Stories about Film from March, 2008
Japan: Views on Yasukuni, the movie
A documentary film about the controversial Yasukuni shrine, shot by a Chinese filmmaker through funding by a Japanese government agency, has sparked debate and discussion after a group within the ruling LDP party convened a screening to assess its "neutrality". Bloggers offer differing views on the move and on the idea of their government subsidizing what some see as a "political" film.
Lebanon: Un-Banning “Persepolis”
“French Minister welcomed the news that Lebanon decided to reverse the ban on “Persepolis,” the award-winning animated film …” reports Bilad Ash Sham.
Lebanon: Banning “Persepolis”
“Marjane Satrapi’s ‘Persepolis’ [the movie] is the latest victim of our very “intellectual” General Security Censorship Department,” writes Bachir Habib
Bangladesh: On Wilders’ Fitna
a bengali in TO has a look at Geert Wilders’ Fitna and finds it unimpressive and amateurish even for a rant.
Netherlands: What is the problem,Mr.Wilders?
Kamangir,an Iranian blogger, shares his idea about Geert Wilders’ famous video:”the video contradicts itself when at the end it asks for the Islamic ideology to be defeated. If that’s what...
Colombia: Contest brings forth multimedia citizen journalists
Contest open for anyone, regardless of nationality, to write, show and create content telling the world about a very special place in Colombia most people wouldn´t normally be aware of. Bloggers and vloggers are already responding, here are examples from the Chocó and Antioquia regions.
India: Right Wing and Films
La Dolce Vita takes a closer look at Geert Wilders, a Dutch right wing parliamentarian who is in the news for making an anti-Islam film.
South Asia: Anti-Islam film
Voice of South on a controversial anti-Islam film made by a member of the Dutch parliament.
Kenya: SLUM-TV
African Loft has an article about SLUM-TV in Kenya: “Operating from Mathare, the biggest slum in Kenya, the SLUM-TV was created to document the lives of the people in the...
Burkina Faso: Home of black bags, baobabs and cute kids?
This roundup will begin with some old business. From Stephen Davis of Voice in the Desert: His book Sophie and the Albino Camel is up for the Norfolk Shorts shortlist of books under 150 pages. While he won’t know the outcome until April 16, he did expound on why he loves writing short fiction.
China: Petition to Stop the Ban On Tang Wei
Eric Mu from DANWEI translated a petition to stop the ban on Tang Wei – the main actress in the movie “Lust, Caution”.
Brazil: It's All True
Márcio Claesen [pt] has the highlights of the É Tudo Verdade [It's All True] festival, devoted to the culture of documentary in South America. The 13th edition starts today and...
Brazil: Mobile Filmmaking
Sérgio Amadeu [pt] is helping to spread the news about the next Filmobile festival happening simultaneously in April 5th in São Paulo and for the first time in London. Participants...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: “Graffiti Street”
Bosnia Blog writes about a documentary on the “meeting of [Sarajevo] musicians after a separation caused by war.”
Japan: The New Era of Video
Last Friday, Japan's national broadcaster aired a special on the "New Era of Video" predicting changes in the industry of broadcast television that will shake the foundation of mass media. But why would a broadcaster as big as NHK air a TV special about the end of TV? Wouldn't that be against its own interests? Blogger Kobayashi Akihito asked if there wasn't more to the NHK special than meets the eye.
Bolivia: James Bond Visits Bolivian Territory in Chile
In the next James Bond film, the main character visits several real-life Chilean towns, but in the movie are said to be part of Bolivian territory causing some complaints. With...
Japan: Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing plant fuels debate
The village of Rokkasho, situated Aomori prefecture in the north of Japan's main island Honshū, hosts a nuclear facility for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, the first of its kind in Japan. While the scale of this reprocessing plant dwarfs standard nuclear plants, most Japanese citizens have up to recently known little to nothing of its existence. This has started to change recently with demonstrations held in various parts of the country by citizen groups. Bloggers have also picked up this debate, offering varying perspectives on the costs and benefits of the latest development of Japan's nuclear industry.
Japan: Tibet Tibet
Blogger and artist Takami Toshio writes about the Japanese film Tibet Tibet [ja] at his blog Radical Imagination. He points out the similarity in perspectives between the director, who is...
South Korea: Migrant Worker Film Festival
The 2nd Migrant worker film festival has been announced. The program can be found here.
Russia: “Dmitriy Medvedev: How it all Began”
La Russophobe explains and translates the video parody “of the way Dimitri Medvedev was selected to be the next ‘President'”: “The parody appears to have become wildly popular on the...
Bulgaria: Michael Palin's “New Europe”
The Balkan Yankee writes about the “screening which featured segments of Michael Palin’s (of Monty Python fame) new documentary series on Eastern Europe” – and the questions that the Bulgarian...
