Cinemascope

Quentin Tarantino - who I’m sure will win a Golden Globe for the writing of “Inglourious Basterds” - choses “Star Trek” as his favorite movie 0f 2009:

OK. I’m starting to get curious about “Avatar”. Somewhat King Kongish, no?

Is it Bob Dylan or is it The Pogues? Christmas was never so drunk. What a fun little song.

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Isn’t this the really fantastic Mr. Fox?

The Israeli distributor of all of Ken Loach’s recent films, Mrs. Nurit Shani, spoke yesterday before the Haifa Film Festival screening of Loach’s “Looking for Eric”. This is the first of Ken Loach’s films to be released in Israel after Loach called and pushed for the boycott of Israeli films at the Edinburgh, Melbourne and Toronto film festivals. There have been voices suggesting that in return, Israeli viewers and distributors boycott Loach’s films henceforth.

Shani, an art-house distributor who turned films by Almodovar and Danny Boyle into blockbuster hits even by Hollywood numbers, has handled all of Loach’s films in Israel since 1992’s “Raining Stones” said before the screening that Loach, one of her favorite directors, “has a rare humanistic voice in his films… I have continued to show his films even as he was criticizing Israel and its policies. I believe that artists have a right to speak his mind. Unfortunately I recently discovered that Mr. Loach does not share my views. The man who I have thought to be a great humanist has turned out to be a man who does not believe that those who do not share his politics have no freedom of speech, an artist who goes out of his way to silence other filmmakers, his colleagues, from speaking and presenting their works internationally. I see his acts as hypocritical ones, a slap in the face of democracy, and a contradiction to the humanist spirit of his films.”

Shani added that after Loach’s attempts to hurt the Israeli film industry, she had to think what to do with his latest film, and how to respond to a growing voice in Israel calling to boycott Loach in return. She then came to the conclusion that “Looking for Eric” will be released in Israel as planned but that “all the profits from this film, and Loach’s next film, will be donated to the Israeli Film Fund for the distribution of Israeli films abroad. I believe that the only way to fight Loach’s acts of censorship, is to make sure that the voice of the Israeli filmmaker, and the outstanding output of recent Israeli movies, will be heard worldwide.”

I’m not sure that Ken Loach is all that happy that his films are shown in Israel, but I guess that he can’t do much about the distribution deals signed by his production companies (although, I’ve never heard Loach saying he was donating the Israeli minimum guarantee down-payment to aid Palestinian refugee camps, so in a way he’s being living quite nicely off the Israeli money he calls others to boycott). And I’m not sure that Israelis will flock to a Ken Loach film now (although “Raining Stones” and “Ae Fond Kiss” were rather big his in Israel). Similarly, it should be added that because most Iranian films are French co-productions and distribution is handled by French companies, most of them are shown in Israel and are very well received by audiences here, even as the Iranian leader is calling to annihilate Israel and stocking up on nukes (Majid Majidi’s “Song of Sparrows” is currently showing in Tel Aviv. Betcha there’s never been an Israeli film shown in Tehran).

Loach should hop over and see: many Israelis - such as myself - oppose the occupation as much as he does, oppose the policies of the current government, whom some of us didn’t vote for. We write about it on our blogs and newspaper, or make movies about it, hoping that our voice will be heard locally and internationally and that ultimately a change will come. I agree with Shani: Loach’s automatic boycott of Israeli art reeks of hypocrisy and cultural-terrorism. The irony that Loach will now unwittingly help fund the films he will later boycott is a rather amusing one, I must say.

Worth reading: Vanessa Redgrave, a staunch critic of Israel’s policies in regards to the Palestinians, joins Julian Schnabel and Martin Sherman in writing to the New York Review of Books against the banning and boycott of Israeli films.

I thought that when it comes to capturing fugitive Jews, Switzerland was supposed to be neutral, no?

