PARIS, this morning - One tweet. That’s all I could manage to send from the Cannes Festival’s press conference, the yearly event before-the-event held in a large movie theater at the top of the Champs Elysées. The network (wifi or cellular) quickly crashed, enveloping the event in a blanket of secrecy. After the conference I rushed into a bar nearby so that I could order myself a 7 euro-bottle of ... more >
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Conflicting Histories: Israel and Palestine
MOVIETRACKS Episode # 10
Kool Shee Helo, composed by Habib Shehadeh Hanna Feat. Reem Talhami (The Band’s Visit), 2007 Incubator, performed by HaClique (Waltz with Bashir), 2006 Lemon Tree, performed by Mira Award (Lemon Tree), 2009 Ana Albi Dalily, performed by Leila Mourad (The Time that Remains), 2009 Mawal, performed by Maher Halabi (Ajami), 2009 Additional music: “Heal my heart” by Kerri Chandler (pictured: a ... more >
The Band’s Visit
A Screen Comment favorite!
Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz and Saleh Bakri
Directed by Eran Kolirin
A quiet kind of despair inhabits the men in The Band's Visit, a new and must-see film from Israel. As it were, Visit is overwhelmingly composed of male characters, men who seem lost, both spiritually and geographically. But there's also something stirring about these men, who are from Egypt and who've wandered astray, like so many Sufi nomads on an adventure. Tawfiq Zacharya (Sasson Gabai) is ... more >