Alain Delon, photo courtesy of the Festival de Cannes

Cannes Film Festival announces Competition, Un Certain Regard titles and an honorary Palme d'or to Alain Delon

E. Nina Rothe April 18, 2019

As a young girl, I remember watching anything that had Alain Delon in it. I had a super crush on him and, lucky me, no film of his was deemed inappropriate by my parents. So along with Luchino Visconti’s ‘The Leopard’ and ‘Rocco and his Brothers’, I also caught Delon in films like ‘The Swimming Pool’, ‘Zorro’ and yes, even ‘The Concorde… Airport ‘79’. In fact, from the latter I required that a friend of the family who knew how to knit make me a royal blue crew neck wool sweater that looked just like his. I would find you a photo but I would have to watch that entire film all over again and well, I’ve moved on from my pre-pubescent crush. And my taste in film has highly improved.

But Alain Delon remains the fascinating man, the sultry sex symbol that could even steal women away from Mick Jagger. And this year’s he’s the Festival de Cannes honorary Palme d’Or recipient. Kudos to the festival for finally getting the reclusive actor to accept their coveted lifetime award.

La Pointe courte © 1994 Agnès Varda and her children - Montage and design : Flore Maquin

The Cannes Film Festival unveils its poster which pays tribute to the late, great Agnès Varda

E. Nina Rothe April 15, 2019

As I learned at this year’s Qumra, held by the Doha Film Institute, the grand dame of French New Wave cinema Agnès Varda was all about finding the stories, the viewpoints that no one else would bother with. The Festival de Cannes, in its poster just unveiled for the 72nd edition of the festival, pays homage to La Varda but also to her indomitable spirit by showing the filmmaker on her first cinematic venture perched high up on a platform, atop the shoulders of a crew technician. She’s is looking to capture that image, that viewpoint which no one else would have even thought about. She is Varda, in all her perfectly humble and adventurous attitude. The same Varda who asked me, to my utter disbelief, if I’d liked her “little film” a few years ago in Cannes.

Bill Murray and Adam Driver in a still from ‘The Dead Don’t Die’

This year's Cannes Film Festival opens with Jim Jarmusch's zombie extravaganza 'The Dead Don't Die'

E. Nina Rothe April 10, 2019

I tweeted about this beauty a couple of weeks ago and stand by my word. I’m typically not a zombie kinda girl but utter Jim Jarmusch’s name and I can’t watch it fast enough. So the buzz was deafening around ‘The Dead Don’t Die’ from the time the first images of the film were released, building up to a cacophony of joy when the trailer was first shown. And don’t even get me started on Adam Driver. I mean, the man is taller than Bill Murray, which is saying a lot, and all the handsome of a young Keanu Reeves, plus acting talents to boot.

Then, this morning Cannes announced it will open its 72nd edition of the festival with the Jarmusch film, in Competition no less. On Tuesday May 14th, on the screen of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, the film by the American director and screenwriter will be this year’s first Palme d'Or competition screening.

A still from ‘Rosso: a true lie about a fisherman’ by Antonio Messana

Watching the short end: The Ca 'Foscari Short Film Festival is the other Venice film festival

E. Nina Rothe March 18, 2019

Most directors whose features you are watching in cinemas today started out making short films. It’s a fact that short narratives and documentaries are the stuff future filmmaker build their craft on and the Ca 'Foscari Short Film Festival recognizes that through and through. In their press release for the upcoming ninth edition of the event, which will run from March 20th to the 23rd, the following statement made me realize just how much they believe in the learning power of the ‘Short”.

The Qumra Diaries: Discovering Agnès Varda in the land of cinema

E. Nina Rothe March 16, 2019

It is obvious from the moment one steps on a Qatar Airways aircraft that cinema is important in Doha. I mean, just going through the entertainment system on my particular flight, I found ‘Rebecca’ by Hitchcock, Barry Jenkins’ hauntingly touching and all too true ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’, Paul Dano’s intimate portrayal of a family struggling to remain a single nucleus ‘Wildlife’ and even the 2019 Best Picture Oscar winner ‘Green Book’.

