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The 26th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (TiDF) is underway in the historic Greek port city, after an opening night ceremony that honored Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba.

Trueba, the Oscar-winning director of Belle Époque, received the festival’s honorary Golden Alexander, recognizing his contributions to cinema and culture. The honor was presented to him by Katerina Sakellaropoulou, president of Hellenic Republic, the first time a Greek head of state has launched the international event.

“Great documentaries profoundly move us, broaden our understanding of the world, challenge our beliefs, prejudices, or our established assumptions,” President Sakellaropoulou said from the stage at the Olympion cinema. “An artistic portrayal of reality, or a creative handling of an otherwise unseen aspect of it, a poetic depiction of a documented truth, or a subjective documentation of some of its dimensions, documentary is a film genre requiring cultural sensitivity, journalistic integrity, moral rectitude, conceptual purity, and political discernment.

Mubi has announced its lineup of streaming offerings for next month, including Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave, alongside his 1999 short film Judgement, as well as Bi Gan’s new short A Shory Story and his second feature Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and Peter Strickland’s new short.

Additional highlights include new episodes of Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom Exodus, Denis Côté’s That Kind of Summer (which we caught at Berlinale earlier this year), Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher trilogy ahead of his imminent new project, and an Abel Ferrara double bill to close out 2022.

Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.

December 1 – That Kind of Summer, directed by Denis Côté | Luminaries

December 2 – The Cat’s Meow, directed by Peter Bogdanovich

December 3 – La chinoise, directed by Jean-Luc Godard | For Ever Godard

December 4 – The Kingdom Exodus: The Congress Dances, directed by Lars von Trier | The Kingdom Exodus

December 5 – Judgement,...

The July lineup at The Criterion Channel has been revealed, most notably featuring the new Wong Kar Wai restorations from the recent box set release, including As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, 2046, and his shorts Hua yang de nian hua and The Hand.

Also among the lineup is a series on neo-noir with Body Double, Manhunter, Thief, The Last Seduction, Cutter’s Way, Brick, Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and more. The channel will also feature a spotlight on art-house animation with work by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more.

With Jodie Mack’s delightful The Grand Bizarre, the landmark doc Hoop Dreams, Orson Welles’ take on Othello, the recent Oscar entries Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time and You Will Die at Twenty, and much more,...

New projects from Fernando Trueba, ‘Loving Vincent’ filmmakers and a ”Nordic Sex Education”.

Screen has been on the ground at animation pitching event Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux this week, hearing about 66 feature film projects at various stages of concept, development and production.

Here are five which generated particular buzz among attendees:

Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary (Fr-Den)

With Cartoon Movie tracking the attendance of its delegates to each pitch, the most popular – by a decent 10% margin – was this France-Denmark co-production with 316 audience members from the 800 people at the event. The second feature from French director Rémi Chayé, it...

There always seems to be a shortage of animated features created with an adult audience in mind. Only once or twice a year there seems to be one worth watching, and though it’s been a couple years since its initial theatrical release, Chico & Rita is now getting its day in the sun with a beautiful Blu-ray combo pack release. Under the direction of Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba and a duo of newcomers in Tono Errando and the visual designer Javier Mariscal, the film surveys the explosion of Cuban music on the world stage during the late 40s and early 50s through a rather slight story of disenfranchised love. Where the tiresome relationship plot falters, the film’s immense respect for the Latin influenced jazz that the story is entrenched in and the impeccable recreation of the time period through gorgeous animation give more than enough reason to forgive its oversights.

We have an exclusive Blu-ray clip from Cinedigm's Chico & Rita, arriving on Blu-ray and DVD September 18. The Oscar nominee for Best Animated Film is currently available on digital and VOD formats. Take a look at this scene, which offers a taste of how beautiful and unique this Cuban flavored drama can be.

Chico & Rita Exclusive: Chano Gets Shot

Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba (Belle epoque, Calle 54) and Spain's renowned artist and designer Javier Mariscal celebrate the music and culture of Cuba with an epic story of love, passion and heartbreak. Fresh off its worldwide theatrical release, Chico & Rita earned more than $2.2 million at the box office, was Oscar nominated for Best Animated Feature, took home Best Animated Feature at the European Film Awards, and was an audience favorite at the Toronto and Telluride Film Festivals. Featuring a red-hot soundtrack by five-time Grammy-winning Cuban musician and composer Bebo Vald&#233s, with...

Cuba, 1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and desire unite them as they chase their ambitions and each other from Havana to New York and Hollywood to Paris, in an epic story of love and heartbreak spanning six decades.

Cinedigm Entertainment Group, a division of Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp., will release Chico & Rita, Gkids' 2012 Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature, day-and-date on September 18th on cable VOD, DVD, and on DVD/Blu-ray in a Limited Edition Collector's Set, preceded by an early digital release on August 21.

