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E. Nina Rothe

Film. Fashion. Life.
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The Diaries, because sometimes life needs more. 

A still from ‘Aïcha’ by Mehdi Barsaoui, courtesy of The Party Film Sales

More to love from the Doha Film Institute at this year's Venice Film Fest

E. Nina Rothe August 20, 2024

This year there are 12 Doha Film Institute supported films in the lineup on the Lido, plus the DFI is hosting a special afternoon and even a gala dinner celebrating their achievements in the world of cinema and art.

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In Art, Cinema, Fashion, The Diaries Tags Doha Film Institute, Your ghosts are mine: Expanded Cinemas, Amplified Voices, Palazzo Franchetti, Venice International Film Festival, Aisha, Aisha Can’t Fly Away, DFI, Qumra, Media City Qatar, Majid Al-Remaihi, Shaima Al Tamimi, La Biennale di Venezia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, Yemen, Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Aïcha, Mehdi Barsaoui, Happy Holidays, Scandar Copti, Shadows, Rand Beiruty, Sudan Remember Us, Hind Meddeb, Orizzonti, Giornate degli Autori, Critics' Week, In This Darkness I See You, Nadim Tabet, My Father’s Scent, Mohamed Siam, Marie & Jolie, Erige Sehiri, The Station, Sara Ishaq, Theft of Fire, Amer Shomali
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Venice Film Festival announces Orizzonti and Debut Film juries

E. Nina Rothe July 21, 2024

And they include one of my all-time favorite filmmakers, Soudade Kaadan, along with American director and screenwriter Debra Granik, and Canadian actress Taylor Russell.

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In Cinema, Festival, The Diaries Tags La Biennale di Venezia, Orizzonti Jury, “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film, 81st Venice International Film Festival, Alberto Barbera, Lido di Venezia, Soudade Kaadan, Debra Granik, Taylor Russell, Christos Nikou, Tuva Novotny, Gábor Reisz, Valia Santella, Gianni Canova, Ricky D’Ambrose, Barbara Paz, Jacob Wong, Nezouh, Orizzonti Extra, Armani Beauty Orizzonti Extra Audience Award, Timothée Chalamet, Luca Guadagnino, Filmauro, Julian Ungano
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The Official 2024 Venice Immersive Selection and Competition revealed

E. Nina Rothe July 19, 2024

And it includes 63 projects from 25 countries.

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In Art, Cinema, Festival, The Diaries Tags CULTUR.art, Venice Immersive, La Biennale di Venezia, culture, In the Realm of Ripley, Soo Eung Chuck Chae and Eun Jung Chae, Patricia Highsmith, the XR - Extended Reality, 81st Venice International Film Festival, Isola del Lazzaretto Vecchio
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Venice Film Festival Competition jury will include Andrew Haigh and Abderrahmane Sissako along with president Isabelle Huppert

E. Nina Rothe July 11, 2024

Other members of the esteemed Venezia 81 jury include James Gray, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Giuseppe Tornatore, Julia von Heinz and Zhang Ziyi.

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In Cinema, Festival, The Diaries Tags Venice Film Festival, Jury competition, Venezia 81, La Biennale di Venezia, Alberto Barbera, Isabelle Huppert, James Gray, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Giuseppe Tornatore, Julia von Heinz, Andrew Haigh, Abderrahmane Sissako, Zhang Ziyi, Golden Lion, Julian Schnabel, Hand of Dante, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Al Pacino, Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix, Joker, Joker: Folie à Deux, Todd Phillips, Warner Bros. Pictures, All of Us Strangers
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A still from the film, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Tim Burton’s 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' to kick off 81st Venice Film Fest

E. Nina Rothe July 2, 2024

The film features Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, with Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe and will be screened on the 28th of August in the Sala Grande.

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In Cinema, Festival, The Diaries Tags Steve Schofield, Tim Burton, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice International Film Festival, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Warner Bros. Pictures, Venice, Lido, Sala Grande, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe, Out of Competition, Opening Film, Alberto Barbera, Alfred Gough & Miles Millar, Seth Grahame-Smith, Michael McDowell & Larry Wilson, Marc Toberoff, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tommy Harper, Sara Desmond, Katterli Frauenfelder, Larry Wilson, Laurence Senelick, Brad Pitt
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The Perfect Candidate by Haifaa al-Mansour

The Venice Diaries: 'The Perfect Candidate' and 'Marriage Story' -- what a way to start it off!

