21 décembre 2007
Directors Cut Winner: Martin Scorsese
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/12/21/martin.scorsese/
CNN) -- You voted: he won. Revered by the masses of moviegoers worldwide, it came as no surprise that Martin Scorsese ("Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," "The Departed") topped the Screening Room's "Directors Cut" poll.
Walking away with 15 percent of your votes, Scorsese's hard-hitting documentary style, quickfire editing, fondness for NYC backdrops and rapport with De Niro make him your top director.
Born on November 17, 1942, as a child Scorsese struggled with his health. The movies -- along with the church -- became a haven for him. "When I was a kid I had terrible asthma -- I didn't go out at all," he told CNN at a masterclass at the 2007 Marrakech Film Festival. "I was out on the streets, yes, but I was not athletic in any way and so the movie theatre was a refuge."
His love for the silver screen led him to devote his free time to watching movies wherever he could -- at the cinema and on TV at home.
"I don't think I was ever happier than when I was alone in our 2, 3-room tenement apartment on Elizabeth Street," he recalls. "My mother and father were at work, my brother was at work. I would come home from school in the afternoon and on television would be 'La Belle et La Bete' by Cocteau, 'The Southerner' by Renoir, Von Sternberg... I would be doing little drawings of them like my own movies. And I never stopped doing that."
Even so, Scorsese almost didn't make it into the movies. Born into the devoutly religious Catholic community of Little Italy on New York's Lower East Side and a devout Catholic, he studied for the priesthood, almost joining the seminary before his passion for filmmaking took his talents elsewhere.
"The ritual of the Catholic Church is important to me. I found it fascinating; I found it moving; I still find it fascinating," he said.
He entered NYU in 1960 as an undergraduate, where he was taught to make films about what he knew -- his own life. He was also very influenced by the cinema verité movement and the fly-on-the-wall documentary style that was just beginning to emerge at the time. This influence would show up again and again in his student films, and later in "Raging Bull," "Taxi Driver" and "Mean Streets."
Despite coming from a poor background and not having access to 8mm cameras like many of his university peers, Scorsese dove into film with a passion and was soon a star pupil. Head and shoulders above his classmates, he won every award and scholarship going.
When Martin (known to his friends as Marty) Scorsese arrived in Los Angeles in 1971 he was an unknown. He hung out with other young actors and directors, among them Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, all hustling for their big break.
Scorsese had made films before, notably a no-budget effort, "Who's that knocking at my door?" with a young Harvey Keitel. But it was with "Mean Streets" that Scorsese got his big break.
"Taxi Driver" followed three years later, while 1980's "Raging Bull" probably saw De Niro's finest performance under Scorsese.
Iconic and violent, 1990's "Goodfellas" featured top-drawer performances from Scorsese favorites, De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci, while "Casino" (1995) drew heavily on its predecessor, with a good measure of extra violence and an Oscar-nominated performance from Sharon Stone.
More recently, "The Aviator" paired Scorsese with Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett and John C Reilly. But it was 2006's "The Departed," a remake of Korean film "Infernal Affairs" starring DiCaprio alongside Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg, that broke the Oscar drought for Scorsese, at last winning him his gold statuette.
When CNN asked him at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival what makes a great director, Scorsese said that it is something he finds hard to pin down. "It's very hard to make these value judgments," he said. "I think one key element in good and great is to have something to say, a voice."
But he added that skill in telling a visual story plays a large part. "There are directors, filmmakers who simply (and it's not simple at all) know how to put things in the frame," he explained. "They know how to keep a story going, fast and in such a way that and make it entertaining. It may not say much but there's a technical skill that's overwhelmingly difficult to master."
That's a skill Scorsese has by the bucketload -- and one he revels in. "The designing of the shots is something that I enjoy a lot," he told CNN at Marrakech. "It's the biggest challenge ... When I design and edit a sequence, when I know a shot is going to go from shot A to B to C and then I'll intercut shot C with B and D -- I get very excited about that," he revealed.
But his favorite part of filming remains the editing process.
"Editing takes me back to being alone and drawing pictures," he explained. But his love for the edit suite caused friction early on in his career.
"I had to live in Los Angeles between 1970 and 1981 in order to get to make film and be introduced to the people who allowed me to make films," he revealed, "But I found that I had difficulty sometimes with the way some excellent editors resented the director in the editing room."
Scorsese is famous for his partnerships with leading actors, most notably Robert De Niro and, more recently, Leonardo DiCaprio. Shunned by the Academy for years, Scorsese finally snapped up his elusive Best Director Oscar for "The Departed" in 2006. Following his 2005 rockumentary on Bob Dylan, he has just completed "Shine A Light," a documentary following the career of the Rolling Stones.
Dante’s peak By Bayani San Diego Jr.
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=108085
Seems he has also developed the habit of collecting film awards along the way.
Hot on the heels of winning the prize for fiction at the International Environmental Film Festival in Paris for “Foster Child” late last month, he brought home the special jury trophy at the Marrakech International Film Festival in Morocco for “Tirador” on Dec. 15.
The jury, which was headed by filmmaker Milos Forman and included actors John Hurt and Parker Posey, praised “Tirador” for being “energetic and powerful.”
