Fests and events, 5/10.

"The Danish director Henning Carlsen has Max Roach to thank for the revival of Dilemma, his debut feature from 1962," writes Nathan Lee in the New York Times. "Screening as part of Jazz Score, the Museum of Modern Art's survey of movies with original jazz compositions, this black-and-white drama gets a blast of vitality from a soundtrack hopped up on Roach's bebop and the infectious swing of Gideon Nxumalo, a South African composer adept in the style of indigenous jazz known as marabi." Trailer.

The Chicago Reader's JR Jones has a brief overview of today's Sci-Fi Spectacular.

BFI Southbank's David Lean two-month-long retrospective (June and July) in this, his centenary year has certainly brought on a lot of retrospection of "probably the most celebrated English movie director," as David Thomson puts it in the latest piece on Lean in the Guardian. Thomson's angle: "This may not seem likely, or proper, but for me, Brief Encounter, Oliver Twist and The Passionate Friends are richer than Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago or Ryan's Daughter."

Matt Riviera carries on previewing the Sydney Film Festival (June 4 through 22).

"June Pride is nearly upon us and before Frameline grabs us by the nape of the neck and forces us to submit, Kino21 kickstarts this year's celebration of Queer cinema with a three-part program on the films of San Francisco experimental filmmaker Warren Sonbert, curated by Johnny Ray Huston and Konrad Steiner," writes Michael Guillén. Three Thursdays in a row, starting on May 15.

The WSWS's David Walsh files a first roundup from the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Also from SIFF, at Pixel Vision, Jeffrey M Anderson chats with Ludivine Sagnier (A Girl Cut in Two) and reviews Up the Yangzte and Ballast.

And at VF Daily, Claire Howorth on the closing night film, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr Hunter S Thompson.

Ray Pride has photos and text from Hot Docs at the Circuit.

Posted by dwhudson at May 10, 2008 11:31 AM