E. Nina Rothe August 30, 2019

What a rollercoaster this has been.

The last couple of months feel like a dream to me. And not a good one. Anyway, cinema always puts me back together, at least films like these do. They somehow erase the cynic in me, and recharge the woman and lover who has been wronged by the world.

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In Cinema, Festival, The Diaries Tags Venezia 76, Venice Film Festival, La Biennale di Venezia, The Perfect Candidate, Marriage Story, New York, Noah Baumbach, Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Wallace Shawn, Julie Hagerty, oud, music, Saudi Arabia, Saudi cinema, Pedro Almodóvar, Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement
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A still from ‘The Man Who Surprised Everyone’ by Natalya Merkulova and Alexey Chupov

A still from ‘The Man Who Surprised Everyone’ by Natalya Merkulova and Alexey Chupov

The Venice Diaries: 'The Man Who Surprised Everyone' is the antidote to intolerance

E. Nina Rothe September 11, 2018

How would you cope with being told you have a terminal illness?

That is a question I’ve asked myself often these days, as I deal with people I love getting ill and the recent death of my father. Where do you find the strength to go on, when you know the days are numbered and how do you continue to be a functioning member of society when probably all you wish to do is go into the woods and hide?

Well, in Natalya Merkulova’s and Alexey Chupov’s haunting, beautiful and at times painfully truthful film ‘The Man Who Surprised Everyone’ which screened in the Orizzonti section in Venice, the real life husband and wife team tackle the difficult question.

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In Cinema, Festival, Interviews, The Diaries Tags Natalya Merkulova Alexey Chupov, Natalya Merkulova, Alexey Chupov, The Man Who Surprised Everyone, Natalya Kudryashova, Orizzonti, Best Actress award, Venezia 75, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice Film Festival, Russian cinema, Russia, Moscow, Siberia, Evgeniy Tsiganov, Shaman, Magic, Yuriy Kuznetsov
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A still from 'Roma' the Venice Golden Lion winning film by Alfonso Cuarón which will be in theater and on Netflix in December 2018

A still from 'Roma' the Venice Golden Lion winning film by Alfonso Cuarón which will be in theater and on Netflix in December 2018

The Venice Diaries: The mixtape of Venezia 75 is an homage to creativity's soundtrack

E. Nina Rothe September 10, 2018

This year's Venice Film Festival seemed to carry a special soundtrack, like a mixtape of our collective thoughts and hopes and wishes. For a future where we are finally able to learn from our past and stop thinking that our opinions count individually. For a world where we will discover, finally, a middle ground in shades of grey, instead of living everything in either black or white.

Here is my Venezia 75 Mixtape. 

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In The Diaries, Festival, Cinema Tags Roma, Alfonso Cuaron, Venezia 75, Venice Film Festival, La Biennale di Venezia, Golden Lion, Netflix, A Tramway in Jerusalem, Amos Gitai, Voyage en Palestine, Gustave Flaubert, Israel, Palestine, Palestinian rapper, I don't know how to love him, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jesus Christ Superstar, What You Gonna Do When the World's On Fire?, Roberto Minervini, Chief Kevin and the Mardi Gras Indian, Somebody Gotta Sew, spirituals, A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Shallow, SIA, Spotify, Natalie Portman, Vox Lux, Brady Corbet, Willem Dafoe, The Greatest, C'est ça l'amour, Claire Burger, Venice Days, Giornate degli Autori, Paolo Conte, Sparring Partner, film, music, mixtape
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Sawsan Arsheed in a still from Soudade Kaadan's 'The Day I Lost My Shadow' 

Sawsan Arsheed in a still from Soudade Kaadan's 'The Day I Lost My Shadow' 

The Venice Diaries: Lion of the Future winner Soudade Kaadan's 'The Day I Lost My Shadow'

E. Nina Rothe September 9, 2018

'The Day I Lost My Shadow' by Soudade Kaadan won the Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film Jury at the 75th Venice Film Festival. It's a win to be celebrated for all women filmmakers, of course, but also for Syrian filmmakers who, since the start of the war in 2011 have all but disappeared. Scattered around foreign lands, their voices and visions have become the true casualties of this conflict. 

In her film, which world premiered at the festival in the Orizzonti section, Kaadan uses the metaphor of personal shadows as a way to show how the war strips people of their humanity and hope. When Sana, played by the beautiful Sawsan Arsheed, goes out looking for a gas canister so she can cook for her son, she is pulled into a three day nightmare that eventually ends the way everything ends in Syria... I'll leave that to your imagination and perhaps your first viewing of the film. 

