#jewish international film festival 2020

[jesse-eisenberg-interview]

Jesse Eisenberg to direct ’A Real Pain’, will star opposite Kieran Culkin (exclusive)

Jesse Eisenberg has set his next feature as writer-director – A Real Pain – and is lining up a March 2023 shoot in Warsaw, Poland.

Eisenberg will lead the cast alongside Succession star Kieran Culkin. The story will follow two estranged cousins who travel to Poland after their grandmother dies to see where she came from and end up joining a Holocaust tour.

Dave McCary, Emma Stone and Ali Herting’s US production company Fruit Tree will reunite with Eisenberg after producing his feature directing debut When You Finish Saving The World, which premiered online at Sundance this year and went on to play Cannes.

Speaking to Screen about the main characters Eisenberg said “They have a funny, fraught relationship; it’s a bittersweet story, as we realise maybe we don’t fully belong together, but against the backdrop of this incredibly dramatic history.

“I’m trying to ask the question is modern pain valid against the backdrop of real historical trauma. I think I’m speaking to the experience of people [in their 30s] who go back and it’s foreign to them – and now suddenly real.”

Eisenberg said he is hoping to use “as much of the crew as I can bring” from his first film alongside Polish crew. “Luckily I’m shooting in a country that has an amazing film tradition.”

The actor-filmmaker comes from a secular Jewish background and his ancestry traces back to Poland. His acting roles include 2020 biographical drama Resistance, about the French mime Marcel Marceau’s role in the French Resistance during the Second World War.

Eisenberg is attending Sarajevo Film Festival this week, where he accepted the honorary Heart of Sarajevo award on Monday and has since participated in a ‘Coffee with..’ discussion and masterclass session.

Social status

Having received international acclaim and a best actor Oscar nomination for playing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in 2010’s The Social Network, Eisenberg’s first film as director has a lead character who is obsessed with his social media following.

However he personally avoids that realm. “I have probably the most cynical attitude a person could have – especially a person in media,” he said. “My attitude stems from the fact that I’m a very public person, so I really try to maintain privacy in my personal life. So I’m completely befuddled when I see somebody posting something about the personal life on the internet, because to me it seems like you have the greatest luxury in the world, of privacy.

“Why the hell would you put yourself in a bikini eating spaghetti on the internet?”

Regarding Zuckerberg and how social media has changed the world in the 12 years since the film, Eisenberg said, “I don’t feel that he was thinking of changing the world for the better. He’s not seen as this benevolent force for social change. So that is concerning to me – that something with so much power and influence didn’t start with the intentions of some kind of social benevolence. So that kind of worries me.”

He also addressed the encroachment of social media on the acting profession – specifically the issue of actors and actresses being asked to show social media followings when auditioning for roles. “I’m so lucky I started acting before that became a thing, because I would’ve maybe been at a disadvantage,” he said. “I guess now it’s just part of the thing – I don’t know, that’s sad.”

On casting the plays he has written and When You Finish Saving The World, Eisenberg said: “I would look up an actor and sometimes they’d write something online that was so strange. You almost feel like, ‘I wish I didn’t know that about this person. They’re fantastic, I wish I didn’t know that they have an opinion about this random politician.’

“It just feels weird and distracting, and takes away from this wonderful thing actors have, which is [that] you can be mysterious in your personal life, so that when the public sees you in a role, they can engage with it as something new. That has completely disappeared.”

A24 holds US rights to When You Finish Saving The World and has not yet set a release date. Eisenberg said he tries “to stay uninvolved” in all distribution discussions – “it has nothing to do with anything that I’m good at” – and doesn’t watch himself on screen. He added that sometimes he doesn’t even know when his films come out.

Sarajevo Film Festival continues until Friday (August 19).

SOURCE

#jesse eisenberg #2022 #a real pain #Kieran Culkin

[naijaboi]

Growth! Posted @withrepost • @filmfatalesorg Let's give it up for these new members of Film Fatales! ✨ ✨ Seyi Adebanjo is a Queer Gender-Non-Conforming Nigerian MFA artist, who raises awareness around social issues through video, ritual, photography & writing workshops. Seyi’s latest project is AFROMYSTIC, a lyrical documentary. ✨ Sophia Castuera is a filmmaker and actor based in New York. Sophia hopes to tell more stories about underrepresented communities, and she especially hopes to tell stories that explore her Mexican heritage. ✨ Nitsan Tal was born and raised in Israel, in a Kibbutz in Israel. Nitsan directed her first documentary film “It Takes Balls”, the story of an actor who likes to portray women. The film was shown in several festivals in the U.S. ✨Julianna Notten (She/They) is an award-winning, queer filmmaker and co-founder of Switch Hitter Films. Currently she is developing, WELL THATS JUST SUPER with the support of the CBC. ✨ Eugina Gelbelman is a screenwriter and director from Brooklyn, New York. Her parents are Jewish refugees from the former Soviet Union. She wrapped shooting on her first feature film, THE WHITE GODDESS in February 2020 ✨ Jessamyn Ansary got her start in the film industry as an associate producer on Michael Apted’s multi-year documentary. Other feature film experience: the Emmy-nominated healthcare documentary ESCAPE FIRE. ✨ Nina Menkes synthesizes inner dream-worlds with harsh, outer realities. Menkes has shown widely in major international film festivals including Sundance, the Berlinale, Cannes (ACID), Rotterdam, Locarno, Toronto & more. ✨ Migdia Skarsgård Chinea is a Cuban-American Latina. Chinea's experience has recently concentrated in independent filmmaking, managing every aspect of the process from writing to directing to set design to post production. ✨ Rebekah Fergusson is a documentary filmmaker with a passion for character-driven stories. Her experience includes directing, cinematography, and producing. She has produced long form documentaries for Netflix, ITVS, HBO & more. #FilmFatales #NewMembers #Welcome https://www.instagram.com/p/ClmjqJdO36M/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#filmfatales #newmembers #welcome

[africanlong]

Eliza schneider movies and tv shows

ELIZA SCHNEIDER MOVIES AND TV SHOWS SERIES

ELIZA SCHNEIDER MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TV

Rogan and Shlesinger discuss the pronunciation of Shlesinger's last time. "Joe Rogan Experience #488 - Iliza Shlesinger". ^ Rogan, Joe Shlesinger, Iliza (April 21, 2014).^ "Iliza Vie Shlesinger poses at the Hollywood Improv on Main.Voice role episode: "Max Caenen In: Why Would He Know If His Mother's a Size Queen" Works Comedy specials YearĮpisode: "Adam Carolla, Iliza Schlesinger & Demetri Martin" On May 12, 2018, Shlesinger married chef Noah Galuten, in a Jewish ceremony in Los Angeles. Released on Netflix on January 7, 2021, following its world premiere on September 4, 2020, at the 77th Venice International Film Festival, Shlesinger played Anita Weiss in Pieces of a Woman, the sister to Martha, the main character. Shlesinger also stars in the March 2020 Netflix film Spenser Confidential and The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show, which premiered April 1, 2020. Her fifth Netflix stand-up special, Unveiled was recorded in Nashville and premiered on Netflix on Nov 19, 2019. Her fourth Netflix stand-up special, Elder Millennial, was recorded aboard USS Hornet, at the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum in Alameda, California on February 23, 2018, and premiered on Netflix on July 24, 2018. Her third Netflix stand-up special, titled Confirmed Kills, was recorded at The Vic Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, and premiered on Netflix on September 23, 2016. Her second stand-up special, Freezing Hot, was recorded in Denver, Colorado and premiered on Netflix on January 23, 2015. Shlesinger's first comedy album and video, War Paint, was recorded on December 1, 2012, at The Lakewood Theater in Dallas, Texas, and released on Netflix on September 1, 2013. The initial complaint was dismissed and then refiled as a class action suit. In December 2017, it was reported Shlesinger was sued by a man who was denied admission to one of her girls-only shows. On November 7, 2017, Weinstein Books published Shlesinger's book Girl Logic: The Genius and the Absurdity with an introduction by Mayim Bialik. Truth & Iliza began airing on May 2, 2017, and ran for six episodes. Ī late night show for Shlesinger was placed into development in September 2016 for the cable channel Freeform.

ELIZA SCHNEIDER MOVIES AND TV SHOWS SERIES

On July 13, 2016, the ABCdigital original short-form digital comedy series Forever 31, created by and starring Shlesinger was released. Shlesinger was comic co-host of StarTalk Radio Show with Neil DeGrasse Tyson for season 7, episode 12 titled Cosmic Queries: Galactic Grab Bag on May 20, 2016. Featuring celebrity guests and personal friends, the semi-weekly podcast is a forum for discussing matters which bother her and those on the show, with a punk theme song performed by Being Mean to Pixley. She began a podcast called Truth and Iliza in August 2014. She co-starred in the 2013 film Paradise. She also hosted Excused, a syndicated American reality-based dating competition series, which ran from 2011 to 2013. Shlesinger hosted The Weakly News on from July 2007 to April 2012. Around the time of these releases, Shlesinger appeared in a business comedy video series for Slate. In 2010, she released an on-demand comedy video, Man Up and Act Like a Lady, and an on-demand comedy album, iliza LIVE, on her website, via The ConneXtion. Shlesinger worked with Lewis Black to contribute to Surviving the Holidays, a History Channel holiday special, and narrated the 2009 documentary Imagine It!² The Power of Imagination. She appeared in The Last Comic Standing Tour. She was twice selected by other comedians to compete in the head-to-head eliminations, winning each time. In 2008, Shlesinger became the first woman, and the youngest, winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing, in the series' sixth season. She has written for and had her own show on GOTV's mobile network.

ELIZA SCHNEIDER MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TV

Her television credits include E! Network's Forbes Celebrity 100, TV Guide's America's Next Top Producer, Comedy Central Presents Season 14 Episode 18, John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show, Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed, and History Channel's History of a Joke. In 2007, Shlesinger won Myspace's So You Think You're Funny contest and has been featured as the G4 network's Myspace Girl of the Week. She was one of the most popular members of the Whiteboy Comedy group of standup comedians in Los Angeles, which brought her to the stage at The Improv in Hollywood. After graduating from college, Shlesinger moved to Los Angeles to pursue stand-up comedy.

#Eliza schneider movies and tv shows

[falkenscreen]

Film Fight Club S4E21: Cornel Ozies on 'Our Law,' #SydFilmFest, Film, Festival & Cinema Updates

Where we chat ‘Our Law’ with Director Cornel Ozies which has its World Premiere today as part of Sydney Film Festival 2020 + all things virtual #SydFilmFest, ‘Resistance’ and Australian Film Festival, cinema & movie updates – Wednesdays 7:30PM on 2SER + subscribe to the podcast on iTunes & Spotify

Audiences can watch Our Law on NITV on Karla Grant Presents on Monday 22 June at 8.30pm or purchase tickets to an early virtual screening at Sydney Film Festival, running online from 10 – 21 June 2020

Listen here

#xl #fight club #film fight club #2ser #australian film #australian cinema #cannes #cannes 2020 #cornel ozies #jesse eisenberg #jiff #jiff 2020 #jewish international film festival #jewish international film festival 2020 #our law #sff #sff 2020 #sydfilmfest #sydney film festival #sydney film festival 2020 #sydney underground film festival #suff #suff 2020 #ritz at home

[anyab]

[Image Description: a poster. On the left is an abstract drawing of a face. On the right are the poster information. They read, "queer cinema for palestine: first ever global queer film festival in solidarity with palestinian rights." The title reads, "queer cinema for palestine" with the q replaced with a film roll. "Nov 11-20 2021, film festival" then a strip with city names in it, they are, "beirut, belfast, berlin, bilbao, brasilia, london [ontario], Montreal, paris, prishtina, seoul, sofia, tunis, turin." Below is the website it is, "QueerCinemaForPalestine.org" End Description]

Link to the site

From the site:

Queer Cinema for Palestine (QCP) will open its virtual and physical doors this November for a collectively-curated 10-day film festival celebrating global queer realities and standing in solidarity with Palestinians.

