ANDREA PLATE WRITES — I met Joaquin Phoenix when he was eight years old. This was in 1984. “Sometimes you think they like you,” he told me, “and then you don’t get the part so you feel kind of lousy. Once a casting director told me, ‘The money’s on you.…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES — The Asian World Film Festival took place this past week October 25 – November 2. The festival commenced with the opening night screening of “Ayla: The Daughter of War.” Asia Media International was honored to be able to cover the event and share reviews of our…
Last year marked a milestone for the history of animation, as the legendary Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away) of Studio Ghibli retired from filmmaking after the release of his final film, The Wind Rises. However, this year marks yet another milestone as master animator and Ghibli co-founder…
ALEX DALY JOHNSON WRITES – The United Arab Emirate’s 2nd annual Bengali film festival, Abhijaan (“Expedition” in English), ran from February 5 to 7 last week. West Bengal of India has had a film industry dating back to the early 1890s, and many critically acclaimed films have originated in ‘Tollywood,’…
ARACELI PALAFOX WRITES – Amid political conflict and social uprising, Cambodia finds a sense of solidarity in the nation’s first Oscar nomination. Cambodian director Rithy Panh’s “The Missing Picture” is among the five final nominations in the “Best Foreign Language” film category. Panh’s “The Missing Picture” is a largely autobiographical work, telling the story…
ARGO won for Best Picture, of course, but in my view it merited an additional Oscar. And so did the far more controversial ZERO DARK THIRTY. Consider that Hollywood hands out awards for everything from “Sound Mixing” to “Best Picture.” But over the decades no Oscar category existed to honor…
