Stories about Film from November, 2011
South Africa: Sci-Fi Novel “Zoo City” to Get Film Adaptation
South African science fiction novel “Zoo City” will soon be a movie: “After winning several literary awards and garnering global acclaim for its clever originality, South African author Lauren Beukes’ science-fiction novel, Zoo City, recently saw its film rights awarded to producer Helena Spring (Red Dust, Yesterday, The First Grader),...
Ecuador: Preserving and Protecting Natural Medicines
Ecuador's indigenous communities hold traditional knowledge of natural medicines and therapeutic use of plants. This documentary by iosphera shows the importance of preserving this knowledge from biopiracy for the future of these communities. (via cinealoido)
Video: Stop Motion using Google Street View
The Theory's short film Address Is Approximate features a desk toy who escapes the confines of the urban office in the only way he can, using a toy car and Google's Street View application to go on a road trip to the Pacific Coast.
Video: Doctor Who Fans Walk 500 Miles
More than 200 fans of the long-running British science fiction show Doctor Who from 25 different countries sent in video clips and Tumblr user Kyle from the US put together a tribute to the show. It was inspired by this video of the Doctor Who cast dancing to 500 Miles by...
Global: 1 of 7 Billion Short Film Competition
The 1 of 7 Billion Short Film Competition is open to submissions for videos exploring one of the seven issues targeted by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 7 Billion Actions initiative. Global Voices Online has been writing about the different actions that individuals and small organizations have been taking...
Africa: Open Doors 2012: Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa
Open Doors 2012 focuses on Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa: “Following on from India in 2011, the next edition of Open Doors, the Festival del film Locarno’s co-production lab, will be devoted to francophone Africa…Application forms for Open Doors 2012 are available on www.onopendoors.pardo.ch and are restricted to projects from francophone Sub-saharan...
Nepal: First LGBT Movie
XNepali reports that the first Lesbian movie from Nepal is in post production stage and will be released shortly.
Cuba: Censorship in Film Festival
Generation Y says that the International Festival of the New Latin American Cinema, which takes place in Cuba next month, “has been losing ground in the cultural life of Havana”, partly because of censorship.
Brazil: Real State Speculation Threatens Sacred Ground
Sagrada Terra Especulada (Sacred Speculated Ground), a Brazilian collective that advocates for indigenous land rights, is promoting a documentary [pt] and a petition [pt] in defense of the Pajé Sanctuary, close to Brasilia´s Pilot Plan. Real estate speculation [pt] threatens this area of savannah with the construction of a so-called...
Cuba: Filmic Propaganda
babalu notes that “ScreenJunkies.com has chosen the Castro propaganda classic ‘I am Cuba’ as one of the top five blatantly lying propaganda films of all time.”
New Caledonia: Controversy around the 1988 Ouvéa Hostage Taking Movie
French filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz's movie “L'ordre et la morale” (“Order and morality”), that recounts the tragic 1988 hostage taking at the Ouvéa cave, is not welcome in New Caledonia. The blog Ecran Noir (‘Black Screen’) describes the local controversy around the film's release, here and here [fr]. After New Caledonia's one and...
Poland: Bloggers React to the Death of Popular TV Show Character
Kominek [pl] summarizes bloggers’ reactions to the death of Hanka Mostowiak [pl], a fictional character of one of the biggest TV hits ever in Poland, a soap opera called “M jak Miłość” (“L for Love”) [en]. In episode 862, Hanka dies in a car accident (as the actress who played...
Italy/Tunisia: Migrants’ Opinions of the Arab Spring
A documentary film, #Revolution, featuring the voices of some African immigrants living in Italy will be part of "Immaginafrica", a festival dedicated to African film-making organised by the University of Padua, Italy.
11-11-11: Grab Your Cameras and Capture Life
Only a couple of days until 11/11/11, a date that will have people all over the world recording their lives through film and music. Participate in the 11Eleven project and One Day on Earth to leave your mark on the world.
Trinidad and Tobago: animated voices
ban-d-wagonist posts a video clip in which Trinidadian artist James Hackett interviews participants in the just-concluded Anime Caribe animation festival in Port of Spain.
Video: A Day in the Life of a Blind Person
Tommy Edison has been blind since birth and through YouTube videos he shows us how he deals with everyday activities that present challenges to him. He is also a movie critic and his humorous reviews provide us with a glimpse in how the visually impaired enjoy life.