· February, 2009

Stories about Film from February, 2009

Costa Rica: Creativity Through Collectivity

Like a delicious recipe, artistic, musical and visual talents are placed together as ingredients in a functional and creative tendency: collectives. Across Costa Rica, many creative groups and collectives are using social media to showcase their work and connect with like-minded enthusiasts. These are some examples of collectives in the fields of film, music and the visual arts.

23 February 2009

Czech Republic: Prague Filming Fees

The Czech Daily Word writes that “Budapest, Vienna and other cities” are likely to replace Prague as “a favorite spot for American filmmakers” – due to newly-introduced filming fees.

23 February 2009

Peru: Portrayal of Andean Life in Llosa's Movies

The recent film "The Milk of Sorrow" by Peruvian director Claudia Llosa was recently awarded with the Golden Bear at an international film festival in Berlin. Even though the film has yet to open in Peru, debate has started whether or not Llosa's portrayal of Andean life is accurate or in some cases racist towards the indigenous communities that figure prominently in her movies.

22 February 2009

Japan: Hetalia Axis Powers and the limits of parody

Hetalia, a satirical manga set mainly during the Second World War and featuring national protagonists of that era, has attracted attention among both domestic and international audiences for its caricature of world nations. In this post, read reactions in translation from bloggers in both Japan, where the manga originated, and in Italy, the country most strongly ridiculed.

17 February 2009

Jordan: Ikbis New Feature

Arab video sharing site Ibkis, launched from Jordan, has just added a new feature to their site – webcam upload. It means that now you can record directly from your...

16 February 2009

East Timor: Suai Media Space Challenges the Digital Divide

In this second post of a series to celebrate the 9th anniversary of the arrival of the Internet in East Timor, Sara Moreira interviews Australian documentary-maker Jen Hughes - founder of Suai Media Space, whose main objective is to make the voices of Suai youth heard all over the world - and discusses the fight to minimize the digital divide even without broadband connection in Suai.

15 February 2009

Martinique: Bitterness after “The Last Masters”

Ever since the February 5th broadcast of The Last Masters of Martinique, a documentary about the Békés, the French West Indies have experienced the equivalent of a sociological tsunami. Bloggers and regular citizens alike are writing to express the shock, sadness and humiliation felt by many non-Béké Martinicans after watching the documentary.

12 February 2009

Cuba: “Cachaito” Passes On

Havana Times reports that one of the founding members of the famous Buena Vista Social Club, Cuban bass player Orlando “Cachaito” Lopez, has died at a Havana hospital after complications...

11 February 2009

Uganda: Behind The Mirror

Sokari writes about the documentary Behind the Mirror, which investigates and advocates for responses to the many challenges faced by the LGBTI community in Uganda.

10 February 2009