Sew La Ti Embroidery [Search results for film festival

  • Eve Hewson attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival

    Eve Hewson attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Eve Hewson attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Rosario Dawson attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Delphine Chaneac attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Fiammetta Cicogna attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Anja Rubik (L) and Peter Dundas attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Anja Rubik attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Gwen Stefani attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Gwen Stefani attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Courtney Love attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Model Claudia Schiffer attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Model Claudia Schiffer attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Eve Hewson attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: (2L-R) Paolo Sorrentino, Heinz Lieven, Liron Levo, Sean Penn, Eve Hewson, Judd Hirsch, David Byrne and Simon Delaney attend the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Clotilde Hesme attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Clotilde Hesme attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Daniela Lumbroso attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    source : daylife
    photo: Gettyimages

    VIA Eve Hewson attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival

  • The 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France

    The 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France
    ©
    US actress Kirsten Dunst (L) and French actor Jean Dujardin pose with the President of the jury US President of the Jury Robert De Niro (C) after being awarded with the Prix de l'Interpretation Masculine (best actor) and Prix de l'Interpretation Feminine (best female) during the closing ceremony of the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: Director Pablo Giorgelli with the Camera d'Or for his movie 'Las Acacias' with Camera d'Or jury president Joon Ho Bong (R) and actress Marisa Paredes (L) during the Closing Ceremony at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: Director Nuri Bilge after winning Grand Prix Ex-aequo award for the film 'Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da' (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) during the Palme D'Or Winners Photocall at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: Director Maryna Vroda winner of the Palme d'Or - Short Film poses at the Palme d'Or Winners Photocall at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    Argentinian director Pablo Giorgelli poses with the President of the Camera d'Or jury Joon Ho Bong during a photocall after being awarded with the Camera d'Or (best first film) for his movie 'Las Acacias' at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: Actor Jean Dujardin poses with director Maiwenn Le Besco during the Closing Ceremony at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: French director and actress Maiwenn poses after winning the Jury Prize for the film 'Polisse' at the Palme d'Or Winners Photocall at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    US actress Kirsten Dunst poses with Venezuelian actor Edgar Ramirez after being awarded with the Prix de l'Interpretation Feminine (best actress) with the movie ' Melancholia' during the closing ceremony of the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes.
    ©
    Belgian directors Jean-Pierre Dardenne (L) and Luc Dardenne pose during a photocall after being awarded with the Jury Grand Prix for their film 'The Kid with a Bike' at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: Actor Ryan Gosling (L) and 2011 Best Director Nicolas Winding Refn of the film 'Drive' pose at the Palme d'Or Winners Photocall at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    ©
    CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: Producers Bill Pohlad (L) and Dede Gardner (R) pose with the Palme d'Or for 'The Tree of Life' at the Palme d'Or Winners Photocall at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.
    source: daylife
    photo: Gettyimages

    VIA The 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France

  • The Largest Outdoor Short Film Festival — Tropfest 2015

    The Largest Outdoor Short Film Festival — Tropfest 2015

    Movie Extra Tropfest

    Tropfest 2015 | Gold Coast | Australia

    And no, unfortunately that isn't as dirty as it sounds. The world's largest short film festival, the Movie Extra Tropfest, is on again this weekend and by some beautiful sign from the Gods, it's coming to the Gold Coast. I know what you're thinking; `so what? I don't live on the Gold Coast.' But for those of us who call the cultural vacuum home, having an event like this each year is a glorious reminder that yes, there is artistic expression and free-thinking individuals somewhere. Rejoice!

    The festival is one of Australia's most iconic cultural events and has grown from humble beginnings in the early nineties at the Tropicana Café in Sydney, to what is now the largest outdoor short film festival globally. Out of thousands of films that entered, the 16 finalists will be screened on Sunday night with the 14 finalists in the Trop Jr category playing in the afternoon.

    The finalists are broadcast nationally to a live audience of more than 150,000 via simultaneous satellite broadcast in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Perth. A fantastic opportunity for up and coming filmmakers, the top entrants compete for prizes worth $150,000 across several categories.