QCP will run from 11-20 November and host more than a dozen events across five continents, both online and in person. QCP is a first-time global queer solidarity initiative that offers a vibrant space using art and culture to oppose the ongoing violence of Israeli apartheid.

QCP will feature films and documentaries including Palestinian and South West African and North African regional films and artists, masterclasses with filmmakers, panel discussions, drag performances, queer indigenous solidarity, and more.

QCP coincides with TLVFest, the Israeli government-sponsored LGBT film festival. Palestinian queers have called for a boycott of TLVFest over its role in pinkwashing Israel’s regime of military occupation and apartheid oppressing all Palestinians.

QCP will feature some of the more than 50 filmmakers who have pulled their films from TLVFest in response to the call from Palestinian queers and the nearly 200 who have pledged not to screen at TLVFest. A special program of Brazilian short films will honor the eight Brazilian filmmakers who withdrew from TLVFest in 2020.

QCP recognizes that fighting apartheid via principled acts of refusal and withdrawal is just part of the equation. QCP offers a space for artists to do what they do best: creating art for audiences and using art for social change.

QCP will also feature a program of Jewish queer cinema in solidarity with Palestinians and a panel discussion on challenging repression of solidarity with Palestinians.

An “Apartheid then and now” program will feature South African, Palestinian and international films and speakers on using cinema and new media to oppose apartheid and boycott as an activist tactic.

Ghadir al Shafie, co-founder of Aswat – Palestinian Feminist Center for Gender and Sexual Freedoms, commented:

“As Palestinian queers we invite you to join us for Queer Cinema for Palestine, a feminist, anti-racist, anti-colonial festival that shouts YES to queer cinema and NO to Israeli Apartheid.”

QCP will host events in cities around the world, including Seoul, Bilbao, Tunis, Beirut, Belfast, Prishtina, Paris, Montreal, Turin, Sofia, and London, Ontario.

The online program will be hosted on the Toronto Queer Film Festival’s state-of-the-art platform designed with accessibility in mind. Films will be available on demand for the duration of the festival.

QCP encourages local queer, Palestine solidarity and anti-racist groups around the world to organize watch parties during the festival.

QCP came together in May 2021, as the world protested and unprecedented numbers of artists, sports celebrities and academics called for accountability following Israel’s bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza, forced expulsions in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan in occupied Palestinian East Jerusalem, and violent repression and arrests of Palestinians demonstrating for their rights.

QCP is organized by a global coalition that includes Aswat – Palestinian Feminist Center for Gender and Sexual Freedoms; Kooz Queer Film Festival in Palestine; Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI); Palestine Festival of Literature; Toronto Queer Film Festival; Seoul Human Rights Film Festival; Rainbow Action Against Sexual-Minority Discrimination, the largest queer coalition in Korea; Mawjoudin in Tunisia; Outburst Queer Arts Festival in Belfast; Dylberizm in Prishtina; Festival Ciné-Palestine in Paris; Sursock Museum in Beirut; Toronto Palestine Film Festival; Cinema Politica in Montreal; Sare Lesbianista in Bilbao; Maurice GLBTQ in Turin; Violetki in Sofia; Embassy Cultural House in London, Ontario; and Independent Jewish Voices Canada.

#came across my insta dash thought id share

[prittymisto]

Really cool Jewish Horror Film

Steeped in ancient Jewish lore and demonology, THE VIGIL is a supernatural horror film set over the course of a single evening in Brooklyn’s Hasidic Borough Park neighborhood. Low on funds and having recently left his insular religious community, Yakov reluctantly accepts an offer from his former rabbi and confidante to take on the responsibility of an overnight “shomer,” fulfilling the Jewish practice of watching over the body of a deceased community member. Shortly after arriving at the recently departed’s dilapidated house to sit the vidil, Yakov begins to realize that something is very, very wrong. THE VIGIL premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2019. In October 2020, IFC Midnight acquired the film from Blumhouse and set it for a February 26, 2021, release.On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Consistently clever and creepy, THE VIGIL mines richly atmospheric supernatural horror from a deep well of religious traditions." 

 The Vigil, and a Q&A with writer/director Keith Thomas, will be available via Eventive from Thurs. Jan. 28 to Tues., Feb. 1.  *****  THIS IS GEO LOCKED TO TEXAS ONLY****

LINK below!!!!

 https://watch.eventive.org/otherworlds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JarbtubycQg

#Jewish horror #horror #independent films #Films #Jewish #Jewish culture #the Vigil #horror films #Texas films #Texas #Otherworldsfilmfest #otherworld

[eretzyisrael]

Ask anyone which Israeli actors have made it in Hollywood, and odds are they’ll name Gal Gadot or Natalie Portman.

What most people don’t know, however, is that there are a plethora of other Israeli actors making their mark on the TV and film industry.

Even if you don’t recognize their names or didn’t realize that they hail from the Jewish homeland, you probably are quite familiar with their work.

ISRAEL21c brings you nine Israeli actors you are sure to see on your screen with increasing frequency.

1. Shira Haas

Birth year: 1995

Birthplace: Tel Aviv

Best-known roles: Esther Shapiro in Unorthodox; Ruchama Weiss in Shtisel; and Ariela in Broken Mirrors.

Fun fact/awards: For her role in Asia, Haas won the Best Actress Award in an International Narrative Feature Film at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival and the Best Supporting Actress Award from the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. She was nominated for an Emmy and multiple other Israeli Academy Awards; and appeared on Forbes Israel’s 30 Under 30 List in 2019.

#israel #hollywood #actors

[letterboxd]

Best of the Fests 2020.

From 17th-century werewolves to WWII gremlins to present-day nomads, the stripped-back, mostly virtual 2020 fall festivals still managed to bring the goods. Our team rounds up the very best titles we saw at TIFF, NYFF, the BFI London Film Festival and beyond.

LISTEN: Gemma Gracewood and Ella Kemp chew over their festival favorites in the latest episode of The Letterboxd Show.

Kudos to the teams at the Toronto, New York and BFI London Film Festivals for pulling excellent hybrid festivals together in extremely weird, not-at-all-ideal circumstances. From the always-excellent conversations (and Cameron Bailey’s always-excellent suits) to the hybrid options for viewing, we left feeling hope for our favorite art form.

We have been keeping track, over on our Twitter account, of the many film festivals going online, and it’s safe to say that virtual film festivals—and the wider accessibility they offer—have been a silver lining to this mostly awful year. Indeed, the 58th NYFF was one of Film at Lincoln Center’s most-attended festivals, with 70,000+ attendees in all 50 states and beyond. (We participated in a NYFF Industry Talk, along with MUBI and Rotten Tomatoes, about the future of online film conversation, moderated by Indiewire’s David Ehrlich.)

Attempting to replicate the extreme fatigue of the real thing, our festival team (Ella Kemp, Aaron Yap, Kambole Campbell, Jack Moulton and Gemma Gracewood and—helping us bridge the geo-locked divide—Canadian TIFF regular Jonathan White) disregarded international date lines and dove right in. We saw many films to love, but by consensus (and a poke around your Letterboxd reactions) these are the ones we’re still thinking about.

Lovers Rock Directed by Steve McQueen, written by McQueen and Courttia Newland. The ‘Small Axe’ anthology will be released on a weekly rollout on Amazon Prime Video beginning November 20 with ‘Mangrove’, then ‘Lovers Rock’, ‘Red, White and Blue’, ‘Alex Wheatle’ and finally ‘Education’. Seen at: NYFF, BFI London Film Festival.

Lovers Rock, the first part of Steve McQueen’s ambitious, multi-part film project Small Axe, feels like a massive stylistic departure for the filmmaker, in a manner that completely transfixes and astounds. It’s no wonder that this one turned heads at multiple festivals, as it’s immediately warmer, more freewheeling and sensual than any other McQueen work. It’s defined by a hypnotic focus on sound and touch, represented in its earliest scenes with a tactile close-up of a heated comb working its way through hair, and later with its focus on hands wrapped around shoulders, moving across shirts and dresses, people joining together and/or colliding through song and dance. Despite being made for television, it’s astounding how little Lover’s Rock feels that way. Often impressionistic and unbound to the kind of urgency or efficiency that naturally comes with having to adhere to a time-slot, it simply rests in the moment. With the seismic protests being undertaken by Black people this year, Lovers Rock feels like more than welcome respite from a hateful populace—visually rich, gorgeously soundtracked Black joy and love. Also, man, those shirts are incredible. —KC

Nomadland Written and directed by Chloé Zhao. In US theaters December 4. Seen at: TIFF, NYFF, BFI London Film Festival.

“I am already convinced that Chloé Zhao deserves the whole world,” writes Jaime of Nomadland, the TIFF People’s Choice winner. Personal security is something we don’t think about on a daily basis. We have shelter, we can buy food, anything else is bonus. But what if those two basic tenets vanish? While the global financial crisis affected all in 2008, it affected retirees more. Supposedly secure retirement investments vanished; security no more. What do you do? Survive. Zhao’s adaptation of Jessica Bruder’s 2017 non-fiction masterpiece Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century is a beacon of human spirit and survival. It may not be pretty, but it’s real. It’s not something to be embarrassed about, it’s something to be proud of. Those that let this happen to good, honest working people should be the ones embarrassed. —JW

Minari Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. No release date announced. Seen at: Middleburg Film Festival.

Minari is the medicine for these tough times. It’s a wonderful, wonderful, deeply personal, utterly serene and metaphysical portrait of America—freedom, faith, superstition, forces of nature, and ambition collide with the costs of intoxicating capitalist dreams, but not without a whole lot of heart. This is elegantly crafted, at once organic in its approach and always sweepingly cinematic. The film’s gentle sense of humor ensures that it never takes itself too seriously and allows the weight of its poetic images and juxtapositions to guide the narrative. The brilliant ensemble should grow to join Steven Yeun as household names (well, cinephile households). Youn Yuh-jung and Alan Kim are bright sparks as the latest classic duo of sassy grandma and precocious grandchild, but it’s Han Ye-ri—taking on the surrogate role of director Lee Isaac Chung’s mother—who provides an overlooked and tender sounding board for familial bonds in fraction. Minari is truly one of 2020’s most invaluable and essential pieces of art, living up to the hype built since Sundance. Korea came to the USA for the Oscars earlier this year, and if 2021 shows similar mercy, there’s a chance you’ll see this home-grown Asian-American picture mounting that stage in future. —JM

Wolfwalkers Directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, written by Will Collins with Moore and Stewart. Recently released in UK theaters; coming to Apple TV+ December 11. Seen at: TIFF, BFI London Film Festival.

The much-anticipated Cartoon Saloon adventure Wolfwalkers was met with only joy around here. A fable about what happens when a colonizing force tries to tame a wild forest, set during Oliver Cromwell’s Siege of Kilkenny, Wolfwalkers builds to “one of the most sensational animated third acts I’ve seen in years,” according to Animatedantic. The film’s themes are embedded in every hand-drawn line and stroke. “It’s not sleek and seamless and modern,” writes Cow Shea. “This is transparently a true work of art where all the work of that art is part of the finished product.” Mebh and Robyn are animated action heroes for the ages, and you’ll hear a lot about ‘Wolfvision’ in the weeks to come—for very good reason. Werewolf films have, for years, tried different ways to put us inside the beast’s mind, but Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart followed their noses and it’s as thrilling as things get. —GG

David Byrne’s American Utopia Directed by Spike Lee. On HBO and HBO Max now. Seen at: TIFF, NYFF, BFI London Film Festival.

David Byrne’s American Utopia is well on track to join Jonathan Demme’s film of another Byrne stage outing, Stop Making Sense (1984), as one of the highest-rated anythings on Letterboxd. We’re still deciding whether this film is sublime because the stage show itself is sublime, or because Spike Lee has sublimely captured the whole joyous thing for us to inject into our eyeballs, time and again, for far less than the price of a Broadway ticket. Let’s be honest: it’s due to both, and more besides. It’s a blessing upon 2020, of that we are certain. As Clint writes, “The phrase ‘this is the film we need right now’ is such a creaky cliché, but there’s an ineffable feeling that, if David Byrne and Spike Lee can’t heal the world with grey suits, bare feet, and some of the most all-encompassing works of music ever written, no one can.” As my colleague says, “will rewatch to death”. —GG

Shiva Baby Written and directed by Emma Seligman. On the festival circuit. Seen at: TIFF, LFF.

