The court of Louis XVI is stripped to a faded, festering husk of itself in “The Flood,” a stark study of the king’s last days in which the luxurious trappings of French monarchy disappear before our eyes — until only its literal architecture remains. An impressively severe second feature by Italian director Gianluca Jodice, this is a brisk rejoinder to past cinematic portraits of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette that have rendered even their downfall in the most lavish way possible.

Such spectacle can have its own ironic purpose, as with the pointed whipped-cream excess of Sofia Coppola’s 2006 vision. But here, as played by Guillaume Canet and a blistering Mélanie Laurent, the deposed, imprisoned monarchs are mocked by whatever finery they’ve held onto: Looking shrunken and freeze-dried in their dirtied robes and increasingly unkempt wigs, they’re dead well ahead of their date with the guillotine. A rather...

Italy has officially abolished film censorship by scrapping legislation that since 1913 has allowed the government to censor scenes and ban movies such as, most famously, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom” and Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Last Tango in Paris.”

The move — which is symbolically important, though censorship is de-facto no longer practiced — definitively does away with “the system of controls and interventions that still allowed the Italian state to intervene on the freedom of artists,” said Culture Minister Dario Franceschini who late Monday announced a new decree ending the government’s powers to censor cinema.

Hundreds of films from all over the world have been banned locally during the past decades for religious, “moral” and political reasons.

Under the new decree, film distributors will self-classify their own movies based on existing audience age brackets such as “over-14″ (or aged 12+ if accompanied by a parent) and “over 18” (or 16+ accompanied by adults).

Subsequently,...

The ceremony was run from an empty studio with winners acknowledging awards via video-link.

Marco Bellocchio’s mafia drama The Traitor swept Italy’s top David di Donatello awards on Friday evening (May 8), winning six prizes including best film, director and lead actor.

The biopic, which premiered in Competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, captures the life of Tommaso Buscetta, the late infamous mafia turncoat who began his organised crime career in Sicily and died in Florida incognito under the Us witness protection programme in 2000.

It marked the first time Bellocchio has won best film at the awards although he...

Marco Bellocchio’s elegant mob drama “The Traitor,” about the first high-ranking member of Cosa Nostra to break the Sicilian Mafia’s oath of silence, was the big winner at Italy’s 65th David di Donatello Awards, the country’s equivalent of the Oscars.

“The Traitor” scored six statuettes including best picture, director, and actor honors.

The prizes were announced – but not physically given out – during a no-frills ceremony conducted in primetime on pubcaster Rai by star host Carlo Conti in an empty studio with talents appearing in live web platform link-ups. The event served as a collective rebirth rite just when local coronavirus lockdown restrictions slowly begin to lift.

“My wish is for the Italian film community to start working again,” Bellocchio, who is a revered veteran auteur, said speaking from his home, before adding: “I’m 80, and I also hope to make a few more movies.”

“The Traitor,...

Comcast-backed Sky is making a new Italian original titled “Anna,” centered on a 13-year-old Sicilian girl who must contend with a viral contagion that has killed off all adults on the island.

The series, which has echoes of “The Walking Dead” and “Hunger Games,” is based on a book by the same title by author-turned-director Niccolò Ammaniti, who previously helmed Sky series “The Miracle.”

Shooting will start in mid-October with Ammaniti as showrunner and principal director. He also penned the screenplay in tandem with prominent Italian scribe Francesca Manieri (“Luna Nera”). Ace Sicilian cinematographer Daniele Ciprì will handle lensing duties and direct some insert segments.

“Anna” is being produced by Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli for Fremantle’s Wildside in co-production with Arte France and Fremantle-owned Kwai. It will air as a Sky exclusive in Italy and possibly on the paybox in other territories. Fremantle is handling global rights.

The films of director Franco Maresco (“Belluscone: A Sicilian Story”) are an acquired taste, rarely developed by non-Italian palates, and “The Mafia Is Not What It Used to Be” is a prime example. Playing in the nether regions separating documentary and fiction, Maresco is a humorist who expresses his frustration at Italian politics with absurdism — a legitimate response given how surreal some of the situations can be. His style, however, is abrasive and pandering, while his voice acts as a near constant accompaniment as he “interviews” characters whose benighted pro-Berlusconi attitudes (as in his last film) or complacency about the Mafia, as here, are played as farce. Though the word “mockumentary” is oddly rarely applied to Maresco’s exasperating movies, there’s every sign his subjects are scripted; if they weren’t, his manner of ridiculing these people would be offensive. “Mafia” is strictly for locals.