    Tropfest festival director John Polson, who also directed the Russel Crowe-starring film Tenderness (for those of you playing at home)
    Festival director and founder John Polson says watching the entries is the best part of his job, but choosing the final 16 is the "the toughest''.
    "This year's line-up encompasses an incredible, entertaining and thought-provoking mix of comedy, drama, animation, documentary and even mocumentary,'' he says.
    "There are some familiar faces amongst the 16 finalists, including some past Tropfest finalists, but it's also great to be able to showcase some of Australia's best, new filmmaking talent.''

    The flick I'm, er, rooting for is Testicle, an animated short film from a duo in Queensland about a baby born with one testicle. You've got to admit, it's pretty ballsy *insert face slap here*. The festival highlights will also be broadcast live on the Movie Extra Channel. If you feel like you're missing out, never fear because Tropfest is a global event and the New York leg is one of the biggest so I suggest check out the website here for all the details on a Tropfest near you.

    VIA The Largest Outdoor Short Film Festival — Tropfest 2015

  • Kirsten Dunst conquers the Cannes Film Festival and takes the best actress award

    Kirsten Dunst conquers the Cannes Film Festival and takes the best actress award
    By BAZ BAMIGBOYE IN CANNES
    ©
    Honour: Kirsten Dunst poses next to Venezuelian actor Edgard Ramirez after being awarded with the Prix de l'Interpretation Feminine (best actress) for Melancholia
    Kirsten Dunst conquered the Cannes Film Festival by taking the best actress award from a jury led by Robert De Niro and for a movie made by banned film-maker Lars von Trier.
    The 29-year-old star thought her chances of winning at Cannes were dimmed after Von Trier was made persona non grata by the festival's board after telling a press conference he understood Hitler and that he 'was a Nazi'.
    The comments sent shock waves through the film world.
    Kirsten told the Mail Online that she kept thinking, 'Lars, shut up'.
    She added: 'He's a great film-maker who, sometimes I feel should let his films speak for themselves.'
    In any event, the actress who has come a long way since starring in the Spiderman pictures.
    ©Touched: She was awarded the coveted prize during the closing ceremony of the 64th Cannes Film Festival
    She gives a terrific, deeply felt performance in Von Trier's film Melancholia as a newly-wed bride who instantly regrets her marriage while at the same time the planet Earth is on collision course with another planet.
    Her character Justine is an utterly depressed young woman .
    'I understood a little of what Justine was going through', the actress told the Mail Online.
    ©Dressed for the occasion: Kirsten looked stunning in a silver and white floor length dress
    It is a huge triumph for Kirsten as there was formidable competition from the likes of Tilda Swinton who starred in the British entry We Need To Talk About Kevin.
    The win also helps Kirtsen make a shift from main stream Hollywood films to more independent fare.
    The big award of the night, the Palme d'Or went to Terrence Malick's epic visual poem
    The Tree of Life which starred Brad Pitt and Sean Penn.
    ©Best actor went to Jean Dujarin for the enchanting picture The Artists which took a touching glance back to the era of silent films.
    Best director went to Nicolas Winding Refn for his work on the brilliant but bloody-
    thirsty thriller Drive which starred Ryan Gosling who is excellent as a movie stunt car driver by day and a getaway driver by night.
    Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, and Christina Hendricks also star in the film which opens in the UK in the Autumn.
    Other prizes went to the superb French movie Polisse which looked at a Parisian child
    protection unit.
    Jury members included Uma Thurman and Jude Law.
    ©Delighted: The 29-year-old lapped up the attention from her peers during tonight's Closing Ceremony in Cannes
    ©Critical acclaim: Dunst stars in Melancholia as a newly-wed bride who instantly regrets her marriage while at the same time the planet Earth is on collision course with another planet
    source: dailymail

    VIA Kirsten Dunst conquers the Cannes Film Festival and takes the best actress award

  • Favourite Movies With Harry Cook

    Favourite Movies With Harry Cook

    Sydney Film Festival

    Sydney Film Festival 2015

    Its been a little while since we’ve talked about the delightful Harry Cook, one of the pivotal actors alongside Geena Davis in Accidents Happen. But since his next film Caught Inside screened at the Sydney Film Festival last week, what better time to talk about his favourite movies. The 18-year-old had this to say:

    “That’s hard. Forrest Gump is really good. I like old school films, like Death Becomes Her is amazing. Thelma and Louise too, and I’m not just saying that because of Geena Davis, it really is an awesome movie. The first movie I ever saw was Oliver and I would love to do the musical one day.”

