It was very tough, but i have made my bookings for MIFF 2009. What a great lineup of films this year. There is also a fair bit of controversy already.
Ken Loach. Not a fan of MIFF
Iconic Miserabalist director Ken Loach has pulled out his film, Looking for Eric, in a protest over MIFF accepting sponsorship money from the Israel government. {link}. This is a little unfair, given MIFF isn’t and doesn’t take sides over the Israel / Palestine conflict, instead choosing to show films from both POV, as long as they are well made. Correct me if I am wrong.
The Chinese Government is putting pressure on MIFF to remove the first film on my line up, 10 Conditions Of Love. {link}. MIFF have subsequently made extra sessions of this available, filling in some gaps on the program. A not so subtle response to China’s demand perhaps…
And does anyone know why Blank City (featuring Deborah Harry) has been removed? I really wanted to see it.
Sorry about the screwy formatting below:
Date/Time
+ The Anna Karina talk at the Forum.
Almost made the list: Going Down, The whispering of trees, Burma VJ, The bastards, Amreeka, Dogtooth, Fish tank, Breathless, Sell Out!, All tomorrow’s parties, The Topp twins: untouchable girls, Hansel and Gretel, Action Boys, Prodigal son, White Lightin’, Defamation, Eden Lake, The Exploding Girl, The Sky Crawlers, United Red Army, Citizen Havel, A Lake, Post Punk Mixtape #1, The Beaches of Agnes, The Strangeluck of VS Naipul, Flicker, 12 Lotus, Like you know it all, Murch – Walter Murch on editing, Still walking, No one knows about persian cats,
Hmm, I am pretty close to buying another mini-pass.
Miff Website {link}
Tags: 10 conditions of love, 12 Lotus, 2009, A Lake, Action Boys, All tomorrow's parties, Amreeka, an education, blank city, Breathless, Burma VJ, china, Citizen Havel, deborah harry, Defamation, Dogtooth, Eden Lake, everyone else, festival, film, Fish tank, Flicker, Going Down, Hansel and Gretel, I need that record!, ken loach, Like you know it all, living together, looking for eric, love exposure, miff, moon, Murch - Walter Murch on editing, no one knows about persian cats, Post Punk Mixtape #1, Prodigal son, protest, Sell Out!, Still walking, stolen, The bastards, The Beaches of Agnes, The Exploding Girl, the maid, The Sky Crawlers, The Strangeluck of VS Naipul, The Topp twins: untouchable girls, The whispering of trees, treeless mountain, two lines, United Red Army, unmade beds, van diemens land, White Lightin'
Australian Film Review 