Here’s the setup:...

Claudio Giovannesi with Anne-Katrin Titze on Francesco Di Napoli's Nicola in Piranhas (La Paranza Dei Bambini): "After this movie I met Giorgio Armani because Giorgio Armani watched the movie and fell in love with the main character." Photo: Lilia Blouin

Claudio Giovannesi's Piranhas (La Paranza Dei Bambini), co-written with Roberto Saviano (author of The Piranhas: The Boy Bosses Of Naples) and Maurizio Braucchi, stars Francesco Di Napoli with Luca Nacarlo, Viviana Aprea, Ar Tem, Ciro Vecchione, Alfredo Turitto, Pasquale Marotta, Ciro Pellechia, Carmine Pizzo, and Mattia Piano Del Balzo. As the director states, it "is a movie on adolescents who make a choice of a life of crime, but it starts out as a game. And then this game ends up evolving into a war."

Claudio Giovannesi on Nicola (Francesco Di Napoli) with Letizia (Viviana Aprea) in Piranhas: "It is a film in which the age of the protagonists is a protagonist itself.

Nicola is a decent kid in a dirty world. A 15-year-old boy who’s mired in the usual mess of pubescent crises — raging hormones, idiot friends, hostile bullies — Nicola stands out for the attention that he still manages to afford his single mom and younger brother; whether motivated by love or by the unfulfilled masculinity that his absent father left behind, there’s no denying that he’s motivated. Alas, that’s kind of the problem. In most places, it might be a good thing for a teenager to be a real go-getter with ambition to burn and a savvy head for business. In the corrupt heart of Naples, which 2008’s “Gomorrah” effectively minted as the new epicenter of mafia cinema, those same traits are more like a death sentence.

A familiar but arrestingly visceral crime story with a coming-of-age twist, Claudio Giovannesi’s “Piranhas” has an unusual relationship with its own predictability.

Claudio Giovannesi’s third feature “Piranhas,” which screens in Berlin’s competition, depicts Neapolitan teen gangsters drawing from a novel by star author Roberto Saviano whose mob exposé “Gomorrah” spawned a pluriprized movie and a game-changing TV series. Giovannesi spoke to Variety about the challenge of adapting Saviano given what came before and how he trained his non-professional cast.

How did you go about striking a different tone in adapting Saviano?

Garrone’s “Gomorrah” movie is genial and groundbreaking. And I shot two episodes of the “Gomorrah” TV series. I did not want to replicate either of those works. My approach was to distance myself from the TV series and say: ‘I don’t want to make a genre film.’ The starting point with the producer and the screenwriter [Maurizio Braucci] was: we are not doing “Gomorrah” with kids. We are going to work on the emotional aspect; on the characters’ feelings and their fragility.

The €8m film is an “emotional reinterpretation” of the founding of Rome by twins Romulus and Remus.

An “emotional reinterpretation” of the mythical tale around the founding of Rome by twins Romulus and Remus, The First King is Matteo Rovere’s €8m follow-up to 2016 racing drama Italian Race.

Check out an exclusive first look image below.

The historical epic is produced by Rovere and Andrea Paris’ Groenlandia with Rai Cinema, in association with Roman Citizen and Belgian Gapbusters.

Indie Sales is handling worldwide sales. Principal photography finished in December and 01 will distribute in Italy in 2018.

Set before the founding of Rome in 750Bc and with the cast speaking their roles in pre-Roman Latin, the film was shot entirely with natural light by cinematographer Daniele Ciprì. The cast is led by Alessandro Borghi of Suburra fame.

“It’s an adventure movie in which all the action scenes are shot with real stunts,” Rovere told Screen...

★★★☆☆ Italian director Marco Bellocchio makes his return with Blood of My Blood (2015), another typically anomalous effort being theme rather than plot-driven. Divided into two distinct parts, it's bound together by recurring actors and the vampiric Count Basta (Roberto Herlitzka). The first half of the film is set in the 17th century and tells the story of Benedetta (Lidiya Liberman), a young nun from the convent of Bobbio, accused of witchcraft and worshipping Satan. Man of arms Federico Mai (Pier Giorgio Bellocchio) attends her trial, which is conducted by Father Cacciapuoti (Fausto Russo Alesi) and to which an unnamed mysterious figure (Roberto Herlitzka) is witness for a brief moment.

