NYFF: A Summary

The 48th New York Film Festival screenings begin with a promo reel in which a graphic animated map of the world is formed. Famous director names are paired with their countries of origin in rapid succession until the entire globe is lit up as if powered by the cinema itself! It’s a simple—even subtly clever—way to remind us that cinema is a global artform and that the NYFF in dependably

Modern Maestros: Aleksandr Sokurov

Maestro: Aleksandr SokruovKnown For: critically acclaimed Russian art filmsInfluences: Tarkovsky, Tarkovsky and... well TarkovskyMasterpieces: Russian Ark Disasters: noneBetter than you remember: none, or allBox Office: over 2 mil for Russian ArkArt cinema is alive and well (and not as difficult to watch as the naysayers keep naysaying), and the lovers of such cinema are thankful that

The Foreign Film Oscar Race: So Much (International) Drama

But first things first. If German's popular drama When We Leave is nominated and wins, can the actress Sibel Kekilli please -- pretty pretty please -- repeat her barefoot acceptance/sit- in from Germany's Film Awards this past April? That'd be so sweet.Oscar night thrives on weird surprises and they get so few. Sibel to the rescue. (I'm aware that Actresses don't accept Best Foreign Film Statues