Market, Ethics, Frontiers and Bamboo: The 27th Sundance Film Festival Bérénice Reynaud May 2008 Festival Reports Issue 47 17–27 January 2008 Market The shadow of the seemingly never-ending writers strike was looming over Sundance this year (we didn’t yet know it would end just on time for the Oscars!), and, when we were...
Nina Menkes: The Warrior and her Jiang Hu Bérénice Reynaud March 2008 Special Dossiers, Spotlight on Nina Menkes Issue 46 An insightful analysis of Nina Menkes’ films and the many distinctive virtues they possess.
Holding Up the Other Half of the Sky: The 26th Vancouver International Film Festival Bérénice Reynaud March 2008 Festival Reports Issue 46 27 September-12 October 2007 The renewal of cinema sometimes comes from unexpected places. Who would have believed, a few years ago, in a Romanian cinema Renaissance? And yet, since Cristi Puíu’s...
From One Red Balloon to the Next: The 2007 AFI Fest/American Film Market Bérénice Reynaud March 2008 Festival Reports Issue 46 It is now a done deal: at the beginning of November, the American Film Institute Festival (1-11 November) and the American Film Market (31 October-7 November) are held quasi-simultaneously – one in...
Unexpected Filiations: The 26th Sundance Film Festival Bérénice Reynaud May 2007 Festival Reports Issue 43 January 18-28, 2007 In spite of a creeping feeling that Sundance 2007 was not a great vintage, there were some really good films – albeit sprinkled in different sections. The inaugural edition of...
Inside and Outside: The 2006 AFI Fest/American Film Market Bérénice Reynaud May 2007 Festival Reports Issue 43 November 1-12, 2006 The American Film Institute Festival (AFI), now with its twin shadow, the American Film Market (AFM), is a double-entry affair. On the one hand, it serves as a testing ground for...
Elusive Reality: The 25th Vancouver International Film Festival Bérénice Reynaud February 2007 Festival Reports Issue 42 Issue 42 28 September–13 October 2006 The jury is still out whether cinema is a “window to the world” – yet “masking” it rather than “framing” it (André Bazin) – or if it is made of...
Gender Trouble: The 25th Sundance Film Festival Bérénice Reynaud May 2006 Festival Reports Issue 39 January 19–29, 2006 One of the coldest festivals in recent memory, the 2006 edition left most of us with a bittersweet taste. There were some nice films, but nothing truly exceptional in the Dramatic...
Of Markets and Men: AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival and American Film Market (AFM) Bérénice Reynaud May 2006 Festival Reports Issue 39 AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival November 3–13, 2005 American Film Market (AFM) November 2–9, 2005 Berlin and Cannes have markets unfolding concurrently with the official selection;...
Deux Fois: Some Thoughts on the 24th Vancouver International Film Festival Bérénice Reynaud February 2006 Festival Reports Issue 38 September 29–October 14, 2005 Cinema is still a young art compared to the first six – yet it is not exempt from a certain lassitude. There is no image that hasn’t been shown already, no sunset...
Shades of Globalisation: The 24th Sundance Film Festival Bérénice Reynaud April 2005 Festival Reports Issue 35 January 20–30, 2005 It is nobody's secret. Sundance 2005 was an honest year, but not a great one. The most salient feature was the decision to organise a competition for international features and...
Cinema For/Against the Lure of Images: The 23rd Vancouver International Film Festival Bérénice Reynaud February 2005 Festival Reports Issue 34 September 23–October 8, 2004 A few years ago, one of my then-colleagues at Cahiers du cinéma, Marc Chevry, launched a stimulating series of articles reflecting on the nature of cinema, titled “Le...