Independent Distribution Loses Another Outlet.

Red Envelope Entertainment, the acquisition and and distribution wing of Netflix has closed its doors. As blockbusters make more money and indies get more and more marginalized, going direct to DVD or to Cable TV, we hate to see indie distributors disappear, thus making our cinematic choices that much more limited.

Red Envelope Entertainment had released some pretty significant Chlotrudis films in its short life, including Chlotrudis Best Documentary winners from the past two years PROTAGONIST and THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED. Just recently Red Envelope provided U.S. distribution for two Chlotrudis co-presentations, LOVE SONGS and WATER LILIES. Hopefully another company will turn up to take its place.

While discussing the difficulties of indie and foreign-language film distribution, a film that is sure to be of interest to Chlotrudis members has just been released directly to DVD in the States. HELP ME EROS the Taiwanese film directed by and starring Lee Kang-Sheng, muse and lead actor for beloved Chlotrudis director Tsai Ming-Liang, was released this week on DVD without receiving an official theatrical release. While most Chlotrudis members would probably prefer to see HELP ME EROS on the big screen, better on DVD than not at all!

A Couple of Tidbits

A couple of little news stories came out recently. Earlier this year Jessica Yu won Best Documentary for her film PROTAGONIST, which was also nominated in the Best Movie category, but she already has another film in the can, this one a narrative comedy called PING PONG PLAYA. Some of us caught this one in Toronto last year, while still more of us hopefully got a peek at the IFFB this spring. Now the rest of you can enjoy this because IFC has bought the U.S. rights and plan to give the film a limited release this fall.

Outfest 2008 announced its award winners last night, and XXY, their international winner is a must see according to Bruce. The best documentary award goes to SEX POSITIVE, which Jason gave a good review to when it played the IFFB. The oustanding U.S. dramatic feature went to Tom Gustafson's WERE THE WORLD MINE, recounting an all-boys production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' Scot enjoyed WERE THE WORLD MINE, but I found it to be pretty disappointing, with a pretty bland and uninteresting protagonist. Just goes to show, your mileage may vary!

Canadian Films and more announced for Toronto!

While I'm very disappointed to report that I will not be making the trek to Toronto for TIFF in September (a trip to London and the weak American dollar have conspired against me) I am excited to report that there have been a whole bunch of new announcements about films appearing at the festival. An area of particular interest to me and others in Chlotrudis are the Canadian films that will be screening. Twitch announced the Canadian titles earlier this week:

Gala Presentations

• One Week directed by Michael McGowan


• Fifty Dead Men Walking directed by Karl Skogland

Special Presentations

• Heaven on Earth directed by Deepa Mehta


• Blindness directed by Fernando Mereilles


• C’est Pas Moi, Je le Jure! (It’s Not Me, I Swear!) directed by Phillippe Faladeau

Contemporary World Cinema

• Lost Song directed by Rodrigue Jean


• Maman est Chez le Coiffeur directed by Léa Pool


• Mothers & Daughters directed by Carl Bessai


• Un Été Sans Point Ni Coup Sûr directed by Francis Leclerc


• Toronto Stories directed by ook-Yin Lee, Sudz Sutherland, David Weaver and Aaron Woodley

Real to Reel

• Under Rich Earth directed by Malcolm Rogge


• Examined Life directed by Astra Taylor


• La Mémoire des Anges directed by Luc Bourdon

Vanguard Presentations

• Pontypool directed by Bruce McDonald


• Derrière Moi directed by Rafaël Ouellet

This year TIFF will also premiere nine films for the fifth edition of Canada First! focusing on works from first-time Canadian directors as well as those presenting a feature film at the Festival for the first time. Here are the films included in this year's line-up.

Canada First!

• Edison and Leo (British Columbia) directed by Neil Burns - World Premiere


• Before Tomorrow (Quebec/Nunavut) directed by Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu - World Premiere


• Control Alt Delete (British Columbia) directed by Cameron Labine - World Premiere


• Cooper's Camera (Ontario) directed by Warren P. Sonoda - World Premiere


• Down to the Dirt (Newfounland) directed by Justin Simms - World Premiere


• Nurse, Fighter, Boy (Ontario) directed by Charles Officer - World Premiere


• Only (Ontario) directed by Ingrid Veninger and Simon Reynolds - World Premiere


• Real Time (Ontario) directed by Randall Cole - Canadian Premiere


• When Life Was Good (British Columbia) directed by Terry Miles - World Premiere

In addition, TIFF announced a handful of Galas and Special Presentations this week to add to the list of previously announced films.