“Ajami”, not “Lebanon” is the Israeli entry for this year’s Foreign Language Oscar. “Ajami”, a gritty crime drama about Israeli and Arabs in the Ajami neighborhood in Jaffa, won an hour ago five awards at the Ophirs, the Israeli academy awards. “Ajami” walked away with the awards for Best Picture, direction, screenplay, editing and music. Three of the statues went to the co-directors-editors-writers of “Ajami”, the Israeli-Arab duo, Yaron Shani and Scander Kobti. “Ajami” won a special mention in the Camera D’or prize in this year’s Cannes.
“Lebanon”, fresh off it’s win in Venice and after being picked up for a US release by Sony Pictures Classics, was the second biggest winner of the evening with prizes for supporting actor, cinematography, production design and sound design.
Local hit, “A Matter of Size” (which played Tribeca, where it was picked-up for an American remake by Dimension), won three awards: Best actress, best supporting actress and costume design.
Renen Schorr’s film, “The Loners”, walked away with a lone prize, for Best Actor.

Could “Ajami” become the third Israeli film in three years to get a nomination for best foreign language Oscar (after “Beaufort” and “Waltz With Bashir”)? Regretfully, I have to say I doubt it. “Ajami” is an outstanding film, and in many ways a breakthrough in Israeli cinema, but it might be too realistic, gritty, true-to-life, and perhaps too confusing for the average Oscar voter. And it lacks the pre-awards buzz that “Waltz With Bashir” had last year, and “Lebanon” is getting right now. But, who knows. France’s “The Class” got nominated. “Ajami” is “The Class” with drugs and guns. Italy’s “Gomorrah” got short-listed last year, and “Ajami” - seven years in the making, with an ultra-low budget, and a bunch of first timers behind and in front of the camera - is similar in style and tone, but way better then “Gomorrah”, as far as dramatic and emotional impact goes.

Now that “Lebanon” left Venice with the top-prize (a first time ever in Israeli film history: they won acting awards in Cannes and directing awards in Berlin, but never a Golden anything in Cannes-Berlin-Venice), and left Toronto with a US distribution deal with Sony Pictures Classics (who previously released “The Band’s Visit” and “Waltz With Bashir”), it begs to ask: can “Lebanon” follow in “Bashir” and “Beaufort” footsteps and be nominated for a Foreign Language Oscar? Thus, becoming not only the third movie in a row nominated from Israel (a feat that will echo the Israeli successes at the Oscars in 1972-1973-1974), but also the third cosecutive film from Israel dealing with the trauma of the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon (from the point of view of the soldiers in the Israeli army).

The question is: Will “Lebanon” become Israel’s Oscar entry?

The Israeli entry will be announced Saturday (Sept 26). In Israel the Best Picture winner of the Ophir Awards (Israel’s Academy Award) is the automatic Oscar entry. And although it would’ve made sense to send in “Lebanon”, making headlines in Toronto, en route to NYFF and the London FF after being the first Israeli film ever to win in Venice, the ballots closed on Sept 2nd, long before that win could influence voters.

According to my survey, the likely winner will be “Ajami”, a superb and gritty crime drama, that turns the Israeli-Arab conflict into a gangster shoot-em-up (think the Israeli “Gomorrah”). It’s a fine movie indeed, and something of a local breakthrough, but it’s hard for me to imagine it getting nominated.

By the way: the Ophir race this year is almost a three-way tie. Local hit the crowd-pleasing “A Matter of Size” (already sold for remake by Bob Weinstein’s Dimension) is not far behind in my prelimanary poll.

A tie in this race is not a far-fetched proposition (giving the Israeli academy a significant headache, as the day after the awards is the eve of Yom Kippur, when the entire country shuts down for 25 hours, leaving no more then two days until the October 1st submissions deadline for a possible second round of voting).

But should the tight race end up with a victory for “Lebanon” (thus passing “Ajami” by no more then a handful of votes), will the film be qualified for the Oscars?

Actually, it seems the people behind “Lebanon” don’t think they have a shot at winning because right now the film is due to be released in Israel only on October 15, two weeks after the American Academy’s September 30th deadline.

My guess is that “Lebanon” will be released on one screen in Israel this coming weekend, or that it was quietly released for a qualifying run out-of-town somewhere.

Check on my blog next Saturday afternoon, to find out who won.

Update: my guess was correct. “Lebanon” will be released on one screen this weekend, to qualify for the Oscars (should it become the Israeli entry).

This is Henry Gibson, who died two days ago, from the hilarious “Kentucky Fried Movie” (1977):