Jun 26, 2009 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

Even though actress Pell James has only about a dozen film credits to her name, she's worked with an enviable list of directors that includes Terrence Malick, Wes Anderson, David Fincher, Jim Jarmusch, Sidney Lumet, Barry Levinson, James Toback and James Marsh. Her latest film, Surveillance, is a twisted thriller directed by Jennifer Lynch, the daughter of David Lynch. More

May 01, 2009 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

While discussing his film Lemon Tree, Israeli director Eran Riklis repeatedly begins sentences with the phrase, “On the one hand….” The words are indicative of Riklis’ evenhanded approach to Lemon Tree, a reflective and touching film that addresses the enduring Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a microcosmic modern tale. More

Apr 30, 2009 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

The title of Paolo Sorrentino’s fourth feature film Il Divo refers to Italy’s notorious and enigmatic politician Giulio Andreotti, who held the office of Prime Minister three times between 1972 and 1992. The film’s subtitle is The Spectacular Life of Giulio Andreotti, and once those words are typed across the screen, Sorrentino immediately delivers a dose of spectacle, depicting a rapid succession of violent incidents through zooms, dolly shots, upside-down imagery and inverted titles. More

Apr 08, 2009 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

Margarita Levieva’s sultry slow-motion entrance in the summer-job comedy Adventureland, writer-director Greg Mottola’s follow-up to Superbad, is a sight to behold. Accompanied by the seductive groove of The Rolling Stones’ “Tops,” Levieva’s character Lisa P. paralyzes all male onlookers as she struts through an amusement park while savoring a snow cone. More

Mar 31, 2009 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

Now that 19-year-old actress and singer Nora Arnezeder has earned newcomer awards in France for her performance in the fictional 1930s period film Paris 36, the possibility of one day working with her idols Woody Allen and Quincy Jones seems like less of a stretch. But there is one hero from Arnezeder’s girlhood who will remain elusive to her. More

Mar 27, 2009 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is best known in the U.S. for his spine-tingling supernatural horror films Cure and Pulse, but the concerns addressed in his latest film, the family drama Tokyo Sonata, provoke chills of a different sort, as they reflect the ills of the current global economic crisis.
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Mar 27, 2009 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

When a director has shot a 17-minute debate between a prisoner and a Catholic priest in an epic single take, as English artist Steve McQueen did for the centerpiece of his feature-length debut Hunger, it’s only fitting that he would want to challenge you during a conversation.
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Feb 17, 2009 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

It’s 5 p.m. and Italian director Matteo Garrone is nearing the end of a full day of interviews to promote his film Gomorrah, a bold, sobering work that weaves together five stories of characters—young and old—whose lives are influenced by the Camorra, the multi-faceted crime system that operates pervasively in Naples and the surrounding Compania region of southern Italy. More

Feb 17, 2009 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

When Morgan Dews’ grandmother Allis died in 2001, the New York writer/filmmaker inherited a wealth of her personal photos and 201 of her 8mm home movies, shot primarily by her during the 1950s and ’60s. Although Dews initially had hoped to make a short film from the footage, the images eventually composed the visual content for Dews’ first feature-length film, the lyrical yet unsettling documentary Must Read After My Death. More