Wednesday, June 28, 2006

MILANO FILM FESTIVAL 2006

15-24 September 2006
Piccolo Teatro

"A new start, towards something different, unexplored, unexpected. A festival for people that don't have any preconceptions, that are eager to be surprised."

Eleventh edition

The submission deadline has passed, the selection is in progress. A thorough search through film schools, producers, distributors and independent festivals resulted in the submission of more than 2000 films from more than 90 countries: from Mexico to Palestine, from South Africa to Finland, from India to Chiapas.
The eleventh edition is a chance to start anew: the Festival will be a meeting point for film lovers, for not-festival-goers, for children, for music enthusiasts, for professionals, for students, for people that believe that films can portray important aspects of the world.
At the eve of a new decade, Milano Film Festival focuses its attention and energies on its various parts that are blended together to create a unique all-round event.

The Festival

For eleven years Milano Film Festival has attracted films and filmmakers from all over the world. It is independent - from the interests of major distributors, from institutional politics, from money, from fashion, from critics. But it is also dependent - on the filmmakers' creativity and talent, on the expertise, the experience and the skills of the people that organize it, on the work and commitment of hundreds of volunteers, on the curiosity and willingness to take risks of the selection committee. This Festival scouted and promoted emerging talents, for whom the Festival has often been a springboard to international success. For ten days, this festival transforms places and people that pass through them.

Overview of the 2005 edition:

* 85,000 visitors
* 80 journalists with accreditation card
* 1,200 film professionals involved in the Borsa Democratica del Cinema
* 495 films screened
* 130 filmmakers attending the festival
* 250 international guests - directors, producers, actors and film enthusiasts

First information on the competitions and out-of-competition sections

Short film competition and Feature film competition
The competitions are open to short and feature films of any genre and running time, on any format and in any language, provided that they were produced after January 1st, 2005. They won't be divided into sections and will be screened in their original language with English and Italian subtitles. Filmmakers are invited to present their films to the festival audience.

Colpe di Stato
A collection of documentaries that depict crimes, injustice and slaughters under the banner of freedom, security and religion. These screenings mark an interesting but disturbing journey around the world.

Histoire(s) du cinéma - Cinema according to Jean-Luc Godard
Through the quotes scattered in the Histoire(s) du cinéma, a video by Jean-Luc Godard in which the filmmaker traces the history of filmmaking, this season aims to show this entire work for the first time in Milan and to highlight different central films from which this flow of images moves.
In collaboration with Fondazione Cineteca Italiana - Spazio Oberdan.

motion&picture against poverty
The UN campaign for the 8 Millennium Development Goals relies on alternative means of communication, including films.
The motion&picture against poverty section, which is currently under construction, was first launched during the festival's 2005 edition to create a film season dedicated to human rights and to different issues linked with the development goals. This section is particularly focused on countries that produce films despite economic, political and social hindrances.

Incontri italiani
This section features young Italian filmmakers, screenings and meetings to help directors get together, exchange ideas and projects and create new collaborations.

Focus animazione
A search through different styles, traditional techniques and cutting-edge technologies.

Salon des refusés
A section managed by non-selected directors - democratic, open to all the films submitted to the festival.

Borsa Democratica del Cinema

After the success of the first edition and the positive feedback from exhibitors, professionals and visitors, the 2nd edition of the Borsa Democratica del Cinema will run from 21st to 24th September at the Fondazione Antonio Mazzotta.
Directors, screenwriters, actors and set designers, producers and distributors, film schools, institutions and young independent filmmakers will gather to present ideas and projects and analyse the current situation of the film industry. The aim is to perform a change by creating new cultural, professional and business relationships.
For further information: expo@milanofilmfestival.it


Holiday project - Filmmakers' House

The Filmmakers' House is a project developed to offer alternative hospitality to filmmakers, professionals and film lovers that will attend the festival in Milan - a facility set up as a solution to the lack of low-cost accommodation in Milan, to become a meeting point and a common area.
For further information: holidays@milanofilmfestival.it.

Accreditation and discounts

Milano Film Festival has launched an accreditation campaign that offers discounts to different typologies of applicants: students, film professionals, journalist, people aged over 65.
For further information: info@milanofilmfestival.it


For further information:
www.milanofilmfestival.it

Who Were Those Masked Men?!

