Fests and events, 12/7.

"In the BFI's very welcome restoration of Rouben Mamoulian's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde from 1931, there are many happy discoveries - not least the sheer sexiness of this version of the Stevenson story, something generally put aside until the mid-90s and Stephen Frears's neglected Mary Reilly, but that's another story." David Thomson in the Guardian: "In a way, Mamoulian was the Scorsese of his day: a rare, somewhat mannered "genius" from Tiflis, the director of the original stage production of Porgy and one of the most inventive directors in the first years of sound." The Rouben Mamoulian season runs through the end of the month at BFI Southbank.

The Chicago Reader previews the highlights of the Festival of New French Cinema, running through December 14.

In the New Stateman, Rachel Aspden talks with a few of the artists whose work is featured in Iran: New Voices in Film and Video Art, just about wrapping up now at London's Barbican.

"We in the States rarely get the opportunity to see examples from the Québec film industry, which is why San Franciscans can be so grateful to the San Francisco Film Society, with the assistance of the Québec Government Office in Los Angeles, for putting together the Québec Film Week from December 10 - 14th (yes, it's not technically a 'week') at the Opera Plaza Cinemas." A preview from Adam Hartzell at Hell on Frisco Bay.

Mike Everleth has the lineup for the Austin Underground Film Festival: Friday, December 19.

Carl DiOrio is sending dispatches to the Hollywood Reporter from the 30th annual Habana Film Festival, running through December 12: 1 and 2.

"The Found Footage Festival is just what it says it is," writes David Schmader in the Stranger: "a collection of film and video clips culled from random sources (thrift stores, flea markets, Dumpsters) and presented by curators Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher, childhood friends from southern Wisconsin turned freelance humorists in New York City. In advance of the Found Footage Fest's one-night-only return to Seattle's Central Cinema [and that was Thursday], I chatted with cofounder/cocurator/cohost Nick Prueher about the inspirational power of McDonald's training videos, the deal-breaking creepiness of Steve Vai's biggest fan, and the benefits of communal viewing of crap."

"Looking at the [British Urban Film Festival] programme, my first thought was that they'd missed a trick by limiting the films to Britain," writes Kaleem Aftab in the Independent. "The urban genre is home to some of the best emerging artists around the globe.... Although there was much to admire, I couldn't help feeling that the festival was still struggling to find its own voice."

Posted by dwhudson at December 7, 2008 8:09 AM