Oscar&#174-winning director Fernando Trueba (Belle epoque, Calle 54) and Spain's renowned artist and designer Javier Mariscal celebrate the music and culture of Cuba with an epic story of love, passion and heartbreak. Fresh off its worldwide theatrical release, Chico & Rita earned more than $2.2 million at the box office, was...

Well the hoopla is over for another year as Hollywood relishes in its self congratulatory extravagance with a ceremony that celebrates all that is “good” about the industry (and a ceremony that seems to ignore Everything joe public thinks is good). As predicted The Artist walked away with the most awards whilst – thank god – The Muppets picked up the best original song award. It’s also nice to see Christopher Plummer pick up his First Academy Award for his role in Beginners – definitely long-overdue methinks.

Anyway, here are the winners in full:

Best Picture:

The Artist Moneyball The Descendants The Tree of Life Midnight in Paris The Help Hugo Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close War Horse

Actress:

Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady Viola Davis – The Help Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Actor:

Jean Dujardin – The Artist Gary Oldman...

So here they are, the winners of the 2012 Academy Awards ceremony which took place at the Hollywood and Highland Centre La and was attended by Hollywood’s finest. The Artist didn’t win as many awards as we thought it might but came away with five awards in total including three of the biggies – Best Film, Best Actor and Best Director. Hugo also took 5 awards which was more than we thought possible.

The Iron Lady came in with two awards and we were so pleased to see Meryl Streep bring in her third Oscar after being nominated an astonishing 17 times!

The full list of winners are below along with the tally of how many awards each movie one. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Awards Tally

The Artist – 5 Hugo – 5 The Iron Lady – 2 A Separation – 1 The Help – 1 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – 1 Undefeated – 1 Rango – 1 Beginners – 1 The...

This year’s Academy Awards nominations had a few surprises, the chief being the Best Animated Feature race. Two foreign indies – “Chico and Rita” and “A Cat in Paris” -- beat out the likes of Pixar and Steven Spielberg (“The Adventures of Tintin”). While the latter is an endearing fable aimed at families, “Chico and Rita” helmed by Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba (“Belle Epoque”), artist Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando, is strictly for adults (there’s plenty of full-frontal nudity), making the team’s Oscar coup that much more impressive. The film tells the story of Chico, a struggling pianist in Havana who falls for Rita, a curvy singer. As Rita’s fame rises, their drama-loaded love story takes them on a tumultuous journey to New York City. Bustling with original music by legendary Cuban pianist, bandleader and composer Bebo Valdes, “Chico and Rita” is feast for...

Studio Mariscal A scene from “Chico & Rita”

Fernando Trueba is not a nostalgic man. Instead he chooses to constantly “fall in love” and rediscover pieces of culture, said the Spanish director. Which is why his newest film, “Chico & Rita,” is a celebration of Havana and its music in the late 1940s. It also marks the director’s first foray into animation.

Working with his longtime friend and illustrator Javier Mariscal, Trueba knew the differences between live action and animation before he begun the process.

With its jubilant, colorfully expressionistic style enlivening an old-fashioned love story, the delightful "Chico & Rita" might not look out of place in a retrospective of classic MGM musicals, save for two details: It's neither American nor live action. Sporting a whopping three directors, this time-spanning Cuban tale of passion follows a pair of musically charged lovers as they come together and break apart over the course of several decades. An Oscar nominee for Best Animated Feature, "Chico & Rita" would have taken center stage at the same awards show 50 years ago. Today, it's a slight but touching exercise carried by brilliant visuals and a bouncy soundtrack that won't quit. Its two main directors, Fernando Trueba ("Belle Epoque") and noted designer Javier Mariscal (Tono Errando, Mariscal's brother and a comparative unknown, takes the third credit), team with musical composer Bebo Valdés for a dazzling...

Title: Chico & Rita Reviewed by: Harvey Karten Director: Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal & Tono Errando Screenwriter: Fernando Trueba & Ignacio Martinez de Pison Cast: Voices of Limara Meneses, Eman Xor Oña, Mario Guerra, Jon Adams, Renny Arozaréna Screened at: Soho House, NYC, 1/26/12 Opens: February 10, 2012 Chico & Rita is a delightful and electric animated love story, which opens in Havana, Cuba in 1948. This little gem, was nominated for Best Animated Feature for the 2012 Oscars, which it deserves. The title characters, Chico (Emar Xor Oña), and Rita (Limara Meneses), are a piano player and a singer that “meet cute” and fall in love in 1948 Havana...

