Current issues
Report by Peter Paul Huth (closure)
There are some well-travelled cineastes and regular festival-goers who call Bologna their favourite festival. The atmosphere is relaxed and democratic, there is no VIP area, no stars who have to be shielded from the common people. The participants come from 70 countries, as is proudly noted. Final report by Peter Paul Huth.
When you see classic films on the big screen, you realise that the cinema is a time machine, a place of historical memory. A medium that makes the past visible through the subjective view of those involved in the film, because cinema is always a collective art form. Continuation of the report by Peter Paul Huth.
Peter Paul Huth reports on the film festival in Bologna dedicated to film history. The 2024 edition of the festival focussed on films featuring Marlene Dietrich.
The Dutch feature film "Zomervacht" (Summer Brother) won many prizes last Saturday at the 23rd Transilvania International Film Festival in Cluj in Romania. In this film directed by Joren Molter the main characters are two brothers, one of whom is physically and mentally disabled.
Stanislaw Zeman, president of the ecumenical jury at the International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Zlín 2024, reports about his impressions of the city and the competition programmes.
In April 2023, INTERFILM organised a seminar in Budapest focussing on the history of Hungarian cinema. Karsten Visarius introduces the films presented in the programme and attempts to bring up some aspects of their political and social background.
2024 was the year of women in Cannes, and this was clearly reflected in the awards. Although the Palme d'Or went to a man, to the American Sean Baker, his film "Anora" however has a combative female protagonist in Mikey Madsen. In his acceptance speech, Baker dedicated the award to all female sex workers.
A political highlight was saved for the finale in Cannes, the film "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" by Mohammad Rasoulof. Under the conditions of Iranian censorship, Rasoulof's film seems like a suicidal project.
As the Cannes Festival draws to a close, speculation is rife as to who might win the Palme d'Or this year. The New York Times sees two films at the forefront that are universally regarded as favourites. A preliminary summary.
Cannes loves the big names of international auteur cinema and is happy to invite them to the competition - this year Paul Schrader and Jia Zhang-ke, among others. Continuation of the festival coverage by Peter Paul Huth.
Perhaps the cinema is the ideal place to present questions of fluid identity. In current debates, linguistic sensitivity for particular identities is demanded under the label 'gender-appropriate language'. On the other hand, in 'liquid modernity' (Zygmunt Bauman), gender-specific boundaries are being abolished.
