Four Feathers to Land on International Film Festival of Flanders (October 2002) The 29th edition of the Internationaal Filmfestival Vlaanderen Ghent will take place between October 8th and 19th in Ghent, Belgium (or Gent, for those of you with Flemish tongues). Before we get started with the oodles of information listed below, let us say that all information is available at: www.filmfestival.be. "Four Feathers" will receive its European premiere on the closing day of the Ghent Festival (having already premiered in the U.S. on September 19th at the Toronto Film Festival). The original version of this film, by the by, was one of the first talkies made (1929) and has been remade several times since. The opening film for this year's festival will be Dominique Standaert's "Hop" starring Jan Decleir, Antje De Boeck en (soccer star) Emile M Penza. Twelve feature films have been chosen for international competition and all will receive a main screening in the "Capitole", which theatre returns, during this year's event, again to its old glory as a cinema palace. The re-opening of this magnificent edifice took place last year and, in the meantime, it has successfully hosted a number of musical stage productions and concerts, but this will be the first time it returns to its original function, the screening of films. Other interesting events taking place during the festival include an exhibition of Eve Arnold's (Magnum) photographs taken on location during the shooting of John Huston's masterpiece "The Misfits" as well as a screening of the G.W. Pabst silent classic "Das Tagebuch Einer Verlorenen" ("Diary of a Lost Girl") starring Louise Brooks, accompanied by live orchestra with live commentary delivered by Hanna Schygulla. Once again, as stated above, all information is available at: www.filmfestival.be. Films scheduled for this year's competition are: "Balzac et la Petite Tailleuse Chinoise" (Dai Sijie) - China - 2002, "Bloody Sunday" (Paul Greengrass - UK/Ireland - 2001), "Carnages" (Delphine Gleize - France/Belgium - 2002), "Dragonflies" (Marius Holst - Noorway/Sweden - 2001), "Focus" (Neal Slavin - USA - 2002, "Halbe Treppe/Grill Point" (Andreas Dresen - Germany - 2002), "The Man Without A Past" (Aki Kaurismäki - Finland - 2002), "Nothing More" (Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti - Cuba - 2001), "Okay" (Jesper W. Nielsen - Denmark - 2002), "Spider" (David Cronenberg - Canada - 2002), "Stones/Piedras" (Ramón Salazar - Spain - 2001), and "The Tracker" (Rolf de Heer - Australia - 2002). Competition screenings begin Wednesday, October 9th, and run through the 16th, followed by the awarding of the Grand Prize of Flemish Community for the Best Film (24.700 €), the Georges Delerue prize for the best music or adaptation of existing music (12.400 €), the Sabam Prize for Best Scenario (12.400 €) and the Robert Wise Award for Best Director (3.700 €). "CineKid", the Dutch festival which covers film, television and new media for youth, will have its big event for eight days in Amsterdam starting on October 20th at Pathé City and De Balie Cinemas. Related screenings take place throughout Holland (check schedule for different areas) between the 12th and the 27th of October (during the respective Dutch Autumn school vacations). Check for all further details and information at: www.cinekid.nl. The Dutch premieres of several films seen in Germany earlier this year at the "Berlinale" will take place at the Goethe Institute in Amsterdam throughout this month. Included among the titles are "Der Glanz von Berlin", "Toter Mann"(director present at screening), "Viel passiert - Der BAP-Film", "80,000 Shots" (director present at screening), and "Klassenfahrt" (director present at screening), as well as a selection of 16 videos made by German film students (under the title of "Emergeandsee"). Information regarding the screening dates can be found at: www.goethe.de/be/ams/depfilm.htm#V4. Auf wiedersehen! "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia" is the title given to the festival of Italian films being screened at the Filmmuseum this month as well as the the title of a panoramic voyage, narrated by Martin Scorsese, through the Italian cinema that has inspired him. (It also happens to be the title of an old Rossellini film starring George Saunders and Ingrid Bergman, clips of which are included in the voyage.) Scorsese's documentary delightfully wanders through the (neorealistic) works of Vittorio De Sica and Roberto Rossellini as well as the early films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti. Fragments are accompanied with short