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In Cinema, Festival, Interviews, The Diaries Tags The Day I Lost My Shadow, Soudade Kaadan, Amira Kaadan, Lion of the Future, Venice 75, Venice Film Festival, La Biennale di Venezia, Syria, Lebanon, Doha Film Institute, SANAD, Abu Dhabi, Damascus, Orizzonti, Sawsan Arsheed, Debut Film Jury, Luigi de Laurentiis
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Bouli Lanners, flanked by Justine Lacroix, right and Sarah Henochsberg in Claire Burger's 'C'est ça l'amour'  

Bouli Lanners, flanked by Justine Lacroix, right and Sarah Henochsberg in Claire Burger's 'C'est ça l'amour'  

The Venice Diaries: Giornate degli Autori winner Claire Burger on her film 'C’est ça l’amour' (Real Love)

E. Nina Rothe September 8, 2018

Think back to the last time a film redefined love for you. That felt like a magical discovery then, didn't it? For me, cinema exists at its best when it does something that changes me -- and of course I want that change to be for the better.

In Claire Burger's touching follow up to her Cannes Camera d'Or winner 'Party Girl' -- which she co-directed with Marie Amachoukeli and Samuel Theis -- I found a new fatherhood role model. For a woman whose own father was at best unavailable throughout my teenage years and beyond, Burger's wondrous father figure Mario (played by the spellbinding Bouli Lanners) is a revelation and offers a sense of newfound hope. His quest to be a good father to the young Frida (the perfectly rebellious Justine Lacroix) and the teenage Kiki (cool and flirty Sarah Henochsberg) takes the audience on a journey of discovery along with the characters. 

But 'C'est ça l'amour' is a multilayered film and so it's no surprise that, among quite a few strong and beautiful stories featured in this year's Giornate degli Autori line up, Burger's film ended up walking away with the top prize -- the GdA Director's Award.

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In Cinema, Festival, Interviews, The Diaries Tags Claire Burger, C'est ça l'amour, Real Love, Venice Days, Venice Film Festival, La Biennale di Venezia, Giornate degli Autori, Cannes Film Festival, Camera d'Or, Bouli Lanners, Sarah Henochsberg, Justine Lacroix, Jonas Carpignano, GDA Director's Award, European Union, Karel Och, Karlovy Vary Film Festival
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JOY-Photo11.jpg

The Venice Diaries: Sudabeh Mortezai's 'Joy' wins multiple awards, and conquers hearts, in Venice

E. Nina Rothe September 7, 2018

As we watch our nightly dose of immigration porn fed to us by the local news channels, particularly those of us who live in Europe we see row after row of young men stepping off boats and assorted vessels. We could be mistaken into thinking that they left their women safe at home, in their country of origin, the wives and girlfriends and mothers awaiting their return, as well as their paycheck. That's so far from the truth and if you ever held such a wrong opinion, 'Joy' by Sudabeh Mortezai will set you straight. 

In her beautifully shot and perfectly told film premiering in the Giornate degli Autori, Venice Days sidebar at the Venice Film Festival, Mortezai shows us the complex network of Nigerian women who virtually invisibly inhabit our European streets. 'Joy' is as much about the oldest profession in the world, the prostitution networks these women get sucked into and then, once they have paid off their debts, also manage and run in Europe, as it is about womanhood itself. We follow the story of these young women from the juju ritual they are subjected to at home, in Benin City Nigeria, to the streets of Vienna where they owe their traffickers the kind of money one wouldn't spend traveling around the world for a year and staying at the best hotels. 

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In Cinema, Festival, Interviews, The Diaries Tags Precious Mariam Sanusi, Joy, Sudabeh Mortezai, Joy Anwulika Alphonsus, Venice Days, Giornate degli Autori, Hearst Film Award 2018 for Best Female Direction, Europa Cinema Label Award, Label Europa Cinema prize, Nigeria, prostitution, Benin City, Human trafficking, Venice 75, Venice Film Festival, La Biennale di Venezia, Iran, Austria, Vienna, Klemens Hufnagl
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Vincent Lacoste and Isaure Multrier in 'Amanda' by Mikhaël Hers

Vincent Lacoste and Isaure Multrier in 'Amanda' by Mikhaël Hers

The Venice Diaries: Stacy Martin and Vincent Lacoste redefine family in Mikhaël Hers' 'Amanda'

E. Nina Rothe September 6, 2018

I'm a sucker for a great love story. But often, the films that hit me deepest aren't filled with happily ever after endings and the perfect romance between a handsome boy and a beautiful girl. It's the redefinition of true love that gets me to my core.

