for the British-Iranian woman imprisoned in Iran..

Kedi (2017) • Movie review
As soft and warm as a kitten
Kedi is a cat fancier's dream, but this thoughtful, beautifully filmed look at Istanbul's street feline population offers absorbing viewing for filmgoers of any purr-suasion..

'Young Torless' • Cruelty of Man Is Explored
A great psychological and philosophical treatise on how normal, well-to-do people, can turn themselves into "torturers and sacrificial lambs," as Torless himself states..

The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Movie Review
With uniformly great performances throughout the cast and Lanthimos’ stunning eye for detail and composition, this is one of the most unforgettable films of the year..

Until the Birds Return (2017)
My characters are at a turning point in their personal lives, yet they are not and do not want to be actors for change. In the 1990s an unprecedented civil war left 200,000 dead in Algeria, and tens of thousands..

The Divine Order (2017)
A hilarious comedy that hides ill-concealed discomfort
Petra Volpe continues to talk to us about women, and does so by turning the spotlight on a somewhat inglorious episode

Iranian filmmaker Cannot attend stokholm film festival
The acclaimed Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been denied exit from Iran and will not be able to attend the Stockholm International Film Festival..

WINDOW HORSES • A Canadian film about Iranian Poetry
A young Canadian poet with Chinese and Persian parents travels to Iran to perform at a poetry festival. Ann Marie Fleming’s..

A Look at “My Brother Khosro”
An intelligent movie dealing with a pain, a pain that without any pessimistic approach is part of a pain of a family, one of whose members has a mental problem..

ON THE BEACH 2017
'This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.' These lines from T.S. Eliot's poem The Hollow Men appear at the beginning of Nevil Shute's novel On the Beach, which left me close to tears..

Al Berto: A Biopic about the life of Portuguese poet
Liberty was there for the taking, but people had not been taught to be free and were not sure exactly what to do with it. Al Berto was ready for Sines, but Sines wasn’t..

Houman Seyyedi talks to CWB
I knew Houman Seyyedi as a very talented actor until I learned about him as a film director and then came the big suprise. After watching the four movies that..

Pouran Drakhshandeh talks about Under the Smoky Roof
Last Thursday, was the opening night of 'Under the Smoky Roof', a social drama directed by Pouran Derakhshandeh at the Fine Arts Theater, Los Angeles..

12 European films awarded At The Warsaw Film Fest
The Polish event’s Grand Prix went to the Chinese feature To Kill a Watermelon. Danish film The Charmer by Milad Alami won Competition 1-2 prize..

LOVING VINCENT (2016)
The final mysterious days in the life of Vincent van Gogh are the subject of investigation in this formally daring work, seven years in the making, that marries live action performance to..

Never Let Me Go
With Never Let Me Go, Mark Romanek has delivered a graceful adaptation that captures the spirit of the Ishiguro novel -- which will be precisely the problem for some viewers..

Interview • Milad Alami
SAN SEBASTIءN 2017: Cineuropa chatted to Swedish-Iranian filmmaker Milad Alami, whose feature debut, The Charmer, is currently taking part in New Directors at San Sebastiلn..

Wild (2014)
Mini-Odyssey of a broken character
'I’m going to walk myself back to the woman my mother thought I was.' Powerfully moving and emotionally..

An Iranian film director
On the country's censorship
How does censorship work in Iran? The FRANCE 24 Observers team is publishing a two-part interview about censorship and Iranian cinema..

Mountain | Monte (2016)
Now, at 70 years old, Amir Naderi is a true international filmmaker. After "Mountain" (made in Italy) he is now ready to come home to US and start all over again. "It is just the beginning,"..

10th Annual Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco
Welcome to the 10th Annual Iranian Film Festival – San Francisco. This year, the festival presents 40 films from Iran, USA, Italy, France, Canada..

Shirin Neshat • Interview
VENICE 2017
Iranian artist Shirin Neshat remembers an iconic figure from Arab music on the big screen in Looking for Oum Kulthum, a film in competition in the Giornate degli Autori

VENICE 2017 • Interview
Emre Yeksan's The Gulf
“We live in a period of slow decay, and the smell won’t go away any time soon.” Emre Yeksan’s feature debut, The Gulf, has been premiered in the International..

Video Essay Explores
Orson Welles’ ‘F For Fake’
Most cineastes associate Orson Welles with films like “Touch of Evil” and “Citizen Kane.” But his 1974 oddity, is worth seeking out for those who wish to dig..

‘MOTHER! • VENICE 2017
7 Things to Know About
Darren Aronofsky's 'Mother' centers on a couple whose relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence...

Shirin Neshat • VENICE
'Looking for Oum Kulthum'
“story of an Iranian woman filmmaker, living in exile, who dares to make a film about an iconic Arab singer without being Arabic herself,” Neshat said in her first..

VENICE 2017 • Orizzonti
'Oblivion Verses'
Iranian filmmaker Alireza Khatami is presenting his debut feature Oblivion Verses in Orizzonti at Venice, where Cineuropa spoke to him about fantasy..

VENICE 2017 Competition
'Human Flow'
Artist Ai WeiWei is in the Venice competition with this documentary shot in 2015 and 2016, uncovering the growing crisis of displaced people across the..

Asghar Farhadi begins filming 'Everybody Knows'
The two-time Oscar winner is shooting this European co-production in Spain, with a Spanish-speaking cast headlined by Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz..

The Song Of Scorpions
Anup Singh’s ambitious third feature stars Golshifteh Farahani and Irrfan Khan, following an independent woman as she struggles against hardship and treachery to remain true to her own instincts..

Tokyo Sonata :: Movie Review
An adventurous work both disturbing and ultimately moving. Kiyoshi Kurosawa's first domestic drama is music to general audience's ears..

