Stories about Film from December, 2007
Jordan: Film Festivals, Citizenship Law and More
From a film festival in Dubai, a Jordanian film maker is making his debut at Sundance. Mohammad Al Azraq reports on that as well as the citizenship law in Jordan, babies born out of wedlock and a book feast in the Netherlands.
Nigeria: Oil's Dirty Business
Timbuktu Chronicles writes about the documentary, Delta, Oil's Dirty Business: “Directed by Yorgos Avgeropoulos, “DELTA – Oil's Dirty Business” “…portrays the image of “development”, the way giant multinational petroleum companies would define it.”
Antigua, U.S.A.: Copyright Rights
Both Talk Antigua and Caribbean Free Radio blog about Antigua being awarded the right to violate copyright protections on goods like films and music from the United States.
Morocco: Seeing stars in Marrakesh
It's been a star-struck week in the French-speaking Moroccan bloggosphere, famous international figures being a primary focus of discussion. Several bloggers wrote about the happenings at the seventh edition of the International Marrakesh Film Festival, most notably on the reception there of American director Martin Scorcese and some famous Egyptian film stars.
Saudi: World Excited About Saudi ‘YouTubers’
Saudi Jeans comments on the world's fascination with the relationship of Saudis with video sharing site YouTube. “Now this fascination is not limited to Saudis as YouTube has become an international phenomenon in short time, but as with almost everything else, outsiders seem to think that our country is a...
China: Children Version of Lust, Caution
ESWN translated an editorial discussion of yweekend about the children version of Lust, Caution.
Nigeria: On Nollywood
Ashimole analyses Nigerian movies: The new generation actors may be smiling to the bank with a fat pay cheque but the public are not getting value for money. It is eyesore and mind twisting when these nollywood films attempt westernized thriller/action film or war film. I doubt if they employ...
Haiti: Haiti Now! Film Festival
kiskeácity links to a review of the Haiti Now! Seminar, held earlier this year: “There have been some misunderstandings between anglophone West Indians and Haitians over Caricom and its role in Haiti so this kind of cultural effort for mutual understanding is worth noting.”
Egypt: Lesbian Film
“(A) new Egyptian film by the director Khaled Yousef has a Lesbian character in it. There is even rumor of a kiss…” writes Amal, from Palestine. “Before anyone gets too excited about the new age of liberalism in Egyptian cinema, the leaks indicate that the lesbian character is an evil...
China: Lust, Caution and Cultural Revolution
Wu Li from my 1510 finds out that those university students who had made appeal to the Cultural Bureau to criticize the movie Lust, Caution! hadn't viewed the movie when they signed the appeal letter. The blogger felt that such attitude reflected the deep social conflict similar to the social...
China: The Warlords’ Political Debate
Josie Liu from China in Transition discusses the political debate around a newly released Hong Kong movie “The Warlords”.
Yemen: Making Sesame Oil the Old Way
Omar Barsawad from Yemen shows us a video clip of how sesame oil is traditionally made in his country.
El Salvador: Documentary Film – Los López
A documentary film called Los López tells the story of Mirtala López, who worked during the El Salvadoran civil war in a refugee camp in Honduras, is making the rounds of theaters writes Jasmine Campos of Periodismo Cultural [es].
Colombia: Santa Fe de Antioquia Film Festival
Juliana Rincón of Medea Material [es] writes about her recent experience at the Santa Fe de Antioquia Film Festival in Colombia.
Environment: Bali, Nuclear Energy and Green views from Africa
The climate change talks in Bali have been at the forefront of many blogs around the world. A worldwide protest was held on the 8th of Dec to call attention to climate change and to urge the leaders to work together in tackling the climate change problem. A map of...
Brazil: On winning YouTube short film contest
Rodrigo Savazoni [pt] takes the opportunity of a Brazilian short film winning the YouTube Project:Direct to talk about the changes brought by new technologies to movie making: “I can only see the bright side of it. Because nobody will stop watching good movies and a lot more people have started...
Palestine: Gaza Calling
Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah posts a video clip showing the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza here.
Barbados: Film Festival
Gallimaufry is attending the Barbados International Film Festival.
Egypt: The Story of the Flying Mouse
We all used to watch cartoons when we were children. In fact, many of us still like watching cartoon movies. And sometimes some of those movies stay there in our minds for a while and affect our lives. Captain L.J.Silver wrote here about a movie he watched 15 years ago, and still can't forget. Tarek Amr translates from Arabic.
India: On being offended
A seemingly innocuous song seems to have raised trouble for the filmmakers. IndieQuill on the “offensive” lyrics.
Africa: The African Diaspora Film Festival
The African Diaspora Film Festival is taking place in New York: “The program for the 15th Annual African Diaspora Film Festival, which will take place in New York on November 23-December 9, 2007, has a special “Portugal and Africa Program,” which includes old and new films about Lusophone African topics.”
