Read: The Independent

Tribeca 2012: Critic's Choice - Shorts

erin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

For Brokaw's feature choices and an overview of the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival click here.

Critic's Choice - Shorts

Picture Paris
(Brad Hall. 2011. USA. 28 min.)

Tribeca 2012: Critic's Choice - Features

erin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

America’s leading brands hold onto their core essences and mission while they line-extend their flavors, colors, sizes and packaging, and they do it endlessly.

Wim Wenders’ 3D Learning Curve: Dancers Take Flight in "Pina"

erin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Wim Wenders’ films seduce viewers, leaving them punch drunk with his intoxicating imagery. Such is the case with Wenders’ Oscar-nominated documentary Pina, which blossoms as a cinematic poem of dancers in motion paying tribute to the filmmaker’s friend, the late choreographer Pina Bausch.

Lindsay Utz, editor of "Bully," Wins Karen Schmeer Editing Fellowship

erin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

During the 2012 SXSW Film Festival Award Ceremony, the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship was awarded to Lindsay Utz. The fellowship continues the legacy and honors the memory of respected film editor Karen Schmeer (Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, The Fog of War), and is meant to foster the careers of up-and-coming film editors.

Postcard from Salem, Mass

erin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

In it's fifth year, the Salem Film Fest (an all-doc festival) put cement at the base of the flag it planted many years ago. Strong programming, an active volunteer base, enthusiastic business support, and wild audience response made for a powerful week for filmmakers and film lovers alike.

SXSW 2012: Where Transformation is the Norm

erin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Over the last 25 years, South by Southwest has transformed from a music festival to the now familiar South by Southwest Interactive, Film, and Music Festival with 2012 additions SXSW Edu, which focuses on innovations in learning, and SXSW Eco, which focuses on environmental sustainability.

Redemption Hunters

erin — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

In The Hunter, Willem Dafoe plays Martin, a mercenary who is sent from Europe by a mysterious biotech company to the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger, something that most people believe does not exist. There, he discovers something even more precious than the tiger.

Coolidge Corner Theatre Honors Viggo Mortenson

erin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 10:15:48 -0600

At least 45 different groups of film critics and professionals give out annual awards and it’s become part of the territory for heated debate to follow. Is the process fair? Do the right people win? Are awards just one more way to draw attention to celebrity culture?

New Directors/New Films 2012 - Critic's Choice

erin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:13:46 -0600

The Independent’s senior film critic Kurt Brokaw is viewing the entire 41st annual edition of New Directors/New Films, which includes 24 narrative features, 5 documentaries, and 12 short films representing 28 countries. His critic’s choices begin here:

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty
(Terence Nance. 2011. USA. 90 min.)

Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2012 - Critic's Choice

erin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:29:19 -0600

Senior film critic Kurt Brokaw is viewing the prescreened main slate of the 2012 Rendez-vous With French Cinema showing March 1-11, at the Walter Reade Theatre, BamCinematex, and IFC Center. His critic’s choices from among 20 films include:

Free Men (Les Hommes Libres)
(Ismael Ferroukhi. 2011. France. 99 min.)

Fever Dreams, Middle-Eastern Video Diaries, the Quest for Inspiration, and Memories on Tap

erin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Utah, PARK CITY – For filmmakers, screenwriters, video artists and actors looking for inspiration or funding, or both, the 2012 Sundance Film Festival was the destination of choice. I started making the trek to Park City circa 2001, and I’ve been going, on and off, ever since, always on the lookout for undiscovered diamonds in the rough.

Alchemy Springs from the Striking Artistry of Sundance Shorts

erin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Utah, PARK CITY – When it comes to challenging and adventurous short films, the 2012 Sundance Film Festival’s mojo was in top form as the nation’s most prominent tastemaker for the state of indie cinema, both in America and abroad.

Reasons for the Cutting Room Floor

erin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

It’s not every day that you get an opportunity to speak with one of Hollywood’s premiere film editors. If you ever have the means, I would highly recommend it. For those in the Boston area, the means may be closer than you think.

Approaches to End of the World Docs

erin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:28:54 -0600

Two social justice docs at IDFA targeted and systematically attacked the same universal villain: progress. Four Horsemen and Surviving Progress are both "big picture" documentaries that tackle some of today's most globally pressing issues.

IDFA 2011 - In Touch with the "Planet of Snail"

erin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

For two years South Korean director Seung-Jun Yi and his assistant director took a two-hour subway ride to the home of the deaf and blind poet Young-Chan and his wife Soon-Ho. The couple communicates through a technique of gentle finger tapping called finger-braille, developed by the Japanese deaf and blind professor Satoshi Fukushima.