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An edgy new voice within the world of French genre, Adrien Beau worked as a designer and scenographer for the likes of Dior, John Galliano and Agnes B before making his feature debut with the offbeat vampire movie “Vourdalak.”

Produced by Judith-Lou Levy at Les Films du Bal, “Vourdalak” will world premiere at Venice Critics’ Week and will likely be one of its boldest entries. At a time when horror has become a mainstream genre overloaded with special effects, “Vourdalak” couldn’t be more radical. Lensed in Super 16, the film’s central character is a vampire patriarch named Gorcha, played by a marionette that Beau operates and lends his voice to.

In an interview with Variety ahead of the festival, Beau says he got the idea for the film after he and Levy came across “La Famille du Vourdalak,” a strange vampire novella penned by Alexeï Konstantinovitch Tolstoï, published in...

Godless wins Special Jury Prize and Best Actress.Scroll down for the full list of winners

Turkish director Mehmet Can Mertoğlu’s Album has won the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Feature Film at this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 12-20).

The comedy, which premiered in Critics’ Week at Cannes in May, follows a middle class Turkish couple who try to cover up the forgery of their family history.

The decision was made by a jury led by Palestinian director Elia Suleiman. The award comes with a prize of $18,000 (€16,000).

Album producer Yoel Meranda commented when receiving the award: “Many people here know that most of the stuff that helped this film get made happened in Sarajevo. It started in Sarajevo, and it’s amazing that we have completed this circle.”

Ralitza Petrova’s Godless was awarded two prizes: the Special Jury prize and Best Actress for lead Irena Ivanova.

The Bulgarian-French-Danish...

Acting awards split between casts of Mustang and Chevalier, Son Of Saul wins Special Jury Prize.Scroll down for full list of winners

The 21st Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 14-22) wrapped tonight with Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s Mustang winning the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Feature Film.

The film also received the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actress, which went to its whole female cast: Güneş Şensoy, Doga Doğuşlu, Tuğba Sunguroğlu, Elit İşcan, and Ilayda Akdoğan.

László Nemes picked up the Special Jury Prize for Holocaust drama Son Of Saul.

Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Chevalier won a Special Jury Mention, and its male ensemble, consisting of Yorgos Kéntros, Vangelis Mouríkis, Panos Kóronis, Makis Papadimitríou, Yorgos Pyrpassópoulos, and Sakis Rouvás received the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actor.

The Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary went to Alexander Nanau’s Toto And His Sisters, while the same award in the short film competition went to A Matter Of Will...

Acting awards split between casts of Mustang and Chevalier, Son Of Saul wins Special Jury Prize.Scroll down for full list of winners

The 21st Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 14-22) wrapped tonight with Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s Mustang winning the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Feature Film.

The film also received the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actress, which went to its whole female cast: Güneş Şensoy, Doga Doğuşlu, Tuğba Sunguroğlu, Elit İşcan, and Ilayda Akdoğan.

László Nemes picked up the Special Jury Prize for Holocaust drama Son Of Saul.

Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Chevalier won a Special Jury Mention, and its male ensemble, consisting of Yorgos Kéntros, Vangelis Mouríkis, Panos Kóronis, Makis Papadimitríou, Yorgos Pyrpassópoulos, and Sakis Rouvás received the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actor.

The Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary went to Alexander Nanau’s Toto And His Sisters, while the same award in the short film competition went to A Matter Of Will...

There's a tension between directness and obfuscation in My Name is Hmmm..., with first-time director Agnès Troublé (better known as the fashion designer agnès b.) wavering between the approaches of Breillat and Godard. Troublé and cinematographer Jean-Philippe Bouyer envision working-class desperation with raw imagery stripped of beauty or hope, while peppering the film with fanciful visuals (superimposed images, shifting aspect ratios and color schemes). In a more cohesive film, this might reflect the perspective of eleven-year-old Céline (Lou-Lélia Demerliac), who's being sexually abused by her father and seeks escape. But here it's a hodgepodge of artistic gestures grafted onto a traditional narrative, neither fully linear nor...

