As the fest goes on into week two, it gets a little easier to wade through the vast quantities of cinema that populate the CIFF. I'm looking forward to seeing Moolade, the Cannes prize-winning offering from Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene, as well as Dealer, from Hungarian director Benedek Fliegauf. Both films have been selling exceptionally well, particularly Moolade, which is sold out across the board.
The past couple of days were a little slow in the film-going due to women problems on the homefront, so I drowned my sorrows in Whisky (both the liquid and the film). The film version was well-received at Cannes this year for its slow-paced examination of a sock factory owner who persuades his homely assistant to pose as his wife for the sake of a visiting brother. It's a fascinating close-up of a seemingly emotionless man and the woman he takes for granted. The emotions eventually get the best of everyone involved. Whisky takes a while to get where it's going, but it's well worth the ride.
Director Albert ter Heerdt did quite well at the box office in Holland with Shouf Shouf Habibi (Hush Hush Baby), a bland if occassionally funny star vehicle for Morrocan actor Mimoun Oaïssa. The director introduced the film last eve to a packed, mainly European audience. While Oaissa's performance is solid throughout, the film is ridden with crime movie cliches (the bumblin' buddies, the slow-mo criminal walk, etc.) and doesn't leave you with anything too terribly memorable. If rehashed crime comedies are your forte, however, there's reportedly a sequel in the works.
This morning was spent talking to Primer director Shane Carruth, whose Grand Jury Prize winning film put him on the map based mainly on it's no-budget aesthetics ($7k for the initial production, non-paid cast). Carruth was iminently likable, and seemed pretty deadset on continuing to direct pieces he writes, which is a good sign from a guy with so much natural talent. We'll post the full interview this month and stay tuned for passes to the flick when it plays widely in Chicago at the end of the month.
Next up - a halfway mark fest roundup from Chicago area filmmaker and cineaste Fil Rymsza.
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