    Stay tuned for an up and coming interview with Harry Cook about Caught Inside.

    P.S. Dear The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Because you are the first film I ever got to visit the set of, you shall forever hold a place in my heart. However, the excitement and enthusiasm I once felt for you quickly dwindled away when I watched your first full length trailer online. Craptacular doesn’t even begin to cover it. I know there’s a story in there somewhere because I’ve read the synopsis, so how about showing that in the trailer? Or heaven forbid, a logical order of events as opposed to a wet painting here, a magical coat there and Ben Barnes with a pedo-mo slotted in the middle? Sigh. I hope the hardcore fans are a little more pleased than the rest of us.

    Favourite movies with Harry Cook, 8 out of 10 (based on 345 votes)

    VIA Favourite Movies With Harry Cook

  • Bono's little girl steps out of her father's shadow at Cannes... but has co-star Sean Penn by her side for support

    Bono's little girl steps out of her father's shadow at Cannes... but has co-star Sean Penn by her side for support
    By JESSICA SATHERLEY
    ©Co-stars: Sean Penn looked after his family friend and co-star Eve Hewson on the red carpet at Cannes, who is the daughter of U2 frontman Bono
    Her famous father is used to the spotlight, but last night it was the U2 frontman’s daughter’s turn to steal the limelight at Cannes.
    Eve Hewson showed that she’s no shrinking violet by strutting down the red carpet in a stunning black and pink Chanel ensemble for the film premiere of This Must Be The Place.
    The 19-year-old stars in the crime thriller alongside her father’s pal Sean Penn and Talking Heads singer David Byrne.
    ©Cool and composed: The 19-year-old actress appeared relaxed in front of the press and photographers at the premiere of This Must Be The Place, by director Paolo Sorrentino
    And Penn made sure to act as a protective father figure for Eve on the red carpet by staying close by her side throughout the night, as her parents didn't attend the event.
    Eve certainly picked up some tips from Bono on how to turn heads, and looked lovely in the light pink skirt, black bodice and sheer overlay alongside Miu Miu heels, while Penn wore a Giorgio Armani tux.
    Earlier in the day she had attended a photo call for her new film too, and opted for a Miu Miu dress with a neon green cut-out leather yoke.
    Being in the company of stars including Gwen Stefani, Rosario Dawson and Faye Dunaway didn’t seem to faze the young actress at all and appeared calm and relaxed.
    ©Cute in Chanel: Eve turned heads in a light pink skirt, black bodice and sheer overlay by Chanel, alongside Miu Miu black heels
    This Must Be The Place is not Eve’s first appearance on screen though and had her first debut in 2002 on her father’s video documentary ‘U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle’.
    She also appeared on Irish chat show The Late Late Show in 2003 and in 2008 had a role in the drama The 27 Club - which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
    Eve also had a starring role last year in a short film titled For The First Time, but her latest project is by sure her largest.
    This Must Be The Place sees Penn play a wealthy former rock star in Dublin, who is now bored and embarks on a quest to find his father’s persecutor – an ex-Nazi war criminal now hiding out in the U.S.
    ©Cast members: Director Paolo Sorrentino stands to the right of Eve Hewson (centre) and Sean Penn stands to the left of her at the screening of This Must Be The Place at Cannes
    ©Rising actress: Eve had her first film debut in 2002 on her father's video documentary 'U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle', and has starred in a short film as well as a full length drama
    Learning his father is close to death, he travels to New York in the hope of being reconciled with him during his final hours, only to arrive too late.
    Having been estranged for over 30 years, it is only now in death that he learns the true extent of his father’s humiliation in Auschwitz at the hands of former SS Officer Aloise Muller – an event he is determined to avenge.
    While Eve plays his 16-year-old friend covered in tattoos, who rides around on a skateboard – which she admitted was hard to master.
    ©Serene: Being in the company of stars including Gwen Stefani, didn't seem to faze the young actress and she lapped up the limelight
    ©Star attractions: Rosario Dawson looked stunning and sexy in a strapless ruffled red gown,
    ©
    while German model Claudia Schiffer wore a sheer lace Dolce & Gabbana dress
    Sean Penn no doubt picked up some tips from Bono on how to play a rock star, but the U2 star did not attend yesterday’s event.
    But Bono is no stranger to Cannes and in 2007, he played alongside the rest of U2 at the top of the Palais steps to launch the screening of concert film U2 3D.
    ©Strike a pose: Earlier in the day Eve and Sean joined Judd Hirsch (left) and director Paolo Sorrentino at a photo call for their film in Cannes
    ©Fashionista: Eve Hewson opted for a Miu Miu dress with a neon green cutout leather yoke for the photo call, while Penn decided to wear his denims
    Eve is Bono and his wife Ali Hewson’s second-eldest daughter and grew up in Dublin with her three siblings, Jordan, 22, Elijah, 11, and John, 10, away from public exposure.
    Her youngest brother John turns 10 today, which he will no doubt be celebrating with his famous family at home in Ireland.
    ©Proud parents: Bono and Eve's mother Ali Hewson (seen here in Dublin last month) didn't attend Cannes this year and are thought to be back in Ireland to celebrate their 10-year-old son's birthday today
    ©Family vacation: Eve Hewson (purple dress) with her father Bono, mother Ali Hewson and sister Jordan in gladiator sandals during a family holiday in St Tropez in 2008
    THIS MUST BE THE PLACE - HD-Teaser - Paolo Sorrentino