★★☆☆☆ Agnès B is a created idea from the imagination of Agnès Andrée Marguerite Troublé. Known to the world as a fashion designer she has always held a candle for what the French call the Seventh Art. After embracing cinema and its more errant enfant terrible auteurs, she has made the final leap and created her own feature film: My Name Is Hmmm (2013). She has long been associated with cinema, from an early tee-shirt that read: "J'aime le cinema" to the use of her clothing in films such as Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994), where Uma Thurman's character Mia Wallace is seen wearing an iconic Agnès B white shirt. Co-founder of Harmony Korine's production company O'Salvation, the cinematic world has known and loved her for her support of visionary filmmakers like Claire Denis and Gaspar Noé.

A roundup of news from the inaugural St Petersburg International Media Forum includes a busy French delegation and a local controversy brewing over Leviathan.

The King Of Madagascar, a kind of Russian answer to the pirate adventure films à la Pirates of the Caribbean, is being set up as a $ 16m international co-production by producer-director Oleg Ryaskov’s Moscow-based Bft Movie.

Speaking at the opening of St Petersburg International Media Forum’s (Spimf) co-production market this morning, producer Ryaskov revealed that the project - which is based on real historical events abouta Russian expedition by Peter The Great to the island of Madagascar in danger of being thwarted by Great Britain’s King George - has Spain’s Smartline Spain and the Us casting company Scott Carlson Entertainment on board as partners and is currently in talks with French and German production companies to join.

Ryaskov added that he intends to have American, European and Russian...

A roundup of news from the inaugural St Petersburg International Media Forum includes a busy French delegation and a local controversy brewing over Leviathan.

The King Of Madagascar, a kind of Russian answer to the pirate adventure films à la Pirates of the Caribbean, is being set up as a $ 16m international co-production by producer-director Oleg Ryaskov’s Moscow-based Bft Movie.

Speaking at the opening of St Petersburg International Media Forum’s (Spimf) co-production market this morning, producer Ryaskov revealed that the project - which is based on real historical events abouta Russian expedition by Peter The Great to the island of Madagascar in danger of being thwarted by Great Britain’s King George - has Spain’s Smartline Spain and the Us casting company Scott Carlson Entertainment on board as partners and is currently in talks with French and German production companies to join.

Ryaskov added that he intends to have American, European and Russian...

Debut film of Turkey’s Erol Mintas wins best film, best actor. Special Jury Award and best actress go to Brides

The 20th Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-23) wrapped on Saturday night with Turkish writer-director Erol Mintaş ‘s first film Song of My Mother winning the main award Heart of Sarajevo for the best feature film and €16,000 provided by the Council of Europe.

In addition, the film’s lead Feyyaz Duman won best actor and €2,500.

The co-production between Turkey’s Mintasfilm, France’s Arizona Production and Germany’s mîtosfilm world-premiered at Sarajevo.

A mother-son relationship film set among Kurds in Istanbul, it was finished in June thanks to the 1000 Volt Post-Production Award the project won at the Istanbul Film Festival’s Meetings on the Bridge in April.

The Berlinale Panorama title Brides by Tinatin Kajrishvili won the Special Jury Prize and €10,000 from Agnes B., and first-timer Mari Kitia won the Heart of Sarajevo for best actress and €2,500.

The...

Gael Garcia Bernal and Agnes B. both receive the honorary Heart of Sarajevo.

The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-24) launched its 20th edition on Friday night and staged a hat-trick of events to mark the occasion.

After the traditional welcome drinks reception on the Festival Square, festival director Mirsad Purivatra took to the stage of the city’s Open Air Cinema in front of an audience of thousands to award Gael Garcia Bernal with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo.

The ceremony was held ahead of a screening of the Mexican actor and director’s breakthrough performance in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores Perros (2000).

“Since your appearance in Amores Perros, you have played different characters in many films that have made up part of our programme,” said Purivatra.

“We admire you as an actor, a film director and a person who is trying to change the world. It is an honour to welcome you to Sarajevo and to...

Michael Winterbottom, Mike Leigh and Michel Hazanavicius among those to attend the festival.

