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Film Movement's Le Grand Voyage

I saw Le Grand Voyage (an On The Road in Europe & the Arab world story, except with a family member & some family drama), distributed by Film Movement, a few months back & liked it a lot. Here is a synopsis: "A few weeks before his college entrance exams, Reda (Nicolas Cazale), a young man who lives in the south of France, finds himself obligated to drive his father to Mecca. From the start, the journey looks to be difficult: Reda and his father (Mohamed Majd) have nothing in common. The wide cultural and generational gap between the two is worsened by the lack of communication between the two. Reda finds it hard to accommodate his father, who demands respect for himself and his pilgrimage. From France, through Italy, Serbia, Turkey, Syria, Jordan to Saudi Arabia- the two will embark on a road trip to Mecca that will change their lives." Le Grand Voyage was directed by Ismael Ferroukhi . Find out more about the movie & Film Movement here . Movie is availabl

Paisan sounds interesting

I have not seen it yet, but this 1948 New York Times review of the movie Paisan makes it sound very interesting, kind of like some contemporary indie dramas & comedies I've seen. Here is a little bit from the review: "It is useless to attempt an explanation, in familiar and concrete terms, of its basic theme and nature, for it is not an ordinary film—neither in form nor dramatic construction nor in the things it has to say. In some ways, it is the antithesis of the classic "story film," and certainly it throws off glints of meaning which are strangely unfamiliar on the screen. Possibly for some persons who are accustomed to the routine sort of film, it will be completely bewildering and leave a sad sense of emptiness. But at least it cannot fail to rattle the windowpanes of your eyes. And for many it will crash into the consciousness and leave the emotions limp." Read the rest of the review here . - Sujewa

Ramin "Chop Shop" Bahrani interview :: Chop Shop description

Here is a little bit from the Pop Syndicate interview with director Bahrani re: movie Chop Shop : " Q: It was a very gritty, New York film but it could have been filmed anywhere. Although we usually think of kids who fall between the cracks living in a 3rd world environment. Why New York? A: Because the location really is in New York. Also to help erase ideas of entitlement and the brainwashing of colonialism that spur on false classifications such as “3rd world.” Categories like 3rd and 1st world, or East and West, or the “Orient” were shrewdly created in order for one to exploit the other, economically, mentally, and imaginatively." Read the rest of the interview here . And an intro to Chop Shop (i believe this came from the AFI Fest): "Chop Shop USA, 2007, 84 min, 35 MM DIR: Ramin Bahrani SCR: Ramin Bahrani, Bahareh Azimi PROD: Jeb Brody, Marc Turtletaub, Lisa Muskat DP: Michael Simmonds ED: Ramin Bahrani PROD DES: Richard Wright EXEC PROD: Peter Sa

Alex "Midnight Kiss" Holdridge interview at Film Threat

From the interview : " What was the inspiration for your film "In Search of a Midnight Kiss"? I was dumped, flat broke, at a career low after watching my life fall apart in three months and working at a video store on New Year's Eve when I started to consider, "In Search of a Midnight Kiss." I wanted to watch a really funny and cynical movie about how ridiculous New Year's Eve was when you were dateless and depressed. So that led to thinking about that nether zone of the year between New Year's and Christmas when all the lonely people are hanging around their families going crazy and thinking about the next year and what they will do differently. So Sara Simmonds (Vivian in "ISOAMK") and I walked the streets of downtown talking about this movie and discovered all of these amazing locations. We could not believe that no one had captured the beautiful and post-apocalyptic downtown. That set the wheels in motion, but it took getting the axe w

Humanists to honor Golden Compass author

And I thought it was just a kids movie. From the press release : "The American Humanist Association announced today that Philip Pullman, esteemed author of the controversial book, "The Golden Compass"--which has been made into a movie scheduled for release December 7--will be honored with the International Humanist Award in Washington DC in June. The award decision comes near the end of a two-month protest by the Catholic League, which has charged that the book and film are "anti-Catholic" and that the film, by being less confrontational, is part of a deceitful "stealth campaign" to promote an "anti-religious" book series. "We didn't hear complaints about a pro-evangelical stealth campaign when C.S. Lewis' ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’ was made into a film," noted Fred Edwords, American Humanist Association director of communications. "No humanists organized protests nor did the Catholic League complain of ev

Full Movie - SNEAK PREVIEW - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene And The Mystery Of Immortal Time Travelers

NEW - COSMIC DISCO DETECTIVE RENE (2023) - TRAILER!

The Secret Society For Slow Romance (2022) - available to rent as a new release starting January 1

Werewolf Ninja Philosopher at Vimeo VOD

Reading Material

Indie Film Blogger Road Trip