Antalya, Turkey — ‘Your Beauty is Worth Nothing’, a film about an immigrant Turkish boy who struggles with his new life in Austria won the Best Film Award in the National Competition at the 49th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. The winners were announced at a Closing Night Gala on October 12, 2012.

This year’s festival sent out a strong message for peace and against a possible intervention in the conflict in Syria. Many participants also spoke out for peace and tolerance and their films focused on important social issues like recognition of ethnic identities, women’s rights, child abuse, gay rights and freedom of expression.

“This film is about a Turkish-Kurdish family and it’s a film that doesn’t take sides,” said the director Huseyin Tabak, the German-born director of ‘Your Beauty is Worth Nothing’. “It’s on the side of humanity.” The film also won the Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Editing awards and a Special Jury Prize.

“We don’t want to fight with anyone. We don’t want to fight with Syria,” said Ali Adnan Ozgur, whose film ‘Children of the Land’, about two children who take refuge in a village school won a Special Jury Prize.

In the International Competition, ‘Aglaya’ a film by Hungarian director Krisztina Deak about a Romanian circus family who escape persecution in the 80s, won The Best Film Award and a Special Jury Prize.

“This is my first premiere and international festival and I’m very, very happy,” said the director of ‘Aglaya’ who applied to Antalya right after finishing her film. “This is a wonderful festival, and the organization and the events were very good.”

The ten films in the International Competition came from Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.

“What is most impressive is that all the National Competition films deal with really important issues for the country and the artists,” said Barbara Boyle, Associate Dean at UCLA’s Film Department. Boyle was the only member of the National Jury from the U.S. “For me that is the role of the artist, particularly the film artist, and it is important for audiences to deal with these issues and not be afraid.”

The festival was not without controversy. There was a public dispute within the national jury about censorship and artistic merit, and statements were made to the Turkish media during the festival.

For more information go to www.altinportakal.org.tr.

The winners are:

The International Competition:

Best Film: ‘Aglaya’ by Kristina Deak/ Hungary
Special Jury Award: ‘Keep Smiling’ by Rusudan Chkonia/ France
Best Performance: Marian Dziedziel for ‘Supermarket’/ Poland

The National Competition:

Best Film: ‘Your Beauty is Worth Nothing’ by Huseyin Tabak.
Special Jury Award: ‘Children of the Land’ by Ali Adnan Ozgur.
Best First Film and Best Director: ‘Zerre’ by Erdem Tepegoz.
Best Actress: Anna Andrusenko in ‘Farewell Katya’ by Ahmet Sonmez
Best Actor: Abdulkadir Tuncer in ‘Your Beauty is Worth Nothing’ by Huseyin Tabak

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Mexico City, Mexico — From November 14-17, 2012, leading filmmakers and film enthusiasts from Mexico, the U.S. and around the world will gather in the beautiful Pacific resort of Los Cabos for the first annual Baja International Film Festival. The first international film festival in Mexico to be a true collaboration between the U.S. and Mexico, the Baja International Film Festival will stand alongside world renowned events like the Cannes Film Festival,Venice Film Festival and Sundance.

The program will include screenings of Feature Films, Documentaries, Short Films, and Student Films, as well as nightly galas, award ceremonies, panel discussions and filmmaker receptions, and will feature the work of leading filmmakers from Mexico, the U.S., and around the world. The inaugural Baja International Film Festival has strong support from film industry leaders and is proud to have acclaimed actor, Academy-Award nominee, and environmental activist Edward Norton as an advisor to the festival.

Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete, Chief Operating Officer of the Mexico Tourism Board, said “The Baja International Film Festival will not only raise the profile of Mexico’s film industry and filmmakers, it will also bring visitors and investment to Los Cabos, one of Mexico’s leading tourist resorts, reinforcing its reputation as a world class, luxury destination.” In addition to the Mexico Tourism Board, the festival is endorsed and supported as the Official Festival of Los Cabos by the State of Baja California Sur, and the Los Cabos Tourism Bureau.

Baja International Film Festival co-founders Scott Cross and Sean Cross also founded the Colorado Film Institute and the Vail Film Festival, named by Moviemaker magazine among the “Top Ten Destination Film Festivals in the World.” The Festival is founded and run by a bi-national team of experienced film and business managers. They share a passion to bring the two cultures together through film.

The Festival represents a true collaboration between Mexico and the U.S. and will serve as a bridge between the U.S. and Mexican film industry. The organizers’ goal is to showcase the best filmmaking from around the world and grow the Baja International Film Festival into the Cannes Film Festival of Latin America.

