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