The reel world of Lucha Libre: Mexican Wrestling films hit the UK

This summer, the nations’ cinema screens will be taken over by men in tights. Not only Superman, but Jack Black in NACHO LIBRE, the tale of a rural Mexican monastery’s cook with a yen to be a famous masked wrestler (luchador enmascerado). But who are these masked men? In August and September, Cornerhouse (Manchester), Phoenix Arts (Leicester), and Filmhouse (Edinburgh) bring the exciting world of Mexican wrestling films to the UK, through three classics, featuring El Santo, the biggest star of them all.

Hugely popular in Mexico and many other Spanish-speaking lands, the films feature stars of the Lucha Libre (Free Fighting) ring. Since the 1930s, these Mexican wrestlers have adopted secret identities, often built around the masks they wore. A fighter never removed his mask nor revealed his true self – until death. Even then, most are buried in their masks.

These heroes were immortalised in comic books and later films, with the first titles appearing in the 50s and continuing through the seventies. These exuberant, low-budget titles pitted El Santo and competitors/cohorts Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras (Thousand Masks), etc against such daunting adversaries as the Martian Invaders, Frankenstein, the Female Vampires, and the Mummies of Guanajuato in a crazed cauldron of sweat, superheroes, sci-fi, and horror.

These three titles have been specially arranged with Latin American distributors. Although Mexican Wrestling films have found a huge cult following in the States, in the UK they are still relatively unknown – and unavailable. Until now! These rare screenings offer the chance to experience the reel world of Lucha Libre!

Films screening:

Santo vs The Invasion of the Martians (El Santo contra la invasion de los marcianos) (1966) The title says it all! As seen on the TV in the outdoor bar scene in THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA. Spanish with English subtitles.

Santo and Blue Demon vs the Monsters (Santo y Blue Demon vs los monstrous) (1969). The evil Dr Halder terrorised science when he reanimated a corpse. Later, Blue Demon decides to investigate the doctor’s apparent death, but his disciples turn the wrestler into an evil being. He heads out to destroy his worst enemy: Santo! Spanish with English subtitles.

Santo in the Wax Museum (Santo en el museo de cera) (1963)

Santo-styled take on the Vincent Price chiller, HOUSE OF WAX. A young lady reporter suddenly goes missing in the Wax Museum. Santo is summoned to solve the mystery. To succeed he will have to face evil and the abnormal!

Please note this title is dubbed in English

Marmitek introduces the FreeTV200

Watch free television on your PC or laptop wherever you are.

This looks like a great little gadget if your computer doesn't have a built-in tuner (like mine!)...

EINDHOVEN- The FreeTV200 is the latest multimedia/PC product from Marmitek. This innovative and practical device enables you to watch digital television on your PC or laptop.

What is the FreeTV200?

The Marmitek FreeTV200 consists of USB tuner and a small digital antenna. The FreeTV200 allows your laptop or PC to receive digital DVB T(*) signals so that you can watch all programmes that are broadcast digitally “Free-To-Air”.

(*)

DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) is a European standard for the digital transmission of radio stations and television channels. The DVB-T (Terrestrial) signal goes through the air and can be received anywhere. Most European countries broadcast Free-To-Air channels via DVB-T, which means that you can watch digital television without paying any subscription costs.

Always and everywhere

With the FreeTV200, you can watch TV programmes on your PC wherever you want: in the kitchen, bedroom or student flat. You can also watch TV on your laptop sitting comfortably in your garden or even at a pavement café.

The FreeTV200 is also ideal for holidays abroad. You can watch most television channels in other countries for free on your laptop. You will never have to miss major sporting events like the Tour de France, the European Football Championships or the World Cup, Wimbledon or Formula 1 Grand Prix ever again. Furthermore, small children can watch Sesame Street, the Teletubbies or Spongebob on the road or in your tent.


Laptop multimedia player

The FreeTV200 is supplied with CyberLink PowerCinema4 software that transforms your PC into an integrated multimedia player with which you can record TV programmes on your hard disk. The Time-Shift function allows you to pause programmes, skip commercial breaks and continue watching whenever you like. With the compact remote control supplied with the package, you can quickly and easily select TV channels. Last but not least, digital TV has better sound and picture quality compared with analogue TV and additional information services, such as for example, an electronic television guide are available.