A girl walks into a shiva and bumps into her sugar daddy. What sounds like a joke sets up 77 minutes of note-perfect comedy horror in Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby, her feature debut adapted from her dissertation short of the same name. It’s funny, horrifying, excruciating and so painfully, accurately Jewish. Isaac Feldberg calls it “cruelly hilarious about everything smothering and inevitably miserable about Jewish family gatherings”, but Seligman’s sharp eye for comedy, her affection for her teen hero Danielle (Rachel Sennott, a bona fide star) just figuring her career out and owning her sexuality (Molly Gordon playing Danielle’s overachieving ex-girlfriend Maya is a highlight) cuts straight to the core, however you relate. Matt Neglia points out how Shiva Baby “captures the behaviors of its characters with the same level of dry wit and detail as the Coen Brothers would”. What a thrill for a young, smart, Jewish, bisexual woman to be setting the pace now. Keep an eye on Seligman’s bright, bright future. —EK

Tove Directed by Zaida Bergroth, written by Eeva Putro. Released in Finland; on the festival circuit elsewhere. Seen at: TIFF.

If there was a film swoony enough to fill the Portrait of a Lady on Fire-sized hole in your heart this year, it’s Zaida Bergroth’s Tove, a bewitching biopic of Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson, creator of the beloved Moomin cartoon characters. Set in Helsinki during and post-World War II, the film orbits around her boho world, flitting between her creative struggles as a painter and deep sexual awakening with married theater director Vivica Bandler (Krista Kosonen). As Lillian says, “Lesbians and Moomins is such a huge fucking mood I never wanted it to end.” Alma Pöysti shines effortlessly in the lead role. “The film happens on her fantastic face,” writes Hannu. Seth agrees: “a captivating first-class drama about a world-renowned talent in search of her own identity, love and freedom.” A cozy fall-season perfection. —AY

Shadow in the Cloud Co-written and directed by Roseanne Liang. Slated for a summer 2021 release. Seen at: TIFF, AFI Fest.

A proud addition to the “she did that!” canon, the single downside of Roseanne Liang’s genre-perfect, “deliciously fearless” Midnight Madness winner Shadow in the Cloud is that there was no Midnight Madness to experience it at—but thanks to a juicy sale out of TIFF, we can look forward to a premiere next summer. Chloë Grace Moretz is Maude Garrett, a WWII pilot assigned to transport a highly classified package over the Pacific. The all-male crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress banishes her to the lower ball turret, where they harass, gaslight and leer over her—and that is nowhere near the worst part of this bonkers, non-stop hell flight, which Moretz carries like the future action hero she must now become, if the movie goddesses are listening. —GG

Pieces of a Woman Directed by Kornél Mundruczó, written by Kata Wéber. Coming soon to Netflix. Seen at: TIFF, NYFF.

You will be hearing a lot about Vanessa Kirby in the months to come. Pieces of a Woman is an arresting, often taxing watch, but few actors have delivered a performance as utterly overwhelming as Kirby portraying Martha, a grieving mother processing the loss of her baby. The filmmaking team (Mundruczo and Weber share a “film by” credit) zoom in on deep, jagged pain, and tease out some of the most affecting moments put to screen this year. Jack calls the film “an intensely intimate depiction of mental and marital deterioration caused by tragedy” and nods to master Howard Shore’s “subtle yet potent” score. It’s poetry in motion, with stunning turns from Shia LaBeouf, Ellen Burstyn, Sarah Snook and Benny Safdie also. But proceed with caution: “this film will destroy you”, Alisha Tabilin warns. —EK

Underplayed Directed by Stacey Lee. On the festival circuit. Seen at: TIFF. (Also recommended in our music movies round-up.)

Women-in-the-workplace movies aren’t usually this banging. Stacey Lee’s documentary Underplayed focuses on one corner of the still wildly sexist music industry—the dance-music scene—and lays out both the facts and feelings regarding why women still, always, deserve better. A number of key names guide the story—Rezz, Alison Wonderland, Nervo, TokiMonsta—giving the viewer a taste of what we’re missing out on while booking the same old men, over and over. And it’s not just because of the stats or the injustices that this is a must-watch: in times of limited social interaction and when the feeling of an adrenaline-fuelled crowd feels like a foggy memory, Lee captures some truly electric moments of these women thriving, captivating thousands of music lovers at once. “Buy yourself good speakers and turn them up because this movie is fun and it deserves it,” writes Matt Brown, and he’s absolutely correct. Underplayed is essential and exciting. The most entertaining education of the year. —EK

Another Round Directed by Thomas Vinterburg, written by Vinterburg and Tobias Lindholm. Awaiting new UK date due to lockdown. In US cinemas soon. Seen at: TIFF, LFF.

Another Round reunites filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg with his muse Mads Mikkelsen, in a lads-on-tour buddy movie, except the lads are four middle-aged high-school teachers, and the tour features a very casual, very constant level of intoxication each man commits to in the name of a social experiment. What could possibly go wrong, you ask? Plenty, naturally—but Vinterberg marries the slapstick moments of bumbling drunks falling over themselves with more mature, poignant scenes that question just how far you can or should go to feel that little bit more alive. There’s a lot to love here, but if we’re being very precise, it’s “rock-solid proof that Mads Mikkelsen is one of our greatest actors,” says Karen Han. Come for the wise, contemplative study of youth and spontaneity, stay for rock-solid proof that Mads Mikkelsen is also, somehow, one of our greatest contemporary dancers. —EK

One Night in Miami Directed by Regina King, adapted by Kemp Powers from his own stage play. In select US theaters December 25, coming to Amazon Prime Video January 15, 2021. Seen at: TIFF, NYFF.

Ladies and gentleman, Regina King has arrived. The actor wastes nothing in her feature directorial debut, bringing to the screen Kemp Powers’ vivid stage play of the same name with a heavyweight cast of greats. Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom Jr. are Malcolm X, Cassius Clay (before he took the name Muhammad Ali), Jim Brown and Sam Cooke respectively, as the four men celebrate Clay’s victory over Sonny Liston in February 1964, during One Night in Miami. Rachel Wagner notes how “they all feel like friends and have chemistry, but each with a unique perspective”. This chemistry comes from King’s perfect alchemy of mood, design and structure; she lets her men speak, but her voice is never lost. “Queen King never wavers on her vision until every bit of flesh is torn off each man,” Ben notes, admiring a film that shines for all its famous faces, but stands the test of time for its rich, piercing empathy for every other one waiting in the shadows. —EK

Supernova Written and directed by Harry Macqueen. Awaiting UK and Ireland release due to lockdown; in select US theaters January 29, 2021. Seen at: BFI London Film Festival.

Colin Firth at his very best, Stanley Tucci losing his grip on himself, the luscious Lake District and endless cozy, delicious, warm knitwear. Supernova is every bit as beautiful as it sounds, but also packs a major punch when it comes to mapping a lifelong love story, and the cost of loyalty and pride when you’re fighting against pain nobody can control. As Sam and Tusker, devoted to one another for decades, come to terms with Tusker’s diagnosis of early on-set dementia, there is as much care and sadness as is to be expected, but it still feels brand new and cuts deep. Every good love story is its own. Director Harry Macqueen and his two shining stars understand this better than anyone. —EK

French Exit Directed by Azazel Jacobs, written by Patrick DeWitt. Scheduled for US release January 21, 2021. Seen at NYFF.

Armed with acerbic wit and sharpened claws, Michelle Pfeiffer delivers a vulnerable close-to-career-best performance in French Exit as a mother free-falling from wealth and reconciling with her son, an expertly cold Lucas Hedges. What appears to be formal and dry (“rich white-people stuff”, blegh) is actually wonderfully weird and surprisingly spiritual. There’s a divisive scene at the half-way point that instantly unroots the movie from any grounding we assumed it had established. In any other film, it would open up an entire world of possibilities, but French Exit decidedly treats it as matter-of-fact in order to focus on the emotional journey. It’s the decisive moment—you’re on its wavelength, or you’re overboard—and the rewards for staying aboard are plentiful. Patrick DeWitt’s adaptation of his own novel is in good hands with director Azazel Jacobs. —JM

Still Processing Directed by Sophy Romvari. On the festival circuit. Seen at: TIFF.

A final, honorable mention for Sophy Romvari’s Still Processing, the highest-rated short film out of TIFF, and an excavation of grief like no other. “You’ve got to watch this one twice,” writes Martyn. “First viewing to just weep every two to three minutes. Second viewing to really appreciate how great it is.”

#tiff #tiff20 #tiff2020 #toronto international film festival #nomadland #chloe zhao #wolfwalkers #cartoon saloon #bfi #bfi london film festival #nyff #nyff2020 #filmlinc #film at lincoln center #New York Film Festival #film festival #best of 2020 #2020 best #best films of 2020 #letterboxd

[jewishmuseummd]

Summer Internships at JMM!

Interning with the Jewish Museum of Maryland (JMM) is a dynamic, interesting, educational, and fun experience.  Summer internships include a small stipend but do not cover housing or transportation. Fall and Spring semester internships are often available in multiple departments. Free parking is provided. Internships may be used for course credit with approval from the intern’s academic institution.

Application deadline for all summer internships is March 2, 2020. Orientation for 2020 summer internships will be held on Monday, June 1, 2020.

You can read about previous interns’ experiences at the JMM here!

Opportunities and application instructions below the cut.

Communications and Digital Content Intern

This internship is supervised by the Museum’s Marketing Manager. Projects may include but are not limited to developing content for the Museum’s social media platforms, adapting past Museum exhibits into digital exhibits, drafting content for Museum e-newsletters, drafting press releases, attending Museum programs, and identifying potential PR partners.

Applicants should be interested in marketing, communications, non-profit or cultural organization management, museum studies, digital humanities, or other related fields. Previous museum experience not required.  This internship is full time for ten weeks and includes a modest stipend; it does not include housing.

Please send a cover letter, resume, availability and list of three references (two of which must be professional or academic) Rachel Kassman, Internship Coordinator, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to [email protected] (email preferred). Please include “Communications and Digital Content Intern” in your subject line. 

Education Intern

The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks qualified interns to assist in the Education Department. This internship is full time for ten weeks and includes a modest stipend; it does not include housing.

The ideal intern will be someone who enjoys working with the community, has strong communication skills and can work independently on projects.

Responsibilities include:

>Leading tours for camp groups, summer school and adult groups (training to be provided)

>Assisting with our annual Summer Teacher’s Institute on Best Practices in Holocaust Education

>Developing resources and curriculum for upcoming education projects and exhibitions

>Provide assistance in our marketing efforts and Visitor Services

College undergrad or grad preferred, any major. Previous museum experience not required.

Please send a cover letter, resume, availability, and list of three references (two of which must be professional or academic) Rachel Kassman, internship coordinator, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to [email protected] (email preferred).Please include “Education Intern” in your subject line. 

Development Intern

The Jewish Museum of Maryland (JMM) seeks a motivated and detail-oriented intern who is interested in institutional advancement. This internship provides a chance to work closely with the Development Director and the Development and Marketing Manager on a variety of projects.  S/he will gain valuable experience in the field of fundraising.

Projects may include grant and prospect research, working on donor events and other special donor opportunities, cultivating philanthropy, updating records in our Blackbaud – Altru database, and furthering communication with our supporters. This is an opportunity to learn fundraising, donor prospecting strategies and best practices in a rewarding environment.

Interested students can be working in the field of museum or non-profit fundraising or other related fields. Previous development experience not required. Please send a cover letter, resume, availability, and list of three references (two of which must be professional or academic) to Rachel Kassman, Internship Coordinator, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to [email protected] (email preferred). Please include “Development Intern” in your subject line. 