The Baja International Film Festival is currently accepting film entries for the inaugural event to be held from November 14-17 in Los Cabos, Mexico. The festival accepts films from all countries and will award prizes for Best Film in each category, an Audience Award, and a special prize for Best Mexican Film. For submission information, please visit the festival website at www.bajainternationalfilmfestival.com.

Just a short flight from Los Angeles, Los Cabos is well known as a favorite vacation spot for Hollywood’s A-list stars. George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio are just a few of the celebrities regularly spotted enjoying the pristine beaches, luxurious hotels and unsurpassed hospitality of one of Mexico’s premier resorts.

For more information on the Baja International Film Festival, visit www.bajainternationalfilmfestival.com.

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London, England – Renowned philosopher and author, Alain de Botton will give the second Ogilvy & Inspire lecture at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity 2012 on Thursday 21 June.

Launched last year on the centenary of David Ogilvy’s birth, the annual lecture invites contemporary visionaries to examine inspiration and creativity. De Botton’s speech will unpick the idea of creativity and discuss why it is one of the most elusive and essential aspects of our lives.

De Botton, whose work is built on a ‘philosophy of everyday life’, will pinpoint the source of our creative fire by sharing the deeper truths he has discovered through close examination of a host of subjects.

Alain de Botton said: “It is in books, poems, and painting that we find the confidence to take seriously the feelings in ourselves that we might otherwise never have thought to acknowledge.”

Swiss-born de Botton is a prolific writer and distinguished thinker. He has published books and papers on every aspect of the human condition including sex, work, religion, status, love and art, with bestsellers in 30 countries. He founded, and helps run, the ground-breaking School of Life in London, an institution dedicated to a new vision of education.

Miles Young, Worldwide CEO, Ogilvy & Mather, said: “Now in their second year, our seminars continue the legacy of inspiration fostered by David Ogilvy. Alain de Botton reflects this legacy as one of the world’s most inspirational, unique thinkers. Like all great originals, he divides opinion, provokes debate and illuminates what it is to be human. We are thrilled to have him guest at our second Ogilvy & Inspire seminar.”

Last year’s inaugural speaker was Sir Ken Robinson, author, education reformer and internationally-acclaimed speaker on education, creativity and innovation. His challenging lecture was met with thunderous applause and a standing ovation.

The second Ogilvy & Inspire lecture, on Thursday 21 June at 10:30am in the Theatre Debussy, will form the centerpiece of a range of activities by the agency to celebrate this year’s Cannes Lions.

The lecture will be followed by The Speakers’ Corner – a Q&A session at 11:30am with Alain de Botton in the Cannes Lions Press Centre: Palais de Festivals.

Image Courtesy of  Alain de Botton

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It was an elated and humbled Mads Mikkelsen who accepted the price for Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival this past weekend. The 46-year old Dane had his big break in Denmark, as Tonny in Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Pusher’ and garnered attention on the international scene as the bond villain Le Chiffre in the 2006 James Bond film ‘Casino Royale’.

Mikkelsen won the prestigious Palms as the first Danish Actor to ever get the honors. He won for his portrait of Lucas in Thomas Vinterberg’s psychological thriller ‘The Hunt’. Lucas is in a new relationship and a new job after a rough divorce, trying to start anew. But when a rumor turns viscous, accusing the mild-mannered kindergarten teacher of sexually abusing a child, the noose starts to tighten around the neck of an innocent man.

The film itself was well received at Cannes and the press was buzzing with questions as the rumors were that director Vinterberg’s wife, who is 9 months pregnant, was due on Sunday – the night of the award show.

But the water held and despite losing out on the Palme d’Or of Michael Haneke’s French film ‘Amour’ (Love), the filmmaker and the production company Zentropa were pleased to see Mads Mikkelsen be handed the prize, by Gong Li.

The Palme d’Or winner, Haneke, is the 7th director to be rewarded twice with the highest honor at Cannes, having previously won for ‘Das Weiße Band – Eine Deutche Kindergeschichte’ (The White Ribbon) in 2009. ‘Amour’ is the story of Georges and Anne, a cultivated, retired couple whose love is put to the ultimate test when the wife’s health and mental condition begins to deteriorate rapidly after an attack. French acting legends Emmanuelle Riva, 85, and Jean-Louis Trintignant, 81, hold the leading roles.