The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-23) has unveiled the guest list for its 20th edition.

Mexican actor Gael García Bernal will be the first guest to meet this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival audience, stepping in front of 3,000 cinemagoers at the Open Air Cinema before a screening of Alejandro González Inárritu’s Amores Perros.

Bernal will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo on the opening night, as will designer and director Agnes B. who will screen her feature debut Je M’appelle Hmmm…

That same night, directors Cristi Puiu, Vladimir Perišić, Aida Begić, Marc Recha, Angela Schanelec and Isild Le Besco will present their short films, compiled as the omnibus feature Bridges of Sarajevo.

The festival will host three Oscar winners. Director Michel Hazanavicius, winner of an Academy Award for The Artist, will visit Sarajevo with his Cannes film The Search, accompanied by his...

The Sarajevo Film Festival is to mark its 20th edition next month with three opening films and honorary awards for three leading filmmakers. Actor Gael Garcia Bernal, designer and filmmaker Agnes B., and Oscar-winning Bosnian director Danis Tanovic (No Man's Land) will receive Heart of Sarajevo awards. Bernal and Agnes B. will receive their awards at the festival's opening on Aug. 15; Tanovic will be honored at the closing ceremony Aug. 23.  Photos Titans of Comic-Con: Stars Re-Create Classic Characters In an unusual move, the festival will screen three opening-night films to mark its 20th

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While James Franco and the producers behind "Spring Breakers: The Second Coming" have been caught up in a war of words, director Harmony Korine had his own reaction to the news of the sequel that he posted to Facebook a little earlier, saying: "Like what the F$$$ so some guy decided to make spring breakers two without mine our James permission lame muthafuker!" But life continues for Korine. He has a possible project brewing with Robert Pattinson, and uh, he's designing handbags. For real. Fashion brand Agnes B. hired Korine to design a purse for them, and the result is perfectly Harmony Korine. He took their beautiful bag and then then scrawled a monster on the side, and stamped with his signature. Done. So much will it cost you ladies to walk around with this Korine embroidered nightmare on your shoulder? $395. Check it out below. [Bustle]...

Fifth edition of annual showcase of contemporary French cinema to take place in key cities across the UK from April 23-28.

Marion Vernoux’s Bright Days Ahead (Les Beaux Jours) will open this year’s Rendez-Vous with French Cinema.

Vernoux and lead actress Fanny Ardant will be in attendance at the Curzon Soho in London for a post-screening Q&A.

Run by UniFrance Films and the Institut français in London, the fifth edition of the annual showcase of contemporary French cinema will take place in key cities across the UK. As well as at the Curzon Soho and Ciné Lumière, films will screen in Bristol, Cambridge, Canterbury, Nottingham, Oxford and at the Duke of York’s in Brighton.

Speaking to Screen, Isabelle Giordano, executive director of UniFrance Films, says the focus of this year’s showcase is to highlight burgeoning talent in France.

“What I would like to do for this edition is to focus on the...

Future Film Festival | Glasgow Film Festival | Deep Desires & Broken Dreams | Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival

Future Film Festival, London

This three-day festival is aimed at nurturing young film-makers, and there's plenty for them to be inspired by. The first day focuses on documentary as a tool for radical politics and social change (as in The Act Of Killing or Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer), and the second, on fiction, brings rebellious teen flick We Are The Freaks. The third day is on animation, with screenings, workshops (on how to make a short doc on your mobile)and professional advice, including wise words from Gravity's visual effects ace, Neil Corbould.

BFI, SE1, Fri to 23 Feb

Glasgow Film Festival

Where to start with this many-tentacled sprawl of a festival? How about Scarlett Johansson cruising Glasgow in a Transit van trying to pick up men? That's on offer in Jonathan Glazer's dark sci-fi Under The Skin,...

Actor prizes go to Dame Judi Dench and Jesse Eisenberg; Enough Said, starring the late James Gandolfini, wins audience award.Scroll down for full list of winners

The 7th Abu Dhabi Film Festival handed out its Black Pearl awards at a closing ceremony tonight (Oct 31), including cash prizes amounting to around $700,000.