Technical information

Which Free-To-Air channels you can receive depends on the range of DVB-T stations broadcast in your (local) region. The tuner is powered via the USB connection on the computer. Recommended system requirements: Intel Pentium III, 1.6 GHz CPU, USB 2.0 and Windows XP (Home of Pro).

The recommended retail price for the FreeTV200 is 54.95 GBP including VAT.

For more details go to:

http://www.marmitek.com/en/index_consumer.php?subgroep=63&product=362

Monday, June 26, 2006

Kolchak

“I was inspired by the show Kolchak: The Night Stalker. It had really scared me as a kid and I wanted to do something as dark and mysterious as I remembered it to be.”

Chris Carter - X-Files producer

Before the X-Files, there was one extraordinary, supernatural, down-right eerie TV series that had viewers glued to their TV screens. That series was Kolchak. Playback is delighted to announce the release of chilling cult favourite Kolchak: The Night Stalker, for the first time ever on DVD. Chicago news reporter Karl Kolchak is a trouble magnet for situations involving the supernatural. His investigations involve delving into the most horrifying and gruesome of subjects – vampires, werewolves, zombies and much more.

Based on The Night Stalker, the highest rated TV movie of its time, each episode sees Kolchak deal with a supernatural (whether mystical, scientific, or alien) threat, which is usually the cause a series of grisly murders, involving blood draining, marrow loss, old age, spine snapping, or use of medieval weaponry. Inevitably, the local authorities are intent on ignoring or covering up the nature of the murders, while Kolchak's boss Tony Vincenzo refuses to believe his rebellious employee.

Kolchak is, as Chris Carter (creator of The X-Files) has stated, one of the main inspirations for his show, and from the beginning he sought to create something with a similar “spirit” to that of Kolchak.

Released on 21 August 2006, the box-set includes five discs featuring all 20 episodes from the original series, all digitally restored, providing hours of entertainment.
Title: Kolchak : The Night Stalker

Release Date: 21 August 2006

Recommended Retail Price: £34.99

Ireland On Screen

Compare and contrast

Fictionalised accounts of Britain in Ireland on the big screen.

Britain’s troubled history in Ireland since the War of Independence has been explored in many fiction films. Upon the release of Ken Loach’s Cannes-winner THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY, the Cornerhouse cinema (Manchester, UK) presents a brief overview of such films, from the first ever fictionalised account of the War of Independence to Hollywood blockbuster MICHAEL COLLINS.

One of the season highlights includes a rare screenings of 1926 Irish film IRISH DESTINY. Made just 10 years after the events it depicts, the film was a box office record breaker in Dublin but was banned by the BBFC upon its attempted release. The film was eventually released in 1928 under the title of MOTHER IRELAND having been cut and minus scenes from the Black and Tans. Believed lost and recently re-discovered and restored, IRISH DESTINY charts a love story involving a middle-class IRA fighter and his fiancée set against the background of the fight for independence. The love affair is interwoven with incidents from the war, shown through actuality material (including footage of the Black and Tans and the burning of Cork) as well as a reconstruction of the mass escape from the Curragh internment camp and the burning of the Customs House.

On Saturday 1 July there will be a screening of the multiple Oscar winning John Ford film The Informer. Adapted from Liam O’Flaherty’s novel THE INFORMER is set in 1917 and tells the story of drunken IRA man Gypo Nolan who informs on his leader to the Black & Tans for £20 then struggles to undue his treachery.

The season will also enable audience to contrast Ken Loach’s THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY with HIDDEN AGENDA, his previous exploration of Britain's stormy relationship with Ireland, but also with a film he vehemently rejects, Neil Jordan’s MICHAEL COLLINS.

The season comes to a climax with controversial and critically acclaimed BLOODY SUNDAY. Originally made for TV, UNITED 93 director Paul Greengrass' powerful docudrama follows the events of the infamous Bloody Sunday in January 30, 1972 when British soldiers in Derry opened fire on a peaceful protest march, killing 13 demonstrators and wounding a further 14.

Friday, June 23, 2006

Live And Become Release

‘brave, moving and compassionate’
The Observer

Radu Mihaileanu’s
Live And Become

‘a remarkable trio of performances’
Toronto Star

The Works is thrilled to announce the release of Radu Mihaileanu’s award-winning, fact-based drama of a young boy’s search for identity, Live And Become.