Gala Presentations

• Rachel Getting Married (USA) directed by Jonathan Demme - North American Premiere


• The Other Man (USA/UK) directed by Richard Eyre - World Premiere

Special Presentations

• Appaloosa (USA) directed by Ed Harris - World Premiere


• La Fille de Monaco (France) directed by Anne Fontaine - North American Premiere


• 
  I’ve Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t’aime) (France) directed by Phillippe Claudel (North American Premiere

The Top 10's are starting already!

Over at eugonline, indieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez has posted his Top 10 of 2008 so far. Since we are over halfway through the year, and in a few short months, Chlotrudis members will be pondering nominations, Top 10 lists and what not, I thought I'd follow suit and share my own Top 10 of 2008 so far. Of course, given the nature of Chlotrudis, this is never a simple operation, so I'm going to post two Top 10 lists. The first will be my ten best movies that I've seen in 2008 so far, the other will be my ten best Chlotrudis-eligible films of 2008 so far. What are you favorites of the year so far?

My 10 Best Movies seen in 2008 so far! (in alphabetical order)

4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS
THE AXE IN THE ATTIC
THE BAND'S VISIT
BLIND
CHRIS & DON: A LOVE STORY
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (pictured right)
POSTCARDS FROM LENINGRAD
THEATER OF WAR
WATER LILIES

My 10 Best Chlotrudis-eligible Movies for 2008 so far! (in alphabetical order)

4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS
THE AXE IN THE ATTIC
BLIND
CHRIS & DON: A LOVE STORY
JELLYFISH (pictured right)
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
MONKEY WARFARE
MY WINNIPEG
THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS
THE VISITOR

Boston French Film Festival kicks into high gear!

Here's a message from our wacky Chlotrudis buddy, Eric Jausseran from the French Consulate about the Boston French Film Festival, which opened the other night.

Bonjour,

After Thursday night's opening, The Boston French Film Festival is off to a great start and 20 more films illustrating the richness and diversity of French cinema will be screened until July 26th.

Join us at the Museum of Fine Arts for a fantastic selection of movies: http://www.consulfrance-boston.org/article.php3?id_article=1256.

Also, for your information also, please read Wesley Morris' review of the
Festival in Friday's Boston Globe. And TELL NO ONE directed by Guillaume Canet (screens on Sunday at 3pm- one of the many highlights of the Festival), a review by Stephen Holden in the NYT last week.

Wishing you a happy Bastille Day weekendl!
Eric J.

Chlotrudis member Bruce Kingsley also reccommends SHALL WE KISS, which opened the festival this past Thursday, and plays again on Sunday, July 19 and Sunday, July 27.

Twitch announces another 21 new titles for TIFF!

Proving once again that they're the best source for news and updates about the Toronto International Film Festival, Twitch has announced another 21 films for the line-up. In addition, one previously announced film, WALTZ WITH BASHIR has been moved over to the Special Presentations. Ticket packages for TIFF are on-sale now to Visa cardholders. Things are really heating up! Check out the annotated list here.

Gala Presentations

• SECRET LIFE OF BEES (USA) directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, World Premiere


• THE DUCHESS (UK) directed by Saul Dibb, International Premiere

Special Presentations

• EVERY LITTLE STEP (USA) directed by James Stern and Adam Del Deo, World Premiere


• GHOST TOWN (USA) directed by David Koepp, World Premiere


• RELIGIOUS(USA) directed by Larry Charles, World Premiere


• ASHES OF TIME REDUX (Hong Kong/China) directed by Wong Kar-wai, North American Premiere


• HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (UK) directed by Mike Leigh, North American Premiere


• ROCKNROLLA (UK) directed by Guy Ritchie, North American Premiere


• WALTZ WITH BASHIR (Israel/France/Germany ) directed by Ari Folman, North American Premiere

Masters

• EVERLASTING MOMENTS (Denmark/Sweden) directed by Jan Troell, World Premiere


• TOKYO SONATA (Japan/The Netherlands/Hong Kong) directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, North American Premiere

Contemporary World Cinema

• FEAR ME NOT (Denmark) directed by Kristian Levring, World Premiere


• EL GRECO (Greece/Spain/Hungary) directed by Iannis Smaragdis, World Premiere


• THE NARROWS (USA) directed by François A. Velle, World Premiere


• PANDORA'S BOX (Turkey/France/Belgium/Germany) directed by Yesim Ustaoglu, World Premiere