Qatar knows good cinema and nowhere is that better understood than in the welcoming arms of the Doha Film Institute.

Inspired: Highlights from the 2019 International Film Festival Rotterdam

E. Nina Rothe February 2, 2019

I’d long heard about the Rotterdam International Film Festival and yet had never personally been here. IFFR will hereafter be a much craved stop on my itinerary of world cinema events. I can’t wait to see what next year has in store.

So what makes this cinephiles’ festival filled with independent gems, languid culture-filled days and inspiring evening talks by the masters so addictive? Well, that — what I just said. Turns out there is no festival in the world quite like IFFR.

And here are a few favorites of mine from this year’s edition.

The Rome Diaries: The OnStage! Festival features Aizzah Fatima's perfect show and a play about Hedy Lamarr

E. Nina Rothe January 20, 2019

In a 2014 article in The Guardian, Pakistani-American comedian Aizzah Fatima described one of her first auditions. “One of the roles I auditioned for was ‘Terrorist No 2’s girlfriend,” she admitted tongue in cheek.

Of course, that’s the destiny of most actors who don’t fulfill the blue-eyed-blond-hair requirements of playing your average “as good as apple pie” American. Yet time and time again, while our leaders fight it and even try to build up walls to prevent it, the very greatness of our good ol’ U.S. of A. lies in its immigrant population as well as its indigenous tribes. And the culture that is most often exported and celebrated around the world as “American” is a mixture of African, tribal, native and otherwise ethic music, dance and art. And that’s never vanilla in flavor now, is it?!

The Cairo International Film Festival Diaries: And to think I almost missed this!

E. Nina Rothe November 23, 2018

One of the most beautifully mysterious actors of our time, Mr. Ralph Fiennes will be in Cairo, presenting his latest directorial project ‘The White Crow’ — about a childhood idol of mine, ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev — and for a conversation with the audience inside the massive Cairo Opera House. Moderated by yours truly.

It’s a momentous event, but I almost missed it.

Guillermo Del Toro, courtesy of the Marrakech International Film Festival

In "Conversation With" Scorsese, Del Toro, Nasrallah and more at the Marrakech Film Fest!

E. Nina Rothe October 24, 2018

If ever there was an upcoming event that felt outrageously exciting, almost too jam packed with greatness (could there ever be such a thing!) it’s the Marrakech International Film Festival — which will take place from November 30th to December 8th, 2018 in the beautiful Moroccan city. Now in its 17th edition, the festival took a year off in 2017 and is coming back stronger, better and more action-packed than ever.

Exceptional Women: Agnes Varda and Robin Wright honored at this year's Marrakech Film Festival

E. Nina Rothe October 15, 2018

You talk exceptional women and few garner as much unanimous adoration as legendary filmmaker, photographer and artist Agnes Varda. Then you think versatile actresses, women who have transformed themselves from super popular soap opera stars to beloved movie icons and the name Robin Wright immediately comes to mind.

Well, as it turns out both of these legendary women in their own right, or “Wright” if you pardon the pun, will be honored with the Etoile d’Or Award under the starry sky of the Moroccan city of Marrakech this December.

James Gray at 2018 Marrakech Film Festival, as Head of Competition Jury

E. Nina Rothe September 20, 2018

That I’m excited about the upcoming Marrakech Film Festival — which will take over the Moroccan city from November 30th to December 8th — is no secret. Apart from loving this country of spices, colors and incredible food, the Marrakech Film Fest has always held a special kind mystique for me. And with their new reorganized staff and crew, some of the most prestigious names in cinema circles (see all of them listed at the bottom of this post) my excitement has only grown stronger.

But this morning, when the festival announced director James Gray at the helm of their Competition Jury, I burst into downright joy. Let me explain.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

The Diaries, because sometimes life needs more.