The second half opens in contemporary Bobbio, where the convent is now a decrepit prison secretly inhabited by shady Count Basta (Hetlitzka again). Tax inspector and con man Federico Mai (Pier Giorgio Bellocchio) together with Russian millionaire Ivan Rikalkov (Ivan Franek) try...

What this well-crafted Sicilian mafia drama lacks in dialogue it more than makes up for in atmosphere

Salvo is an almost wordless Sicilian-set drama about a mafia assassin who starts feeling protective about his latest victim's blind sister.

Shot in intensely atmospheric chiaroscuro by Daniele Ciprì, the film is less interested in storytelling and character than in exploring moody stylistics, with a sound design that's well worth periodically shutting your eyes to soak up.

Exquisitely crafted if somewhat academic – an "ambient thriller", if there's such a thing.

Rating: 3/5

ThrillerWorld cinemaJonathan Romney

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As the 56th London Film Festival neared its close, the awards ceremony kicked off with our man London Film Fanatiq in the house for Blogomatic3000. The red carpet saw many representatives of this year’s nominees greet the crowds and discuss their work with the press. Several jury members, including Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Colman also came out to pay tribute to the talent behind some of the festival’s finest features.

Check out all the red carpet pictures from the event and a full list of winners below:

Best Film Award

Rust and Bone, Jacques Audiard, France/Belgium After Lucia, Michel Franco, Mexico End of Watch, David Ayer, USA Everyday, Michael Winterbottom, UK Fill The Void, Rama Burshtein, Israel Ginger and Rosa, Sally Potter, UK In the House, François Ozon, France It Was The Son, Daniele Ciprì, Italy/France Lore, Cate Shortland, Germany/Australia/UK Midnight’s Children, Deepa Mehta,...

The capital has been the home of some of the biggest names and films in the industry over the past ten days, and with the festival finally coming to a close tomorrow, the results are in for the official competition categories.

Sir David Hare, Tom Hiddleston, David Yates, Sebastian Faulks, Olivia Colman, Kazuo Ishiguru, and many more prominent names presided over the various Juries, and with so much talent this year, I don’t envy what must have been very difficult decisions.

Also being honoured this year are Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter, both of whom have been presented with the BFI Fellowship, the highest honour from the film institute. The former brought his latest feature, Frankenweenie, to the festival for its opening night, whilst the latter stars in Mike Newell’s Great Expectations, bookending the festival nicely as the Closing Night Film.

With the festival now coming to an end tomorrow,...

★★☆☆☆ Based on a novel by Roberto Alaimo, It Was the Son (È stato il figlio, 2012) director Daniele Ciprì - who has previously made his name as a cinematographer work for such acclaimed filmmakers as Marco Bellocchio - gives a visually imaginative look to his new feature, utilising a stylish sheen similar in the manner of the early films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Unfortunately, It Was the Son has deep-seeded problems when it comes to its control of tone.

Read more »...

A couple of Italian gems along with a more sugary offering are screened at the London film festival, which this year has been reorganised by themes

For a working critic based in the capital, the London film festival is an enticing prospect — and yet a frustrating experience. The regular round of UK releases must be attended to; those films have to be reviewed (including the inevitable sprinkling of duds) and so Lff films have to be squeezed in wherever possible.

What makes it all more agonising is the fact that the Lff programme is somehow always the most mouthwatering document produced by any festival: a juicily thick brochure, packed with great stuff, and an unmissable-looking film on every page. The Lff may not have as many premieres as Toronto, Venice and Cannes, but so what? That's the sort of thing that preoccupies industry types. Regular filmgoers in London are surely...

The BFI London Film Festival officially opened last night with the UK premiere of Tim Burton’s latest feature, Frankenweenie, a black and white stop-motion film destined to become something of a cult classic.

With the festival now underway, the juries for the separate categories in competition have been announced, with Sir David Hare, Tom Hiddleston, David Yates, and Olivia Colman leading an impressive line-up to judge the contenders.

Also celebrated at this year’s festival will be Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter, both of whom are being presented with the BFI’s highest honour, the BFI Fellowship.

You can read the full list of jurors in the official announcement below, but here’s a run-down of the main categories and the films in competition.

Sir David Hare leads the jury for the Best Film Award, for which the following are competing:

After Lucia, Michel Franco, Mexico End of Watch,...

Below you will find our total coverage of the 2012 Toronto International Film festival, including previews, reviews, and the festival-spanning dialog between our two main critics at Tiff. A few more pieces may be added as they come in.