    source: dailymail

    VIA Bono's little girl steps out of her father's shadow at Cannes... but has co-star Sean Penn by her side for support

  • Black Sun of a Gun

     Black Sun of a Gun

    El Rico

    Avelino `El Rico' Lescot

    What happens when a stuntman, actor/director and screenwriter walk into a Gold Coast bar? They come up with the concept for an action fantasy film that is already raising eyebrows in Hollywood no joke. Rene Perrin, Avelino `El Rico' Lescot and Susan Macguillicuddy are the trio behind The Black Sun, which recently took out the Most Ambitious Screenplay award at the 2010 International Action on Film Festival in Los Angeles.

    The locals are hoping the added hype surrounding their screenplay will push the project into production and attract the eye of distributors. Lescot, a Gold Coast-based actor, stuntman and filmmaker who has worked on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Peter Pan and The Condemned, said The Black Sun incorporates several genres.

    ``It's enchanting and mystical,'' he said.
    ``It's a gypsy, action, adventure, romance, western with a strong supernatural feel that is set in the Pacific Islands, Mexico, China, New Zealand and here.
    ``At the moment the film industry needs something different but financially manageable and that's The Black Sun.''

    The film follows a warrior's worldwide journey on the Matariki boat, which Lescot said is `like another star of the film'. Lescot and Perrin have an impressive international fanbase thanks to the success of their action film Among Dead Men. It won several awards for best fight choreography and generated considerable profits in DVD sales in Canada, Germany, Thailand, Cambodia, Poland, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Hong Kong. It also grossed several times its $7000 budget in DVD sales through Walmart in the US. Perrin, who has worked as a stunt performer on films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Daybreakers, Nim's Island, Fool's Gold and Ghost Ship, said they wanted to combine their `love of action with a love of romance' in The Black Sun.

    Balancing out the testosterone on the team is screenwriter Susan Macguillicuddy. Despite having worked with the likes of Cate Blanchett, Jessica Alba, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffiths, Macguillicuddy said working with `the boys' on The Black Sun has been her `most cherished writing experience'.

    ``It's like we each started at one end of the canvas and worked our way to the middle, fine-tuning the parts of the script we liked,'' she said.
    ``It took us about a year and hundreds of meetings but we're happy with the finished product.
    ``We wanted to do something very avant garde with the genre and something new.
    ``Getting the Most Ambitious Screenplay award means we really pushed the genre, which is what we set out to do.''

    International distributors have shown interest in The Black Sun and the trio is currently in the process of looking for investors.

    P.S. Since it is less than two days until the release of Tomorrow, When The War Began I figure it’s time to start getting you all majorly excited. That is, if you aren’t already. Which you should be. Therefore, I’m officially declaring this as Tomorrow, When The War Began day and prepare yourself for a swag of related stories. Starting with the lovely Phoebe Tonkin (below), who plays Fi in the film.I interviewed her at the Queensland premiere last fortnight and the next day over breakfast in Southport. As well as talking about the movie and future projects, all the usual stuff, we broached the big one - Phoebe Tonkin’s favourite movies.