Collections Intern

The Jewish Museum of Maryland (JMM) seeks a qualified intern to assist the Collections Department with a variety of collections projects, including but not limited to inventories, object photography, condition reporting, and historical and decorative arts research. Projects can be tailored to the intern’s specific interests, where possible.

Interested students should be working toward a degree in museum studies, history, art history, material culture, or Jewish studies. Previous museum experience not required. Attention to detail a must; interest in collections management and registration preferred. This internship is full time for ten weeks and includes a modest stipend; it does not include housing.

Please send a cover letter, resume, availability, and list of three references (two of which must be professional or academic) to Rachel Kassman, Internship Coordinator, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to [email protected] (email preferred). Please include “Collections Intern” in your subject line. .

Archives Intern

The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified intern to assist the Collections Department with general archives management projects.  The interns will process and create finding aids for several large archival collections. Other tasks include, but are not limited to: cataloging new donations and loans, digitizing collections, data entry, material rehousing, and research.

Interested students should be working toward a degree in archives management, library and information science, or museum studies. Previous museum experience not required. Attention to detail a must; interest in archives management preferred, and students with an interest in and/or experience with working with photographic collections are encouraged to apply. This internship is full time for ten weeks and includes a modest stipend; it does not include housing.

Please send a cover letter, resume, availability and list of three references (two of which must be professional or academic) Rachel Kassman, Internship Coordinator, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to [email protected] (email preferred). Please include “Archives Intern” in your subject line. 

Program Intern

The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified intern to assist the Public Programs Department with the planning, development, and execution of museum programming.  The Programs Department offers about 60 public programs a year including scholarly lectures, hands-on workshops, panels, film screenings, family days, and exhibition openings. The intern would have a chance to experience a range of these program formats.

Specific projects may include assisting with the Annual Jonestown Festival, helping with family programs, conducting research on programs in relation to the 175th anniversary of the Lloyd Street Synagogue, and planning for programs in conjunction with upcoming exhibitions.

This internship is full time for ten weeks and includes a modest stipend; it does not include housing. The intern should be willing to work some evening and weekend hours to be arranged with supervisor.

College undergrad or grad preferred, any major. Previous museum experience not required.

Please send a cover letter, resume, availability, and list of three references (two of which must be professional or academic) Rachel Kassman, internship coordinator, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to [email protected] (email preferred).Please include “Education Intern” in your subject line. 

[sweetsmellosuccess]

TIFF 2020: Day 4

Films: 3 Best Film of the Day(s): MLK/FBI

76 Days: Hao Wu, realizing very early on that the early medical reaction to the Coronavirus in Wuhan was something worth capturing, begins his of-the-moment doc, where else but the emergency ward of a Wuhan hospital. Staff members, dressed head-to-toe in protective gear, including hazmat suits, masks, screens, and goggles, frantically try to keep order as sick patients literally bang on the door from the cold, packed waiting room. Once inside the ward, they are quickly dispatched to the only available beds and immediately intubated, the flow of patients either leaving under their own power or being sent to the morgue. Alarms go off, people’s phones bleat and go unanswered. Wu, also using footage from Shanghai, with similarly dire imagery, switches out from the frantic hospital wards long enough to show the Wuhan in total shutdown, the streets and bridges devoid of cars, pedestrians or any sense of life at all. If you squint your eyes a bit, it could seem like a found-footage zombie horror flick. Standing with a population of 7.9 million  —  only half a million people smaller than New York  —  to see Wuhan brought to a complete standstill is to grasp the enormity of this calamity, and the idiocy of countries who were unprepared for such a disaster. The footage tends towards the splintered  —  beyond a couple of key figures whom we see more than once, the closest we come to a narrative arc is watching one sickened “grandpa” (as all elderly men are called) with dementia, in the beginning wandering around the ward helplessly, sobbing in his bed at his suffering, only to recover and be let out some weeks later  —  but what it lacks in cohesiveness, it makes up for in immediacy. What does come out from the footage is how caring the staff is with their patients, even against impossible numbers, and working beyond exhaustion, they take the time to care properly for the citizens under their supervision, giving them pep talks, holding phones so family members can communicate with them, brightening their days as much as feasibly possible. Fittingly, the film ends with a scene as one of the nurses draws the miserable job of calling family members to inform them of the death of their loved ones. “My condolences” she says, over and over, suffering from the limitations of language to express such exhausted grief.

Violation: A film that shoots for disturbingly provocative, but hits blurry stridency, Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli’s fractured rape-revenge story has a lot to say, but can’t quite find the right mechanics to pull it off. Mood and atmosphere, it is not lacking in at least: From the opening credits, blurry font laid over blurred background, to the continued use of the natural world  —  albeit mostly repped by wolves/rabbits and spiders/flies that, shall we say, doesn’t leave much to the imagination, analogy-wise  —  and the time-fractured nature of the narrative, the film has a sense of complexity that its characters can’t sustain. We are at a sweet vacation house somewhere in the pine woods of upstate New York, where British sisters, Miriam (Sims-Fewer) and Greta (Anna Maguire) are reunited after a sizable absence from one another. Miriam has arrived with her unhappy husband, Caleb (Obi Abili), from London, to meet with Greta and her more affable husband, Dylan (Jesse LaVercombe), a friend of Miriam’s since their days in high school together (it was through her that he and Greta first met). Into that happy sort of setting, the two couples trying to enjoy a weekend together, there are scenes from one time in the future or other (at first, unclear), with a much more haunted seeming Miriam conspiring some kind of psycho-sexual caper involving Dylan back at the house, and from there, a scene further out still, in which a sad and bedraggled Greta, upset with Miriam over something, is expecting a large group of people at the same vacation house. Eventually, we piece together that Dylan raped Miriam that first weekend, and her revenge is what comes at us from the near future. Only the rape itself is weirdly muted, and comes out of seeming nowhere, given their long-standing (and unbroken) friendship from earlier. The early scenes of relative happiness between the principals are actually good enough that the characters’ respective turns towards dark and twisted don’t feel like the same people, or the same relationships at all, which divides the movie further into sections that don’t seem terribly connected. Along the way, we get a graphic amount of (male) nudity, lots of painstakingly blood-letting violence, and many, many scenes of now-crazed Miriam sobbing, and heaving, and breaking down over and over, at a creeping pace. We get the point: the politics of sisterhood, rape, and revenge, and the manner in which our deepest convictions can be challenged by the wrong set of circumstances, but despite the filmmakers’ earnestness and care, the film doesn’t hang together the way it needs to for the impact it wants to have.

MLK/FBI: That J. Edgar Hoover’s largely unregulated FBI turned its considerable sights on Martin Luther King Jr. and the rise of the civil rights movement can’t be surprising to anyone familiar with the director’s abhorrence of people he deemed rebel rousers, or chaos-agents, but the actual stated reason for his paranoia on the subject, featured in this doc from Sam Pollard, tells a more interesting story. The success of King’s movement, highlighted by the wildly successful march on Washington in 1963 (an event after which MLK was deemed “the most dangerous negro” in the country by the FBI, whom they would have to “destroy”) spurred further investigation by the bureau, and what they found was even more troubling to Hoover. Amongst King’s immediate group of advisors was an outspoken Jewish civil-rights lawyer named Stanley Levison, who had been and almost certainly remained a member of the American Communist Party, the single greatest threat Hoover perceived against the “American way of life” (ie. “white”). Inflamed by the fear that the Communists were influencing King to lead his peaceful revolution towards social equality for the Reds, Hoover went all in on wiretapping and live-recording King, such that they amassed an enormous amount of material, including the knowledge that the married Baptist minister and father of four was also a serial-cheater, having affairs with more than 40 women Hoover’s G-men documented (nevermind that the sitting president, JFK, was known as an equally philandering playboy, and was protected at every turn). As King’s agency and influence became more widespread, the only thing holding Hoover back from releasing this information to discredit the Black leader was King’s strong relationship with President Lyndon B. Johnson, the signer of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, after JFK’s assassination. When, some years later, King finally followed his conscience, and spoke out against the Vietnam War, an act of bravery even many of his fellow civil rights crusaders refused to go with, severing his relationship with LBJ in the process, Hoover finally had the opening he needed to put his long-held plan to work. Working primarily with historian David Garrow, along with interview commentary from members of King’s inner circle, including Andrew Young and Clarence B. Jones, and featuring many recently declassified materials from the FBI’s own files, Pollard paints a vivid portrait of the political machinations of men with tremendous power, navigating difficult waters, and the cost of speaking out your conscience. Perhaps, best summed up by notorious former FBI head James Comey, who calls this period of time, “the darkest era in the bureau’s history.”

In a year of bizarre happenings, and altered realities, TIFF has shifted its gears to a significantly paired down virtual festival. Thus, U.S. film critics are regulated to watching the international offerings from our own living room couches.

#sweet smell of success #ssos #piers marchant #films #movies #tiff2020 #toronto international film festival #mlk/fbi #martin luther king #j. edgar hoover #FBI #violation #rape #revenge #Madeleine Sims-Fewer #dusty Mancinelli’ #76 days #coronavirus #wuhan #emergency rooms #hao wu #pandemic

[eastasiansonwesternscreen]

2019 – Year in Review

In addition to this set.

Sandra Oh made history 3 times at the Golden Globes

Lucy Liu Pays Tribute to Anna May Wong During Touching Walk of Fame Ceremony

‘Always Be My Maybe’ Review: Netflix Whips up a Rom-Com Classic

The Box Office Success Of 'The Farewell' Shows What People Want From Movies

‘Warrior’ Review: A Bruce Lee Vision Brought to Vivid Life

The Terror: Infamy Is a Step Forward for Depictions of Japanese-American Internment

Ming-Na Wen Will Officially Be Named a ‘Disney Legend,’ Disney’s Highest Honor

Oscars 2019: Pixar's 'Bao' wins Oscar for best animated short film

Introducing Chella Man: The Deaf Trans Jewish Actor Cast In DC’s ‘Titans’

Marvel Finds Its Shang-Chi in Chinese-Canadian Actor Simu Liu

Other movies and TV shows of 2019 that had an E/SE Asian lead / an-all E/SE Asian cast:

The Sun Is Also a Star

Hustlers

Turkey Drop

Last Christmas

Plus One

Secret Obsession

Ms. Purple

Empty by Design

In a New York Minute

Stray

Made in China

Wu Asassins

Pen15

Why Women Kill

TV shows that ended in 2019:

The Family Law

Elementary

Into the Badland

Andi Mack

Fresh off the Boat (cancelled, not yet aired it’s last episode)

Rest In Peace:

 Godfrey Gao

WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2020:

Kim’s Convenience s4 that premiers Jan 7 on CBC

Fresh off the Boat’s season finale airs Feb 21 on ABC

Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens premiers Jan 22 on Comedy Central

To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You premiers Feb 12 on Netflix

Warrior season 2 premiers on Cinemax in 2020

Minari, starring Steven Yeun premiers on the Sundance Film Festival.

Two movies starring Harry Shum Jr. -  Broadcast Signal Intrusion and All My Life

Tigertail, a Netflix movie starring John Cho

Monsoon, starring Henry Golding.

Prediction for 2020:

There’s a chance that Minari may enter the Oscar race for 2021.

#year in review #original posts #media representation #representation in media

[topfygad]

Cheap City Breaks Best Affordable European Destinations 2020

Do you want to travel to Europe? Are you under a small budget? The Gods of travel took care of that already. There are plenty of cheap city breaks in Europe in different affordable European destinations you can choose from.

Don’t break the bank but get the very best in spectacular views, nightlife, history, sightseeing, great beaches, people, alternative activities like a yoga retreat in Europe, or some of the best destinations for Christmas.

Read this for the top 10 safest countries in the world today, and this one for cheap travel destinations in Europe.

Are you are a student who wants to travel? Then this post is for you.