Wavelengths (P)Reviews

by Michael Sicinski

Part One - The Shorts

Part Two - The Features

Correspondences

between Fernando F. Croce and Daniel Kasman

#1

Fernando F. Croce on Abbas Kiarostami's Like Someone in Love, Michael Haneke's Amour, Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers

#2

Daniel Kasman on Wang Bing's Three Sisters, Christian Petzold's Barbara, Ying Liang's When Night Falls, Ernie Gehr's Departure and Auto-Collider Xv

#3

Fernando F. Croce on Carlos Reygadas' Post Tenebras Lux, Olivier Assayas' Something in the Air, Bernardo Bertolucci's Me and You, Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha

#4

Daniel Kasman on Brian De Palma's Passion, Heinz Emigholz's Perret in France and Algeria, Nathaniel Dorsky...

Golden Lion for Best Film to Pieta by Kim Ki-duk (Republic of Korea)

Silver Lion for Best Director to The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson (USA)

Special Jury Prize to Paradies: Glaube by Ulrich Seidl (Austria, Germany, France)

Coppa Volpi for Best Actor to Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix

in the film The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson (USA)

Coppa Volpi for Best Actress Hadas Yaron

in the film Lemale Et Ha.Chalal by Rama Bursthein (Israel)

Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress to Fabrizio Falco

in the films Bella Addormentata by Marco Bellocchio (Italy) and È Stato Il Figlio by Daniele Ciprí (Italy)

Award For Best Screenplay to Olivier Assayas

for the film Apres Mai by Olivier Assayas (France)

Award For The Best Technical Contribution (Cinematography) to Daniele Ciprì

for the film È Stato Il Figlio by Daniele Ciprì (Italy)

. Lion Of The Future...

E' stato il figlio (Daniele Ciprì) + L'Intervallo (Leonardo Di Constanzo)

Festival programming creates unexpected and unplanned dialogs between films: all in the head of the viewer, helping to meditate about "contemporary." Italian films E' stato il figlio (The Son Did It) and L'Intervallo (The Interval) are two different approaches to the search for an image for today of Italian people.

Brilliant cinematographer Daniele Ciprì became famous together with co-author/director Franco Maresco for their insolent, provocative and censorship challenging TV programs and films. Deeply rooted in their Sicilian background and culture, keen on "bad taste," "freaks" and politically incorrect statements, the two mavericks have been a creative breath in Italian production of the 90s. The team is not a team anymore. Ciprì alone here adapts for the screen a successful 2005 giallo by Roberto Alajmo, a story of greed, oppression and submission set in a poor neighborhood of Palermo.

Nicola (Toni Servillo), his father,...

The programme for the 56th BFI London Film Festival launched yesterday under the new creative leadership of BFI’s Head of Exhibition and Festival Director, Clare Stewart, bringing a rich and diverse programme of international films and events from both established and upcoming talent over a 12 day celebration of cinema. The Festival will screen a total of 225 fiction and documentary features, including 14 World Premieres, 15 International Premieres and 34 European Premieres. There will also be screenings of 111 live action and animated shorts. A stellar line-up of directors, cast and crew are expected to take part in career interviews, master classes, and other special events. The 56th BFI London Film Festival will run from 10-21 October 2012. This year sees the introduction of several changes to the Festival’s format. Now taking place over 12 days, the Festival expands further from its traditional Leicester Square cinemas – Odeon West End, Vue West End, Odeon Leicester Square...

Announced yesterday, the programme for the 56th BFI London Film Festival brings a rich and diverse programme of international films and events from both established and upcoming talent over a 12 day celebration of cinema. The Festival will screen a total of 225 fiction and documentary features, including 14 World Premieres, 15 International Premieres and 34 European Premieres. There will also be screenings of 111 live action and animated shorts. A stellar line-up of directors, cast and crew are expected to take part in career interviews, master classes, and other special events.

This year sees the introduction of several changes to the Festival’s format. Now taking place over 12 days, the Festival expands further from its traditional Leicester Square cinemas – Odeon West End, Vue West End, Odeon Leicester Square and Empire – and the BFI Southbank to include four additional new venues – Hackney Picturehouse, Renoir, Everyman Screen on the Green and Rich Mix, which join existing London venues the Ica,...

One of the clear victors emerging out of Telluride was Ben Affleck‘s The Town follow-up, the political hostage thriller Argo. Featuring a great ensemble including Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman, the film received top-notch reviews for its mix of thrillers and comedy and now we’ve got word it’ll be showing at another prestigious festival.

