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HomeColumnsProduction News Weeky Jan. 3, 2017

Production News Weeky Jan. 3, 2017

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Thoughts:
Trend in foreign films
The Palm Springs International Film Festival started by Sonny Bono in the late 1980s is now in its 29th year. The festival opened Tuesday, Jan. 2, with its star-studded Awards gala, and runs through Jan. 15.
More than 180 films will be screened, and the festival always has an impressive array of foreign films, including those that go on to be nominated for Academy Awards.

Variety caught up with the three programmers for this year’s festival and asked about upcoming trends.
Michael Lerman is the artistic director who oversees all decisions involved in the film festival. David Ansen is the lead programmer and Lili Rodriguez is the director of programming and handles African and Middle Eastern films for the festival.

Where is the next breakout cinema coming from?
Michael Lerman: I think our focus on Argentina speaks for itself this year and that was born 100% out of just the content. We had so many good films we wanted to show from there that we wanted to highlight that. They’ve been having great films for a long time, but this year is particular.
David Ansen: This has been happening for a while now, but the Israeli cinema, which used to be a laughingstock, just goes from strength to strength. This year, two of the best foreign films I’ve seen were from Israel: One Week and a Day, which I mentioned above, and Samuel Maoz’s devastating and original Foxtrot. Hollywood is starting to import their talent, the way they gobbled up the great Aussie directors in the ’70s: a case in point is Joseph Cedar’s Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, one of the smartest American indies of the year.
Lili Rodriguez: Argentina, which is our regional focus, and Greece, are two countries consistently offering some of the most exciting contemporary films and filmmakers for me.
To read more from the Variety article “Brains Behind Palm Springs Festival Programming Grilled.” go to:
http://variety.com/2017/film/festivals/palm-springs-festival-programming-brain-trust-grilled-1202641940/

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