Picking up three awards at The Berlin International Film Festival, Live And Become is a gripping story of deception and survival; a beautifully crafted coming of age tale about the fate of a young refugee told with warmth and humour.

Ethiopia 1984: civil war and famine rage. As thousands of displaced Africans crowd into Sudanese refugee camps, American and Israeli troops organise “Operation Moses”, a mission aimed at relocating the wandering Falashas, Ethiopian Jews who claim direct lineage back to King Solomon's days, to Israel. Forced by his Christian mother to declare himself Jewish to escape starvation, young Solomon (Moshe Agazai) is swept away to Israel.

Arriving in Tel Aviv, the boy is declared an orphan and adopted by a local French family. He begins a new life constantly fearing the discovery of a double lie – that he is neither orphaned nor Jewish. Solomon – now renamed Schlomo – does his best to adapt to his new surroundings as his presumed salvation slowly gives way to the inner decay of a fading identity.

This is Mihaileanu’s second feature following on from Train Of Life, another intensely moving film continuing the theme of Jewish identity, which itself won the Audience award at the Sundance film festival.

Garnering the Panorama Audience award, Label Europa Cinema and the prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlin Film Festival, Mihaileanu’s heart-wrenching story of a boy bravely confronting ignorance and prejudice will be available on DVD courtesy of The Works from 14 August 2006.

Title: Live And Become Release Date: 14 August 2006 RRP: £19.99

Vividas puts high-definition in the picture

High-definition live and recorded video streaming available through standard 2MB broadband connection for the first time.Vividas, one of the world's leading developers and providers of full-screen video streaming technology, today announces the addition of high-definition output to its landmark Vivcast Encoding Suite. The extra functionality, which comes as part of Vividas' standard product set, allows full screen, high-definition video content to be streamed over the web to a virtually unlimited global audience for the first time.

Vividas' technology deploys the high-definition IP TV solution on standard web infrastructure. Both pre-recorded and live video content will benefit from the development, allowing audiences to experience a quantum leap in the quality of video streamed over the Internet.

Phil Sellick, European Service Director at Vividas, comments: "By allowing true high-definition streaming output, on standard broadband speeds, Vividas opens the market for broadband suppliers, resellers and even corporates to compete directly with traditional broadcasters. Vivcast provides them with a credible IP TV solution, but none of the capital outlay, as it can operate on the existing web infrastructure."

For more information visit www.vividas.com

Ludwig

Infinity Arthouse is delighted to announce the release of the critically acclaimed
masterpiece Ludwig from one of Italian cinema’s most influential post-war directors,
Luchino Visconti. It will available for the first time ever on DVD on 19 June 2006.
Visconti’s 1972 film is a lavish portrait of Ludwig II, the sexually ambiguous ‘Mad
King’ of Bavaria. From his glittering coronation to his mysterious suicide, Ludwig II
(1845-86) was tormented by his unrequited love for his cousin, Empress Elizabeth of
Austria. But as war raged around him, he retreated into a fantasy world, alarming his
ministers through his irrational behaviour, neglect of state affairs and lavish
expenditure castles. Judged unfit to rule, Ludwig was declared insane.

Controversially cut on its release, it is now available in its full four-hour glory.
Ludwig features commanding performances from Helmut Berger (The Damned) as
Ludwig, Trevor Howard (Brief Encounter) as Wagner, Romy Schneider (Maedchen
in Uniform) as Elizabeth and Gert Fröbe (Goldfinger) as Father Hoffman.
Despite being born into the Italian aristocracy, Count Luchino Visconti (1906-76) was
a life-long leftist and anti-Fascist. His first feature was Ossessione (1942) and his
style soon shifted from the neo-realism of Rocco and his Brothers to the deeply
personal style epitomized by Senso, The Leopard, the Academy Award® nominated
The Damned, Death in Venice Conversation Piece and The Innocent.

Extras:
The Perfume of a Primrose: Silvana Mangano
Italian Portraits: Suso Cecchi d’Amic
Documentary on Luchino Visconti directed by Carlo Lizzani
Title: Ludwig
Language: Italian (subtitled)
Release Date: 19 June 2006
RRP: £19.99

‘a majestic work of the imagination’
The Times
Luchino Visconti’s
Ludwig
‘quite an experience’
The Guardian

Quadrophenia

“Quadrophenia is My Generation writ large”
Pete Thownsend- The Who

QUADROPHENIA

SPECIAL EDITION DVD

“A genuine musical milestone crackling with energy and great performances”

Radio Times

August: the time for summer holidays, Bank holidays and, back in the 1960s, if you were a mod or rocker, a time to head to seaside resorts for an almighty punch-up. This August, that classic British pastime – mods versus rockers – is relived as Universal Pictures releases the Special Edition of Quadrophenia, the classic film that has inspired generations of youths since its release in1979.