    “I’ve always loved Pretty Woman, that’s probably my favourite. I saw Shutter Island recently which was really good. Princess Bride, oh and Girl Interrupted is also amazing. I love Julia Roberts so anything with her in it really.”
    Black Sun of a Gun, 9 out of 10 (based on 584 votes)

    VIA Black Sun of a Gun

  • Michael Sheen :"Rachel McAdams's "Fantastic Actress"

    Michael Sheen :"Rachel McAdams's "Fantastic Actress"

    Rachel McAdamsand Michael Sheenwho are co-stars in Woody Allen's new film, "Midnight in Paris," have confirmed they are dating, following months of speculation.
    "We spent our nights really laughing, and walking around Paris, Notre Dame is my favorite spot, and having great meals. It was a great way to get to know anyone," Sheen told Us Weekly. "Rachel McAdams's the most wonderful person I know. We got to know each other on set, it was an amazing time. We've been a couple for a while now."

    The British actor also said that Rachel McAdams is a "fantastic actress" and the pair have already begun working together again in director Terrence Malick's next project, which is currently filming in Louisiana.
    "We love going to little diners, out of the way places, so we found some great little spots out in Louisiana," Sheen said. "My favorite meal is breakfast!"
    Rachel McAdams and Sheen made their first red carpet appearance as a couple at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday for the premiere of "Midnight in Paris."
    Rachel McAdams stars opposite Owen Wilson in the film, which tells the tale of an engaged couple, who travel to Paris and while McAdams gets charmed by the repugnant intellectual Paul (Sheen), Gil (Wilson) wanders the streets of Paris and finds himself traveling back in time to the 1920s each night, to the very era he's romanticized.

    Last November, Sheen was photographed holding hands with Rachel McAdams in Toronto, fueling rumors that the two were dating. They were also spotted together at an after party at the Toronto International Film Festival.
    Sheen comes across as being quite smitten by the actress, who sparked engagement rumors recently when McAdams was spotted wearing what looked like an engagement ring, but Sheen's rep denied to E! News.
    "She's a genuinely lovely lady as well as being stunningly beautiful and very talented," Sheen, 42, told "Entertainment Tonight Canada" of McAdams, 34, People reports.
    Meanwhile, McAdams told Elle magazine recently that her parent's happy marriage made her disillusioned with what love is.
    "You grow up and you assume that everyone is like that, and you quickly realize that they're not," Rachel McAdams told Elle magazine recently. "And then you have those days when you wonder if you're going to find it for yourself. It's such a hard thing to find. I think it was more that realization that rocked me." (S)

    VIA Michael Sheen :"Rachel McAdams's "Fantastic Actress"

  • Central Asia: Scholars rush to save Mes Aynak

    Central Asia: Scholars rush to save Mes Aynak
    Saving Mes Aynak, which was screened at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina, last month, is the story of an imminent archaeological tragedy in Afghanistan that seems like a fait accompli.

    Scholars rush to save Mes Aynak
    The director of Saving Mes Aynak, Brent Huffman, surveying a Buddhist stupa 
    at the archaeological site [Credit: Saving Mes Aynak]

    Mes Aynak is a vast site in a mountainous area south of Kabul, near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan and adjacent to Taliban supply routes. The area is roughly the size of the city of Pompeii in Italy. Archaeologists say it is one of the richest sites in the country, with objects dating back 5,000 years. Excavations were conducted recently with the support of the French government and continue with urgency with a skeleton Afghan crew. Yet more than 90% of the site still remains unexamined.

    It is almost sure to be under-examined. Mes Aynak is also the site of extensive copper deposits, which explains why it was a trading centre for centuries. The name Mes Anynak means “little source of copper,” although “little” understates the case. Those deposits are now under contract for extraction by China Metallurgical Group Corporation, a state-owned Chinese mining conglomerate that plans to begin mining the site this year. The copper underneath is said to be worth $100 billion, according to the Afghan government. That is an amount that might make the occasional Taliban attack seem tolerable.