Affordable European Destinations 2020

Cheap European Breaks in Prague, Czech Republic

Porto, Affordable City in Portugal

Cheap City Breaks in Athens, Greece

City Trip to Valencia, Spain

Affordable City Break in Budapest, Hungary

Affordable City Break in Lisbon, Portugal

Istanbul, Turkey, Affordable European Destination

Cheap City Escape in Brussels, Belgium

Cheap City Break in Florence, Italy

Best City Break in Madrid, Spain

Best Cheap Trip to St. Petersburg, Russia

Cheap European Vacations in Rome, Italy

Cheap City Break in Corfu, Greece

Berlin, Germany Cheap Holiday Destination

Seville, Spain Cheap European City

Munich, Germany Cheap Holidays in Europe

Summary of Affordable European Destinations

Affordable European Destinations 2020

There is a secret list of affordable European destinations that frequent travelers know.

Countries and cities included in this list are considered a pivot point for your travel experience. Traveling through these cities gets you acquainted with the essence of Old Europe and its history.

We are here to share these secrets for the best cheap city breaks with you.

Cheap European Breaks in Prague, Czech Republic

Right in the heart of Europe, this spectacular city hides lots of secrets, even a medieval astronomical clock that seems to come from a fiction novel. Read a fascinating post for three days in Prague Itinerary.

What are the best things to do in Prague?

Old Town Square (Staromestské námestí)

Charles Bridge (Karluv most)

Prague Castle

St. Vitus Cathedral (Chrám svatého Víta)

Jewish Quarter (Josefov)

Dancing House

Prague Astronomical Clock

National Theatre (Národní Divadlo)

St. Nicholas Church (Chrám svatého Mikuláse)

When to go to Prague?

To avoid large crowds, better go to Prague in spring and early fall (March-May) when the weather is mild. Avoid the holiday seasons (Christmas, Easter).

During May there is a range of important events taking place too: the Prague Marathon, Czech Beer Festival, Prague Food Festival, Prague International Music Festival.

Prague is fantastic among all European Destinations.

Check accommodation and guided tours/tickets/passes options for Prague.

Porto, Affordable City in Portugal

A stunning coastal city with great architecture, history, food, and museums (museums are free to enter on Sundays). The city hosts the UNESCO World Heritage Ribeira District.

What are the best things to do in Porto?

Dom Luís I Bridge

Sé do Porto (Porto Cathedral)

Jardins do Palácio de Cristal (Crystal Palace Gardens)

Avenida dos Aliados (Avenue of the Allies)

Estação de São Bento (São Bento Railway Station)

Mercado do Bolhão (Bolhão Market)

Porto’s fantastic beaches

Livraria Lello & Irmão (Lello Bookstore)

Igreja de São Francisco (Church of Saint Francis)

Port Wine Tastings & Tours

Palácio da Bolsa (Stock Exchange Palace)

Fundação de Serralves (Serralves Foundation Complex)

Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis (National Museum Soares dos Reis)

Dragão Stadium

When to go to Porto?

From May to September the weather is warm and sunny. Some significant events happening during that time are Optimus Primavera Sound, Serralves em Festa, Festa de São João, Regata dos Rabelos, Festival Mares Vivas.

Porto is one of the best summer European destinations.

Read our post for Porto.

Here are your options for hotels and guided tours/tickets/passes.

Cheap City Breaks in Athens, Greece

There are plenty of things to do in Athens, despite Parthenon and Acropolis. Many prefer this city for two days itinerary but when you read posts like this one, this and this (all Athens section) you will understand that it is for much more.

Due to its geographical location and weather conditions, it is ideal for 10 out of 12 months.

What are the best things to do in Athens?

In short? Read this long post for Athens and things to do if you want more inspiration this post for 40 things to do in Greece and 14-day trips from Athens. You will thank us.

All parks in Athens are free to enter and churches too. Free admission museums are:

The Museum of the History of Greek Costume

The Philatelic and Postal Museum

Railway Museum of Athens

Theatrical Museum of Greece

Natural History Museum of Maroussi

Athens University History Museum

Museum of Greek Folk Instruments

Centre of Folk Art and Tradition

Hellenic Children’s Museum

Free admission holidays

6th of March – Memory of Melina Mercouri

18th of April – International Monument Day

18th of May International Museum Day

5th of June World Environment Day

European Days of Cultural Heritage (The last weekend of September)

27th of September – International Tourism Day

When for Athens?

It’s in Greece! If you avoid December and January, then all other months are fantastic to go to Athens. Even in wintertime, there are ski resorts in less than 2 hours distance from Athens (two in Peloponnese and one in Parnassos mountain). There are options for hiking, all museums are open, and food remains excellent all year long.

Check here for accommodation and available guided tours.

Athens is one of the most fabulous European destinations, as it is a pivot point for the Greek islands.

City Trip to Valencia, Spain

Affordable and easy to reach with a high-speed train from Barcelona or Madrid. A coastal city, vibrant with history and museums. It is famous for its oranges too, so taste some while there.

What are the best things to do in Valencia?

Central Market (Mercado Central)

Plaza Ayuntamiento

Cathedral (Seu)

Fine Art Museum of Valencia (Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia)

Instituto Valencia d’Arte Modern (IVAM)

Albufera Nature Park (Parque Natural de la Albufera)

La Lonja de la Seda

Valencia Beaches

Bioparc Valencia

City of the Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias)

When it is great to go to Valencia?

April to May is best, though there are plenty of visiting in the wintertime. Keep in mind that museums operate under short ours in the winter. Critical events in that period are The Superbike World Championship, Fiesta de San Vicente Ferrer, Holy Week, Festival of Our Lady of the Forsaken.

Check staying prices and guided tours/tickets/passes options for Valencia.

Affordable City Break in Budapest, Hungary

An aspect of the castle from afar

The city is famous for its food and its baroque, neoclassical and art nouveau architecture. Budapest dates back to the Stone Age and comes with great food options!

What are the best things to do in Budapest?

Fisherman’s Bastion (Halászbástya)

Danube River

Castle Hill (Várhegy)

Széchenyi Chain Bridge (Széchenyi Lánchíd)

Heroes’ Square (Hosök Tere)

St. Stephen’s Basilica (Svent István Bazilika)

Buda Castle (Budai vár)

Matthias Church (Mátyás-Templom)

Dohány Street Synagogue (Dohány Utcai Zsinagóga)

Gellért Hill (Gellért-Hegy)

Hungarian State Opera House (Magyar Állami Operaház)

Hungarian Parliament (Országház)

House of Terror Museum (Terror Háza Múzeum)

Hospital in the Rock Nuclear Bunker Museum (Sziklakórház Atombunker Múzeum)

Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden

Legenda Sightseeing Boats

Thermal Baths

When is it fantastic to be in Budapest?

March to May and September to November is best. That is if you want to avoid huge crowds of tourists (in summertime). The weather is generally mild. Special events happening during these months are:

March to May: Budapest Dance Festival, Macaron Day, Budapest Spring Festival, Budapest100, Rosalia Festival, OTP Bank Gourmet Festival, Budapest Beer Week.

September to November: Jewish Cultural Festival, Budapest Wine Festival, Sweet Days Chocolate, and Candy Festival, Oktoberfest Budapest, Design Week Budapest, Budapest Christmas Markets.

Here is Budapest accommodation options & tours.

Affordable City Break in Lisbon, Portugal

Belem Tower

The city offers at a fraction of the cost whatever you expect to find in a European city. This is another city that emits mystery from Old-World, despite the growth of the modern building. Read this insider’s guide for things to do in Lisbon.

What are the best things to do in Lisbon?

Alfama

Belem

Sintra

Torre de Belem and Monument to the Discoveries

Cascais

Feira da Ladra

Santa Justa Elevator (Elevador de Santa Justa)

St. George’s Castle (Castelo de Sao Jorge)

National Tile Museum (Museu Nacional do Azulejo)

Gulbenkian Museum (Museu Calouste Gulbenkian)

Monastery of St Jerome

Oceanarium (Oceanario de Lisboa)

Taste of Lisboa Food Tours

Lisbon By Boat

Tram 28

When is it best to visit Lisbon?

March to May and September to October is ideal, not excluding other months, too, of course. From March to early June, these events take place: Lisbon Half Marathon, Lisbon Fish & Flavours, Music Days in Belem, IndieLisboa, Festival de Sintra, Out Jazz Festival. On the other hand, the MOTEL X – Lisbon International Film Festival happens in September, while the Out Jazz Festival continues too (May to September).

Read our posts for Lisbon and Lisbon food, Cascais, Sintra, Fatima. There are plenty of day trips from Lisbon to consider.

Book your accommodation early and allow time for guided tours.

Lisbon and the nearby cities make it another great spot among all European destinations.

Istanbul, Turkey, Affordable European Destination

A jewel of the Orient. A city of thousands of secrets and legends, with different locations that drive your mind to thousands of mystical stories.

Herbs & spices, Bosporus, belly dancing, fantastic architecture, and all kinds of landmarks. Istanbul will fill your days with many things while acting as a pivot point for many nearby cities.

It is famous for Agia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, but that is just a fraction of the things to see and do. Read the post from our trip there. For what to eat in Istanbul, read this.

What are the best things to do in Istanbul?

Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii)

Grand Bazaar (Kapaliçarsi)

Süleymaniye Mosque (Süleymaniye Camii)

Taksim Square

Ortaköy

Hagia Sophia Museum (Ayasofya Müzesi)

Istanbul Archaeological Museums (Istanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri)

Topkapi Palace Museum (Topkapi Sarayi Müzesi)

Istanbul Modern Art Museum

Chora Museum (Kariye Müzesi)

Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici)

Dolmanbahçe Palace

Galata Tower (Galata Kulesi)

When it is amazing to visit Istanbul?

Best go there from September to November and from March to May. In the first period, you will have the opportunity to attend these too: Contemporary Istanbul, Istanbul International Puppet Festival, Akbank Jazz Festival, Istanbul Theatre Festival.

In the March to May period, these things happen at the Istanbul Film Festival, Istanbul Music Festival.

For hotels in Istanbul, check these options as well as for guided tours.

Cheap City Escape in Brussels, Belgium

If you crave for some delicious chocolate, then you can visit Brussels even for one day. Take the train from Paris or Amsterdam and savor all these from kiosks you will find in all streets.

Restaurants will be pricey, so no need to pay more for chocolate than needed. There are lots of museums and don’t forget that this is a multicultural & multilingual country.

People here speak Dutch, French & English, of course.

What are the best things to do in Brussels?

Manneken Pis

Grand-Place

St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral

Royal Museum of the Army and Military History

Palais de Justice

Mini-Europe

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

Musical Instruments Museum

Atomium

Horta Museum

Belgian Comic Strip Center

Cantillon Brewery

When is it nice to be in Brussels?

March to May and September to October is best. In the first case, because it is Springtime while in the second case, prices drop significantly, while the weather stays mild enough.

Check Brussels accommodation prices. Here are the tour options.

Cheap City Break in Florence, Italy

Have we been to Florence, Italy? Yes, twice. The first one was as part of a road trip that involved crossing Europe to the UK driving at the North.

The second one was as part of another road trip getting from the UK to Greece from the South part fo Europe!!! Read this excellent post for Florence (Firenze).

We have traveled to many cities in Italy (including Sicily island). Read the post for things to do in Sicily.

What are the best things to do in Florence?

Piazzale Michelangelo

Ponte Vecchio

Piazza della Signoria

Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore)

Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi)

Baptistry (Battistero)

Galleria dell’Accademia

Palazzo Pitti

Basilica di Santa Croce

Giotto’s Bell Tower (Campanile di Giotto)

Boboli Gardens (Giardino di Boboli)

When it is most nice to visit Florence?

Preferably from May to September. Lots of sunshine, but you need to search thoroughly for accommodation as in touristy places prices get high.

There is no need to stay in, such though as the city is easy to walk. You can quickly get into the historical center with public transportation.

Either way, you will walk all the historical center to see the things mentioned above.

Check this for staying in Florence and all the tickets & passes options.

Florence is one of the best cultural European destinations, that is seen in video games.