Available on DVD from 7 August 2006 this Special Edition two-disc DVD, includes:

* Digitally remastered widescreen picture
* Brand new stereo audio track
* A Way Of Life : Making Quadrophenia – A restrospective documentary looking back 25 years to the making of one of the most significant ‘youth’ films to emerge in the UK
* On Location With Franc – Franc Roddam revisits several locations used in the film
* Audio Commentary – With director Franc Roddam and actors Phil Daniels and Leslie Ash.

Quadrophenia, based on The Who’s seminal rock opera from the early 1970s presaged the mod revival of late 70s Britain. It introduced a new wave of Brit actors, including Phil Daniels, to audiences and has proved to be an inspiration to scores of bands, film-makers and British youth ever since. It is safe to say that, without Quadrophenia, there would have been no Britpop… This truly is a landmark British film.

It’s 1964 London and two youth cults emerge – the mods and the rockers – with explosive consequences. For Jimmy (Phil Daniels) and his sharp-suited, pill popping, scooter riding mates, being a mod is a way of life. Together they head off to Brighton for an orgy of drugs, thrills and headline-making violent clashes with the rockers.

Directed by Franc Roddam in his first feature length outing, the film also stars Toyah Wilcox, Mark Wingett, John Altman, Leslie Ash, Ray Winstone and Sting.

Title: Quadrophenia Special Edition Release Date: 7 August 2006 Recommended Retail Price: £17.99

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Atash (Thirst)

Winner of the International Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, this beautiful and powerful debut feature from the brilliant young Arab filmmaker, Tawfik Abu Wael, is also an important groundbreaking collaboration between a Palestinian writer/director and an Israeli producer, financiers and crew - the first of its kind.

Abu Shukri and his family have settled alone in a valley far from their home town. Tyrannical father Shukri rules the home with an iron fist, forcing his wife and three children to burn fires all day to make charcoal. When he decides to build a pipeline to bring fresh water to their home, it awakens their instinct for freedom, but carries with it tragic consequences for the entire family.

Featuring haunting music, stunning cinematography and incredibly moving performances from the non-professional cast, 'Atash' is a complex, assured and vivid first feature from an exciting filmmaker, and one to watch for the future.

"Undoubtedly a beautiful film. Abu Wael is arguable the most exciting Arab film-maker to have emerged in more than a decade."
SIGHT AND SOUND

"impressive... a bold, brave film."
Geoff Andrew - TIME OUT

"A confident, beautifully composed film."
Philip French - THE OBSERVER

"wonderfully poetic visual ideas... a thoroughly compelling fable."
CHANNEL FOUR

Running Time: 109 Minutes
Certificate: 12
In Arabic with English subtitles
DVD Bonus material includes:
Director Tawfik Abu Wael's award-winning short film "Diary of A Male Whore"
Interview with the Director
Theatrical trailer
Stills gallery

OUT ON DVD 24TH JULY 2006

Brief Crossing

‘The finest film yet from the ever-provocative Breillat’
Time Out

For the first time ever on DVD comes the release of controversial director Catherine Breillat’s provocative but meaningful film Brief Crossing. It will be available courtesy of Second Sight on 28 August 2006.

Breillat has never been one to shy away from the explicit in her search for a better rendering of human emotion with some of her films such as Romance and A Ma Soeur demonstrating a level of explicitness never before seen in mainstream cinema.

On an overnight ferry ride across the English Channel, French sixteen-year-old Thomas strikes up a conversation with English thirty-something Alice. Throughout the long evening, both are angling for physical affection, but their interaction remains awkwardly verbal while they work up the courage to overcome their inhibitions. The inexperienced Guillain has little in common with the worldly Pratt, so she does most of the talking, launching several bitter assessments of the male species even as the soft-spoken teenager chips away at her defenses. The question is, who is the seducer? With the sexual tension building they head for Alice’s cabin.

