ARTHOUSE FILM NEWS - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene at Facets, Chicago 11/29/23

From the Museum of Modern Art , NYC site: "Comprising a film retrospective, a gallery installation, live concerts, and a panel discussion, Jazz Score celebrates some of the best original jazz composed for the cinema from the 1950s to the present. The film retrospective opens on April 17 with a weeklong theatrical run of Arthur Penn's Mickey One , and continues with fiction features, experimental and animated shorts, and documentaries from countries as far ranging as France, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, and the U.S." More here . And check out the New York Times article about the exhibition. And now, from Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues: * - Sujewa

read it all here , at the village voice ; Absurdistan: The New Iraq War Cinema . - sujewa

No, as far as I know, this film does not have anything to do w/ Guatemala (couple of people were wondering on YouTube) - but is supposed to be very good: * For DVD info & ordering, go here . From the official announcement: "We are pleased to announce that, after 2 years of screenings around the world, THE GUATEMALAN HANDSHAKE will finally available on DVD on April 29th online, in stores and for rental. To make up for the long wait, the DVD is being released as a deluxe 2-disc edition, containing over 2 1/2 HOURS of bonus material, including a collection of short films created by some of the cast and crew from the film. The DVD contains a brand-new HD transfer created from a new 35mm print....so even if you have a bootleg copy, it's time to trade it in. As an extra incentive, when you order directly from our website, you'll receive an additional DVD - "Short Films By Todd Rohal" which includes THE GUATEMALAN HANDSHAKE director's first four short films: SIN

This article is not only a good & brief introduction to the war in Sri Lanka, the author recognizes that the concept of race is a lie. From Ancient Ethnic Hatreds in Sri Lanka, and other myths by Justin Podur: "How is the conflict a legacy of colonialism? The communalists on both sides claim the conflict is merely the latest manifestation of a 2500-year long race war. The Sinhala are supposedly 'Aryans', like the people of northern India, who conquered the island in ancient times. The Tamils are 'Dravidians', who are darker, and who came later (another population of Tamils was brought by the British to work on tea plantations in colonial times). This story of ancient ethnic hatreds itself, it turns out, is a legacy of colonial racist scholarship. Although ethno-linguists have classified language 'families' into 'Indo-Aryan' languages (like Sinhala and Hindi) and 'Dravidian' ones (like Tamil and Malayalam), there is no biological, r

An article about recording, editing, & mixing sound for a low budget horror movie called Freak Out. - Sujewa

For all you Forgetting Sarah Marshall & On The Road fans:

Today (4/13 or 4/14, depending on where you are on the int'l date line) is the Sri Lankan New Year. I remember getting gifts & hanging out with family & friends on New Year's Day when I lived in the SL :) Also firecrakers, lots of firecrackers. Happy New Year Sri Lanka! - Sujewa

There's a new indie film called Cookies & Cream in the works ( MySpace ); here's an early trailer or a teaser (i think that's what a teaser is):