Next up for Mikkelsen is the filming of ‘The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman’, which has just started in Bucharest. He takes on another villainous role, this time opposite Shia LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood. After that, the danish heart-throb is scheduled to appear in Asger Leth’s (‘Man On A Ledge’) new, creative production ‘Move On’ where user interaction will steer the narrative and shooting locations, according to Indiewire.com.

To Indiewire, Mikkelsen explained why he got involved in ‘Move On’: “People out there will be part of it which is going to be new to all of us. They’re not going to take us in a direction that is totally fucked up but they might come with some inputs I like: ‘That’s not bad, let’s try that.’ It’s hard to have that kind of openness in a film but we will try it and I’m sure something will come out of that will be surprising for us.”

Image Courtesy of  cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com

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Macy Gray, newly signed with 429 Records, is preparing for the release of her stunning new album “Covered”—a collection of all new recordings of handpicked songs she’s chosen to reinterpret in her own inimitable fashion.  Produced by Hal Willner (Lou Reed, Metallica), “Covered” tackles material largely drawn from indie rock songs from the last decade—interpretations her fans will be familiar with as she’s been performing them live over the years.

The album contains biting, dark signature tracks such as Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” or My Chemical Romance’s “Teenagers” which Gray subversively overhauls into something wholly her own.  Also included are short skits featuring J.B. Smoove, Nicole Scherzinger and a guest appearance by Idris Elba.

“Covered” will be released worldwide on 429 Records March 27th.In addition, Macy is planning a worldwide tour and has wrapped filming with director Lee Daniels (Precious) for his forthcoming film ‘The Paperboy” which also stars John Cusack, Zach Effron, Nicole Kidman and Matthew McConaughey. The film will debut at Cannes in May with confirmed worldwide distribution in October 2012.

Since her dazzling debut introduced this singular talent to the masses, Macy has forged an uncompromising musical path beholden to her own vision and garnering accolades at every juncture.  With “Covered” Macy has turned the cover album concept on its ear choosing edgy contemporary choices and approaching them in an innovative and uncompromising way. Not surprising considering she’s spent her career defying expectations and stretching musical boundaries.

Says Macy on being inspired by Nina Simone’s cover songs: “She didn’t worry about what people would think or how they would compare it to anybody else. I saw how she just took that song and every song she ever did and made them her own.  So I went in with the confidence that we could do whatever we wanted.”

s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

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The winner of this year’s Palme d’Or in Cannes and the FIPRESCI Grand Prix, The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick is now out on Blu-ray and DVD for you to experience at home.

The acclaimed writer and director, also known for Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, and The New World, brought his thought provoking film experience about a Midwestern family in the 1950’s to life after years of development.

Through stunning cinematography and raw emotional power Malick’s hymn to life excavates answers to the most haunting and personal human questions through a kaleidoscope of the intimate and the cosmic, from the raw emotions of a family in a small Texas town to the wildest, infinite edges of space and time, from a boy’s loss of innocence to a man’s transforming encounters with awe, wonder and transcendence.

An impressionistic story of a 1950’s family, the film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack — who is played as an adult by Sean Penn — through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father.

Malick’s experimental work was well-received when it finally premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival this year, having missed it’s release dates for both 2009 and 2010. According to the film’s trivia on IMDB.com, the first seeds of the mind-bending story were sown in the late 1970s when Malick, fresh of his movie Days of Heaven, started working on a project named ‘Q’, which was later abandoned.

However, it is widely believed that The Tree of Life contains elements of ‘Q’, including the desire to explore the origins of life on earth. The Blu-ray Disc presentation utilizes maximum bit rate encoding and 7.1 audio and a 2.0 stereo mix to bring Malick’s visually stunning masterpiece to life providing you with a premium cinematic viewing experience for the home.

An exclusive 30-minute documentary on the making of the film, Exploring The Tree of Life, allows fans to dig even deeper into Malick’s visionary work and his cinematic legacy through interviews with his collaborators and cast members as well as with directors Christopher Nolan and David Fincher who share an appreciation for his work.

Under Malick’s careful direction The Tree of Life showcases complicated and haunting powerhouse performances by Academy-Award nominee Brad Pitt (Fight Club), Academy Award winner Sean Penn (Milk, Mystic River) and newcomer Jessica Chastain (The Help). 

Image Courtesy of   http://www.facebook.com/twowaysthroughlife

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Based on Allan Stratton’s internationally acclaimed novel, “Chanda’s Secrets,” the film, “Life Above All,” is a story of courage, love, and the intolerance housed by one modern South African community.

