Even though Rome Film Festival head Marco Mueller had been promising two surprise additions to his line-up — strongly hinting toward Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" being one of them — we're not sure any of these latest additions qualify as left field shockers. But for cinema buffs, they do promise an interesting time as they gear up for a week long run or so of movies.
New films by James Franco, Paul Verhoeven, Peter Greenaway and Mike Figgis mark the highlights of the latest batch of movies scheduled at the fest, so let's dive right in. First up, Franco will be unveiling "Tar," an omnibus of sorts based on the poems of C.K. Williams with segments helmed by NYU grad students and overseen by the multihyphenate. Of course, he takes a role in the picture himself, along with the previously announced Mila Kunis and Jessica Chastain, along with Zach Braff, Henry Hopper and Bruce Campbell. We'll say this…we're curious… and if that isn't enough Franco for you, he also has a one-minute short entitled "Dreams" premiering as well.
Next up is something by Paul Verhoeven called "Steekspel" (or "Tricked"), a medium-length movie running just under an hour. A brief Google search reveals the project is some kind of participatory, user-generated thing with Verhoeven working off suggestions from the public. Okay, then.
Meanwhile, trumpeter-that-cinema-is-dead Peter Greenaway's latest, "Goltzius and the Pelican Company" starring F. Murray Abraham — which he was trying to ready for Cannes this past spring — is now good to go. The film tells the tale of Dutch painter Hendrik Goltzius, known for his erotic depictions of Biblical stories. The film is the second in a series of film about Dutch painters and follows 2009's "Nightwatching" about Rembrandt.
Finally, Mike Figgis returns with "Suspension of Disbelief." The picture follows a world-renowned screenwriter and literature professor who becomes deeply implicated in the murder of a mysterious and beautiful young woman and stars a host of folks, including Sebastian Koch and Julian Sands. Known for his experimental approach at times, we'll be curious to see what Figgis brings to what sounds like a straight genre piece.
The Rome Film Festival runs from November 9-17. More info on the additional titles below, including an omnibus featuring segments by Aki Kaurismaki, Manoel De Oliveira and Pedro Costa.
OUT OF COMPETITION
FEATURE FILMS
(World Premiere)
O BATUQUE DOS ASTROS
Julio Bressane, Brazil, 2012, 74’ (World Premiere) CENTRO HISTÓRICO / HISTORIC CENTRE
Aki Kaurismäki, Pedro Costa, Victor Erice, Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal, 2012, 90’
§ O Tasqueiro, Aki Kaurismäki
§ Lamento da Vida Jovem, Pedro Costa
§ Vidros Partidos, Victor Erice
§ O Conquistador, Conquistado, Manoel de Oliveira
(World Premiere)
O FANTASMA DO NOVAIS
Margarida Gil, Portugal, 2012,93’
(International Premiere)
MUNDO INVISÍVEL / INVISIBLE WORLD
Atom Egoyan, Beto Brant, Cisco Vasques, Gian Vittorio Baldi, Guy Maddin, Jerzy Stuhr, Laís Bodanzky, Manoel De Oliveira, Marco Bechis, Maria de Medeiros, Theo Angelopoulos, Wim Wenders, Brazil, 2012, 83’
MEDIUMLENGTH AND SHORT FILMS
On the occasion of the screening of Steekspel / Tricked by Paul Verhoeven, the director will meet the audience and the press. On the occasion of the screenings following the first presentation, Paul’s Experience (documentary, 35’) will also be a screened.