The Homesman (2014)
A genuine art film
"The Homesman," despite the title, is about women. Women are the center of the action, women drive the action forward, women are not only damsels in..

MONSIEUR IBRAHIM :: Movie Review
Tender but never sappy, Monsieur Ibrahim brings two people of vastly different age and background together in ways that are touching, and telling..

The Innocents (2016)
'The Innocents’ is a profound meditation on a forgotten moment in history. Lou de Laage shines in Anne Fontaine's provocative historical drama. When Anne Fontaine’s “The Innocents” made its..

VENICE 2017 :: Venice Days
Samira Makhmalbaf named as jury president for Venice Days 2017. The Iranian actress and director will chair the jury made up of 28 young viewers from..

NETWORK (1976)
It's never been more timely
Criticised by some at the time for a certain naivety and lack of subtlety, this remains one of the most devastating condemnations of the media's urge to..

Woody Allen & his New Orleans Jazz Band at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival
The iconic filmmaker and clarinet player Woody Allen joins the international headliners at the Copenhagen Jazz Fest

Death And The Maiden
A thought-provoking piece
"Death and the Maiden" is said to be based on events in Chile, but it could take place in any of the many countries where rule is by force and intimidation..

'Insyriated'(2017)
Gripping from start to finish
This nerve-wracking study of life in Damascus won an Audience Award at Berlinale. Hiam Abbass holds together a household under siege in..

Ali & Nino (2016)
A fascinating story of two young people in love who found themselves between East and West cultures during World War I and Civil War when young democratic Azerbaijan Republic got squashed by..

Dangerous Beauty (1998)
Venezia's Hidden Treasure
Based on the true story of Veronica Franco, a well-born Venetian beauty who deliberately chose the life of a courtesan because it seemed a better choice than..

The Polygon People
The Documentary
A First look at the ‘most nuked place on Earth’ where Soviet Union detonated 456 bombs over the course of 40 years. A look at the way locals’ lives were..

‘When God Sleeps’ (2017)
winner of the Golden Heynal
The best music documentary film and hence the winner of the Golden Heynal award at the 57th Krakow Film Festival, by the decision of the Jury under the..

Cannes 2017 • Awards
And the winners are...
Ruben ضstlund’s The Square wins the Palme d’Or. Pedro Almodَvar’s jury divided its prizes across a generally deserving spread of films..

Retrospective • Dustin Hoffman • The Graduate
Dustin Hoffman turns 80 later this year, the Irish Film Institute (IFI) takes the opportunity to celebrate the work of Dustin Hoffman, on the occasion of..

Mohammad Rasoulof's
Goodbye | Be omide didar
Another superb piece of work produced in Iran. Let's pause for a minute and reflect on just how difficult it is to get these movies made..

A Master's Final Frames
Cannes 2017
Movingly presented at the largest cinema in Cannes, the Iranian auteur Abbas kiarostami's final film may be the most experimental ever shown at the..

Iranian filmmaker wins major prize at Cannes
Iranian auteur Mohammad Rasoulof's bleak drama "A Man of Integrity" won the Un Certain Regard competition at the Cannes film festival on Saturday..

Kantemir Balagov's 'Closeness' at Cannes
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Me (aka I) (2016)
An eye-opening depiction of Tehran’s surprisingly robust underworld

Directed by: Soheil Beiraghi
Cast: Leila Hatami, Amir Jadidi, Behnoosh Bakhtiari, Mani Haghighi

This high-stakes drama is writer-director Soheil Beiraghi’s first feature film, and offers an outstanding performance by Hatami .

In spite of being warned to stop things she is doing, Azar nevertheless continues with her schemes and soon it becomes apparent that she's addicted to the thrill, she just can't stop...

For longtime followers of Iranian cinema, brilliant actress Leila Hatami needs no introduction. Feted with awards around the world for her performances in such films as Leila and A Separation, she is one of Iran’s most recognizable and compelling performers.

In Soheil Beiraghi’s debut, Leila Hatami plays the force-of-nature queen of Tehran’s underground, a ruthless and enigmatic fixer, staying one step ahead of the law as she forges passports, moves illicit booze, and effortlessly emasculates a musical protégé. Me (aka I) is an eye-opening depiction of Tehran’s surprisingly robust underworld.

Me was officially selected in the Certain Regard section at the 34th Fajr International Film Festival.(National Gallery of Art)

* * * * *

Leila Hatami plays a woman who has lots of things going: smuggling alcohol, supplying people with fake passports and visas, trying to profit from land schemes etc. At the start of the film she's being warned by some security official that if she doesn't change her ways they will soon put a stop to it. Several of her informants also make similar warnings, including an ominous claim that from some point onward anyone who seeks help from her is an agent...

She nevertheless continues with her schemes and soon it becomes apparent that she's addicted to the thrill, she just can't stop...

Overall it's a movie which very much relies on the performance of the main actress as the whole story concentrates on her (I can't recall any scenes where she is not involved). Hatami's acting is very enjoyable and the narrative itself is entertaining and believable in its intricate details. Although maybe one issue with this movie is that it doesn't offer much more than the psychological profile of its main character and even there the real motivation behind her actions is ultimately left unclear. (Imdb)

Synopsis

Azar (Leila Hatami) lives a double life. Most know her as a respectable young music teacher, but to make ends meet, she delivers illicit goods, like forged passports and papers, to those who require them. When a series of events brings Leila’s small-time operation under scrutiny, she must fight for her reputation and freedom. This high-stakes drama is writer-director Soheil Beiraghi’s first feature film, and offers an outstanding performance by Hatami. (mfa.org)

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