    The fight over Mes Aynak is the subject of this documentary film by Brent Huffman. The main narrator of the grim tale is the Afghan archaeologist Qadir Temori. With the help of French archaeologists, Temori and his team have unearthed temples, fortifications, objects and stupas (memorials) that reflect the Buddhist and Hellenistic styles common to the region. But China Metallurgical Group Corporation has built an extensive modern camp for workers and is poised to remove the hills and the ancient remains beneath with modern bulldozers.


    To call this a David and Goliath story is like saying $100 billion is a modest incentive. The American archaeologist Mark Kenoyer, a specialist in Afghan and Pakistani cultures, compares bulldozing the site to submerging the city of Atlantis. The French archaeologist Philippe Marquis calls it “the tip of the iceberg.”We are told in interviews with Afghan officials that the proposed mine will enrich the country with $7 billion dollars of economic activity.

    We are also told by former government employees that the minister responsible for the deal— which involved a Chinese payment of some $3 billion to the minister—is living in a luxurious new house. (That official has since resigned and has accused his successor of corruption, Huffman says.)

    International protests have not made much difference. Alarmed archaeologists and Buddhists around the world achieved a brief delay by raising their voices, yet the mining seems set to begin.

    Saving Mes Aynak does not fit the usual contours of films about art. There are exquisite objects on screen that came fr om recent excavations, although most of them are too recently unearthed to be conserved and exhibited in a delicately-lit jewel-box museum context. They are hardly the proven treasures that might induce politicians to fight for preservation.

    Scholars rush to save Mes Aynak
    A golden Buddha from Mes Aynak 
    [Credit: Saving Mes Aynak]

    A chilling parallel to this film came in another documentary at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Overburden by Chad Stevens examines the practice of mountaintop removal to extract coal quickly and cheaply over a vast area, with a fraction of the workers required in the conventional deep mining process. Citizens in West Virginia who feared the destruction of their homes and water sources locked horns with a huge coal company, Massey Energy (which has since been sold to Alpha Natural Resources), and coalminers who were fighting for their jobs.

    Saving Mes Aynak involves a hauntingly similar standoff. Overburden is the mining term that refers to rock and dirt between the surface and mineral deposits. In Mes Aynak, 5,000 years of culture are the overburden.

    Huffman shows grim video of the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban in 2002, yet at a time when the destruction of ancient cultures is a stated policy of the Islamic State, Saving Mes Aynak presents us with a different crisis: the horror of business as usual. Under governments wh ere conservation doesn’t count for much, the race for resources runs faster than rescue archaeology.

    Author: David D'Arcy | Source: The Art Newspaper [May 30, 2015]

  • Open Wide, Movies Inside

    Open Wide, Movies Inside

    Julian McMahon

    Julian McMahon

    Okay, lame title, I know. But serioulsy, there's only so many Gold Coast Film Festival related titles you can write before you hit wall. Sigh, I digress. The festival opens tonight at the Birch Carroll and Coyle Cinemas Australia Fair and there’s a huge line-up of stars coming along for the opening night. Leading the charge is Nip/Tuck star Julian McMahon (above), who is in Queensland filming shark action-thriller Bait 3D. McMahon forged a career in Australian television before he broke into Hollywood as Cole Turner on hit TV series Charmed and roles in the Fantastic Four franchise and RED.

    McMahon's Bait 3D co-stars Xavier Samuel and Sharni Vinson will also be at the opening night, along with director Kimble Rendall. Samuel was most recently seen in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Aussie horror flick The Loved Ones, while Vinson had success as the lead in Step Up 3D. They will be joined by Tomorrow, When The War Began stars Lincoln Lewis and Phoebe Tonkin, and other Australian actors including John Jarratt, Dan Wylie, Adrienne Pickering, Cindy Nelson, Francesca Gasteen, and Alex Russell, star of the opening night film Wasted On The Young.

    However, it is not just big name actors who are attending, with a who's who of international industry professionals. Along with Hollywood horror screenwriter Todd Farmer (My Bloody Valentine, Jason X), will be producers Chris Adams (Syriana, An Inconvenient Truth ) and Steve Kearney (Jucy) , the founders behind industry consultation company Adams Kearney. Local guests include Oscar-winning special-effects whiz John Cox, producer Chris Brown (Daybreakers, The Proposition) and Emmy-award winning make-up effects artist Jason Baird.

