Stories about Film from July, 2008
Tube Adventure: A Bilingual Quest Game on YouTube
The popular Spanish YouTube channel Pinofas has created a novel project: it's an hero adventure quest live-action game that takes advantage of the new tagging, linking and commenting capabilities that YouTube has implemented, called Tube Adventure.
Morocco: Meknes-Tafilalet Film Festival
cinema and movies shares news of the Meknès-Tafilalet Film Festival.
Peru: Movie Places Machu Picchu Incorrectly
Luis Ramos of Cinencuentro [es] complains about another movie that mistakenly places Machu Picchu in another country. This time it is placed in Mexico.
Egypt Silences the Voice of Iran
Egyptian authorities shut down the Cairo office of an Iranian TV network over a film that justifies the killing of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat by Islamic militants. Marwa Rakha sums up the opinions of Egyptian blogger Dina Ayoub about the incident in this post.
Arabeyes: Mourning Youssef Chahine
Tributes are pouring in from bloggers from around the Middle East and North Africa, mourning the death of renowned Egyptian film maker Youssef Chahine. Born in Alexandria in 1926, Chahine has left behind a legacy, and millions of fans and followers across the region.
Brazil: Blogosphere makes it to the cinema
“The blogosphere made it to the Brazilian cinema. Murilo Salles’ film “A Proper Name“ [pt] brings a blog, by Clara Averbuck [pt], to the movie theater. There are reviews of the film all over the place (on her blog and beyond, in big papers). I will it see on Wednesday,...
Morocco: Saying Goodbye to Youssef Chahine
Moroccan blogger cinema and movies bids adieu to legendary Egyptian director Youssef Chahine.
Saudi Arabia: What is the point of MBC Persia?
MBC is a Saudi-run satellite television company, known across the Arab world for its entertainment channels as well as Al Arabiya news channel. It has just launched a new channel called MBC Persia, on which films are subtitled in Farsi. Saudi blogger Mohammed Abdullah Al Shahri wonders whether this initiative is really what is needed.
Lebanon: “Lebanon Cluster Bomb”, the Film
“The film is a primer on the cluster munition problem in Lebanon, but much more so an intimate portrait of those struggling to rebuild their lives after the devastating 2006 war. The under-represented of South Lebanon are given voice here, as they work shoulder to shoulder to return the land...
Iran:”Assassination of a Pharaoh”
Several Iranian bloggers such as Einiproxy[Fa] reported that football (soccer) game between Iran-Egypt did not happen because of an Iranian documentary portraying in a positive light the assassin who killed former President, Anwar Sadat in 1979::”Assassination of a Pharaoh”.
Jordan: Batman Review
“I can say I was completely blown away! Not just the best Batman movie ever made, this is one of the best movies this year,” writes Jordanian blogger Moey, about Batman.
China: Fuwatron Toy
We've seen vampire Fuwas, life-size Fuwa robots, Fuwa-inspired soft porn, grannies dressed like Fuwas, even a supposed Fuwa curse and, now, a ripoff of the Transformers franchise. h/t @bokane. update: @chinkerfly brings us many more.
Jamaica, U.S.A.: Obama the Hero?
“As the days, weeks, and months have gone by, it has become increasingly clear that Barack Hussein Obama…has been stepping into this role of the ‘selfless superhero'”: Jamaican Geoffrey Philp says time will tell if the Democratic US Presidential candidate can fulfill the “mythical role” that has been hoisted upon...
Syria: Nudity and Moral Decay
How much nudity on television can be considered as art, and how much of it contributes to moral decay? Syrian blogger Emad [Ar] tries to answer this question in the following post.
China: Looking back at a campus shooting
“...the first few days with the cast were really strange, everyone kept whispering to each other wondering if I was a big kung fu master back in China.” Why does it always have to be so awkward when Chinese and Americans get together?
Brazil: Uncovering the lack of freedom of press
Andre Deak [pt] interviews Daniel Florêncio [pt], a Brazilian filmmaker living in London, who “has been target of criticism by the government of Minas Gerais because of his video report Gagged in Brazil“, about lack of freedom of press and political manipulation of the media in the country.
Balkans, U.S.: Goran Bregovic in NYC
Veni Markovksi posts pictures and writes at length about Goran Bregovic and his Wedding and Funeral Orchestra's concerts in New York City.
St Vincent & The Grenadines: Bollywood Magic
From St Vincent and the Grenadines, Lullabies, Fairy Tales and Other Self Delusions sees Jane Austen through an Indian film director's eyes—that's when he begins to realise he can't resist the attraction of Bollywood movies.
Morocco: Abbas Fourak
cinema and movies shares information about Moroccan film director Abbas Fourak.
Serbia: Arts Roundup
Here are some picks from the blogosphere on the Serbian literature, architecture, film, music, visual arts and cuisine. Enjoy!
China: Crackdown on Olympic-related video content
Was it footage of the Olympic torch relay that killed top video sharing website 56.com? Danwei's Eric Mu today reports that 20 such sites were recently censured for carrying “Olympic-related content”.