In Mikhaël Hers' latest 'Amanda' which premiered in the Orizzonti section at this year's Venice Film Festival, the filmmaker reworks the idea of family and in the process, also rewrites the perfect romance. Of course Hers' film is not missing out on a handsome boy -- the charming Vincent Lacoste breaks hearts as David -- and a pretty girl -- with the striking Stacy Martin playing his love interest Léna. But at the center of 'Amanda' is the title character, a little girl played beautifully by Isaure Multrier, a child who suddenly goes from being an occasional playmate in the life of her somewhat immature uncle David, to being entrusted to him permanently. 

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In Cinema, Festival, Interviews, The Diaries Tags Amanda, Mikhaël Hers, Vincent Lacoste, Stacy Martin, Venice 75, Venice Film Festival, La Biennale di Venezia, Orizzonti, Lars Von Trier, Matteo Garrone, Isaure Multrier
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Judy in a still from Roberto Minervini's 'What You Gonna Do When the World's On Fire?'

Judy in a still from Roberto Minervini's 'What You Gonna Do When the World's On Fire?'

The Venice Diaries: Roberto Minervini's 'What You Gonna Do When the World's On Fire?'

E. Nina Rothe September 5, 2018

Of all the films we watched at this year's Venice Film Festival Roberto Minervini's was the most important.

For two very specific reasons. One, it's a documentary, and while many narrative films did explain my own personal struggle as a modern woman in today's world, those fictional stories can be dismissed by their critics as simply made up. 'What You Gonna Do When the World's On Fire?' cannot, since it's real life, it's in your face and it's downright true.

Point number two follows closely my first point, in that while watching the press preview of Minervini's film, which premiered in Competition at the festival, I saw more of my colleagues shift in their seat and -- after what appeared like much inner debate and a prolonged anxiety -- leave the theater than ever before. The answer is not a reflection on the quality of 'What You Gonna Do...' which is visually stunning, features a terrific soundtrack and makes its two hours duration fly by in what seemed like fifteen minutes.

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In Cinema, Festival, Interviews, The Diaries Tags Roberto Minervini, What You Gonna Do When the World's On Fire?, Film, Venice 75, Venezia 75, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice Film Festival, New Black Panthers Party, Black Panthers, African Americans
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La Biennale del Cinema poster

The Venice Diaries: Creativity decoded by Schnabel's 'At Eternity's Gate', Assayas' 'Non-Fiction' and 'Why Are We Creative?'

E. Nina Rothe September 4, 2018

The first ever Venice Film Festival was held in 1932, from the 6th to the 21st of August and it opened with 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' -- the Fredric March version. March went on to win favorite actor and since there were no official prizes, he was picked by the audience.

In that magical moment, during the first edition of the first ever world film festival our own profession -- film criticism and film writing -- was also born. There hadn't been a true need for it before, think about it.

When I come to Venice, I realize this is where it all comes from, and despite some problematic years in our history, we should remember the heritage of the Venice Film Festival. All journalists should take a moment and think about that when they first set foot on the Lido. Without Venice, we probably wouldn't be here. They started it. All.

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In Cinema, Festival, The Diaries Tags Venice 75, Venice, Venice Film Festival, Venice Days, La Biennale di Venezia, Why Are We Creative?, Hermann Vaske, Quentin Tarantino, Yoko Ono, Dalai Lama, David Bowie, Vivienne Westwood, Stephen Hawking, Giornate degli Autori, Arafat, Shimon Perez, Willem Dafoe, Doubles Vies, Non-Fiction, Olivier Assayas, Juliette Binoche, Guillaume Canet, Personal Shopper, Vincent Macaigne, Nora Hamzawi, creativity, favorites, At Eternity's Gate, Julian Schnabel, Vincent Van Gogh, Rupert Friend, Mads Mikkelson, Emmanuelle Seigner, Miral, Basquiat, Before Night Falls, Competition
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Robert Mitchum photographed by Bruce Weber

Robert Mitchum photographed by Bruce Weber

The Venice Diaries: Bruce Weber paints a daring portrait of Robert Mitchum in 'Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast'

E. Nina Rothe September 3, 2018

As I sat down to meet legendary fashion photographer Bruce Weber I said "Mr. Weber, I can't say I grew up with your photographs because I'm older than I look, but I definitely grew into my sexuality thanks to your iconic images." It's true. Those NYC billboards in Times Square of underwear models for Calvin Klein, the Ralph Lauren "out of Africa" campaign, Kate Moss in the bathtub, the beach scenes, the catalogues I devoured before the advent of the internet, I grew into my skin thanks to Weber's images. 