The Black Pearl for Narrative Feature, worth $100,000, went to A Touch of Sin (Tian zhu ding) directed by Jia Zhangke.

The film, which played in competition at Cannes where it won the best screenplay award, revolves around four threads set in vastly different geographical and social milieus across modern-day China and features random acts of violence.

The Narrative jury, presided over by two-time Oscar nominated actress Jacki Weaver, gave the special jury award ($50,000) to Hiner Saleem’s My Sweet Pepper Land, centred on a law man in a small town on the border of Iran, Iraq and Turkey.

In addition, Dame Judi Dench won best...

The full line up has been unveiled for the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

Daniel Schechter’s Life Of Crime will open the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which runs Oct 24- Nov 2.

13 Arab feature films (seven of which are world premieres) will compete across different sections of the festival, including Rani Massalha’s Giraffada and Nejib Belkhadi’s Bastardo in the New Horizons Competition, Ahmed Abdallah’s Rags And Tatters and Hicham Ayouch’s Fevers in the Narrative Feature Competition, and Sherief Elkatsha’s Cairo Drive and Mohammad Soueid’s The Boy From Aleppo in the Documentary Feature Competition.

Tobe Hooper’s UAE horror Djin will screen in the festival’s Showcase section.

Films competing in the Narrative Feature Competition include Jun Robles Lana’s Barber’s Tales, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, Danis Tanovic’s An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker, Jasmila Zbanic’s [link...

The full line up has been unveiled for the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

Daniel Schechter’s Life Of Crime will open the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which runs Oct 24- Nov 2.

13 Arab feature films (seven of which are world premieres) will compete across different sections of the festival, including Rani Massalha’s Giraffada and Nejib Belkhadi’s Bastardo in the New Horizons Competition, Ahmed Abdallah’s Rags And Tatters and Hicham Ayouch’s Fevers in the Narrative Feature Competition, and Sherief Elkatsha’s Cairo Drive and Mohammad Soueid’s The Boy From Aleppo in the Documentary Feature Competition.

Tobe Hooper’s UAE horror Djin will screen in the festival’s Showcase section.

Films competing in the Narrative Feature Competition include Jun Robles Lana’s Barber’s Tales, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, Danis Tanovic’s An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker, Jasmila Zbanic’s [link...

Name Dropper: Conflicting Techniques Clutter Agnes B.’s Debut

French fashion designer and film producer Agnes Trouble makes her directorial and screenwriting debut under the pseudonym Agnes B. with Je M’appelle Hmm…, a hodge podge of jarring techniques that distorts an otherwise difficult narrative hinged upon such taboo subject matter as incestuous pedophilia. A debut born from a creative mind outside of the cinematic medium, it shares many shortcomings and other similarities with the 2011 debut of Eva Ionesco, My Little Princess. While that film’s subpar elements hide neatly behind the blonde frizzied monstrous feminine of Isabelle Huppert, Agnes B. has no such forgiving beacon, truncating narrative growth at every turn.

Celine (Lou-Lelia Demerliac) is an 11 year-old with a rather troubling secret, one she can only discuss while alone with her disheveled Barbie doll. While mom (Sylvie Testud) wastes away her time as a waitress, out of work dad...

I’ve yet to find myself on the Lido (at the top of my bucket list choices for film festivals I’ve yet to visit) but thanks to some forward-thinking folks such as the Festival Scope folks, the Venice Film Festival is coming directly to our living rooms, laptops and whatnot Live.

An experiment that began last year and in its sophomore edition has blossomed into a well-oiled virtual event, each film (see list) below will hold a maximum “seating capacity” of 500 virtual places/seat holders for world cinephiles (read the full description of the service). Among the dozen or so films from the Orizzonti section and a selected trio films from the new Biennale College are the make-up of Web Theatre programme and to help promote the event, we’re holding a contest – five lucky readers will get to watch Pavilion‘s Tim Sutton’s (an Ioncinephile of the...