The film centers on the vivacious and intelligent twelve-year-old Chanda (played by Khomotso Manyaka) who fights for her family under troubling circumstances. She is forced into a confusing adult’s world when her sister passes away and her mother, Lillian, (played by Lerato Mvelase) is plagued with AIDS, which to Chanda is just a mysterious sickness. However, the community is convinced that the illness is a divine punishment. Rumors start to circulate referring to her mother’s condition as “the disease,” and Chanda quickly becomes angry and confused. She refuses to believe that her mother, her only support system, is the cause of her own illness.

To make matters worse, she receives no help from her alcoholic stepfather who is usually missing, or Ester (played by Keaobaka Makanyane), her closest friend who has recently become a prostitute at the local truck stop. Chanda is soon given a world of responsibilities when she is left to single-handedly run her household, including her younger sister and brother, as well as take care of her ailing mother. Ultimately, a village elder, Mrs. Tafa (played by Harriet Lebabe, who also appeared in Hotel Rwanda), decides that it is best for the family and the town if her mother is sent away.

Devastated by the news, Chanda ignores everyone’s ignorant beliefs and sets out to find her mother and bring her home. Unfortunately, she must now leave her younger siblings and her schooling behind. Despite the immeasurable amount of pressure that is forced onto this young child, Chanda remains hopeful and brave. Along the way, she is tested and learns to overcome her past, and the superstitious beliefs of her neighbors in order to discover the truth about her community and more importantly, her mother.

This coming of age story is both tear jerking and heart warming at the same time. It addresses such issues as the ignorance of AIDS because of pride and denial, and even child prostitution. Manyaka keeps the storyline from becoming too dark with her bubbly attitude. “Life Above All” is socially informative and illuminates many key aspects to the AIDS epidemic in modern day South Africa, including denial that often occurs within small communities.

An official selection at the 2010 Cannes film festival, “Life Above All” is directed by Oliver Schmitz, a South African native of German descent. His past projects include “Mapantsula,” and “Paris, je t’aime,” It received a 10-minute standing ovation and left critics in tears. The film was released in the UK on May 27 and will be released in the US on July 5.

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Today marks the beginning of the Cannes International Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, in the south of France. In the Danish newspaper Politiken’s online edition, film critic Kim Skotte took a look at this years selection of competing features and noted that Denmark still have what it takes to walk among titans.

For Danes, the oldest and most prestigious film festival in the world is often centered on the surprisingly consistent representation of Danish craftsmanship. You could say that after winning this years Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, Denmark is not afraid to strut their feathers at the French Riviera. This year has Lars von Trier and his movie Melancholia as well as Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive competing while a third movie, Labrador, has been chosen for an exclusive screening in the official program.

However, the Danes do realize that the Cannes is not just about our own contributions.

If we look at the contenders for the Palme d’Or, this year sports an unusually strong mix of directors – that is, if we base our predictions on the accomplishments of these which is really all we can go on at this point. Of course, the pro can sometimes fail miserably while the virtually unknown can bring positive surprises. Guesswork aside, the battle for the golden palms is gonna be fought amongst established ‘old-timers’, upcoming talents and the odd jokers.

Besides Lars von Trier, who won the highest prize in 2000 with Dancer In The Dark, the selection holds several other winners and especially – nearly-winners.

Amazingly enough, the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar has never won the Palms though he came close in 1999 with Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother). This year he has a new shot with La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I live In), based on the novel Tarantula by the French crime author Thierry Jonquets. The movie is said to be a new direction for the filmmaker with a twist of old. This is founded in the fact that the story has been described by Almodóvar to Cineuropa as “a horror story without screams or frights” and stars Antonio Banderas as the troubled plastic surgeon.

The jury, headed by veteran Robert De Niro this year, has the opportunity to fall for an array of other styles however. The Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have previously won two times already and their film Le Gamin au Velo could prove a third success.

From Italy, two strong contenders are present. Paolo Sorrentino first made an impression with his experimental Il Divo which won the Jury prize in 2008. This year is his fourth time at the French resort with his American excursion This Must Be The Place, starring Sean Penn. He is matched by Nanni Moretti, a seventh time contender who have also managed to win in 2001 with La Stanza Del Figlio (The Son’s Room)

Overall, the field is speckled with experienced people – Terrence Malik, director of The Thin Red Line, brings The Tree of Life while the Finish director Aki Kaurismäki makes his fourth appearance along with Japanese Naomi Kawase, the youngest winner of Caméra d’Or.

The scene is set for a battle of established names and talents and even though film is regarded an art form, the competition between May 11-21 could prove a fierce race, leaving us gasping for air. If you want to learn more, please visit the Festival site.

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