Film Festival Blogs

At Rotterdam, The Independent's Randi Cecchine checks out Lynch, a mysterious character sketch of a film about the inventive and enigmatic filmmaker David Lynch. In the film, the director says that meditating regularly for 32 years has helped him chill out and focus. If that is the case, Cecchine wonders, how come he seems so tightly wound? And what do his experiences tell us about the process of making a film, and the disappointments that seem inevitable when you collaborate with a group of people on a project? You can watch the film's trailer, or a humorous clip of Lynch taking on the iPhone's cinematic aspirations.

Filmmaker and educator Randi Cecchine is blogging from the 37th International Film Festival Rotterdarm. Today, she writes about an explicit short film from Singapore with the catchy title Allen Ginsberg Gives Great Head. Filmmaker X' Ho is not afraid to take risks, including many long sequences featuring explicit images. Cecchine is somewhat surprised that the film was included in the festival—despite their reputation, the Dutch are a little suppressed, she says—and wonders whether it's easier to watch this kind of film in a theater with an audience, or alone and on DVD.

Filmmaker and educator Randi Cecchine blogs from the 37th International Film Festival Rotterdam. Her first film? Staub (Dust), a documentary from Germany the explores the relationship between people and that familiar gray patina. Director Hartmut Bitomsky interviews obsessive cleaners, scientists who study dust to gain insights into the physical world, inventors who have tried to build dust-filtration contraptions, and health experts who worry about the effects of inhaling too much dust. In the end, Cecchine says the film is unexpectedly contemplative. To view a trailer for the film (without subtitles, and in German), check out our Watch page.

As Sundance devotees start packing their bags, filmmaker and festival volunteer Therese Shechter fields reader questions, including whether or not an average moviegoer should try to attend Sundance at least once, how she pitched her documentary project to potential backers and distributors, and what films she saw at the festival that readers should keep an eye on. She also talks about actor Diego Luna, pictured at left, who participated in the "Latin Renaissance" panel. Apparently, he's very thoughtful about film.

Didn't make it to Park City this year? Therese Shechter did—in fact, for the seventh year in a row, she's volunteering at the festival. So what makes this Sundance different from every other one? After a few days in Park City, Shechter finds herself lamenting a lack of a functional hot tub at her condo and professing love for strangers who deliver hot food. Oh, and she has caught a few films—so far, Anvil! The Story of Anvil! (pictured at left) is her favorite—in between pitching her latest documentary, The American Virigin, to movers and shakers in the indie world. In her next dispatch, Shechter will answer readers' questions about Sundance. To submit one, click here.

At the Asheville Film Festival, big-name films such as The Savages and When The Devil Knows You're Dead fail to impress, while an animated film from China wins the top honors. A mob comedy wowed the crowd, as did a horror film about a very hungry car. And did we mention Marisa Tomei's commitment to her craft? Also, check our recap on Day One at the festival.

Tamara Jenkins's film The Savages is getting a lot of buzz. But the buzz at the Asheville Film Festival, where the film was screened on opening night, was mostly from the handheld wands that the security guards used to make sure that absolutely no mobile phones or recording devices made it into the Diana Wortham Theatre. The Independent's Darren Dahl reports on the scene. Visit our film festival page for more festival news.

Back home from the festival, Sarah Coleman finds that the film that has stuck with her the most is Operation Filmmaker, about a young Iraqi student given the chance to work on a film production. (The story doesn't deliver the happy outcome you might expect.) To read Sarah's breakdown of Days One, Two, Three, and Four of the festival, visit our blogs page.

Sarah Coleman ponders the Bob Dylan project she didn't see, and The Cake Eaters, a poignant film with an inscrutable title. To read Sarah's breakdown of of Days One, Two, and Three of the Woodstock Film Festival, visit our blogs page.