BFI London Film Festival announced their promising line-up today, which includes Argo, as well as Michael Haneke‘s Amour, Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths, Michael Winterbottom’s Everyday, Sally Potter’s Ginger and Rosa, Jacques Audiard’s Rust and Bone and much more. Check out the complete line-up below, as well as WB’s first TV spot for Argo.

London, Wednesday 5 September: The programme for the 56th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express launched today under the new creative leadership of BFI’s Head of Exhibition and Festival Director,...

The line-up to the 56th London Film Festival has just been announced and you can see the list of movies coming to the greatest city in the world below. We already knew that Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie and Mike Newell’s Great Expectations would open and close the festival respectively but now we have the rest of the movies coming to London Town.

Let us know your thoughts on the line-up below in our comments section.

The Festival itself runs from October 10th to October 21st and we’ll be doing our best to bring you reviews from as many films as we possibly can!

London, Wednesday 5 September: The programme for the 56th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express launched today under the new creative leadership of BFI’s Head of Exhibition and Festival Director, Clare Stewart, bringing a rich and diverse programme of international films and...

The 37th Toronto International Film Festival® will roll out the red carpet for hundreds of guests from the four corners of the globe in September. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Rian Johnson, Noah Baumbach, Deepa Mehta, Derek Cianfrance, Sion Sono, Joss Whedon, Neil Jordan, Lu Chuan, Shola Lynch, Barry Levinson, Yvan Attal, Ben Affleck, Marina Zenovich, Costa-Gavras, Laurent Cantet, Sally Potter, Dustin Hoffman, Francois Ozon, David O. Russell, David Ayer, Pelin Esmer, Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, Andrew Adamson, Michael McGowan, Bahman Ghobadi, Ziad Doueiri, Alex Gibney, Stephen Chbosky, Eran Riklis, Edward Burns, Bernard Émond, Zhang Yuan, Michael Winterbottom, Mike Newell, Miwa Nishikawa, Margarethe Von Trotta, David Siegel, Scott McGehee, Gauri Shinde, Goran Paskaljevic, Baltasar Kormákur, J.A. Bayona, Rob Zombie, Peaches and Paul Andrew Williams.

Actors expected to attend include: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jackie Chan, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Bill Murray, Robert Redford,...

As if the line-up couldn’t get any better, Toronto International Film Festival have went ahead with what looks to be their final announcement of premieres. Added to the slate is the oft-rumored The Master, showing in 70mm, as well as Brian De Palma‘s Passion, Harmony Korine‘s Spring Breakers, Peter Webber‘s WWII romantic drama Emperor, a Jeff Buckley biopic, as well as Cannes premieres such as Lee Daniels‘ The Paperboy (review here) and Walter Salles’ On the Road (review here). Check out the new additions below.

Galas

Song for Marion Paul Andrew Williams, UK Closing Night Film

A feel-good, heart-warming story about how music can inspire you. Song for Marion stars Terence Stamp as Arthur, a grumpy pensioner who can’t understand why his wife Marion (Vanessa Redgrave) would want to embarrass herself singing silly songs with her unconventional local choir. But choir director Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton...

Toronto – The Toronto International Film Festival® announces the addition of 3 Galas and 18 Special Presentations, including 8 World Premieres, to its slate. The Festival will close with Paul Andrew Williams’ A Song For Marion, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp. Festival-goers will be treated to an exciting programming lineup of diverse titles and genres from around the globe, including works from Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iraqi Kurdistan, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the UK, and the USA. Toronto audiences will be among the first to screen remarkable pieces of cinema by directors Dan Algrant, Paul Thomas Anderson, Dante Ariola, Yvan Attal, Susanne Bier, Nick Cassavetes, Daniele Ciprì, Lee Daniels, Brian De Palma, Bahman Ghobadi, Harmony Korine, Patrice Leconte, Spike Lee, Scott McGehee, Claude Miller, Henry-Alex Rubin, Walter Salles, Valeria Sarmiento, Pablo Trapero, Peter Webber, and Paul Andrew Williams. This announcement brings the final number of Galas to 20, and...

The Toronto International Film Festival has added over 75 titles to its mammoth and impressive 2012 lineup, including new films in the Special Presentations and Gala sections from Paul Thomas Anderson, Dante Ariola, Susanne Bier, Nick Cassavetes, Daniele Ciprì, Lee Daniels, Brian De Palma, Harmony Korine, Spike Lee, Claude Miller, Walter Salles, Valeria Sarmiento, Pablo Trapero and Peter Webber. The announcement brings the final number of Galas to 20, and the final number of Special Presentations to 70, including 48 world premieres. The festival's overall film count stands at over 200 titles, with more still to come. A complete list of all announced films in every program can be found here. The festival also announced that it will close with a Gala presentation of Paul Andrew Williams’ "A Song For Marion," starring Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp. Also announced was Tiff's Contemporary World Cinema program, which draws from...