From the controversial director of Romance and A Ma Soeur comes a compelling and explicit portrayal of a brief sexual encounter that leads to a bitter conclusion.

Title: Brief Crossing

Release Date: 28 August 2006

RRP: £19.99

Noce Blanche

'a poetic insight into taboo sex’
Mail on Sunday

‘a Gallic Fatal Attraction’
Sunday Telegraph

Second Sight is delighted to announce the release of Jean-Claude Brisseau’s critically acclaimed Noce Banche, starring the stunningly beautiful Vanessa Paradis, the singer turned actress, in her feature film debut. It will be released on DVD on 28 August 2006.

Francois (Bruno Cremer) is a happily married fifty-year-old philosophy teacher. He becomes concerned that his rebellious student Mathilde (Paradis) is going to be expelled for truancy, so he sets out to try and help her. Soon his altruistic affection develops into and passionate desire and he is drawn into a passionate relationship with this enigmatic but brilliant teenager. Realising the error of his ways, he attempts to end the relationship. This however becomes impossible as the stubborn and possessive Mathilde refuses to let go, which has dramatic and dangerous ramifications for all concerned.

This haunting tale of obsessive love that won Vanessa Paradis a Cesar award for ‘most promising actress’, is skilfully directed by writer/director Brisseau and asks startling questions about the nature of desire and the consequences of succumbing to it.

Available for the first time on DVD, Noce Blanche (translated meaning ‘white wedding’) is a powerfully acted and potent piece of cinema.

Title: Noce Blanche
Release Date: 28 August 2006

RRP: £19.99

Tony Takitani

An award-winning and unprecedented film adaptation of the work of internationally-acclaimed author, HARUKI MURAKAMI, director JUN ICHIKAWA brings to the screen Murakami’s emotive tale of solitude and obsession accompanied by a haunting original soundtrack from Academy Award-winning composer and musician, RYUICHI SAKAMOTO. Starring ISSEY OGATA (“The Sun”) and RIE MIYAZAWA, this unique film is one of the finest adaptations of the work of a major writer ever brought to the screen, and the only feature film adaptation of Murakami’s work to date.

Haruki Murakami has earned international acclaim and best-seller success with novels including Kafka On The Shore and The Wind Up Bird Chronicles. His short story ‘Tony Takitani’ was first published in English translation in The New Yorker in 2002. It will appear in hardback for the first time in this country as part of Murakami’s new short story collection Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, due out on 6th July 2006.

Tony Takitani had a solitary childhood. Used to being self-sufficient, Tony seems to find emotions illogical and immature; until he meets and becomes fascinated by Eiko, a woman who in turn is fascinated by high end fashion.

“something approaching perfection”
Philip French, THE OBSERVER

(4 STARS) CRITICS’ CHOICE
TIME OUT

"...a pearl." (4 STARS)
THE FINANCIAL TIMES

“Sublime” (4 STARS)
EMPIRE

“A masterclass in how to adapt visually”
TANK MAGAZINE

Running Time: 75 minutes

Certificate: U

In Japanese with English Subtitles

DVD bonus material includes:

* Documentary film “The Making of Tony Takitani” (1’07”)
* Theatrical trailer
* Stills Gallery

RELEASED ON DVD 24th JULY 2006

Deck Dogz

Directed by Steve Pasvolsky
“dynamic drama…authentic velocity”
Variety

Universal Pictures is thrilled to announce the release of the action-packed skate movie Deck Dogz, featuring a rare performance from the legendary international skate
superstar and 12 times world champion Tony Hawk. It will be released for the first time on DVD on 24 July 2006.

The DVD is fully loaded with a host of awesome special features including:
Commentaries with the director and skate doubles
Deleted scenes
Tony Hawk featurette
Animation featurette
Making of Deck Dogz
Real life Deck Dogz
Spasm featurette
Skater dictionary

Featuring some of the most amazing skateboard action ever seen on screen, Deck
Dogz follows the adventures of three teenage suburban skaters (the Deck Dogz) as they
embark on a quest in pursuit of their dream; to make it big in pro-skating. If only they can compete in front of their hero, skate star Tony Hawk, it might just give them their lucky break…

Written and directed by the Oscar nominated Steve Pasvolsky, with an exhilarating mix
of red-hot skateboard action, off-the-wall animation and a pumping soundtrack by
Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil (Run Lola Run), Deck Dogz takes a deck-grinding,
wickedly funny look at friendship, growing up and following your dreams.