With the rise of the encroaching Toronto, the domestic competition offered by Rome and a hugely successful Cannes this year, the 70th Venice Film Festival - which begins on 28 August - is facing some pretty stiff competition. The lineup, however, is on the face of it relatively low-key, though there are some very interesting possibilities and potential surprises. Regular attendee George Clooney opens proceedings with Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity, whilst in the main competition lie a mix of old hands - Errol Morris with his Donald Rumsfeld documentary, Hayao Miyazaki's last fable - along with fresh talents such as Kelly Reichardt (Night Moves) and Jonathan Glazer (with his Birth follow-up, Under the Skin).

Terry Gilliam also returns after an elongated absence, his The Zero Theorem starring Christoph Waltz as a hacker searching for the meaning of existence. The film hopefully marks a return to form for a filmmaker who...

In Bloom wins Heart of Sarajevo for best film and its two leads share the best actress award, A Stranger gets special jury prize and best actor

The 19th Sarajevo Film Festival wrapped last night [24] with In Bloom and A Stranger winning the main awards.

Georgian coming-of-age story In Bloom by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß won the Heart of Sarajevo for best film in the feature competition worth €16,000 provided by the Council of Europe. The film’s two leads, first-timers Lika Babluani and Mariam Bokeria, shared the €2,500 best actress prize.

This adds to In Bloom’s series of awards which includes Cicae at Berlin and Fipresci and Golden Firebird in Hong Kong

Bobo Jelcic’s Croatia-Bosnia co-production A Stranger received the special jury prize and €10,000 provided by Agnes B. Living legend of Yugoslav cinema Bogdan Diklic won Heart of Sarajevo for best actor for his role in the film, also worth €2,500.

A...

Digital tickets have gone on sale for Venice Film Festival titles that will stream online concurrently with official screenings.

A total of 12 films from the Orizzonti section and three films from the new Biennale College – Cinema will make up the programme of the Web Theatre, introduced last year as an experiment.

The films will be available for viewing around the world, streaming concurrently with the official screenings on the Lido (Aug 28 - Sept 7).

There will be a maximum “seating capacity” for each showing of 500 seats. There will be one screening only for each of the films and it will be located on a secure site managed by Festival Scope on behalf of the Venice Film Festival.

Starting this year, Mymovies.it will also collaborate in the promotion.

In order to view the film of choice, users must first register on the Biennale website, pay for the ticket (€4), after which they will receive a personal link that will...

The Venice International Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 70th edition.

Official Competition

Es-Stouh (Merzak Allouache, Algeria/France)

L'Intrepido (Gianna Amelio, Italy)

Miss Violence (Alexandros Avranas, Greece)

Via Castellana Bandiera (Emma Dante, Italy/Switzerland/France)

Tom à la ferme (Xavier Dolan, Canada/France)

Child of God (James Franco, USA)

Philomena (Stephen Frears, UK)

La Jalousie (Philippe Garrel, France)

The Zero Theorem (Terry Gilliam, UK/USA)

Ana Arabia (Amos Gitai, Israel/France)

Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, UK/USA)

Joe (David Gordon Green, USA)

The Police Officer's Wife (Philip Gröning, Germany)

Parkland (Peter Landesman, USA)

The Wind Rises (Hayao Miyazaki, Japan)

The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld (Errol Morris, USA)

Night Moves (Kelly Reichardt, USA)

Sacro Gra (Gianfranco Rosi, Italy)

Stray Dogs (Tsai Ming-liang, Chinese Taipei/France)

Out Of Competition

Space Pirate Captain Harlock (Shinji Aramaki, Japan)

Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, USA)

Summer '82 — When Zappa Came to Siciliy (Salvo Cuccia,...

Following the announcement that came earlier this week, launching yet another hugely impressive line-up at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, the respective line-up has now been announced for what is in some ways its European counterpart, the 2013 Venice Film Festival.

