Film Review: ‘Applause (Applaus)’

Thea (Paprika Steen) can only seem to find acceptance and respect on the stage. Off it, her life is unraveling. She's a recovering alcoholic out of rehab, her husband left with the two boys, and she has no friends; except for the lonely drunk at the corner tavern. Buying...

Cinequest Film Festival 20 Countdown: An inside look at success, independent filmmaking

The 20th anniversary of the Cinequest Film Festival kicks off next week in San Jose. Co-founder Halfdan Hussey said, despite the challenging economy, the festival should draw in excess of 80,000 fans, filmmakers, actors, and industry trade to downtown San Jose. Some estimates have indicated the impact could well...

Film Review: ‘Life in One Day (Het leven uit een dag)’

What if you lived your entire life in one day? And you'd have, but one time, to enjoy each moment: the first kiss, going to school, growing up,  making love. In Marc de Cloe's Life in One Day, Benny and Gini fall head over heels for each other in...

Cinequest QoD #4: Halfdan Hussey on distribution, Mavericks Studio

Take a deep breath, get out your favorite walking shoes, grab your Netbook. Cinequest Film Festival 20 is only 5 days away, opening on February 23 with The Good Heart. A good calendar or organizer might not be a bad idea either. The amount of films, events, sessions, and...

Adobe Youth Voices Cinequest Film Camp Week 1: Pre-production, a Zombie movie?!

https://vimeo.com/9533778 "We're doing a Zombie film about Zombies created from pollution," pitches Brianna Pereira from Boynton High School. And with that, week 1 of the Adobe Youth Voices program in partnership with Cinequest 2010 film camp kicked off last Saturday at Adobe HQ downtown San Jose. 31 next generation film-makers arrived...

Film Review: ‘Kill the Habit’

You know you're in trouble when a relentless drug addiction and a discovered stash of dirty money are the least of your problems. Oh, yes, what to do with the body? In Kill the Habit that becomes the question of the day for three women (Lili Mirojnick, Katerina Moutsatsou, Maria-Elena...

Film Review: ‘The Bone Man’ an Austrian Fargo with German cars and a twist

What is it about great European indies that make them so endlessly fascinating and watchable? The Bone Man is another example, and I think it'll be a festival favorite at Cinequest. It's two hours of terrific entertainment. It kept me guessing throughout and I appreciated the exquisite quality of everything...

Film Review: ‘FrICTION’ a clever “fourth wall” film

What if you were scripted to behave badly? Breaking down the fourth wall—the unseen barrier between actor and viewer—has become somewhat of an interesting trend in film (see Funny Games starring Naomi Watts). We've seen it for years on stage in the theater; an actor will maintain a personal...

Gone in 60 Seconds: Adobe Youth Voices Cinequest, Charitable Hearts, Rock ‘n’ Roll!

https://vimeo.com/9452160 Another week of San Francisco Bay Area living, west coast style. Here's the weekly video rewind, gone in 60 seconds. Adobe Youth Voices kicked off this weekend. In partnership with the Cinequest film festival, the program brings together aspiring 13-18 year old fimmakers with mentors, professionals of the trade. Five...

Adobe Youth Voices Cinequest film camp kicks off with bursts of creativity

The Adobe Youth Voices and Cinequest 2010 film camp kicked off yesterday with 30 participants gathering at the Adobe headquarters in downtown San Jose to begin the three week journey through the creative process of film making. Participants come from Boynton High School, CCOC, Moldaw Zaffaroni BGCP, Mervin G....