Harvey Weinstein likes to milk his PR. We all know that Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master," which made its La debut at an unannounced 70 mm screening at the Aero Theatre last Saturday (Toh review here), was set to show at the 69th Venice Biennale. Sure enough, the official release finally arrived, announcing four new titles including "The Master," starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams, which will be shown in 70 mm. Chances are also good the film will turn up in Toronto. The 18th film in the Competition and Anderson's first Venice entry will be shown in the Sala Grande (Palazzo del Cinema) on September 1st at 7.00 p.m. Anderson is up against fellow Venice competition rookies Olivier Assayas, Ramin Baharani, Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth, Rama Burshtein, Daniele Ciprì, Xavier Giannoli, Harmony Korine, Terrence Malick, Valeria Sarmiento, and Kirill Serebrennikov, as well as veterans Marco Bellocchio,...

After a remarkable presence at Cannes Film Festival this year, Indian cinema hasn’t had much luck with the prestigious Venice International Film Festival.

The festival, headed by new Director Alberto Barbera announced its lineup today, but no Indian film figures in any of the sections.

The 69th edition of the festival will run from August 29-September 8, 2012. Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist will be the opening film.

In its 2011 edition, the festival had screened Sonchidi by Amit Dutta and Anhey Ghorhey da Daan(Alms of the Blind Horse) by Gurvinder Singh in the Orizzonti (New Horizons) section.

Films in Competition:

Olivier Assayas – APRÈS Mai (Something In The Air)

France, 122′

Clément Métayer, Lola Créton, Félix Armand

Ramin Bahrani – At Any Price

USA, UK, 100′

Zac Efron, Dennis Quaid, Kim Dickens, Heather Graham

Marco Bellocchio – Bella Addormentata

Italy, France, 115′

Toni Servillo, Isabelle Huppert, Alba Rohrwacher, Michele Riondino, Maya Sansa, Pier Giorgio Bellocchio

Peter Brosens,...

Someone out there referred to yesterday as the Super Sunday of awards season and, if you're concentrating on critics organizations, it may well have been. Flurries of tweets announcing the best this or that fluttered in from Boston, New York and Los Angeles, followed by a full list from San Francisco. The American Film Institute slipped in there, too, at some point, announcing its Ten Films and Ten TV programs of the year.

The films: Bridesmaids, The Descendants, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (image above), The Help, Hugo, J. Edgar, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life and War Horse.

Variety's announcement of its 10 Directors to Watch list almost whisked by unnoticed as well, but to catch up: Zal Batmanglij (Sound of My Voice), Valérie Donzelli (Declaration of War), Gareth Evans (The Raid), Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar), Gerardo Naranjo (Miss Bala), Matt Piedmont (Casa de mi padre), Michaël...

Release Date: March 19 Director/Writer: Marco Bellocchio Starring: Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Filippo Timi Cinematography: Daniele Ciprì Studio/Run Time: Offside, 128 mins. So I married a fascist dictator In its first act, Vincere is as an over-edited biopic about the rise of fire-bellowing orator Benito Mussolini. As the future dictator moves from broke rabblerouser to fascistic rhetorician, he marries Ida Dalser, who gives birth to their son. But as Mussolini’s ascent quickens, director Marco Bellocchio inverts all expectations and the film instead follows the downward trajectory of the scorned Dalser....

The winners are here for the 2009 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

It only seems like there are too many to count.

There were 145 films from 45 countries this year.

Competitions were held in the International Feature Film, New Directors, Documentary and Short Film categories, along with a special Chicago Award for a local filmmaker. The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named after the mythological God of Discovery.

Award Winners:

International Feature Film Competition

Gold Hugo for Best Film to Mississippi Damned (Us) for its powerful and uncompromising portrait of the compounding frailties and difficulties of a struggling black community.

Silver Hugo for Special Jury Award to Fish Tank (UK) for its aesthetic boldness in taking us into a grim public-housing environment and showing us the transcendent spirit of a young girl that struggles to overcome the adult lies that engulf her.

Silver Hugo for Best Director to Marco Bellocchio (Vincere,...