The announcement shows that the two will continue to have a number of films overlapping, including Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity (the Opening Night Film in Venice), Peter Landesman’s Parkland, Stephen Frears’ Philomena, and more. But it also brings with its news of where a number of films will be making their debut, including Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem; the latest film from Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises; James Franco’s Child of God; Lee Sang-il’s Yurusarezaru Mono, the Japanese remake of Unforgiven; and Steven Knight’s Locke, led by Tom Hardy, and shot in one take.

In Competition

Es-Stouh – Merzak Alloucache (Algeria, France, 94’) L’Intrepido – Gianni Amelio (Italy,...

The Toronto Film Festival has 12 Years A Slave and Gravity, but the Venice Film Festival does not intend to be outdone. Gravity will open the festival, yes, but Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem will also put in an appearance. Plus there are new films from Stephen Frears, Paul Schrader and James Franco, who brings his Child Of God to play at Venice. Hayao Miyazaki’s latest The Wind Rises will show up at Venice too, after its Japanese tour. Then there are films from Errol Morris, Kelly Reichardt, and Frederick Wiseman. Oh, and the Japanese Unforgiven remake Yurusarezaru mono.

All in all, it’s not a bad line-up for Venice this year. Lots of films that we’ve already heard of and, as usual, a whole slew that we probably haven’t. Festival season is always an exciting time, less for the major works and more for the ones...

The films screened at the 70th Venice film festival – as the programme release is staggered, this will be updated as more information comes in

The 70th Venice film festival runs from 28 August until 7 September

Opening night film

Gravity, Dir: Alfonso Cuaron

Closing night film

Amazonia, Dir: Thierry Ragobert

Competition

Ana Arabia, Dir: Amos Gitai

Child of God, Dir: James Franco

Die Frau des Polizisten (The Police Officer's Wife), Dir: Philip Groning

L'intrepido, Dir: Gianni Amelio

La Jalousie, Dir: Philippe Garrel

Jiaoyou,, Dir: (Stray Dogs), Tsai Ming-liang

Joe, Dir: David Gordon Green

Kaze Tachinu, Dir: Hayao Miyazaki

Miss Violence, Dir: Alexandros Avranas

Night Moves, Dir: Kelly Reichardt

Parkland, Dir: Peter Landesman

Philomena, Dir: Stephen Frears

Sacro Gra, Dir: Gianfranco Rosi

Es-Stouh (The Rooftops), Dir: Merzak Allouache

Tom at the Farm, Dir: Xavier Dolan

Tracks, Dir: John Curran

Under the Skin, Dir: Jonathan Glazer

The Unknown Known: the Life and Times of...

With still several films not yet announced for the behemoth Toronto Int. Film Festival, it appears that 2013 will be a significant cross-over year for Venice titles (Joe, Night Moves, Parkland, Philomena, Tracks, Under the Skin) landing in the Canadian capitol and from the get-go, it appears that Toronto programmers have indeed stole some of the thunder from the Alberto Barbera’s Lido, specifically in the case where they grabbed world premiere rights to Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave with the Fox Searchlight folks possibly looking to keep the film on North American soil. However, for the time being that are titles that are worth salivating over that will be making their preems on the Lido – along with a grab bag of Euro and Asian titles we have the highly anticipated showings for Hayao Miyazaki’s Kaze Tachinu, Tsai Ming-liang’s Stray Dogs, Xavier Dolan’s Tom a la Ferme...

Competition titles include new films from Reichardt, Morris, Miyazaki, Glazer, Gitai, Gilliam, Frears.See below for full lists

The 70th Venice International Film Festival includes an array of exciting new features, including films from Kelly Reichardt, Errol Morris, Jonathan Glazer, Terry Gilliam, Amos Gitai and Stephen Frears.

As previously announced Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity will open the festival and Thierry Ragobert’s Amazonia will close.

Director Bernardo Bertolucci will head the jury at the event, which runs from August 28 to September 7.

A total of 20 titles in all will compete for the festival’s Golden Lion award.

Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem stars Christoph Waltz playing a reclusive computer genius, and also features Tilda Swinton, Ben Whishaw, Melanie Thierry and David Thewlis.