plot lines, background information and sharp analyses that make this 4-hour screening a must for all cinephiles who share a love of cinema in general and Italian cinema in particular. A select choice of the films covered will also be screened through October 30th at the Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. Further information concerning specific dates available at: www.filmmuseum.nl. All are worth a view, but definitely take advantage of the moment to see Fellini's "La Dolce Vita", "Otto e Mezzo" and De Sica's "Umberto D", if you're still unfamiliar with these masterpieces. (Naturally, included on the TGH Green Emerald list.) Our attention has recently been drawn to Ciné Ville, a shop in Amsterdam which buys and sells an interesting assortment of DVD's, CDV's and videos imported from England, France, Japan, Spain, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia. The shop is located in the center of town at Spuistraat 232, so if you're passing by, make sure you toddle along and take a gander at what's on offer. Feel free to tell mention where you heard about them. Pieter Verhoeff, who was "Guest of the Year" at the 2002 edition of the Netherlands Film Festival last month, entertained an enthusiastic audience by singing a song on stage at the Municipal Theatre in Utrecht during an evening filled with song (including the silken voice of soprano Miranda van Kralingen), humor ("Jiskefet" team Michiel Romeyn, Herman Koch, and Kees Prins), and most especially the captivating music of Cees Bijlstra, who has written so many of the memorable scores for Verhoeff's films. It is practically impossible to describe what a magical evening it was; you just had to be there! Let it suffice to say a thoroughly enjoyable evening was had by all. Director George Sluizer, one of the brightest lights of Dutch cinema, was awarded a special jury prize at the recent Netherlands Film Festival for his latest creation "The Stone Raft" as well as his entire body of work. "La Balsa de Piedra" is an allegory of epic size and a stunning cinematic vision, based upon the novel by Nobel prizewinner José Saramago, which will be embraced by those who are willing to embark upon the voyage. The presentation and introduction of "Scriptschool", the new training program for TV-scenario writers, took place at the NFF (Netherlands Film Festival) on September 30th in Utrecht. The application deadline, for all those interested in enrolling for the two-year study, is November 1st. From among the applications, 12 students will be chosen to start courses in January, 2003 under the able hands of Ger Beukenkamp, Hugo Heinen, Peter Römer and a number of other professionals. Michael Belderink of ScriptStudio, the largest producer of scenarios for tv-drama in the Netherlands (including "Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden", "Rozengeur & Wodka Lime" and "Trauma 24/7", is the founders of ScriptSchool. With the hope of turning out more professionally "routined" scriptwriters, the school will approach writing as a craft where specific demands are made upon the writer fulfilling himself (or herself) solely as an individual talent. More information available at the website for the training: www.scriptschool.nl. For those professionals with a free weekend coming up, the Sunburn Boulevard Film & Video Flea Market will take place on Sunday, October 13th in Sussex, England. This is the first outdoor production show for equipment manufacturers of all sizes to display their wares in an enchanting Ashdown Forest. The various locations selected to be used for display purposes include a military training camp as well as a manor house and Normandy style farm buildings. The area covers a one-thousand-acre estate with seven miles of roads and six lakes. Equipment and services on offer include helicopters and helicopter mounts, cherry pickers from 20 feet to 236 feet, textiles for lighting control, lighting equipment, editing equipment, grip equipment, location caterers, special effects, pyrotechnics, all terrain camera cars, remote heads, three-axis digital heads, new media facilities and services motion control. Hurry on down! Coming up: London Film Festival from November 6th to 21st. The Catholic League in America has been giving the Disney board some grief about dumping the Miramax boys, Harvey and Robert, since they decided to pick up the Venice Film Festival award-winning feature "The Magdalene Sisters" (which the League has condemned). One can only hope that nobody in Hollywood considers filming the musical-comedy version of "Popes on Parade". © 1994-2006 The Green Hartnett