IndiePix announced that it will be releasing Iranian, ensemble-drama Dog Sweat (shot in secret in Iran in 2009) later this spring!!!  Hossein Keshavarez, a nominee for the Acura Someone to Watch Award at the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards, explains why his film offers a perspective on Iranian youth rarely seen outside of the country:

“It is almost shocking to think of Iranian teenagers as preoccupied by sex, parties and social status.  Why haven’t we seen these images before? This is because Iranian media, which is controlled by a religious fundamentalist government, only allows images of a nation of pious believers. The western media, which is pre-occupied with the threat that Iran poses for the West, compounds this by never showing what lies beneath the veil. We made ‘Dog Sweat’ to show Iran the way it truly is. The film centers on the lives of six characters that sometimes intersect, weaving their separate stories into a tapestry of diverse voices and experiences…”

Also, check out the conversation I had with Keshavarz and co-writer and producer, Maryam Azadi, after their film had it’s world premiere at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival.

Who’s excited?!  I AM!  (You should be too.)

Guess what got nominated for an Independent Spirit Award?  Dog Sweat, that’s right.  You heard it here, first, folks.  Read my review of the immensely deserving film here.

Pictures of throngs of screaming fans at the Eclipse premiere held in LA last week in conjunction with the LA Film Festival.  Eclipse opened today to reviews that can be summed up as could’ve been worse.

I actually had to perch on an ice cream cart to snap these (Don’t worry, I bought ice cream and tipped generously for my standing room only vista).

Newcomer James Frecheville, one of the stars of the critically acclaimed and Sundance winning Animal Kingdom, sports my glasses following a sold out showing of his film. 

Sources and my instincts tell me this kid’s star is on the rise.  Animal Kingdom, an Australian crime drama from director David Michod has been compared to The Godfather and has been captivating festival audiences.

Luckily and deservingly, Sony Pictures will be releasing the film this Fall.  See you there!

Catch the trailer here

The LA Film Festival has given me chance to get reacquainted with car culture.  Check out this jalopy behind me!  Don’t worry, I’m stopped at a red light as I make my way from the rad Downtown Independent, an, you guessed it, independent theater with a storied past that includes a stint as burlesque venue and a run as the headquarters of the Mexican Mafia, to LA Live, the hub of all things LAFF.

Cold Buckwheat Noodles with Spicy Sauce from the Ahn Joo truck.  Chef Debbie Lee, of The Next Food Network Star, launched her Korean snack bar addition to the food truck market this week at the LA Film Festival.  Not only are these noodles delish, they are  saving me from a diet consisting of popcorn and the nutrition bar that’s sponsoring the festival, Zone Perfect.

You are all getting Zone Perfect Bars for your respective religious holidays this December.

Tonight, I am seeing Mahler on The Couch.  Mahler and Freud (and passionate affairs) you say?!  It’s like Christmakkah come early!

(Update: Enh. Barbara Romaner is a tour de force in and of herself, but the film…not so much.  Perhaps my ennui is even more pronounced because it does seem to have so much going for it.)

Camera, Camera just had it’s world premier at the LA Film Festival.  This documentary debut from director/cinematographer Malcolm Murray and writer Michael Meyer (you know it’s a good team when even their names sound good together) focuses their camera on the scenery and people of Laos and on the cameras of Western tourists there to partake in both the former and the latter.  I talked to the talented filmmakers yesterday, but I wanted to post their trailer ASAP in case any of you Tumblrs happen to be in the DC area, as Camera Camera is showing at Silverdocs this Thursday the 24th and Saturday the 26th.  This film is not be missed and while it’s surely the first of many greats from these guys, you’ll you want the bragging rights to say you’ve known about them since back in the day.

This trailer/clip is from the Independent Estonian documentary Disco and The Atomic War, a playful, inventive (in form), and wildly entertaining doc that illustrates the use of soft power in The Cold War.  As the movie explains, hard power is tanks and invasions, while soft power is along the lines of exposing Estonians, via satellite from Finland, to American TV, specifically Dallas, Knight Rider, and programs about, you guessed it, Disco!

One reviewer called this film, an alternative history on The Cold War, but some might study this period of policy, engagement, and non-engagement (ahem) and argue that this is an essential part of the history of The Cold War; it’s ideological heart, if you will.  While The Cold War certainly had it’s share of violence, much of this battle of ideologies did not occur on the battlefield, and this movie illustrates that truth, a truth which is at times so amusing it seems to mask it’s place in academia to some reviewers of this film.