Best City Break in Madrid, Spain

There are so many plaza’s (Madrid is Spain’s largest city) that are free to the public. You can spend days just visiting each other.

However, Madrid is far more than that. Read our post for things to do in Madrid and check the list below too.

What are the best things to do in Madrid?

Plaza Mayor

Gateway of the Sun (Puerta del Sol)

Plaza de Cibeles

El Rastro Market

Temple of Debod

Retiro Park (Parque del Retiro)

Royal Palace of Madrid (Palacio Real)

Prado Museum (Museo Nacional del Prado)

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

Mercado San Miguel

Sorolla Museum

Bernabéu Stadium

Queen Sofia Arts Center

When is it excellent to visit Madrid?

The March to May and September to November rule holds for Madrid too. The weather temperature is the main reason for this. Summer in Madrid is scorching due to the city’s geographical location. In Autumn, you can attend the Autumn Festival.

Here are the Madrid lodging prices & tours.

Best Cheap Trip to St. Petersburg, Russia

Russia is a destination where you will get reasonable prices if you book early. Most people will visit Moscow, St. Petersburg, or both on a trip.

Moscow is great for New Year’s Eve, too, while St. Petersburg offers an entirely different experience.

What are the best things to do in St. Petersburg?

Hermitage Museum and the Winter Palace

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

Grand Market Russia Interactive Museum

St. Isaac’s Cathedral

Summer Garden

Peterhof Palace & Garden

Russian Museum

Yusupov Palace

The Naval Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Kronstadt

Chapel of St. Xenia of St. Petersburg

Yelagin Island

When is it great to visit St. Petersburg?

Avoid winter. Better to visit from June to September. Hot events taking place are White Nights, International Festival of Choral Art, International Early Music Festival.

Winter is cheaper, but lots of activities are not happening, and cold in Russia is rather extreme.

Check the best accommodation options and guided tours/ticket/passes options for St. Petersburg.

Cheap European Vacations in Rome, Italy

The famous Vatican stairs: Bramante Staircase

The city of Rome is a living, walk-through museum. It is an unbelievable destination suitable for all seasons (not so good when rains fall but still beautiful).

We have been multiple times in Rome with kids or not. It is suitable for going without kids too. Prepare for lots of walking as a car is useless in the vast historical center which covers most of the city of Rome.

What are the best things to do in Rome?

Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi)

Church of San Luigi Dei Francesi

Santa Maria Della Vittoria

Ancient Appian Way

Trastevere

Basilica di San Clemente

Piazza Navona

Gianicolo Hill

Campo de’ Fiori

Porta Portese

Spanish Steps

Musei Capitolini

St. Peter’s Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro)

Pantheon

Colosseum (Colosseo)

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

Roman Forum (Foro Romano)

Palatine Hill

Galleria Borghese

Gruppo Storico Romano Gladiator School

When is it wonderful to visit Rome?

Prices are lower from October to April. The weather is hot in summer, but Rome has free water fountains all over the city, and you will be amazed by the colors of the city with summer light.

You can find lots of affordable accommodations outside of the historical center, but it will still be close to it, so no worries. Better to go there with the sun than rain.

The cold will not be an issue with all the walking (if you plan for winter). Food is affordable if you avoid tourist restaurants.

Check here for where to stay in Rome and all tours with a guide and skip the line tickets.

Cheap City Break in Corfu, Greece

Corfu is a contradictory island, suitable for many different tastes. One of its sides/coasts has lots of beaches while the other one is rocky.

The best beaches will be revealed by the locals when they like you, so make sure they do. This post will be somewhat informative for you.

The islands hold the essence from the Venetian history, and you will notice that in the architecture of its capital.

What are the best things to do in Corfu?

All the beaches

Paleokastritsa Monastery (and beach)

Corfu Donkey Rescue

Church of Saint Spyridon

Corfu Museum of Asian Art

Achillion Palace & Museum

Palaio Frourio (Old Fortress)

Aqualand (lots of fun)

When is it superb to visit Corfu?

Summertime is the best season. In case you want to hit the lowest prices ever then visit Corfu from April to May and September to November.

Corfu is in the West part of Greece, and you can encounter lots of rain during those times. In case you can be there in Orthodox Easter time, you will see lots of local customs happening.

Here is where to stay in Corfu and guided tours.

Berlin, Germany Cheap Holiday Destination

Berlin is a somewhat controversial city with extreme nightlife. If you are after nightlife, then it won’t be very cheap. Many other things come at really affordable prices.

Here is a post with ideas for three days in Berlin and another one for five days in Germany.

What are the best things to do in Berlin?

Brandenburg Gate

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Potsdamer Platz

Tiergarten

The topography of Terror

East Side (Wall) Gallery

Reichstag

Museum Island

Pergamonmuseum

Zoologischer Garten Berlin

Checkpoint Charlie

TV Tower

Charlottenburg Palace

When is it thrilling to visit Berlin?

From May to September, you can additionally attend these events: Formula E ePrix Championship, Carnival of Cultures, Fete de la Musique, Berlin Fashion Week, Lesbian and Gay City Festival, International Berlin Beer Festival, Berlin Marathon.

Berlin is at the center of Germany but also in the North of Europe so that any other months will be rather cold.

Find here the Berlin lodging options & tickets for excellent tours and landmarks.

Seville, Spain Cheap European City

With hotels moving around the USD100 per night, this city is affordable too. There are hostels and such if you want to lower the accommodation fees.

There are lots of parks, promenade locations, museums, bull-fights, and tasty food. See more great places to visit in Spain.

What are the best things to do in Seville?

La Carbonerí

Guadalquivir River Cruise

Metropol Parasol

Museum of Fine Arts

Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza

Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium

Torre del Oro

Isla Mágica

When it is great to visit Seville?

Better to visit from March to May due to mild temperatures. The famous events of Semana Santa and Feria de Abril, happen in these months.

Where to stay in Seville? Check here. What do in Seville? Click here.

Munich, Germany Cheap Holidays in Europe

Munich maybe not the first destination that comes in your mind when you plan to visit Europe, but it is a great one.

You can read our experiences in Munich from here, here and here. By the way, beers and food are fantastic.

What are the best things to do in Munich?

English Garden

Church of Our Lady

Viktualienmarkt

Nymphenburg Palace Gardens

Biergarten am Chinesischen Turm

St. Michael’s Church

Marienplatz

St. Peter’s Church

Deutsches Museum

Residenz Royal Palace

Old Picture Gallery

Augustiner-Keller

Bayerische Staatsoper Opera House

Nymphenburg Palace Museum

Modern Picture Gallery

When is it amazing to visit Munich?

March to May is best, though the weather may get a bit chilly. Things are happening in the summertime, but there are lots of crowds too.

Check for accommodation in Munich and all the tours & passes

Summary of Affordable European Destinations

As you see, there are lots and lots of places to visit. This list will expand more in the following days, so make sure you subscribe to it!

Traveling is fun, and budget or/and affordable traveling is preferred by many.

Have fun!

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#IFTTT #Cheapr Travels

[falkenscreen]

Resistance

Those famous aren’t always known for their greatest achievements.

Marcel Marceau (Jesse Eisenberg), upon the furtherance of Nazi aggression, joins the French Resistance years before his later notoriety as a performer. Charming children through mimicry and mime, his and others’ efforts soon turn to ensuring their wards’ safe escape from the German and Vichy forces.

This genre of narrative, for which there remains no end of true, fictionalised or semi-fictionalised retellings to capture, remains a reliable staple of any given film year for good reason; they’re compelling, relevant and enduringly important to so many and especially those of particular backgrounds, this author no less.

Crucially, Resistance exists primarily within the Shoah (Holocaust) genre of film where there is a reliably lesser emphasis on fictionalisation, though this feature does venture more heavily into the World War 2-centric, action-thriller driven style of storytelling in its second and third acts. Edward Zwick’s Defiance too addresses the significant distinction and is analogous in its balance.

Those sections that do emulate thrillers resplendent throughout the sixties and seventies similarly fall back on very conventional structures with the narrative here bookended by needless flash-forwards. Fixating passingly on the essential dynamics of any given strategy which fall by the wayside in of all things a war movie about the French Resistance, much greater focus is granted to the in fairness very strong dynamics between the main players.

Eisenberg delivers another consistently good performance, subverting his traditional lithely detached, outwardly wrought persona typically deployed for comedic ends in the service of more darkly dramatic content. Matthias Schweighofer excels as Barbie; outlining his character as overtly charming while maniacally-motivated in a searing turn emblematic of the most extreme contradictions and true to life tendencies of the Nazi leadership with which film rarely tackles; Inglourious Basterds too doing so to great effect.

Clemence Poesy navigates the more greatly difficult material with aplomb while Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey, well-depicting the most developed character among the various orphans featured, shows just how far her dramatic potential reaches beyond Westeros within several sequences including a particularly tense stand-off with senior Nazi officials.

Given the action-driven subject matter the film is absent a necessarily faster pace ill-achieved in light of its two hour length. Resistance, in addition to covering two genres, is expansive for covering many tangents throughout; emphasising a familiar if singular guerrilla-driven story in its three final quarters. Less minutes are allotted to two advents this film is most memorable for and could just as well have permitted much greater run times.

The idea of performance art, mockery or pantomime as catharsis for dealing with trauma is not unique to this movie, being evident throughout for instance the works of Mel Brooks, various satires of the Nazis including Charlie Chaplin’s contributions (to which Resistance acknowledges a debt) and moreover Marceau’s oeuvre. Covered at the beginning, while the film too later highlights Marceau’s unique stylings his especial talents largely give way to a much greater focus for very significant lengths on more conventionally-driven episodes.

The conception of resistance through art or art as resistance relayed to some extent through Eisenberg’s physical performance and the childrens’ reactions, it is otherwise teased out via discussion which like much of the local, national and international ramifications of the film’s events are laboured by some expository dialogue as distinct from the more naturalistic interplay accompanying the art-centric scenes.

Moreover, Marceau, and miming more generally, connote the approach that great emotion and understanding can be better pursued through movement or action, rather than words. The idea that pure physical expression absent vocal (or as is the case here musical) articulation can better convey understandings of loss, suffering or indeed kinship, as captured by a beautiful early scene between Eisenberg and Poesy, in the context of the Shoah genre of cinema is notably powerful and underexplored.

Further and significantly so, Resistance addresses, through Marceau’s wordless conveyances, as many implicitly or explicitly accept, that the nature of trauma and dimensions thereof suffered due to this era cannot necessarily be verbally articulated but may be better imparted through more fundamental gestures of universal recognition as encapsulated by Marceau’s so accessible and translatable art. Something so worth exploring, it is covered movingly, if sparingly.

