“Is cinema more important than life?” That question was once asked by Francois Truffaut, the former Cahiers du cinema critic and pioneering member of the French New Wave who directed over twenty-three feature films over the course of his long and fruitful career. His pictures range from coming-of-age dramas (the immortal “400 Blows”), jazzy...
In 1962 Hitchcock and Truffaut locked themselves away in Hollywood for a week to excavate the secrets behind the mise-en-scène in cinema. Based on the original recordings of this meeting—used to produce the mythical book Hitchcock/Truffaut—this film illustrates the greatest cinema lesson of all time and plummets us into the world of...
When it comes to cinema, Saudi Arabia does not have much of a tradition, with only a few feature films and documentaries produced every year. But a group of young independent filmmakers from Jeddah are hoping to change that - by bringing their film to the Berlin film festival. Barakah Meets Barakah, a quirky...
Hearts have been rapturously breaking in Woody Allen’s Manhattan for 35 years, and will likely continue to do so for as long as human beings cherish cinema. Last week marked the anniversary of the film often hailed as Allen’s masterwork. It’s easy to see why Manhattan is so beloved. The film is a perfect confluence of story, sight...
This video will play one minute from each of the five films nominated for Best Cinematography. Audio from the films will be removed in order to better judge the effects of the cinematography. A commentary track will take the place of audio—but try playing the video with no sound to judge for...
We know almost nothing about the gigolo scene in Tokyo. We haven’t experienced the wild, neon-lit nights of Tokyo bars and night clubs. We can’t even speak Japanese. And yet, we found ourselves completely absorbed by Mr. Lewandowski’s captivating short film entitled River. The official synopsis states this is “a modern day odyssey...