(World Premiere)
STEEKSPEL / TRICKED
Paul Verhoeven, Netherlands, 2012, 52’
Cast: Peter Blok, Ricky Koole, Robert de Hoog, Gaite Jansen, Carolien Spoor, Sallie Harmsen, Jochum ten Haaf, Pieter Tiddens
(World Premiere)
ALL SIDES OF THE ROAD 3D
OpenEndedGroup, United States, 2012, 12’
GUIMARÃES TRANSVERSAL
Three short films programme:
§ Birds, Gabriel Abrantes, Portugal, 2012, 17' (International Premiere)
§ A Mesa Ferida, Marcos Barbosa, Portugal, 2012, 20' (World Premiere)
§ Der Schlingel, Paulo Abreu, Portugal, 2012, 30' (World Premiere)
HISTÓRIAS DE GUIMARÃES
Three short films programme:
§ O Bravo som dos tambores, João Botelho, Portugal, 2012, 25' (World Premiere)
§ O Dom das lágrimas, João Nicolau, Portugal, 2012, 24'
§ Vamos tocar todos juntos para ouvirmos melhor, Tiago Pereira, Portugal, 2012, 25'
(World Premiere)
PLANT 3D
OpenEndedGroup, United States, 2011, 17’
(World Premiere)
PLETORA. IL DONO 3D
Zapruder, Italy, 2012, 15’
RANDOM ACTS
– A SONG OF MY YOUTH, Lucy Harvey, Great Britain, 2012,3’
– BECAUSE THIS IS BRITAIN (AS DISCUSSED), Martha Rosler, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
– DANGEROUS GAMES, Marina Abramović, Great Britain, 2012, 5’
– END OF LIFE, Zineb Sedira, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
– EVER SINCE, Mark Wallinger, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
– I MAY HAVE LOST FOREVER MY UMBRELLA, Johan Grimonprez, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
– KNEE BRUISE LEFT EDGED, Shahryar Nashat, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
– MONSOON, Apitchapong Weerasethakul, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
– PEARL VISION, Mark Leckey, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
– PRIMATE CINEMA, Rachel Mayeri, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
– SIBERIAN TIGER, Richard Billingham, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
– SINGLE TAKE, James Richards, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
– THREE-MINUTE WARNING, Sarah Wood, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
– WARNING, Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
(World Premiere)
TANTI FUTURI POSSIBILI. CON RENATO NICOLINI
Gianfranco Rosi, Italy, 30’
(World Premiere)
WAVES 3D
OpenEndedGroup, United States, 2012, 2’
COMPETITION
FEATURE LENGTH
COMPETITION OPENING FILM
(World Premiere)
A WALK IN THE PARK
Amos Poe, United States, 2012, 96’
Cast: Brian Fass, Adam Davids, Mark Eberle, Fred Sullivan, Charles Breiterman
(World Premiere)
AVANTI POPOLO
Michael Wahrmann, Brazil, 2012, 72’
Cast: André Gatti, Carlos Reichenbach, Eduardo Valente, Marcos Bertoni, Paulo Rigazzi
(World Premiere)
BLOODY DAUGHTER
Stéphanie Argerich, France – Switzerland, 2012, 94’
Cast: Martha Argerich, Stephen Kovacevich
(World Premiere)
GEGENWART / CONSEQUENCE
Thomas Heise, Germany, 2012, 68’
(World Premiere)
GOLTZIUS AND THE PELICAN COMPANY
Peter Greenaway, Netherland, 2012, 128’
Cast: F. Murray Abraham, Ramsey Nasr, Kate Moran, Pippo Delbono, Giulio Berruti, Anne Louise Hassing, Flavio Parenti, Lars Eidinger
(World Premiere)
JIANSHI LIU BAIYUAN / JUDGE ARCHER
Xu Haofeng, China, 2012, 94’
Cast: Song Yang, Yu Cheng hui, Li Chengyuan, Yenny Martin, Zhao Zheng, Li Yiming
(World Premiere)
JUNGLE LOVE
Sherad Anthony Sanchez, Philippine, 2012, 86'
Cast: Gloria Morales, Mae Bastes, Martin Riffer, Edgardo Amar, Aldrin Sapitan
(World Premiere)
NICHNASTI PA’AM LAGAN / DANS UN JARDIN JE SUIS ENTRE / ONCE I ENTERED A GARDEN
Avi Mograbi, France – Israel – Switzerland, 2012, 97’
(World Premiere)
EL OJO DEL TIBURON
Alejo Hoijman, Argentina – Spain, 2012, 91’