Title: Deck Dogz
Release Date: 24 July 2006
RRP
(recommended retail price):
£15.99

Seducing Dr Lewis

“… plays like a tribute to the very best of Ealing and Bill Forsyth” – Channel 4

“Very funny! Warm, sweet.....” – New York Times

THE RECIPIENT of a host of national and international awards - including the Audience Award (World Cinema) at the Sundance Film Festival - ‘Seducing Dr Lewis’ is the hugely acclaimed new comedy that has been delighting audiences wherever it has played. Fresh from its successful UK theatrical opening courtesy of Dogwoof Productions, Warner Vision is now delighted to announce that the title will be released on DVD on 26th June.

Directed by Jean-François Pouliot, ‘Seducing Dr Lewis’ is a charming and very funny take on truth and falsehood that follows in the hallowed footsteps of the likes of ‘The Full Monty’ and ‘Local Hero’. It has the rare distinction of being selected for Sundance, Cannes (Closing Night, Director’s Fortnight) and Toronto (Special Presentation). In French Canada, the film grossed over an incredible $8 million, topping the likes of ‘The Matrix Reloaded’.

‘Seducing Dr Lewis’ was produced in Canada and is filmed in French with English subtitles.

In the little harbour village of St-Marie-La-Mauderne, the vanishing fish stocks have had a devastating impact on the once thriving community. When a small company considers building a factory on the island, the inhabitants see an opportunity for the village to be restored to greatness. There is just one fly in the ointment - the factory cannot be built without a resident doctor.

The situation seems hopeless until young, handsome and sophisticated Montreal-based physician Dr Lewis (David Boutin) has an unfortunate incident with a traffic cop and strikes a deal to spend a month on the island.

Led by their mayor, Germain Lesage (Raymond Bouchard), the villagers determine to make sure that Dr Lewis’ temporary stay becomes a permanent one. From tapped phones to a hastily assembled cricket team to something called Festival de Beef Stroganoff, they’ll do everything they can to convince the doc that their little town offers all the charms of a thriving metropolis.

However, as their deception continues, so it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain.

Release Date: 26 June 2006

Cat No: 51011-4424-2

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 104 minutes

Retail Price: £17.99

Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and DTS 5.1 surround

Subtitles: English

Bonus Features: Theatrical Trailer, Photo Gallery, Theatrical Poster

J-HORROR - REINCARNATION

From the people who brought you the original Ring trilogy, the Ju-On movies, Dark
Water and the re-make of The Grudge, comes an exciting new wave of films that will
once again re-invigorate the horror genre and prove that Japanese cinema has lost
none of its ability to scare the living sushi out of audiences.

Takashige “Taka” Ichise, the producer of these hugely successful movies, all of
which have spawned Hollywood remakes, is currently producing a new ongoing
series of six horror films under the banner of J-Horror. Three films have already been completed and will be released on DVD courtesy of Tartan Video Asia Extreme.
Premonition is available on 26 June 2006, Infection on 24 July 2006 and
Reincarnation the third in the series will be released on 21August 2006.

REINCARNATION
RELEASE DATE: 21 AUGUST 2006
RRP: £19.99
From acclaimed director Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge) comes the
third instalment of the J-Horror series. On the set of a film based on a
series of horrific murders committed during the 1970s, a young actress
begins to experience the murders as if they were actually happening
around her.When she discovers of a mysterious 8mm camera and has
it developed, it leads to a string of terrifying consequences. This atmospheric and
involving mystery is a supernatural whodunit directed with consummate style.
Special Features: DTS Digital 5.1 Surround, Original Theatrical Trailer, Tartan
Trailer Reel.

INFECTION - RELEASE DATE: 27 JULY 2006
RRP: £19.99
A patient in a hospital dies due to malpractice. In a panic, the doctors responsible
stage a cover-up. Shortly thereafter, another patient is left at the hospital doors dying of bizarre symptoms. When the patient dies, the doctors involved in the cover-up begin acting strangely…then one by one develop the same mysterious and deadly symptoms.

PREMONITION – OUT NOW
RRP: £19.99
Premonition sees director Norio Tsuruta (Ring 0) weave a chilling tale of a man who
can foresee the future.