Today, Weber has helped me to rediscover the beauty and genius of classic American actor Robert Mitchum. 'Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast' screens at the Venice Film Festival in the Venice Classics section and is co-produced by Weber's wife Nan Bush. In the documentary, Mitchum is shown as never before, a singer, a lover and a poet, aided in part by cameos by Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Polly Bergen, Brenda Vaccaro and Liam Neeson, among many many more.

So why a film about Mitchum, why from Weber and why now?

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In Cinema, Interviews, Fashion, Festival, The Diaries Tags Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast, Bruce Weber, Robert Mitchum, Venezia 75, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice Film Festival, documentary, Venice Classics, movie stars, Manhood, NYC, Calvin Klein, Photography, Ralph Lauren, Kate Moss, Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Brenda Vaccaro, Polly Bergen, Liam Neeson, Nan Bush, America, Judy Garland, George Cukor, A Star is Born, Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, political correctness, affairs, Dorothy Mitchum, Hollywood, Chet Baker, Let's Get Lost, Shelley Winters, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mercer, Keely Smith, Pearl Bailey, Marianne Faithful, Dr. John
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Tye Sheridan and Jeff Goldblum in a still from Rick Alverson's 'The Mountain'

Tye Sheridan and Jeff Goldblum in a still from Rick Alverson's 'The Mountain'

The Venice Diaries: Rick Alverson's 'The Mountain' shows us the perils of an American "antiseptic utopia"

E. Nina Rothe September 1, 2018

Filmmaker Rick Alverson has never made films that are easily comprehensible to an audience. His work is the antithesis to the American superhero movie. From his first work 'The Builder' in 2010 he's proudly yet quietly worn the "independent filmmaker" badge of American moviemakers. In the tradition of greats like Dennis Hopper and John Cassavetes who came before him.

In his latest film 'The Mountain' which premiered in Competition at this year's Venice Film Festival, Alverson throws the audience a proverbial bone. What I mean is that 'The Mountain', starring Jeff Goldblum and Tye Sheridan, is as close to a traditional film as we will ever get from Alverson. While he still describes it as "an anti-utopian film" in his director's statement, 'The Mountain' takes the audience through a hippie trippy ride on a sparse, pastel hued rollercoaster with few words, great acting, haunting images and sounds and by the end, leaves us feeling lobotomizes. I could swear the entire crowd of the Sala Darsena, where the press and industry screening took place the day before the film's official premiere, walked out with a very specific look on their faces. Not unlike that of the leading character of Andy, played by Sheridan. 

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In Cinema, Festival, Interviews, The Diaries Tags Rick Alverson, The Mountain, Venice Film Festival, Venezia 75, La Biennale di Venezia, Jeff Goldblum, Tye Sheridan, Lobotomy, America, Make America Great Again, Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman, P.T. Barnum, Hotel Excelsior, Dennis Hopper, John Cassavetes, Walter Freeman
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Alfonso Cuarón directs Yalitza Aparicio on the set of 'Roma', photo by Carlos Somonte for Netflix

Alfonso Cuarón directs Yalitza Aparicio on the set of 'Roma', photo by Carlos Somonte for Netflix

The Venice Diaries: Alfonso Cuarón's 'Roma' takes us on a journey back in time

E. Nina Rothe August 30, 2018

It is immediately clear, from the beautiful black and white shots and the poetically intimate details that 'Roma' is a very personal film for Alfonso Cuarón. At times, the real-life inspired story of a middle class family in the Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City, told through the eyes of their housekeeper Cleo, felt so private, so confidential, it seemed like I was intruding on something really special. But I still could not bring myself to look away, I didn't want to stop watching, I also didn't want the film to end because for more than two hours, Cuarón paid homage to womanhood. It takes a big man to do that and an even bigger filmmaker to get the message across.