    I will be on the read carpet chatting to all of these lovely peeps and I’m off to chat to a few of them at their hotel now, so, keenly stand by for the latest and greatest dets from the festival.

    VIA Open Wide, Movies Inside

  • Mila Kunis 2011Oscars dress and trip to Oz

    Mila Kunis 2011Oscars dress and trip to Oz
    Milena Kunis (Russian: Милена Кунис born August 14, 1983), professionally known as Mila Kunis (play /ˈmiːlə ˈkuːnɪs/), is an American actress. Her television work includes the role of Jackie Burkhart on That '70s Show and the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy. She has also played roles in film, such as Rachel Jansen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Mona Sax in Max Payne and Solara in The Book of Eli.
    In 2010, she won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress at the 67th Venice International Film Festival for her performance as Lily in Black Swan. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for the same role.
    1 Early life
    2 Career
    2.1 Television
    2.2 Film work, 2001–2008
    2.3 2009–present
    3 Media publicity
    4 Personal life
    5 Filmography
    6 Awards and nominations
    7 References
    8 External links
    Mila Kunis (Russian: Милена Кунис; Ukrainian: Мілена Куніс) was born in Chernivtsi in the Ukrainian SSR. Her family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1991, when she was seven years old. Kunis is Jewish and has cited antisemitism in the former Soviet Union as one of several reasons for her family's move to the U.S Her mother, Elvira, is a physics teacher and drug store manager, and her father, Mark Kunis, is a mechanical engineer and cab company executive. She has an older brother, Michael
    Kunis has stated that a lottery system allowed her family to make the move: "It took about five years. If you got chosen the first time around, you went to Moscow, where there was another lottery, and you maybe got chosen again. Then you could come to the States." On her second day in Los Angeles, she was enrolled at Rosewood Elementary School not knowing a word of English. "I blocked out second grade," she says. "I don’t remember, but my mom tells me that I came home and cried every day. I wasn’t that traumatized. It was just a shock Kunis added: "I didn't understand the culture. I didn't understand the people. I didn't understand the language. My first sentence of my essay to get into college was like, 'Imagine being blind and deaf at age seven.' And that's kind of what it felt like moving to the States.
    In Los Angeles, she attended Hubert Howe Bancroft Middle School. She was mostly taught by an on-set tutor for her high school years while filming That '70s Show. When not on the set, she attended Fairfax High School, where she graduated in 2001 She briefly attended UCLA and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis
    ©Mila Kunis

    VIA Mila Kunis 2011Oscars dress and trip to Oz

  • Aishwariya Rai and Madhur Bhandarkar Join Hands for New Bollywood Flick "Heroine"

    Aishwariya Rai and Madhur Bhandarkar Join Hands for New Bollywood Flick "Heroine"
    MUMBAI – Ex-miss World and stunning Bollywood beauty,Aishwariya Rai, spoke at Cannes Film Festival about her lead role in Madhur Bhandarkar upcoming flick ‘Heroine’. 

    Aishwariya Rai and Madhur Bhandarkar Join Hands for "Heroine"
    But this is not the news which is exclusively to be shared here right now. Aishwariya Rai Bachchan is going to be nude in Bandarkar’s ‘Heroine’; this is what buzzing around in the tinsel town of Bollywood.

    Reportedly; Bhandarkar’s first choice for the movie wasKareena Kapoor, but after going through the script carefully, the attention has been diverted to Aishwarya Rai.

    Madhur Bandarkar has already left his marks on Bollywood with his true-to-life interpretation in ‘Fashion’ and ‘Page 3’. He is an expert in screening the lifestyles of the posh crowd in the country.

    If materialized,‘Heroine’would be first joint venture of Aish and Bhandarkar. The film ‘Heroine’ deals with the life of a top heroine in the showbiz industry and the extent to which actresses go to bag roles and fame.

    VIA Aishwariya Rai and Madhur Bhandarkar Join Hands for New Bollywood Flick "Heroine"

  • Did Elisabetta Canalis' marriage plans scare off Hollywood's most eligible bachelor George Clooney?

