Adrián García Bogliano’s SCHERZO DIABOLICO can best be described as a near-perfect engine of human cruelty. Any other attempt to qualify it within the terms of established genre traditions are futile. Is it an abduction procedural? A psychological character study of a criminal à la John McNaughton’s HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1986)? A female revenge thriller? SCHERZO DIABOLICO is all three and

On August 24, 1992 the German city of Rostock was slammed by a wave of xenophobic riots which culminated in the burning of a residential building housing over 120 Vietnamese immigrants. Known as “The Night of Fire,” it was a defining moment in post-reunification German history. 23 years later, Burhan Qurbani reconstructs the events of that terrible night with his film We Are Young. We Are Strong. As an American who had never heard of this event before, I

Laura Bispuri's SWORN VIRGIN ("vergine giurata" in the original italian title) feels incomplete, a partial film missing a final reel. SWORN centers on Hana (Alba Rohrwacher), a young Albanian woman who invokes the traditional right for females to become honorary males known as “burrnesh” in exchange for taking an oath of virginity. Years later Hana, now known as "Mark," flees the countryside to live in Italy and rediscover her lost femininity.

This year’s Cannes Selection was announced this morning and in fact features a less american-centric selection of films than in years past. That’s not to say Cannes's programmers won’t indulge a little of their flair for filmmakers representative of the commercially-viable but frankly independent fringe made in USA. Two of our best filmmakers alive today, Gus Van Sant and Todd Haynes, will be both competing for the Palme D’Or

Although Isabella Rossellini is less known stateside than in Europe the pedigreed doyenne of the moving pictures is bona fide cinema royalty. Her father is filmmaker Roberto Rossellini and her mother, Ingrid Bergman. Oh, she was married to a certain Martin Scorsese in the late seventies and later dated David Lynch. Naming her head of the jury of the Un Certain Regard (U.C.R.) program at this year’s Cannes Festival will add cachet and a dash

Can't blame the coolest and most important film festival in the world for wanting to launch with a crackle and a bang. The festival in question is Cannes (but of course) and the so-called bang will be emanating from the George Miller-directed MAD MAX, FURY ROAD, which opens fest out of competition, as per the local protocol. Film was shot in Namibia and stars Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult.

This year's Cannes Festival selection will be revealed during a press conference given in Paris on April 16th. At this time about a third of the contending films have been identified, according to the festival's general delegate (and programmer) Thierry Frémaux. A whopping 1,800 films have been submitted this year. "Everything happens in the next two weeks," Frémaux told the French National Assembly's Committee on Cultural Affairs on Wednesday here in Paris.