Posters galore
The Marrakech honor is his fifth international recognition since winning the Golden Leopard at the Locarno film fest for “Masahista.”
19 décembre 2007
Yu Yun-Mi Gets Best Female Interpretation
Yu Yun-Mi Gets Best Female Interpretation
by the Marrakech International Film Festival FIFM
The South Korean Actress Yu Yun-mi was awarded Saturday on Dec. 15, 2007 the title of best female interpretation by the seventh edition of Marrakech International Film Festival for her role in "With a Girl of Black Soil." The Golden star Award of the FIFM was attributed to the Estonian film "Autumn Ball" by Director Veiko Ounpuu, while Tommi Korpela, has got the best male interpretation award for his performance in "Man's Job'" of Finnish Director Aleksi Salmenpera. The seventh edition of FIFM, which paid tribute to Hollywood star Leonardo Di Caprio and to Moroccan Director Mustafa Derkaoui, was characterized by the participation of Some 110 films from 23 countries, notably from Estonia, Algeria, Japan, Czech, Finland, Philippines, Russia, China, United States, Serbia, Mexico, South Korea and the Netherlands, in addition to Morocco. The FIFM jury was composed of movie celebrities such as Czech Director Milos Forman, Hamid Benani (Director, scenarist and producer), John Hurt (actor), Shekhar Kapur (Director and actor), Pavel Lounguine (Director, scenarist and producer), Aissa Maiga (actor), Claude Millier (Director and scenarist), Parker Posey (actor) and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon (actress).
The Marrakech International Film Festival FIFM
The movies "The Hard-Hearted" by Russian filmmaker Alexey Mizgirev and "Slingshot" directed by Philippino Director Ma Mendoza, received both the jury award.
17 décembre 2007
'Autumn Ball' takes Marrakech by storm By Rebecca Leffler
Dec 18, 2007
PARIS -- Estonian writer-director Veiko Ounpuu was crowned with the Marrakech International Film Festival's top prize for his first feature, "Autumn Ball," as the glamorous fest wrapped in the Moroccan city Saturday night.
The dark comedy about a group of people during the transition period after the collapse of the Soviet Union has been a festival favorite, having previously won the Horizons Award at the Venice Film Festival and earning a spot in the AFI Fest's competition section in the fall. Ounpuu also won the director's prize at the Thessaloniki Film Fest just weeks before.
Produced by Kuukulgur Film, the movie beat out the 14 other international feature films in competition for the fest's prestigious Golden Star grand prize.
Gallic superstar Catherine Deneuve handed the trophy to the film's producer Katrine Kissa, who told the crowd: "We don't speak the same language, but we share the same language: that of humanism."
The Jury Prize went to both Brillante Ma. Mendoza's "Slingshot" from the Philippines and Alexey Mizgirev's "The Hard-Hearted" from Russia. "We claim to be neither objective nor fair, but the most important thing is to be honest," jury president Milos Forman said.
The Czech director's jury featured an international potpourri of talent including Russian director Pavel Lounguine, Spanish actress Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, French director Claude Miller, Indian actor-director Shekhar Kapur, British thesp John Hurt, Moroccan director-producer Hamid Benani, Gallic actress Aissa Maiga and American actress Parker Posey.
The best female performance award went to South Korean actress Yu Yun-Mi for Jeong Soo-il's "With a Girl of Black Soil" and Tommi Korpela took the award for Best Male Performance for Aleksi Salmenpera's "Man's Job" from Finland.
The festival also celebrated 100 years of Egyptian cinema and paid homage to Leonardo DiCaprio, Abel Ferrara, Japanese director Shinji Aoyama and Moroccan filmmaker Mustapha Derkaoui during its nine-day run.
16 décembre 2007
The Best Actor award went to Finnish actor Tommi Korpela
Finnish actor Tommi Korpela holds the Best Actor award during the closing ceremony of the 7th Marrakesh International Film Festival December 15, 2007. He won the Best Actor award for his role in "Man's Job".
Jury award went to "The Hard-Hearted"
Russian director Alexey Mizgirev holds the Jury award during the closing ceremony of the 7th Marrakesh International Film Festival December 15, 2007. He won the Jury award for his film "The Hard-Hearted".
The Golden Star award went to "Autum Ball".
Estonian film producer Katrin Kissa (R) and actress Tina Tauraite pose after receiving their award during the closing ceremony of the 7th Marrakesh International Film Festival December 15, 2007. They won the Golden Star award for their role in "Autum Ball".
15 décembre 2007
Tribute to Abel Ferrara
14 décembre 2007
U.S. director Abel Ferrara smiles during a ceremony paying tribute to his career, at the Marrakesh International Film Festival,
U.S. director Abel Ferrara smiles during a ceremony paying tribute to his career, at the Marrakesh International Film Festival, December 14, 2007.
Czech actors Jaroslay Plesl (L) and Mareck Taclick (R) and Czech director David Ondricek
Czech actors Jaroslay Plesl (L) and Mareck Taclick (R) and Czech director David Ondricek pose during a photo session at the Marrakesh International Film Festival December 14, 2007. Ondricek's "grandhotel" is participating in the festival.
