Fests and events, 8/21.

"[L]ong before I had made it to Cannes, Berlin or any of the other old-world European fests, it was the NYFF that most seemed to me like a temple where cinema was worshipped with due reverence," writes Scott Foundas at the Reeler. "When Richard Peña called me this past spring to invite me on to the selection committee, I did not hesitate. Of the selection process itself, I suspect what may surprise people most is that it is not fraught with compromise - at least not this year, when the overall quality of movies was so high that our most difficult discussions centered around which titles to exclude from the final program, rather than trying to make cases (as I am assured happens in many years) for inclusion. Does that mean we all love each of the 30 films equally? Of course not. But speaking just for myself, there is not a single movie in that lineup that I feel doesn't belong there."

At the House Next Door, Keith Uhlich previews one of those 30 films, Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: "Reaching for the stars, he ends up with little more than a Miramaxed pastiche: The Sea Inside by way of Lady in the Lake."

Back at the Reeler:

• The Other Claude Chabrol, running at MoMA through Monday, "showcases both the pulpy (Fritz Lang remake Dr M, 60s spy films Code Name: Tiger and An Orchid for the Tiger) and the literary (adaptations of Guy de Maupassant, Henry James and Julio Cortazar) sides of his work," writes Steve Erickson.

• "From Aug 21 to Sept 2, the Korea Society's sixth annual New York Korean Film Festival will bring Korean film to an international audience - specifically Gothamites - with a line-up that goes out of its way to include a little bit of everything," writes Simon Abrams. "Spanning three different locations (BAM, IFC Center and Cinema Village), the festival boasts gangster films, romantic comedies, short films, documentaries, political melodramas, an Im Kwon-taek retrospective, a Tartan Horror sidebar, a period piece and a biopic."

• ST VanAirsdale takes note of who'll most likely not be making a personal appearance during the Warhol's World retrospective at the Museum of the Moving Image.

"The UCLA film archive is in the midst of its Festival of Preservation, and last weekend, it exhibited two rare short features Satyajit Ray released in 1965 as a double bill," writes Doug Cummings. "Kapurush (74 minutes) and Mahapurush (65 minutes) are narrative sketches that allowed Ray to subtly experiment with form and style; as such, they worked against expectations at the time ('Many of Ray's critics think that Ray is making too many films in too short a span of time,' scoffed one Bengali journalist) and were largely dismissed upon their release. But according to Andrew Robinson's book on Ray, the filmmaker said, 'These are twin films I have considerable affection for; I have a pretty high opinion of Kapurush myself and I was disappointed by the response.' I'm leaning toward Ray's assessment."

Dead Channels, the San Francisco Festival of Fantastic Film, wrapped last week, and now, the winners of the audience awards have been announced: Best Feature Film is Chris Stapp's The Devil Dared Me To (site); Best Short Film - it's a tie: Richard Gale's Criticized and Simon Rumley's The Handyman.

And for those in the San Francisco Bay Area, once again, Brian Darr has your essential roundup. Meanwhile, the celebration of the Castro's 85th anniversary carries on at the Evening Class with Adam Hartzell's five favorite memories minted at the theater.

For the Independent, Charlotte Cripps previews the London International Animation Festival, opening today and running through Sunday.

The Lumière Reader files another batch of dispatches from the Telecom 2007 New Zealand International Film Festivals.

"Controversial British film Brick Lane will have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month," reports the BBC. "Attempts to film Monica Ali's acclaimed novel drew protests from residents of the real Brick Lane in east London, who said the book was 'insulting.'"

Reviewing Beneath the Rooftops of Paris, Dan Fainaru catches up with Locarno leftovers for Screen Daily: "This study of old age and solitude finds exiled Kurdish director Hiner Saleem divesting himself of the mischievous drive and wicked sense of humour which permeated such earlier efforts as Vodka Lemon and Kilometre Zero." Also, The Drummer: "Conceived as a vehicle for Jaycee Chan (Jackie Chan's son) but more likely to serve as a showcase for the talents of the U Theatre drummers, this gangster-movie-meets-rites-of-initiation picture has a hard time deciding which way to go among the variety of options it attempts to explore."

At indieWIRE, Brian Brooks previews the Sarajevo Film Festival, running through August 25.

The first Croatian Film Festival will take place in New York from September 13 through 16.

Online viewing tips. Mike Everleth's got the trailer for the San Francisco Underground Short Film Festival, which launches at 12:00 am on September 1, "as the concluding event of Midnight Mass run by the indomitable Peaches Christ." Then, another one, a gory one, for the Sydney Underground Film Festival (September 7 through 10).

Posted by dwhudson at August 21, 2007 2:35 PM