69th Venice International Film Festival will run from August 29th 2012

Venice International Film Festival was founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata in 1932. Perhaps no one understood the power an international film festival could have better than Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata; commissioned president of the Venice Biennale by Mussolini.  Volpi expanded the Biennale in 1932 to include the Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica. The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world. The festival takes place every year in late August or early September in Venice. The 69th Venice International Film Festival, organized by La Biennale di Venezia, will run at Venice Lido August 29th through September 8th, 2012, directed by Alberto Barbera. The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and promote all the various aspects of international cinema in all its forms: as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and tolerance. The Festival includes retrospectives and homages to major figures as a contribution towards raising awareness of the history of cinema. Three International Juries will assign the official awards of the 69th Venice Film Festival: Venezia 69 (  Michael Mann President,  Marina Abramovic,  Laetitia Casta,  Peter Ho-Sun Chan,  Ari Folman,  Matteo Garrone,  Ursula Meier,  Samantha Morton,  Pablo Trapero-members) ,Orizzonti(  Pierfrancesco Favino President,  Sandra den Hamer,  Runa Islam,  Jason Kliot, Nadine Labaki,  Milcho Manchevski,  Amir Naderi-members), Opera Prima (  Shekhar Kapur- President,  Michel Demopoulos,  Isabella Ferrari,  Matt Reeves,  Bob Sinclar –members). For the first time in the history of the Venice International Film Festival, 10 feature-length films and 13 short films from the Orizzonti section will be available for viewing (  the virtual theatre online, reservations for 500 “seats”) in streaming all over the world concurrently with the official screenings on the Lido of the 69th Venice International Film Festival (29 August – 8 September 2012). The American director, screenwriter, and producer Michael Cimino will be honoured with the Persol 2012 award of the Venice International Film Festival which aims to celebrate a legend of international filmmaking. The main sections are Venezia 69 -International competition of feature films, presented as world premieres, Out of Competition -Important works by directors already established in previous editions of the Festival, Orizzonti -The new trends in world cinema ,«80!» -Retrospective section on rare films from the Biennale’s Historical Archives, Venice Classics -A selection of restored classic films and documentaries on cinema, and  Special Screening .In addition to these sections there would be International Critics’ Week , a series of 7 films – debut works – independently organized by a commission nominated by the SNCCI and Giornate degli Autori - Venice Days  an Independent section promoted by the Italian Association of Filmmakers ANAC and 100 Autori.

Oliver Stone will receive Special Award in 60th edition of the San Sebastian film festival

Oliver Stone ,the North American Film Director will receive a Special Award in tribute to his career bestowed by the San Sebastian Festival on the occasion of its 60th anniversary. Savages, Oliver Stone’s  latest film, will enjoy its premiere at the Festival. Oliver Stone (New York, 1946) is today one of the most emblematic makers of modern American film. Many of Stone's films focus on contemporary American political and cultural issues. Stone has received Oscars: Best Director for Platoon (1986) Best Director for Born On The Fourth Of July (1989) Best Screenplay for Midnight Express (1978)Oscar Nominations: Best Screenplay for Nixon (1996) Best Director for JFK (1991) Best Picture for JFK (1991) Best Screenplay for JFK (1991) Best Picture for Born On The Fourth Of July (1989) Best Screenplay for Born On The Fourth Of July (1989) Best Screenplay for Platoon (1986) Best Screenplay for Salvador (1986) for Born On The Fourth Of July (1989) Best Screenplay for Born On The Fourth Of July (1989) . Stone was also presented with the Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award at the 2007 Austin Film Festival. British newspaper The Guardian described Stone as "one of the few committed men of the left working in mainstream American cinema." Stone's films often combine different camera and film formats within a single scene (including VHS and 8 mm film) as evidenced in JFK and Natural Born Killers. Stone started in film as a screenwriter and won his first Academy Award for the script of Alan Parker’s Midnight Express (1978); he also penned the screenplay of hugely popular films like John Milius’ Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Brian de Palmas Scarface (1983). Stone sketched a profound and shocking portrait of modern America through subjects like the murder of Kennedy in JFK (1991), Richard Nixon’s presidency in Nixon (1995), the violence of American society in Natural Born Killers (1994), sports corruption in Any Given Sunday (1999) and the 9/11 terrorist attack in World Trade Center (2006). Stone has visited the San Sebastian Festival on four occasions, with Salvador, Natural Born Killers and World Trade Center at the Velodrome and with his documentary Looking for Fidel (2004) in Zabaltegi Specials. In this candid conversation with Rock Cellar Magazine, Oliver Stone

Berlinale Talent Campus, Goethe-Institut and FIPRESCI invite young film critics to Berlin.

The Talent Press, a project of the Berlinale Talent Campus, Goethe-Institut, and FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Critics), invites young film critics and film journalists to Berlin to report on the films at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival (February 7 – 17, 2013) and on the events of the Berlinale Talent Campus (February 9 – 14, 2013).The call for applications for the Talent Press is now open. Please read the following application regulations carefully (they can also be found online at www.berlinale-talentcampus.de  and www.fipresci.org). Young film critics or journalists who are fluent in English (in writing and speaking);eager to report on films screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and on events held during the Berlinale Talent Campus 2013;and having published articles in newspapers, film magazines, on websites or at universities are eligible to apply.. The application deadline is September 20, 2012. Successful candidates will be notified by the end of December. One can only apply on the Berlinale Talent Campus: website: www.berlinale-talentcampus.de 

(All the relevant information and the application form can be found by clicking on APPLY HERE FOR THE BERLINALE TALENT CAMPUS #11 on the homepage of the Berlinale Talent Campus site.). If you have any queries please contact campus@berlinale.de

“ Arbitrage" will be opening the Official Section of the 60th San Sebastián Film Festival in competition

The San Sebastian Film Festival, also known as the Donostia Film Festival,is being held in San Sebastian a glamorous Spanish city located on the northern Atlantic coastline at the heart of the Basque region, just 20 kilometres west of the French border .The festival started in 1953 only showcased Spanish language films at the outset. However, this only lasted for two years when, in 1955, it began to specialize in colour films from all over the world. This decision allowed its reputation to spread across Europe and the San Sebastian Film Festival quickly became one of the continent´s most important annual cinema events, alongside the Cannes and Venice film festivals. The 60^th edition of this very prestigious  film festival will be held from 21^st to 29^th September,2012.This edition will roll its curtain by presenting the European premiere of the US production Arbitrage, a film competing in the Official Section and starring Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon from writer/director Nicholas Jarecki. Arbitrage is a taut and alluring thriller about love and loyalty in the world of high finance. The latest films by Pablo Berger, Sergio Castellitto, Javier Rebollo, Fernando Trueba, Juan Antonio Bayona and Eduard Cortés in the Official Selection  , three Spanish films are taking part in the New Directors section and another five will be presented in special screenings. Argo, a thriller directed by and starring Ben Affleck, will be screened out of competition in  the Official Section of this fest.