Resistance has its Australian premiere online as part of Classic, Lido, Cameo and Ritz’s ‘At Home’ streaming platform which in collaboration with the Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF) are hosting a live online Q&A with Jesse Eisenberg at 9:30PM on June 10

on Festevez

#xl #festevez #reviews #festivals #film festivals #australian film festivals #jiff #jiff 2020 #jewish international film festival #jewish international film festival 2020 #ritz cinemas #ritz at home #jesse eisenberg #edward zwick #defiance #resistance #clemence posey #marcel marceau #matthias schweighofer

[ourdallasvideofestthings]

Bart Chat 2/24/2020 This week we show how Dallas, as a film city, is different than any place in the country, really different than anyplace I know. We have 2 events that speak to the way we can work together to bring important cinematic events. In most towns that have many festivals and many film school programs they don’t get along, they don’t work with each other. The let the competitive spirit get in the way of cooperation and that leads to mistrust and a less robust cinematic scene. His week we have the North Texas Universities Film Festival (free but RSVP) on Wed night at t7 pm at the studio Movie grill on spring valley rd. in Richardson. Then on Friday night, we begin screening the film at the Best of Fests Film Festival, mostly the Alamo Drafthouse in the Cedars. This is the second year of this festival that has 23 Dallas Fort Worth film festival putting together on Fest. So let’s start with NTUFF. Many years ago, at a conference of film teachers, faculty from UNT, SMU and me (from UT Arlington) came up with the idea of doing this. It is not a competition, there are no awards or prizes, it is an opportunity to see the best work from these film schools. It is a great way for film students around the area from all film schools to meet each other and talk and perhaps work crew for each other. It is a great great place to go if you are a high school student (or a parent of a high school student) trying to think about where to go for a film school education. If you are an actor looking to be in the film for the new young hot filmmaker this is a great place to be. If you are a producer looking for a crew or a production company looking for a young director, this is a great place to be. Of even if you want to see some good short films for free, this is the place to be. on Wednesday night at 7 pm at the Studio Movie Grill. So check it out, the only thing you have to lose is not meeting these folks. Next, we have Best of Fests II. While at the Art House Convergence a few years ago Emily Hargrove and I got this idea to do a fest of all the fests in town.  It took a while and we did it last year. I do not believe that any other city does this. It was totally amazing that this happened/ The idea is that you can discover new film festivals to come to in one weekend. Last year it was all over town and this year, except for the opening night film, which is at the Texas theater, the whole festival will be at the Alamo Drafthouse in the Cedars.  This year many of the festivals teamed up with another festival, which should make it more fun. Dallas VideoFest has 2 films we are showing and we have the makers here for both. We are partnering with Women's Texas film fest on both of these. For DocuFest we are screening one of our favs from this year's Fest, Flannery and we have Elizabeth Coffman coming for the Q and A. If you missed this, well you should miss your second and perhaps last chance. For the Alt fiction side, we are showing International Falls, which was partially shot here in Dallas. This is a dark comedy and very good. There are lots of other good films Brotherhood Building the American Dream, Swallow and the 3 Stars Jewish Film program, Golda’s Balcony. Funny story on this one the filmmaker who is coming to David Fishelson and I know each other, but neither of us can remember how. Oh, and at the opening night party on Friday night I will be doing my VJ thing called video Bart. some come to check that out. Lots to see this week, only in Dallas Elsewhere the Magnolia theater is showing North By Northwest on Tuesday night, the Angelika still has JoJo Rabbit and is showing The Assistant (must see). The Texas Theater has our opening night film for Best of Fests called Fantastic Fungi, which should be really cool.  Also on Wed (if you for some reason cannot go to the NTUFF)  there is a new LBGTQ fil series called PSA. The first film they are showing is the classic Portrait of  Jason. This will be a great series.  And for those with Parasiteitis you can see the BW version there as well as  Boog Joon-ho’s Snowpeircer. That is if for this week. I really hope to see you Wed then through the weekend. This is a week to feel proud of being in Dallas. They could not do these things in NY LA Austin or anywhere. Bart Weiss, Dallas VideoFest Artistic Director

[sleepykittypaws]

2020 Theatrical Holiday Premieres

Updated: December 10,  2020

Lina From Lima (holiday-set drama written and directed by Maria Paz Gonzalez; starring Emilia Ossandon, Sebastian Brahm and Cecilia Cartasegna; A Peruvian woman working for a wealthy family in Chile prepares for a Christmas trip home to see her son, her first in a decade, but things don’t go as planned) - Jan. 4, festival (Trailer); also available on HBO Max as of Oct. 8

The Lodge (Christmas-set horror film starring Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell and Alicia Silverstone; A soon-to-be stepmom gets snowed in with her fiancé's two children at a remote holiday village. Just as relations begin to thaw between the trio, some strange and frightening events take place.) - Feb. 7, Rated R (Trailer); also available on Hulu as of May 5 

The Crossing (a.k.a. Flukten Over Grensen; Norwegian-language film directed by Johanne Helgeland; In WWII Norway, two young children’s parents, active in the resistance, are captured by Nazis just days before Christmas, leaving them to fend for both themselves and the Jewish children they find hidden in their house) - Feb. 14, Norway/US TBA (Trailer, Website)

Tidy Tim’s (holiday comedy starring Shane Woodson, Rich Williams and Jennifer Day, about a father and son run who run a rickety used car lot in Southern California that is facing foreclosure.) - Feb. 15, Rated PG-13, festival (Trailer) also available on DVD Oct. 6

12 Days of Christmas (holiday movie starring Annie Newton and Drew Petriello; directed by Michael Boyle; Best friends home from college on Christmas break navigate an unplanned pregnancy, making it a tricky holiday with their families) - Mar 7, Cinequest Film Festival (Facebook, Website, Trailer) also available on DVD Sep. 1

The Last Christmas Party (indie drama starring Samantha Brooks, Anna Clare Kerr, Lainey Woo, James Williams, Martin Drop and Gabriel Armentano; directed by Julian Santos; Three college couples attend the last fraught party before Christmas break; filmed in New York) - June 7, Festival (Website, Trailer) available on Amazon Prime Nov. 13

Merry Christmas, Yiwu (Documentary from director Mladen Kovacevic focusing on life for workers in the Chinese city that has over 600 Christmas ornament and decor factories.) - June 24, Hot Docs Film Festival (Website, Facebook, Teaser)

A New York Christmas Wedding (starring Chris Noth, Avery Whitted, Joe Perrino, Adriana DeMeo and Tyra Ferrell; written and directed by Otoja Abit; As her Christmas Eve wedding draws near, a woman is visited by an angel and shown what could have been if she’d allowed her feelings for her childhood friend to flourish instead.) - Aug 21, Festival (Trailer, Trailer 2) also available on Netflix as of Nov. 5

A Christmas Cancellation (holiday movie starring Lauren Melty, Marcus Ellison and Elliott Kashner; written and directed by Justin Timpane; A group of fictional TV characters who become sentient as their show is set to end; filmed in Washington, D.C.) - Aug. 31, American Golden Picture International Film Festival (Website, Facebook, Trailer) available on Amazon Prime Nov. 13

A Christmas Tree Love Story (holiday movie starring Gregory Piccirilli and Ashley Holliday Tavares, filmed in Georgia; Two old friends reminiscence while searching for the perfect Christmas tree) - Sep 8, Richmond International Film Festival (Website, Trailer); also available on Amazon Prime as of Dec. 21

Blackbird (drama starring Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Sam Neill, Mia Wasikowska and Rainn Wilson;  A woman with ALS who wants to end her life on her own terms, gathers her family for one final Christmas celebration) - Sep. 18, Rated R (Trailer) also available VOD

We Three Kings (faith-based film from writer-directors Joseph and Stacie Graber; starring Michael W. Smith, Rebecca St. James and Nice Davies; The story behind the Christmas carol; filmed in Denver, Colo.) - Sep. 27, festival (Website, Trailer)

It Cuts Deep (horror-comedy from writer-director Nicholas Santos; A couple on Christmas vacation trying to figure out their future have their lives turned upside down by a disturbing stranger; filmed in Cape Cod, Mass.) - Oct. 8  (Website)

The War With Grandpa (holiday-set family comedy starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Uma Thurman, Jane Seymour, Rob Riggle and Cheech Marin; A grandfather comes to live with his daughter, ousting his grandson from his room and prompting a declaration of war from young to old) - Oct. 9, Rated PG (Trailer), available on digital Dec. 15 and DVD Dec. 22

The Wolf of Snow Hollow (holiday-set horror comedy written, directed and starring Jim Cummings, alongside Riki Lindhome, Robert Forster and Chloe East; A small town sheriff tries to keep control of a panicking small town as a string of murders on full moons makes the townspeople think supernatural thoughts) - Oct. 9, Rated R (Trailer)

The Food Club (a.k.a. Madklubben; Danish film directed by Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg and starring Kirsten Olesen, Stina Ekblad and Kirsten Lehfeldt; A women abandoned by her husband on Christmas Eve leans on her friends, a widow and lifelong singleton who take her to Italy to take part in an culinary adventure) - Oct. 22 Denmark (Danish Trailer)

Fair Haven (partially crowd-funded indie from Red Skies Studios starring Bobby McGruther and Amandalyn McLellan; A death in the family brings a musician on the verge of making it back to his hometown for the holidays) - Oct. 24, Catskills International Film Festival (Facebook, Indiegogo)

Friendsgiving  (a.k.a. Dinner with Friends; starring Kat Dennings, Malin Akerman, Christine Taylor, Aisha Tyler, Jane Seymour, Chelsea Peretti and Ryan Hansen; directed by Nicol Paone; Friends host a chaotic Thanksgiving dinner) - Oct. 23, Rated R (Trailer) also available on blu-ray Oct. 27

Gledelig Jul (a.k.a. Another Happy Christmas; Norwegian comedy starring Anne Marit Jacobsen and Otto Jespersen; directed by Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken; The story of a family coming together for holidays for the first time in years, where secrets are revealed.) - Oct. 30, Norway  (Website)

A Christmas Gift from Bob (sequel to 2016′s A Street Cat Named Bob, based on the book; starring Kristina Tonteri-Young and Luke Treadaway; A ginger cat saves a homeless man at Christmas) - Nov. 6 UK (Trailer)

My Dad’s Christmas Date (UK holiday-set, comedy-drama starring Joely Richardson, Jeremy Piven, Roger Ashton-Griffiths and Olivia-Mai Barrett; directed by Mick Davis and co-written by Brian and Jack Marchetti; A teenager struggling to cope with her mother’s death signs up her depressed, widower father for a dating service) - Nov. 6, limited (Website, Trailer, Trailer 2) Also available on iTunes

The Santa Box (family movie from writer/director Spanky Dustin Ward and starring Cami Carver and Shawn Stevens; A girl who thinks she’s cursed by Christmas finds a note in a Santa Box left on her doorstep that changes everything; filmed in Utah) - Nov. 6, limited (Facebook) also available via DVD and digital on Nov. 10

Julemandens Datter 2 (a.k.a. All I Want for Christmas 2; Danish-language family film sequel to the popular 2018 movie; After Lucia becomes the first girl to gain entrance to the Santa School, she most prove her best friend, Oscar’s, innocence, after he’s wrongly accused of a crime and expelled from school.) - Nov. 12, Denmark (Trailer)

A Wrestling Christmas Miracle (low-budget movie from right-wing Justice for All Productions, starring Ken Del Vecchio and Oriana D’Agostino and re-using many scenes from last year’s A Karate Christmas Miracle; A young wrestler gives up the sport to make a movie he hope will wake his comatose friend for Christmas) - Nov. 15, festival; also available as of Nov. 27 on Amazon Prime

Malous Jul (Danish-language fantasy film from Frederik Norgaard; starring Karla My Nordquist and Lars Ranthe; A troubled girl finds herself spending Christmas on an island with a family of elves) - Nov. 19, Denmark (Website)

Some Kind of Christmas (holiday movie written and directed by Davien Harlis and produced by his own Act1Scene2 Productions; starring Tomathan McGinnis, Mariela Perez Calderon, Andre Lamar and Derrell Lester; A man comes home for Christmas for the first time in years, but finds his holiday spirit tested when he hires a fake boyfriend to bring home for Christmas) - Nov. 19-21, Cinevision in Ga.  (Website)

A Carolina Christmas (right-wing, faith-based holiday movie from Dalton Pictures; A new city inspector tries to stifle a town’s Christmas celebrations; filmed in South Carolina) - Nov. 20, limited (Making Of Series)

Michael McClean’s The Forgotten Carols (filmed adaptation of the long-running, faith-based, original musical; filmed in Cedar City, Utah) - Nov. 20 in select theaters (Website, Trailer)

The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two (holiday movie sequel to the 2018 film starring Kurt Russell as a sassy Santa, Goldie Hawn, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Tyrese Gibson; directed by Chris Columbus; Kate Pierce—now a cynical teenager—is unexpectedly reunited with Santa Claus when a mysterious, magical troublemaker named Belsnickel threatens to destroy Christmas forever.) - Nov. 25 (Trailer) also available on Netflix

Fatman (action-comedy written and directed by Ian and Eshom Nelms, starring Walton Goggins, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Chance Hurstfield, and Mel Gibson as a “rowdy, unorthodox” Santa Claus who is fighting his popularity decline when a 12-year-old hires a hitman to do him in after receiving a lump of coal the previous season.) - Nov. 13, Rated R (Trailer), available on digital Nov. 17

A Christmas Carol (live-action animated feature starring Andy Serkis, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Kaluuya, Martin Freeman and Leslie Caron; abstract re-telling of A Christmas Carol when, during a children’s paper theater telling of the classic story, we enter the imagination of a child hearing it told.) - Nov. 19, limited release (Featurette, Trailer) also available in the UK starting Dec. 4

Katherine Jenkins: Christmas Spectacular (concert film featuring the Welsh opera singer's 2019 Royal Albert Hall Christmas show, including special guests Vanessa Redgrave and Bill Nighy) - Dec. 1 in UK, also available VOD

The Loss Adjuster (holiday movie starring Luke Goss, Martin Kemp, Joan Collins, Gary Siner and Cathy Tyson; An insurance adjuster’s wife leaves him a week before Christmas and his day just gets worse from there, until he discovers how truly lucky he is with the help of some Christmas magic) - Dec. 1 in UK (Trailer, Facebook) also available same day digital in the U.S.