Chico & Rita Trailer. Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba‘s Chico & Rita (2010) movie trailer stars Limara Meneses, Eman Xor Oña, Mario Guerra, Jon Adams, and Ken Forman. Chico & Rita‘s plot synopsis: “Cuba, 1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unites them, but their journey – in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero – brings heartache and torment. From Havana to New York, Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas, two passionate individuals battle impossible odds to unite in music and love.”

Cool drama in this movie trailer… maybe deserving of a live-action film.

Watch Chico & Rita movie trailer below and leave your thoughts on it in the comments section. For more Chico & Rita photos, videos, and information, visit our Chico & Rita Page. Chico & Rita has no Us theater release date yet.

Source: Slashfilm...

We'll likely spend some of today reacting to the Oscar nominations, which were announced this morning. But before we get to complaining and picking apart the Academy choices that snubbed certain films, let's celebrate a couple of movies that just got a big bump from the Oscar nods. In the Best Animated Film category two of the nominated films are ones that are probably unfamiliar to a lot of people. A Cat in Paris, by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, and Chico & Rita, by Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando were both nominated. But before you get too up in arms that these movies helped snub Pixar and/or Tintin, take a look at the trailers for the two films below. Chico & Rita, for example, is simply gorgeous. Chico & Rita premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September. The following synopsis is from Tiff: Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba...

Lars von Trier's "Melancholia" (I know, he's the most hated director right now, but the film was great!) was the big winner at the 2011 European Film Awards. The film took home the Best Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design awards.

Tilda Swinton won Best Actress for "We Need to Talk About Kevin" while Colin Firth added another Best Actor award under his belt for "The King's Speech." The Oscar Best Picture winner also won the Best Editing and People's Choice awards.

Here's the full list of the winners of the 2011 European Film Award:

European Film 2011

Melancholia Dir. Lars von Trier

European Director 2011

Susanne Bier for In a Better World

European Actress 2011

Tilda Swinton in We Need To Talk About Kevin

European Actor 2011

Colin Firth in The King's Speech

European Screenwriter 2011

Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne for The Kid with a Bike

Carlo Di Palma European Cinematographer Award 2011

Manuel Alberto Claro...

One of the most overlooked films of the year is finally getting some recognition. We loved it at Sundance and then again, as we gave it another look with its limited theatrical release, but it seems to have mostly exited theaters. Paddy Considine‘s Tyrannosaur, along with Lars von Trier‘s Melancholia, have each received their well-deserved due, with the latter taking the top prize at the European Film Awards and the former grabbing top honors at the British Independent Film Award Winners.

At the indie awards, Richard Ayoade took home the best screenplay award for the wonderful Submarine, likely one of the only awards this under-appreciated gem will get. It is also nice to see Senna get best documentary after the Academy Awards snubbed it on their shortlist. As for the Euro awards, The King’s Speech received the most recognition along with Melancholia. There wasn’t anything too...

The King’s Speech, Melancholia, and the other winners of the 2011 European Film Awards have been announced. The 24th Annual European Film Awards were presented “by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in over ten categories of which the most important is the Film of the year. They are restricted to European cinema and European producers, directors, and actors.”

The full listing of the 2011 European Film Awards winners is below.

European Film 2011

Melancholia, Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany

Written and Directed by: Lars von Trier; Produced by: Meta Louise Foldager & Louise Vesth

European Director 2011

Susanne Bier for Hævnen (In a Better World)

European Actress 2011

Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin

European Actor 2011

Colin Firth in The King’s Speech

European Screenwriter 2011

Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne for Le Gamin au Velo (The Kid with a Bike)

Carlo Di Palma European...

The European Film Awards winners have little influence if none on the award ceremonies stateside, but it’s still interesting to note the differences between the European picks and those by the Americans. Tonight the award ceremony presented their winners and Melancholia tied Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech as the big winners, each taking three awards. I’m not sure why The King’s Speech qualifies as a 2011 contender, considering it was released in the UK before it ever hit North American shores in 2010, but the same can be asked about Susanne Bier’s In A Better World.

Below is the complete list of winners.

Via THR

European Film 2011

Melancholia Dir. Lars von Trier

European Director 2011

Susanne Bier for In a Better World

European Actress 2011

Tilda Swinton in We Need To Talk About Kevin

European Actor 2011

Colin Firth in The King’s Speech

European Screenwriter 2011

Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne...

Melancholia Tops European Film Awards, Lars von Trier Bypassed, Colin Firth Beats Jean Dujardin [Photo: Stephen Frears.] The Artist, a favorite for the 2012 Oscar, won a single Efa Award: Best European Composer, Ludovic Bource, who thanked the film's perky dog, Uggie, for providing the necessary inspiration. Writer-director Michel Hazanavicius wasn't even nominated; star Jean Dujardin lost to Colin Firth. Other Efa 2011 winners include Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne's screenplay for The Kid with a Bike; Wim Wenders' documentary Pina, Germany's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar; Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal, and Fernando Trueba's bolero-rhythmed animated feature and potential Oscar contender Chico & Rita; Terry Gilliam's short The Wholly Family, about an American family visiting Naples; and Hans Van Nuffel's Dutch-Belgian drama Oxygen, the European Discovery of 2011. Oxygen tells the story of two young men in love — and suffering from incurable illnesses. Efa winners of non-competitive awards were...