• MY MOTHER, MY BRIDE, AND I (Germany) directed by Hans Steinbichler, International Premiere


• WHITE NIGHT WEDDING (Iceland) directed by Baltasar Kormakur, International Premiere


• 33 SCENES FROM LIFE (Germany/Poland) directed by Malgosia Szumowska, North American Premiere


• THE COUNTRY TEACHER (Czech Republic/Germany/France) directed by Bohdan Sláma, North American Premiere


• DELTA (Hungary/Germany) directed by Kornél Mundruczó, North American Premiere


• KNITTING (China) directed by Yin Lichuan, North American Premiere


• TEZA (Germany/Ethiopia/France) directed by Haile Gerim, North American Premiere

Toronto International Film Festival Starts Announcing Films!

Every year it takes me by surprise as films start being announced for the 33rd Annual Toronto Interational Film Festival running September 4 - 13, 2008. This year the announcements began in earnest in late June, and I've got to hand it to Twitch, they seem to be the place to get your information about TIFF! You can also check out the official TIFF08 website, which went live last week. Coming up on Monday, July 7, VISA cardholders can start purchasing ticket packages.

Oh, another great thing about Twitch? They collect (almost) all of the trailers for the films coming to Toronto in one place so if you want, you can get a glimpse at the films you want to see before you see them! Go visit the Twitch TIFF 2008 Trailer Park!

Here's a list of the 30+ films announced recently organized by series. To read the synopses, go here and here.

Gala Presentations

• THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD (South Korea) directed by Kim Jee-woon, North American premiere

Special Presentations

• ADORATION (Canada) directed by Atom Egoyan, North American Premiere


• UN CONTE DE NOËL (France) directed by Arnaud Desplechin, North American Premiere


• DISGRACE (Australia/South Africa) directed by Steve Jacobs, World Premiere


• IL DIVO
(Italy/France) directed by Paolo Sorrentino, North American Premiere

• ENTRE LES MURS (France) directed by Laurent Cantet, North American Premiere


• GOMORROAH (Italy) directed by Matteo Garrone, North American Premiere


• GOOD (United Kingdom/Germany) directed by Vicente Amorim, World Premiere


• MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA (USA) directed by Spike Lee, World Premiere


• NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST (USA) directed by Peter Sollett, World Premiere


• THE HURT LOCKER
(USA) directed by Kathryn Bigelow, North American Premiere

Masters

• 24 CITY
(China) directed by Jia Zhang-ke, North American Premiere

• FOUR NIGHTS WITH ANNA (Poland/France) directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, North American Premiere


• OF TIME AND THE CITY (UK) directed by Terence Davies, North American Premiere


• LE SILENCE DE LORNA (Belgium/France/Italy) directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, North American Premiere


• THREE MONKEYS (Turkey/France/Italy) directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, North American Premiere

Real to Reel

• BLIND LOVES (Slovakia) directed by Juraj Lehotský, North American Premiere

Visions

• LIVERPOOL (Argentina/France/Netherlands/Spain/Germany) directed by Lisandro Alonso, North American premiere


• SERVICE (Philippines/France) directed by Brillante Mendoza, North American premiere

Vanguard

• WALTZ WITH BASHIR (Israel/France/Germany) directed by Ari Folman, North American premiere

Discovery

• HUNGER (UK) directed by Steve McQueen, North American Premiere


• MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY (USA) directed by Barry Jenkins, Canadian Premiere


• THE PARANOIDS (Argentina) directed by Gabriel Medina,International Premiere


• SALAMANDRA (Argentina/France/Germany) directed by Pablo Agüero, North American Premiere


• THREE BLIND MICE (Australia) directed by Matthew Newton, International Premiere


• TONY MANERO (Chile/Brazil) directed by Pablo Larraín, North American Premiere


• TULPAN (Germany/Switzerland/Kazakstan/Russia/Poland) directed by Sergey Dvortsevoy, North American Premiere

Contemporary World Cinema

• ACNE (Uruguay/Argentina/Spain/Mexico) directed by Federico Feiroj, North American Premere


• LINHA DE PASSE (Brazil) directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas, North American Premiere


• O'HORTEN (Norway/Germany/France) directed by Brent Hamer, North American Premiere


• LION'S DEN (Argentina/South Korea/Brazil) directed by Pablo Trapero, North American Premiere


• RESTLESS (Israel/Germany/Canada/France/Belgium) directed by Amos Kollek, North American Premiere


• REVANCHE (Austria) directed by Götz Spielmann, North American Premiere