German Film @ Canada - Goethe-Institut

I remember reading an interview where an American journalist asked Sophia Loren how she manages to be beautiful. Slightly exasperated, she simply replied that you are beautiful or you are not. I was reminded of that when the CBC’s Matt Galloway asked Werner Herzog for his latest Hot Docs-supported #TIFF20 documentary premiere where the awe inherent in his work comes from and Herzog replied that it’s always been in him. In typical Herzog fashion, he goes on to talk about cataclysms, stardust, extraterrestrials, and atomic bombs.

In Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds, filmmaker Herzog and scientist Clive Oppenheimer take us to the farthest corners of the world to trace meteors and comets and their impact on religions and culture. The premise is alluring (if not fully fulfilled), connecting past, present and future over two hours: How can pre-human events shape our thinking and feeling, as a “simulacrum”, an image or representation of something? Continue reading "#TIFF20 review: Fireball by Werner Herzog &..." »

Love is a business at "Family Romance, LLC”, Werner Herzog's latest film as well as the (real) company that offers a human substitute rental service, inventing absent fathers or stand-in companions as needed. Founder Yuichi Ishii helps fulfill the dreams and emotional needs of his clients. Like the mother of the 12-year-old girl Mahiro who hires Ishii to impersonate the absent father. Soon, reality begins to blur around the #fakefeels.

How did Werner Herzog, the nomad, the adventurer, the extreme athlete in the filmmaking pantheon, get to such an emotional and vulnerable place, and to Japan? (2-min video review) Continue reading "Emotions by Proxy: Herzog’s “Family Romance,..." »

Hello World. Microsoft’s gender-neutral AI “Tay” says they are stoked to meet me. "The more humans share with me the more I learn.” And there’s the rub. Who teaches these new artificial kids? And what do they teach them? Shalini Kantayya's documentary “Coded Bias,” which premiered at Sundance in January and just screened at Toronto’s Hot Docs Festival (the largest in North America) is getting a lot of deserved attention as it doesn’t need two minutes to go for the jugular: Shockingly pervasive, all-encompassing image bias built into algorithm-based tech is stealthily governing our day-to-day lives, from Amazon to Alexa. Snapchat filters. Gendered shopping suggestions. Spotify playlists. Credit checks. Resume key wording. AI recruiting. All algorithm-based.

The film, co-produced by Sabine Hoffman, who began her career as an editor in Berlin before moving to the US, is extremely packed and quick on its feet but deftly crafted around a single-minded focus. It successfully walks the fine line between accessibility, digestibility and not losing necessary complexity. “Coded Bias” is a compulsory AI Ethics 101 course by way of a stringently compelling investigation on the road to data authoritarianism and algorithmic oppression (thank you for the helpful little “smart screen“ notes and highlights to keep track of all the hits that keep on coming). Continue reading "#imagesmatter: Coded Bias #review " »

"Strippers displace Berlinale!“ a lurid tabloid headline revealed before Christmas. And yes, of course, I clicked through. Magic Mike the Musical man-spreading it at Berlinale Palast --home to a vast number of industry screenings and the competition's red carpet-- was just one of the calamities on the horizon for the new Berlinale team at the end of 2019. Newly installed co-directors AD Carlo Chatrian, formerly of Locarno, and ED Mariette Rissenbeek, formerly of German Films (my job entrance interview with her), had a good number of curveballs thrown their way –many of them craftily solved by now-- but also threw a couple of early wrenches themselves. Statements like "We are no glamour machine“ and "We are not Berlin Fashion Week“ led to a reprimand by the festival’s main financier, Culture Minister Monika Grütters, who made it quite clear that she expects fireworks as well as "programmatic and atmospheric changes“. If the school principal approach doesn’t bear fruit, Helen "The Queen“ Mirren will save the red carpet when accepting this year‘s honorary Golden Bear, alongside Jeremy Irons giving most likely not boring remarks as jury president. The Berlinale is known for being "political", perhaps featuring two of Britain's best actors is a love letter to the Brexiting nation.

Weeks before the 70th Berlinale (re)starts, things are looking up. Continue reading "#Berlinale2020: Year 70 or Year 1?" »

The Berlinale 2013 is over, the circus is moving on (Cannes, Venice, then TIFF). Until then, here’s what I am keeping an eye on in production:

For starters, 3x Wenders: About to launch, his portrait of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgad called SHADE AND LIGHT. Announced for next year, CATHEDRALS OF CULTURE, a documentary TV series in 3D and 2D about the soul of buildings, by a team of six award-winning filmmakers including Wim Wenders and produced by his Neue Road Movies. “If buildings could talk, what would they tell about us?” is the guiding question that clearly harks back to Wenders’ 3D video installation for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2010 of the same name.
And of course, in Canada, we are eagerly awaiting news on Wim’s next (3D) feature EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE with Sarah Polley, still in pre-production.

Continue reading "German films in production" »