The film to beat at the European Film Awards, "Melanchola," took home the top prize Saturday in Berlin. Lars von Trier was not present when his film won, as the eccentric director has stopped making public statements since his series of gaffes earlier this year.

"Melancholia"'s frontrunner status was hinted at during the show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. At one point, host Anke Engelke walked on stage in a wedding dress in slow motion, alluding to Kirsten Dunst's character in the film. "Melancholia" was up for eight awards but went home with three, also taking cinematography (Manuel Alberto Claro) and production design (Jette Lehmann). The film came up short a win for director, which went to Susanne Bier for "In a Better World," the best foreign film winner at the Oscars earlier this year.

Other notable wins included best actor, going to Colin Firth for "The King's Speech.

Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Melancholia Melancholia Tops European Film Awards, Lars von Trier Bypassed, Colin Firth Beats Jean Dujardin Lars Von Trier/Melancholia Dominate European Film Awards European Film 2011 The Artist, France Written & Directed By: Michel Hazanavicius Produced By: Thomas Langmann & Emmanuel Montamat Le Gamin Au Velo (The Kid with a Bike), Belgium/France/Italy Written & Directed By: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne Produced By: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, Denis Freyd & Andrea Occhipinti HÆVNEN (In a Better World), Denmark Directed By: Susanne Bier Written By: Anders Thomas Jensen Produced By: Sisse Graum Jørgensen The King's Speech, UK Directed By: Tom Hooper Written By: David Seidler Produced By: Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin Le Havre, Finland/France/Germany Written & Directed By: Aki Kaurismäki Produced By: Aki Kaurismäki & Karl Baumgartner * Melancholia, Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany Written & Directed By: Lars von Trier Produced By: Meta Louise Foldager & Louise Vesth European Director 2011 * Susanne Bier for...

The European Film Awards were bestowed in Berlin after being voted upon by 2,500 members. Best Film "Melancholia" (Denmark, Sweden/France/Germany) Best Director Susanne Bier, "In a Better World" Best Actress Tilda Swinton, "We Need to Talk About Kevin" Best Actor Colin Firth, "The King's Speech" Best Screenwriter Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, "The Kid with a Bike" Best Cinematography Manuel Alberto Claro, "Melancholia" Best Film Editing Tariq Anwar, "The King's Speech" Best Production Design Jette Lehmann, "Melancholia" Best Composer Ludovic Bource, "The Artist" European Discovery "Oxygen" by Hans Van Nuffel (Belgium/theNetherlands) Best Documentary "Pix Arte: Pina" by Wim Wenders, Germany Best Animated Film "Chico & Rita" by Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal & Fernando...

The live stream of the European Film Awards from Berlin this evening was pretty spotty, but a few fine moments came through, particularly the moment when a special honorary award was inaugurated and presented to a very surprised Michel Piccoli by Volker Schlöndorff and Bruno Ganz.

Another special award was given to producer Mariela Besuievski, Stellan Skarsgård presented the European Achievement in World Cinema Award to Mads Mikkelsen, and Stephen Frears received this year's Lifetime Achievement Award.

The full list of winners and nominees:

European Film 2011: Melancholia, Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany

Written and Directed by Lars von Trier

Produced by Meta Louise Foldager and Louise Vesth.

Also nominated:

The Artist, France

Written and Directed by Michel Hazanavicius

Produced by Thomas Langmann and Emmanuel Montamat

Le Gamin au Velo (The Kid with a Bike), Belgium/France/Italy

Written and Directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

Produced by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne,...

Melancholia, The Artist, Le Havre and the other nominations for the 2011 European Film Awards have been announced. The 24th Annual European Film Awards are presented “by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in over ten categories of which the most important is the Film of the year. They are restricted to European cinema and European producers, directors, and actors.” This year’s European Film Awards “ceremony will be held on December 3, 2011 in Berlin’s Tempodrom near Potsdamer Platz.”

The full listing of the 2011 European Film Awards nominations is below.

European Film 2011

The Artist, France

Written and Directed by: Michel Hazanavicius; Produced by: Thomas Langmann & Emmanuel Montamat

Le Gamin au Velo (The Kid with a Bike), Belgium/France/Italy

Written and Directed by: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne; Produced by: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, Denis Freyd & Andrea Occhipinti

Hævnen (In a Better World), Denmark...