Christmas in the Jungle (Latvian-Estonian family adventure movie, with mainly English dialogue; starring Paaru Oja, Tonu Kark, Rukman Rosadi; directed by Jaak Kilmi; When a 10-year-old girl is moved to the tropics by her parents, she has trouble getting into the holiday spirit, so she and a local friend head into the jungle in search of the Christmas Shaman; filmed in Indonesia) - Dec. 1 in Estonia

Saving the Spirit of Christmas (holiday musical written, produced and directed by members of the Grand Prairie Arts Council; A teen mourns the loss of her favorite Christmas traditions due to COVID, prompting the Spirit of Christmas to visit her) - Dec. 3, drive-in, benefit premiere at South Grand Prairie High School

Dear Santa (feature documentary from filmmaker Dana Nachman; based on the USPS’s Operation Santa, which allows people to adopt and answer children’s letters to Santa.) - Dec. 4 (Website, Trailer) Also available VOD

Lost at Christmas (holiday movie starring Natalie Clark and Kenny Boyle; After being dumped by his fiancé after a rejected proposal, two strangers stranded in the Scottish Highlands join forces to try and get home in time for Christmas; filmed on location in Scotland) - Dec. 4 in UK (Website, Trailer) also available VOD on Dec. 7 (UK only)

Nomadland (drama starring Frances McDormand, Gay DeForest and Patricia Grier; directed by Chloe Zhao; Exploring the life of a modern nomad, who travels the country looking for temporary seasonal work; starting at the holidays) - Dec. 4, limited (Trailer)

Our Lady of Guadalupe (Directed and written by Pedro Brenner, starring Guillermo Ivan and filmed in Mexico, the holiday-set, faith-based story of a reporter sent to research the meaning of a miracle who ends up needing one himself) - Dec. 10, limited (Trailer)

Silent Night (UK action-thriller written and directed by Will Thorne, starring Bradley Taylor and Cary Crankson; An ex-con hoping to go straight and spend a nice Christmas with his daughter, but who gets drawn back into the criminal life) - Dec. 11 in UK (Facebook) also available on UK VOD Dec. 14 and DVD Dec. 28 

Christmas on Mars (a.k.a. Un Natale su Marte; Italian Christmas comedy from director Neri Parenti; filmed in Rome) - Dec. 17 in Italy

The Lost Christmas (Dutch comedy about a theater producer who tries to save his theater from a Coronavirus-caused crisis by putting on a spectacular holiday show that goes horribly wrong; filmed in Velsen) - Dec. 21, Netherlands (Instagram, Trailer)

Pieces of a Woman (partially holiday-set drama starring Vanessa Kirby, Shia LeBeouf and Ellen Burstyn; A home birth goes horribly wrong, leaving a family and community to pick up the pieces) - Dec. 30 (Trailer), available on Netflix, January 7, 2021

Creatures (holiday horror-comedy about a group of students who find an adorable injured alien, only to find he’s being chased by terrifying creatures) - Dec. in UK (Facebook, Trailer, Trailer 2)

[nyslovesfilm]

Save the Date: Film Festivals and Events

Film Festivals take place in New York State throughout the year. The following is a list of upcoming festivals and industry events: Rooftop Films – Through Aug. 23 The Summer Series is officially here—explore the city with NYC's largest outdoor film celebration. Your membership will provide you with free and discounted Summer Series tickets, priority entry at screenings, invitations to special events, and first-access to Summer Series tickets.

Roosevelt Island’s Outdoor Summer Movie Series – Through Aug. 3 The Roosevelt Island Summer Movie Series, which kicks off at the Island’s Southpoint Park, is free admission and includes contests and prizes, food vendors, a state-of-the-art sound system, pre-movie music, and a 40-foot-premium screen. The festivities begin at 7 p.m. and the movies start at sunset. Visitors are encouraged to arrive early and bring their own lawn chairs and blankets.

New York Asian Film Festival – June 28 - July 14 The New York Asian Film Festival is a critically acclaimed film festival held in New York City. Programmed and operated by Subway Cinema, the festival generally features contemporary premieres and classic titles from Eastern Asia and Southeast Asia, though South Asian cinema has also been represented via films from India and Pakistan. Genres featured in the film festival include Horror film, Gangster/Crime, Martial Arts, and Action.

Rochester Jewish Film Festival – July 7-14 A committee of 18 volunteers was presented with a large number of film submissions to be sorted, screened and ultimately chosen for our festival. We looked for diversity, relevance, balance, meaning, and so much more.

Movies with a View in Brooklyn Bridge Park – July 11 – Aug. 29 Movies with A View takes place Thursday evenings in July and August on Pier 1's Harbor View Lawn. There is no better place to be on a hot summer night than watching a classic film and enjoying the breeze off the East River with the dazzling Manhattan skyline before you. This year's theme is "Better the Second Time Around" and will feature popular films shown over the series' history.

The 48 Hour Film Project – July 12-14 Filmmakers from all over the New York, NY area will compete to see who can make the best short film in only 48 hours. The winning film will go up against films from around the world at Filmapalooza 2020 for a chance at the grand prize and an opportunity to screen at the Cannes Film Festival 2020 Short Film Corner.

Long Island International Film Expo – July 12-18 The Long Island Film/TV Foundation and the Nassau County Film Commission present the 21st annual LIIFE – Long Island International Film Expo—at the historic Bellmore Movies. This year’s festival will include over a hundred short and feature-length independent films from all over the world.

Stony Brook Film Festival – July 18-27 You’ll experience talented performances by stars of the future and also see some familiar faces.  The Stony Brook Film Festival invites filmmakers to represent their films and participate in question and answer sessions after screenings. You’ll hear from directors, actors, producers, and crew from all over the world.

Hamilton New York International Film Festival – July 22-28 Hamilton New York International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Hamilton, New York. It aims to present "the best in new cinema". The film festival was founded by brothers Wade, Grant and Todd Slater, whose father, Terry Slater, was the head hockey coach at Colgate University for 15 years.

Long Beach International Film Festival – July 31 - Aug. 3 The Long Beach International Film Festival (LBIFF) is an international film festival founded in 2012, the festival has since taken place every year in Long Beach and in Rockville Centre, New York. The Long Beach International Film Festival celebrates the art of storytelling through cinema. The festival presents shorts, fiction and documentary formats, the LBIFF mission is to exhibit films that convey a fresh voice and differing perspectives.

New York City International Reel Film Festival - July 31 - Aug. 1 The New York City International Reel Film Festival screens the best of today's independent cinema. NYCIRFF is held annually at the legendary Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan, which is home to celebrated filmmakers such as Andy Warhol, Jonas Mekkas, and Stan Brakhage. NYCIRFF is particularity interested in maverick filmmakers of any orientation, ethnicity, religion or country. Located in NYC, we are an ethnically and creatively diverse audience for your film

Hip Hop Film Festival NYC – Aug. 1-4 The Hip Hop Film Festival is a festival created for the new culture of global citizens, those who embrace the culture of revolution, progressive change, social mobility and giving voice to the overlooked. Another name for this culture is the Hip Hop Culture... once known as a music genre that served as the ‘urban CNN’, the culture has evolved to include film and the moving image to add visuals to the stories of the urban griots from every corner of the globe. 

Festival of Cinema NYC – Aug. 2-11 Festival of Cinema NYC is a competitive festival that accepts films and media of all lengths, genres, and subjects. Awards in over 15 categories include Best Feature and Short Narrative, Best Documentary, Best Animation, Music Video & Experimental, and Best Web Series. Audience choice for Feature and Short film are also awarded.

Lucille Ball Comedy Festival – Aug. 7-11 The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival is an annual festival that takes place in Jamestown, N.Y. Lucille Ball’s vision was an annual festival of comedy that would support rising comedians in her hometown. Lucille Ball worked with the Arts Council in Jamestown to develop a comedy festival and comedy film festival in her hometown in the late 1980s. Unfortunately, Ball passed away in April 1989 before attending the festival that would attract thousands of Lucy fans and contemporary comedy lovers alike.

Capitolfest – Aug. 9-11 Capitolfest is a celebration of classic films of the silent and early talkie eras. All movies are shown in the Capitol Theatre, a 1928 movie palace, and the silent films on the bill feature live accompaniment on the Capitol’s original installation Moller theater organ. The aim of Capitolfest is to recreate the experience of seeing these 80-110-year-old films when they were new for our audience members.

Central Park Film Festival – Aug. 13-15 Join us for the 2019 Central Park Conservancy Film Festival, which will be hosted in Central Park in recognition of the Conservancy’s ongoing commitment to the public. New York Latino Film Festival – Aug. 14-18 Come partner with the leading Latino/Multicultural film and digital conference in the country. The New York Latino Film Festival offers customizable, dynamic and activation friendly venues and one of a kind events and tailored programming to connect with your brand—with long-term partners, a loyal, global community of fans and followers along with authentic engagement. The festival is a cultural entertainment event unlike any other. Flame Con – Aug. 17-18 Flame Con, the world’s largest queer comic con, returns for its fifth year. Featuring a two-day comics, arts, and entertainment expo, showcasing creators and special guests from all corners of the LGBTQ fandom. It features thoughtful discussions, exclusive performances, screenings, cosplay, and more! Geeks of all types are invited to attend and celebrate the diversity and creativity of queer geekdom and LGBTQ contributions to pop culture.

New York State Fair Drone Film Festival – Aug. 21 - Sept. 2 The NYS Drone Film Festival is dedicated to educating audiences and empowering filmmakers and companies around the world to tell their stories with the use of drones. Amateur, professional, students and companies worldwide are invited to enter their films or photographs. Our mission is to help educate the public about the many positive and beneficial ways drones are being used to better society and capture the panoramic beauty of our planet. This competition is open to content filmed anywhere around the globe. Fan Fiction Festival – Aug. 22 This event offers writers at all levels the opportunity to hear their scripts read aloud using professional actors and showcased online for thousands to see. It gives the writer the opportunity to have their fan fiction read by professionals and showcased to the industry and world. Writers will receive full feedback on scripts by our established reading committee, so even if you’re just looking for feedback on your script, this is the festival for you. Brooklyn Women’s Film Festival – Aug. 22-25 Brooklyn Women’s Film Festival is a female-focused film festival, run by women, about women and for everyone. BWFF showcases films made by female writers and/or directors and gives special preference to films that contain women in key creative roles. Our films are fierce, edgy and relevant.

Trekonderoga – Aug. 23-25 Star Trek original series set tour weekend offers Trek fans events and tours of the original series set rebuilt by super Trek fan James Cawley.  The sets are complete recreations built using the original blueprints, hundreds of hours of serious research and thousands of photographs – both period images and images culled from extensive review and capture from the original episodes. 

Village of Brewster Film Festival – Aug. 23 - Sep. 3 This festival brings high quality, independent film to Putnam County and introduces new stories, new ideas and new dialogue through films, panels, and studies. Started in 2012 on one night and on one lawn, the festival has grown to be a weeklong event with other programming throughout the year.