    Did Elisabetta Canalis' marriage plans scare off Hollywood's most eligible bachelor George Clooney?
    By SARA NATHAN
    ©A girl's best friend: Newly single Elisabetta Canalis was spotted strolling through Milan's Malpensa Airport today with her two dogs
    It looked like she was going to succeed where so many others had failed.
    But just weeks after Elisabetta Canalis hinted that she could be walking down the aisle with committed playboy George Clooney, their relationship has ended.
    Friends claimed last night that Clooney feared the Italian model and TV presenter was trying to tie him down after two years together.
    Earlier this month, the 32-year-old suggested marriage could be on the cards as she addressed Clooney’s reputation as an eternal bachelor, saying: ‘I could never be with someone who every time he opens his mouth says he doesn’t want a child with me or to marry me
    ©Hollywood bachelor: George Clooney, pictured with the Italian star in September, has vowed never to walk down the aisle again
    ‘My boyfriend has not given an interview on his private life since 1999 – everything that you read is just a rehash of stuff that has been written in the past.’
    In an interview with Italian magazine Chi that appears to have tempted fate, Miss Canalis continued: ‘My second job at the moment seems to be maid of honour. For the time being that’s how it is, but I’m not putting any time limits.
    ‘Who knows what will happen? I am a firm believer in marriage, in the future I will be married, but for the time being I am happy as I am. I don’t need anything to confirm how happy I am.’
    Clooney, however, has insisted that he would not walk down the aisle again following the end of his four-year marriage to actress Talia Balsam in 1993.
    ©Before the split: The pair were spotted at Il Gatto Nero restaurant near Clooney's home on Lake Como last week
    The actor, who turned 50 last month, said: ‘I tried marriage and it didn’t work.
    ‘I have had long relationships with women and they get bored with me working all the time.
    ‘My fear is that I would make a lousy husband and I don’t want to put myself, or anyone else, through the pain of finding out. If I was my girlfriend, I wouldn’t put up with me for very long.’
    A source in Los Angeles said: ‘Elisabetta is a traditional girl and wanted the fairytale.
    ©Ex factor: Sarah Larson, Lisa Snowdon and Clooney's first wife Talia Balsam
    ‘But George has never made a secret of his feelings and he wanted things to continue as they were.’
    Clooney and Miss Canalis made their romance official in September 2009 after stepping out together at the Venice Film Festival.
    The ER star's ex-girlfriends include British model and radio personality Lisa Snowdon and cocktail waitress Sarah Larson.
    He is currently working on his new drama, Gravity, with Sandra Bullock.
    source : dailymail

    VIA Did Elisabetta Canalis' marriage plans scare off Hollywood's most eligible bachelor George Clooney?

  • Painting the town red: Rosario Dawson puts on a brave face in Cannes after 'split from boyfriend'

    Painting the town red: Rosario Dawson puts on a brave face in Cannes after 'split from boyfriend'
    By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
    ©Striking: Rosario Dawson arrived for the screening of This Must Be The Place in Cannes wearing a bright red strapless gown
    If Rosario Dawson was nursing a broken heart, she certainly wasn't showing it on the Cannes red carpet today.
    The Men in Black actress looked radiant in a dramatic red strapless gown as she arrived at the festival premiere of film This Must Be The Place earlier tonight.
    The 32-year-old actress smiled and posed for photographers, despite reports that she has split with her French DJ boyfriend Mathieu Schreyer.
    ©Lady in red: Dawson looked relaxed on the Cannes red carpet despite being reported to have split with her long term boyfriend
    A source told Us Weekly ,agazine: 'They were always in separate places because of their careers.
    'I know her close friends did not love his personality. He wasn't that smiley type of guy.'
    And according to other sources, Dawson was the one who ended the relationship.
    'She broke up with him,' they told the magazine.
    ©As they were: Rosario pictured alongside ex-boyfriend Mathieu Schreyer last October
    But according to another source, Dawson and Schreyer were 'definitely together' a few weeks ago at the [April 23] Prince concert in L.A.
    'They seemed really happy. They were kissing and there was a point in the concert where Prince was calling people up on stage and they were up there holding hands.
    'They seemed very in love.'
    source: dailymail

    VIA Painting the town red: Rosario Dawson puts on a brave face in Cannes after 'split from boyfriend'