Glazer is launching anticipated sci-fi Under the Skin, starring Scarlett Johansson, while Reichardt’s thriller Night Moves stars Jesse Eisenberg, Peter Sarsgaard and Dakota Fanning as three environmentalists who plot to blow up a dam. Frears...

The annual exodus of American students to beach resorts has become a raucous rite of passage. Harmony Korine's new film has a surreal take on the mayhem

Four pretty girls in swimsuits doing wrong in an orgy of lust and violence: it's an all-American movie fantasy to cheer any Hollywood executive.

In the hands of Harmony Korine, the rebellious auteur behind the ground-breaking Kids, and featuring Disney starlets Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Benson as well as James Franco, Spring Breakers promises to be one of the most unusual, challenging mainstream films of the season.

Suggestive "slo-mo" shots of young women enjoying the eroticised rituals of one of America's student rites of passage – the riotous spring vacation – may suggest Korine is straying dangerously close to a teen exploitation movie. But then again, Korine's observation of spring break and its staples of sun, drinking, drugs and teenage hormones, could...

Jonas Mekas, 'the godfather of avant-garde cinema', talks to Sean O'Hagan about working with Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali and Jackie Kennedy

Jonas Mekas, who will be 90 on Christmas Eve, has an intense memory of sitting on his father's bed, aged six, singing a strange little song about daily life in the village in which he grew up in Lithuania.

"It was late in the evening and suddenly I was recounting everything I had seen on the farm that day. It was a very simple, very realistic recitation of small, everyday events. Nothing was invented. I remember the reception from my mother and father, which was very good. But I also remember the feeling of intensity I experienced just from describing the actual details of what my father did every day. I have been trying to find that intensity in my work ever since."

We are sitting at a table in...

Emma Watson took a break from shooting The Perks of Being a Wallflower yesterday to go for a walk in Pittsburgh with her costar Johnny Simmons. The actress is getting to know her temporary city, since arriving there last week, with trips to the local mall, where she was photographed by fans while shopping at Barnes & Noble, and scenic afternoons outdoors. She's in Pennsylvania following a recent stint in France to debut the ad for Lancôme's Midnight Rose fragrance that she shot in March with Mario Testino. Emma Watson spoke about working with Lancôme while abroad, revealing that she helped pick the scent's name amd cast the leading man in the film portion of the campaign, as well as volunteered her own vintage hat for the images. Emma also spoke about her own fashion and makeup preferences. She told Wwd, "I think less is more - less makeup, less accessories is better.

When Filmmaker polled our editors and came up with the 10 Best Films of the ’00s, on our list was Jonathan Caouette’s Tarnation. Ahead of its time in its iMovie-edited home brew of diaristic lo-fi doc footage, Tarnation vividly depicted the relationship of the filmmaker to his memorably unstable mother. At Cannes this year, Caouette is back with his not-a-sequel, Walk Away Renee (pictured), dipping into the same footage trove but augmenting it with new material. This new footage consists of Caouette traveling cross-country to check his mom into assisted living, and sci-fi scripted sequences positing an alternate reality version of these same events.

The film is produced, in part, by Agnes B.’s Love Streams Productions, and Caouette said at today’s Documentary Brunch at the Hotel Majestic that it is an ongoing project to be remixed in different ways. “My experience this year is exponentially different than when...

7 films in the three sections of Cannes were financed by Backup Films. Entirely dedicated to film financing, Backup Films has, in 2009 alone worked with over 60 ambitious international projects in their search of financing, whether in their development, production, or distribution phase. Backup Films is currently managing film investments funds of over €33.6M, and has brokered, last year, €4.5M in coproduction, distribution and equity deals. Over the past 8 years, the films financed through the Backup Films Agency or Backup Films’ funds have gathered 40 A-class festival selections and have won 15 major prizes.

Official Selection

Tournée (Le Pacte) de Mathieu Amalric is in Compétition. Tournée is produced by Les Films du Poisson in association with Sofica Coficup – with funds from Backup Films.

L’autre monde, aka Black Heaven (Memento) the second feature of Gilles Marchand, and his second time in Special Screenings. It is produced by Haut et Court in association avec Sofica...