(World Premiere)
PANIHIDA
Ana-Felicia Scutelnicu, Germany – Moldavia, 2012, 61’
(World Premiere)
PHOTO
Carlos Saboga, Portugal – France, 2012, 85’
Cast: Anna Mouglalis, Marisa Paredes, Johan Leysen, Didier Sandre, Simão Cayatte
(World Premiere)
PICAS / PIZZAS
Laila Pakalnina, Latvia, 2012, 63’
(World Premiere)
SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF
Mike Figgis, Great Britain, 2012, 107’
Cast: Sebastian Koch, Lotte Verbeek, Rebecca Night, Emilia Fox, Frances de la Tour, Julian Sands, Kenneth Cranham, Eoin Macken, Lachlan Nieboer
(World Premiere)
TANETS DELI / DELHI DANCE
Ivan Vyrypaev, Russia, 2012, 95’
Cast: Karolina Gruszka, Igor Gordin, Kseniya Kutepova, Arina Marakulina, Ina Sukhoretskaya
(World Premiere)
TAR
Edna Biesold, Sarah-Violet Bliss, Bruce Thierry Cheung, Gabrielle Demeestere, Alexis Gambis, Shruti Ganguly, Brooke Goldfinch, Omar Zuniga Hidalgo, Shripriya Mahesh, Pamela Romanowsky, Tine Thomasen, Virginia Urreiztieta; supervisione di James Franco, United States, 2012, 72’
Cast: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Zach Braff, Henry Hopper, Bruce Campbell
(World Premiere)
TASHER DESH / THE LAND OF CARDS / LA TERRA DELLE CARTE
Q (Kaushik Mukherjee), India, 2012, 114’
Cast: Joyraj Battacharjee, Rii Sen, Anubrata Basu, Soumiak Kanti De biswas, Tillotoma Shome
(World Premiere)
TUTTO PARLA DI TE
Alina Marazzi, Italy, 2012, 84’
Cast: Charlotte Rampling, Elena Radonicich, Valerio Binasco, Maria Grazia Mandruzzato, Alice Torriani
MEDIUM LENGTH AND SHORT FILMS
(World Premiere)
DA VINCI
Yuri Ancarani, Italy, 2012, (20’)
(World Premiere)
DOSSIER SCOLAIRE / SCHOOL FILES
Noëlle Pujol, Andreas Bolm, France – Germany, 2012, 21’
(World Premiere)
DREAMS
James Franco, Great Britain, 2012, 1’
(World Premiere) EL RUIDO DE LAS ESTRELLAS ME ATURDE Eduardo Williams, Argentina, 2012, 20’
(World Premiere)
ETERNITÀ
Provmyza (Galina Myznikova, Sergey Provorov), Russia, 2011, 36’
(World Premiere)
GHL
Lotte Schreiber, Austria, 2012, 17’
(World Premiere)
ISHI TO UTA TO PETA / STONE, SONG AND PETA
Takuya Dairiki, Takashi Miura, France – Japan, 2012, 60’
(World Premiere)
LA MADRE, IL FIGLIO E L'ARCHITETTO / THE MOTHER, THE SON AND THE ARCHITECT
Petra Noordkamp, Netherland, 2012, 16’
(International Premiere)
MITOTE / MEXICAN RITUAL
Eugenio Polgovsky, Mexico, 2012, 53’
(World Premiere)
MONTAÑA EN SOMBRA / MOUNTAIN IN SHADOW
Lois Patiño, Spain, 2012, 14’
(World Premiere)
THE MOON HAS ITS REASONS
Lewis Klahr, Great Britain, 2012, 3’
(World Premiere)
THE MUSEUM OF IMAGINATION
Amit Dutta, India, 2012, 20’
(World Premiere)
NÃO ESTAMOS SONHANDO / WE ARE NOT DREAMING
Luiz Pretti, Brazil, 2012, 12’
(World Premiere)
NARMADA
Manon Ott, Grégory Cohen, France, 2012, 47’
(World Premiere)
NATURE OF ABERRATION
Krissakorn Thinthupthai, Thailand, 2012, 13’
(World Premiere)
THE OGRE'S FEATHERS
Michael Almereyda, United States, 20’
(World Premiere)
QUATRO HORAS DESCALÇO / FOUR HOURS BAREFOOT
Ico Costa, France – Portugal, 2012, 15’
(World Premiere)
RHINOCEROS
Kevin Jerome Everson, United States, 2012, 6’
(World Premiere)
SOME PART OF US WILL HAVE BECOME
Semiconductor (Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt), Great Britain, 3’
(World Premiere)
TAGALOG
Gym Lumbera, Philippine, 2012, 45’
Cast: Eduardo Javier, Dolores Javier
(World Premiere)
I TOPI LASCIANO LA NAVE
Zapruder, Italy, 2012, 32’
(World Premiere)
IL VIAGGIO DELLA SIGNORINA VILA
Elisabetta Sgarbi, Italy, 2012, 60’
Cast: Pokaj, Toni Servillo, Vittorio Sgarbi, Susanna Tamaro, Claudio Magris
(World Premiere)
WATERSCOPE TRANSITIONS
Carsten Aschmann, Germany, 2012, 22’