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In Cinema, Festival, The Diaries Tags Yaritza Aparicio, Alfonso Cuaron, Roma, Venice 75, Venice Film Festival, La Biennale di Venezia, Carlos Somonte, Netflix, Mexico City, women, Mexico, Corpus Christi massacre, Colonia Roma
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Ryan Gosling in 'First Man', photo courtesy of NBC Universal

Ryan Gosling in 'First Man', photo courtesy of NBC Universal

The Venice Diaries: Oh La La Moon! Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling soar high in 'First Man'

E. Nina Rothe August 29, 2018

Forget your tired, old costumed superheroes. It is time to reconnect with the original all American champion thanks to Ryan Gosling, in Damien Chazelle's latest masterpiece 'First Man'. The opening film at this year’s Venice Film Festival makes cinematic dreams come true.

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In Cinema, Festival, The Diaries Tags Ryan Gosling, Damien Chazelle, First Man, Venice 75, La Biennale di Venezia, Venezia 75, Venice Film Festival, Steven Spielberg, First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong, James R. Hanson, Biopic, Wick Godfrey, Marty Bowen, Buzz Aldrin, America, USA, Space Program, Instagram, trailer, Gil Scott-Heron, Whitey on the Moon, Pablo Schreiber, Ciaran Hinds, Lukas Haas, Corey Stoll, Claire Foy
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'Joy' by Sudabeh Mortezai, featuring Joy Anwulika Alphonsus 

'Joy' by Sudabeh Mortezai, featuring Joy Anwulika Alphonsus 

The Venice Diaries: Forget what you've heard, this year's festival is all about women's stories!

E. Nina Rothe August 27, 2018

So you may have read by now that the Venice Film Festival is being singled out for not having enough women filmmakers in their Competition line-up. One publication even went so far to criticize Italian culture as a whole, and they used two non-Italian reporters to write the story of course -- one the token male journalist. Because a single, lone, able woman journalist would not have been able to do the job?

Ever hear that saying "don't talk bad about my mama?" 

Anyway, while everyone is up in arms for yet another slight at womanhood, I say, get over it! I'm a woman, I'm Italian and I feel very well represented in Venice -- thank you very much. In fact, I have never seen so many beautiful women's stories, so much truth for our gender and so much care in telling those stories as I see in the various line-ups and sidebars this year at La Biennale del Cinema. But of course, you'd have to look beyond the media-selling headlines, watch deeper, dig in the sidebars too and know in your heart that great cinema was never about gender, rather about quality and vision. Just like it ain't about politics, even when the subject is political.

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In Cinema, Festival, The Diaries Tags women's stories, Venice Film Festival, La Biennale di Venezia, Competition, Orizzonti, Giornate degli Autori, French cinema, Indian cinema, Nigeria, Alberto Barbera, Joy, Sudabeh Mortezai, Joy Anwulika Alphonsus, Benin City, Africa, modern-day slavery, Europe, Human trafficking, freedom, Pearl, Elsa Amiel, Julia Föry, bodybuilders, female bodybuilders, Lea Pearl, Amanda, Mikhael Hers, Vincent Lacoste, Isaure Multrier, Memory Lane, Paris, terrorism, Soni, Ivan Ayr, India, Delhi, policewomen, Geetika Vidya Ohlyan
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Carlo Chatrian, artistic director of the Locarno Festival and Ted Hope

Carlo Chatrian, artistic director of the Locarno Festival and Ted Hope

The Locarno Diaries: Ted Hope, Bruno Dumont's vision and the luxury of pressing "pause"

E. Nina Rothe August 3, 2018

A great film festival for me is defined not only by the quality of films I get to watch but also the meetings and chance encounters that happen along the way. In a queue waiting for a film to start, sitting in the lobby of a hotel waiting for an interview and sometimes, just stopping for a whole hour or two in the midst of the hectic festival schedule makes all the sense in the world.

I tried this yesterday afternoon and went to visit a friend in the restaurant of The Belvedere hotel, a good while after lunch and as interview junkets were being conducted all around me. It turned out to be the best decision of the day.

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In Cinema, Festival, The Diaries Tags Locarno Festival, Locarno 71, Ted Hope, Bruno Dumont, Cannes, Amazon, Alejandro González Iñárritu, 21 Grams, Luca Guadagnino, Harvey Pekar, Suspiria, American Splendor, Ang Lee, The Wedding Banquet, Coincoin et les z'inhumains, Pardo d'Onore Manor, Jérémie Renier, Hotel Belvedere, film festivals, Coincoin And The Extra-humans, Alane Delhaye, Venice Film Festival, La Biennale di Venezia
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